Good Indian food in the burbs

[chowfun]

I have heard good things about the Indian place in Manyunk. I heard it was a bit pricey and fancy, but good. Has anyone tried it?

We used to go to a vegetarian South Indian place on Adams avenue at Tabor near the boulevard called Rajbhog Indian vegetarian. It was in the same strip mall as Cafe Espresso, a Portuguese restaurant. I havent been back to either place in years but they were both good. Rajbhog specialized in Indian sweets. They had odd curdy sweet confections that are kind of like fudge made with rose water and saffron and covered in edible silver. They also made fantastic Indian rice pudding.

[davidbdesilva]

Thank you for reminding me of An Indian Affair in Manayunk! I have been once and found it to be very good. It is a bit pricey for an Indian restuarant (I had absolutely delish lamb chops that were $17-18 I think) and the regular dishes were a tad high but not outlandishly so. It is nice inside, not THAT fancy but a cute cozy little cafe that is BYOB. I would recommend trying it. I agree with the poster who said that the Indian places in the 'burbs are MUCH cheaper (and BYOB) than in the city.

Edited April 23, 2005 by davidbdesilva (log)

[Andrew Fenton]

there's no Indian area in the city comparable to Chinatown or other ethnic conclaves.

Do you mean ethnic enclaves? Conclaves are what the cardinals do to elect a new pope, right? I guess that word has been floating around recently!

grumblegrumble "wall-to-wall Pope coverage" grumble grumble "stupid Freudian slip" grumble grumble

I agree with the poster who said that the Indian places in the 'burbs are MUCH cheaper (and BYOB) than in the city.

You think? Maybe I just tend to go to the cheap places in the city (so, Cafe Spice rarely, An Indian Affair never), but they seem pretty comparable to suburban Indian.

Anyway, I'm down with the Khajuraho recommenders; that's really good stuff. But I'd really like some good South Indian: Uduppi Dosa House sounds like it's gonna get a visit from the Fentons soon...

[philadining]

Returned to Desi Village in King of Prussia with a couple of friends tonight.

Aloo Choley, Dal Makhni, Sarson Ka Saag, Onion Kulcha, Aloo Paratha.

All of it, really good. We skipped apps, and this was just the right amount of food, got out of there for $15 each including a good tip. We were walking on the veggie side tonight, which probably saved a couple of bucks. The breads were especially good.

[philadining]

Ever since I saw a certain picture in Percyn's blog, I've been dreaming of getting back to Devi in Exton for some spicy South Indian food. I finally made it tonight.

I Started with a Mysore Masala Dosa

When this arrived on the table, I wasn't sure whether to try to eat it, or to crawl under it and camp out for the night! It was huge, and every inch of it excellent. The edges were nice and crispy, the potato filling good and spicy, the sambal and chutneys the perfect compliments.

I didn't realize that the dosa would be that big, I'd had others there that were more modest, so I'd ordered a curry as well: Vegetables Chettinad

This was a nice mix of various vegetables in a spicy sauce, a specialty of southern Tamil Nadu. There's a bowl of rice under that crispy papad, a bowl of cooling raita, and a pickle.

Great stuff. This was WAY too much for one person to eat, either one of them would have been sufficient. Hey, I've got lunch, they packaged up the remaining curry really nicely with the raita, pickle, rice and curry all in separate containers. Both those dishes and a lassi added up to about $20.

Edited October 10, 2005 by philadining (log)

[etalanian]

Palace of Asia in Fort Washington serves wonderful, authentic Indian food. IMHO. It's always well-attended by actual Indians. They hold weddings and other banquests there. It is in a most unlikely place: a small chain hotel. But despite that, the food is excellent. It's not far from the Fort Washington interchange of the turnpike.

[percyn]

Ever since I saw a certain picture in Percyn's blog, I've been dreaming of getting back to Devi in Exton for some spicy South Indian food. I finally made it tonight.

I Started with a Mysore Masala Dosa

When this arrived on the table, I wasn't sure whether to try to eat it, or to crawl under it and camp out for the night!  It was huge, and every inch of it excellent. The edges were nice and crispy, the potato filling good and spicy, the sambal and chutneys the perfect compliments.

