Biryani Park Malden....OMG!

[lel]

Friends have been raving about this place for about a year. Finally made it there Saturday for dinner. One of the most complex and flavorful meals I've ever eaten. Mushroom 65, String Hoppers, Sri-Lankan Pumpkin Curry, Devilled Goat, Devilled Lamb & Fish Lamprais.

Owner and folks that work their are some of the nicest folks I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. If you want to enjoy one of the best meals in the area, this is the place. Please come out and support these folks. You won't be disappointed.

[bear]

Can anyone speak to how this food holds up to takeout? Maybe 30-40 minutes to reach home. I realize that dosas don't hold up well. I'm interested in the Sri Lankan menu. Thanks.

[treb]

Since most entree's are slow cooked in fab sauces, I think re-heating them will be fine. Unfortunately, I never had to take a doggie back home from there.

[gimlis1mum]

We get takeout from there a lot, even though we live close by. The doses that are rolled around their fillings, such as chicken tikka, hold up well & are tasty reheated in the toaster oven the next day. The masala dosa does okay too because they package the dosa separately from the potato filling, so you can crisp the dosa in the oven. The Mass. Special rave dosa and other rava doses don't hold up as well, they are so thin - they don't even last the 1.7 mile trip to our house.

We've had the Sri Lankan rotti as takeout and that was fine, too. The Sri Lankan curry plates have several dishes on it, we've had fish and the chicken, and I don't recall anything that wouldn't travel well.

If you do get takeout, call about an hour before you want to pickup. We tried ordering through an online website once and it didn't work very well, it would have been better if we'd just called them directly.

[bear]

Thanks so much, treb and gimlis. I'm hoping to hit them up in the next couple of weeks. Sounds soooo good.

[opinionatedchef]

1mum, Aha! another Mass. Special fan, eh? (Doesn't it just make you feel so decadent?!)
With regards to its non- transportability,I was going to say that it falls apart before it even gets to our mouths- in the restaurant ! (MCSlim, do not try this). But I just love the tang of the rava dosas; such a different flavor and texture from the standard dosas. Btw,when i reheat masala dosa, i sprinkle it with a little water, cover it, and nuke it gently. That way the dosa stays soft instead of crisping it. It can also be cut into sections and griddled/sauteed a bit.

That bread and chicken dish that we love(lamprais? ICR)- should hold up fine for you, bear. I would suggest that if you want to try the 'chili mushroom' (chili has nothing to do with this delicious dish. it is really floured and fried mushrooms in a sweet and sour glaze)which we also love, that you ask them to package the glaze/sauce separately so you can reheat the mushrooms in the toaster oven and then glaze them before eating- so they retain that crunch. Oooh, you're in for a treat! Just a reminder, the 2 long BPark threads have lots of specific recs on them.

[gimlis1mum]

I think it was your post about that dosa that inspired us to try it, OC :-)

[bear]

Thanks, oc. I'll report back after I go.

[lipoff]

Sri-Lankan Pumpkin Curry sounds delicious! One of the best restaurants in the Boston-area --- such interesting meals, with both a delicious selection of dishes, and a terrific breadth and depth of spicing.

[Karl S]

My brother adored that dish above all of several he tried.

[chickendhansak]

I recently had a try of various things -- string hoppers with chicken, goat biryani, mushroom 65, pumpkin curry, some chickpea curry with coconut milk, I think -- all extremely tasty. I don't have a sensitivity of any kind to MSG, but thought there was plenty of deep spice flavour. Some of the tastiest food I've had in Boston.

[treb]

Agree, that pumpkin curry is outstanding, I also like all of their devilled entree's and their 65 series of entree's are good and spiceeeeey!

[opinionatedchef]

lel, glad you liked it. It is quite the CH fav. There are 2 long threads about it if you do a search in the upper right corner of this pg.

Luther, you really felt msg effects there?? fwiw, i have eaten there numerous times and I have never felt there was msg in the food (and the 2 chefs there have not changed since i began giong, soon after they opened.) I have never even heard of indian chefs using msg. and I have actually never felt msg effects from an indian meal in40 yrs. in boston. I was so surprised to read your post.

[gracenote]

I'm with you. I had a delightful meal there two weeks ago, and would have felt an MSG reaction if they were using it.

[Luther]

Yes, their food tastes like it's got too much MSG in it. There is no such thing as "feeling MSG effects." It's entirely off-topic for this board but it's been done to death a bazillion times elsewhere on the internet.

As I said in my reply to Bob Dobalina, if you use pre-mixed Indian spice blends the commercial ones often contain MSG. It makes things taste good.

[drbangha]

Is it really off topic if you brought up MSG? You claim to be able to taste it with your tongue, and 15% of the population claims to be able to feel it with other senses. I am one of the 15% and I definitely feel something I don't like. Perhaps it is in my head, but what isn't? In any event, I've never felt it at BP after eating there many times.

[FinnFPM]

Unfortunately, yes, it is off-topic. Chowhound's moderators have a very specific definition of topicality: the topic of this board is Bostonians finding things to put in their mouths, putting them in their mouths, and then talking about what it was like to put it in their mouth. Because people eat MSG everywhere, this is off-topic for the Boston board.

It doesn't matter what direction the conversation "naturally" goes in: there is only one direction that suits CH's purposes, and that is the direction that builds them the best Boston-specific SEO content.

[drbangha]

From my point of view whether a Boston establishment is perceived, whether by taste or another sense, to use MSG in the preparation of its food would materially influence whether I would like putting said food in my mouth.

[FinnFPM]

I think Luther was talking about "feeling MSG effects," and not "Biryani Park using MSG," being off-topic, but either way, I agree with you man. Just speaking from experience. It ain't me deleting conversations out there.

[The Chowhound Team]

As Finn notes, the general argument about whether MSG causes ill effects on some people is one that we consider off-topic for regional boards. It's not really a regional argument, and it tends to get nasty and take over conversations. Whether or not a given business uses MSG is on topic for the local boards.

[drbangha]

Point taken, I follow you and understand your and the mod's position now. Thanks

[Bob Dobalina]

Getting back to Luther's original criticism, so MSG makes things taste good, but too much makes things taste like MSG?

[Luther]

Yes, you can go home and try it for yourself. Not too different from any other seasoning.

[jgg13]

Right, it some on your finger and taste it, excessive MSG has a distinctive taste.

[Luther]

I was disappointed. The food is pretty decent if you like MSG (I do, but not this much).

[Bob Dobalina]

Funny - could be imagining but I thought they specifically say they cook without MSG. Wife agrees with my recollection.

[Luther]

Odds are they use some sort of Shan Masala or equivalent in most of the dishes. Contains MSG or some other rich glutamate source. I cook with MSG all the time, I know what it tastes like when you go overboard.