Bollywood-062906

I have always been curious about indian foods, partly because my boyfriend is of indian lineage and also because I always see it on Discovery.Everything seems to be delicious.I am not very adventurous when it comes to the food I eat. It has to taste good, meaning not tasteless,no vegetables and no liver.

My first attempt to taste an indian dish was in my huny's house.We ate lunch together and he poured a whole lot of rajma in my rice.Rajma is Red kidney beans curry.Why I don't like it?the taste is quite tolerable being spicy and all but what I can't stand about it is the smell. (No offense to all those who liked this dish) Rajma smells like a persons underarm who has not touched a deodorant for a month. I just can't stand it. I asked Mike how he was able to cope with the smell, he said that he was used to having that ever since he was a kid.

The Rajma experience just made me wonder what other Indian dishes tasted like. I was quite anxious about eating at Bollywood, but the thought of eating at an Indian restaurant was quite appealing to me. (I have to get used to the food someday right? ;>)

When you enter the restaurant, the crew would greet you "Namaste". Namaste is an Indian expression used as a greeting or upon parting, by putting the palms of the hands together in prayer position. It means, “I honor the Spirit in you which is also in me.” It could have been nicer if the staff wore traditional Indian costumes instead of a floral skirt an a shirt.Any ways, the interior was nice even if their place is small. Indian music is played live on a small stage at the corner of the bar, and Indian movies are played on LCD tv's.

While choosing the food that we would like to have, We were served with Papar and 3 types of dips.Papar is a type of bread that is thin and crunchy.It is quite spicy and I think it has beans on it.At a glance you would think that it would taste like the usual crackers that we have but Papar needs an acquired taste to appreciate it. The dips served to us was yogurt(white one), mango jam(i think),and spinach dip(green one).The papar goes well with the mango jam because the sweetness of the jam complements the spiciness of the bread.It also takes ok with the yogurt.The yogurt tastes like sour cream but not that tangy.We didn't like the green dip because it is very bitter.

For our drink, we ordered the mango lassi.i was quite hesitant to have it because I am not a big fan of yogurt but it tasted really good.Actually it tasted like mango shake without the ice but creamier.This was one really good. Mango Lassi:P115

We had Vegetable Samosa for our appetizer.Yup, vegetables. I was able to eat it because the only vegetables in this dish are potatoes, green peas and carrots.It's like empanada, less meat of course. Vegetable Samosa:P85

For the main course we had chicken baryani and chicken tandoori. Mike was supposed to get this lamb meatball thing, but I said I wanted to taste the Chicken Tandoori 'cause I always hear him saying how good it tasted whenever they have that for dinner at home. Chicken Biryani is a Pakistani/Indian rice dish which is often reserved for very special occasions such as weddings, parties, or holidays such as Ramadan.Biryani tasted like Arroz Valenciana.It has chicken parts in it and raisins, nuts and carrot strips.The carrot strips tasted good because it is sweet and cruncy at the same time.
Chicken Biryani:P355

On the menu you would see this dish as Chicken Tandoor, I asked Mike what was the proper term for it and he said that it was supposed to be Tandoori, since Tandoor is the oven in which you cook the chicken.This tasted like Chicken BBQ less sweetness and charcoal. :D Tandoori is meat marinated in yogurt and spices.
Chicken Tandoori(Quarter):P160

Our Bollywood experience though a bit expensive was perfect enough for our Fourth Anniversary dinner. I'd definitely go back to try other dishes. :)

Aling Lucing's

I am a great fan of sisig.I don't usually eat the fats,ears and organs of the pig, but with sisig, I can tolerate.Hehe.I have read a blog about different resto's to eat and places to go.One that caught my attention was Aling Lucing's, mainly because the blogger said that they serve the best sisig in town and thet they have very cheap prices.My officemates decided and I decided to have our lunch there and test whether the blogger's claims are true.We arrived at Aling Lucing's at exactly 12 in the afternoon. At that time the place was not yet that full.I tought maybe people don't really go to that place that much.But when we were all settled in our table, people came to rush in and a long cue of customers ordering their lunch would be seen. The place looks like your school cafeteria.I believe they could have done better to avoid the long line.When at the counter the cashier was quite slow.The tables are placed closed to each other and the ventilation isn't that cold.

The sisig is great except that it has onions in it.(I hate onions btw.)Jackie and Dianne said the BBQ tasted good.I had the ginataang sitaw at kalabasa(the only vegetables that I eat).The kalabasa was ok, but the sitaw is quite raw(I think), being crunchy and all.But it tasted good.Much like how we cook it at home.

So here are our pics in Aling Lucing's