The most common Indian-influenced type of food that I'm sure we all have tasted (and even loved) is curry! Is there more to Indian food than just curry? Hello, of course, hehehe. I was really close to tasting authentic Indian Cuisine when we went to Little India in Kuala Lumpur but the weird smell of their spices blended altogether attacked my nostrils and my stomach and got the better of me. Maybe it wasn't time yet, hehehe. I couldn't get over the fact that I allowed myself to be defeated by only the smell of Indian food and I didn't even get down with it without putting up a fight! What a loser! So, with a little help from my friends, armed with our tastebuds and utensils, we charged on to the streets of Cebu to taste Indian food from three different locations.
The Famous Indian Curry House
57 Almendras St. and at APM Mall
This is the first Indian restaurant that we tried. We were a bit hesitant to enter the place because we only saw an Indian guy! The walls had lots of pictures of Indian people, Bollywood movie posters and other trinkets and stuff. Good thing that their two Filipina waitresses appeared, we then sat and grabbed the menu. The ladies were really accommodating and helped us choose what to order. Here it goes:
Veg Thali - P100
2 veg dishes of the day, 2 rotis and raita (savory cumin flavored yoghurt)
Chicken Curry Combo Meal - P70
Chicken Curry with a choice of rice or naan and Coke sakto
Chicken Biryani - P150
Biryani is long-grained basmati rice flavored with exotic spices like saffron layered with chicken cooked in thick gravy, garnished with fresh mint leaves
Samosa - 25
Deep-fried dumplings filled with spiced potato and peas mixture. They serve it with either tamarind chutney, coriander dip or curry sauce-type with yoghurt and some other exotic spices
We also tried their Non Veg Thali, Mixed Vegetable Curry, Naan, Butter Chicken, Tandoori Chicken, Lassi and Badam Kesar Shake. That's quite a lot, right? Hehehe. Actually, those are everything that we have tried so far and we went to this place several times already. Most of what we ate really tasted good. I'd give this an 8 or sometimes 9 out of 10. This is our favorite spot.
Mr. India
Gaisano Countrymall
After a long day of walking around Talamban looking for Mr. Archival's Eco House, we got really hungry and decided to eat at this place. We ordered:
Non Veggie Thali - P99
1 dal, 1 nonveg of the day, 1 rice, 1 naan paratha, 1 papadum and 1 dessert
Veggie Samosa - 39
2 pcs.
Fish Curry Rice Bowl - P49
Chicken Biryani - P109
Chicken and basmati rice cooked traditionally
Mutton Masala - P149
Badam Kesar - P59
Almond and saffron milkshake
We were stuffed! I've noticed that there are really a lot of carbs involved when you eat Indian food. There's rice, dal, naan paratha and sometimes roti. The taste? I'd say a 5 out of 10. We were disappointed because we expected their food to taste really good. The ambience was really very Indian and the owners were there, an Indian couple probably in their 50s. I hope they can do something to improve the taste of their food.
Firozian Indian Tea House
Near Cebu Doctor's Hospital
Among all the other two Indian restaurants that we have visited, this place has the most authentic feel to India. The interior is nice and you would even dine Indian-style! They have low tables and you would just squat on the floor. Very cool! Here goes our menu:
Butter Chicken - P150
Chinni Chicken - P150
Samosa - P60
2 pcs.
Samosa - P60
2 pcs.
Durum - P80
The real shawarma, double the size. Filled with twice the amount of meat, onions, tomatoes, salads and yoghurt. Also available without meat.
Keema Paratha - P100
A meat stuffed flat bread which is famous in New Delhi, India.
Aloo Keema - P150
Potatoes and ground chicken combination
Kebab Wrap - P50
A quick and healthy meal with grilled chicken sticks in flat bread and yoghurt sauce
Chicken Masala - P150
The taste? I'd say a 7 out of 10. The Durum is quite tasty and their Butter Chicken is really delicious. Another dish that I'd recommend would be the Aloo Keema. It's taste is simple but yummy.
It's a bit hard to describe the taste of Indian food. It's a mixture of spicy, sour, sometimes sweet and really strong flavors. The common spices that you'd taste would be cumin, coriander, turmeric, cloves and lots of red chili. I'm quite biased when it comes to food with lots of cumin in it, sorry. But when blended together, it's delicious! The great thing is that there's not one dish that we tried that tasted salty. Bravo!
Indian food isn't scary after all. I now understand why a lot of chefs and foodies love it. It's complicated but really delectable. When I get to visit Little India again in the future, I'm now a lot braver to taste the food.
