For the most part, I try to keep these restaurant reviews focussed on the food and the service. However, I do feel obligated to post outside of this, and in greater detail, when the overall experience is so out of the ordinary, that it feels like I’m not being honest if I don’t share it. Because at the end of the end, I pride myself on being truthful in these recaps. This is one of those such instances.
This particular visit was a hosted experience, I was invited to check out the newest location of Baba Chicken, in order to give them an honest review. This was not paid work and the invite did not include any mention of deliverables. I would like to believe that when a business reaches out to me and invites me for such an occasion, that they have done their homework and know that my brand is based on being “real, raw, relatable”. And that my blog is built on honest insights and constructive feedback. Both of which are based on my business minded work experience and learned education. Ideally, I get invites from those who are confident in their product and offerings and know that they will get a good review; which was technically the case here.
However due to the following irregularities, I sadly do not feel welcomed, nor would I return anytime soon as a result.
Baba Chicken is a famous Indian restaurant chain, originating in India. They have been building the brand for over 54 years and have 45 locations across 4 generations to show for it. The chain has since expanded to the US, Australia, Dubai, and soon London.
Despite arranging the visit with the marketing team, and them following up a few days before to confirm my attendance, which was scheduled almost a month in advance; no one was expecting me.
The lone clerk was not aware of any of this, I approach her, standing behind the back counter, with her head down. I tried to explain the situation referencing my chat communication with their social media account. Naturally, she had to get the manager, who confirmed that they were not expecting anyone. In hindsight I should have gotten up and left, rather than beg to be accepted and feel the need to prove why I was here. However, I drove 45 minutes to get here, paid for the parking, and dragged my friend out to join me; so I wasn’t about to waste all that effort.
In the end I did have to reached out to said marketing team, and thankfully I did have that contact. He was able to organize everything on his end and explained that the person he spoke with originally was not at the restaurant today, nor did he pass the message on to anyone. That his parents were covering the restaurant for him now, and they had no idea about this arrangement, nor did they have a lot of comprehension regarding social media marketing. I thought fair enough, I guess it just would have been easier if a note was made or communication passed on a calendar, schedule, or a communication book of some sort.
Once again, a lot of my feedback comes from my own personal years of management and hosting in both retail and restaurant spaces; and thinking back to how they were run, even before I took over in a leadership capacity.
During this back-and-forth, we were asked to take a seat in one of their spacious booths. The table we ended up choosing had a glass jar of potpourri on it. I am sure this was meant to be a nice touch, however the rose petals were rotting. So this was just a jar of mold, sitting on a table that we were supposed to consume food on. It was a turn off, and when I brought it to the staff’s attention, I was met with disbelief, but at least she removed it.
Each table is pre-set with a water carafe, so you only have to ask for cups to drink. Unfortunately the glass jar was incredibly oily and greasy to touch. This was to the point that I feared holding it, in case it slipped out of my grasp, so avoided pouring myself a drink. Considering all the ruckus I had already stirred up between “showing up unannounced” and “criticizing their decor”, I decided not to mention it.
Between the above two incidents, I was now on high alert for cleanliness. Throughout dinner I noted dried bits of debris on utensils that I simply picked off to not cause a stir. And noted what appeared to be dust or ash on what should have been clean takeout boxes. Once again, these are more minor grievances that I might have overlooked at the start of our meal, if it didn’t begin with time waiting and time to scrutinize.
Thankfully, the owner and the food redeemed most of. Once again, I can see why they are an international chain and well received worldwide.
The owner’s uncle is the one who started this now franchise in 1964. The menu is the same at each location, made from the same recipes, prepared with the same spices. The latter is all shipped from India in pre-mixed packets. Only two people know the exact ratio of seasonings: the founder and his son.
We started with the Spinach corn rolls as recommended. Typically I would want something more traditional, but am glad we got to try this, as this was my favourite dish of the night. It was like a spanakopita, but in spring roll form. A core of gooey mozzarella cheese surrounded by a paste of spinach, all wrapped in a panko crusted shell. The Indian ranch-like dip is what pulled it all together. I preferred it more than the green spicy mint chutney as a dip. The coleslaw, although not complimentary, made for a nice palate refresher in between bites.
