Spice House — Restaurant in Edison

Indo-Chinese fusion is such a rarity cuisine and this place proves you why, with their amazing menu. We ran into this place when searched for Indian restaurants in Edison area. The reviews were mostly positive and we decided to drop my birthday dinner bet on this one.

We entered an almost empty restaurant on a week day evening and were contemplating if we checked a different restaurant, online and if we made the right choice coming here. We were attended promptly and given a seat by one of the waiters.

They have a plethora of options in the menu and it was delightful to see a lot of Manchurian options. We picked the Chinese bhel and Triple Fried rice based on some of the reviews that had mentioned them. We weren’t sure of the quantity and went ahead and ordered a Steamed momo, cauliflower manchurian and cut mirchi bhajji.

The food didn’t take a lot of time to be served, except for the momos (the server gave a head up that it’d take at least 25 mins for it during the order).

Now to the taste of the food - it was AMAZING and lip smacking-ly delicious. Everything was well cooked and had a soul to it. We enjoyed every dish as we worked our way through them. The portion was huge and that’s something we weren’t prepared for and we had to pack some of the food for the next day’s lunch.

The service was pleasant whenever the person who waited or the owner-look person who also served and checked on us whenever he was at the table. But the problem is, they weren’t checking on us consistently and that was bit of a sour spot. Water was not refilled regularly and we had to wait until somebody came to us for serving food and again waited to get us checked out. It’s understandable when you are having a busy day with staff shortage. But when it was quite the opposite, we only wished we were attended to, promptly. And the sofa seats were little bumpy with may be broken...

I have never tried Indian chaat and a review from a Yelp friend got me tempted to give it a try. Unlike most of the restaurants on the Edison stretch of Rt 27, Spice House is on the northbound side. Signage is huge and professionally designed. Parking is plenty and easy. The interior is also well thought out with red and yellow ethnic theme. The menu contains Indian and Chinese dishes. I knew I was going to try one of the chaats so I asked the manager for his recommendation. As a result, I ordered Samosa Chana Chaat ($8.95). In the process, I learned that the manager isn't Indian but Bhutanese. That may explained the color theme?

It took a bit longer to prepare despite no one else was waiting. I think that was because the samosa either had to be cooked to order or had to be reheated properly. The rest of the ingredients were cold and ready made and just have to be mixed/sprinkled in. Most if not all chaats are vegetarian, so I didn't expect to be wowed. But the taste was explosive! It was plethora of spices, temperatures, and textures. The samosa was hot and chunky, the yogurt was cold and creamy, the chutneys were sweat, the curry was spicy, and the nylon sev was crispy. It was fantastic! I am glad I had a positive initiation to Indian street food. I will definitely venture for more in the future!

PS. 5% off if...

I went yesterday with my roommate and some of her friends, it was my birthday as well as hers and another person's so we celebrated three birthdays. I'm Nigerian (Igbo)-American so I can handle spice, and the food was delicious! My only issue was that each time I ordered food, I never got my food but the other birthday girls did as well as everyone in the group. I wanted Malhi(?) Malkhani (under the chicken section of the menu) and the guy wrote it down but it never came out. Then I wanted plain naan because we were sharing dal malkhani and everyone else except for one other person wanted butter naan. When the naan came out, all of them had butter on it. For being the only non- Southeast Asian in the group, the staff was so friendly and encouraged me to order since they deliver, so it could have been a genuine mix up. I felt better going to Edison with friends after this experience since my last experience in Edison wasnt as pleasant. If I got my order I would have given 5 stars; it's clean from food presentation to the aesthetic and bathroom. There's Bollywood movies playing in the background as well, and the prices were decent for the portions. Family oriented as well. Great place and I'll give it...