....

Try ordering a paper masala dosa and see how many can camp under that bad boy. It is sometimes referred to as "the rocket" (1/8th scale )

[philadining]

Palace of Asia in Fort Washington serves wonderful, authentic Indian food.

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I agree that the food is very good, and I wouldn't have thought of going to this unlikely location if I hadn't been taken there...

I had heard that this place was branching out, to Wilmington, and also 9th and Chestnut in Philly. Those are related to the Palace of Asia in Lawrenceville NJ, which also seems well-regarded. (Any thoughts Rich?) I can't figure out from the web whether it's the same owners as the one in Ft Washington.

The menu looks similar, but it's odd that the web site makes no mention of any other locations. www.palace-of-asia.com

Michael Klein indicated that it is the same organization in the Inky. So, I expect that there will be a similar Palace of Asia in center city in a few months.

It's northern Indian, of which there's no particular shortage in the city, but the one in Ft. Washington is very good... it can never hurt to have another good place!

[philadining]

Went back to Desi Village in King of Prussia last night. The place was rocking, the main room was hosting a big banquet, I think it was a wedding reception. So, even in the side room, where the non-partygoers were seated, we were treated to some pretty loud Indian dance music from the DJ. I liked it, although like at most wedding receptions, the playlist was mostly cheesey pop tunes...

I've been there before while a banquet was being held, and several specials were offered even on the non-party side, presumably what the folks next door were eating. But I think it was a buffet last night, so there was just the regular menu.

I ordered a plate of pakoras, and sadly I think I experienced that down-side of showing up during a party. They were hot, but a bit soggy, they just tasted old, as if I'd gotten some leftovers from the buffet line.

Thankfully this initial disappointment was the only one. My order of Chicken Bhartha was fresh and hot, with a solid, but not scorching, level of spice from ordering it "Indian Medium". This was minced chicken with lots of herbs and spices and a few chopped tomatoes, resulting in a consistency much like a good thick bolognese sauce. Excellent.

I'm never disappointed in the bread here, and sure enough, my onion kulcha was hot from the tandoor, buttery, with nice brown blistering.

I only managed to eat about half of this food, so I've got plenty of leftovers. $25 before tip.

[philadining]

In the interest of staying off the roads on the night before Thanksgiving, I took the folks to Desi Village in King Prussia. They were about half-full, mostly with large groups of Indian people.

They had a special menu in addition to the regular one, and from that, we ordered chicken mushroom soup that was creamy and vibrant. Also from that menu was a special Kashmiri Lamb dish, which was one of the best things I've had there. Large chunks of lamb were stewed until just barely holding together in a thick slightly sweet brown sauce sparkling with coriander and other spices. I wish this was on the regular menu.

We tried the Chicken Bhartha again, which was a big hit at the table. We also got the crowd pleaser Chicken Tikka. They brought Chicken Tikka Masala instead, but it looked and smelled so good I wasn't about to send it back. And indeed, it was really delicious, the mild, creamy, tomatoey sauce complimenting the extremely tender cubes of chicken. There's a reason that people that don't even like Indian food like this dish....

And once again, one of the highlights was the bread, so fresh and hot we burned our fingers on it. And I'll happily do it again!

Everything was very satisfying, and portions were so large, three of us barely finished half of what we ordered. Made a wonderful lunch today, and there's still more, so I'm happy...

Edited November 26, 2005 by philadining (log)

[mrbigjas]

at desi village, the thing i still reminisce about is the sarson ka saag, the punjabi style mustard greens. DAMN that's a good dish. and the breads. it's so great to have something so close to that awful mall that isn't just another "p.j. mchersheysquirts' family feedtrough" type of place.

[davidbdesilva]

As is our tradition on New Year's Eve we took the family out for dinner. We usually choose something Asian, such as Thai, Vietnamese or Indian since the kids love all of them. Decided to try a new Indian restaurant and after reading the hype about Desi Village decided to give them a try. I was pleased that they were serving their regular menu and not one with jacked up prices.

