shamiana - taj jumeriah lake towers

i was here to checkout rooms for my upcoming guests and i visited the restaurant shamiana and suddenly i was so intimidated by the pictures on the wall of famous celebrities from india and abroad that couldnt stop to gaze by each one of them.
soon my husband ordered for there restaurant signature dish which was a dessert made out of coconut. coconut payasam..
served in a tender coconut shell..
thank you akash for all the hospitality
and service.

soon will be back with full family and ample tym...to dig in more relishing delicacies.

tried the friday brunch at shamiana recently with a lot of high expectations. definitely enjoyed their hospitality,warmth, excellent service and quality food.

the friday brunch, although not as elaborate a fare as a lot of restaurants in uae had a reasonably well curated menu. appetizers were served at the table comprising of succulent prawns, tandoori salmon, lamb seekh and chicken reshmi kebab. they also had a bhel counter which had delicious bhel, pani puri etc.

of course there was, soup, a variety of salads, vegetarian and non vegetarian offerings of curries and rice. one of the best indian foods i've had in a very long time which has been true to taste. eating at shamiana brought back memories of eating true desi food from bombay!

the dessert counter was average with regular pastries. they could have perhaps added some more indian offerings.

overall the whole experience was made pleasant by the staff which was ever so courteous and extremely attentive. a very positive dining experience,which of course is expected from the taj group.

was looking forward to the 100+ years of legacy.
was bowled with the appetisers from lamb chops, keema pau to tikkas. fun!
malai broccoli was good too. and so was the kulcha cheese and mirchi - soft and yum, you could have it on its own.
however chicken biryani was disappointing being dry and didn’t give the freshness you would expect from apparently a fresh cooked biryani.
desserts too were not up to the mark - gajar ka halwa or the kulfi. perhaps have had much better ones.
ambience was quite bland too, no background music, wish they could have managed that, which would have added a point to elevate the experience.

overall some great hits supported by some misses!

last month on the occasion of indian republic day we visited shamiana restaurant in the newest taj property in town- taj jumeirah lake towers for dinner to try their special republic day set-menu. located on the 4th floor of the luxurious taj jlt, shamiana is their heritage restaurant offering authentic indian cuisine. you can expect all the signature dishes from the world of taj.

fantastic food. every morsel was tasteful and fresh. we ordered 6 to 7 dishes and every dish was exemplary.

i was here this afternoon to celebrate the indian republic day and try their lunch buffet.

everything about this place reflects the cultures and values of the india i grew up in, from the hospitality, to the beverages and the buffet spread with everything being well crafted. 

i walked into shamiana listening to some indian instruments being played and we were welcomed with the indian flag themed juices and drinks - pistachio milk, a lassi and an orange juice. 

i am not a huge fan of super elaborate buffets as it is hard to try the entire spread however the spread here was perfect. they had a chaat counter where we tried the gol gappas, the samosa chaat and the papdi chaat. all of them were so fresh and the flavors were bang on. 

they had a salad spread which had a chicken tikka salad, a beetroot salad, a pesto pasta salad, and a couple of arabic salads too. it was a pleasure to see how fresh everything on the spread was. 

from the starters we tried the paneer malai tikka and the chicken tikka, both of these were well marinated and cooked to perfection. 

the main course spread had a mix of rich and comfort food. starting from butter chicken, rogan ghost, malabar prawn biryani to zeera allo, daal and steamed rice. all these dishes on the spread are popular dishes from the indian cuisine and were made as authentic - just the way they are supposed to.

ended the meal with one of the best gulab jamun i have had so far, these ones melted in my mouth. 

on our way out we found the cutest indian masala chai trolley that had not just masala chai but also had on display some accessories like earrings, bindis and hairbands giving it a very real feel of a street chai trolley in india.

we visited taj shamiana for our one month wedding anniversary dinner. ordered chicken tikka & lamb sheekh kebab for starters both the dishes were 10/10. lamb biryani for main course was delicious. gajar halwa & ras malai were outstanding to end the dinner with.the taste, aroma & presentation of the food were classic. however mr naveen the restaurant manager surprised us with a chocolate pastry & a congratulation message to add to our celebration. the chef personally visited the tables to make sure the food was perfect as per taste. the entire team was very warm & courteous. the classical music in the background added a sense of peace. must try for royal indian dining.