Chand Indian - Mairangi Bay

My favourite spot for Butter Chicken (worthy of the 25minute drive I convinced my boyfriend to make tonight to get it). This is a more “western” style of butter chicken which would be sure to please anyone looking for some Western-Indian food. <br/ <br/ Ordering via their website was super quick and easy which is always a bonus. They also do free delivery if you spend a certain amount which is absolutely stellar. <br/

Let’s start this post by advising you that this might not be how they usually make their curries as this is more of a private party rather than what’s ordered on the menu, and was advised that they adjusted the spice to cater for us. We were invited on this gathering last December and this is the first time I will be having Indian cuisine for such a gathering so I don’t know what to expect as I am still new on this cuisine.

Great food and prices, waitress attentive and pleasant, not a busy night restaurant half empty. Pity we were not escorted to our table, just told to go sit at table number.

Alright Zomato friends, I’m in Indian food mode so hopefully I can provide some helpful comparison reviews over the next couple of weeks. Sometimes when I’m in the mood for something it takes a few meals to shake it off much to the annoyance of family and friends but hopefully good news for you.<br/ <br/ I’ve had takeout from Chand before thanks to the positive reviews on Zomato. It was very good but unfortunately didn’t blow me away like the reviews seemed to suggest. That time it was butter chicken and something else possibly a lamb do piaza with naan. The succulent and moist chicken I was promised was not there, and it was only a little bit better than the huge but dry chunks of chicken (speaking of, how does one get such dry meat when it’s 1. simmered I’m so much sauce and 2. the pieces are cut in big chunks? <br/ <br/ But unless something is inedible or the service atrocious, I believe in second chances (or the likelihood that I may get a different chef . So this time we dined in.<br/ <br/ Before I get to the food, can I just say how brilliant it is that they’ve attached wheels to their chairs? Every single one. They have these big extravagant chairs and instead of forcing people to push back on them against the floor, they just attached the same wheels that office chairs have. They’re hardly noticeable with the rest of the chair’s decor and don’t even freely roll around. Small detail but so brilliant.<br/ <br/ We ordered butter chicken and mango chicken and both were well presented and high quality. None of this watery curry mess you get from takeaway curries. We did order medium heat but didn’t really detect any. Perhaps the faintest trace in the mango chicken but it was so sweet and rich that it probably masked the heat. And that’s what we both agreed on you definitely couldn’t eat the whole thing alone. Too creamy, rich, and sweet. Mango chicken IS supposed to be sweeter but the richness combined was a bit too much. Didn’t help that our other curry was creamy too but both being butter chicken fans we couldn’t give it up. My suggestion would be that if you love mango chicken, maybe order a non cream based curry as your other alternative.<br/ <br/ The butter chicken was great this time around. Thank goodness for second chances. The chicken was not dry at all. The curry wasn’t tangy like some restaurant butter chicken can be. Not overly sweet like the food court kind either. No complaints here overall. <br/ <br/ The garlic naan was my favorite. I am personally not a fan of thick and bread naan. This naan was thin in a good way not crispy but not spongey either. <br/ <br/ All in all, left very happy with our meal. Will definitely be back...but may skip the mango chicken next time.<br/

Every time we are in Auckland we visit Chand either to dine in or takeout, we always receive excellent service , the food is of a very high quality and is excellent value , this restaurant is 10/10 .