This New Indian Resto in BGC Serves Incredible Butter Chicken, Mango Kulfi + More

Tango Tandoor
30th Street corner 11th Avenue, Bonifacio Global City
Contact: 0995-270-3932
Facebook: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61550421987042
Open from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., Monday to Sunday

(SPOT.ph) In the bustling heart of Bonifacio Global City, a remarkable culinary journey awaits as Tango Tandoori opens its doors. This exciting adventure is a fusion of India's diverse traditional cuisine and modern British flair that was the brainchild of illustrious Indian chefs, Chef Kundan Singh Rawat and Chef Kapil Devidas Jogdand, renowned for their culinary prowess in London's gastronomic scene. Bringing the chefs' prowess to the Philippines was made possible through the persistence of restaurateur Marvin Agustin, who instantly loved the chefs' Indian dishes served at their restaurant in London since 2016. 

After eight years, Tango Tandoori invites its guests to its humble abode where flavors dance and spices sing. Do you think your spice tolerance can keep up? 

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Here's what to try at Tango Tandoor, a new Indian restaurant in BGC:

Best dishes to try Tango Tandoor

If you can possibly contain your excitement for the curry, naan, and cauliflower dishes (more on this later), you should definitely try at least one of the starters off the menu. There's the Beetroot Kebab (P218), a sausage made with a blend of beetroot, tofu powder, pistachio, and sesame, cooked in the restaurant's charcoal tandoor. This is one of the most interesting dishes of Tango Tandoor for the reason that, if this vegetarian sausage dish didn't have the word "beetroot" in its name, it would have been hard to tell that it's made with the root vegetable just by its taste. Although the warm pinkish violet hue is a dead giveaway, it doesn't have the expected sweetish, earthy flavor that beetroot has.

If you want a vegetable salad to balance out all the protein-packed mains, the Coronation Chicken Salad (P449) is an excellent lightweight appetizer to start with. This salad coats leafy greens in a bright yellow dressing made of mango chutney, turmeric, and mustard. It's then topped with bitesize pieces of black pepper chicken, toasted almond, and grated paneer.

Surprisingly for an Indian restaurant, two of the cauliflower dishes of Tango Tandoor don't let themselves get outshined by the lamb and the chicken dishes. The Cauliflower Croquettes (P200) are appetizers stuffed with a nutty, sweet cauliflower filling inside a breaded ball, to be dipped in homemade garlic aioli. As for the other cauliflower-based dish, it's Tango Tandoor's main dish called the Tandoori Cauliflower (P520).

If Tango Tandoor were made into a film, the Tandoori Cauliflower is a Bollywood movie that is ever so vibrant in colors and flavors. This dish has palm-sized flowerets marinated in tandoori masala which paints the typically white vegetable with warm colors, before it's cooked in the traditional tandoor oven. It's topped with a green chutney to give it a herby taste, plus bursting pulps of sweet pomegranate. Note: Don't expect too much bite in it. The cauliflower's cooked until it's sooooo soft that, perhaps, if it stayed a minute or two longer softening, it would have been mush. Not to worry, you'll get used to the softness the more you take bites of it.

Another tandoor specialty cooked in their charcoal oven is the Tango House Tandoori Chicken (P65)—a stellar poultry dish that gets its flavor and moisture from being marinated in yogurt and bright orange spices. There's also the Black Pepper Chicken (P700) for a not-so-spicy, more peppery chicken dish that's served with smoked tomato chutney.

Although the cauliflower dishes already made a lasting impression on us, we can't deny that there was an instant falling-in-love moment with the restaurant's curries—specifically, the Butter Chicken (P450) and Lamb Rogan Josh (P700).

The chicken curry has soft, fork-tender chicken thigh cuts gently cooked in a satin-like sauce made with tomato and cream; and the lamb curry has this deeper, meatier flavor because the lamb was cooked in its own fat together with spices. Sure, we won't deny that curry is something we, Filipinos, automatically pair with a mountain of biryani, but we can also do as the Indians do and pair it with Butter Garlic Naan (P200). Tear a piece of the bread and dip it in the curry, or use it as a spoon to wrap the meat around it. 

We could be going out on a limb here but Tango Tandoori's Chicken Biryani (P400) is definitely one of the best biryanis in the Metro—and it's not simply because it's a rice dish that speaks to our culture of loving grains. This savory dish that's served in a clay pot has spiced biryani, and fried shallots, with chunks of protein at the bottom of the pot. You do have to dig for it.

Drinks to try Tango Tandoor

One of the most common drinks in India is lassi, a yogurt-based smoothie that's creamy, sweet, tangy, and a few spices or herbs. Tango Tandoor has a Mango Lassi (P220) and Strawberry Lassi (P220) that has a more prominent, lingering cardamom taste than it is sweet. Between the two fruity lassi, we say to go with whichever fruit you most prefer use the same core ingredients.

In case you're lactose intolerant or want something less heavy, go and order a glass of Made in Kerala (P350). This cocktail is a Christmas party in a cup as it has this strong, sweet cinnamon taste, and a bit of spiciness because of the star anise. For a more refreshing, more sour drink, try the Akinsans Joy (P350), a gin-based cocktail with a lemony profile. The latter is what we recommend if you need some kind of palate cleanser in between bites.

Desserts to try at Tango Tandoor

With all the heavily spiced dishes you've tried, it feels like a requirement to order a sweet dessert too. For Nutella fans, the Nutella Naan with Roasted Peanuts (P280) is somewhat like an Indian version of a crepe dessert but made with freshly baked naan instead of a thin pancake. It's topped with crushed peanuts, a vanilla ice cream scoop, and a drizzle of Nutella.

A lighter, more satisfying dessert option is the Tango House Mango Kulfi (P150). Kulfi is described as a traditional Indian ice cream that, much like in Indian cuisine, has spices. The restaurant's version is a milky, sweet homemade ice cream made with condensed milk, bits of yellow mangoes, and ground spices of cardamom, and then frozen in a martini glass.

As Tango Tandoori opens its doors on 30th Street in Taguig, it marks the culmination of an eight-year effort to bring quality and reasonably priced Indian food to the market. From the vibrant Beetroot Kebab and the exquisite Coronation Chicken Salad to the unforgettable Tandoori Cauliflower and delectable curries like the Butter Chicken and Lamb Rogan Josh, Tango Tandoori offers an unforgettable marriage of Indian and British influences, with a spice level adjusted to the Filipino palate. 

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