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Best Authentic Indian Cuisine in Vancouver


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Good morning,

I am trying to find the most authentic Indian restaurant in Vancouver that has great food. Service is not the number one priority! If a thread has already been started on this I apologize as I could not find one, but if so, could you please point me to it! If not, I would appreciate any feedback that you can offer.

(Distance is also not an issue, anywhere in Greater Vancouver is fine.)

Cheers,

Eric

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Well, there's the obvious, which is Maurya on Broadway. It's good but not my favorite. Ashiana is my favorite right now. The food isn't oily, which I find with a lot of Indian places, the spice is to your liking and if you like it hot, oh my! I know there are more that I've tried, I just can't think of them right now.

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Once you have been to Vij's , is there anywhere else ?

I know other Indian restaurants must exist, but I have been spoiled by Vij's and will probably "never darken the door" of any other. Is this narrrow minded ? Or extremely loyal ?

I once found that the fourth chop on my lamb popsicles was done more than I would have liked ( the first three were perfect ) but other than that, I can not imagine a negative thing about Vikram's fantastic restaurant.

Neil Wyles

Hamilton Street Grill

www.hamiltonstreetgrill.com

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Just out of curiosity, why not Vij's/Rangoli? Is it just that you already have them on your radar?

I've enjoyed a couple of really good meals at Bombay Behl on East Hastings in Burnaby. I don't know if it's Indian but I think it could be Indian. :raz:

A.

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There's Rubina Tandoori at 1962 Kingsway and the Original Tandoori King at 689 East 65th Avenue (off of Fraser Street near Marine, just around the corner from Tandoori King).

Joie Alvaro Kent

"I like rice. Rice is great if you're hungry and want 2,000 of something." ~ Mitch Hedberg

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While on the subject of Indian food, does anyone have a recommendation for great things to eat (either snacks/desserts or a sit-down meal) in the Punjabi Market area?

Best samosas in the city @ The Himalaya ... Main & ???. 50 cents each and oh so tasty! Their buffet ain't bad either.

A.

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Good morning,

I am trying to find the most authentic Indian restaurant in Vancouver that has great food. Service is not the number one priority!

sorry to derail the conversation (sort of). But when you say 'authentic', i think: "Authentic for whom?"

What is the criteria for 'authenticity'?

3WC

Drew Johnson

bread & coffee

i didn't write that book, but i did pass 8th grade without stress. and i'm a FCAT for sure.

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I thought the same thing Cardamom, I didn't realize everyone but me has been to India.

For what it's worth, in my experience when you ask an Indian where the best Indian food is, they'll uniformly reply something about Grandma or Mom. For whatever reason, the Indian community doesn't think that highly of local Indian restaurants.

I may be wrong, but I've always thought that the problem is that Indians don't really have a restaurant or dining out culture like other asian groups do, thus the under-representation on the local restaurant scene in terms of per capita numbers of ethnic Indians. The best food is served in private homes.

Based on nothing but my own tatstes, I like Maurya.

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Which one?  The one on Main Street in Vancouver, or the one in Surrey?  There's also another one on Fraser St in Van too.

I was thinking of the area on Main around 49th.

OK, so that would be where Himalaya is. Most of the food shops have really good snack items and I think it's Himalaya that has the long counter full of sweets, which, if I can remember are quite good. After eating at the buffets on that strip, I never recomend them. Stick to the sweets and the snack items. Even the samosas in some of the grocery stores are good.

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I also second Moosh's vote for Tandoori King on East 65th. For more of a northern flavour, my vote goes to Akbar's Own on West Broadway across from Kinko's.

Vij's is my top pick though.

Mike

Dear heavens. I could live on the eggplant bhartha from Akbar's Own!

Of course my previous recommendations are predicated on the unsaid fact that Vij's and Rangoli are my top picks.

Joie Alvaro Kent

"I like rice. Rice is great if you're hungry and want 2,000 of something." ~ Mitch Hedberg

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Akbar's Own

1905 West Broadway at Cypress

constantly delicious. nice room, modest white table cloths. great service, extensive menu and very reasonable prices. i've had at least 30 great meals at Akbar's. my absolute favourite indian.

Maurya

1643 West Broadway

a little more upscale, grand room that will impress guests. been there about 8 times, had some fantastic meals, one or two were not so great.

