During a busy week, you might not have time to cook dinner. Sure, you can drop by Chipotle or Pei Wei, but sometimes the same, reliable places get boring. If you’re looking for somewhere quick, cheap, and different, try Taj Express.
Never had Indian food? Taj Express is an easy place to start. With buffet-style dining, you can dip your taste buds into the fragrant, flavorful world of Indian cooking. Once a Pizza Hut, Taj Express is on Lemmon Avenue, tucked between a gas station and a laundromat.
When you enter, the fresh, tangy aroma of intermingling spices entice you to the beaming buffet table in the back of the restaurant. The best part is the price; lunch costs $6.99 and dinner is just $8.99. And you have up to 20 times to fill your plate high with North Indian authenticity.
Simple and small, the family-owned restaurant boasts nothing but traditional Indian food. Bollywood tunes provide a fun background beat, but the overall atmosphere of the restaurant is low-key and relaxing. Paintings and murals of Punjabi women, exotic elephants and henna adorn the white brick walls, and slender vases of flowers grace each table.
The buffet is split into two sides. On your left you have salad and fresh fruit options. You can also get raita, seasoned yogurt that accompanies the meal. On the right side of the buffet, you get the good stuff. If you’re familiar with Indian food, you can expect a wide array of curries, vegetable and meat dishes that vary daily.
First-timers should try the saag paneer, spiced creamed spinach with small cubes of fresh, homemade Indian cheese. In fact, the Dallas Observer named Taj Express winner of “best use of spinach” in 2002. Also try the tandoori chicken, roasted chicken cooked in the traditional tandoor, or clay oven.
Other available options include mouth-watering tender chicken or lamb curry and fried and battered potato pakoras. You can also have chickpeas in curry or dahl makhani, lentils in a buttered curry. Steaming basmati rice is always on the buffet.
The highlight is the fresh bread that comes made to order with your meal. The naan bread was my favorite. It’s buttery and crispy on the edges, and deliciously soft in the middle.
The left side of the buffet also offers two kinds of dessert. You can have either mango pudding or kheer, a rice pudding made with almonds and cardamom. The mango pudding is a little sweet, so you might want to go with the kheer, which is a nice representation of the typical Indian dessert.
The food is enjoyable and filling, and the price makes it worth your while. Go for a study break, or for a casual lunch or dinner out with friends. The space borders on dingy, and outside appearances won’t impress. So it’s not exactly where you want to go on a first date.
The dishes are standard fare. Don’t expect anything hip or trendy. While plenty of other restaurants offer great Indian food in Dallas, Taj Express stands out because of its buffet. When you want a heaping platter (or two) of hot, fresh food, it’s a good bet. If you gravitate toward one particular dish, maybe Taj isn’t in your interest. The eatery is essentially a sampler of Indian cuisine. If you like a little of everything, this little restaurant is ideal.
