Saffron

Saffron is an Indian restaurant that's located just behind the Taipei American School. It was opened about a year and a half ago. Felicia has been there a number of times as have rest of the family members. It's a small restaurant with seating for about 20-30 people, so it fills up very quickly. We've been lucky and able to get a table without reservation each time we have visited. But we have seen people waiting outside of this restaurant regularly.

We've been fans of Indian cuisines since our days in Japan when we frequented an Indian curry house in Hiroo right after the boys' Saturday baseball games. The boys especially are fond of the Indian Butter Chicken which is a mild and creamy red curry, and the garlic naan. They have since developed a taste and appreciation for other Indian dishes as well.

Saffron is the third or fourth Indian restaurants that we have tried during our five and a half years in Taipei. Apart from Saffron, we have been to the Cafe India (reviewed by Nick in his blog) and Spice Garden (which is also located behind TAS). So far, it is our favorite Indian Restaurant. Saffron's food is fresh, rich in flavours, colors and smell.

Apart from the usual curry dishes, there is a wide variety of appetizers, main dishes and desserts. We ordered the grill-chicken salad("Murgh Makhmali Tikka"), fried onion pancake("Onion Bhaji"), two garlic naan and a wheat naan("Lachhadar Paratha"), lamb in white curry ("Safed Rajasthani Ghost"), buttered chicken("Murgh Makhani"), vegetable curry("Peshawari Aloo Gobhi") and saffron rice. Matt also ordered a mango lassi to try. The grill-chicken were boneless chicken thighs marinated in yogurt and spices then grilled in the tandoor and served over a bed of field greens. There were six pieces to an order. When our order arrived we were informed that one piece of chicken was dropped enroute to our table and were replaced with two additional pieces shortly after. The chicken was tender and well seasoned and was perfect with the salad. The fried onion pancake was crisp and not oily. It was served with two different yogurt sauces.

The naan were freshly baked in the glass enclosed area in the front of the restaurant and arrived hot and moist. Unlike the garlic naan which was puffy, the wheat naan was little disappointing as it was a little dry and flat (more like pita). The butter chicken was great. Just spicy enough to make the dish interesting without turning the kids off. The vegetable curry was made of cauliflower, potato and tomatoes. It was a dry curry dish without much sauce but the flavors were intense and left a fragrant aftertaste. The disappointment was the lamb dish. While the lamb was cooked to perfection, tender and moist, the white sauce was a little blend. Matthew's mango lassi was creamy and overwhelm the mango flavor. He wasn't fond of it and wouldn't order it again.

Overall, we enjoyed our experience once again. The staff was very efficient and informative, refilling our glasses regularly. The owner, Sandra, whom we know from ACC was very friendly and came over for a chat each time we've visited. The decor was nice without being over the top. There are enough variety to keep our visits interesting each time. The only negative would be the price. Average tab per person would probably range between NT$600-900 per visit.

Food: ***
Ambiance: ***
Price: $$$
Repeat visit: definitely