Thalaivas Indian N Chinese Kitchen (or sometimes listed as Thalaiva’s Restaurant) opened last fall in Middleton and then expanded to Waunakee four months later.
Whereas I recently reviewed a restaurant fusing Indian and Italian cuisines, this time, it’s Indian and Chinese, though Thalaivas focuses much more on the Indian side.
For example, you’ll find sections of the menu covering tandoori, dosa, biryani and South Indian dishes. My first pick was the Kothu Parotta Chicken ($14.99), which featured chopped parotta (a South Indian flatbread) that was stir-fried with chicken. It wasn’t much to look at, but the dish is packed with flavor from all the spices and components. The parotta was soft and nicely supported the bits of chicken, scrambled eggs, onions and morsels of tomatoes. I bet this dish also would go well with lamb or goat if that were an option.
From the Indo-Chinese section, which is comprised of fried rice, noodles and manchurian entrees, I ordered the shrimp noodles ($17.99). The noodles were good, and you get plenty of shrimp, but for the most part, this dish was lacking in flavor, especially compared to basically every other item on the menu. The description said it was supposed to come with a special sauce, but I didn’t see or taste any.
Meanwhile, the gobi manchurian ($14) was outstanding. If you replace the chicken in General Tso’s chicken with cauliflower and add some Indian spices, then you more or less have gobi. In fact, you might not even realize this is a vegetarian dish.
Among the numerous curries, I settled on the lamb vindaloo ($17.99), and I’m glad I did. You get plenty of cubed potatoes and tender lamb, and the sauce was thick and chunky. Even if you choose mild for spice level, the curry will be spicy.
Next time, I’d like to try the non veg thali ($19.99; a vegetarian option for $18.99 is available), comprised of rice, bread and a variety of meat-based dishes, as well as the chicken 555 ($12.99), which is tossed with garlic and chilies.
Both locations of Thalaivas Indian N Chinese Kitchen are open every day for lunch and dinner.
