After noticing the Taj's promotion on the baggage carts at the airport earlier this morning, as we were roaming around Koror city this evening, we came face to face with the Taj.
Whenever I travel, I usually avoid Indian fare as I prefer sampling local fare. And that's why I wasn't too keen on visiting the Taj, Neeti insisted we step in and check it out. I reluctantly agreed.
The Taj was brightly lit up for Christmas and that made the Taj hard to miss as we drove along the Main Street...
The Open signage welcomed us in...
The outdoor dining area had a few guests, but since it was quite balmy, we preferred to sit indoors...
The performance area...
We were very warmly welcomed by the staff - mainly Filipinos and a few Indians. The Indian staff - Jaya (from Kanyakumari, the southern most tip of peninsular India) and Raj (from Delhi) got into conversations with us enquiring what brought us to Palau - we gathered not many Indians visit this tiny speck in the Pacific. Thankfully, the Taj wasn't a Bangladeshi place posing as an Indian restaurant...
Order placed and waiting for our meal...
I was praying for a good meal and not something that masquerades as Indian cuisine...
The restaurant was teeming with Taiwanese tourists enjoying spicy Indian food - another sign of India's soft power...
We had ordered a simple vegetarian meal - baingan bharta, daal, tandoori roti and yogurt. It was a lot like a North Indian home-cooked meal back home in Delhi and that's quite literally a luxury in Koror. And the food was incredibly yummy, thanks to the chefs from Garhwal! And frankly, for once, I was happy to be wrong. I enjoyed and was overwhelmed with every morsel, every bite...
The prices here are a bit steep, but that's okay given that the Taj has to fly all their ingredients in from Guam.
We were then introduced to the owner of the Taj, Robert Scaria, originally from Delhi who has been restaurateur all his life and has found his calling in Palau - he has been here for nearly a decade! Later we figured out that Robert had been appointed as the Honorary Consul of India to the Republic of Palau, in April 2014! Thanks, Robert, for keeping India's flag flying high, in the Republic of Palau!
Would always recommend the Taj to anyone visiting Palau!
No comments:
Post a Comment