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Taj India
Bustleton Ave, Philadelphia
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Indian Restaurants in Philadelphia
Address:
Taj India
10863 Bustleton Ave
Philadelphia, PA 19116
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Taj India
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Reviewer's Summary: Good Food; Mediocre Desserts & Coffee; Average Service
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.
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.
Don't miss Taj India's Garlic Naan or its humbler sibling, the Plain Naan.
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 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.
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.
Mango Kulfi was a disgrace and tasted more like Mango Pulp.
Gajar Halwa (Carrot Pudding) was equally bad. After one spoon, it was rightly ignored and lay forlorn in our plate.
Falooda Kulfi was average but the Saffron Pista ice cream was worse than mediocre, lacking any of that fine flavor that makes Indian ice cream a treat to eat.
Coffee and Tea were also big disappointments at Taj India. Clearly, the Taj India chef is a stranger to Indian style Coffee and Tea.
Taj India also serves South Indian dishes such as Idli, Vada, Dosa and Uttapam but we did not try any of them during our recent visit. Perhaps on our next visit to this Philadelpia Indian vegetarian restaurant, we'll dip into the South Indian section of Taj India's menu.
We were at Taj India on a week day for about two hours. During that entire duration, the restaurant did not attract any other dine-in customers, just one takeout order. Which is a shame because the place serves fine vegetarian and Indian-Chinese fare.
Just as long as you stay away from the Desserts, we promise you'll have a fine meal at Taj India. - © Rekha Inc.
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