Thursday, May 17, 2012

indian: i strongly recommend MAYUR INDIAN KITCHEN



MAYUR INDIAN KITCHEN 馬友友印度廚房
350-5 Keelung Rd, Sec. 1 台北市基隆路一段350號之5
0921-004-175/0981-917-977

(I revisited Mayur six years later in 2018 and it's very different from this post- check it out here! Updated post: 5/2018)

MRT: Taipei City Hall 


hours: 11:30 am – 9:30 pm 

$-$$ cash only (average NT$135-400)

Kid friendliness: no high chairs available. seating outdoors on sidewalk

Visit reviewed: 3/2/2012 & 5/11/2012



My cousin S was my "intro to Taipei" of sorts. When I first moved back almost 8 years ago, she had been working and living here and was one of the few people I knew. She joined me on a search for waffles in Taipei. She picked restaurants like J Pop cafe based on decor instead of food. Then work whisked her away for a few years- to China, to LA, but recently now back to Taipei, where now our roles are reversed- now I'm choosing the spots for lunch and she's the one who needs guiding.


Located in the Xinyi district, Mayur Indian Kitchen is an apt name for the restaurant- the kitchen takes up most of the space, and the dining area are tables arranged outside on the sidewalk with a good view of the Taipei Grand Hyatt. It was my first time eating "hole in the wall" Indian food, unless you counted the wraps I've gotten from Taipei night markets and LA food trucks. I was a little nervous about choosing a place to meet my cousin that I definitely didn't pick for decor, but luckily the food won us both over.


It's a bit hard to find since the address is 350-5. What the dash means is that it's somewhere near, behind or around the building with the first number. So when my taxi dropped me off at the corner of Keelung Rd (or is it Jilong now? Oh these changes drive me crazy) and Song Shou Rd, I still had to find the right number. Mayur Indian Kitchen is located closer to the corner of Keelung and RenAi, so look for the signage there and then seat yourself.  The street in front of Mayur is one way and surprisingly quiet, so sitting on the sidewalk is not that bad. On a more recent visit, the seating had doubled to about 7-8 tables and a little cover had been for the rain/sun.


The most popular items seemed to be the lunch set served on metal trays, with chicken, beef, lamb or vegetable curries for NT$135/155, but my cousin and I wanted the good stuff. We asked for a menu and started to quiz the server.


The menu has quite few selections of meat and vegetarian curries, appetizers, naans and desserts. Naan came in both savory and sweet flavors, as well as with cheese and served like a pizza. No water is served, but drinks are available to purchase, like Limca or Kingfisher beer. Mayur Indian Kitchen also offers catering as well as to-go orders.


We ended up ordering a few things to start and kept ordering more as we tasted the food. The tandoori chicken (NT$120) was served as a thigh/leg, along with a plastic glove, at which we laughed, since that is often spotted at some of the food court restaurants in Taipei. We asked for a knife to split the chicken to share, and I think the chef gave us one of his cutting knives since people usually just get the curry lunch sets or devour the whole thing by themselves? The chicken was tender and flavorful, though not as bright red as I've seen it in other restaurants.


Then came our chicken tikka masala. The chicken is served on the bone and can be a bit of a pain to eat. On my second visit, the curry was served in a bigger plate and the chicken was cut, but still on the bone, which made it slightly easier to scrape off the meat and dip the naan into the curry without making a mess.


The butter naan (NT$55) is perfectly chewy and crispy and cut into pieces to share.


The rice is not basmati rice so I was slightly disappointed, but I still ate a little with the curry.


We ended up having to reorder the spinach, or palak paneer when we realized it never came. When the chicken tikka masala came out, I had thought, what a great portion size, two bowls, but it turned out that we had a miscommunication and when we thought we were ordering saag paneer, or spinach with paneer cheese, he thought we wanted just the paneer cheese inside the curry. But I've visited Mayur Indian Kitchen recently and the menu has been updated, including items like palak paneer with photos so that there's no confusion. There's also a good selection of vegetarian dishes, like lentils or aloo gobi for non-meat eaters.


