Mild-spice Indian restaurant in Dongseong-ro, Daegu: Rama & Babana

On days in Dongseong-ro when I want something a bit different from my usual meal, deciding where to go can be tricky. This time I visited Rama & Babana Dongseong-ro Main Branch, a place that's held down the same spot for a long time.

Rama & Babana Dongseong-ro Main Branch: hours, location and parking

Rama & Babana Dongseong-ro Main Branch is open daily from 11:30 to 21:30 and closed every Tuesday. Break time runs 15:00–16:30, last order is at 20:20, and there's no parking on-site, so you'll need to use a nearby public parking lot.

It's located on the 2nd floor near the entrance of Tongsin-gol alley in Dongseong-ro. It's been running as a fusion Indian restaurant for over 20 years.

Window seats and the mood inside Rama & Babana

Once I stepped inside Rama & Babana, the atmosphere was more modern and clean than I expected. The open kitchen made it feel even more polished.

There's a big picture window overlooking the street, so you can enjoy your meal with an open, uncramped feeling. During the day you get natural light and the street view through the glass, and in the evening soft lighting and a warm mood — the kind of interior that would suit a date or a group gathering equally well. ✨

Once seated, I looked around at the other tables and

spotted an autograph from a celebrity, plus a baby chair. There's also a restroom inside.

Is the spice smell strong at this Daegu Indian restaurant?

The thing I was a little worried about before visiting was the spice smell. Since it's an Indian restaurant, I figured it might be strong, but even with other customers around, I barely noticed any spice smell inside Rama & Babana. That made me think it'd be a fairly approachable place even for people trying Indian food for the first time.

Rama & Babana menu and what we ordered

• Chicken curry – ₩12,000
• Nasi goreng – ₩16,000
• Poo pad pong curry – ₩20,000
• Butter garlic naan – ₩5,000
• Review event participation – Salad

They brought us disposable wet wipes and disposable gloves.

The vegetables were really fresh and the portion was quite generous, the veggies stayed fresh, and it was great as a palate cleanser between bites of spicy dishes!!! If you visit, definitely take part in the event ^^

How does the 12,000 won chicken curry taste?

The first thing we tried, the chicken curry, had that gentle curry aroma with a spicy kick hitting first, and as you kept eating a slight sweetness came through too.

The chicken inside felt like chicken breast, and the pieces were big, so it was good to shred and eat with the curry. Personally I liked that it wasn't overwhelmingly spicy, just mildly hot with a flavor you keep craving.

It was delicious with rice too!! Personally, though, I thought it went even better with the naan

Butter garlic naan, 5,000 won

You could choose between plain naan or garlic naan, and I went with garlic naan. It's thin but crisp on the outside, while the center coated in garlic sauce was chewy.

With the subtle richness of the butter garlic sauce added on top, tearing it apart warm and dunking it deep into the curry confirmed it — naan really is best eaten with curry!!!

Nasi goreng wrapped in naan, 16,000 won

Rama & Babana's nasi goreng was different from the Southeast Asian fried rice I usually picture. It had seafood and cheese in it, and the fried rice was wrapped and baked inside naan, which made it pretty unique.

With the seafood, cheese, and sauce all mixed together, it felt more like risotto than a typical nasi goreng from the very first bite.

What was especially fun was the naan's texture. At first the outside is crisp and baked, but as the sauce and heat inside soak into it, the naan softens up and turns chewy and stretchy, with the cheese pulling in a fun way too. So if you're looking for a Dongseong-ro restaurant in Daegu and want something a bit different from the usual, the nasi goreng is worth ordering at least once.

Poo pad pong curry, 20,000 won: how it differs from the chicken curry

The last dish to arrive, poo pad pong curry, had a distinctly different charm from the chicken curry.

It's a dish where crab flavor is added to a smooth curry sauce, and to me the creaminess felt much stronger than a typical curry.

The meat was well-packed, moist, and tender. Picking through even the legs got me a good amount of meat. It was tasty with rice too, and unexpectedly I also liked mixing a bit of the poo pad pong sauce into the nasi goreng.

Alternating between the spicy chicken curry and the mild poo pad pong curry, I never got tired of it even though they're both curries, because the flavors were so different.

If you're looking for fusion Indian food that anyone, of any age, can enjoy without worrying about the spice, I recommend Rama & Babana Dongseong-ro Main Branch, a 20-year Dongseong-ro institution in Daegu :)