Masala Art — Restaurant in Zhongshan District

3.5 stars. Came here Sunday for dinner for the first time with a friend, and we ordered quite a bit. Some of the items were good, but some items were disappointing.

The decor was nice. We sat outside as the weather wasn't too cool and there is limited indoor seating. The staff is pretty nice. Not the most proactive but very helpful and everyone was English friendly.

We ordered the mutton vindaloo, beef masala, palak paneer, tandoori chicken, turmeric rice, garlic naan, Hawaiian chicken salad, chai, and mango lassi.

The good: the beef masala was flavorful and tender. The palak paneer was tasty, too, with a nice bite to the paneer. The turmeric rice was a decent portion and was real basmati rice. The chai and lassi were great.

The not so good: the naan was very thin. It had good garlic flavor, but it was more like a cracker than the fluffy tender naan bread I'm used to. Maybe it's just me, but I didn't like it. The two really disappointing dishes were the mutton vindaloo and the tandoori chicken. While the mutton was very tender, it was not spicy or sour. It was incredibly bland even with a two 🌶 warning. There was no heat and flavor. However, the weird thing was the tandoori chicken was very spicy. I like a lot of heat and it had a kick even for me. My friend who doesn't like spicy food ate my vindaloo with no problem but couldn't handle more than a bite of the chicken.

I don't know if there was a mix up in the kitchen and we got someone's spicy tandoori by mistake or the spices were off in the vindaloo or what. Since a vindaloo and naan are my go to orders I probably wouldn't come back here but you might have a different experience.

FYI: the restaurant is Halal, so they don't serve alcohol. Plenty of other places in Maji to get a drink but just...

Easily the worst Indian food I have ever eaten, not just in Taiwan, but the entire planet. Indian food is supposed to be spicy, not necessary from a hotness level, but in terms of flavor. I ordered a mutton vindaloo that managed to have no heat and no flavor. The mutton itself was quite fatty and some of it was inedible, forcing me to spit it out on my plate. The chana masala weirdly tasted more like peanut butter than a fragrant chick pea curry. The garlic naan was like stale pita bread, and along with the turmeric rice, was flavorless. I ate this meal though because I was insanely hungry having not had a chance to eat and the fact that all this food cost more than 900 NT. Given the poor quality and average quantity, this meal would not be worth it for even 100 NT.

The service was not as awful, but not warm and friendly either. The manager (maybe owner), asked my opinion, and I said the vindaloo was not spicy. She did ask if I wanted some chili oil to put on top, but I refused as that would just cover over a not very good dish. After that, I was pretty much ignored till I called for the check.

Do not eat at this restaurant, it is simply awful food and an embarrassment to Indian cuisine. If the owner is reading this review, please find another chef and get better ingredients. I know what good food is (just look at my past reviews), so trust me when I say your food...

I don't know the middle-age-looking Asian Indian(?) who wears glasses is staff or owner, his service attitude was the most worst I ever experienced. In addition to food, price and environment, I think service attitude is also important for the restaurants. This restaurant is NOT a good value for the price. I'll never go back there again.

He didn't give us weekdays lunch menu. Moreover he got our order wrong. We said "This appetizer isn't what we ordered.", he angrily, intimidatingly, repeatedly said “You didn’t tell me the appetizer!” “You only said chicken curry!” We surely ordered the appetizer, but if he wasn’t clear what our ordered appetizer was, he should ask us. Why he can decide our appetizer by himself? Why he has a right to get angry? When a white young friend said to him “Sorry♪”, his face changed into a little bit smile. (How ridiculous!) After a while, he brought 2kinds of appetizers(wrong one and right one), said to the western girl with a huge smile, “It (the wrong one) is service!”

I know he took a shine to her, but I also feel he can be racist or/and sexist. If we all were white or men, would he get mad? I presume no.

I don't like his...