Fine Indian restaurant curries favor with Hillers
Sensational lunch buffet every day
by LEN LEAR
Palace of Asia had already been at 285 Commerce Drive in Fort Washington, one minute off the Route 309 Fort Washington exit and five or 10 minutes from Chestnut Hill, for 11 years when Springfield resident Devinder Singh visited it in 1999. At the time Devinder’s sister’s husband’s friend owned the restaurant. “We actually went there three times,” he recalled, “and every time there were no other customers.“Nevertheless, I thought the place had plenty of potential if it just had the right food and the right management. It’s a big, beautiful restaurant with a banquet hall for catering private parties. It’s close to Chestnut Hill and to lots of corporations, and there was no other Indian restaurant for many miles. Not only that, but I thought we could get many customers from the guests at the hotel next door (Best Western) because there is no other restaurant nearby.”
As a result, Singh, 56, a native of the Punjab region of northern India who has always been close to the cooking flame, made an offer for the restaurant that the previous owner could not refuse. He reopened Palace of Asia on April 1, 1999, and thanks to a combination of great, authentic Indian cuisine, skillful marketing and word-of-mouth, Palace of Asia has engineered one of the greatest comebacks since Winston Churchill.
For example, three months ago Singh introduced a daily all-you-can-eat lunch buffet for $9.95 that has taken off like an Indy 500 racing car. The only downside is the temptation to keep eating the cornucopia of delights such as the shrimp and chicken from the charcoal clay oven, even after your appetite has been sated.
Once Indian food buffs taste the delights at Palace of Asia, they’re harder to get rid of than an in-law who moves into your guest room. For example, there is a divine appetizer called vegetable samosa ($3.95), which is two crisply fried turnovers filled with mildly spiced potatoes and green peas. It has just enough punch to get one’s attention and hold it. Even the spiciest dishes at Palace of Asia are not incendiary.
During a recent visit, a group of customers walked over to Devinder after finishing their dinner. “We are from North Carolina, and we’re staying at the Best Western,” said the father. “What you need to do is come down to North Carolina and open up a restaurant like this one. You would be a huge success. We sure wish we had a restaurant near us that serves your food. We’d be there all the time.”
Indian breads are among the world’s greatest foods, and at Palace of Asia there are 14 different types to choose from. They are all homemade, baked to order in a clay oven, smooth as velvet and priced at $2.25 and up. My favorite is garlic naan, unleavened bread stuffed with fresh garlic ($2.50). Another home run is the paneer kulcha ($3.25), unleavened bread filled with homemade cheese and spices.
There are dozens of fish, beef, lamb and poultry dishes available, but one choice that is shrimply delicious is the shrimp tandoori ($17.95), king-sized crustaceans seasoned and slowly broiled over charcoal in the clay oven. Chicken dishes are often as dull as reruns of political interviews, but one that is anything but dull is the chicken pakora ($6.95 appetizer)
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