Sheezan, Paris 5/10

1. Address: 84 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis, 75010 Paris, France

   Phone:+33 1 45 23 18 77

    

   A 'dhaba' like ambience, Indo Pakistani food, but the food didnt live up to the expectations of a good dhaba.

   
   

   Naan - 6/10

   Chicken kabab - 5/10

   Lamb seekh kabab - 5/10

   
   

   Both the kababs were not moist and didnt have much flavor either.

   
   

Amaya, London

Address: Halkin Arcade, Motcomb St, London SW1X 8JT, United Kingdom

Phone:+44 20 7823 1166

http://www.amaya.biz/

 

Good ambience, classy, Indian tapas like place.

Chicken biryani - 7/10 : well made, in an earthen pot, tasty, but the chicken could have been done better.

Chicken kabab - 7/10 : moist, well made, but needed more taste and marination

Lamb kakori kabab - 8/10 : really good job on this one, almost melts in the mouth, as they claim. Not overly spicy, but has a discernible black pepper taste to it.

Shalimar Restaurant, San Francisco, CA
532 Jones St, San Francisco, CA
(415) 928-0333

I had heard about this restaurant being good. I asked the chef for his recommendations (below):
Murgh Boti Tandoori - 5/10. Nothing great. The chicken was not well marinated and suffered from the same 1/2 mm of flavor problem (the surface has some marinate, but inside is unmarinated "white" meat). This dish is marinated chicken cubes "kabob", not minced.

Seekh Kabab Mughlai (beef) - 6/10.

Bhuna Gosht (lamb pieces) - 6/10. This was nice, but just about that.

Below is what I should have had according to some local sources:
Chicken Kofta
Chicken Leg
Aloo Parantha

Shahnawaz Grill, Iselin, NJ

Shahnawaz Grill, Iselin, NJ
1380 Oak Tree Rd, Iselin, NJ 08830 732-283-2257

12/31/08 update

The place has been renovated this year, but the food seems to have taken a hit.

Chicken Tikka - 6/10. 

Chicken Shami kabab - 4/10. This was pretty bad. It stank and tasted like spoilt daal (lentil).

Goat biryani - 6/10. Tasty, but needed more biryani flavor and a better goat

Goat curry - 6/10. 

Lamb seekh kabab - 6/10. Needed more spices and flavor.

Jalebi - 6/10. These were the red ones (vs the yellow ones - just a color technicality), but made in oil (vs ghee - those are the best). 

One of the best non-veg Indian restaurants on Oak Tree Rd in Iselin, NJ (Moghul - which the locals say is the best restaurant there, is not a targeted non-veg place. Shahnawaz is a carnivore's paradise :) The food has flavor, different curried items actually taste different.
Sample platter (different types of kababs and meat chunks) - 7/10
Lamb biryani - 7/10
Chicken seekh kabab - 6/10
Lamb seekh kabab - 7/10