The question is: The fried food or the Pakistani food at Royal Guard? Answer: Both.
If fish and chips and Pakistani food seem like a strange combination, think England. Royal Guard Fish & Chips, a small, family-run shop on Route 1 in Norwalk, smells like curry and sounds like the gentle bubbling of something good in the deep fryer.
The spanking clean, bare-bones atmosphere — counter service, four booths and four two-tops — doesn’t invite dining in, but who can wait to eat the fish and chips? Royal Guard is making the best fish and chips in Fairfield County. A golden-brown packet with frizzled edges crackles audibly as you bite into it. Inside, the balance of white, moist cod to fried batter is spot on. The batter is so well-flavored (yet not too salty), it doesn’t need more than a drizzle of malted vinegar and a touch of the tartar sauce. The chips, skin-on wedges, are crisp and well-flavored.
This is Royal Guard’s second shop. The 20-year-old Danbury shop has such a loyal following that it fries 250 pieces of chicken on busy days. Royal Guard in Norwalk makes fried chicken, too. The thought is mouth-watering. The batter that coats the chicken, fish and shellfish (whole belly clams) is a Royal Guard family recipe.
On to the Pakistani menu. What’s the difference between Pakistani and Indian food? The young man at the counter who was cooking chapel kabobs on the griddle, made with chopped chicken rather than beef (mixed with spices, onions and tomatoes), said they use some different spices. Because the food is made from scratch, from the family’s grandmother’s recipes, many people call ahead even if they plan to eat in. A buffet lunch is served Friday through Sunday, and we were urged to return to sample the menu.
The seekh kabob ($4.99), two sausage-shaped, spiced, chopped chicken kabobs shaped around a stick and cooked in a tandoor, is alive with aromatic flavors. Royal Guard grinds spices on site. A serious electric grinder sits on the back counter. Yogurt is homemade. A big pot of milk heated on the stove, tended by a woman in whites with a hygienic plastic hat covering her hair.
The homemade yogurt makes a luscious mango lassi, whose tropical sweetness is just right with the abundant spices.
Nihari is beef curry, served with puffy naan, gleaming with ghee, clarified butter. Large pieces of soft, succulent beef in a deep red sauce spiced with pepper corns and fragrant pods and brightened by julienned fresh ginger.
The question is: the fried food or the Pakistani food at Royal Guard? Answer: Both.
Royal Guard, 336 Westport Ave., Norwalk, is open Tuesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Sunday noon to 9 p.m. The buffet hours are Friday and Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; Sunday noon to 3 p.m. Information: 203-846-5999 and royalguardct.com.
