India Café Curry Express

Food was alright and delicious. But wasnt really feeling any spices kick in to it… I totally agree with my coworkers especially my indian and sri lankan friend said its not really indian food and tasted like filipino/​american style… I agreed that its not really anywhere close to indian food… but overall i think it was okay but it was too expensive. I had to pay $ 14 for one plate and its has small portions. Salad and the sauce wasnt appealing and it didnt taste that good… Although the presentation of the food seem somewhat interesting and colorful although taste wise it didnt meet my coworkers, friends and my expectations… I wish they had the real ethnic indian food… Ive eaten elsewheres before and it was delicious but for this one Im sorry I had to say honestly and truthfully, its not worth paying for and it didnt taste good at all.

I’m on a mission to try every food vendor at UH and today just so happens to be at India Café. I ordered a mini Chicken curry with mixed vegetable just to be safe since it was my first time. Surprisingly, I managed to finish the whole plate off since it was really good. Most likely will be back to try the rest of their menu. Knocked off a star because the counter girl could learn a thing or two about smiling.

They get four stars alone for their roti. A thin pita-​sized flatbread with the richest flavor and buttery flakiness — it’s like naan met a croissant, did the deed, and gave birth to roti. (cue angels singing) $ 2 or so, including tax, and worth EVERY penny!
They have combos with yellow rice and meat or meatless options. I’ve had chicken and potato dishes that are good, and a pork dish that was so fatty it was nearly inedible. Some dishes are spicy — believe them when they say it. Others aren’t. A decent choice for lunch on campus, and prices are on par with everything else in Paradise Palms.

I liked this place. Not the Indian food I’m used to (Saag Paneer, Naan, etc) but for being a plate lunch style place I thought it was tasty.
Favorite part is the hot sauce they have (I think it costs a dollar extra and is called Evil Vindaloo or something). In Hawaii it seems people often think that pepper is too spicy, so it was nice to find a place that actually offers a bit of HEAT!

It’s in the «Paradise Palms» building next to Hamilton Library — currently with scaffolding over the walkway to protect against any falling masonry. You don’t have to be a student to eat in this cafeteria-​style food court. Look for India Café Curry Express at center left, sharing a counter with a gyro shop. Its sign tends to get shouted down by PANDA EXPRESS and L&L Hawaiian BBQ, two inferior offerings.
You don’t have to pick up a tray; go straight to the counter. Plastic forks and spoons (and chopsticks,) are to the right.
A mini vegetable plate with roti (bread) was quite enough to fill my 6’6″ frame. This is not food fit for a maharaja, just quick, tasty lunch fare made and served by some guys who deserve your business. I’ll come back.

Owner — funny and attentive.
Absolute musts = spicy eggplant, coconut curry, and spicy tofu.
Beware: extremely addicting.

I love their ROTI bread with curry sauce!

I’ve been a fan of India Café express since they used to be a kisok in front of Webster Hall… i did get a chance to visit them once when they had a restaurant location, but i hear the restaurant has since closed.
i’m glad that their curry express is still open and operating on the UH campus! no longer in the front of Webster, they now have a home in Paradise Palms… just follow the spicy smells of Indian food, or the sounds of 1980’s Bollywood movies playing… and you’ll find them.
I haven’t had their food in a while (again, since they were parked outside of Webster) so it was really nice to revisit their food, and find that they haven’t changed much. the chicken curry is not as spicy as i remember, and the mixed vegetable side seems very different than before (are these frozen vegetables?!), but, the main flavors of the food are there.
the chicken is still bone-​in, which i like, and the vegetables are nice and buttery… even if they are probably the frozen kind. the chickpeas had a good flavor too.
it is not as good as i remember, but, it is nice to have a little variety on campus other than sandwiches and pizza.

I just have to upgrade my rating from a 3 to a 4… more like a 4.2 ish type of a rating because it seems that they have improved a lot since last semester.
Unlike the other vendors in Paradise Palms, they open later and start serving at 10 AM, so it’s worth the wait.
For $ 6.50 (with tax), you can enjoy a decent meal with their yummy seasonings. Their menu changes daily. On some days, there will be more vegetable choices than meat choices (you’re limited to 2 choices and most of them are chicken only). There is a variety for the meat selection, but it’s very rare. I’ve only seen the egg masala once since the beginning of the semester.
For the vegetables, I recommend the Okra (it’s not as slimy as before) and the Spinach Mushroom. If you want an extra challenge, order the Spicy Malaysian Noodles or Spicy Tofu. For some reason, I can NEVER finish them because the spices accumulate in my mouth real fast. However, I do like the sauces, so if anyone has a strategy on how to conquer them, let me know. Avoid the Mixed Vegetables because that’s just something that I would find in a supermarket and it’s nothing special. I only order it as a last resort because I’m a big fan of almost all of their meat dishes…
For the meat, I recommend the Spinach Chicken (though I haven’t seen much of it being cooked recently :(), Pork and Potato (errr the only problem is that there’s almost no potato at all), and Regular Chicken Curry. For some odd reason, I’m not a fan of the Butter Chicken because it’s just too sweet.
I’ve actually tried the bread for the first time ever. It was flaky, and it tasted good when I dipped it in the leftover curry sauces.
And yes they do accept credit cards :)

Hands down, my favorite spot to eat on campus. I love their coconut cabbage, the chana masala, and their spciy chicken curry is pretty delicious too. I always felt cheated though, getting the smaller plate. For only a buck or so more, if you get the tow item meal, you get SO much more food!

