Masala Wok bills itself as a Indian and Chinese fusion restaurant. After good reviews we decided to give it a try–now I’m tremendously picky on Indian food (considering I get some of the best at home). The place is set up for casual dining–walk up order and then go find a table; a server brings you your order. For a walk up eatery it has a decent ambiance–muted lighting, muted colors. I ordered the shish kabob–minced Lamb marinated with yogurt & spices cooked in a Tandoor oven. The shish kabob came with two pieces of nan, and way too much white rice. The lamb was decently spiced and had a good charcoal flavor, as did the naan. It sure would have been nice to get some vegetables on the plate–a couple of sliced carrots and cucumber just didn’t do the trick. My wife ordered the lamb curry–again decently spiced with lots of rice–this time no vegetables at all. So….basically quick, decent Indian food…but not something I’d crave enough to drive across town. Next time I’m in the neighborhood I’ll try some of the Wok dishes….see if they give me a reason to go back.
Right next to Masala Wok there is a place called La Paletera–which is a lot more fun. La Paletera offers ice cream and fruit cups–we love the fruit cups in Corpus so we decided to wander in. We just ordered the regular fruit cup sans salt–it came with chili and lemon. Yeah, I know it sounds odd…but I’m used to the taste. Fruit is frequently served with a bit of chili and salt in India. For less than $3 got a huge cup of fruit with watermelon, mango, cantaloupe, cucumber (!) and coconut. The chili/lemon flavor added panache. Next time I go by I have to try the mango-chili ice cream.
1100 Center Ridge Dr. Suite 300, Austin, TX 78753, Phone – 512-251-9696 http://www.masalawok.com