Rasoi Curry Point

Reviews 4

FE

Felix Lee

Rasoi Curry Point has all the characteristics of a successful local ethnic restaurant: homestyle cooking, highly customer-oriented, and affordable. What I like most about Rasoi is their cooking philosophy - every dish is prepared fresh to order in small batches. In addition, the chefs pulverize and blend their own spices instead of relying on packaged or pre-mixed spices to flavor their food. These two strengths make dining at Rasoi feel very homestyle. Many Indian restaurants cook their food with chemical preservatives in the curries or add excessive ghee, and diners feel heavy or bloated after the meal. On the other hand, Rasoi only uses natural ingredients, and the results are apparent. I can go home afterwards to continue my work without having to take a nap. Although the owners of Rasoi are originally from Hyderabad, their menu is diverse to include delicacies from the entire India subcontinent, non vegetarian and vegetarian, including Indo-Chinese fusion. Of course, the specialties are indigenous to Hyderabadi cuisine, such as mirch ka salan, dum biryani, chicken 65, and several specialty rices. Very few restaurants in this area of the OC, if any, can prepare the aromatic dum biryani as authentic and elaborate as Rasoi and also serve it with a tasty salan. To my understanding, Rasoi is the only restaurant in south OC that offers a made-to-order thali during lunch time, vegetarian for $8.00 and non-vegetarian for $8.50. A thali is perfect for a solo diner or people who prefer to have an individual platter rather than share full-sized dishes. Rasois vegetarian thali provides variety (2 curries, 1 lentil, 1 appetizer, naan, rice, raita, chutney, and dessert), is only prepared when ordered, and is very filling even for a fat guy like me. Many local Indian restaurants do not have thali on the menu and instead point guests to their buffet. The problem with Indian lunch buffets is that the sometimes the food is not properly spiced, is probably not cooked with Indian methods by an Indian chef, could have been sitting under heat lamps for several hours or days (or maybe even leftovers from catering), and does not offer much variety outside of bland "British-inspired" curries. Meanwhile at Rasoi, the thali items rotate daily according to chefs decision or availability. Their food is fresh, the portions are large plus refillable, and the price is comparable to or even lower than a lunch buffet. Because of these reasons, there is no reason to patronize buffets and compromise on freshness and food quality.

CH

Chelsea Madren

Vegetable Samosa ($2.99 for 2) is wheat flour dough stuffed with potatoes, peas, mild Indian herbs, and spices. It is also served with date, tamarind, and cilantro dipping sauces. The outside is more like a pastry pie crust versus a crispy wonton, phyllo dough. It is packed with potatoes, peas, and herbaceous flavor. Each sauce adds spicy, sweet, sour, and tangy flavors. Experiment to see which combination you like the best! Rating: 4.5/5 Chili Paneer ($8.99) is an Indo-Chinese dish made with pieces of paneer marinated in special spices, soy sauce, green peppers, and pan fried. Paneer has the texture of firm tofu along with the squeaky action of cheese curds. Paneer has a subtle flavor and takes on the flavors added to it. The chili sauce is spicy and a little sweet. It works well with the sautéed onions and bell peppers. Rating: 4.8/5 Chicken Biryani ($9.59) is a Hyderabad style dum biryani – where the chicken and long grain basmati rice are cooked together with home blended spices over low heat. The chicken is tender and very flavorful. The rice is beautifully presented like confetti from the different spices and contrasting green from the cilantro. Rating: 4.8/5 Garlic Naan ($2.29) is Indian flatbread cooked with minced garlic in the tandoor. The texture is great. It just needs more garlic flavor. Rating: 3.8/5 Tustin Chicken™ is a Rasoi specialty made with boneless chicken pieces marinated in special spices, Hara Masala yogurt, green peppers, and then pan-fried to perfection. The chicken is tender and has great flavor from the marinade. The bright green color will remind you of St. Patrick’s Day. It also has a spicy kick. Rating: 4.5/5 Chicken Tikki Masala ($11.99) is made with pieces of chicken marinated in a special sauce, roasted in the tandoor, and then cooked in a tomato and yogurt gravy. The chicken is tender and works well with the creamy tomato gravy. The gravy itself is silky with a little bit of a kick. Rating: 5/5 Palak Lamb ($12.99) is succulent pieces of lamb cooked in a spinach-based sauce. The lamb is tender and the spinach sauce is luxurious. The gamey flavors of the lamb balance with the greenness of the spinach. It is fantastic over rice! Rating: 5/5 Allu Korma is something that is not normally found in Orange County. It has perfectly cooked chunks of potatoes in a creamy gravy. The flavor profile is reminiscent of a side for Thanksgiving or maybe at a picnic with fried chicken. Rating: 4.8/5

SU

subhasree natesan

Read raving reviews online. Drove quite a distance to try their wonderful food. Was waited on by a nice guy, who seemed to be the only wait staff. We ordered the simplest of items - 2 plates of yoghurt rice, 1 plate of tamarind rice and a biryani. Yoghurt rice was lumpy, you could see that it was made with rice cooked a while back. Being South Indian, I know what I am talking about when it comes to curd rice. You mash the rice well, thats the basic of a good curd rice. Tamarind rice - they must have run out of tamarind, what I got was burnt lemon rice. The urad dal and mustard were burnt. Obviously, they did not care enough to make sure its not burnt. Also, the rice was again horribly lumpy. I had to break lumps with my spoon. The veggie biryani - Bland, no seasoning. When I told them, they said, well, we dont add too much salt. I said that they should have asked us our preference then regarding spice level and salt. One person came and asked me about the food, I told him and the waiter that it was bad. He said hell take care of it and disappeared into the kitchen. Lets not even get into the horrible decor. Asbetos ( I think) on the side. A cat waving its arms on a dingy shelf. Thats Indian for you, I guess! And I was presented with a full bill for all the food with not even an apology. Driving home, I felt quite cheated. Called them up to complain about the bad food quality. As I criticized her food, she yelled at me and banged the phone down. i guess she made it. This restaurant getting such good reveiws is a SHAME. Just goes to prove that those people have not tasted authentic, tasty Indian cuisine. They are being cheated by this restaurant management.

TH

Thach Nguyen

My coworkers and I pick up lunch from here almost weekly. Like other reviews have said, the restaurant is very small, but the food is great. The owner is usually at the front waiting the tables, and is so accommodating and pleasant. It shows how much he wants you to enjoy yourself. He definitely treats his loyal customers well. They have a lunch box that you can order, and the main entrees change each day. The dishes also depend on whether you order the vegetarian or non-vegetarian kind. There doesnt seem to be a pattern of what entrees will be served on a particular day. So if youre particular about your indian food youll have to ask them what the lunch boxes include that day. My only wish would be that they list the items for lunch that week somewhere online. Other than the main entrees, the box usually comes with rice, garlic (or plain i think if you ask) naan, a soup (not sure what the actual name is), and a samosa with two kinds of chutney. The prices are great, and Im always stuffed after Im done with my box.