Amber has always been my favorite Indian restaurant in the Bay Area, and their Butter Chicken has always been my favorite dish there. Even after moving away from the Bay Area, we used to go back to the original restaurant in Mountain View (since we often stayed nearby). It’s a staple at their lunch buffet, and although we tried many other dishes, the butter chicken was our favorite, both in Mountain View, and later at their downtown SF location. The SF version was somewhat different (consistently hotter), but was still a wonderful dish.
It had been almost three years since I’d had it last, and meanwhile in April, I reviewed Sukhi’s Chicken Tikka Masala on the Costco thread. Reading back, I’m embarrassed to say that I compared it favorably to Amber’s butter chicken. Clearly it had just been too long since I’d been to Amber.
Last week, I was working at a conference in Santa Clara, stuck at a local hotel with no car. It occurred to me that I could order my beloved Butter Chicken from the Amber at Santana Row in San Jose, and have it delivered by Uber Eats. I’d forgotten how transcendent the dish was – it almost brought me to tears. Super-tender tandoori chicken, in a sauce that was incredibly complex and flavorful. I was in food nirvana for hours after, and I’m still thinking about it. Highly recommended.
Note to self: When staying at a hotel, and ordering through delivery services, always specify utensils and napkins, none of which were included with the delivery (luckily I had my own utensils). Also specify extra sauce. (When I used to serve myself at their buffet, I would get additional sauce for the naan.)
