Taj India Philadelphia Review
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Address: Taj India 10863 Bustleton Ave Philadelphia, PA 19116 Other Philadelphia Indian Restaurants |
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Taj India Philadelphia - Good Food; Mediocre Desserts
One of the few Indian vegetarian restaurants in the greater Philadelphia area, Taj India on Bustleton Ave in Philadelphia is a mixed bag - when it's good, it's really good. when it's bad, it's awful.On the whole, we liked the food at Taj India but desserts are a definite no-no.
Entrees
We covered considerable ground on the Taj India menu digging into Paneer Butter Masala, Navratan Korma, lentils and Spinach Curry.All of them were rightly spiced and delicious both with rice and Naan bread. Thankfully, Taj India refrains from dumbing down on the spices just to please weak American palates.
A North Indian dish made of Paneer Cubes and rich buttery onion-tomato sauce, spices and flavored with dry fenugreek leaves and cashewnut paste, Paneer Butter Masala makes a delightful side dish with Naan, Roti, Puri or Rice.
Naan
Don't miss Taj India's Garlic Naan or its humbler sibling, the Plain Naan.Indian-Chinese Fare
Taj India also serves Indian-Chinese fare. We tried Chinese Manchurian and Vegetable Hakka Noodles and were delighted with both.For those not familiar with Indian-Chinese cuisine, Chinese Manchurian is a vegetable ball cooked with soya sauce and garlic, ginger, chillies and spices. You usually get four or five of those vegetables balls served in a thick hot and spicy sauce. Have them with Noodles, rice or Naan. Any way, they're great.
We asked for the Chinese Manchurian and Vegetable Hakka Noodles to be hot and spicy - just the way Indians like their food. And Taj India's chef delivered on our request.
Although our eyes were watering from the spices and heat, both Chinese Manchurian and Vegetable Hakka Noodles were absolutely divine. A trip to Taj india is worth it for these two dishes alone.
If you plan on Appetizers, we recommend you stay away from the Pakoras - they were horribly bland. But go for the tasty Samosas.
Service
Service is so-so at Taj India, as with most Indian restaurants in the U.S.Our waitress Jalpa was a friendly young lady but would frequently disappear into the black hole behind the counter. Once she stayed away so long that we had to call the restaurant on our cell phone to order Dessert.
Desserts
What drags Taj India down are the Desserts.They are the Achilles Heel of this Indian restaurant. We tried several Desserts and came a cropper each time - they were all uniformly mediocre.