Having the chance to enjoy US with my relatives before embarking to the real world of an OFW dialysis nurse is the best thing, one fun detail I want to share is getting to experience their theme dinner meals on particular days of the week.

Today is Thai Thursday, also the no-cooking-for-dinner time since they either buy food out and consume at home or eat out. Well, supposedly but since their fave Thai restaurant is closed for summer, they have to look for an alternative. The chosen one is Indian restaurant, Cafe Masala, so I guess, it’s gonna be a kind of Asian Thursday for today’s dinner.

Cafe Masala

Cafe Masala is their go-to Indian restaurant that gets more full packed in lunch than dinner. It’s been months since they’ve been here so the first thing they’ve noticed is the number of staffs working that mainly consists of the owner and probably the wife only.

But people are willing to wait…

Let alone the planning of theme dinner meals, I can tell that people here are more interested with the experience rather than what the food’s main purpose is–to pacify one’s hunger. Every bite or portion of food devoured is a mouthful of appreciation. Cafe Masala, on the other hand, is the best place for that.

Upon entering, the owner immediately greeted us with a huge smile but with a bit of worry explained by the following words, they are understaff and might take long. As a first time of everything here in US, it’s definitely not a big deal and I am willing to wait for the experience. But for my relatives and the rest, it’s the food, good service, accommodating staffs that contribute to the overall worth-to-wait experience.

There’s not a single chance of not reminding us of their short staff, uttering an apology and saying thank you for waiting every time the owner comes to our table.

Then, a new set of customers arrived, I unintentionally overheard the owner greeting them and informing them that serving of food may take long due to their short staff. The newly arrived diners immediately answered, sure no problem without even thinking twice.

Cafe Masala Menu

Naan Bread

It’s not my first encounter with Indian food and the Roti Canai is one I can brag of, however. It is not in the menu but instead, Naan bread then I later found out, Roti Canai is from Malaysia. (LOL) Both are flatbread, and there isn’t much of a difference in terms of taste but the appearance. Naan bread is indeed flat like thin pizza doughs in pieces while Roti Canai’s size is monstrous and shrinks to flat once you get a piece of it.

Chicken Samosa

Where there is sweet, there must be spicy, and where there is red, there must be green and that’s all I could explain the sauces that Chicken Samosa is paired with. It looked like an empanada from the Philippines. This is the first dish served as the appetizer and it lived to its purpose–food before the main dish or more like a food to distract us.

Funny how our appetite contradicts to our willingness to wait when the owner wasn’t even able to catch a glimpse of it after coming back from a nearby table to check us out just a few minutes after serving it. A triumphant smile radiated the owner’s face while a humiliating one in our side.

Don’t forget to save some dips for Naan bread.

Indian Iced Tea

The whole Indian food experience wouldn’t be complete without trying the Indian Iced Tea. The word, “sweet” is added in the menu but the taste for me is definitely the opposite, not a bad thing ofcourse. The taste signifies the tea’s authenticity along with the spices. And I’ve literally eaten residues, which is from turmeric, for sure.

Beef Biryani

Another familiar dish is Chicken biryani which I might have tasted during my Singapore trip but can’t anymore remember the taste, however. We opted for the Beef biryani since we already ordered Chicken Samosa, so to add variety. The dish is good for two and so I had it shared.

The taste was all too familiar like I have eaten a piece of home since it came with rice. To my excitement of actually having rice part of the meal, I was this close of ordering another still for shared of course but a few seconds before finishing my part, I was full. So, yes the dish is indeed good for two. The dish also resembles Beef rendang which both have curry.

The surprising part was, all these didn’t even reach $40 and those were a lot of dishes and a full blown of satisfied appetite. How else a satisfied customer pays but with a good satisfying tip as well.

That’s all for now. Join me in my journey of blending in with the Americans. Till my next foodie venture!