New Indian Restaurant in Haeundae

 

Last night my friend and I wanted to have Indian food in Ganga, but when we arrived there, about 10 people were waiting in line, so we decided to go somewhere else.

Then we found Namaste, the new Indian restaurant (3 branches in Seoul though), which is very close to Ganga.

We ordered two curry (lamb and chicken) and two nan. one rice...

Their main dishes are $3 cheaper than those in Ganga in average, but quality is VERY good.

This dinner cost us ~35000won.

 

Here is the direction of the new restaurant: http://ditu.google.com/maps/ms?hl=zh-CN&safe=strict&client=aff-cs-360se&ie=UTF8&msa=0&ll=35.163442,129.159672&spn=0.01249,0.01929&z=16&brcurrent=3,0x31508e64e5c642c1:0x951daa7c349f366f,1%3B5,0,1&msid=100449861518836355008.00048f00d0dbe6206989c

I marked Ganga, Namaste and subway station here.

 

 

Re: New Indian Restaurant in Haeundae

She is right! This place is really good and when you are inside- it looks like you are actually in India. The inside is a must see! The food as well is really good! The service is great too! The workers speak perfect English- they are from Nepal. I think this place is better than Ganga all around to be honest!

Re: New Indian Restaurant in Haeundae

First I would like to thanks to chinesewoman for providing such a great information. Really I was waiting for the opening of this restaurant from long time. I was aware that it will be soon but didn’t expect it already opened. I am so pleased with the information. The reason is simple I love their food. I tried their food in Seoul which is just amazing compare to any other Indian restaurant. Specially in Busan we don’t have so many good restaurant.

I read so many blogs regarding ganga but honestly I didn’t like it. I don’t know how people are saying it’s the real Indian authentic food. Last time when I visited ganga I have to wait for more then 30 minutes and they said I have to order within 15 minutes after that we can’t take order, that really surprise me. But I can understand it was normal because it was first time for me to go there. But the real problem was their food. I tried chicken makkhani which was ok.. but only in Korea. Does anyone have visited India and tried chicken makkhani . Then may be you can understand how they change the taste. Another dish which I tried was malai kofta   . Really it was terrible. I order that dish because I know it is really a great dish for vegetarian people.  but it was the worst dish there. Butter paneer masala was also not very good as per their standard and price it was terrible. Really even I already tried all other Indian restaurant in Busan and even changwon too. Ganga is better(I mean expensive he he) in just price but when it comes to quality its really not even close to KAKA KUMAR(another great Indian restaurant in Seoul which is cheapest there).

After visiting all Indian restaurant like Sangam(at sasang), Tajmahal, Wazwan(at PNU) Shabana(at Pukyong) and ganga (haeundae) I am really looking forward to visit namaste.

Me and my friend all liked the food of Namaste at Seoul, let’s hope and wish they will also provide the same taste and quality which they are providing in Seoul. I am really exciting for their food lets hope it will be a good experience.

with regards

Lovebug

 

 

Re: New Indian Restaurant in Haeundae

You are as about as subtle, as a brick. I think it is clear by the detail, description and knowledge this is not a customer at all. You do not need to sell it this way, it makes people suspicious because as it looks desperate.

Re: New Indian Restaurant in Haeundae

My dear friend i am not the owner, not even friend to Namaste.. My friend you took it wrong. I was just discussing about the food not criticizing anyone, I just wrote my experience. Nothing else. 

I just looking forward to try Namaste food .. and I will sure  share my experience after this weekend and trust me i am just a normal guy and if you want you can join me on coming Saturday :) 

Trust me I have tried many Indian restaurant in Korea specially in busan, But really no one fulfill my expectation. Like all of them have some special curry. For example If you will visit Tajmahal you should try Butter Chicken and Chicken do pyaaza its the best one in busan atleast with my taste. Their tandoori chicken also good. 

For example I also visited Wazwan their food also good but i think they use too much spices that's the reason people don't like too much. 

another restaurant which I tried is shabana in pukyong it also have some good food. Specially the butter chicken it taste really good. I don't want to criticize but if you compare price of ganga to all other and compare the quality it don't suit. Believe me The price of ganga is really too much compare to other restaurant. And if you are charging so much money their quality should be increase with that isn't it? 

