Best Indian food in Taipei- Ali Baba's Indian Kitchen near Songjiang Nanjing Station with menu

Foodie Report: Aisha

When I die, bury me inside a vat of saag paneer. Indian food is categorically delicious: its flavors are complex, oscillating between sweet, savory, and spicy; its textures meld creamy sauces with doughy breads and tender meat and vegetables to make the slop of dreams. It's a divine synthesis that is aromatic and sophisticated without being bougie.

That being said, today we want to recommend you a superb Indian restaurant located near Songjiang Nanjing Station- Ali Baba's Indian Kitchen.

The owner of the store is Pakistani and the hostess is Taiwanese. They raised four children and had a lovely marriage that everyone longs for.

The store owner Ali has been engaged in the restaurant business for over two decades. He had the oven, ingredients, accessories and utensils brought and imported from India. Ali also hires Indian chief to cook, even the receptionists are either Indian or Pakistani. It makes people feel as if they are into an exotic country when stepping into the store.

The Ali Kitchen is 5 minute walking distance from Exit 2 of Songjiang Nanjing Station. You will see a signboard with many delicacies on the first floor. Curry-up! Let's go to the second floor!

Once you step into the Ali kitchen, you will see a buffet table because from 11:30 - 15:00 on every Saturdays and Sundays, there is all-you-can-eat.

The fee is NT545 + 10% per person, which is quite a bargain because you can enjoy a variety of meals in one time!

Seats are quite many and the holy اَلْقُرآن was put upright on the wall. There is not much of flourish ornament decoration but it was a very comfortable dining place.

The Starter is on the house! This is like the salad that we usually have in Western dishes with tamarind sauce and mint yogurt. The salad tastes very sour and sweet that can stimulate your appetite.

Yogurt is a very common drink in India. All the lactic acid bacteria was nurtured on their own! So they can assure the quality and control the sweetness level.

The sweetness of Mango Lassi is moderate and whichever Lassi-sweet or Mango Lassi are amazing! The latter one has the fragrance of mango and makes you wanna have a hearty drink!

How can you miss trying Naan when you walk into the Indian Kitchen?

We ordered two types of Naans and they all had its distinctive taste. Yum! Yum! Yum!

The Garlic Naan is topped with fresh garlic and instead of having a very strong smell of garlic, there is a bland smell of creamy butter. Different from what I've expected but it's still delicious! 

The outer layer is very crispy and have a bland smell of butter! The taste of Garlic Naan performs much stronger.

In Indian dishes, trying curry is definitely a must. When cooking, the cook will put all the sauce and ingredients in sequence. Every subtle change of combination creates a very delightful taste. It's not like what we normally cook a pot of curry and have it glaze with dishes at home. Curry must be a little spicy at this place, and because of the coconut flour that was put inside that makes it not that salty.

And you can mix the sauce with Jasmine rice. It is cooked with butter and laurel leaf , which tastes very different from what we have in Taiwan.

Yogurt plays a very crucial part in Indian food. After soaking the chicken in yogurt, the texture will be more soft and gravy is safely kept.

There are more than 10 Indian ingredients are put during the process of cooking the meat.

After roasting, the outer layer of the chicken forms a grease. With a rich spice smell and a subtle sour taste, it is absolutely unforgettable!

If you are intereted in sweets, then you definitely don't want to miss this- the Rice Pudding! For no reason, it's just superb AMAZING! Even it's a bit sweeter than the sweets we used to eat in Taiwan, it's still acceptable. Rice Pudding is sweet to the bones and it stimulates your taste buds to the point where you can't speak, your mouth will just keep swallowing. Speaking of this, I am personally not a big fan of sweets, but after having the rice pudding, I am totally satisfied. It really can be seen as the world top dessert!

As the name implies, rice pudding is made of rice and pudding. The appearance is similar to that of caramel pudding. In addition to using cooked rice, the ingredients include: milk, corn flour, egg yolk, sugar, water, etc. The cooked rice is mixed in the fragrant milk pudding. The dense taste is similar to the cheese. It moves between the lips and is mixed with the little fun that occasionally needs to be chewed slightly. When you swallow the rice pudding next time, that will for sure surprise your taste buds!

Indian Milk Tea is freshly made with a blend of spices such as cardamom and ginger.

When it comes to the milk tea, order a hot one! You will be disappointed for not tasting the rich ingredients inside the tea if you drink in iced tea. The tea gives you a refreshing feel and put you on track of long hard day.

We had a lovely lunch with the hostess today and we have asked for some bonus for every of our readers. From now on to the end of 2018, just by showing this web page to the owner of Ali Baba's Indian Kitchen (both Taipei and Taoyuan store), you can get a dessert FOR FREE!!!

Tell us what kind of bonus you want in the comment section below and we will try our best to get it for everyone! Stay tuned!

[ Taipei Store ] / [ Taoyuan Store]

Opening Hours

11:30AM-3PM

5:30PM-10PM

Address

Taipei- No 56-58, 2F Nanjing East Road, Taipei, Taiwan

Taoyuan- 330, Taoyuan City, Taoyuan District, Minsheng Road, No.86

Cuisine

South Asian

Halal Identification

Authenticity Halal sign

Phone

Taipei- 886 (02) 2567-7163

Taoyuan- 886 (03) 336-0882

Public Transportation

MRT Station

Songjiang Nanjing