Masala Chai

Back when I was living in Regina, Royal Paan was my absolute favourite place to order Indian from. They specialize in Indian street foods and it’s just so good. When I moved to Montreal I was crushed that, not only did they not have Royal Paan (it’s a chain), but that I simply couldn’t find another restaurant in the city that had Indian street food that even came close to rivaling them…

Well, a few months ago they finally opened up a location, and I swear I cried real legit tears. One of the many time I ordered in the last few months I ended up getting a Masala Chai instead of my normal lassi. They do all of their Chai stovetop and, even though I don’t usually love spiced teas, I wanted to try it out.

I found the black tea used to be really strongly malty and, even with the milk, so full bodied and brisk. It’s always a bit strange when a latte is tannic, but it was! In terms of the spices, the ones I felt were strongest were cinnamon, anise, and clove but there was definitely lots of ginger too. Even with the anise, I didn’t find this to be sweet at all. The finish was a bit sulfurous, though. To be honest, it wasn’t really my thing but I didn’t expect it to be either. It was more, like, curiosity that drove me to try it than a belief I’d love it.