Can One Really Find Paradise in Herndon?

Paradise Biryani Pointe
12976-B Highland Crossing Dr.
Herndon, VA 20171
http://www.vabiryani.com/

Mirchi Bajji

What exactly is a biryani?  It's pretty much a spicy Indian rice dish that contains either meat (could be goat, chicken, or perhaps shrimp) or vegetables.  This dish is from Southern India so that means it's gonna be spicy.  Seems like when you go south in a lot of countries the food gets spicier!  I wonder why that is...

Chicken Tikka Masala

We arrived at the restaurant a little after 6pm on a Wednesday night, which to me would be the prime dining hour but the restaurant was pretty much empty.  Seems like most Indians, at least the ones that I know eat much later - maybe around 9 or 10pm (the time I'm going to bed).



There's an esoteric menu on the front wall above the counter, that doesn't really describe the dish.  For example this appetizer, Sham Savera, is described on the menu as "Dusk and dawn brought together in this dish made of distinct flavors..."  It's not just appetizers, this entree, Goat Sukha, is described as "Simply mouthwatering and appetizing!!!"  How in the world is a non Indian supposed to know what either dish is???  It reminds me a lot of my 4th grade book report on The Hobbit: "The book is about an interesting character who had a lot of interesting adventures."  Come on!!!

Chicken Biryani

You order and pay at the counter.  Then you are given a number to place on your table and you get your own drinks at the soda fountain (if you purchased a drink) and pick up your utensils and napkins.  Then you sit down at the table and wait.

The food came out pretty quickly, but then again I think we were the only people who had recently ordered food so the kitchen probably didn't have much else to do.  We got 2 orders of Mirchi Bajji (deep fried chili peppers since the menu doesn't really say what they are) and 2 orders of chicken Biryani (1 "mild" and 1 hot) and an order of chicken Tikka Masala.  The Mirchi Bajji were freaking spicy!!  I'm talking about "blow your mind" spicy!  I needed 2 refills of Fanta just to try to cool my mouth off a little.  This was not the first time I've had these fiery peppers, but they seem to get spicier and spicier each time!  One of the diners is from Hyderabad, India so nothing is spicy enough for him.  I'm still trying to find something hot enough that will "blow his mind" - I'm thinking it might take that weaponized ghost chili pepper extract...

Anyway, after my mouth was still burning from the Mirchi Bajji, my "mild" biryani still seemed very spicy.  I couldn't actually tell if it was really mild and I just couldn't tell because my mouth was still on fire or if it was regular heat.  I'm tempted to say that it was just regular spice.  The biryani is a very large portion of rice with a few pieces of chicken in it.  The rice was cooked and not sticking together.  The onion garnish on the side was sliced a little too thick for my liking, I would have preferred a thinner slice.  I also didn't like the fact the at chicken was still on the bone, which made it a little harder to eat.  I guess this is the normal preparation of a biryani though.  I can't comment on the tikka masala since I didn't try any of it, but generally speaking it's not one of my favorites anyway.  It was served with two different types of rice, one looked like regular white rice and the other looked like brown rice, but I'm not positive about this.

The verdict?  If you like spicy Indian food come eat at Paradise Biryani Pointe because you really will be in paradise.  If you don't like spicy foods that much you might find yourself in hell.  Either way you may need some help determining what to order.  I suggest you either bring an Indian friend (probably easiest), a smart phone, or maybe even a menu from another Indian restaurant that actually describes the dishes.