For this Lazymeal.com post, we go to the Burnaby Heights for another culinary adventure! This time we tried Handi Cuisine of India.

Handi has been serving the lower mainland for over a decade, with three restaurants in Dunbar, West Van and North Burnaby.  the Burnaby Heights restaurant has been open for three years.

The restaurant has a cozy, homey feel to it. Nothing fancy, yet welcoming.

We started our meal with the cucumber salad ($6.00) 

This dish is big enough to share. Lots of cucumber and tomato pieces. One thing that I thought was odd was their use of maraschino cherries in the salad. When I asked about it, the owners said they used them for decorative purposes and they can make the dish without them. The dressing was nice and creamy.

One of the things I like about the Lazymeal.com blogger get togethers are the variety of dishes we get to try. On our table next we have the mixed platter ($10.00) 

This appetizer platter is good enough to share between two people and it includes vegetable samosas, vegetable pakoras, and chicken pakoras. I couldn’t believe how moist the chicken pakoras were. My suggestion is that if you order this dish, ask for the yogurt dip. It’s delicious.

The butter chicken ($11.95) – at Handi is very sweet, different from all the others I’ve tasted. So creamy and it comes with lots of chunks of juicy chicken.

If you’re gonna order butter chicken or any tandoori dish, I suggest some naan bread to go with it.

The Palak Paneer Naan ($3.00) – For only three bucks you get a nice portion of this naan bread stuffed with spinach and cottage cheese. Truly this bread is a meal on itself. A must order.

The Aloo Naan ($3.00) is stuffed with potatoes and spices. Great for soaking up that curry.

The Aloo Naan is the bread I recommend for this next dish.

The Chicken Tikka ($12.95) – comes steaming out of the kitchen on a hot plate. The boneless pieces of chicken breast are marinated with authentic Indian spices and grilled in a tandoori oven. This was one of the best chicken tikka dishes I’ve ever tasted. The chicken was so moist and flavourful. Great presentation and the amount of spice was just right. Definitely my favourite dish of the night.

If chicken is not your thing, may I suggest the prawn goa curry ($15.95) –  Jumbo prawns cooked in coconut, onion sauce & Indian spices. The sauce was so rich and full of coconut flavour. Lots of prawns.

If vegetarian fare is what you’re craving, the Vegetable Jalfrazie ($11.95) is what I suggest.

The veggies are sautéed with a touch of lemon curry sauce. The sauce was sheer perfection. I would order this dish again in a heartbeat.

For dessert, Handi Cuisine of India offers a variety of traditional India desserts, but these two stand out:

The mango ice cream ($4.00) – is a Handi specialty. Homemade mango ice cream mixed with pistachio nuts and mango syrup. So creamy, great way to end your meal..

Mango cheese cake ($5.00) – very creamy, the piece is big enough to share.

Overall this was a great experience. The atmosphere at this restaurant is warm and friendly. The food is plentiful for the price. To order these or any other dishes online, check out lazymeal.com. Check out their online menu here.

Follow Handi Cuisine of India on Twitter @handicuisine

Follow Lazymeal on Twitter @lazymeal