New York City is the best place in the world for so many things, (Times Square taken out of it), and one of those aspects is of course the melting pot that we have for cuisine choices throughout. If spice and flavor is your thing, then Indian cuisine should be one of your go to type places to experience how rich and amazing the food they create is. That can truthfully be said about the fantastic restaurant in Kips Bay called The Royal Munkey, which I had a first hand of experiencing last night.
The Royal Munkey has been open for about three months and is a sister restaurant of The Drunken Munkey, which is further uptown on The Upper East Side. The Royal Munkey itself looks quite established in its ambiance for only being open for such a short time, and will have their places packed based on how beautiful the interior of the location is as well as the tasty food choices they provided us with. It is full of bright colors, blue and yellow in particular, that are adorned throughout and bring a very bubbly and nice vibe to it, which is incredibly welcoming.
As previously stated, twice, the food is off the chain. With traditional and anglo-Indian specialties, as well as some amazing drinks and starters, make this one of the best places to visit in the springtime and beyond. A great drink to start the evening off is the Indian Spice Old Fashioned, obviously their take on the classic drink. It comes with- Spray/Mist of Lagavulin 16yr, 2 oz. Old Overholt Rye, 0.5 oz. House made spiced simple syrup, 2 dash Regans Orange and 2 dash Angostura bitters. Very tasty.
For the food choices, we recommend the following as they all left us feeling full and satisfied. The Tiger Prawns are a fantastic starter, as they are huge in size and have a great depth of flavor to them with the hung yogurt, black mustard seed and spices throughout. Kababs and Indian Cuisine go together incredibly well, so another great starter would be their Mutton Seekh Kababs. The heat and flavor from these, on top of a bed of cooked onions, are fantastic and a highlight in this kind of cuisine.
For the entrees, it is good to go traditional and is also good to try something more on the specialty side. The Bombay Lamb Chops, an Anglo-Indian specialty, are fall off the bone fabulous and come with string beans, spiced aloo, mint & apple-butter chutney, where the lamb chops are adorned with a five-spice marinade. Hands down, the best thing I ate there. If you are looking for more of a traditional dish, the Butter Chicken Tikki Masala with creamed tomato sauce, naan and rice is a great example of a delicious dish without the overpowering spice element. Two great entrees at an amazing location.
If you want sides to pair off with your dish, their Fried Okra is a great selection as it reads as a unique version of a chip, and has depths of flavor in not only the okra but the the onions and tomato that comes with it. Another great side is their Cauilflower Foogath with cilantro and cumin. As a Cauliflower lover myself, this works a great side for any dish as it is dressed up to perfection with the cilantro and cumin. Overall, an amazing meal that you should try out yourself.
For more information, check out their official site.