Indian/Pakistani/Desi Restaurants in Davao City

Taj Minar Featured Damosa Gateway, Lanang, Davao City, Philippines

The Taj Minar is the brainchild of Zafar Khan, a Canadian national of Indian origin. Over many trips covering close to fourteen years, Zafar loved the peace and tranquility of Davao, its excellent potable water and the beautiful beaches of Samal. During these visits he noticed the lack of any establishment which served Indian food in this large south Philippine city. There were places which offered Persian kebabs but none which served Indian biryani rice, naan bread and chappatis and curries in a nice atmosphere.

After much thought and informal surveys of Davaoeños tasting Indian food, he decided to open his restaurant. To separate his restaurant from others he decided to make his a few notches above in ambience, service and quality of food. It took him about four months to find a suitable location for his restaurant. He found the right place at Damosa Gateway which has a string of restaurants offering international cuisine. Then began the long road to implementing his idea. He tried to hire the best experts Davao had to offer as architects, logo designers, furniture makers, interior designers and restaurant consultants. No expense was spared in creating the right atmosphere. The result is the Taj Minar with its white dome and minarets, and unique yellow, dark green and gold signage. Inside, the décor is green yellow and gold with wood furniture, yellow tablecloths and gold napkins.

Zafar had many critics and doubters. They said that the market was not big enough for the unique spicy cuisine that Indian food offers. He felt that there were enough adventurous people in Davao including foreigners to want to experience a new taste. At the same time Zafar’s concept was to offer fine dining at affordable prices. He wanted the price-sensitive Davaoeños to experience a different taste at reasonable prices.

To ensure that the Taj Minar offered authentic Indian food, he hired a chef from abroad. Mr. John Gomes the head Chef hails from Bangladesh where the cuisine is essentially Indian with significant use of fish and rice in their diet. The menu is further enhanced with north Indian cuisine consisting of breads and Bar B Q food. A tandoori oven is being made to cook some of the chicken, meats and breads. The clay tandoori oven is being constructed just outside of Davao and is gas-fired under charcoal and wood briquettes.

In creating the menu the challenge was to serve authentic Indian food while still catering to the Filipino taste. The menu will be adjusted as customer preferences are registered. India has many diverse languages, food and cultures depending on the region. The food in the north consists mainly of grilled meats, curries and bread. The south tends to be more vegetarian with many fish dishes and rice. The Taj menu presents a mix of north, east and central Indian dishes.