Halima Kebab Biryani

Rating: Very good
Meal: Dinner for 2
Price: 4200 yen
Payment: Cash only (credit card machine not working)
Dishes: Tandoori meat platter, lamb chop, samosas, paneer cheese sandwich, kerala paratha
English Menu: Yes
Smoking: No

Masala papdum

My wife and I were in Tokyo on Saturday and Sunday, so we spent Saturday night in the Ueno area as that would position us well for church on Sunday.  We had an enjoyable time traipsing all over the Ameyokocho market, identifying numerous potential restaurants for dinner.  We ended up at one closer to our hotel called Halima Kebab Biryani, which as the name indicates is a rare find in Tokyo:  an Indian restaurant run and staffed by actual Indians!

Samosas

The menu and font look very similar in many ways to our favorite Indian restaurant in Japan:  Royal Parasol, but the food tastes a bit different.  I am eating carnivore these days so I stuck with a tandoori meat platter and lamb chop and my wife wanted to just eat a bunch of appetizers so she went for samosas, a paneer cheese sandwich thing, and some kerala paratha.

Paneer sandwich thing

The meat was pretty good, although I found their tandoori sauce to be a bit high on vinegary scale.  But the malay chicken was nice and creamy, and the lamb chop was surprisingly hefty.  My wife said her dishes were pretty good too, although the paratha was a bit disappointing as it wasn't covered in ghee or butter, but oh well.

Tandoori meat platter

While eating, an Indian family came in and sat next to us and ordered biryani and curries and such, and I'm really looking forward to returning to try those dishes as well.  I may even change the rating up to an Excellent if they merit it.  But for now the rating is a Very Good as both of us felt Royal Parasal is a cut above.

Afghani lamb chop

Kerala paratha