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Masala Express Iselin NJ Review
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Address: Masala Express
214 Worth St(Off Green St) Iselin, NJ 08830 Other Oak Tree Road Restaurants |
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Masala Express Iselin: Disappointing Indian Food
Tucked away in a small strip mall at the intersection of Green St and Worth St in Iselin is Masala Express, a new Indian restaurants in the Oak Tree Road area.
Masala Express is located in the same spot that was previously occupied by Abhiruchi.
Abhiruchi used to serve fine Dosas and Utappams though its Hyderabad Dum Chicken Biryani was abominable.
We dropped by at Masala Express recently to check out its fare.
To put it in one word, our Masala Express experience was Disappointing.
Oh, the mediocre food, the unpleasant experience of sifting through a dirty pile of dining plates to get a clean one (more about this later) to water glasses placed upside down on a table without table-cloth to the deafening noise from the kitchen (vacuum cleaner?) - it was a bumpy ride that took us from one pothole to another.
Masala Express Ambiance
When we walked into Masala Express around 12:15pm, the restaurant was empty except for a lone diner digging into appetizers.As for the ambiance, it's the same boring drab interiors that Abhiruchi sported.
Buffet station on the rear left, tables upfront and large mirrors on the right.
Abhiruchi at least had a huge yellow color signboard in the window.
Masala Express Buffet
Masala Express has a weekend buffet for $11.99.The waiter never cared to ask us whether we preferred buffet or the a la carte menu.
Since no choice was provided, we chose the buffet.
Buffet included assorted appetizers, vegetarian and non-vegetarian entrees, rice dishes, choice of one dosa and desserts.
Appetizers, Chutneys, Sambar
Appetizers during our visit were commonplace South Indian items like Idli, Vada, Onion Pakora, cut pieces of Mirchi Bajji, Mysore Bonda and Samosa.There was Sambar and four Chutneys - Tomato, Ginger, Coconut and Mint.
All the appetizers were lukewarm. On a chilly winter afternoon, there's no excuse for serving lukewarm appetizers.
Idli was harder than warranted. Unpardonable at a South Indian restaurant.
Medhu Vada was crisp but not tasty.
But the crisp Onion Pakora and Mirchi Bajji and spongy Mysore Bonda were delicious and amply made up for the disappointing Medhu Vada.
Samosa was well cooked and the Potato curry stuffing tasty.
Assorted Appetizers
Chutneys were at room temperature. Tomato Chutney was slightly on the bland side but still good. Ginger Chutney was spicy and tangy.
Coconut Chutney was hopelessly bland since too few green chillies appear to have gone into its preparation.
Tomato Chutney (top left), Coconut Chutney (top right)
Ginger Chutney (bottom left), Mint Chutney (bottom right)
Also, there was too little Coconut Chutney at the buffet station and it was never replenished during the 30 minutes or so we were there.
Mint Chutney was OK but nothing to write home about.
We've had better Mint Chutney at some North Indian restaurants on Oak Tree Rd.
Sambar was the sole item that was piping hot. But that was the only good thing about Masala Express' Sambar.
For it was too watery, and had too little Toor Dal and Tamarind. Though there were Drumsticks in the Sambar, surprisingly the flavor did not seep into the Sambar.
Disappointed with the lukewarm appetizers and watery Sambar, we moved on to entrees starting with non-vegetarian items.
Non-Veg Entrees
Tandoori Chicken, Jal Jala Kabob, Kadai Chicken, Egg and Shrimp Curry and Andhra Chepa Pulusu were there for the taking.Tandoori Chicken was well marinated, roasted and delicious.
Easily one of the best Tandoori Chicken we have had in New Jersey.
By golly, we glimpsed Heaven!
Tandoori Chicken (bottom)
Jal Jala Kabob was a disappointment and brought us down with a thud.
The meat was way too hard that we couldn't help silently cursing the chef to eternal damnation.
Kadai Chicken (bottom) Jal Jala Kabob (top right)
Kadai Chicken did not put us into a swoon!
Keep moving!
Egg and shrimp curry was hot but not flavorful enough for our demanding tastebuds.
Chicken Biryani
Chicken Biryani smelled better than it tasted.
