Growing up in Fresno, CA with a very big extended family meant I was mostly eating home-cooked meals or y’know...extended home-cooked meals. This meant, my exposure to Indian food during my early years was very, very limited. In fact, I can’t remember a single time I actually ate Indian food when I was still living in Fresno. It wasn’t until I grew up and came to the Bay Area for college that I started venturing out.
Over the years of being in the bay, I’ve tried multiple Indian restaurants. However, many of them have been a little too spicy for my tastes. I know. I’m Hmong. Yet, I don’t eat spicy foods! It’s definitely not the norm, especially among my relatives. Anyway, as I was saying, I’ve had a few different places over the years and I have to admit that I cannot remember my first run-in with Butter Chicken! Yet, I remember the taste. I remember the aroma. It was delicious! Throw that onto a Chicken or Vegetable Biryani? Mmm-mm!
A year before we all entered the pandemic in 2020, my wife and I discovered a delicious Indian restaurant in downtown Burlingame, CA called Rasoi. A huge foodie, my wife had found the restaurant among one of her list of best eats so we went to try it out. Our first order included their Butter Chicken, Chicken Biryani, Tandoori Chicken, and Garlic Naan. Definitely among some of our best decisions. This was also the first time my uncultured butt learned that Butter Chicken was called Murgh Makhani!
Now, as much as I want to talk about all the delicious foods we’ve eaten at Rasoi from the Garlic Naan (drool) to the Tandoori Chicken (more drool) to the Chicken Biryani (non-stop drooling), I have to focus this on the Butter Chicken, mostly because this is my favorite Indian dish and my go-to any time I go to an Indian restaurant. As I mentioned above, I can’t eat very spicy foods. A little hint is bearable but I cannot do overly spicy foods. So, I was pleasantly surprised by Rasoi’s Butter Chicken. The sauce was very creamy and flavorful. You can taste all the spices they added into the dish. Not only that, but the chicken is beyond tender. It practically melts in your mouth! Add in a side of plain rice, biryani, or naan order and you’ll have a full meal with no regrets!
If you live in Burlingame or just happen to find yourself there, I highly suggest dropping into Rasoi for a bite!