After asking the Expat community for recommendations on authentic Indian restaurants in Taipei, one of the most popular suggestions we received from the Indian members was ‘Out Of India’.
After looking into them, we found that the owner is an Indian chef who previously worked at a restaurant in Northern India before moving to Taipei. He studied Chinese for several years, but after missing his hometown cuisine, he opened up the Out of India restaurant in the Shida area. His restaurant became so successful that he later opened up multiple locations across Taipei, including two other Indian vegetarian restaurants, called 3 Idiots Toast & Curry.
What frequently came up within their recommendations was how authentic their curry dishes are. Others mentioned that their prices are cheaper and bigger proportioned than most other Indian restaurants in Taipei – with that in mind, we went to check them out to see if the quality and quantity match their reputation.
The Shida location is on Pucheng Street, near NTU on Heping East Road. It’s about a 6-minute walk from Taipower Building Staton, Exit 3.
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1. About the Restaurant |
We went around lunchtime on a Sunday to find that the place was very spacious with many tables available, so we didn’t have a problem choosing where to sit.
It did get busier throughout the afternoon, however, we never saw it get too full due to the amount of available seating. They even have a basement downstairs with even more seating options that accommodate couples as well as large groups.
The vibe of the restaurant was pretty exotic as it was surrounded by beautiful Indian-themed decorations. Even the surrounding red brick walls give the place a warm and relaxing atmosphere.
Many of the customers were locals, but we noticed that foreigners also frequent here which didn’t surprise us from the feedback we got from the Taipei Expats Community.
What We Ordered
The staff was friendly and very welcoming to us, although the Taiwanese lady that served us only spoke in Chinese. Thankfully, the menu they provided us was all in English. The only trouble we had with that was the entire menu had no pictures, giving us little idea of what the Indian-named food choices were.
However, we overcame this issue by going with the safe bet by ordering a combo set which was at a special price of $999 (down from $1,496). This included an appetizer, main course, two pieces of naan bread, a portion of rice, two masala teas, and two desserts.
Despite ordering a combo set for two, we found the items individually within the menu, so we were able to include the prices in case you wanted to order them individually.
That said, here’s what came to our table:
Our Drinks
Masala Tea – cold ($70)
We’re quite familiar with the masala tea drinks since they’re a popular choice at many Indian restaurants and were curious to see what these would be like. Since our set comes with two masala teas, we ordered one cold and one hot to check out the differences between them.
The cold masala tea at this Indian restaurant has a smooth and milkier taste which had flavors of spices, ginger, and cinnamon fused. Despite it being quite milky, we could still taste the rich flavors that made it a very enjoyable drink that went very well with our Indian food.
Masala Tea – hot ($70)
The hot masala tea comes with a cinnamon stick and a sugar sachet for optional sweetness. This was a new experience for us as we were pleasantly surprised to find it came with a cinnamon stick ally enhanced the flavors of our tea.
This tea didn’t disappoint at all as you don’t even get the citrusy cinnamon scent on your tongue while drinking it due to how hot the drinkWey, we felt we got the best taste out of it by leaving the cinnamon stick in the drink while drinking it.
Our Appetizer
Masala Fried Chicken ($200)
These Indian fried chicken wings made an awesome starter, and they weren’t very spicy at all.
The outside was fairly crispy and the meat inside was tender and juicy. The meat came straight off the bone, so we knew they were cooked well.
This appetizer for two may only come with one each to share, but the sizes were fairly big and not too greasy.
They also come with a slice of lemon if you wish to sweeten the chicken to give them a rich taste before eating.
Our Main Course
Mutton Tikka ($320)
The first main course dish arrived sizzling with fresh and tender lamb meat and vegetables. The mutton lamb meat was boneless and didn’t have a strong smell to it.
The meat is quite spicy, although it’s blended in with the freshly mixed vegetables of fried onions and peppers. This made the dish burst with sweet and delicious flavors that we would happily order again.
You also get a sour side sauce for dipping the lamb meat into it. This dish was already delicious enough, so we didn’t always use the dip, although after trying it, we found it made the lamb enjoyably sweet, so it’s worth trying.
Chicken Tikka Masala ($360)
Our combo set for two gave us the choice to pick from three types of curries: chicken, lamb, or seafood. Since we already had a lamb dish, we opted for the chicken curry. At this point, we were getting rather full, but we were still impressed by the generous amount you get despite being a combo for two people.
The rich smells from our curry pot hinted that they used a wide range of mixed herbs and spices – all cooked together to give it its deep flavors. From what we could tell, the ingredients used were chillis, ginger, cloves, anise, black peppers, and turmeric powder.
Unlike typical Indian foods, our curry wasn’t very salty – which was perfect for us. We’re not professional foodies, so we’re not in a position to compare authentic Indian curries to those served in Taiwan.
One thing that was expressed to us within the expat community was how this restaurant targets the Taiwanese market. Nevertheless, there was no complaint about the Indian curry dishes served here since they have to target the Taiwanebe se market to be able to a successful Indian restaurant in Taiwan – which has clearly shown to be the case.
Turmeric Rice ($40)
Our set included a decent portion of rice which went well when mixing it in with our curry.
The appetizingly yellow rice was deliciously moist and sprinkled with turmeric which we ate with curry and naan bread.
Naan ($40)
Our two portions of naan bread arrived next, but they were both different. One was soft and chewy with a sweet garlic margarine-like spread on it, the other was rather crispy.
If you don’t want the garlic spread, you’d have to request them not to include it on the naan bread.
Our Dessert
Ras Mala ($80)
The last items to arrive were our two small bowls of mouth-watering desserts. This was thee different than your typical Indian rice porridge that we were expecting.
Our treats were a bowl of smooth and milky cream at the base with some seeds, dry beans, and a kind of sweet cake ball in it. The ball cake was so tasty. After asking what it was, they told us that it’s made of cottage cheese and boiled in milk, saffron, and green cardamom to make a fluffy ball and dipped in sugar syrup.
One thing was for sure, this dessert gave us a sweet and wonderful finish to our enjoyable meal.
The Menu
Check out their food menu below. Note that the menu prices and combo sets may have changed since our visit.
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If you’re interested in seeingof more updated menu on what they offer, you can check out The Restaurant’s Menu on Facebook.
Worth visiting?
An intimate and comfortable setting with delicious, fairly-priced Indian dishes. We wouldn’t say it was exactly ‘100% authentic’ Indian food due to the lowered levels of salt within the food to adapt to the Taiwanese tastebuds.
Will we go back?
For sure! We loved the food, and now that we understand the menu better, we’re looking forward to trying other dishes. We’ll even recommend it to a group of our friends if and when we’re in the mood for Indian food since they can accommodate large gatherings.
Out Of IndiaHours: Telephone: 02 2363 3054 Booking Site: Book table / Delivery Facebook: Out.Of.India.Restaurant English address: No. 26, Lane 13, Pucheng St, Da’an District, Taipei City, 106 Chinese address: 106台北市大安區浦城街13巷26號 Closest MRTs: Taipower Building Staton, Exit 3 |
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🗓️ Updated: May 2021 – Taipei.Expats
