By Laurence Civil

During the Moghul period the Rang Mahal was the  part  of  the  Indian  Palace where  the  Kings would relax and enjoy the fnest Indian cuisine. Te grandeur and lavish style was the inspiration for this restaurant, Fine Dining Indian style.

Add to that the roof top view from 26th floor of Rembrandt it’s easy to see why this is constantly being voted the best Indian restaurant in Bangkok. The tables are set with white linen, tasteful silver wear, silver goblet for drinking water, crystal and bone china, a royal touch that s subtly stated.

Shortly after we were seated at our table fresh popadams were served enveloped in a white linen napkin to keep accompanied by mint chutney, deliciously smooth mango chutney with the consistency of a thick home­made fruit jam, and red pickled onions.

The first starter to come to the table is a signature of the restaurant, Tandoori Prawns, jumbo prawns that have been marinated in exotic Indian spices then finished in a charcoal oven. The taste is exotically spicy the result of the synergy of an array of multiple spices, a totally different taste to Thai spiciness which is purely chilli driven.

Then came the house specialty Raan-e-Khyber a Punjabi dish from the northwestern part of India. The word Raan means thigh, and this dish is a whole leg of lamb that has been marinated over night in rum and exotic spices then slowly cooked so that the meat becomes so tender that it melts n the mouth.

Then comes the curries each brought to the table in brass bowls with individual burners to keep the dishes warm. Murgh Makhanwala, known either as butter chicken or chicken Tikka Masala, the best selling dish in the restaurant. Succulent pieces of chicken that have been simmered in creamy fenugreek flavoured tomato gravy. Masi Masala boneless fillets of red snapper tempered with onions, tomatoes and spices. For the vegetable dish Palak Aap Ki Pasand creamed spinach with cottage cheese. The curries were served with steamed saffron basmati rice. A spoonful of each of the curries was carefully served for us by our waiter, who would add a little more to the plate when needed.

During September the restaurant has a Dakshin promotion serving dishes from the south of India. We tasted their mutton pep­per Masala, pan-fried lamb with onions, tomatoes and flavoured with freshly crushed black pepper. There is a very pleasant smell of the herbs floating up from the plate. The initial taste is gentle with the effect of the peppercorns only kicking in with the aftertaste.

After the main course the table completely cleared, the wait­er delicately scraps any crumbs from the table and finger bowl is served.

To finish the meal Gulab Jamun a deliciously sweet dessert of cream cheese dumplings flavoured with cardamom, saffron and topped with roasted almonds and good strong cup of Masala tea.
We had been treated to a royal fine dinning experience, spice with style.