Tikiti – Indian and More

Posted by ZenKimchi in Restaurants | 0 comments

UPDATE: Unfortunately, the Anyang location mentioned in this post no longer exists.

—

I just found out there’s a little place in Anyang (near Beomgye Station) that serves Indian food. We were walking when we saw a banner on a building that said (in Korean) “Indian Curry Rice.”

Tikiti.

Doesn’t sound Indian, but I’m not an expert on Indian cuisine beyond what I’ve had (a lot of) in the States and the sesame sweets my old roommate Sendil’s mom used to send.

The interior was some sort of Tree of Life Southeast Asian motif. It even had little ceramic lizards climbing the walls.

Now, I’m trying to reintroduce Eun Jeong to Indian cuisine. She wasn’t impressed when we went to Chakraa. “Everything tasted the same.”

Fortunately, Tikiti has a Pan-Asian menu. There are dishes in the style of Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam. Eun Jeong chose a Malay-style dish, Malay Mee Goreng, and I chose a more Indian Chicken Korma with Naan.

Eun Jeong’s noodles were bright and flavorful. They had bits of shrimp and lots of vegetables with a slightly sour tang.

My Chicken Korma did the trick–a great balance of curry and coconut milk. The Naan was fresh and slightly crispy. I found myself eating a lot with my fingers, causing yellow stains that deliciously held on for the rest of the day despite multiple hand washings.

We also shared a Mango Lassi, which was thick and not as sugary as yogurt drinks in Korea tend to taste. It balanced well with the spiciness of our dishes.

It turns out that I was in the dark about Tikiti all the time. My friend Ben said it was his favorite place in Beomgye. I later met Chris there for lunch, where we tried their lunch special of Curry (Beef, Chicken, or Shrimp) with Naan and a leg of Tandoori Chicken.

The Tandoori was smoked well on the inside. It was milder than I expected on the outside. Not spicy at all and a subtle curry and cumin flavor. The Curry was — well, it was Curry. It did the trick. I liked it a lot more than Korean curry, which tastes and feels too processed with chemicals. It doesn’t help that we work down the street from the Ottogi curry powder plant and smell the stuff all the time.

Tikiti is a franchise. I only know of the one in Beomgye, and to get there, take the Number 4 (Light Blue) line to, um, Beomgye. Go out Exit 2 and head away from the station. Turn right at the big central fountain and cross the street. Tikiti is on the right–the pink exterior.

Update: It’s been a while since this post, and I have been back there a few times. I’ve also run into a reader of the blog who said the food at Tikiti was “shit.” Even though I don’t think the food is shit, I have noticed that we haven’t been back there as much as I thought we would. I’ve explored almost the entire menu. The noodle dishes are okay. The curry is okay if you need a curry fix that isn’t Ottogi Korean yellow curry. I like the paneer and the masala. And, yeah, I can make better curry at home. What I’m saying is that this is hardly authentic Indian food. It’s not going to be like Bombay or London. But this is Korea, and we have to grade some things on a scale here for now. This is the first time something akin to Indian food has popped up in this area. I want to support it to encourage more “different” restaurants to do business in Anyang.