Alibaba Indian Restaurant

 
I can thank the island of Okinawa for my love of curry.  I think Japanese curry was my first introduction into this wonderfully flavored mingling of spices.  And yet I don’t think I’ve ever really tasted anything as good as when I first tasted Indian curry.  After extensive research I have come to the conclusion that Indian and Thai are my two favorites.   We’ve talked about this when I introduced you to Laxmi Curry House – yet another spin on great curry dishes.  I could eat curry almost every day and now we have yet another choice for our discerning taste buds.  Alibaba sits nestled near the Ferris Wheel in American Village just waiting for you to come and enjoy lunch or dinner any day of the week. 

 

When I thought I couldn’t love Indian curries more or be served larger naan bread Alibaba comes along and entices me with green cardamom pods and onion naan.  I had no idea what green cardamom pods were until yesterday and I am intrigued! 

Cardamom is a spice native to the Middle East, North Africa, and Scandinavia. There are three types of cardamom; green cardamom, black cardamom and Madagascar cardamom. Most recipes usually call for green cardamom. Cardamom has a strong, unique spicy-sweet taste, which is slightly aromatic. Cardamom is more expensive than average spices.  A little goes a long way  - if a recipe calls for 10 pods that would equal 1 ½ tsp ground. 

 
If you want to cook with green cardamom pods they are available for purchase at A-Price.  The Chef at Alibaba said he deep fried these pods and they use it in all their curries.  I couldn’t tell it was deep fried but the flavor between the “cooked” ones and the dry ones is incredibly different.

 
We ordered from the Lunch Time Menu – a separate menu from their extensive lunch and dinner menu.  The Curry Set Lunch is Y950 and includes your choice of curry from their four regular curries and one curry special.  You begin with a small salad and your choice of a drink.  Your drink choices are Lassi, Mango Lassi (our recommendation), Oolong tea or Chai tea.  You receive both rice and naan bread with your curry along with the option for a “free” second helping of both the naan and rice.  Who doesn’t love a second helping of naan to help finish off that little bit of curry you have left in your bowl?  For Y100 extra you can pick one of three other specialty naan breads. 

 
If being restricted to a lunch set doesn’t appeal to you or if you want to enjoy dinner out with friends Alibaba has an extensive drink menu along with many other food choices.  On their regular menu you will find several salad selections, snacks to order like 2 pieces of Samosa for Y600 or Tandoor Sets to include Fish Tikka for Y1,000.

If naan bread is your obsession then you will have a hard time choosing between 12 different flavors.  Some of your choices are Onion Naan, Masalakulcha Naan or Sesame Naan.  The specialty naans range from Y300 – Y900 and they are worth it.

This is a great place to bring larger parties as there is at least one area that could seat 12 people together but the entire restaurant holds more than that.  Their menu includes large courses that range from Y1,500 – Y2,800.   One large course includes curry, Tandoori Chicken, rice, naan and salad.  There is also a Alibaba Course for Y4,500 – there is no shortage of choices when ordering.  And if that is not enough you can even top off the tank with a dessert naan for Y500.  They also offer a “take away” menu and a belly dance show upon request.

 

Their service was great, the restaurant is clean and the atmosphere is entertaining with Bollywood videos on the big screen.  This is a must-try if you love to eat out and if Indian food is at the top of your list!

Special Note:  This restaurant takes Yen and American Dollars.

Hours:  Open 7 days a week.  Monday – Friday they are open from 11a.m. until 3p.m. and then they reopen for dinner from 5p.m. until 11p.m.  Sat., Sun. and National Holidays they are open from 11 a.m. until 11p.m.

Location:   American Village 

Directions:  Leave out of Kadena Gate 1 and make a left onto 58.  Go through 5 signals until you reach the one across from Camp Lester – Kuwae signal.  Make a right and follow a short distance until you get to the large American Village intersection.  Make a right at the signal, heading towards Makeman.  Pass the two-story building with the Ferris wheel and make a right, entering a parking area.  You can park anywhere but this will get you the closest to Alibaba without having to cross the street.  If you are lucky you will even be able to park in the shade – outside of the Dragon Palace.  Alibaba is on the 2F, inside, right before you get to Jai Thai.

