durga

durga
서울특별시 종로구 종로8길 5; also at 서울특별시 종로구 관철동 45-2 2층
tel: 02-720-4786

what was consumed: all things indian and nepalese! samosas, curries, tandoori, lots of rice ... though an indian american friend of mine said that the staff is all from nepal ... works for me!

i knew little about food from nepal, but have come to love it as much as i love indian cuisine. YUM. 

i first visited durga when a colleague of mine suggested it as a good place for lunch. it was, though i was thankful i was interviewing in the afternoon (i.e., on my feet) because i definitely ate enough rice to put me to sleep otherwise! that's a good sign :D

durga has a variety of foods, from your favorites that you recognize from other indian restaurants (with a nepalese twist, from what i understand) and maybe even some things that you don't. either way, they have fun decor and the wait staff is patient and kind, ready for good recommendations. definitely give durga a try! and let me know so i can come with.

online: http://www.durga.co.kr/

taj palace

taj palace
서울 용산구 우사단로 39; also at 서울 용산구 이태원동 132-2 2층
tel: 02-790-5786

what was consumed: sunday buffet! i.e., lots of butter chicken and tandoori.

kenny and i are always on the hunt for good indian food (my cravings for it really began in seoul. funny, huh?) and as itaewon was a more convenient location for the both of us, we focused our search there. lucky for us, there's taj palace.

on sundays, taj palace does a great buffet with some classic (or western?) favorites. some sort of tandoori (usually chicken), butter chicken (or something similar to it anyway), something veggie, usually a lamb/mutton dish ... and a hearty serving of naan. YUM.

while our experience with taj palace is primarily on sundays, when they do their buffet (because, really, that's the best way to satiate my craving), i'm sure they have delicious dishes at other times.

nom nom nom ... 

taj

taj
서울특별시 중구 명동길 73 YWCA연합회; also at 서울특별시 중구 명동1가 1-3
tel: 02-776-0677

what was consumed: indian food! samosas, paneer makhani, lamb vindaloo (these tend to be my usual at indian restaurants. hahaha)

yum. indian food! 

i asked my indian american friend about her preference for indian restaurants in seoul. even before i could finish my question, she recommended taj. she said that it's on the pricier side, but it's worth it and the best she'd had in seoul. i'm glad i trusted her opinion because taj is delish!

so, kenny and i, as was our tradition, trekked out to myungdong to try out taj after christmas (or was it easter?) service. the dinig room was quite large and i've never seen it totally fill up (in subsequent visits to taj, that is). that just means there is always a seat for us, and frequently the exact seat that we want. once seated, we quickly put in our order and wait for the delicious food to come our way. we start our meal with samosas and move on to the curries. 

not surprisingly, taj has most other indian dishes (like tandoori) and they seem to be popular among other diners. kenny and i, however, have our favorites.

the first time i'd ever had paneer makhani was with kenny, at ganga, in seoul, years ago. it's still one of our favorites and something that we always order, without fail. taj does a good job, with its buttery-ness and paneer-ness. i often wish they served larger portions, even though that's just my eyes talking because i always leave too full (but happy).

i dunno what it is about indian food, but it's always on my list of places i need (not want. need) to find. luckily, in seoul, there's taj!

agra

agra
172-2 itaewon-dong, yongsan-gu, seoul
tel: +82-2-797-7262

what was consumed: samosas, tandoori chicken, palak paneer, and (of course) paneer mahkni (kenny's favorite)

the first time i had "indian" food was in korea (i know. crazy). and now, i can't seem to get enough. and so, in our search for favorites, kenny and i head to agra in itaewon.

agra is easy to find, good with set menus (that sometimes makes it easier to order, especially if unfamiliar), and a pretty solid choice for some of your indian favorites (imo. i'm most definitely NOT an expert. but i enjoyed my meal there!). it's a little on the pricey side, but that's not anything new for indian food or for itaewon. that said, i am full confident that if/when you go, you will not be disappointed. enjoy!  