Well I must admit that we were all underwhelmed quite a bit and shocked at their prices. For apps we had decent veggy somosa's and a coconut chicken malabar, both fairly good bt nothing fantastic. For entrees we decided to slurge since it was New Year's and the wife had a shrimp special (at $24.95!) and daughter had mango chicken special (at $18.95!). Younger kids split a Tikka Masala and I had the ginger and garlic chicken tikka. The specials were OK but wildly overpriced, the tikka masala was on the bland side, and the chicken tikka was pretty good. Decent garlic naan. Kids had mango lassi's and I was shocked when I got the bill that they were $4.95 a pop! ($15 on drinks?). We usually eat at Sultan in Lansdale and found ourselves saying that we would still be eating there over Desi. We found the food at Desi to not be that bright and to be totally lacking in heat. I ordered my dish "medium Indian" and there was literally no heat. Others ordered theirs "medium american" and they were not hot at all. Not sure if we ordered the wrong things but specials at $19-25 ought to be outstanding and they just weren't.

Khajuraho is still our all time favorite, with Sultan after that. BTW, we tried "Indian Delight" in the K of P mall recently and found that food to be rather good, especially for Indian fast food!

Edited January 2, 2006 by davidbdesilva (log)

[philadining]

Wow, David, I'm sorry to hear about your experience!

I've been one of Desi Village's strongest boosters, but even I'm surprised at some of those prices. The regular menu is a bit higher than some, but I've never noticed anything at $25! It's certainly true that when they have specials, they tend to cost more, but that's rather extreme.

I'm not sure what the secret to the spiciness is, I've gotten things quite hot there, or not, but with decent correlation to what I asked for. I've gotten the Chicken Tikka Masala and the garlic Naan recently and really liked them, and bummed that yours weren't so great. The breads in particular are usually notable.

It's no excuse, but I wonder if they were off their game because of New Year's Eve. Did they seem busy?

Again, sorry you didn't enjoy it, so far I've had really good luck there.

[Ducksredux]

As is our tradition on New Year's Eve we took the family out for dinner. We usually choose something Asian, such as Thai, Vietnamese or Indian since the kids love all of them. Decided to try a new Indian restaurant and after reading the hype about Desi Village decided to give them a try. I was pleased that they were serving their regular menu and not one with jacked up prices.

Well I must admit that we were all underwhelmed quite a bit and shocked at their prices. For apps we had decent veggy somosa's and a coconut chicken malabar, both fairly good bt nothing fantastic. For entrees we decided to slurge since it was New Year's and the wife had a shrimp special (at $24.95!) and daughter had mango chicken special (at $18.95!). Younger kids split a Tikka Masala and I had the ginger and garlic chicken tikka. The specials were OK but wildly overpriced, the tikka masala was on the bland side, and the chicken tikka was pretty good. Decent garlic naan. Kids had mango lassi's and I was shocked when I got the bill that they were $4.95 a pop! ($15 on drinks?). We usually eat at Sultan in Lansdale and found ourselves saying that we would still be eating there over Desi. We found the food at Desi to not be that bright and to be totally lacking in heat. I ordered my dish "medium Indian" and there was literally no heat. Others ordered theirs "medium american" and they were not hot at all. Not sure if we ordered the wrong things but specials at $19-25 ought to be outstanding and they just weren't.

Khajuraho is still our all time favorite, with Sultan after that. BTW, we tried "Indian Delight" in the K of P mall recently and found that food to be rather good, especially for Indian fast food!

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The Langhorne one is under new management. Used to love it but since the change it has not been extraordinary.

[davidbdesilva]

I trust your palate Philadining so we will have to give it another try. It was kinda busy, with a number of large tables, so perhaps they were a bit off (and their specials a bit higher than usual because of NYE?). I would also like to try Jaipura which I believe is near there? We were going to try Amon, which has been mentioned in this thread and which is close to us but information had no phone number so I wonder if it's still open? As I said, we love Indian so we like exploring different places. I would like to try a place that specializes in South Indian food but it seems that is hard to find.

