It's the music, not the food, that may nauseate you
Safe, boring meals at hotels let me enjoy my time in that amazing, beautiful country
I feel much better about Indian cuisine in Europe. So, I grabbed Dexter away from his lab for lunch at Restauracja Maharaja.
We went through the doors under the restaurant's sign, passed the shops with women's winter coats and climbed the stairs to the eatery, finding the place empty at early lunch time.
We settled in at a comfortable table in the pink room with the plastic plants and vines, Eastern paintings and Indian pop music.
"This place could use some lush carpeting," commented Dexter.
Our Polish waitress in Indian costume delivered some menus.
The offerings kicked off with a page of the chef's suggestions. Dexter and I both ordered from there but studied the other pages for starters and extras.
There is quite a selection at Maharaja. Soups (zl. 7-zl. 9) and Indian appetizers (zl. 3.50-zl. 35) such as samosa quickly give way to "a feast from the Tandoori kitchen" (zl. 14-zl. 45). Chicken, mutton, beef and prawns are offered in a variety of tandoori ways - with garlic, chilies, spinach and yogurt. And there is a great offering of naan, the Indian bread - plain, stuffed or seasoned (zl. 5.50-zl. 16).
Since winter has returned, I decided on the Indian chicken soup (zl. 8) for warmth while Dexter happily chose the vegetable samosa (zl. 16). For a main he ordered the garlic chili chicken (zl. 25), and I went for the Tandoori platter (zl. 45). The menu says that dishes can be prepared "normal, medium or hot" depending on the customer's taste but neither we or the waitress mentioned how hot we wanted things.
While Dexter and I chatted about that amazing city called Calcutta and his Indian sister-in-law, the Indian pop music kept up its assault. I mean no cultural disrespect, and it adds to the proper atmosphere but the sounds were a bit too strong in the empty room.
"I don't think I could listen to this for 40 hours a week," Dexter said.
Our pleasant waitress brought our starters and removed the dirty ashtray and we forgot about the music for a while.
My soup was hot, well-seasoned, loaded with chunks of white chicken meat and very good. Dexter was equally pleased with his vegetable samosa. The shapely pastries filled with a pea-based veggie paste got a thumbs-up from Dexter after the first bite.
When our main dishes arrived I was still happy with the state of the lunch. The garlic naan was steaming hot. The white rice was dressed with dashes of food coloring that made it look like a neon sign. And my Tandoori platter may have been a bit much for lunch but it was a grand sight. On a bed of lettuce and fresh-sliced tomatoes were thick pieces of beef and chicken as well as ground mutton and a few good-sized prawns. All the meat was that deep Tandoori red.
The color was deceiving, though. While all the meat was well-cooked and the prawns quite excellent, the flavor was not that hot. I guessed it was the "normal" seasoning but something hotter would be a better place to start from. Other than that, it was a fine and filling dish.
Dexter wasn't as happy with his garlic chili chicken. He said it was okay over the day-glow rice and gummy sauce, but the chicken was all dark meat. White meat, he said, would have made it much better.
We both enjoyed the garlic naan and were fairly satisfied with lunch, though. It just could have been a bit better with a few details fixed.
After a good, strong cup of coffee I called for the bill which came to zl. 128 ($36.57) without tip. The Tandoori platter kicked the total up a bit but it was worth it. And I think the price was fair for the amount of quality food we received. The service wasn't extraordinary but it was solid and good, making lunch a pleasant experience. The waitress even checked on us during our main course to see if everything was fine. This doesn't happen enough in restaurants in this city.
Overall, I was pleased with Maharaja. It was good, safe Indian food. Only next time I will order my food "hot" and take my chances.
I feel much better about Indian cuisine in Europe. So, I grabbed Dexter away from his lab for lunch at Restauracja Maharaja.
We went through the doors under the restaurant's sign, passed the shops with women's winter coats and climbed the stairs to the eatery, finding the place empty at early lunch time.
We settled in at a comfortable table in the pink room with the plastic plants and vines, Eastern paintings and Indian pop music.
"This place could use some lush carpeting," commented Dexter.
Our Polish waitress in Indian costume delivered some menus.
The offerings kicked off with a page of the chef's suggestions. Dexter and I both ordered from there but studied the other pages for starters and extras.
There is quite a selection at Maharaja. Soups (zl. 7-zl. 9) and Indian appetizers (zl. 3.50-zl. 35) such as samosa quickly give way to "a feast from the Tandoori kitchen" (zl. 14-zl. 45). Chicken, mutton, beef and prawns are offered in a variety of tandoori ways - with garlic, chilies, spinach and yogurt. And there is a great offering of naan, the Indian bread - plain, stuffed or seasoned (zl. 5.50-zl. 16).
Since winter has returned, I decided on the Indian chicken soup (zl. 8) for warmth while Dexter happily chose the vegetable samosa (zl. 16). For a main he ordered the garlic chili chicken (zl. 25), and I went for the Tandoori platter (zl. 45). The menu says that dishes can be prepared "normal, medium or hot" depending on the customer's taste but neither we or the waitress mentioned how hot we wanted things.
While Dexter and I chatted about that amazing city called Calcutta and his Indian sister-in-law, the Indian pop music kept up its assault. I mean no cultural disrespect, and it adds to the proper atmosphere but the sounds were a bit too strong in the empty room.
"I don't think I could listen to this for 40 hours a week," Dexter said.
Our pleasant waitress brought our starters and removed the dirty ashtray and we forgot about the music for a while.
My soup was hot, well-seasoned, loaded with chunks of white chicken meat and very good. Dexter was equally pleased with his vegetable samosa. The shapely pastries filled with a pea-based veggie paste got a thumbs-up from Dexter after the first bite.
When our main dishes arrived I was still happy with the state of the lunch. The garlic naan was steaming hot. The white rice was dressed with dashes of food coloring that made it look like a neon sign. And my Tandoori platter may have been a bit much for lunch but it was a grand sight. On a bed of lettuce and fresh-sliced tomatoes were thick pieces of beef and chicken as well as ground mutton and a few good-sized prawns. All the meat was that deep Tandoori red.
The color was deceiving, though. While all the meat was well-cooked and the prawns quite excellent, the flavor was not that hot. I guessed it was the "normal" seasoning but something hotter would be a better place to start from. Other than that, it was a fine and filling dish.
Dexter wasn't as happy with his garlic chili chicken. He said it was okay over the day-glow rice and gummy sauce, but the chicken was all dark meat. White meat, he said, would have made it much better.
We both enjoyed the garlic naan and were fairly satisfied with lunch, though. It just could have been a bit better with a few details fixed.
After a good, strong cup of coffee I called for the bill which came to zl. 128 ($36.57) without tip. The Tandoori platter kicked the total up a bit but it was worth it. And I think the price was fair for the amount of quality food we received. The service wasn't extraordinary but it was solid and good, making lunch a pleasant experience. The waitress even checked on us during our main course to see if everything was fine. This doesn't happen enough in restaurants in this city.
Overall, I was pleased with Maharaja. It was good, safe Indian food. Only next time I will order my food "hot" and take my chances.