Comments

[ash]

Thanks for posting this. My husband and I were talking about going to this restaurant last weekend if the new sushi place in American Village was packed. We ended up eating at the sushi restaurant, so we'll have to make a trip to try Alibaba. Also, thanks for posting where to buy cardamom (I've heard of cardamom, but have never actually seen what it looks like)...they definitely don't sell it at the commissary, and I've found several recipes that call for it.

[Pamelala]

The food was really good, the service (when we went) was terrible (a Sat night). No drinks, had to ask. My meal came. Husbands rice dish came 10 mins later and his main dish came 10 mins after that. But I think teething. He said he wouldn't go again. Me, I have a forgiving nature esp. when the food is yum!

[Joanna]

Thanks for the write-up on this restaurant. I've seen it and was curious as to how the food was. I myself love Indian food and I'm grateful to know there are several Indian restaurants here to choose from.

Pamelala- I'm glad you are a forgiving person. I have found that it's typical for off base restaurants to serve food to customers as it is ready, and not necessarily timing it to be brought out at the same time to people dining together. The locals don't seem to mind, so I just shrug it off as another one of the charms of eating off base.

[Melonie K.]

Sounds yummy! Would you say it's toddler-friendly seating-wise or should I count on needing to keep my little guy strapped into his car seat for a "high chair"?

As for the service issue - my understanding was that it was a cultural difference, kind of like not filling your own drink? Maybe your hubby will give it another shot after hearing that, for the food's sake. :-P

[Melonie K.]

"Your hubby" referring to Pamelala's, I mean. :-) Or maybe they have takeout he might enjoy more relaxing at home without the separate waits?

[Pamelala]

Thanks for the info. No, it was def. that they just forgot (drinks that is), you could see 'Mgmgt' was sort of flustered and just finding their new rhythm I guess. I have never experienced waits like that for food and we mainly eat off base. But, not to worry, hubby now deployed I will go and he will have forgotten by the time he gets back. heee heee. But, food was very good and this coming from a Brit where Indian food is to us what Mexican food is to Southern Cali!

[Joanna]

Pamelala- Gotcha! I missed the part about forgotten drinks in your comment. My apologies! Wasn't in any way insulting your hubby though!

[Larissa]

Ash: Let me know what recipe you try with cardamom in it and how it turns out!!!

Pam: I have discovered that restaurants here on Okinawa don't see quick service as a priority. I think they want us to mingle and cruise and enjoy both our food and our company. I usually don't eat off base if I'm starving or in a hurry. That being said, our service yesterday was fabulous. The restaurant wasn't packed, like I assume a Saturday night might have been, but there were several other customers around us looking to be getting their food in a timely manner as well. The manager strikes me as someone who is not in a hurry which means we will never feel rushed. I hope you will go back and that your second experience is better than the first. The food was fabulous and I'm taking a group there next Tuesday after our biblestudy with PWOC - we'll see if the service is slower when we arrive with a party of 10 or more!!!!

Thanks for all the feedback and Happy Eating!

[Joanna]

Larissa- By the way, what is that exactly you are drinking in the picture?

[Larissa]

Joanna - my friend, Jana, is drinking the Mango Lassi that we highly recommend. It's a mango-flavored yogurt drink. I have always been able to find Lassi drinks at every Indian food place I have eaten at though I don't know if Mango has been available before. It's great - give it a try and let me know what you think!!!

Jana has a great Indian cook book and I can't find the name of it right now. Once I reach her I will post it here in case you want to make any of these fun dishes at home. The Lassi drink is in there as well!!!

[Joanna]

Thank you for the information! It looks yummy!

[Pamelala]

J - no worries, no apology needed :o)
L - oh, I will def. go back, the hubby can eat angel hair pasta at home if he doesn't want to come with me! Then, knowing him, he will sneak off to the bagel store LOL
PS: the mango lassi was very good

[Larissa]

Here is the name of the cookbook I mentioned in a previous comment:

Complete Indian Cooking: 325 Deliciously Authentic Recipes for the Adventurous Cook

Authors: Mridula Baljekar, Rafi Fernandez, Shehzad Husain, Manisha Kanani

[P.C.]

