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The Taj Pavilion offers a good alternative to the all-you-can-eat Indian buffets that pop up everywhere in Beijing. Raving reviews from high profile Indian dignitaries, excellent food, friendly management and a comfortable environment make this a pavilion worth returning to.

Smack bang in the center of the Central Business District lies an exotic pavilion: decorative windows crafted from small chips of camel bone hang on the walls, a zigzagging series of mini booths line the sides of the minimalist rectangular interior, and dim lighting and soothing Indian music set just the right ambience. Welcome to the Taj Pavilion.

This restaurant exudes authenticity, all the way down to even the very menu covers. These wooden covers are adorned with grills straight from the walls of the Taj Mahal, and the pages inside span the whole range of Indian cuisines. There is no regional focus to the selection, although General Manager, Mr. Pastakia, ensures the authenticity, and even the health benefits, of every dish served.

Bemoaning Indian cuisine's traditionally unhealthy rep, he explained that there is in fact a very real and healthy science to Indian cooking. For example, coriander is added to the spiciest dishes, not so much for the flavor, but more for its use as a natural internal coolant.

For starters, we tried the special "Hara Bara Kebabs" (36 RMB). These were excellent; however, don't order these expecting chunks of meat on a stick. Rather they are deep fried rounded vegetable patties, laced with exotic spices, and chock full of beans, carrots, green peas, and spinach. These were complemented by "Mulligatawny" (25 RMB), a creamy, hot, tasty and very filling lentil soup. First introduced to India by the British Raj, this soup exemplifies the heavier and thicker Northern Indian cuisine.

We had another of the house specials, the "Shaam Savera" (52 RMB) for one of our mains. These deep fried balls of vegetables, cut in half, and stuffed with cottage cheese make for a very unique dish. Be sure to make use of the liberal covering of tomato and onion curry sauce as it provides a nice balance to the strong flavors of the dish.

For our remaining mains we had the "Goan Fish Curry" (68 RMB) and a Chicken Vindaloo (78 RMB). The Vindaloo was especially notable, with extremely tender pieces of chicken, the result of being marinated for 12 hours in yoghurt. Vindaloo dishes come very spicy so we asked to have it less spicy, which is recommended.

This was all washed down with a cup of the Masala Tea - a delicate milk tea infused with cardamom, clove, ginger and sugar. A soothing way to finish the meal.

Finally, one cannot talk about the Taj without mentioning its current special promotions: the lunch or dinner Thalis. These are set meals consisting of many different dishes in small individuals bowls brought out on one large tray. These range in price from 40 to 75 RMB, and make for extremely good value. The ‘Jumbo Thali’ at 75 RMB consists of 10 separate small dishes!

The Taj Pavilion offers a good alternative to the all-you-can-eat Indian buffets that pop up everywhere in Beijing. Raving reviews from high profile Indian dignitaries, excellent food, friendly management and a comfortable environment make this a pavilion worth returning to.

-by Royce Ferguson

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