Haldi Chowk, ShopRite Plaza, Middletown

No, but I usually go out for lunch only, and then they have the buffet.

It is an excellent buffet.

Sorry Curlz! Just saw this. I havenā€™t had Indian in a while. Mmm.

We probably had that long a wait last week, and were not warned about it. The food was okayā€“the pieces of goat in the curry had a lot of non-meat (fat, bone, etc.), so I was disappointed in that. It was convenient for our group (we had just visited BellWorks in Holmdel), but Mark and I will stick to Royal Curry on Route 34.

Iā€™m not familiar with Royal Curry. Which town along Rt. 34? What dishes would you recommend from there?

Itā€™s an Indian place in Matawan, very standard menu, no buffet. I have a friend who absolutely loves this place so I end up there from time to time. Their chicken achari is really good. Also the chicken 65 was really good, but they donā€™t seem to make it any more. The mixed grill is a good value and they do a good job with it. I almost always go for buffets at Indian places so itā€™s hard to compare with other restaurants I go to primarily for buffet food, but Iā€™d say itā€™s definitely a step up from most buffet fare in the area.

I went Saturday and was pretty dissapointed. My first trip for dinner blew the lunch buffet out of the water. I might try the buffet again but I will explore more dinners first.

Thanks for the information. We arenā€™t far from that area and I canā€™t say I ever noticed it. We have enjoyed quite a few Indian buffets in Edison. Most recently, Rasoi II.

What I like about Royal Curry is that their lunch special is that you order the main course off the dinner menu and pay the dinner price, but in addition to the main course you get an appetizer (pakora), naan, and rice. This means you can eat what you want, and itā€™s not the same six items every time you go (like Rajpoot).

Good to know. After the holidays, we will check out this place.

Bump it upā€¦

I had some awesome Rogan Josh and I have to say Iā€™m kicking myself in the ass for not going here more often. It is nice to see the owner on premises and doing what he can to make your meal enjoyable.

I ordered mine a notch below their hottest and they really came through. This was blazing hot and absolutely packed with flavor! The fresh ginger slices were bursting with taste and I literally was sweating and tearing up. My cousin had the vindaloo and had it a step down from my heat level. We both left happy and they even gave John a side dish of rice to take home with his leftovers.

For 38.xx this was a great meal and the garlic naan is on point.

Compared to my first experience with neelam two weeks ago, Iā€™d say the flavor profile at haldi blew neelam out of the water. However, neelam came through on the tenderness of the lamb and ambiance. Keep in mind I had vindaloo the other night vs rogan at haldi. Both are similar though.

Haldi had the better portion but neelam had the veggie side and accompanying naan which was good and generous.

Overall, for 16.95 my rogan Josh was a really strong dish. The owner said that is his favorite and offered to make me his own style with potato next time.

Iā€™m happy this place is still around @VikingKaj @gcaggiano @joonjoon

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Maybe I need to give them a second chance. Looks good.

Deepak is the dude when it comes to Indian food!

Drove past Haldi Chowk tonight. They had a sign out front advertising a ā€œHot Curry Challengeā€ offered on Sundays from 12-2 PM. Hmmmmm :smiley:

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Iā€™ve had him make me a 9 out of 10 dish on the heat scale and it was pretty hot! If they turn the heat up I bet it will be blazing. Any details on the challenge?

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Spicy curry, plus the rice I guess. 30 minutes to finish

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I think I could probably do the curry but the entire bowl of rice would be tough.

Deepak is a cool guy. I like how is always around and making sure people are satisfied.

I found this: https://haldichowkusa.com/spicy-challenge/

Do they ever do any specials? I donā€™t recall ever seeing any.

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I find the waiver amusing and terrifying, but I am an extreme spice wuss. Maybe my husband will be interested in doing thisā€¦

I want to come spectate!!

Did anyone attend the challenge?

I might try it soon. Are there any pics on facebook yet?