[mrbigjas]

there's devi in exton, and uddupi dosa house in bensalem...

[chowfun]

I finally found Aman's in east Norriton. It is hard to find because it is in a strip mall at an intersection that is strip malls on all sides that are L shaped and T shaped and go on and on and on. To find it turn left on Dekalb Pike from Germantown Pike (going west) make a left into the strip mall on the left and go all the way to the back of the strip mall to a section that is perpendicular to Dekalb and Amans is there.

They are definately open for business and I hope to try them soon since this is in my neck of the woods. Here is a link to a citysearch review of Aman's.

We tried to eat there on the afternoon of Christmas eve, but they were closed for a private party. We headed down to Norristown and ate at Taqueria Michoacana instead. It was full of Mexican people out for lunch before Christmas and it was fantastic. I guess I should put this on a mexican thread, but I have to say right here that the Lengua tacos were amazing. Even los ninos loved them. Someone at another table ordered seafood soup that was huge, a meal for two. It looked great.

[stephenc]

I finally found Aman's in east Norriton.  It is hard to find because it is in a strip mall at an intersection that is strip malls on all sides that are L shaped and T shaped and go on and on and on.  To find it turn left on Dekalb Pike from Germantown Pike (going west) make a left into the strip mall on the left and go all the way to the back of the strip mall to a section that is perpendicular to Dekalb and Amans is there.

  They are definately open for business and I hope to try them soon since this is in my neck of the woods.  Here is a link to a  citysearch review of Aman's. 

We tried to eat there on the afternoon of Christmas eve, but they were closed for a private party. We headed down to Norristown and ate at Taqueria Michoacana instead.  It was full of Mexican people out for lunch before Christmas and it was fantastic.  I guess I should put this on a mexican thread, but I have to say right here that the Lengua tacos were amazing.  Even los ninos loved them.  Someone at another table ordered seafood soup that was huge, a meal for two.  It looked great.

←

Yeah, that's where Aman's is. I go there because I think it's quality.

You should've gone right next door to Il Cancun. The mexican isn't quite as authentic as the Taqueria, which I love as well. But they give you more food for your money, especially after the Taqueria increased their prices over the last year. This place gives you a staggering amount of food, and I think it tastes pretty good.

[Furious Flav-or]

I finally found Aman's in east Norriton.  It is hard to find because it is in a strip mall at an intersection that is strip malls on all sides that are L shaped and T shaped and go on and on and on.  To find it turn left on Dekalb Pike from Germantown Pike (going west) make a left into the strip mall on the left and go all the way to the back of the strip mall to a section that is perpendicular to Dekalb and Amans is there.

  They are definately open for business and I hope to try them soon since this is in my neck of the woods.  Here is a link to a  citysearch review of Aman's. 

We tried to eat there on the afternoon of Christmas eve, but they were closed for a private party. We headed down to Norristown and ate at Taqueria Michoacana instead.  It was full of Mexican people out for lunch before Christmas and it was fantastic.  I guess I should put this on a mexican thread, but I have to say right here that the Lengua tacos were amazing.  Even los ninos loved them.  Someone at another table ordered seafood soup that was huge, a meal for two.  It looked great.

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Yeah, that's where Aman's is. I go there because I think it's quality.

You should've gone right next door to Il Cancun. The mexican isn't quite as authentic as the Taqueria, which I love as well. But they give you more food for your money, especially after the Taqueria increased their prices over the last year. This place gives you a staggering amount of food, and I think it tastes pretty good.

←

El Cancun? No way. Not even close to authenticity, and La Michoacana is losing theirs step by step, as well. They've tapped into a Friday-Saturday crowd of Anglos and have altered prices and preparation to fit, as well as doing a cut and paste of the external appearance of Tierra Colombiana. Frankly, I've been mourning the changes, and now I'm incensed that three tacos, a bowl of birria, and an horchata should cost me the better part of $20, before tip. That's robbery.