Samosas (NT$45) come plump and fried, stuffed with bright yellow curried potatoes and peas.



Prices at Mayur Indian Kitchen are quite reasonable for the flavors and portions compared to other Indian restaurants in Taipei and there's definitely been a need for a good Indian spot in the Xinyi area, as my last few visits to mall food court Indian Palace were quite bad. Even though ordering ala carte can get pricier than the lunch curry set (about NT$200-400/person), it's steal for the variety, and still cheaper than taking a taxi to Saffron, my current favorite Indian restaurant in Taipei. 

It's also a good sign that the dishes were consistently good on both visits, as many Indian restaurants in Taipei can be quite inconsistent, or even stray off Indian flavors, as I experienced at a recent first trip to Dazzle Curry Indian restaurant.  

Mayur Indian Kitchen used to have dosas on the menu, but have taken them off the menu due to lack of demand- maybe with advance notice they could make a batch for those craving some.  If you have special requests, like making it extra spicy, or want to order off the menu, give Mayur Indian Kitchen a try. You might that the seats might be all filled up on weekends, as they were much busier on a weekday lunch hour recently than my first visit a few months ago.

OTHER LOCATION

B2, No. 8, Zhongshan 1st Rd, Luzhou District, New Taipei City

14 comments:

Ken said...

Thanks for the review! I've been looking for a cheap place for Palak/Saag Paneer!!! Too bad they don't use Basmati rice - but as long as their Naan is good, I could just order their Garlic Naan. I also want to try their Chicken Tikka Masala (too bad it's not boneless)?

Anonymous said...

Will try this place when I visit this summer! Thanks for the review!

I was also wondering what camera you use for your food pix, love the quality of them!

Alice said...

Did you try one of the sweet naans? Not very authentic, I believe, but I'm curious nonetheless. They sound yummy!

Subhayan said...

love ur posts !!! I got some vegetarian frndz who are not so comfortable with Chinese food. It seems this place will be good for them. Thanks!

MY said...

Hi Joan. Wow! You were interviewed by Taipei Times regarding Twitter! You know, that is interesting that you get more responses from Twitter users than from your blog readers. I'm guessing that it has something to do with the personality of the reader. Just like some people like to read comics (more graphics than dialogue), while others like to read novels (pure text). Some people love small talk during gatherings (75% of the population) while others never know what to say, so would rather shy away from those types of socializing (25% of the population), but the latter can be great one-to-one, deep conversationalists when they have a topic that they are interested to talk about.

Getting feedback, especially instant feedback is great. You know what your readers are thinking and when they are following you. But at the same time, please don't feel that your postings are not appreciated when you don't receive a comment from us. We all love reading your blog! Just look at your Live Traffic Feed! It's just that we don't have something that we think is worth saying or a comment worth bothering anyone with. We're like listeners who nod in silence.

I admit that I'm like the latter. We have instant messaging on our work computers and I just hate being tracked down by co-workers. I would get asked why I didn't answer my phone when I was present at my computer. Questions come in and people anxiously wait for my instant reply. At least with email messages, I get time to research my answer and reply when I have time. Anyways, now you know a little more about one of your readers. ;)

joanh said...

ken- yes that's what i've been doing on return visits, just ordering the butter naan. let me know if you try it!

anonymous- thanks for your comment! for this post, i used my iphone!

alice- i didn't try the sweet naans.. yeah, not sure if i ever will!! haha

subhayan- glad i could help! there were about 4-5 vegetarian dishes..

MY- thanks! i know, i think it's interesting too.. i guess people who are on twitter, just tend to be more vocal since they are already tweeting.. and some people just grab their information and go.. thanks so much for taking the time to share your thoughts.. i love the thought "listeners who nod in silence." hahah! hope to hear from you on future posts you really enjoy!

MIK Taiwan said...

Hi Joanh
( or Who ever it is behind this blog)

This is Mayur from Mayur Indian kitchen.
Thank you very much for your visits, feedback and comments as I am following your blog since 2007 and I have got to know about some really nice restaurants and places through your blog.

