Butter chicken, biryani and curry in Boracay? Yes! Yes! Yes!

On a random stroll along the white beach of Boracay, we chanced upon an interesting aroma – it was Indian food!

We followed through our noses, and it landed us right into this quaint Indian restaurant tucked right in the middle of dmall – Little Taj.

It’s one of those aesthetically-perfect spots – neon lights, bright colors and murals. On our first discovery of this place, it was a weekend. The place was packed with at least 5 more groups in queue. We had to comeback another time and extend our Indian food cravings for another day.

Our second attempt on a weekday was far more successful. We got a good seat and a time to talk to the staff. They would describe Little Taj as an Indian street restaurant, offering an array of famous Indian food – from basics to some adventurous ones.

We wanted to try everything, but we can only take in so much!

Here are some of our favorites:

Butter Chicken

It was creamy-Indian goooood! I have had one too many versions of this in Manila, and some I would say have been too Filipinized. Understandably, to fit the Pinoy taste. But this is definitely one of those legit Indian versions. It reminds me of how my Indian aunties would cook these for Sunday gatherings. It has the right amount of spices balanced with a smooth creamy texture. It has enough spices to have you sweat, but not too much to churn up your insides.

It was a though choice to order this or Spicy Tikka Masala. But our acidic tummies had to be the top priority 🤣 If their Butter Chicken tasted this good, then their Masala would have been wonderful!

Lamb Shank Rogan Josh

This dish took us to lamb heaven. It was so tender and flavorful. It’s always a risk to choose lamb in Philippines as they tend to overcook. But this is just soooooo good! One staff shares: the lamb was slow-cooked to perfection.

The entire Rogan Josh dish sits on another level of goodness! The lamb is perfectly nestled into a flavorful and thick red Indian gravy. Every bite and slurp gives you an awesome buttery smoothness with a little kick of spice and heat. I know it’s not usual to get curry on a beach, but this might be the exception we’re need and looking for.

The spice level was just in the right scale, perfect for Filipinos. My acidity aside, I would have wanted this to be more spicy, or an option to control spice levels would be a great addition to their service offerings.

Lamb Biryani

The lamb biryani is a good ol’ classic biryani – long grains, buttery, smooth, packed with nuts, and full of spices! The Biryani is prepared in Hyderabadi style where everything is cooked all together. Thus, they serve their Biryanis in a Handi, or a traditional Indian cooper basin. As if everything is not yet enough, they top their Biryanis with a perfectly boiled eggs.

If anything, I would have just wanted to taste & smell more saffron on their Biryani. But this might just be me coming from an Indian family 🤣 Plus I know saffron is too expensive, so it might not really be ideal to make it rain on every biryani. But overall, it is one awesome Biryani!

They also offer Biryani with chicken, or vegetables in huge servings! They say it’s for 2, but I think it can serve up to 4.

Most of their dishes come with a choice of carbs – either rice or an Indian flat bread, paratha. Definitely gives you hefty servings and value for money. We didn’t try everything so we have a good reason to comeback to Boracay soon! 🤣

If you are traveling to Boracay anytime soon, give this fiery new food gem a try and give your tastebuds a little trip to India! Check out Little Taj on Instagram!