Chicken Biryani
Some portions of Chicken Biryani were obscenely spicy and others salty suggesting it had not been mixed thoroughly before offering to paying customers.
Sure the Chicken pieces were tender but since the proportion of Biryani spices and salt had gone awry, we just could not push more than two spoonfuls into the mouth.
If you are a big fan of Chicken Biryani, we suggest you try it at Green Chilli Indian restaurant on Green St or at Persis Biryani in Hamilton, New Jersey.
The Chicken Biryani experience was so mouth-scorching that we shied away from the fiery looking Andhra Chepa Pulusu.
Awful Vegetarian Entrees
There were three Vegetarian entrees - Mushroom Mutter, Paneer Tikka Masala and Dal Makhani.
Paneer Tikka Masala (top left) Rice (top right) Mushroom Mutter (bottom)
In retrospect, none of the Vegetarian entrees were worth even a second glance.
So bad.
Mushroom Mutter was a watery, bland travesty and tasted like boiled Mushrooms and Green Peas had been dished out in a hurry.
Set in a slightly watery gravy, Paneer Tikka Masala was a sour abomination.
Now don't get me started on the horrid Dal Makhani. It was way too watery and tasted like finely boiled lentils with too little seasoning.
Overall, we'd give the vegetarian entrees a "C-minus".
Naan Bread and Rice
Naan bread came piping hot to the table.Fresh and a little crisp, just the way we love 'em.
Naan Bread
Crappy Dosa
Masala Express' weekend buffet comes with a choice of Plain, Masala or Onion Dosa. We chose Masala and Onion Dosa.Dosa was served at the table. That was the only good thing about it.
Dosa was small.
Both Masala Dosa and Onion Dosa were not in the least bit crisp or tasty.
Masala Dosa
The Dosa dough was likely not sufficiently fermented.
Onion Dosa
Also, Onion Dosa included sprinkling of large pieces of Onion on top of Potato curry stuffing inside.
Come on, that's a rip-off. No decent South Indian restaurant does an Onion Dosa like that! Onion pieces ought to be mixed into the batter and then laid on the griddle.
Desserts
During our visit, Gulab Jamun and Rasmalai were on offer.
Gulab Jamun
Gulab Jamun was hard and rubbery.
The accompanying sugar syrup was not even lukewarm and low on cardamom flavor.
Rasmalai was a bit cold as it ought to be.
No, No, we did not enjoy Rasmalai as the syrup had a slightly chemical flavor and the pistachio toppings were stale.
Dirty Plates
But what got our goat more than the mediocre food was the dirty plates.Dining plates were placed in a pile near the chutneys on the buffet station.
When we picked up a dining plate to get started on the buffet, the bottom of the plate near the edges had a soapy wet touch.
Since we prefer eating out of clean dining plates, we returned to the dining plate pile to pick up a clean one.
Soon we realized the culprit for the soapy wet touch.
The top three plates had what seemed like soapy dish washing liquid floating near the edges.
As we were keeping the dirty plates aside, the waitress noticed and came over to check the whole pile. She handed us a clean plate and took the dirty plates inside.
Yet another irritating thing was table hygiene. Water glasses were kept upside down on a table that had no table cloth.
Keeping water glasses upside down is bad table hygiene as they invariably pick up dirt and fumes from table cleaning chemicals.
When we asked the waiter what type of Dosas were available as part of the buffet he was clueless and had to call another waiter for help.
As if that were not vexing enough, the same bloke asked us whether we wanted both Dosa and Naan bread.
Though irritated at his attempts to provide only Dosa, we politely informed him of our desire for both Dosa and Naan bread.
WHAT THE HELL!
No Indian restaurant with even an iota of shame asks if you want Naan Bread!
Ridiculous! Naan bread is a staple item and how is one expected to eat the curries without the Naan bread. Just with rice?
Also, the waitstaff never cared to alert us that Chicken Biryani was added to the buffet station half way through our meal.
Yet another irritating thing was the deafening noise from the Kitchen. Most likely the culprit was a vacuum cleaner.
Masala Express - Rating
Overall, with a few exceptions our Masala Express buffet trip was a below-par experience.Given the severe competition from the plethora of Indian restaurants in Iselin and Edison, Masala Express ought to quickly improve its food and service and provide better value to diners! - © OakTreeRoad.us