6. Mirch Masala

x
x

Best Ever Indian in Town
This is by far the best Indian food I've ever had. What makes it so great is that the food is very distinct and unique. It's great, authentic, fine Indian food, but what's more is that they've put their own delicate twist on common dishes. I ordered a vegetarian dish and the vegetables were extremely fresh, perfectly cooked and flavored. The nan is classic, but perfectly done. The flaky, pastry-type starter (served complimentary) is intriguing and delicious. The service is WONDERFUL. Some of the best service I've had in Beijing in six months. We ordered a reasonable rmb 118 bottle of chilian white wine and it was rich with flavor. The decor of the restaurant is warm, luxurious, but not over the top, classic, sleek, appetizing and inviting. The prices were great too, average rmb 35 per entree. Definitely this is a great place to go too I hope to go back soon.

My Best Choice
My girlfriend and I recently tried out Mirch Masala's new venue across from the northern entrance to Ritan Park. We've been frequenting their Nan Luo Gu Xiang location for over 3 years now. I remember the first time we went there the owner Daya recognized that we were new customers. He talked to us about how he buys his spices, grinds them fresh and the different types of Indian cuisine. That kind of personal touch stuck with us and we have been loyal customers ever since. (It also helps that the price is very reasonable.) The last time I was in the US, I went to what was rated the best Indian restaurant in Boston by the Boston Globe and it was frankly tasteless in comparison to ANY dish you'll get from Mirch Masala. If you talk to Daya you'll understand why. He's a veteran restauranteur and doesn't sacrifice on quality or make arrangements for local palettes. Anyone used to MM's small and intimate dining room on NLGX will be in for a surprise. The new dining area is huge. Its warmly lit and nicely decorated with fine wall paper. Several booths overlook the new shopping street below. Indian music plays lightly in the background. Normally we order the Palak Rolls as a starter as they go great with the green sauce that comes complimentary on the table. (I've since learned it's made from Coriander. My GF loves this stuff - she keeps telling Daya he should bottle and sell it.) Summer's approaching and we felt like something lighter - so for starters we each had the the lentil soup. This was also slightly enhanced by a drop of chili oil. Note - this isn't the heavy Sichuan chili oil that can overpower most foods. This was light, delicate and complemented the broth nicely. And at 10 kuai - it's a steal. The menu contains all of MM's dishes from the NLGX location. Plus, there are a number of new specialties Daya brought back from his most recent trip to India. We tried one of these, the Peshwari Masala. It was a smoky, thick chicken curry. The flavor was unbelievable. Daya's butter chicken used to be my favorite meat dish at the NLGX store - this one topped it by far. I won't give away the secret. You'll have to chat with Daya to find out what makes it so different. It's really something. I couldn't go to MM without having their Palak Paneer. I don't know what it is but I could eat this dish every day. It tastes very fresh (it's the cheese that really does it- you can tell it was feshly made and not packaged). I like it with a little more onion and they were glad to oblige. Also unexpected - the new location has got a dark German stout on tap. 20 kuai a pint. Very nice - the beer mellows the Indian spices. Completely stuffed - I thought the Indian Masala tea would help relieve some of the pressure on my belt (I forgot it was milk based). Man this stuff is tasty, though. I wish I could have finished it. This was brewed fresh with cardamon and ginger. It'd go great in the morning as a pick me up. I'm looking forward to trying MM's new lunch special also. It's called a Talli (spelling?) and it consists of a number of small bowls of curry with nan bread. MM's new location features an expanded delivery area, which is good for the office and embassy lunch crowd. However, Daya is such a gracious host that going to see him has become part of the experience for us. I know this review might sound overly enthusiastic but I honestly do love this restaurant. I wish a lot of luck to the management on the new venue. In Beijing, it's rare to find a restaurant that puts as much care and detail into their presentation and food as Mirch Masala while remaining accessible to all income levels.

superb service and excellently food
If you don't read any more of my review then this first sentence, then know this: this restaurant offered the *best* service I have *ever* received in a restaurant. Up to and including the restaurants that my dad used to own. Amazing. Beyond words. Wow! But let me start from the beginning. I was looking for a place to take my bf for his birthday, and I see Mirch Masala. An upscale Indian restaurant? With a rating of 4.5 from 80 reviews? I admit, I could hardly believe it, but I promptly made reservations. Due to traffic, we arrive at Mirch almost 40 minutes late. The indian manager greeted us with a smile, and quickly found a table for us. We sit down, and after waiting for about 5 minutes, I look around to see if I can spy our waiter, as I was thirsty and no one had yet come by with water. The maitre d' sees me looking around, and quickly rushes over to us and gets us water and cocktails within a minute. Our waiter comes by a few seconds later, terribly apologetic over making us wait. We ordered the onion bhaji, and with our server's recommendation, the Palak roll to start. The onion bhaji is a spicy crispy and fried starter in home food in india. Although it was served with a sauce, the pakora was so flavorful that we didn't need it! The Palak roll is flash fried spinach tossed with a delicious sauce. It was amazing! The crispiness of the fried spinach (no batter, just fried crispy spinach) with the sauce, transported this dish into the sublime. The combination of flavors and textures was superb! I can definitely see why this was a specialty of the house! For our entrees we ordered the Lamb tikka masala, peshwari masala, and the assorted Kulcha. Evidently overheard that we were planning on sharing our dishes, so when he brought out the peshwari masala, he had the chef split it onto two plates, Excellently seasoned with hints of garam masala and cardamom, which I wouldn't normally think of as "chicken spices", it worked well, but the real star was how *perfectly* the chicken was cooked. Each bite was moist, tender, juicy, flavorful and just perfection. If this piece of chicken had only salt and pepper, it would have still gotten rave reviews, just from how delicately and perfectly the chicken was cooked! The Lamb tikka masala was also delicious. Much more delicate and light then what I have come to expect from tikka masala, it still retained the integrity of the flavors, but brought it up a level in refinement and restraint. As my bf said, after his first bite, "this is what happens when curry makes sweet sweet love to a big puffy white cloud, and they had a baby!" The mix breads was a delicious naan stuffed with a mildy spicy cottage cheese. I normally despise cheese, but my bf and I were on the verge of ordering another basket of this stuff...even though we were stuffed! Up to this point, the service and the food was marvelous. But then when my bf went to the restroom, our server takes this moment to rush over to our table, to tell me that he knows that it's my boy friend's birthday, and that he will be bringing out a special yogurt with candle and kulfee ice cream in a moment. Not only did he bring that out for my bf(with a candle), but he also brought one out for me...so that we wouldn't need to share, nor make a big mess. Then he didn't charge us for either one of the desserts! The yogurt cake was insanity. kulfee it had also a subtle Indian flavor to it, which made it a great finish to this meal. Not only did our server pay enough attention to us to realize that it was my bf's birthday, but before he brought us the check, so that we wouldn't need to dig around in our purse for cash when we got our car! Then, as we were leaving, the maitre d' even came by to make sure that my bf enjoyed his birthday dinner. Finally, as we got into our car, our server comes running out - because my bf left his birthday gift on the table (we were so full and happy from the dinner that we couldn't think!)! I'm normally a 15% tipper. 20% if the service is really amazing. Last night, I tipped our server 25% - because I really just felt that we were *just* that well taken care of and served. This is not normal for me...in fact, only a handful of establishments ever get 20% out of me...I've never tipped 25%. Ever. I am definitely coming back and I'm definitely a fan! Perhaps a 6th star that is normally hidden, but can be accessed when a restaurant truly exceeds all expectations. Superb!