The owner’s mother highly recommended the Non-veg, tandoori platter, I was skeptical but obliged. I have ordered this from other restaurants and know it is just a platter of grilled and char kissed meats that felt incomplete as a lone dish. Based on the colouring there seemed to be 4 different flavours. However, I found them all fairly similar, the plate felt one toned and I could have used raita or a tamarind sauce to offer some additional interest.
I found the marble platters a fun choice for presentation sake, but thought them clumsy to eat off of. They were only used for the appetizers.
I am normally a fan of goat curry, but found this rendition salty and in need of a starch base to help balance that out. The meat here wasn’t all that gamey, with the scent of herbs and salt masking it.
Ideally I would have plain rice with this as the briyani below had its own flavour that combatted.
Instead, we would order a serving of both plain and garlic naan as our balancing starch. I liked the flavour of the garlic one, but thought the plain one fluffier with a better texture.
I stand firm that the best way to judge an Indian restaurant is through their butter chicken, and apparently Baba’s butter chicken is unique onto its own. It is more yellow mustard in colour than orangey-red like with other butter chicken. It is also not sweet, but savoury like a comforting stew.
In truth, I couldn’t help but compare it to all the other sweet butter chickens I know of, and am more familiar to. And this was nothing like that. Therefore I decided to give this its own category. Instead of calling it butter chicken, I called it “sunrise chicken”, due to its colour, and found that liked it a lot more as its own entity.
As I mentioned above, we got Baba’s special goat biryani for our rice dish. The texture was perfect: firm and chewy grains of long rice. You got the funk of gamey goat in both the taste and smell, especially with the larger chunks of goat meat mixed in. Therefore, I thought it did not make a good base, as it was not neutral enough; but netter as a full dish as is.
And for drinks we got their Mango lassi. When ordering we got no warning of what to expect, so was surprised to learn that this was more tart yoghurt instead of sweet mango. In hindsight, maybe if I stirred in the ribbons of mango syrup more, the drink would have been sweeter, which I prefer and could look to as a palate refresher.
I enjoyed my meal and left happily, although I found myself having to return to the restaurant the day after. Unfortunately, I had forgotten my portable light and considering it is a key piece of my reporting arsenal, I needed to retrieve it sooner and later. I called the restaurant ahead to confirm that it was indeed at the restaurant. The clerk working said it was, describing it perfectly. I told her I would be coming right away and will be there in the next 15 minutes. However, when I got there, the light was not within the restaurant. The same individual whom I had spoken to on the phone, now told me to wait as she made a phone call. I am not sure what was said, as I do not speak the language, but she told me I had wait two minutes. I asked her if the light was on the premises. She said no that the owner took it home. I asked, why would he do that, to which she said he didn’t believe it to be safe kept at the restaurant, in case someone stole it.
That kind of struck me as odd. If you can’t trust your staff to oversee a lost and found box, then why hire them in the first place?
Apparently the owner lives behind the restaurant and it was a quick walk from him to bring it over. Management confirmed that they hadn’t set up a secure locker in the restaurant yet. I ended up waiting outside for my device. In truth, the spices used in the cooking were so pungent that I found my clothes absorbing the scent of it during my last visit, and needing to throw in the wash right away, lest my whole small apartment smells like food all night. And today I was on my way to an event, and I didn’t want any more exposure to the same scent if possible.
Once again, this was such an out of the ordinary experience that I feel like I had to document it for an accurate account. Truthfully, if I didn’t go through all of this, I probably would recommend them. I did like how fluffy their naan was, and after I rebranded butter chicken, I liked it for what it was and not what I was comparing it to. And of course their amazing spinach and cheese spring rolls with “Indian ranch” was a game changer. I don’t know where else I can get something like that, and I can foresee it being a flavour I would like to revisit down the road.
Baba Chicken Vancouver
6260 Fraser St, Vancouver, BC V5W 3A1
(604) 569-9995
babachickenca.com
