Kabob Curry-Closed

Kabob Curry
108 W 3rd St
Long Beach
562-495-2262

I haven't been to many Indian restaurants. Natraj Cuisine of India, is the other Indian restaurant, I've been to in Long Beach. I saw Kabob Curry while driving near downtown Long Beach and decided to have dinner there.

Located off west of Pine Ave, on 3rd St., Kabob Curry is a very casual restaurant. I thought this was counter service, but it is really table service.




I got the plain naan, $1.25. I was very impressed with this. Served hot, flakey, light, chewy, just awesome. It was huge and worth the price.



Chicken tikka, $5.99. This was awesome!!! Very well cooked, seasoned, and tender. A good sized portion for the price. Good quality chicken with onions and green peppers. My only complaint, one piece was charred on the outside. Otherwise a great dish.

Service was average. I walked in and waited in line, but was greeted and I took a seat. But they took care of the take out orders first, and I was waiting awhile for somebody to take my order. I understand that. But there was, really only one server taking care of the entire restaurant. But there was another guy who just stood there doing nothing. This lead to to very slow service.

Another thing, I didn't like was after ordering, the server asked, if I would like rice. I said is that included? She said no. This is another pet peeve of mine. Servers need to tell you if there is a charge for something. If she said "Would you like to add rice for another $2.50?" I would have no issues. But this is another example of restaurants trying to deceive customers. I've seen this happen when it comes to refilling drinks. The servers will ask young kids if they want refills, without telling parents that the refills aren't free. Servers should ask the parents, about refills for young kids.

I wouldn't go back to Kabob Curry because of the slow service. Food is very good. I think much better than Natraj.

Akbar-Closed

Akbar
1101 Aviation Blvd
Hermosa Beach
310-937-3800

Akbar is suppose to be the top rated Indian restaurant in the South Bay. I always question when a restaurant makes that type of claim. It is like being the tallest midget. Yes, you're the tallest, but you're still a midget. The South Bay could have a bad selection of Indian restaurants.

But I was glad to find that Akbar was indeed very good. I went with a group of ten people. We got the Vegetarian Akbari, $9.95, Chicken Tikka Masala, $12.95, Tandoori Salmon, $14.95.

I loved the vegetarian akbari, a variety of vegetables prepared in mild sauce flavored with mace and cardamom. There were peas and other veggies in this dish. But the seasonings and flavors just worked so well. I didn't even mind it didn't have any meat. A wonderful savory dish.

The chicken tikka masala, tandoor grilled chicken in a tomato sauce, was pretty good but a bit salty. There were large pieces of tender flavorful chicken. The spices were full of flavor but just too salty.

The Tandoori salmon, wild salmon marinated in spices, garlic ginger, tandoor grilled, was very good. The salmon was moist, flavorful and cooked just right. There wasn't much of an Indian flavor, this dish could be served in most other restaurants and people wouldn't have guessed it was Indian. But a good dish.

Service started off slow. They didn't give us a wine list. They didn't take our drink orders for a long time. But after that we didn't lack for anything. Our drinks were refilled. Our food came out quickly.

Akbar has four locations and I would go back to Akbar anytime.

Sitar-Closed

Sitar
618 Colorado Blvd
Pasadena
626-449-5954


I went to Sitar once before but I did not have my camera. I though the food was good enough that I would go back again and take pictures. So about two weeks ago, I decide to go back to Sitar. I walk in and the host tells me they are closed, due to a private party. I see a couple eating dinner and ask what about them? The host tells me they have been there before Sitar closed the restaurant to the general public. So I was pretty mad, especially considering the cost of gas. So I wanted to back and give them a bad review. So I decide to go back for their lunch buffet, $8.95. Their take out menu says $7.95, so that must have been printed before gas was $4.50 a gallon.

Anyways the lunch buffet is set up in the back of the restaurant. They have three main entrees,
Chicken tikka masala., Butter Chicken and Chicken Curry. In terms of spiciness, they are all mild. If you order off the menu you can ask for hot or super hot.

I loved the chicken tikka masala, chicken roasted in a clay oven, and simmered in a zesty sauce. The chicken had a wonderful flavor. Not spicy and I wouldn't say zesty either. Just a nice pleasant tasty meal. The chicken, some white meat and some dark meat, was tender and cooked just right.

The butter chicken, tandorii chicken in tomato, butter and Fenugreek sauce. This was more like a curry flavor. This is mild and more of a heavy dish. Much different than the tikka.

I didn't care for the curry chicken. The chicken itself was a bit fatty and not tender at all, more like rubbery chicken you get at a banquet. This was heavy like the butter chicken but not as good.

They had basmati rice, which was light and fluffy but not oily.

Service was OK. They would come around and take away the plates but I had to ask twice to get more water. They were friendly and nice. I would give them a better review on service if they had filled up my water, without me having to ask.

The regular menu prices for the three entrees are $11 each and they are al carte. So the lunch buffet is well worth the price since you can get as much as you want and rice is included.

If the food wasn't good, I would have ripped Sitar because of what happened the last time I tried to eat there. But the food was very good. I may go back to Sitar but I will only go during their lunch buffet. You get to try different menu items with rice at a much cheaper price.

Natraj Cuisine of India

Natraj Cuisine of India
5262 E. 2nd St.
Long Beach
562-930-0930

After going to Pkuket we went to Natraj for entrees. After a bad experience at Diamond Palace, I wasn't thrilled about going to another Indian place. But figured why not? Big mistake.

I got the shrimp garlic, $13.95, sauteed with garlic, bellpeppers, and onions. This is a very spicy dish. The heat of the dish just overpowered any other flavor. The shrimp was tough and overcooked. There were about six medium sized shrimps in the dish. Bastami rich and bread was included in this dish, unlike Diamond Palace. But at $13.95 it's overpriced for the quality and quanity you get.

Service was below average. They are friendly but slow to refill drinks and rice.

I would not go back to Natraj again. People have told me they have a very good lunch buffet but I'm not impressed with the quality of their food, to go back.

Diamond Palace- Indian Food

Diamond Palace
1241 Grand Ave
Diamond Bar
909-860-2625

I don't have much experience with Indian food. But I decided to try an Diamond Palace, an Indian place that has been in Diamond Bar for over 15 years. Yes there is also a Diamond Palace Seafood Restaurant in Diamond Bar.

I wanted the chicken barra kabab which is chicken breast but they were out of them. So I go the Ginger Kabab, chicken marinated in yogurt and ginger, with rice, for what I thought was $10.95. More on that later.

The Ginger Kabab came in a sizzling hot plate, a very nice presentation and one that smelled wonderful. But the chicken was a bit dry and lacked flavor. Where is the yogurt and ginger marinate? I didn't taste any ginger at all. Not sure why this was so bland. Indian food is suppose to have lots of flavors. The one thing that had flavor was the rice. Most basmati with some food coloring and bay leaves. What I didn't like about the rice was the $3.95 price. I thought the rice came with the kebab. There is nothing on the menu that said the kebab is served al carte. When the server asked if I wanted rice or bread, he never mentioned there would be an additional charge. That is his responsibility.

Service, other than the fact he didn't tell me the rice was an additional charge, was good. I didn't lack for anything.

I would not go back to Diamond Palace. The food is just average and I still don't like the fact they didn't mention anywhere that the rice is an additional charge.