rasika

rasika
633 D street northwest, washington, DC 20004"
tel: 202) 637-1222
hours: monday-friday 11:30am-2:30pm, monday-thursday 5:30pm-10:30pm, friday-saturday 5:30pm-11pm

what was consumed: palak chaat (crispy spinach, sweet yogurt, tamarind, date chutney), paneer makhani (cheese, tomatoes, fenugreek), tandoori chicken (chicken, kashmiri chili, mint chutney), basmati rice, garlic naan

this year, prior to the transiberian orchestra's holiday performance, friend t and i head out to rasika for some dining enjoyment. i'd heard so many great things about this indian restaurant. i'd heard of its fine 'flavors of india' as well as its innovative twist on the traditional, which i often appreciate. i'd also heard about the cross between the comfort indian cuisine crossed with the chic, metropolitan, and popular of dining out altogether. so, when tom and i walked in to see the modern decor of rasika, i was excited to see what the eating would behold. hurrah!

we sat at the bar (one of my favorite places to sit) and was immediately greeted by their friendly and very well versed bartender. i was surprised to see their limited indian beers on the menu, but was happy to see an impressive listing of other libations. i opted for a great lakes option for the night (yay!). we quickly ordered an appetizer, palak chaat, which came highly recomended on a number of yelp reviews that i had read. i love spinach, so i was curious about it and had to order it (on top of that, i couldn't remember the dish that i always love to order as an appetizer ... i still don't remember what it is. whoops). and i'm glad i did! the spinach was nice and crips, though not too oily. and the yogurt sauce that came with it was refreshing. we quickly gobbled up each bite.

when it came time for entrees, i was delighted that my favorite indian fare was on their menu! i love paneer makhani! i didn't see it on their online menu, but it turned out that they had changed to their winter fare just that day - yay! the paneer makhani was done just right - tomato-y, cream-y, butter-y, delicious-y! and the paneer was not too soft, not too hard, not too chewy. just right. i proceeded to polish off the entire bowl with all of the jasmine rice that i ordered to accompany the paneer makhani. no leftovers! friend t ordered the tandoor chicken that was charred just right. and coupled with the delicious mint chutney ... delicious! i didn't try the garline naan (as is my way), but friend t said that it was delicious.

i'm happy to have finally gotten the chance to go to rasika ... and i can't wait to go again! yum yum yum, yay yay yay!

online: http://www.rasikarestaurant.com/rasika.html

himilayan heritage

himalayan heritage
2305 18th street NW, washington, DC 20050
tel: 202) 483-9300
hours: monday-thursday 11:30am-3pm, 5:30pm-10:30pm; friday-saturday 11:30am-3pm, 5:30pm-11pm; sunday 11:30am-3pm, 5:30pm-10:30pm

what was consumed: gobi manchurian (cauliflower mixed with a corn flour batter and deep fried and dipped in a spicy hot and sweet soy sauce cooked with capsicum, ginger and green chilli), himalayan kothey (dumplings stuffed with ground chicken and tibetan spices, wrapped in flour dough and then steamed before pan fried, served with hot chutney sauce), chicken vindaloo (boneless chicken pieces cooked with potatoes in hot spicy goan curry sauce), lentil soup, rice, naan

i really should update my food blog on an empty stomach. growl ...

these days, meeting with ines means getting together to chat and have some good food (i may enjoy these meetings more than she does, though i'm also convinced that our continuous meeting has some significance in your young life. i have to stay idealistic!). anyway, i had been meaning to check out 'himilayan heritage' for some time now. i had visited the same location when it was 'san marco' in my quest to find good italian food. sadly, san marco soon closed, but i was excited to see himilayan heritage open. what in the world is himilayan food? curiosity definitely took me over (turns out, himilayan/nepalese food is sort of a cross between chinese and indian cuisine. in fact, himilayan heritage has a number of dishes more typically associated with indian cuisine, but with a nepalese twist/with other spices and flavors). and then, some friends/co-workers visited himilayan heritage and raved about the cuisine, so (once i remembered, of course) ines and i head over to adams morgan to try for ourselves.

