We initially intended to go to Tandoori Kona in Richmond as Arkensen wanted butter chicken for lunch. Unfortunately, Kona was not opened for lunch on Sunday. While in the area, I also noticed that Red Mirchi had moved a few doors away to a smaller shop lot. The original location of Red Mirchi is taken over by a Vietnamese Restaurant called Pho Boi which is under renovation.
So, we had no choice but cross the bridge to Vancouver to look for Indian restaurant for Arkensen.We were on Main St and Tandoori Raj Restaurant was the first Indian restaurant we came across.
It was 1:30PM when we arrived and we were the only customers at that time. Tandoori Raj Restaurant does serve liquor. The decorations is simple and the restaurant is spacious.
We ordered Papadam to snack on while waiting for our main dishes. Each papadam costs 0.60. I was a little disappointed as the papadam did not comes with any dipping sauce. The papadam by itself is quite salty.
We noticed that Indian restaurants generally serve water in nice glasses unlike some Chinese restaurants use plastic cups.
Our first main dish is called the King’s Special Biryani. The dish costs $10.95. It is …boneless pieces of lamb with basmati rice. You can opt for chicken or goat too. The rice is dryísh but rich in spices. The lamb is moist and tender. I love this.
The above is what Arkensen wanted, Butter Chicken. This is also $10.95. There were big chunks of boneless chicken in the rich sauce cooked in garlic, ginger and cream. Arkensen gives this a 5/5.
We ordered Garlic Naan to go with the butter chicken. Each garlic naan costs $1.75. They were served hot. The fluffy naan is great to scoop up the butter chicken sauce.
We also ordered a Lamb Vindaloo for another main dish. This is cheaper at $9.95. Vindaloo is tangy and creamy at the same time. The boneless lamb is cooked in ginger, coconut, vinegar and cream. There are also potatoes in this dish.
All the curry dishes have option of mild, medium or spicy. Of course, we ordered the spicy version. Arkensen was sweating during the meal. The reason why people who live in hot climate eat spicy food is allow the body to perspire and perspiration helps to cool down the body.
We ordered a Pulau Rice to go with the curries. Pulau Rice is basmati rice cooked in onions and spices. The above is $3.95.
Despite the naan and pulau rice, we still have lots of curries leftover. So, we ordered a serving of Steamed Basmati Rice to finish off the curries. Steamed Rice is $2.95. We certainly stuffed ourselves with more carbo than we intended when we have Indian food. Rice with jhup is our weakness.
Tandoori Raj Restaurant accepts credit cards.
You can click on the menu above for a larger view. Prices are reasonable for Indian food.
BUSINESS HOUR
7 days a week
11:30AM to 11:00PM
Yeah, I enjoyed this meal. Reading this I am so craving for Indian food right now! 🙂
Hi Ben – what sort of international cuisines/restaurants do you come across in Beijing ? Any East Indian, or other regional cuisines we’re accustomed to here ?
Hi LotusRapper: None of note that I had come across. There are a few western restaurants (Sizzler is one I went to) but they are very Asianized places. Frankly I had not been going out much for eats the past couple of weeks. Ben
Hi Ben Try Taj Pavilion at the China World Trade Center.Try the sizzling Tandoori.Top end or mid range Asian Star in the Chaoyang area Yazhou Zhixing Xinmayin Canting in my mangled Pinyin
Hi Pinoy Gourmet: Thanks for the recommendations. I see that the Ganges restaurant is popular and well-known. They have a few outlets all over the city but too bad none near me. Ben
Ben, Nice to see you review an Indian restaurant for a change. I LIVE for Indian food. This one looks good! I often find the portions for entrees in Indian restaurants to be tiny (I think they expect you to fill up on rice and bread?) – how did you find this place?
Hi Peter E: The restaurant is OK. I heard that this restaurant was for some time in a tussle for the name of “Tandoori King”. For sometime, there are a couple of restaurants on Fraser with the same name and both claiming to be the original. One was called Tandoori King and another called Tandoori K King. This restaurant has since been renamed Tandoori Raj. Does anyone have any insight to this matter? Ben
The whole Tandoori King squabble was a family affair where one part of the family decided to start their own operation and claimed ownership of the name-as always truth as to who really said/did what is hard to come by.
BTW I can’t believe 4 people ate all that rice!