Taste Of India - Long Beach

KEEP AWAY!!! I cannot believe that anyone would give it all more than zero stars; they must have gone to a restaurant other than me. Atrociously bad food in unhygienic place. I was the only one for lunch; that should have been a hint. The Dal was much salted; Vegetables was clear from the frozen bag given a fast sauce; served only half a naan [all other Indian restaurants I have been in full naan]. Tiny, dirty kitchen; no toilet

When it comes to Filipino restaurants, some of them are “Turo Turo”. For those of you who do not know what this word means, “Turo Turo” is derived from the Tagalog Verb turo meaning “to point”. Turo-turo is a slang expression for fast food restaurants where customers want to order the dish they want. So what does “Turo Turo” have to do with a Long Beach restaurant called A Taste of India? Well, that's the first time I've ever been to an Indian restaurant where the food was served by steam table, Turo Turo style. A taste of India is definitely not a fantasy, but what it lacks in the ambience makes it for it with foods that taste well and everything to a great value. Your combo plates were all under $10, not including taxes and tip. I had the opportunity to dine there a few times. For my first visit I had a two-element combo that included naan, basmati rice, salad, a soft drink and of course my two entree options. I also decided to get a vegetable Samoa, which was quite delicious by the way. They could see that they were generous with their ingredients. This small roasted jug was made with a potato and vegetable filling that was not dried and still kept a moist texture that was edible to eat. When it came to the sides, the mint Chutney dressing on the salad had a strange to the taste. A bite was enough to push it away. Naan was just naan. As for the two entrees, I went for the garlic chickens and Garbanzo curry. The garlic chicken needed more chicken and also had more garlic, but overall it was not bad. I really think the Garbanzo Curry was more tasteful than the garlic chicken and there were certainly enough Garbanzo beans to make me happy, especially because I love Garcinia beans. For my second and only other meal, I got the Two Entree combo again and this time I ordered the Chicken Tikki Masala and Paneer Malai. Although I liked the Chicken Tikki Masala, as the sauce should have been yogurt-based, it could have been a little creamier yet it had a nice taste to it, with some light overtones of a sweetness that was not an involuntary surprise. As for the Paneer Malai court, I liked the strength of the disc cheese. Other than that, there was nothing really unforgettable about the sauce, which simply means that I liked it. If I didn't like it, I would have remembered it and could have reported it. Finally, taste of India does what it has to do. Your food may not wow you, but it tastes good and even better, you will get it at a price that will not let your wallet scream out of the door. In these days it is really the small Mom and Pop restaurants that still eat us the “luxury” and for that, you can only be grateful.