Om Indian Kitchen at The Grove by Rockwell

When my husband was still working in Ortigas, my boy and I would usually wait for him to leave the office so we could have dinner on our way home. The Grove by Rockwell is along our route and, back then, Sunrise Buckets was the only resto that we found appealing. I’m just glad that there are now so many dining options at The Grove and Om Indian Kitchen is the latest we’ve tried.

From what I gathered, Om Indian Kitchen is owned by the family of Magic 89.9 Radio Jock, Sam YG. Actually, his mom was busy in the kitchen while we were there. I knew it was her because there were also newspaper and magazine clippings displayed on the walls of the place. There were 2 Indian nationals dining then and I guess she was making sure that the food that was served was as authentic as it can get. She also approached us as we ended our meal and asked if we liked our food.

The restaurant is not at all difficult to find. It was a weeknight so we had no trouble finding a parking spot just near Om Indian Kitchen. The place is small, probably with only a 20 to 30-guest seating capacity but there were table and chairs set up outside so dining al fresco can be done just in case the resto gets filled with customers.

I actually liked the intimate and quiet space that Om Indian Kitchen has. The furniture has this authentic Indian feel and there were also writings on the wall that translate Indian words such as namaste and om.

Even the toilet was intricately decorated with Indian artsy fixtures. I was in awe that I felt I had to take a picture of it.

We were not really hungry that night and just wanted something light. Among the three of us, it is Rap who really loves and is familiar with Indian food so we let him choose the dishes we ordered.

For starters, we had Vegetarian Samosa which is a pastry with spiced potatoes and green peas.  The samosa reminded me of the curry puff that we used to buy from Old Chang Kee when we were in Singapore. We ordered the plate of 3  (Php 115) so we each get one samosa.

Then, we got us some Roti and Naan (both at Php 40/2 pcs) instead of having rice.  Roti is unleavened traditional Indian flatbread while the Naan is leavened with yeast, so it is thicker. I’m partial to Naan because I liked how soft and more filling it was. I think we ended up ordering a total of 2 sets of Roti and 3 sets of Naan. Haha!

We also ordered Palak Paneer (Php 275) and Chicken Tikka Masala (Php 265). These dishes were perfect with the Roti and Naan because both had sauce.

Palak Paneer is paneer cheese simmered in spinach gravy. Paneer is unsalted white cheese which is almost similar to our local kesong puti. The spinach gravy that came with it was dark brown in color probably because of the spices that were mixed in it. The taste was really interesting and it the cheese pieces were chewy, much like eating blocks of mozzarella minus the saltiness.

Meanwhile, the Chicken Tikka Masala was like other Chicken Tikka Masala versions we have already tried in other Indian restaurants. What I like about Om Indian Kitchen’s version is the sauce because it was not as thick and dry as the other versions I’ve tried. The spiciness was not overpowering, too, which is good for first-time Indian food adventurers.

Finally, for dessert, we had Gulab Jamun Ala Mode (Php 60) because we can’t decide between having Kulfi or Gulab Jamun. Kulfi is homemade ice cream made with pistachio, saffron, and cardamom. Gulab Jamun is sweet fried dough which is usually served with syrup and is a cross between doughnut and yema.

I read in some blogs that the Butter Chicken is a must-try and we might have this with Biryani Rice next time. As you can see, prices are affordable and the servings are for sharing. We are definitely coming back especially because I have yet to buy and take home a jar of chutney, LOL!

Om Indian Kitchen is located at G/F The Grove By Rockwell, E. Rodriguez Jr. Ave. (C-5), Ugong, Pasig City. It is near the corner of Ortigas Avenue Extension and almost across Tiendesitas.

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