I have a hard and fast test to figure out where a Mexican restaurant is coming from. If they feature "Señor porky" on their menu, they generally fail. There's an outfit down South that sells prefab menus to TexMex joints, and "Señor Porky" is a menu item. Seeing that is like seeing a snake in Southeast Asia; there are thirty-three distinct species, of which thirty-one are poisonous. *SQUISH* The other part of the test is to simply ask where they're coming from, in which being bilingual is a big advantage. Hitting them from the unexpected Spanish angle, I usually get an honest reply. I'm not a big TexMex fan, and as I recall, El Cancun failed on one or both counts.

I am, however, grateful for the tip on Aman's, a place I've been meaning to find. Meanwhile, we go to Phoenixville and a few other places in Norristown for Mexican more often than we go to La Michoacana these days.

[SaxChik]

there's a "taste of india" coming soon in the fairfield shopping center in exton. that's the shopping center with the giant supermarket on rt 100 & swedesford road. i'm assuming it's owned by the same "taste of india" people in wayne and phoenixville. i'm hoping it'll be as good as the one in wayne. mmmm.

didn't look like there was a timeline posted anywhere as to when it will open. it will be good to have a non-vegetarian indian option in exton. i'll keep you posted.

[Furious Flav-or]

Here's another vote for Royal India in Frazer. Their Saturday/Sunday Indian/Indian Chinese buffet is just not to be believed, especially not when two people go out the door well-stuffed for $22 with drinks and tip included. The service is first-rate, as if we were there a la carte, and they have yet to fail to offer us special breads when we come in.

They have a really fair selection of things for vegetarians. In fact, three-quarters of the buffet is vegetarian, at least. Given the number of people who rave about Desi in Exton, I'm surprised that more of you haven't stopped in across from the Quizno's on 30 and given it a try.

Yes, the dinner prices are a good bit steeper, but the quality doesn't flag in the least. The atmosphere is somewhere between beachfront bar and quonset hut, but the service and quality of the preparation more than make up for it.

Edited January 16, 2006 by Furious Flav-or (log)

[davidbdesilva]

Well we finally made it to Aman's in what is considered Norristown and we were glad we found it. Took the family again and we had an excellent meal. The owner is very friendly and has a great sense of humor. For apps we all shared veggy pakora and meat samosa's, both spicy but not overly so and excellent.

For entrees my younger two kids always have chicken tikka masala and Aman's was very good. Older daughter had a chicken mango curry dish which was very good and wife and I both ordered malai tikka from the tandoor. While used to pieces of drier chicken in this dish, Aman's was very tender and moist, with a delicious ginger-garlic flavor. Each dish was excellent and we had much to take home for lunch the next day. The garlic nan and roti was very good as well. All the way around an excellent meal and when a family of 5 can have quality food like that and that much for about $71 (before tip) I think you're doing damn good. Aman's is fairly close to us so we will definitely be back and hopefully soon (I'm getting hungry just talking about it).

Edited January 18, 2006 by davidbdesilva (log)

[philadining]

I actually scoped-out Aman's the other day just to be sure I knew how to find it... after these several good reports, I'm definitely going soon! Thanks everyone for the heads-up!

[philadining]

I got some takeout from Gateway to India in Frazier tonight... It's in a little plaza with a Thai Place and a Japanese place, all overshadowed by a Staples. Apparently it's owned by the same people who run Passage to India in Harrisburg, which I seem to remember garnering some accolades on eG.

I got a Chicken Ahouri, which had had fresh curry leaves and black mustard seeds, and was excellent. Bread was OK, a bit soggy and limp, but takeout is not a good way to asses that, it might be way better at the table. Rice was really good, they packed up my takeout bag with three chutneys and a complimentary cup of rice pudding.

This bears more exploration, that one curry makes we want to go back for sure.

Gateway to India

309 Lancaster Ave. 

Frazier, Pa 19355 

In the West Gate Plaza on Route 30

610-296-1999

Edited February 16, 2006 by philadining (log)

[philadining]

Anybody know of Indian places that do buffets for dinner on weeknights?

I know lots do lunch, an many do weekend dinner, but I'd like one, like, tonight.

I'm selfishly interested in Chester County, but it would be good to know about any, anywhere...

thanks!