Basmati | Taste Of India — Restaurant in Hong Kong Island

Located in the quieter part of Sheung Wan on Connaught Road, Basmati is an authentic Indian Restaurant that serves superb food with fantastic hospitality, making the dinning experience really memorable for my friend and I.

I only know a bit about Indian food, but my friend is definitely a pro as she lived in Indian for a period of time some years ago. I was glad that she made the decision about what to order.

My friend ordered this Kingfisher beer, which is a famous beer in Indian, with a thin body and a sweet after taste, making a great drink with Indian food.

I ordered a glass of Mango Lassi, which is always my to-get drink in an Indian restaurant. I really like this fruity yogurt drink, especially this one with a pretty “lassiart” on top with mango syrup! Best thing about this lassi? It’s not overly sweet nor tastes artificial.

Our great feast began with these Pani Puri, which are crispy rice puff stuffed with mashed chickpeas, potatoes and herbs. This was my first time having Pani Puri, and I was grateful that my friend taught me how to enjoy it the best — soak the stuffing in the pani puri with the bottle of slightly sour dressing in the middle. Generous dressing is the key, and finish the pani puri in a single bite. A very refreshing and wowing appetizer.

These Deep Fried Eggplant slices were gorgeous too! Most of the time deep fried veggies are oily and greasy, but definitely not this case. The slightly crispy surface wrapping the soft eggplant meat made the fried vegetables even more enjoyable!

This sizzling hot plate of Garlic Chicken was so delicious! The chicken pieces were so tender, juicy and nicely flavored, we just couldn’t stop digging in.

This is my first time having Chapati, which is made with whole-wheat flour. I have never seen it on the menu of other Indian restaurants in Hong Kong, for the reason that it took quite a bit of effort and tools to make it. I really appreciated Basmati for serving this yummy chapati, with a fluffy texture and a rich wheat flavour. Highly recommend you to try it!

Both the Rogan Josh and Butter Chicken were so enjoyable with the chapati. The Rogan Josh (Indian lamb curry) was absolutely splendid with a mix of Indian spices, yet it’s not overly spicy for Hongkonger’s palate. The mutton chunks were meaty and tender.

I love the Butter Chicken dearly. It’s actually quite magically to us. When we first tried it, it was quite creamy and rich. And at the end of the dish, the butter chicken actually tasted much spicier! Both flavours were very enjoyable. Not to forget the delicious tender pieces of chicken chunks, even though the sauce already blown our minds!

The big feast ended on a high note with this warm Rice Pudding. The creamy rich pudding was nicely flavoured with shredded coconut. And the doughnut like thingy on top was definitely a highlight! You really have to taste it yourself!

Nothing could beat this Indian Masala Tea, not even Hong Kong style milk tea. I could already smell the nice aroma of masala tea when it was poured into the cup. The smooth body and milky flavour of this tea was absolutely my kind of tea!

My friend and I were already thinking about when to visit Basmati again when we left. Highly recommend this authentic Indian...

[Basmati - Taste of India] Hong Kong is a melting pot of different communities, making it a real treat for those who love to try different kinds of cuisine. Basmati is the rice that is typically associated with Indian cuisine. As its name implies, Basmati is a place where you can explore the taste of India. The restaurant features the authentic Indian cuisine but also with the Nepalese flair. All the foods are prepared to meet your taste preference, whether it is mild, moderate or spicy. The owner is very friendly and helpful when asked for recommendations, he can even help you tailoring up a perfect meal.

Mixed Starter (HK$56) 👍👍👍👍👍 The mixed starter consisted of three kinds of vegetarian/vegan snacks: Papadam - The papadam is light, crispy and leaves your taste buds delighted with its crunch.

Samosas - The flaky pastry filled with potatoes, veggies and spiced up with just enough spices, it’s truly a hearty and delicious appetiser.

Punjabi Pakoras - these deep-fried mixed vegetables taste delicious and are extremely addictive with a great aroma of spices.

Chicken Momo (HK$78) 👍👍👍👍👍 Momo is the most popular dish in Nepal, it’s a dumpling stuffed with meat or vegetables and taste great on their own, but some spicy sauce takes the taste one step further.

Tandoori Fish (HK$138) 👍👍👍👍👍 The whole fish was perfectly grilled with an excellent smoky flavour, served on the hot cast iron plate that kept the fish sizzling hot.

Rogan Josh (HK$98) 👍👍👍👍👍 This is the Indian lamb curry in a creamy tomato curry sauce, the lamb was fall apart tender, and the curry was so yum ... be sure to mop up the luscious curry gravy with the garlic Nann.

Garlic Nann (HK$26) 👍👍👍👍 Fresh out of the tandoor, soft, fluffy texture with the right amount of garlic flavour. Perfect for mopping up the curry!

Pullau Rice (HK$48) 👍👍👍👍👍 A pot of fragrant basmati rice with aromatic spices and herbs, it’s a hearty and flavoursome rice dish.

Garlic Fried Mixd Veggie (HK$85) 👍👍👍👍 A simple yet healthy garlic fried vegetables.

Mojito (HK$58) 👍👍👍👍 It’s good to cool down from all the spice with a refreshing glass of Mojito.

Mango Lassi (HK$36) 👍👍👍👍👍 This yogurt based mango lassi was creamy with natural...

It is a nice dining place and peaceful enviornment in Sheung Wan area. The place is spacious with comfy sofa seats and large tables. They also offered lunch buffet and had live music before the pandemic. Staff are really nice and patient to customers. Overall experience is such a pleasant Indian night!

Tandoori Chicken: Served in a hot iron plate, it is simply a sizzling and hot, sensation. The chicken smells so good once served on table. It is not only the meat but with bones. The meat is juicy with strong tandoori spice favor.

Momo Chicken: This is more like the traditional dish of Nepali cuisine steamed dumplings with shredded chicken as stuffing inside. They come in half-moon shaped thick dumplings wrap. Inner content is seasoned and juicy. The dipping sauce is with mild mint flavor.

Karela Dry: It's a special dish with chinese bitter guard as the main vegetable type. The taste is a mix of tanginess and spiciness. And the texture is both crispy and crunchy.

Mango Lassi: Lassi helps to relieve the spicyness staying in mouth. The sweetness from the sweet lassi and sourness from mango are good combination to make the lassi more flavorful.

Green Onion Naan: Favorite part of Indian food is always the chewy flat bread made from clay oven that hardly stop at one piece. The naan tastes even better and unstoppable after sprinkle with scallions.

Rice pudding: Last but not least, time for some dessert! This kind of pudding is a typical after meal dish in India. Simple yet healthy kind of sweets by mixing milk, sugar with rice. This complimentary dessert is mild sweet and the round ball in middle is...