This is a joke, right? Best???
I’ve had Curria in Shita rd… but I heard it ain’t the best… and I found the owner a bit unfriendly…
I like Tandoor better
ax
I hate Curria…the food is oily and the meat is of very bad quality (and I am usually not picky about meat). I quite enjoyed the Himalaya Indian Restaurant 97/1 Yan Ping North Road, Sec 2, but they close quite early which is a bummer.
Anybody ever tried it?
One word: Kunming.
Absofuckinlutely. For cheap, no-nonsense fare (which after all is the essence of a proper Indian restaurant, at least to anyone familiar with Britland curryshops) it is unparallelled in this town.
Having said that, I’d be well-prepared to pay a good bit more if only he’d include more bread on his menu. Sorry dude, but your “chapatis” just don’t cut the mustard.
Where is Kunming? I would love to try it sometime.
My vote is for Himalaya Indian Restaurant.
I found Curria to be unfriendly and overpriced. Terrible curry.
And I know that I am going against the grain here, but I also don’t think that Kunming isn’t all that great. It’s not that cheap for the (small) amount served, and the owner is a bit sour. Maybe I caught him on a bad day.
Just my two cents.
Kunming
No 26 Lane 81 Fuxing N. Road
Ph: 2751-6776
It’s not far from Nanjing/Fuxing MRT Stn.
You need to cross Nanjing, same side of Fuxing (go south), and it’s the first alley on the left. Go down there a little ways and Kunming on right.
Delicious. Atmosphere nothing to shout about, but food is yummy. A little on the oily side. Still yummy. We use to get takeaway and eat it at home.
Gotta go to Himalaya - try the Tandoori Chook and a couple of naan’s. Great food. Reasonable price, too. But bloody hard to find… I fluked it one arvo, and the boss opened up the restaurant during his break just to serve us.
Two nights ago I went to “Janny’s Curry House”, near Yong Kang St. It cost slightly less, but it was more like fast food compared to the standard of Himalaya’s cooking.
Haimalya’s a winner!
The Big Babou 
Hear about Kunming a lot but… no bread? egads.
First time i went to Himilaya I nearly got smoked out by the oven but I’m sure they have got that sorted out by now. I understand that’s the chef from the old Taj Palce right? That was always my favorite. Have to go back.
If you ever did an open work permit Himilayas in a tiny alley right next to that Labor Dept. building.
All those “Curry” places on the south east side of town suck: Janny’s, Curria, that other one on Yungkang St, and that stupid frilly one on Renai. But Kunming is good. Albeit dry chapatis and oily. Tandoor is better. More veggie selections, great nans, nicer atmosphere. But those are the only two I’d recommend for aficionados unless you jump on a plane to HK. And there’s that other one back behind Minseng and Tunhua (forget the name). Went there once ages ago, not bad. What’s the name??
[quote=“The Big Babou”]Gotta go to Himalaya - try the Tandoori Chook and a couple of naan’s. Great food. Reasonable price, too. But bloody hard to find… I fluked it one arvo, and the boss opened up the restaurant during his break just to serve us.
Two nights ago I went to “Janny’s Curry House”, near Yong Kang St. It cost slightly less, but it was more like fast food compared to the standard of Himalaya’s cooking.
Haimalya’s a winner!
The Big Babou [/quote]
I’ll second that. The Himalaya was good. But not as good as you’d get in Bradford or Leeds, but very close. The leg of lamb dish (an entire leg) is excellent - tender curried lamb dripping off the bone. And a hot vindaloo. Nothing worse than a limp wristed vindaloo.
Don’t like Tandoor, went a few times and wanted to like it but never could. Anyone been to the place on Linsen near Minsheng recently? Done up like an indian palace. New Dehli i think it’s called. went years ago, very small portions at high prices, didn’t return. Went to a place on nanjing E Rd recently that I think was a reincarnation of the one on Nanjing W rd right near Chungshan, didn’t care for it either.
Daltongang, yes, the one on Linshen is the New Dehli and you’re right; small portions, high prices. The place on Nanjing E Rd (2f, 56-58 Nanjing E. Sec. 2. Tel 2567-7163) is Ali Baba’s which i thought was pretty good and far better than its previous incarnation in the basement near Chungshan.
Most of the Indian restaurants in town are in fact “cafeteria” style Indian food in my book. I know people like Kunming (on a scale of 1 to 10 maybe a 3) and the Hindustan (not only is this Chinese style Indian but Hakka style Indian–you can tell by the gamey meats and skin on the chicken and bloody bones, etc.) so maybe a 3 as well.
Tandoor is still probably the best at about 7 (depending on owner’s mood). Ali Baba is good but oily so perhaps a 5. New Dehli is too expensive, so so (fairly authentic just not particularly well cooked authentic) food though so 4? Sri Lanka in Tienmou seems to have gone the Chinese route too so how about a 3 for them as well. There used to be a good restaurant the Taj Mahal on Song chiang Rd. which was actually my favorite but this varied greatly when the chef changed (and they do often) so you never know from day to day what you will get. Is this still there?
Finally, the best of the best was only open for a short time back in 1996 or 1997 by some Indian waiters (Hakka from Calcutta what else?) who worked at Porto Fino. It was more high-end rather than diner style, so naturally more expensive (before the big I want to be a Buddhist and visit enchanting lands kicked up as a fashion among the 35 and over unmarried Chinese women with money) otherwise it would probably still be in business.
No good Indian food in Taiwan. Acceptable? yes. Consistent? No. Pricey? Invariably.
Hope this helps and would appreciate a few updates on some of these places myself.
Good post, Fred. I agree with most everything in your last post.
Have you been to the Himalaya? It would have to merit a 7 or so–certainly not lower than that.
There is also a stand in the nightmarket near Yanping Bei Lu that has Indian food. It’s pretty basic, but they also have chai. The last time I went there, though, the road that the night markert sits on was being torn up. Sorry, I’ll try to dig up some more information–like the name of this night market.
Finally, I’ve enjoyed reading your posts about food and restaurants in Taipei. You know a lot about what is out there, and you have had some good recommendations for places. This may be a shot in the dark, but do you also write restaurant reviews for the China Post? I noticed that there is also a “Fred Smith” (or “Frank Smith”) writing the occasional restaurant review in the Friday Weekend section of that paper.
Anyway, please keep on posting your thoughts and information about food in Taipei.
Nope. Taj palace. had many an enjoyable meal there.
The chef from the old ‘Taj’ (which, i thought, was the best Indian that Taipei’s had) is now the chef/owner at the Himalaya. His name is Deepak and he’s a top bloke. Himalaya will also deliver to anywhere in Taipei for a very small charge. Deepak has done quite a few private events for me and friends including business openings, private parties and weddings. He also does the catering for the Indian Club in Taiwan when they meet which is a good sign if you ask me. You can call them on 2555-5552
Thanks Mark, that’s a great piece of info.
[quote]Wait a second-- had the TT ever run a negative restaurant review???
[/quote]
Didn’t a former reporter almost lose his TT job for slamming a restaurant that advertised in the paper? Or was it the Taiwan News? in any case, none of the English-language papers can be trusted when it comes to restaurant reviews, although it must be said, they usually manage to get the addresses right.