Location: One set of buildings Corniche side of Electra Street between Airport Road and Muroor Street, closer to Airport Road.
Telephone: 02-6310036 / 02-6333097 / 02-6734227
As anyone who has visited or lived in Abu Dhabi can tell you, there is a very large South Asian population here. Everywhere you go, there appears to be at least 10 different Indian / Pakistani restaurants from every region of the sub-continent, with food that both looks absolutely amazing and appears to be very inexpensive. Just off Electra St. there is one such array of restaurants, and one day when a biryani craving hit us we decided to go there, settling ona Ritaj Hyderabadi because we could see a giant pot of biryani cooking on the store. So how was it? Honestly, fairly disappointing. The chicken was not as moist or flavorful as Arab Udupi, and the rice seemed a little hard. We also got a chicken curry, which was nowhere as good as Mughal Restaurant. Was the food cheap? Absolutely. Were the portions huge? Definitely. But you definitely could do better (and we have done better) on taste, so we probably won't be going back. Oh well.
Showing posts with label Indian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Indian. Show all posts
08 November 2010
02 September 2010
Mughal Restaurant
Location: In the second set of buildings behind the HSBC building on Airport Road, on the corner of one the apartment blocks.
Telephone: 02-6342143
If there is one cuisine which should be better here in Abu Dhabi than in New York City (my frame of reference), it should be South Asian (Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Tamil, etc.). Especially cheap South Asian. Maybe I should have gone to Jackson Heights or the Indian section of Flushing more, but the "cheap" Indian restaurants near where we used to live were okay, but not great. Given the high percentage of South Asian workers here, cheap good Indian restaurants should be plentiful - and one day while wandering around the super-block where we live, we found one. Tucked into the corner of a small apartment block, the menu of Mughal Restaurant is very simple: Mutton Curry. Chicken Curry. Fish Curry. That's it. For accompaniments they have chapathi, paratha, and rice roti. No rice, just those three breads. And no printed menu either. There were three of us, and together we ordered two chicken curries and one mutton curry as well as two chapathis and one paratha and three small waters. Since we were still confused by the lack of rice the server provided us with a rice roti as well.
Both curries looked like simple fares - just meat and "gravy" (curry sauce), no veggies or other filler. The chicken curries came with the dark meat quarter of a small chicken (no steroid chickens like in the US), but not too small at all. The mutton curry came with several pieces of tender meat still on the bone, which made for fun and delicious pickings. The gravy was amazing - thick and creamy, spicy - but not too hot, with a complex set of spices and aromas. Very tasty, though a bit heavy (which isn't necessarily a bad thing). I liked the paratha better than the chapathi, but both were good. I'm not a big fan of rice rotis, I don't like spongy breads except for Ethiopian injera, but it was good - especially the fresh out of the oven piece we got halfway through our meal.
What about the portions? Well, when they came out all three looked a little on the small size, but they were really filling. Especially the mutton curry, since they gave me an extra portion of gravy since I finished my first portion before the others. And then they brought more bread. And since the first rice roti they brought us was a little old (still good, and we didn't say anything), they brought us another one fresh out of the even. Now, during this time I'm thinking "Oy, this is going to add to the bill" - especially since we had no idea what the prices were when we ordered due to lack of menu. After all the extras, we were stuffed. So when the bill came I was shocked. The total? 30 AED. Not 30 AED per person. 30 AED. 10 AED each. That's it. 30 AED for a very filling, tasty meal - and we were very hungry when we came in. I think I found my new, dirt cheap very tasty Indian curry fix. And, for a cafeteria / worker restaurant, surprisingly clean. None of us went to the bathroom, but the tables and walls did not have the layers of grease often associated with such places. And even if it did, I'd still go back for the curry. Yum.
Telephone: 02-6342143
If there is one cuisine which should be better here in Abu Dhabi than in New York City (my frame of reference), it should be South Asian (Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Tamil, etc.). Especially cheap South Asian. Maybe I should have gone to Jackson Heights or the Indian section of Flushing more, but the "cheap" Indian restaurants near where we used to live were okay, but not great. Given the high percentage of South Asian workers here, cheap good Indian restaurants should be plentiful - and one day while wandering around the super-block where we live, we found one. Tucked into the corner of a small apartment block, the menu of Mughal Restaurant is very simple: Mutton Curry. Chicken Curry. Fish Curry. That's it. For accompaniments they have chapathi, paratha, and rice roti. No rice, just those three breads. And no printed menu either. There were three of us, and together we ordered two chicken curries and one mutton curry as well as two chapathis and one paratha and three small waters. Since we were still confused by the lack of rice the server provided us with a rice roti as well.
Both curries looked like simple fares - just meat and "gravy" (curry sauce), no veggies or other filler. The chicken curries came with the dark meat quarter of a small chicken (no steroid chickens like in the US), but not too small at all. The mutton curry came with several pieces of tender meat still on the bone, which made for fun and delicious pickings. The gravy was amazing - thick and creamy, spicy - but not too hot, with a complex set of spices and aromas. Very tasty, though a bit heavy (which isn't necessarily a bad thing). I liked the paratha better than the chapathi, but both were good. I'm not a big fan of rice rotis, I don't like spongy breads except for Ethiopian injera, but it was good - especially the fresh out of the oven piece we got halfway through our meal.
What about the portions? Well, when they came out all three looked a little on the small size, but they were really filling. Especially the mutton curry, since they gave me an extra portion of gravy since I finished my first portion before the others. And then they brought more bread. And since the first rice roti they brought us was a little old (still good, and we didn't say anything), they brought us another one fresh out of the even. Now, during this time I'm thinking "Oy, this is going to add to the bill" - especially since we had no idea what the prices were when we ordered due to lack of menu. After all the extras, we were stuffed. So when the bill came I was shocked. The total? 30 AED. Not 30 AED per person. 30 AED. 10 AED each. That's it. 30 AED for a very filling, tasty meal - and we were very hungry when we came in. I think I found my new, dirt cheap very tasty Indian curry fix. And, for a cafeteria / worker restaurant, surprisingly clean. None of us went to the bathroom, but the tables and walls did not have the layers of grease often associated with such places. And even if it did, I'd still go back for the curry. Yum.
24 August 2010
Tandoori Inn
Location: Marina Mall Food Court
Yes, it is mall Indian food. But having recently moved to Abu Dhabi from the US, it is ten times more flavorful than any mall Indian food you can find there. Their current buffet special of 35 DHS for small salad + 2 curries + rice + naan + small dessert + small soda provides for a filling meal. I especially liked the mutton rogan josh, with a nice spiceness and heat as well as pronounced goat flavor. Tasty, and certainly more appealing then yet-another-Sbarro's.
Yes, it is mall Indian food. But having recently moved to Abu Dhabi from the US, it is ten times more flavorful than any mall Indian food you can find there. Their current buffet special of 35 DHS for small salad + 2 curries + rice + naan + small dessert + small soda provides for a filling meal. I especially liked the mutton rogan josh, with a nice spiceness and heat as well as pronounced goat flavor. Tasty, and certainly more appealing then yet-another-Sbarro's.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)