On my brother, Daniel’s, birthday, we went out for dinner to celebrate. His first choice was Thai food. The women of the family rejected it: neither my mom nor I were keen on the idea. His second choice was Chinese, and it was, again, shot down for similar reasons.

So Daniel exasperatedly voiced his third choice: Indian food. No one objected. And so it was decided, we’d go try Royal Bengal Indian Cuisine.

When we wandered into Royal Bengal for the first time we perceived a stone walkway leading our eyes to the middle of the restaurant where a long table is stationed for their buffet. On both sides of the walkway are several tables draped in white resting on velvet maroon carpet with illustrations lining the walls. On that occasion, there were only a few customers who were eating and conversing with each other and the waiter.

A server approached us with menus and asked how he could help. I’m a picky eater, one of habit and norm, but when I like something it’s on my ‘thumbs-up’ list. The menu was vast with choices of Royal Lamb Specials, Fresh Vegi Specials, Royal Sizzlers, Seafood, Biryani, Bread and Rice, Salads, Soup, and Desserts. Our server’s name was Tenbeer, he recommended the Chicken Palak for me, because I mentioned I liked spinach. The menu described it as a boneless chicken cooked in spinach, herbs, and fresh spices. He described it with delectable chicken that pulls apart in your mouth surrounded by a zesty herbal sauce.

The wait was brief, in the meantime Tenbeer filled our glasses with our requested drink, and our spread was placed before us. Woah. There was a lot! Plates of rice and nan bread, Chicken Palak, Lamb Biryani, Fish Masala, Chicken Tikki Massala, Sheek Kabab, and extra plates so we could share.

As everyone else dug in, I looked uneasily at my dish. It looked like someone blended leaves and tree chunks and poured it into a bowl. My mom gave me ‘the look’ to say ‘you don’t know you like it untill you try it’, so I took a clean plate and spooned a bit on with some rice. Taking a bite set a tango off on my tongue: it tingled and burst with warmth and spice throughout my taste buds. Without realizing it, I had eaten half of my dish. My mom had a smug look on her face; I ignored her and finished my meal. The other spreads were juicy and cooked perfectly; the taste was like none I had had before.

Guess that proves another instance where you can’t judge a book by its cover.

Thoughts eventually turned to dessert; my mom and dad looked to the my brothers and I and asked if there was anything we would like to try. The prices  were low at $1.99-$2.99 for their cultural dessert.

What I ended up getting was a desert called Saffron Rice Pudding, a rose water flavored rice with milk, raisins, almonds, and saffron. It was soothing to my hot mouth. The texture of the almonds added a needed crunchiness to the smooth texture of the pudding.

The overall effect of Royal Bengal had us coming back consistently, though the bill kept us away. Reason being a meal, no dessert or appetizer, would be roughly $11-$14. Not a place to go everyday. More like once every two weeks. However, whenever someone wishes to try something new, my instantaneous reaction is to suggest Royal Bengal; my new favorite eatery.

Located on 26029 Hoover Rd, Warren, MI 48089. (586) 755-8000