Its just my opinion it doesn't matter everyone have to agree on that. I just want if you want some good Indian food try which i tells you :) I am just a student in Pusan nothing else. So some time if you wish i can join and discuss about anything.

and I just wish that Indian commonwealth games will be a success lets hope for the best. 

with regards

lovebug



Re: New Indian Restaurant in Haeundae

for only 3bucks cheaper i cant imagine it is worth it. ganga is way over priced for what you get so 3 bucks less is no big deal. word to the wise, just because people sell "non korean food" it does not make it worth 20 bucks a pop. curry with a bit of chicken costs a couple bucks to make. paying 20 for that is crazy. would you pay 150 bucks for a bottle of wolf blass yellow label at a restaurant- that is about the same mark up as they restaurants are charging for non authentic food-or foreign food cooked by Koreans. there is another indian food place in marine city but very much the same, little food but expensive. how about those vietnames places-8 bucks for vietnamese kimbop--- why, because it says vietnamese- crazy!

Re: New Indian Restaurant in Haeundae

I'm with you mate- it's a case of take your own meat to put into the dish at times.Ganga four prawns in the Prawn curry last time I went, pathetic for 20 bucks.I've heard that the Obrien's lad Austin will give you value for money in his place in Changwon.Never heard anything bad about his stuff.I have also heard good reports about an Indian guy called Qamar. I think owns the Nameste , or Tandoori restaurant in Gimhae.

Re: New Indian Restaurant in Haeundae

Paul and Angel, I'm with you both here.  I don't understand the INSANE markup for any "non-Korean" food here.  It seems like a scam to me.  I've pretty much given up on eating Indian/Turkish/whatever other food in restaurants because so often the quality is low, the portions are laughable, and the prices astronomic.  It's almost as if they're taking advantage of desperate foreigners who are willing to pay whatever it takes for any dish that doesn't contain gochujang or isn't served with kimchee.

I've had way too many 16 dollar curries with shavings of meat inside.  You don't have feed me massive American portions, but at some point they're just having a laugh.  I cook Thai and Mexican at home all the time, and while some ingredients are more dear than in other countries, there's no reason to charge the prices that some of these cats are getting away with.

I ain't doin' it.  When someone comes on these forums enthusiastically endorsing a restaurant that charges almost 40 bucks for only two curries (with a bit of rice and bread - WOW!), I ain't buyin' it, both in the figurative and literal sense.

That said, I too have heard that Austin's joint in Changers is a pretty good bang for your buck.

Re: New Indian Restaurant in Haeundae

Qamar owned the Tandoori Bar in Gimhae, which really didn't do food (they used to do a once-a-week feed).  He sold the place and opened a new bar down the road called Q2 I believe.  I'm not sure if he's doing food there, but he generally runs a good business.

Re: New Indian Restaurant in Haeundae

I've been to Indian restaurants all over the world, and though some have come close, Ganga is still the best, most consistently excellent in terms of taste/quality.  The manager is also a super-nice guy and a smart businessman.  He's since buried many "koreanized" pseudo-Indian joints and will continue to do so.


The only other Indian restaurant in town that can compete is Sangam out in Sasang next to the E-mart.  They'll sell you a whole tandori Chicken for the same price as Ganga, which only serves half.  Their curries are about 1 or 2 thousand won cheaper, and their lunch sets are very affordable and filling. The only problems with the place (if I have to nit-pick) are the location and the decor.

Re: New Indian Restaurant in Haeundae

I haven't been to Ganga in years.  I used to go here and there during my first two years here, but stopped.  The food was always nice.  My only problem was with the prices.  I know you get what you pay for, but a real meal at Ganga costs 30,000 or so a head.  Yikes.

Re: New Indian Restaurant in Haeundae

I have to disagree about Ganga being the best in anything.  It's not bad but it's not that special either. The Indian food I had in Malaysia made Ganga's taste like school food.  To each his/her own, ;)

I need to check out the Sasang place you mentioned as I just moved to the area.

Re: New Indian Restaurant in Haeundae

three or four times i ate at the namaste near insadong in seoul.  thought it was pretty good, especially compared to the places in busan.  as far as prices go, it seems quite cheap compared to overpriced ganga, more than the 3000 won mentioned, but i am probably wrong without a menu in front of me.  (my belief for the indian places in busan being not that great is based on the number of people from that region living here and eating out.  just my two cents on that).  looking forward to trying the one here, though.  the only thing i did not like in seoul was their pakora.  it is that mashed nugget kind.  happy currying to everyone

Re: New Indian Restaurant in Haeundae

Average price for my wife and me :

Namaste : 35

Ganga: 60

They both have strengths and weaknesses. Namaste gets the overall edge though. Their Nan is perfect and the curry that I have tried was packed with flavor. 

Re: New Indian Restaurant in Haeundae

I am totally agree with all of you guys who are saying that if they can add some spices to chicken and can sell that chicken more then triple price. Its really really not fair i always feel this thing and even the quantity of those curry will never be enough. I mentioned ganga in case because they are charging the maximum he he... 

ThulsaDooom comments are quite interesting and in Malaysia there so many indian restaurant so may be he is right but with my opinion ganga food is ok but at least not like school food he he don't mind.. but yeah with their price if you will try that food in India you never forget the taste of real Indian food. 