This place gives quite a bit of food for a mini plate costing you $ 6.50!
Great deal for a good amount of yummy Indian food!
The spicy chicken curry is great and I love the naan!
I’m glad this establishment moved from the kiosk wagon to an
actual location in the renovated Paradise Palms! I only wish
there were closer locations because Paradise Palms is so far from
the side of campus I’m at. The staff is so-​so, but at least they’re
knowledgable.

Two words… Spicy…Awesomeness!
I cannot put down in words how much I love the food here. First of all, their fluffy jasmine rice, soaked in its savory chicken curry is bomb because the flavor explodes in your mouth. It is messed up. Usually when I come here, they ask if I want more curry and it’s like asking me if the sky is blue. uhh… YEAAAH! Give me the whole tray! I am a huge fan of their spicy noodles, spicy tofu, and spinach tofu. These sides really give a kick to the meal. My favorite out of the three, however, is the spicy noodles. You think the curry is spicy? Puhlease… these noodles are on fire! But it’s not unbearably hot where you want to kill yourself. Instead it serves a nice heat in your mouth after every bite. The best way to savor this meal is by washing it down with iced pepsi because it helps cool down the kindling fire on your tongue! Sizzle.
Oh and did I forget to mention their roti bread? Flaky buttery goodness that will make your eyeballs roll out of your eye sockets? They also give you a free cup of curry so you can dunk it in like how a cop dunks his donuts in his coffee. How nice.
Bottom line: Please embrace this stand while you are at UH. I have just graduated and I feel depressed every time I hear the song Jai Ho (since they used to play it a lot). Also the people who work here are very nice and generous in their servings!

In my opinion this is one of the tastier food choices you can make on campus. The food is always tasty and reasonably priced, the staff here has always been friendly from my experience, plus it’s really close to my office! Be sure to get a roti along with your plate. It’s flaky, buttery and delicious! The samosa’s are also tasty and very filling.

I love the Indian chicken curry here on a good day. For some reason, it tends to be hit or miss.
Occasionally the chicken is a bit too dry, like it’s been on the heater too long or was boiled too long to begin with. Other times, it’s just right. I really love the rice, and the curry is so good on cold and rainy Manoa days.
My favorite sides are the mixed veggies, coconut cabbage, and potatoes. If they don’t have any of those sides, I won’t buy a plate.
They accept credit cards as well! I also like that even when there’s a line, it usually doesn’t take too long to get your food since everything is already prepared. Most of my classes are in Webster, which is right next to the cart. Sometimes that extra walk to Campus Center or Bale is just a little too far, and the lines and wait there can get crazy.

When I was working on a project at the university, I ate at the curry cart for a number of my lunches. I LOVEEEEEEE the chickpeas. Get those for sure. I also had the okra, cauliflower & whatever veggie friendly varieties they had. The samosa are just OK, I’ve had better of those. One of the ones I got the potato inside was a little on the raw side. People working in the truck were super nice & funny. The bread is decent, but a little on the greasy side. Much preferred the curry cart to any fast food options & the cafeteria.

(Eat the Street experience)
Being a lover of curry, I ordered the South Indian Chicken Curry bowl ($ 5): two pieces of bone-​in chicken with red curry and Jasmine rice.
A well-​executed, delicious dish here. I detected some cinnamon in that curry, adding that extra dimension of spice I usually don’t see in a curry. My friend and I marveled at how perfectly the chicken was cooked: fall-​off-​the-​bone tender. I also loved the floral nature of the Jasmine rice. Coulda used a bit more seasoning overall, though.
Where was this when I was in undergrad at UH? I frequented the national chains like Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and Subway, but now you can get stuff like this? Oh well, at least I don’t have to take a zillion college classes anymore.
Hit up India Café and try their food ASAP!

I loved India Café on Kapahulu. In particular, I always ordered the shrimp curry.
I wasn’t too impressed by the quality of the curries at the express cart. The chicken curry and vegetable curries all had the same taste.
For the low prices and decent indian food, I’d come back. The original restaurant on Kapahulu was pretty exceptional and I’m sad they closed.

