Strange name, BBQ Tonight.
I would expect there would be some braised beef, barbecue ribs, pulled pork, with a side of cornbread on its menu.
Nope, this is an Indo-Pakistani and Halal Chinese restaurant, serving up a different type of cue. The barbecue menu here refers to the flame grilled items like lamb kebabs, tandoori chicken, and other Indo-Pakistani style grilled meat platters.
In regards to the Chinese menu, I suppose there is Chinese food in every culture, each taking cues from local ingredients wherever the people may land. Peruvian Chinese food taking up potatos to make lomo saltado, American Chinese food taking up sugar and fried dough to make General Tso’s Chicken. For Indian Chinese food, I think the sweet and sour flavor is prominent in their dishes with many of the main vegetable ingredients accentuated, much like Gobi Manchurian consisting of deep fried cauliflower. I did not see the gobi manchurian on the menu, but I did see the chicken lolipop, a popular Indian Chinese dish made with fried chicken wings.
A family owned business located in the International Festival Plaza at the corner of International Drive and Kirkman Road, the restaurant is a bit hidden out of the way and hard to get to, especially sitting at the epicenter of the maddening traffic of I-Drive.
The decor was a bit forgettable – though it was very clean, the generic flooring and fluorescent lighting just was very humdrum.
The food likewise, was good, nothing to really complain about but overall nothing stood out.
For lunch there is a buffet option for $9.95, consisting of a various Indian/Pakistani dishes like tandoori chicken, eggplant, biryani, and some typical fast food Chinese dishes like lo mein and stir fried beef. The meal comes with naan and rice to enjoy with. The tandoori chicken was very good, cooked fresh and moist, and overall very enjoyable as was the spicy lamb curry dish that they had that day.
My partner ordered the chicken tikka masala, which was delicious and filling, much larger than other places which is a positive. It is a great value for the price and was enjoyed the next day as well for lunch at home.
Service, though intermittent, was fair. The server came by once or twice to check on us but other than that it was a pretty bare bones experience at this restaurant. I would probably return to try more dishes.
Chicken tandoori
Naan
Chicken Tikka Masala – pretty good though oily. Seems like Pakistani style chicken tikka masala is oily
Garlic Naan
Biryani rice with chicken