ines and i walked in around noon to find the restaurant completely empty. what does this mean? hmm ... and during our meal, just one more table came in. i imagine it's because of the time of day as well as our visit being on a sunday. no matter - as we walked in, we were immediately directed to one of their many tables (we were given some options - yay options!). upon quick glance at their rather large menu, i realized i had no idea what i wanted (per usual). i proceeded to ask our server about what was good, what was popular. her knowledge of the menu and popular dishes among diners was definitely a plus as we proceeded to order some popular dishes as well as the special of the day (an aside about specials: do restaurants have specials because they want to highlight something or because they have a lot of leftovers/extras of a particular dish that they want to get rid of/sell? i really hope it's the former, but i've seen the latter actually be true. sigh. oh well~).

we started with the gobi manchurian, a sort of sweet-and-sour-esque dish made with a cauliflower-like (i could've sworn it was cauliflower, but it's gobi ... ?) vegetable. the veggies were dipped in a sort of batter before being fried, and then doused with the sauce. a nice alternative to meat-y sweet-and-sour dishes with just the right amount of sweet with sour. i wish there were more gobis and a little less other veggies (i know - i am not one to decline veggies!). additionally, after a few bites, i proceeded to take the gobis out of the batter (per usual).

soon after, our entrees were served. we ordered the chicken dumplings, steamed the pan-fried. the dumplings definitely had a lot of filling and the ginger (i think ginger) flavor was really strong, but delicious, coupled with the chicken. i think the ginger, not only being a great flavor-er in and of itself, it also is supposed to help diminish the sometimes stinky poultry smell/flavor that overwhelms poultry dishes. the dumplings came with two sauces for dipping, both of which i tried, but didn't particularly enjoy. that is, i was not accustomed to their flavors, thus making me less likely to dip into them with great zeal. i had a number of tastes, but the flavor continued not to appeal to me. the dumplings on their own were flavorful, so i quickly forewent (what's the past tense of "to forego"?) the dipping sauces and enjoyed the dumplings on their own. on an aside (again), have you noticed that in most cultures, there is some sort of traditional dumpling-like dish? mandoo, chinese dumplings, pierogis, empanadas, even calzones! interesting ... the chicken vindaloo was delicious and just a bit spicy (as in spicy-hot). i wasn't sure if ines would be ok with it, only to remember that she had mentioned enjoying spicy-hot food. i'm not sure if special nepalese spices were used because it tasted much like other vindaloos i've had in the past. we proceeded to dig into our dishes with great force (haha). and, per usual, we had too much for the two of us, so we got our leftovers wrapped and i sent them home with ines (she later told me that her brother greatly enjoyed our leftovers - haha).

if i had any complaints, i'd have to say that once our food was served, our server completely disappeared. it then took what felt like eons to get our check and head on out of the restaurant. maybe she forgot that there were patrons? sad day. no matter - i look forward to trying other options himilayan heritage has to offer. YUM!

online: http://www.himalayanheritagedc.com/

heritage india

heritage india
2400 wisconsin avenue NW, washington, DC 20007
tel: 202) 333-3120

what was consumed: vegetable fritters, samosas, paneer makhni (omg, my favorite!), some other curries, nawabi khazana (a mixed platter combination of curries), lamb briyani, butter and garlic naan, zaffrani pillau (basmati rice)

i did not grow up eating indian food. i did not go to university in an area that is known for its indian food (though i had some tastes of indian cuisine via my freshman year roommate). in fact, the first time i had indian indian food was in seoul (but let me tell ya, it was totally delicious!), but that first time was all that it took - i love indian food.

when i lived in SF, where there is a large indian/pakistani population, i enjoyed some great indian food. so, when i came to dc, and noticed that there were quite a few indian options (i'm sure there were lots of options in other areas; i had just not been aware), i wanted to try them out and see what i enjoyed the most. so far, my favorite is heritage in glover park (though, interestingly, they consider themselves a part of georgetown. i think it's more glvoer park, but what do i know about that ...)

