It was a great pleasure to be invited to review Babu’s Indian Hot in Maenam. Indian cuisine has always been a firm favorite of mine and Babu’s Indian Hot is one of my favorite restaurants.

The owner of this fine establishment, Babu, comes from Nepal and like many others in his small village community, dreamt about working overseas where the opportunity to create a thriving business lies. In order to realize his dream Babu moved to India to train to become a chef and later, as his talents were recognized, he was hired as a chef at the prestigious Sethi, the number 2 restaurant in Deli, where he gaining a great deal of valuable experience. Babu had every intention of taking his skills to Europe but after visiting friends in Koh Samui he decided this was where he wanted to be. After working in the textile industry in Chaweng he decided to open his own restaurant and chose Meanem as the lower rents meant he could offer better value customers.

Babu knew that offering good quality food at an affordable prices would bring customers to him, he was right! Babu Indian Hot started its life on the ring road, just over 2 years ago Babu moved to the Maenam beach road in order to offer, his now loyal customers, a more relaxed environment without the noise and dust from the ring road. Babu, with help from both his Thai wife and his brother, has created a menu of authentic north Indian dishes that draw on his experience as a chef in India as well as family recipes that have been handed down from generation to generation. The spacious and unpretentious restaurant, on the road that leads to the Hippo Gym and Maenam resort, is immaculately clean, has a tropical feel about it, and offers not only a genuinely warm welcome but exceptional quality and good old fashioned family pride. The menu is as varied as it is affordable, vegetarian options are plentiful and under Babu’s watchful eye freshness is guaranteed. The menu is bursting with flavors and contains all of your favorites. Starters include -incredibly reasonably prices Papadoms accompanied by mango, onion, mint and tamarind chutneys, Samosa, Onion Bhaji, and Tandoori.

The main menu includes a fine selection of lamb, chicken, fish, prawn and vegetable curries with all of the popular choices such as Tikka Masala, Jalfrezi, Rogan Josh, and Vindaloo, Madras, Korma and Dhansak. Side dishes include Paneer Matar, Aloo Gobi, Dal Tadka and Aloo palak .There is a wonderful selection of Naan breads, rice dishes, Biryani, Aloo Palak and Ssheesh Kebab and some of the most delicious Tandori dishes I have ever tasted. I was particularly impressed with the Chicken Pakora – deep fried chicken marinated with garam flower, ginger and garlic. The Lamb Shish kebab is just heavenly and melts in the mouth; I have enjoyed this dish in restaurants all over the world but never more so than here. To add cooling flavors and textures to your meal try the vegetable raita – Indian yoghurt with cucumber, tomatoes and herbs, it India’s answer to the Greek Tzatziki but considerably more delicious. The house special curry, Indian Hot Special Chicken Bahar, simply has to be tasted to be believed and if you are still hungry then why not try an authentic Indian desert of Gulabjamun, or for the less adventurous ice cream. This lovely restaurant full of the tantalizing smells of India has a very reasonably priced drinks selection, beers, wine, soft drinks and lassis’s.

The spacious interior makes it ideal for large groups and Babu’s helpful nature means if you don’t feel like going out you can enjoy his meals at home. Babu offers a free delivery service all around the island. He doesn’t stipulate a minimum order but please consider at the end of the day he is running a business and will not appreciate delivering a small order that is 20 kilometers away! For more information or to place an order you can contact Babu on 0848776034, 0840518361 (Thai) or 077 248037. The restaurant is open from 10-30 am until 11pm and is more than well worth a visit.

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