There are two "Tandoori King" restaurants at Fraser and 60th almost at marine drive that are pretty 'authentic', pretty good food but a little out of the way.

Edited by hopkin (log)

Alistair Durie

Elysian Coffee

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I haven't been to any of these, but wonder if anyone has tried this place?

Handi

tsquare,

Welcome to the northern side of the PNW :biggrin:

I've been to that Handi, and they've opened recently in Burnaby ... or at least the name is "Handi" even though the Website (CLICKETY) seems to tell a different story. Good, basic fare ... delicious naan and their aloo gobi & lamb vindaloo is pretty awesome too.

IMO, Indian is one of those cuisines it's difficult to do poorly, and difficult to do really well. The Himalaya (yes, they have the huge sweets counter) is a good example. For about $6 you can stuff yourself silly at the lunch buffet and you'd be hard pressed to differenciate it from more expensive buffets in the area.

A.

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[

IMO, Indian is one of those cuisines it's difficult to do poorly, and difficult to do really well. The Himalaya (yes, they have the huge sweets counter) is a good example. For about $6 you can stuff yourself silly at the lunch buffet and you'd be hard pressed to differenciate it from more expensive buffets in the area.

A.

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Himalaya has awesome naan. It's been years since I've been, but I remember theirs being fluffy and incredible. The rest of their dishes didn't make as much of an impression though, though I don't remember it being bad at all.

as others have said, Rubina tandoori is very good. Much more fun to order a la carte instead of getting a dinner platter. The first time I went, I'm pretty sure my menu only offered platters which I found bizarre. I think they didn't realize I had previous experience with indian food and could handle myself just fine without a pre-set meal in front of me.

The tandoori king on 65th I found good, but it didn't live up to all the hype I had heard from many people. People raved about it all the time, but when I went, I found everything well made, but none of the dishes really stood out at all as something I had to come back for.

My favourite of all time suprisingly was a little place on Victoria Drive near 34th called Dawat. I first went because I lived close by and had seen reviews posted in their window and after trying them once, fell in love. The prices were downright cheap, but the atmosphere was nice, and the food was outstanding. The saag would drive me insane. I would lick up every last bit of sauce from their bowls. Average food cost per person was about $15 pre tax/tip.

Sadly, Dawat seems to have found new owners in the last year and the one time I went, things weren't up to par. I haven't gone back since though, but I figure I'll need to give them one more try.

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Vij's has never impressed me-pretentious and overblown come to mind.

That being said I did have a lovely lunch in the covered patio @ Rangoli last week.The food was tasty but in no way exceptional, one server warm and energetic the two others lumps of resentment and ennui.

I note the abscence of any Indo Canadians whenever I've been in Vij's over the years.

The parochial attitude toward 'certain' restaurants-the idea that 'no others need apply' as exhibited by certain posters on this thread-is unfortunate.

How can a person maintain a balanced, forward looking yet critical view of restaurant food by sneering at every newcomer on the scene/refusing to try anything new/being satisfied with same old/same old?

Isn't that a textbook definition of parochialism?

It wasn't long ago that Vancouver was a very small city provincial and downright boring in terms of eating habits-I see that for some 'old habits die hard'.

Back to the original question-Akbar's Own and Rubina Tandoor are both quality restaurants dedicated to quality food and service.

My experience with Himalaya is that it's run by shortchange artists-count it and see!

Yes the Naan is decent but no bread is good enough to excuse larceny.

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There are some new Dosa places that are now open that have a more vegetarian take on dishes and is probably closer to home cooking. The Dosa Hut on Clarke and Hastings can be really good - but they seem easily over whelmed. The rava masala dosa is good and is a good change from the whole naan-korma-vindaloo thing.

I think that Mauyra is also very good - the spices taste very fresh and the vindaloo is insanely spicy (even the mild version made my tummy feel like Mount Doom).

I love Vij's - but I don't think it is really 'authentic' Indian. There seems to be alot of french influence - particularly with the Lamb Popsicles - but this should not take away from the appreciation for what it is - very good cooking that trancends the whole "fusion" thing. And frankly, Vikram is an amazing host - he always looks very happy to see you and has that "how come you have not come back sooner" look on his face. Very nice man.

I think that Indian and Chinese cuisines are particularly mutable depending on where it is from - so authenticity is sometimes not really the point.

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