Thanjai: Found parotta!!

Thanjai was a suggested Indian restaurant by a few close friends. At arrival, the curry scent was so prominent that I was certain my friends didn’t lead me to the wrong restaurant!

The menu is so extensive, with dishes I’ve never heard before. Good thing we have wifi to be able to search what some dishes are due to incomplete explanations in the menu. We were tempted by the unknown…

Potato Bonda

Potato Bonda

This is basically fried potato balls. Like a twist of tasty tater. It was rather dull.

Samosa

Samosa

This is the first time that I like Samosa. I like how there are chucks of lentils. Other Samosa I’ve tasted are usually filled with mainly potatoes, barely having any other fillings. Be sure to share this with others or you might not be able to go ahead with your main dish.

Parotta

Parotta

I never knew this was called Parotta! It’s been a while I’ve been trying to explain Parotta to staff from Indian restaurant, but they never understood what I was looking for. I always ate Parotta in Hong Kong’s Indian restaurant (100% Authentic Indian), as they never served naan. For some reason, Naan bread is more commonly known in Montreal. When I saw Parotta in the menu, I was intrigued so I searched what it was on the net. and I squealed when I saw the picture! It is what I’ve been looking for for such a long time! I found it!

Sadly, it is no comparison to what I’ve eaten in Hong Kong. They weren’t as soft, or as layered. But for now, since it’s the only place I know so far in Montreal that serves it, I shall remain content.

Chappathi

Chappathi

We were also curious about Chappathi. It’s almost like a pita, less hard, with more spices in it. I did not really enjoy it. I rather have naan bread, or even better, Parotta! Sorry, I have to keep mentioning Parotta in order to have it ingrained in my memory forever.

Chicken Curry

Chicken Curry

The curry they serve in Thanjai is very different from any curry I’ve tasted. Their curry has cinnamon! That’s a first! Other than that, their curry is rather mediocre. Wished it could taste stronger.

Tomato Uthappam

Tomato Uthappam

Uthappam? What’s that? That was exactly my question. What’s better than ordering it to see it myself! It’s basically like a pancake, but an Indian version. I found it lacking flavor…in the piece that I had, I couldn’t taste the tomato.

Mirch Masala Dosa

Mirch Masala Dosa

Since the Thanjai is popular with their extensive list of Dosa, I had to try one myself! Plus, I never had any dosa before! Because of who I am, I had to pick the spiciest one out of all of the Dosa, or at least that’s what the menu says so. It was filled with hot peppers. The filling was mainly just hot peppers and…guess what? more potatoes! At this point, I was sick of eating potatoes, mostly because the potatoes didn’t taste much. I guess those 3 little bowls served with my dosa would help a bit. Beware, the spiciness did not hit me at first, but gradually it did that I needed other food to tone it down.

Mutton Curry

Mutton Curry

This is like the chicken curry, but instead of the chicken, it’s mutton, obviously. I like this better because the mutton is much more tastier than the chicken.

Overall, this restaurant is VERY affordable. The service was so friendly that really made an impression. It makes me want to come back again even the food was mediocre in general. I would like to think it’s because I did not order the right dishes…there must be a reason why my friends recommended this place!!

 

Thanjai Restaurant on Urbanspoon

Zuuchini

Written by zuuchini

Made in Canada. Chinese. Accountant. Gamer. Makeup lover. Love her family.
Website: http://www.zuuchini.com

5 Comments
  • Cyn says:

    Another Indian place! Still haven’t tried Tandoori Bellevue yet? 😛 But I have an update for you, because I have actually found the BEST Indian food on the island!!!! Haha, the story is that one day, Roman and I got tired of always going to Tandoori Bellevue. It was a pretty long drive, and there is a detour on the highway, etc. So I went to urbanspoon and checked out the closest Indian place (with the highest reviews) and we went there… (So it’s still pretty far for you guys, because it’s in the West Island) It’s called Bombay Choupati and it is SOOOOOOOOOOOO GOOD. 10x better. It’s a tiny, super ghetto place, but their prices are good (they have a combo dinner meal for 10-20$, if I remember correctly) and it is a family owned place. Small but cozy. Highly recommended!! 😀

    • zuuchini says:

      I thought thanjai was the one you recommended to me! (well connie recommended to me too).

      I will put tandoori bellevue in my list so i won’t forget! Which one should I go first? tandoori bellevue or bombay choupati?

      What’s funny is that I just read a review about bombay choupati a few hours before i saw your comment!!

  • Mr.Trinket says:

    I am sorry but you sound like a whitewashed Asian who expects Indian food to be a certain way, and gets disappointed when it doesn’t live up to the supposed hype.
    I wish you had done your research on South Indian cuisine before making hasty judgements on why the food tastes mediocre or bland or why there were too many potatoes…

    P.S. What you were looking for is the Punjabi paratha… And what is chappatti supposed to taste like?

    • zuuchini says:

      Hi Mr.Trinket,

      It is inevitable I sound like a “whitewashed Asian” as I do in fact live in a western culture city. I guess you would prefer a world where Asian remain completely Asian, speak only their language, and eat Asian food only.

      I won’t be lying. I had expectations so I was disappointed because it didn’t live up to the hype. I hear good things about this restaurant so obviously I would expect it to be good. And because it didn’t match to what I have heard, I was disappointed. I’m sure you would feel the same way when you were mislead by false advertisement.

      But I don’t go around and become mad at the ones who suggested the place. Because food is about personal experience. It’s very subjective.

      It is actually on my personal future objective to learn more about food, in a technical standpoint. However, I disagree that I have to do research on every cuisine I try in order to make a judgement. I don’t need research to assess if I like the food or not. Fine, it’s the way how it is served in India; It’s suppose to taste like that; It’s authentic. It doesn’t change the fact that I don’t like it. It could be that it’s normal that the food is bland, but isn’t that just stating a fact? Therefore, I’m only implying that it wouldn’t suit those that don’t like bland food.

      Is it Punjabi paratha? I guessed I was wrongly directed to think it’s Parotta by the restaurant’s menu and also by other online sites!

      The Chappathi was not lacking flavors but texture, which plays a big role in the overall taste. And I did in my review stated that my preference would be naan bread or parotta. So, again, it’s personal preference.

      I am curious if you actually visited Thanjai…

  • […] it could be better. I found it soft and buttery. The paratha wasn’t as good as the one at Thanja because it wasn’t as flaky and buttery. It was a bit dry and too crispy to my […]

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