Are you looking for delicious Indian food in Ocean City? Surprisingly, in addition to serving scrumptious Chinese recipes, Yang’s Palace on 54th Street offers a full Indian food menu. Located on the second story of a building that overlooks Coastal Highway, Yang’s Palace is a beautiful restaurant with bright windows, cathedral ceilings, lush plants, colorful flowers, lively wall murals, quaint glass partitions, and enjoyable background music. The staff is exceptionally gracious, and the Chinese and Indian menus are extensive and affordable. Plus, both menus are written in clear English and include easy-to-read descriptions.
    On the Indian menu, the Chicken Tikka Masala is the house specialty. A delectable blend of boneless chicken barbeque is baked in the restaurant’s tandoor oven and then sautéed in a creamy seasoned sauce. Chicken Curry, Lamb Curry, and Korma Lamb—a 100-year-old Hyderabad recipe that is cooked with herbs, spices, and yogurt—are a few additional Indian house specialties. For extra spice, try the Lamb or Chicken Vindaloo Style, which are prepared with potatoes in a tangy vinegar sauce. Or, go extra hot with Pork Chillies—sliced roasted pork with onion and green peppers, stir fried with ginger, garlic, and curry. Shrimp Masala Curry, Scallop Masala Curry, and Chicken Korma or Vegetables Korma—a rich and creamy Indian dish cooked with yogurt and ground cashews—complete the House Specialties on the Indian menu, all of which are served with a bowl of rice.
     Yang’s Palace also presents a variety of Vegetarian Indian recipes and Tandoori Breads and Rice. For vegetarians, the Baingan Bhartha is a simmering combination of eggplant, onions, tomatoes, and fresh herbs. Also, try the Mutter Paneer, Tofu, or Aloo with fresh spinach and homemade cheese.  Malai Kofta is homemade cheese globules stewed in creamy tomato sauce. Another succulent vegetarian recipe is Paneer/Tofu Makhani Hyderabadi, which is a yummy concoction of cubed cheese cooked in delicate gravy with a hint of mint.
    From the Tandoori Breads and Rice menu, you may select from a variety of white flour and whole wheat breads prepared in a plethora of tasty ways. Garlic Naan is white flour bread with a touch of garlic, while Onion Kulcha is white flour bread stuffed with spicy onions. Lachha Parata is melt-in-your-mouth, flaky layered bread with butter. Peas Pilaf is mildly seasoned rice with cumin, saffron, cardamom, and peas. Aloo Paratha is whole wheat bread stuffed with potatoes and peas.
    My awesome mom, Nancy, and I had dinner at Yang’s Palace this week, and we had a hankering for Chinese food. Our delightful server, Jyoti, presented us with crispy noodles with duck and hot mustard sauces as a starting dish. Her name, Jyoti, means “light” in Hindi. Like the other servers at Yang’s Palace, she is pleasant and attentive.  Mom and I also started our meal with an order of the Assorted Hot Appetizers, which includes Spring Rolls, Crab Rangoon, BBQ Shrimp, BBQ Ribs, Chicken Wings, and Beef on Skewers. The dish is served over a fire stand on your tabletop. Mom and I enjoyed holding each BBQ Shrimp skewer over the mini-fire at our table for extra barbeque flavor. Nancy’s favorite appetizer, Crab Rangoon, is lump crabmeat mixed with cream cheese and wrapped in crispy wantons. Other flavorful appetizers on the Chinese menu at Yang’s Palace include Szechwan Spicy Tangy Dumpling, Steamed or Pan Fried Meat Dumpling, and Crispy Bacon Wrapped Shrimp. Soups include Miso Soup, Hot & Sour Soup, Egg Drop Soup, Meat Wonton Soup, Asparagus & Crabmeat Soup, Seafood Medley Soup, and Udan Soup.
    Yang’s Palace offers a plethora of Chinese entrees. Nancy ordered Chicken with Cashew Nuts, and I selected Crispy Sesame Chicken from the Chef’s Recommendations menu. Both of our dishes were large portions of tasty ingredients. Other Chef’s Recommendations are Orange Beef, Crispy Hot Beef, Crispy Sesame Beach, Stir-fried Mongolian Lamb,  Sha Cha Lamb with Fresh Spinach, and Chicken with Basil in Black Bean Sauce. The Hot & Spicy Duet is a sizzling combination of sliced beef and sea scallops stir-fried with snow peas, bamboo shoot, mushrooms, carrots, and chef’s brown sauce. The Triple Delicacy includes jumbo shrimp, chicken, and beef sautéed with the same delicious ingredients.
    Yang’s Palace Crispy Duck and Crispy Scallop are two more popular Chef’s Recommendations. Meat lovers are invited to try the Rainbow New York Steak. Yang’s Chili Lobster is fresh lobster chunks sautéed in snow peas, red pepper, onion, water chestnuts, and sweet and sour spices. Crystal Lobster is fresh lobster chunks sautéed with broccoli, snow peas, chestnuts, baby corn, black mushrooms, red pepper, and chef’s white sauce. Seafood Combination, Peking Duck, and Chef’s Jumbo Shrimp round out the Chef’s Recommendations on the Chinese menu.
    The Chinese menu also offers a long list of Fried Rice and Noodle recipes, including Chicken, Pork, Beef, or Vegetable Fried Rice. One of my favorite, lip-smacking good meals is Pad Thai Noodles, which can be prepared with pork, beef, shrimp, chicken, or vegetables.  Chicken or Vegetable Lo-Mein are two popular items on the Noodle menu, too.
    The remainder of the Chinese menu at Yang’s Palace is organized into Seafood, Beef, Pork, Teriyaki, Vegetable, and Seafood sections, each of which features an array of items. From the Chicken section, try General Tso’s Chicken—tender chunks of dark meat chicken stir-fried in chef’s sweet and sour, dark brown sauce with broccoli.  Also in spicy brown sauce, Da Cheng Chicken is white meat stir-fried with broccoli, celery, water chestnuts, red pepper, snow peas, and black mushrooms. Spicy Chicken with Peanuts and Stir-Fried Chicken Szechwan are extra spicy dishes. From the Seafood section, I recommend the Jumbo Garlic Shrimp and Whole Fish in Black Bean Sauce. Beef lovers should try Garlic Beef or Beef and Lamb with Basil, while Pork lovers should order Hunan Pork—roast pork stir-fried with broccoli, snow peas, mushroom, carrot, baby corn, bamboo shoots, and chef’s brown sauce.
    Yang’s Palace also features a Dinner Special menu, offering several entrees served with spring roll, soup, and rice. Whether you prefer Chinese cuisine or Indian food, Yang’s Palace is sure to satisfy. While you’re at the restaurant, enjoy its outdoor dining area, and browse its retail section, which features glassware and Oriental gifts. Carryout is also available. Serving recipes that are difficult to find anywhere else, Yang’s Palace is a worldly dining extravaganza that you must experience for yourself.