We went to AliBaba's today as a big group. FABULOUS!!! Service was awesome!!! Mango Lassi, YUMMY! The garlic/cheese naan, the BOMB! Totally going back again!

[Suzy]

We too checked it out this last weekend. We all liked it. We ordered a set for two with the three different curry choices. We ordered the garlic nan but were given both the reg. and the garlic. So, make sure to clarify when you order. We had nan coming out of our ears lol. Thought the samosas were better than their island competitors. Our bill ended up being more expensive with the extras. So with two drinks, samosas, and the set for two we paid about $64 which is about on par with all places offbase. I have to say though...love those handblown glasses they use! So cute!

[ash]

I thought this restaurant was just okay. The night we went the restaurant only had one other table of customers, so it wasn't busy. The waiter took our orders, and walked away before my husband could finish ordering. I thought the food was good, but I ordered vegetable curry, and was given chicken curry. We couldn't get the waiter to come back over to fix it, so I just ate it anyway. The naan was really awesome, and I too, liked the mango lassi. I think if the service had been a little bit better, the experience would have been much better. All-in-all, I think the restaurant has good food, but I still am a fan of Krishna's and Nanuk. (sp?)

[Larissa]

Ash - I still like Krishna's as well. I just love having options depending on which direction I am traveling. Alibaba's is also not as crowded as Krishna's, at lunch, which is a plus for the crowd I run with.

Nannak is how I was told to spell it and it's been on my list to try for a long time now. My sources say it's the best but it's not in a really convenient location like Krishna's and Alibaba's.

I'm bummed about the service you received as that has not been my experience, yet. Unfortunately I am big on good service and usually only frequent those places that offer up both great service and fabulous food!!!! I'm glad we have so many options here!!!

[ash]

Yes, Nannak is on Kokusai St. so it's farther away than some of these other Indian restaurants, but it is one of my favorites. I can't tell you the exact location on Kokusai, but if you're walking along the street, there's a yellow sign, and you have to go down some stairs to get to the restaurant. It's easy to miss if you're not paying attention. But the food is really awesome. Next time you're down there you should try it. They have lunch hrs. and dinner hrs. and close in between. I'm not sure the exact hours, but I think that they close for lunch at either 1:00 or 2:00 p.m.

[Briana]

Hmmm, wasn't too impressed with Alibaba's. My husband and I were outside looking through the menu, and one of the waiters was quick to come outside. My husband and I both have special dietary needs and were assured multiple times "yes, yes, yes," there was plenty we could eat. The same waiter took our order, just in case I reclarified, and our food still came out wrong. The parts that I could eat were a bit bland. As with others, I highly recommend Krishna's.

[theresa]

My husband and I are also big Indian Food fans, moderately picky. Our favorite is probably still Krishna's, but we live all the way in Yomitan, and work at Camp Lester, so we are thrilled to have a very good option directly across the street for lunch or dinner after work. We've eaten their twice and the service was good once, bad the other time., but we thought the tasty food and convenience factor made up for it. We definitely like it better than that Indian place above Obligatto's where service was poor (attitudes) and food very average. Nannak is delicious but too far away from us plus I don't think I could find it again.

[ash]

I just ate here again for the 2nd time. I went for lunch today, and I thought everything was so much better than the previous time I had been here for dinner. The service was great and the food tasted a lot better.

[Libby]

Delicious! The prices are very reasonable, service is good, and the food is excellent. Yum. The chicken spinach curry & the naan are my favorites so far.

[Liby]

Does anyone know the phone for this place??

[Liby]

Does anyone know the phone # for this place?

[LEEANN STEVENS]

Okay, so first of all, I am Indian, like from India! I am really surprised to see so many Americans love naan and curry! This is so cool! I am glad you like it! I love curries, they are so favorable! I keep telling people that Indian food doesn't have to be spicy. It is the flavor that is makes it different.
I have not tried this restaurant. But it seems great.My husband, American and Caucasian, loves Indian food too! YAY!!!