In my opinion, the India Café Express at UH Manoa is WAY better than the actual store location located in Kapahulu!
India Café Express is the only Indian food served on campus. It’s a lunch wagon/​kiosk stop and can be found on campus near Webster Hall and Verney Circle.
Their food is pretty good and pretty cheap considering how much the actual restaurant charges for their curry. The other day I got a regular plate which contains 2 scoops of yellow rice, 2 choices of vegetable curries, and a choice of meat or seafood curry for $ 8.25. I decided to get the Chicken curry (which has two chicken breasts) with chana masala (which is chic peas) and mixed vegetables
.
Normally I LOVE India Café’s Curry plate! The chicken is fall of the bone tender and the vegetable curries makes me want to eat more vegetables! But I noticed that this time my curry was very VERY oily… from my picture you can literally see a pool of oil in my chana masala. When I was a freshmen I use to eat here at least once a week and I don’t recall it being this oily. Maybe it was just a bad day for the chana… and I could have sworn the prices use to be cheaper. Oh well.
Oh and if you’re not a big fan of spicy I would highly caution you to NOT GET ANYTHING SPICY! Spicy food is okay, but when they say spicy… they sure mean it. I remember I once tried a spoonful of my friends spicy calamari curry and my face became so red. I was literally a tomato! I also tried their spicy chicken and it was so hot I just wanted to wash my chicken under water and just drink a few cups of milk! Ya I know, I’m weak sauce.
So if you’re on campus and craving a reasonably priced take-​out Indian lunch, I would suggest you hit up India Café Express! Just remember it gets really busy when school is in session and this is a CASH ONLY place. Also, don’t forget to ask about their stamp card! You get a stamp for every meal purchased (regardless of the curry plate size) and when you get 10 stamps you can redeem it for any sized curry plate!
Unilocal 365 Challenge: Review ¹¹⁄₃₆₅

This place is a mandatory stop for me when I’m here for lunch! Sometimes they don’t have the spicy entrees I love so much, but they make up for it with tasty veggies!
Sides I recommend when going there: The okra and the spicy eggplant. If you’re a fan of spiciness and vegetables, these two will elate your tastebuds. When one or the other is there only, I suggest asking for a double helping of one of them!
The best curries in my humble opinion: The calamari and the chicken (both kinds they have there). When they’ve been labelled «spicy», your mouth will crave for more; especially when you look down at your plate and realize there’s no more.
$ 8.25 for a full, $ 6.75 (I think) for half. I’m not 100% sure on the half since I always get a full order.
The reason why I took off star:
Their rohti bread was not as good and a bit too pricey for my taste.
Rarely, they only have their South Indian chicken curry; the chicken is dry most times unfortunately. However, this is my humble opinion. These two points in food lost them their fifth star. Other than that, I recommend this place for lunch when you’re taking classes at UH, working at UH, or just passing through.

I love that this place is a little cart operating on campus at UH. The food is spicy heaven, and I always indulge in the roti bread (it’s sort of like a flattened croissant, but Indian rather than French).
Portions are large: a mini plate is enough for me and a friend, and only costs something like $ 6.50. There’s also a loyalty card — buy 10 plates and get 1 free. Pretty exciting stuff. I wish every restaurant did this.
It loses one star for the rice. It’s highlighter yellow, which I’m guessing means it’s supposed to be saffron rice, but it doesn’t taste at all like saffron. I suspect it’s just regular rice with yellow food coloring or something. The rice is pretty much always clumpy, mushy and overcooked. The rest of the dishes are so good that one may be able to overlook the sorry, smushy rice.

I am by no means a connoisseur of Indian food. The only other place I can compare this to is Café Maharani which is amazing. But alas that is a restaurant and this is a lunch truck.
I’m always a little unhappy since their food seems to go pretty quickly, just as fast as any other lunch wagon on campus. But the number of options in terms of sides/​veggies is far greater than any other cart and for that reason I can say I love this place. Not to mention the fact that the prices are incredibly reasonable ($ 6~ for a mini-​plate!).
In comparison to Maharani, this Express truck could definitely work on presentation. Most days my food looks like slop piled on top of seasoned yellow rice. I have to always request that they don’t drizzle all over the rice because it just looks terrible. But the flavor makes up for this so I guess I’m willing to sacrifice.
I also wish there was more ample seating, especially shaded. I usually walk over to the «Sustainability Courtyard» to eat my lunch. But in the end it’s totally worth the walk and cheap price!

The three stars ain’t as bad as it seems. If you like Indian food or any type of curry for that matter, you owe it to yourself to check out India Café. Lucky for us UHM campus dwellers, we don’t have to go very far. I’ve never been to the Kapahulu restaurant, but I assume this express location offers their more popular dishes. You have your veggie options like mixed vegetables, spicy eggplant and chana masala (chick peas) and meat options like tiki chicken masala, shrimp curry or chicken curry. I usually get the mini plate which comes with one veggie, one meat, and a big serving of Indian Jasmine rice. I’ll also order a side of roti bread (soft and chewy) to dip into my leftover curry sauce… yummy!
Service is a mixed bag depending on who you get. The lines get pretty long so be sure to have your order ready when you’re up. The lady who usually works there won’t take any of your dilly-​dallying (you’ve been warned).
Enjoy your lunch under one of the umbrella tables in front of the kiosk. Be careful when getting your food to-​go. The curry sauce can get messy!
Check them out if you’re looking for some ethnic fare on the UH Manoa campus! They’re located in front of Webster Hall at the top of McCarthy Mall.