I am a gr8 food lover also.

Well I would like to suggest you to visit Mayur Indian kitchen Luzhou also as it is the any first Indian restaurant in food court of a mall in New Taipei city.

Kindly update your self that we are not closed on any day and we have one more hot line no. 0921004175/0981917977.

and We are serving boneless Chicken tikka masala and boneless Butter chicken @ NTD 185 only (i 'm very surprised you did n't see in your visit)

Check out at www.facebook.com/mayur.indiankitchen

Welcome to all Indian food lovers who love real home style Indian food and don't want to be get looted with high prices on the name of Indian flavors.

See you soon cheers !!

Hariram said...

I played it safe and ordered the Butter & Garlic Naan with the Paneer Butter Masala. It was good and at least for a second transported me back home!

However, I would definitely stay away from the dessert section. It is consistently bad.

joanh said...

mayur: thanks so much for your comment. i've updated the hours and the phone number. i haven't had a chance to go back in awhile, but maybe in the next few weeks! i've definitely been craving some indian food!

hariram: thanks for your comment! i generally don't like Indian desserts, but it's good to know your experience!

MIK Taiwan said...

Hi all Indian food lovers,

Greetings from Mayur Indian Kitchen restaurants,

The small Indian dhaba(stall) in Shilin night market has been changed into a series of Indian restaurants in Taipei,Taiwan and Asia(for now)

The Mayur Indian Kitchen (MIK-3)
is the newest one with lot of Indian food from all corners of India,included 14 states Veg., Non veg., Jain, Pure veg and halal Indian located on Xinsheng N.rd,Taipei (opposite the Guanghua digital plaza computer market) For more details please you can log onto www.ilovemik.com

Cheers!

Indian food in Taipei said...

The above mentioned Mayur Indian kitchen(Keelung rd location) has been renovated with some following features :
1.double in size with extra 20 pax indoor sitting (outside for dine or smoke)
2. Free wifi for our guests
3. Airconditioned
4. New Menu including North, South, West Indian cuisine
5. Improved service standards same as like any good Indian restaurant
6. Choose your beer out of 15 imported brands.
7. Website : www.ilovemik.com

Cheers,
Thanks!

Indian food in Taipei said...

The above mentioned Mayur Indian kitchen(Keelung rd location) has been renovated with some following features :
1.double in size with extra 20 pax indoor sitting (outside for dine or smoke)
2. Free wifi for our guests
3. Airconditioned
4. New Menu including North, South, West Indian cuisine
5. Improved service standards same as like any good Indian restaurant
6. Choose your beer out of 15 imported brands.
7. Website : www.ilovemik.com

Cheers,
Thanks!

Indian food in Taipei said...

Hi Hungry girl,

Hope you are doing good.
We still remember when you wrote/reviewed about us years ago.
By the grace of god and super-love we have got from Taipei,Taiwan foodies, Mayur Indian Kitchen restaurants has third & one of the biggest Indian restaurant branch now at
Minsheng E. rd., Taipei (next to the Sherwood Hotel)

Address:
No.103, Sec.3, Minsheng E. Rd., Taipei
台北市民生東路三段103號
Ph: 02- 27155277

Serves North & South Indian Cuisine including some dishes from East and west as well.

Total capacity: 60 guests
Timings : Everyday opens
Lunch : 12 to 3 pm,
Dinner :5 pm to 10 pm

If you craving for Indian food, you are welcome anytime & give your valuable suggestions through your wonderful food blog.

Cheers!

Terry J. Benzie said...

Food is consistently good at decent prices though service has gone up and down in the past few years...mostly down. Specifically, booking ahead is a problem as they refer to you to Facebook who refers you to their webpage where you fill out a form that collects your information (other than the date and time you want to reserve a table for) and they call you back a mere five to ten hours after you called them to begin with. If you happen by and they have seating, it's certainly worth stopping in but not a good option if you need to plan ahead.

:)