India Bazaar Madras Curry

Months ago, I ran into a neighbor and her husband in my building's elevator.  They were on their way home and I could smell the scent of Indian food coming from the packages that they were carrying.  So I asked, "are you having Indian food for dinner?".  When she responded yes, I just had to know where the food was from.  That's when I found out that she was a vegetarian and that the food came from India Bazaar.

Located in a strip mall across from the old Honolulu Stadium, I was told that India Bazaar has been in business for more than 15 years.  Since I like Indian food, I was surprised that I hadn't discovered this place sooner.  I've tried to visit this place many times since I've been told about it, but for one reason or another, each time I stopped by, the restaurant was either closed or about to close.  It was by chance that I was in the area recently and found the shop open.

Inside, the restaurant is clean, spacious and brightly lit.  The counter is straight ahead and the food is served cafeteria style and on paper plates.  Since I was here for a late lunch I found the place empty.  There was, however, a steady stream of customers entering the shop for the duration of my meal.

There is no written menu as the selection of food changes daily (9 vegetarian dishes and one meat dish).  The food here is prepared earlier in the day then dished from warmers as you make your selections.  How long the food sits before being replenished or replaced is anyone's guess.

Today, I decided to order the chicken plate which is served with two vegetarian dishes and rice (US$6.75).

This plate came served with yellow rice (flavored with turmeric and nigella, among other things) and chicken masala (I think it was masala).  My two additional selections were the potato stirfry (mild) and the tomato lentil (mild).  The chicken masala was flavorful, tender and just a little spicy.  The potato stirfry and the tomato lentil side dishes were quite tasty as well.  I thought that the items I chose had a nice balance of flavors and textures. 

I also ordered one pappadum (US$.85) and one samosa (US$.95).

The pappadum was light and crisp, exactly as it should be.  The only unusual thing about it was the size -- it filled the entire plate.  The samosa was nicely filled with tender curried vegetables.  The only downside was that since it was pre-cooked, it was only slightly crunchy and it was also quite oily.

Though the food here at India Bazaar is mostly vegetarian, they did have the chicken masala which completely satisfied my need to have meat with my vegetables.  The vegetarian dishes are served either mild or spicy, with the spicy dishes probably not spicy enough for those of you who like your dishes mouth numbingly so.  The dishes here are mostly flavorful and are prepared with just the right balance of flavor.  The portion sizes are good although I wish that some of the dishes (i.e. the samosas) would be cooked to order.

India Bazaar Madras Curry
2320 South King Street Suite B4
Telephone:  808.949.4840

Comments

[clare eats]

That sure is a big pappadam!

Pity about the samosas not being fried to order but at least the food is good!

[AugustusGloop]

I like the sneaky shot you took of the bain marie Reid. A quick furtive snap as you ducked around the corner? lol...

The food looks quite good though. And I love big pappadums! You get bigger "scoops" to get into the sauce!

[Julia]

Sounds good! Your description of the food had me watering as I imagined how tantalising and fragrant the spiced food must have been. I could almost taste the food. And that's one huge pappadum! One can never have too big a pappadum. :)

[Big BoK]

Yummy..!! i want some too..!!

[Makan Kings]

Reid,

Food looks good!! Cant believe you have to pay for pappadum though! Normally here when you have indian food, they give you unlimited supply of pappadum for free.

Cheers,
-Makan Kings-

[Dennis]

The Indian restaurants in Portland all seem to provide buffet lunches, even when they're full service restaurants.

Good idea to provide chicken for the omnivores among us. We'll also provide chicken in our primarily vegetarian restaurant.

[umami]

The spread of dishes look very appetizing. I wouldn't worry about how long the curries have been sitting there as long as they have a good customer turnover.

I normally crumble the papaddum on top of the rice.

[Reid]

Hi Clare,

That pappadum was huge! I was so surprised. And yes, it was a pity about the samosas because they were quite tasty.

Hi AG,

When I took the photo, I forgot that I had the flash engaged! The woman turned around and put her hands on her hips. I thought I was going to get scolded, but she was nice.

Pappadums are great for scooping up all that extra sauce, aren't they?

Hi Julia,

I agree with you about the pappadums. I only wish that they came with the meal. In any case, I liked this one a lot. The food was nicely seasoned without being overly spicy. For some reason, I can't take really spicy food too often anymore. =(

Hi Big BoK,

Any Indian food restaurants where you are?

BTW...planning a trip home soon? I think I might have to go in September instead of in March.

Hi Makan Kings,

You're so lucky to have an unlimited supply of pappadums. I think I need to visit KL just for the Indian food. =)

Hi Dennis,

I really liked the fact that this restaurant served a lot of vegetarian dishes. They were all very tasty. The chicken dish was actually off to the side. It was not in the warmers up front. I think it's because most people know this place as being primarily vegetarian.

Hi Umami,

The turnover is pretty good, but then again, I think Indian food tastes better the longer it cooks. The food was warm, so I would assume that the flavors had more time to develop.

I've never tried pappadums crumbled over rice. I'm going to try that next time! Thanks for the tip.

[johnp]

The India Bazaar Madras Curry people are related to the Komala Curry House people (2 restaurants located downtown; one on Bishop in Education America building and other in building formerly known as Amfac Center). I think the food is similar at both places. Komala is starting to created dishes with lamb.

[Reid]

Hi Johnp,

Thanks for stopping by my blog!

I had no idea that the people here and the people at Komala were related. I have to say that I like the food at India Bazaar much better. That said, they serve more meat dishes at Komala and some of them can be good. It's been a while since I've been there, maybe it's time for a re-visit.

Thanks for stopping by.

[Seine]

Hi Reid,
Your blog makes me homesick for Honolulu! I love the madras cafe! Have you tried Zaffron which is an ok indian buffet?
WHile I was in Hawaii, I was always wishing that there were more Indian restaurents over there...
Seine

[Reid]

Hi Seine,

Thank you for stopping by my blog and for leaving me a comment.

The food at India Bazaar is OK. I've been to Zaffron and in recent years the quality of the food has gone down hill, so much so, that I don't even eat there anymore.

Where are you at by the way?