Swaggat

Swagat Indian Cuisine along Rada St., in Legaspi Village has long been a favorite of Anita.  In addition, Vicky and her co-workers make it a point to eat there every quarter.  While Monique and I have tried the food (Vicky loves to do take-out), both of us haven't dined at the restaurant at all.  Traffic was heavy on a Friday night, and Vicky decided to spend out Happy Friday dinner at the restaurant, which was just around the corner from her office.  We started off with lassi (yoghurt drink)--I had rose flavor and since we had some spicy food, this was a perfect choice as it gave a cooling effect to my mouth. 

Lassi (yoghurt drink)

Samosas were the first food dish that came and we had around 3 each.  The dips were good--although the tamarind based one was a bit too sweet-sour for me.  We tried the roti and the loli (bread with onions), and we dipped these in the various sauces that we had on the table.  It was especially good with the paneer dip (home made cheese with tomatoes).  We had 2 kinds of biryani, shrimps and chicken/lamb--both came in hot and were very delicious!  For our viands, we had chicken and fish dishes.

Samosas

Murgh Korma (chicken with yogurt & garlic-ginger sauce)

Loli (bread with green onions)

Paneer (goes great with Roti and Loli)

Roti

Shrimp Biryani (the shrimps are under the rice)

Machchi Palak (fish with spinach)

Chicken & Lamb Biryani

For our dessert, Vicky just had to let us try the cheese balls which were like spongy cheesecakes dipped in syrup.  This was our first time to try this and had it not been for the fact that our tummies were full, we would have ordered two more bowls!

Gulab Jamun (cheese balls in syrup--absolutely wonderful!)

Home made pistachio ice cream

The restaurant interiors are very simple, but the distinctive Indian style is very evident. The staff were very helpful, had a good understanding of the dishes, and gave us some good recommendations.  I understand that the place is run by a husband and wife team, and has been around the Salcedo area for some 5 years now.  Be prepared with a budget of P450 per head if you want to sample different dishes, but one can get by with a pleasant lunch at P250 per head.