I think Indian food is much better and cheap in Seoul compare to Pusan. I also visited Maya restaurant last week in Changwon. it was really terrible experience. Its own by Korean and they have cook from Nepal. The service and food both was really disappointing. 

Recently i also visited new indian restaurant in Nampo dong named Bombay. The owner of that restaurant is korean but i was really impressed by his nature and hospitablity. He spent really good time in South india so i guess that's the reason in his food the flavour is quite different. For example in butter chicken i was getting the taste of Chicken vindalo. But somehow i was impressed with service and attitude. He just started with one cook and i guess he got pretty good future with his style and experimenting nature. He also offered some chicken Korma as service which was better then butter chicken. He don't have many dish but as he promised he will going to add some paneer dishes. and price also normal(at least we cay say compare to ganga) with 9500 for chicken curry. 

I will suggest try all restaurant and make your own decision ;) Like i am doing the same.. have a great time to everyone .. as said happy currying to everyone 

lovebug



Re: New Indian Restaurant in Haeundae

Wow, comments really went all over on this one.

After reading this post, I went to the restaurant this weekend. I didn't expect to go, but I was there. First of all, I tried some indian restaurant in Nampo-dong, and well, it wasn't indian food at all. The tandoori chicken wasn't even red. It was brown, like fried chicken. The flavor was nice, but it WASN'T indian food. My gf and I had a so so time.

Because of the disappointment of the place in Nampo-dong, she wanted to try the one while we were at Haeundae, and it was far better. It still wasn't like indian food in the states, but it was good enough and satisfying enough. We had the tandoori half chicken and the tikka masala with garlic naan.

I guess I just have to figure out where to get the spices and just make my own tandoori chicken and curries. I figure if I can do it halfway decent, my gf will never leave, haha.

Anyways, as for the Namaste restaurant, it was the second best indian food I had in Korea. The best was Asia Asia in Westerndom in Ilsan, but thats kinda far to travel to now. If you want indian food at decent prices for Korea, give it a try.

Re: New Indian Restaurant in Haeundae

If you go to Namaste, and if you have the money, I totally recommend the Grill set. It is a bit pricy at 35,000won, but it has tandoori chicken, a super soft chicken, beautifully cooked lamb, and big prawns. I really enjoyed it, but if you are looking to get full full, you might leave spending your whole paycheck. If you go, bring people with you so you can order more food. I really like their curries. The last time I was there, they gave us rock hard naan, but in the end, even without saying a word, they gave us a second, freshly made basket, which was quite nice.

Re: New Indian Restaurant in Haeundae

I've been to Namaste twice now and if it was the only Indian restaurant in Busan I might go a third time but IMHO it just can't be compared to Ganga.  You pay a couple of extra dollars at Ganga but the curries are twice the size and I like the taste much better.

I've been going to Ganga probably once or twice a month for the last 6 or 7 years and I've noticed that in the last 6-12 months the size of the curries and the amount of meat in them has increased dramatically (in response to Namaste?)  These days my biggest gripe with Ganga is that by the time I've picked all the chicken out of my curry and finally found some space to give my nan a good dip I'm stuffed (although the last few visits this problem has been solved by asking for more curry or "sauce" as the Koreans call it and this hasn't been issue).  We usually get two curries and three or four nan for around $50 and I leave full, often with enough curry left to take home and snack on the next day.

Re: New Indian Restaurant in Haeundae

I am Indian and eat regularly at Namaste. I feel it is good value for money compared to ganga..Who just ripp you off and serve Koreanized Indian food..Since Namaste opened I never went to Ganga again.. The best value meals are the Thalis that cost 15000 for lunch and 25000 and 35000 for dinner as the menu is different..

Re: New Indian Restaurant in Haeundae

Can you give a little more detail on what you think the differences are.  Honestly,  I don't know much about Indian food and I've probably eaten in less than a dozen different Indian restaurants in my love so all I can say is that I like the taste of Ganga more and the food feels like it's of a higher quality.  What about it specifically is Koreanised? what are the major differences you see between the two?

You may well be right, Ganga to me tastes much more like Indian food I've tried in Western countries. Although, of course my favorite Indian dishes are actually from England not India, which may explain why Ganga (if indeed less authentic) does it better.

Anyway, I'd love to hear some insights from someone genuinely knowledgeable about Indian food.

Re: New Indian Restaurant in Haeundae

I guess you can try Shabana Indian restaurant at PNU area which actually cheapest in Busan. You can enjoy Buffet on sunday just for 15000won and on other days u can still order curry and enough naan under 20K. Enjoy some indian food there. I don't have to mention that buffet taste not that good compare to normal food.