Just made a reservation at Saffron 46. Thanks.
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Thereās a bit more refinement at 46 imo and great views on a nice day. Both are great.
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So to reiterate, what are the top 3 Indian restaurants in Taipei? In your personal opinions?
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For me, itās hard to get it down to three, as different places do different things well. Here is my entirely subjective opinion, as of December 2023.
TOP GENIUS CHEF: Joseph, from Goa, now apparently plying his trade at the upscale Summer Flowers restaurant near Zhongxiao Fuxing.
TOP MASALAS: Iād be hard pressed to think of better granular masalas than the ones in the dishes at Moksha Daan. Shout-out to Moksha Tienmu (across the street from Tienmu Sogo) for their incredible weekday lunchtime thalis.
TOP OLD-SCHOOL EXPERIENCE: I respect the attitude of the owner and the consistency of the food served at Taj in the East District. Heās from Pakistan with family connections to the India side of the Punjab, forced out during partition. If youāre looking for Halal food, this would be one of my top choices. His attitude and approach got this place onto the Michelin Bib Gourmand list.
FOOD FROM THE SOUTH: Iām loving the southern dishes (idly, dosa, uttapam) prepared and served at Langar on Guangfu North Road, now rebranded as Dhaba, prepared and served by the friendly Tamil guy managing this place.
BEST NEWCOMER: Orchid Indian Restaurant in the Zhongshan area, praised above.
BEST MASALA TEA: Served in the Shida Night Market by the friendly and outgoing guys at Namaste Taiwan (not to be confused with the solid old-school Northern Indian restaurant Namaste on Anhe Roadādifferent ownership, and a completely different approach).
Sorry if that is more than three. I could go on all day with this topic. 
Guy
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Thanks for sharing this very helpful and passionate guide! Iāve only eaten one of these personally.
That one would be Taj. I really loved this restaurant especially since itās fairly affordable given the portions (and because many ingredients are imported Iām sure). The owners were extremely inviting as well.
Edit: wait is Taj the same as Taj family restaurant in Shilin 
The Taj in Tienmu initially cooperated with the original Taj owner in the East District, but this did not work out. So no relation now, other than the Tienmu guys apparently trying to mimic the original Taj. 
Guy
Ah ok I guess I havenāt yet tried any of these restaurants yet in that case! I wanted to try moksha but it was out of my budget at the time 
. Iām looking for somewhere to go for my birthday dinner though as a special treat
Although orchid is also not too far if itās in zhongshan
If you can escape during the day, how about trying the Moksha Tienmu weekend lunch thaliāaffordable and excellent.
If the budget is no issue, well lots of places can help you out for dinner.
Guy
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Moksha tianmu is certainly the most accessible for me. Iāve been wanting to give it a shot. I think itās likely I will choose there unless I feel up for journey into the heart of the city to try the original
The Tienmu one is in fact older than the Daan one, I believe.
They are both impressive, though the aforementioned thali is only available at the Tienmu shop.
Guy
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I havenāt been for years, but if the mixologist remains Iād recommend the martinis.
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A couple of places in Banqiao worth checking out.
Red Fort (nearest MRT station: Fuzhong)
Most mains are in the range of NT$270-NT$320.
Iām told the laoban will be opening a branch near Shipai (Tianmu) very soon.
It tends to get crowded, so reservations are recommended.
And then thereās Masala Zone (closest MRT station: Jiangzicui)
I prefer Red Fort, in part because its location is convenient for me. But Masala Zone, which is larger, is worth a stop regardless because it also sells spices, rice, etc. Getting cardamom at a decent price is a big plus for me. It also has a lot of cats hanging 'round.
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This is the new place in Xindian, steps from Dapinglin MRT Station, first noticed and discussed by the awesome @Icon . Iāve now made a couple of visits, and I have some preliminary thoughts.
The woman at the front is Tamil, but they are not serving the usual Southern dishes available at Ammaās Kitchen and Langar / Dhaba. There are no dosas here, no idly, no vada, at least so far.
Instead, what they have to offerāand it is interestingāappear to be northern dishes but adjusted to southern tastes. This means, for example, ditching the heavy creams, and instead using coconut milk. Lots of fresh curry leaves and spices are used as well, at least in the kadai paneer I enjoyed this evening. No food colouring is ever used here, as the owner cares more about health more than manufacturing stereotypical āIndianā colours. So the dishes come out looking less creamy (because there is no cream) and less shiny (because there is no food colouring). The result, as I experienced it, is honest and delicious food, lighter than the usual restaurant style northern fare. The house-made jamun for dessert is great; the kheer perhaps less so. Iāll be going back soon to try more.
ADDENDUM: As of today. this shop has been open for ten (10) days. Some of the google map reviews are quite impatient and unkind, especially given the fact that this is the first time the front staff have operated a restaurant (the guy in the kitchen is however experienced, apparently recruited from the Landis Hotel). So if you visit, be patient, be gracious, and good things will hopefully come your way . . .
Guy
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Nice, balanced review. I was put off by the Google reviews, and the pictures looked a bit meh (especially the naans). I hope they can settle down and improve a bit on those fronts.
Iāve never heard of folks making traditional North Indian curries with coconut milk. I would rather them make authentic South Indian fare than that, but I can understand that Taiwanese just want to eat the same four or five dishes. I donāt understand why they just donāt use regular milk or cream. Coconut milk isnāt cheap here either
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Coconut milk is definitely cheaper than dairy in Taiwan
It also has a much more stable and long term shelf life
To be clear I mean itās cheaper in terms of storage at least. Itās cheaper to hold onto coconut milk than have to manage refrigeration and getting new dairy regularly
By the way Iāve chosen moksha in Daan for my birthday dinner.
Any recommendations? I see they have south Indian food too a whole menu of Dosas
Am I right in remembering that you are:
- nonvegetarian; and
- someone who can handle spicey foods?
With more details, we can provide better recommendations.
Guy
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Yeah Iām non veg. If I eat spicy only occasionally Iām ok but I canāt do it too frequently
If chicken is OK, Iād say try their Murgh Saagwala Curry (basically chicken in spinach sauce)āwow oh wow!
Iām also very partial to their Kadai Paneer, not because I think their paneer is the best in town, but because of the brilliant granular masala they useāwow oh wow!
My recommended spice level for both: ālittle spicyā (xiao la) is plenty for me to handle (it is basically in line with āmedium spicyā at their Tienmu outpost).
Those are my favourites at that shop. I hope you enjoy your outing!
Guy
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I went there this evening, as I live quite close by, but was hugely disappointed. Ordered the muton and prawn curry, plain rice, and garlic nan (all under 800 NT$). I asked for the curries to be spicy. Got home and tried the curries, small portions, curries were soupy, very bland, the rice was overcooked, even the nan wasnāt that nice. Oh well, I guess Iāll be sticking to Moksha 67 for my curry fix, pay over two or three times the price, but get a proper authentic curry experience.
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