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Vij's - Vancouver, BC, Canada

Vij's
1480 West 11th Avenue
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Telephone: 604.736.6664

Bombay Indian Restaurant

Dining out is fun when there are new restaurants to eat at, especially when they serve the type of food that isn't so widely available.  I had passed by this place a while back and wondered when it would open.  Then a week and a half ago, a friend of mine asked if I had tried the food at the new Indian place in Waikiki.  When I said no, she gave it a thumbs up and said that I should visit.

Bombay Indian Restaurant has been open for a little more than 2 weeks now in the space previously occupied by Capricciosa.  But judging by the crowd in the dining room a week ago, I'd say that quite a few people have already heard about it's opening and decided to make their way here as well.

This restaurant bring Hawaii's Indian restaurant count to 8 -- the others are: Café Maharani, India Café, India House, India Bazaar, Zafron Indian Restaurant and Komala Curry House (two locations).  Most of these restaurants serve decent Indian food at a decent price, how would the food here fare?

When I visited Bombay Indian, I decided to bring along a friend who enjoys Indian food as much as I do.  We decided to start out with the assorted platter ($9.95) and order the rest of the dishes family style.

Included in this platter were chicken tikka, palak pakora, seekh kebab, chicken 65 (2 pieces of each) and small dishes of mint and tamarind chutney.  The char-broiled chicken tikka had an excellent flavor profile, but as has been my experience, it was a little dry.  The chicken 65 was described on the menu as a specialty of Hyderabad and it was slightly spicy.  The flavor was definitely interesting and I think I'll order this next time.  The seekh kebab was a piece of grilled lamb "sausage" while the palak pakora was a batter-dipped and deep-fried spinach.

As we finished the appetizers, this plate of chicken biryani ($14.95) was brought to the table.

Garnished with some greens and accompanied by a small dish of raita, the biryani had a wonderful aroma.  The rice was cooked just the way I liked it -- dry with just a touch of moisture.  Delicately spiced, there were moist pieces of chicken scattered throughout.  This wasn't the best briyani that I've tasted, but it was as good as any that I have had here in Hawaii which can be good to mediocre at best.

Shortly thereafter, the nan arrived.  We ordered two types - plain ($2.50) and keema ($4.95).

The nan was soft and warm when it arrived in a basket lined with a cloth napkin.  Thick and just the slightest bit chewy, I enjoyed this as much as anything else that night.  The keema nan was a bit unusual to me, but the amount of lamb and cilantro stuffed between the layers of dough was just right.  I could still taste the deliciousness of the warm bread.

The nan was ordered to be eaten with our curry-like dish -- the lamb rogan josh (US$15.95).

Chunks of lamb were slow cooked in a creamy yogurt based sauce until tender.  This dish wasn't really a curry, as far as I could tell, but there was a faint spiciness to it and there were elements of familiarity mixed in.  I could detect the flavors of cumin and cardamom in the slightly sweet sauce and the yellow coloring was definitely from turmeric.  Tasty in a unique way, this is a dish that could be ordered again.

Bombay Indian Restaurant brings a few unique Indian dishes to Hawaii, but they come at a price.  The portions were on the small side for the price and even after eating all of this, we left feeling a little hungry.  Because of this, and because of the location (Waikiki), Bombay Indian will be come more of a once in a while splurge, rather than a regular dining spot.  The service here was great, and the food is interesting.  Next time I'll have to ask them to kick up the spice a bit more though. 

Bombay Indian Restaurant
Discovery Bay Center
1778 Ala Moana Boulevard Suite UL-8
Telephone: 808.942.3990

Shalimar Restaurant - San Francisco, California

In Hawaii, there are a few Indian restaurants, but nothing like Shalimar.  The food served here was spicy and delicious with a complexity of flavor that I had not seen in Indian food since my days in New York City.  Definitely a keeper.

Shalimar Restaurant
532 Jones Street
San Francisco, California
Telephone: 415.928.0333

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

Café Maharani

It's been a while since I've been out to eat Indian food, so a couple of nights ago, I invited a friend out to dinner.  Café Maharani is one of the few South Indian restaurants here in Honolulu, so that's where I decided to go. 

When we arrive, about 7:15 pm, there is only one table left in the entire place!  After we are seated, more people start to arrive and are told that the wait for a table will be about 30 minutes!

The place is a bit dark with only some ambient lighting to set the mood.  There are a couple of television monitors around playing scenes from Indian movies that are quite entertaining!  After reviewing the menu, we decide to order the following:

vegetable samosas (US$3.99).

These are crispy fried pastry cones filled with cooked, curried vegetables.  They are served with mint sauce and a spicy chutney.  I tried both sauces and I think this tastes best with the spicy chutney.

chicken biryani (US$11.99).

This is really delicious!  Normally the chicken would not be cooked together with the rice, but served separately.  The rice was very flavorful and the balance of flavors was excellent!

eggplant tikka masala (US$8.99).

This dish is made by first deep frying slices of eggplant, then adding it to a sauce made with tomato, onions and other spices.  The last time I had this dish, the slices of eggplant were still very crispy when the dish arrived at our table.  Tonight, the eggplant seemed a bit "mushy" and over-cooked.  It lacked the crispiness that I enjoyed.  I was a bit disappointed.

Now usually when I go to Indian restaurants, I like to have some of their bread.  Previously, I had the paratha (OK), the naan (not so good), and the chapati (better than the naan).  This time, they offered dhosa as a special so I ordered one piece (US$1.99).

Dhosa is a type of thin pancake that is made of fermented rice and Urad lentils and then fried until crispy.  This one was topped with chopped cilantro, which I found a bit unusual.  The dhosa was a bit thicker than what I was used to, and not as crispy as I was used to either.  Sad to say, another disappointment.

Normally, the food is much better than it was tonight.  Perhaps it was because it was very busy (we had to wait more than 30 minutes after ordering for our food to arrive).  We'll just have to wait and see on our next visit.

Café Maharani
2509 South King Street
Telephone:  808.951.7447

India Café

Know any good Indian restaurants, I was asked.  Sure do!  If you're like me, you like to venture to the small, hole-in-the-wall places that are well off the beaten path.  I discovered this place purely by accident.  One day while searching the web for places that served Indian food, I came across India Café.  Located in the back of a small strip mall, you'd never know it was there...unless you were told where to go and what to look for.

Tonight, we ordered dishes "family-style" so everyone could have a little of everything to try.

We had the lamb masala.  This dish is made by slow cooking cubes of lamb in a type of thick curry sauce until tender.

We also tried the tofu sambal.  This is made by combining tofu, sambal chilli and other spices in a very flavorful dish!  This is one of my favorites.

Next up was the spicy eggplant.  This dish is very spicy and a great compliment to everything else we ordered.

A bit milder, but equally delicious, was the cauliflower stir-fried with red peppers, onions and curry.

We also decided to try one of the seafood offerings on the menu.  This one was the spicy shrimp curry, which wasn't as spicy as it looks.

To round out the meal, we ordered one order of nasi lemak.  This was not made in the typical Malaysian fashion that I was used to, but was made by cooking jasmine rice with coconut milk, star anise, cardamom and a cinnamon stick.  With all of those ingredients, the rice had a nice aroma, but not enough flavor.

We also order a few of the roti paratha.  This is a type of flat bread that is fried until crispy.  My only wish is that they would have "puffed" the bread up a bit more before serving.  Otherwise, this was very delicious.

If you're looking for something different, visit India Café.  It makes for a wonderful introduction to South Indian cuisine at an affordable price.

India Café
Kilohana Square
2851-1 Kihei Place
Telephone:  808.737.4600