I’m a big fan of Indian food. Just give me some spicy samosas, naan bread & that delicious chicken tikka masala & I am one happy camper! I know of good places in Simi (my old hometown) & have a few go-to Indian restaurants in the Valley. However I was in for a treat when I visited Mint Leaf Indian Cuisine in the “other” Valley – San Gabriel Valley or Pasadena to be more specific.
It only took about 20 minutes to get there from my home. I spend a lot of time in Pasadena since I have friends that live there. I’m familiar with certain neighborhoods in the ‘dena (which I like to call it but I don’t think anyone really does). Mint Leaf Indian Cuisine is located on East Washington Drive in a nondescript building. It truly feels tucked away & is hidden from the main drag.
Once you enter through the doors, you step into a very opulent-looking, swanky place. We were seated & our hostess recommended that I try the Mango Lassi. It is sweet & made with real fresh mangos. The thick consistency reminded me of a mango smoothie.
Our appetizers were naan (of course) & my beloved vegetable samosas. Our hostess convinced me to try the Bhel Puri which is an Indian dish that consists of puffed rice, peanuts, shredded cabbage, tossed with mint & tamarind chutneys. The naan was delicious because rather than get my good old standby of garlic naan, we opted to get the Feta Cheese & Olive Naan. You can see the bits of olives on top of the naan in the photo & the feta cheese is stuffed right into the naan. The Bhel Puri had a crackle-crunch to it & was tasty. The samosas were yummy as we dipped them into the cilantro & jalapeno chutney (green dipping sauce) and also the tamarind chutney (dark one).
Then the entrees came out. We had a Vegetable Biryani, which is a basmati rice with veggies; Goan Shrimp Curry (hubby’s favorite part of the meal); Saag Paneer, which is Paneer cheese mixed with spinach & lastly, Chicken Tikka Masala.
I was in heaven! I was also feeling very full because everything was so good & we just ate so much.
We couldn’t leave without trying some Indian desserts. The nice thing about Indian desserts is that they are not overly sweet since they usually contain fruits & nuts, instead of the usual chocolate & sugar. First we sampled the Fig & Almond Kulfi, which is an almond-based Indian ice cream. That was my favorite dessert. The Carrot Halwa is a carrot pudding with pistachio crumbles, raisins & cardamom. It was pretty good. My husband’s fave is the Gulab Jamun, which are dumplings tossed in a rose-flavored sugar glaze. The little dumpling kind of reminded me of a donut ball. The sugar glaze was very sweet to me, hence that’s why hubby liked it so much. He’s got a sweet tooth!
I would definitely recommend giving Mint Leaf Indian Cuisine a try. If I lived in Pasadena, it would probably be my go-to Indian place. So the next time I meet my friends for lunch in Pasadena, you know where we will be heading! 😉
Disclosure: No monetary compensation was received for this post. I received a complimentary meal which helped facilitate this review. All images & opinions are 100% my own.
Not a huge INDIAN eater cause the sauces scare me with all my food allergies, but I think if there is some spicy chicken without yogurt in the sauce, I can chow down! I just have to go and order wisely!
I also REALLY need to get out of my LA bubble! ha ha!
GiGi Eats recently posted…Give Me Some Sugar, Sweet Lips!
I get the food allergy issue. My daughter is allergic to nuts, so she could only taste one out of the three desserts that we sampled.
Yes, you do need to get out of your LA bubble. Pasadena has fun shops, good food & hey, there is even a SoulCycle! 🙂