heritage india is located on the upper level of a city-version of a strip mall. once you walk upstairs, you're greeted by 2 dining areas (next to a galley-kitchen-esque bar). i enjoy sitting next to the windows that face wisconsin avenue. and while the decor doesn't necessarily cry out "authentic!" i'm not really sure what would seeing that i'm not well versed with indian decor. but what is there is enough to get the sense that you're in an indian restaurant. the servind dishes are greater indication of the authenticity of the fare~

heritage india has a wide array of appetizers, entrees, tandoori, etc. all of the standard fare is located here and you'll probably find your favorite dishes on heritage's menu. you have to order the rice separately, but it is so good that it's worth the few dollars extra - the zaffrani pillau (basmati rice) is cooked with a couple of different spices and the like, thus making the already delicious basmati rice even more delicious. and be sure to try the variety of naans as well. there's something about having garlic on your naan as you enjoy the curries.

this is the only place that i've been able to find (so far) that serves paneer makhni (see photo). and while it is essentially the cheese version of butter chicken, the cheese (paneer) makes the sauce that much creamier and delicious. i've looked into trying to make it on my own because i love it so much, but it looks much more complicated than it seems. i also suck at following recipe directions, so there goes that.

there's also a heritage india location in dupont circle. i've been there during happy hour and have enjoyed their tapas-style small plate "indian street food" that they offer pre-dinner. they offer a variety of different tasty treats, bhel puri (i think that's what it's called - it comes in a bowl-like cripsy thing-y) being my favorite (just a warning, though, there is quite a bit of spice. delicious delicious spice). i haven't really had dinner here, though, so ... note: the kama sutra decorations in the bathrooms makes this location less family friendly (though i wonder if kids even look at that stuff. then again, you know children - they see everything you don't want them to see - ha!), but it's a great place for a few drinks and some tasty bites to eat.

i only wish heritage india in glover park was closer or had increased public transportation access. i will have to ride my scooter there and enjoy the delicious indian cuisine - YUM!

online: http://www.heritageindiausa.com/

white tiger

white tiger
301 massachusetts avenue NE, washington, dc 20002
tel: 202) 546-5900
hours of operation: sun-thurs lunch 11:30 am - 2:30 pm, dinner 5:30 pm - 10:00 pm; fri lunch 11:30 am - 2:30 pm, dinner 5:30 pm - 10:30 pm; sat dinner 5:30 pm - 10:30 pm

what was consumed: butter chicken; garbanzo beans; samosas; indian beer

on my first night in town (well, officially my second, but only be default because i got into dc from pittsburgh late and i was exhausted from the 7+ bus ride ... why did i take the bus?!), christine and i head out to eat indian food. when i was in seoul as well as in the bay, i enjoyed a lot of indian food. seeing as i hadn’t had it in some time, and christine hadn’t had it in dc yet, i figured i could appease a food craving and go with christine to a new eatery, we logged onto citysearch and looked for a restaurant that was close in proximity to her apartment and that was recommended by the site. that’s how we ended up at white tiger.

so, it was a lazy sunday night in the beginning of october. autumn had come, so it was cool enough that long sleeves were required, but warm enough for us to sit on the patio (which is what we did). we poured over the menu, but because of my (and christine’s) relatively limited knowledge of indian food, we stuck to stuff that we knew – butter chicken and chick peas (sticking to the same thing, though less adventurous, is also good as a method of comparison. how good is this place’s butter chicken compared to another place’s butter chicken? and the like) ... yum! and, of course, samosas and beer ... indian beer.

the servers were friendly and the food was good. a huge plus (for me) is also the proximity of this place to my current residence. i.e., because it’s close, i’m more willing to come here than to trek out to who knows where. knowing that i enjoyed this first encounter is also a huge plus. sitting on the patio makes for nice ambiance as well, when the weather is good anyway. perhaps i’ll sit inside next time and see if the experience is any different.

though we ordered just those two dishes (which came with rice – yum) along with the appetizers and the beer, we had a lot of food left over. enough, that is, to feed mike, who joined us with his bus loonies upon his return to dc after a few days in new york city (mike, of course, didn’t get to eat the samosas, just the entrees – too bad!). this was my first encounter with christine and her many (band-o) friends ... hahaha~

online: http://www.whitetigerdc.com/