Ocean Tava Ignites

You have to try this Indian Restaurant in Redondo Beach, California.  I celebrated my birthday there last year as the food has always been very good. With the new chefs, Chef Vel and Matt, the food has gotten better if one can imagine.

Cindy, Sandi and I decided to take our friend Ana there last night since she has never been there. This friend has tried to keep her birthday a secret, something I never respect. So we decided to make this a surprise birthday dinner. Cindy and I got to the restaurant earlier to have the champagne chilled and have them hide the birthday cake; a tarte tatin I ordered from Cafe Cego's. The manager, Xavier was very accommodating and gave us the VIP treatment the entire time.

While we waited for Sandi and Ana, Xavier gave us a basket of  Roasted Papadums. These are crisp Indian crackers that is great with a dipping sauce. The 2 kinds of sauces they had were: Tamarind (sweet and spicy) with a smokey flavor and a Mint sauce. I preferred the Tamarind.  These Papadums were a different from the ones we had before...these were totally addicting. Cindy and I consumed all of it including every crumb left over. We were tempted to have another basket with the Champagne but thought it would not be nice to start celebrating without the celebrant.

Sandi and Ana finally arrived and after Ana's initial surprise....we had an intensive meeting as to what we were to order and how much.  Xavier told us about the special appetizer of the day: Warm Jumbo Lump Blue Crab with cardamon, herbs and drizzled with mango sauce.  We also ordered the Onion Bhaji-Crisp onion fritters and Vegetable Pakoras-mildly spiced vegetable fritters fried and dipped in garbanzo bean batter. The tamarind sauce went well with all the fried appetizers.

For our entrees: Ana and I shared the Chicken Tiki Masala and Chicken Tava Special. These came with rice. Cindy had the Vegetable Tava Special and Sandi had the Karachi Chicken.  All of these dishes were sooo delicious, especially the fabulous sauces of the chicken. We ordered 4 different kinds of Naan: Regular, Garlic, Onion and my favorite, Olive. We kept mopping the sauces with the Naan till our plates were squeaky clean.  We also had some lentils on the side and some Raita to give our palates a break from the spices.

Xavier was so attentive that he knew when to bring out the dessert. Gerhard's Tarte Tatin was a hit. I even brought a canister of whipping cream to go with it. Sandi and I were the only ones who wanted the extra calories. Oh well.............

We had so much fun that we were there for 3 hours! Time really does fly when you're having fun.  Ana thinks her family will enjoy this place. I think so too.

Happy Birthday to Ana.......and thank you Xavier for making it an enjoyable evening for all of us.