There’s something about Indian food as well as other cuisines from that part of the world (such as Nepalese and Tibetan) that I really enjoy. I don’t know if it is the mixture of spices that is very different from Korean food, or the preparation method and fun of eating naan and other dishes, but I really enjoy Indian food.
That’s why I was so impressed with Everest restaurant located on Geoje Island. Located on the 2nd floor of a building right across from a giant Lotte supermarket (seriously, the building is HUGE), Everest greets you with a bold sign with mountains in the background as you go up the stairs.
Entering through the front door, the smells of curries cooking and fresh naan baking is intoxicating!
The décor of the restaurant is very nice. There are lots of little statues and other cute things, the favorite of mine being a stuffed elephant!
The paintings on the walls are all very colorful and adds a nice ambience to the dining experience at Everest.
The restaurant is actually quite large, featuring a half dozen private booths, as well as a larger open seating area. They even have a billiards table if you’re up for a quick game!
After choosing our booth, we had a look at the menu. There were lots of wonderful dishes to choose from, including a wide range of curries. One thing quickly caught our eye, which was their special meal for only 15,000 won (About $13 US).
The special meal came with ALL of the following items: 2 curries, a bowl of rice, 2 pieces of tandoori chicken, a salad, a lassi of your choice, an order of naan, and soup. Although the soup didn’t arrive, that was fine because this was a ton of food for us after we included an order of samosas as well.
After admiring the décor for a few more minutes, our order was wheeled out to us on a cart. This was absolutely necessary, because the amount of food was really big!
Slowly taking in all the different choices, we started to sample all the fantastic food that was sitting before us.
The first thing I tried was the tandoori chicken! This was really outstanding. The flavor was nice, the meat was juicy, and the pieces were surprisingly large considering the low price that we were paying. The spice mixture in the tandoori chicken was very well balanced, with not too much heat to make it unenjoyable, but enough of a kick to start your taste buds working to cool themselves off.
When you order the special meal at Everest, they offer you a choice of 2 curries from 4 options. We decided to go with the Chicken Tikka Masala and the Chicken Makhani, foregoing the Prawn Curry and the Mixed Vegetable Curry.
The Chicken Tikka Masala was a nice curry. There were only a few small pieces of chicken in the sauce, but that was fine. The flavor was robust and rich, and it tasted very flavorful. It went really with either the naan or the rice that was served with the meal.
The Chicken Makhani, like the Tikka Masala, was also quite nice. Again, there wasn’t a huge amount of meat in the sauce, but again, no problem! The flavor was bold, and had a higher level of spiciness than the Tikka Masala.
Both of the curries were tomato based and very creamy. The main difference between the two was the level of the heat, although there were subtle differences in the spice blends that were used.
The most amazing thing that was served to us was the naan. We went for the garlic flavor, and when it arrived, it was MAMMOTH! I mean, this naan was absolutely huge! As we tore off pieces we found that there were various textures, probably owning to the size as well as the location of the naan in the oven.
The lower part of the naan was very crispy, while the larger upper part was quite soft and chewy. There was a nice degree of garlic flavor to it, and it went so well with the two different curries we had chosen. In fact, the naan was so big that it was a real challenge to finish it all.
The last part of the set that was noteworthy was the lassi. Cool and creamy, it was also very sweet owing to the mango flavor that we had chosen. I always find that lassi goes so well with Indian food so I always want to order it. One thing is that I wish they hadn’t added ice to the lassi. I do understand that they want to save money, but it watered down the drink and made it a little less flavorful.
As well as the special set, we had also gotten an order of samosas. When we saw them, they were also enormous! The two samosas were probably the biggest ones I had ever eaten. Even more impressive, there was a generous amount of filling inside each one.
The samosas were a vegetable base, with hearty chunks of potatoes as well as the other vegetables mixed inside. The spice blend was also really good in the samosas, and we enjoyed them immensely. I will say that due to their large size, I think that they were a little bit doughy, and the crust was thick in some parts. The taste though was really incredible, and the crust was nice and crispy on the outside.
Overall, the meal came to 19,000 won ($17 US) which was an absolute bargain. While there were only four curries to choose from, the price can’t be beat. The taste is outstanding with lots to eat. For one person, that would be too much food unless you have a monstrous appetite.
If you like Indian, Tibetan, or Nepalese food and you are on Geoje Island, then you should definitely stop by Everest and give it a go. I found it really enjoyable!
