A Travesty

I was recently researching the best places for local breakfasts in Singapore for a magazine article when I discovered Casuarina Curry just a stone’s throw from where I live. I walk past this place almost every day but hadn’t once stepped through its doors until now. The original Casuarina Curry is on Casuarina Road and has quite an avid following from the Roti Prata-loving Singapore public, and judging by this off-shoot on Killiney Road – I can see why.

Roti Prata, for those who have yet to become acquainted, is a pancake-like Indian flatbread, which is skilfully made by kneading, oiling, folding and flattening freshly made dough, then frying it on an iron skillet. A good Prata place will perform all of this in front of you, before dishing it up with an accompanying curry sauce – usually chicken or mutton.



Roti Prata is traditionally served plain, or mixed with egg, although Casuarina Curry also appeals to the more adventurous, offering up fillings such as mushroom, cheese – or even durian and pineapple.

I lamely opted for the plain and egg, which was beautifully crispy and flaky, yet satisfyingly chewy with a slightly greasy finish. Just perfect for dipping into the accompanying generous serving of chicken curry.



Delighted with my discovery, I wasted no time in dragging Mr Greedy Glutton back with me a few days later, and we vowed to return again soon.

Well, you can imagine my dismay then when I walked past a few days later to see that the shophouse had been gutted! Several days followed when I watched with anticipation as the builders and decorators transformed the space, wondering what new culinary delight would be joining local legendary neighbours such as Killiney Koptiam, Warung M Nasir, Chicken Rice Express and Killiney Curry Puff.

And then finally it opened, and I found myself open-mouthed in the middle of the street gaping towards… a Domino’s Pizza.



Is there nothing sacred in this world today?

What a travesty.

Casuarina Curry - http://www.casuarinacurry.com/

Still My Favourite Curry Place

I’ve written about Khansama before, but I was there again last week (I often am) and I have still yet to find anywhere to beat it, so I thought it was time to give it another plug. Located up a narrow staircase in the middle of Serangoon Road, this little gem continually churns out fantastic-tasting, great value curries.



It has the most comprehensive menu I have ever come across, and yet every dish that comes out of that kitchen has its own unique flavour. The starter section is longer than most restaurants entire menus, but we seem to have managed to make our way through most of it now – and perennial favourites include the Mixed Tikka starter – large cubes of succulent chicken which have been marinated in a variety of flavours; the Paneer Pakora – squares of paneer stuffed with a chilli paste and lightly deep-fried; and their oh-so-good Onion Bhajis.



For meat lovers, you can’t go wrong with a Mutton Lababdar with its creamy tomato gravy, or everyone’s favourite – Chicken Tikka Masala. If you’re not so good with spice then order yourself the mild Kashmiri Fish Curry plied with plenty of raisins and dried fruit.





Veggies won’t be disappointed here either – the Gobi Manchurian – cauliflower in a spicy sweet and sour sauce should not be missed, nor should the Bindi Masala – okra cooked with tomatoes and spices.



Oh and while you’re at it, make sure to try out their fantastic Tadka Dal, some Garlic Naan and a side order of Cucumber Raita. Yep – you’ve got yourself a feast!



The prices at Khansama have certainly crept up over the past couple of years – gone are the days when we could order anything we liked and still only spend $20 per head. But having said that, during our latest visit we completely over-ordered (as usual) and managed to sink a fair few jugs of Tiger and it was still under $35 per head, so it’s still offers outstanding value for money.

If you’ve not been – do yourself a favour and get down there now… just save a table for me!

Khansama – 166 Serangoon Road – www.khansama.net

Revenge of the Curry

There’s a group of us that meet fairly regularly, usually on a Wednesday night, for a slap-up Indian meal. Our place of choice is invariably Khansama where the quality of food never disappoints, and neither does the low figure at the bottom of the bill. Well this week we decided to be a little crazy and venture out of the confines of Little India and made our way up to that old famous favourite, Samy’s.

Firstly of note here was the lack of Indian people in the restaurant (apart from those in our group) – that’s right, it was all Ang Mohs – tourists and expats, perhaps because of its prolific appearances in the guidebooks… not the best sign of a good curry house, but we weren’t going to let that deter us.

There is no menu here – just a display cabinet of curries sitting in bain-maries just waiting for you to come along and choose them. We were there quite late (by late I mean around 9pm) and unfortunately you could tell that the majority of dishes had been sitting there for some time. For this reason we skipped the seafood which was looking really rather sad by this stage and opted instead for the lamb, chicken and vegetable dishes.

Once again we were slightly rather over-zealous with our ordering, not realizing that every dish we ordered would be slopped onto each banana leaf in abundance – but at least nobody went hungry and we were able to sample most dishes on offer (apart from the crusty seafood of course).

We kicked off with two types of Chicken and some Cauliflower, served on central plates with toothpicks to help ourselves with – which, apart from our concerns regarding the obviously high levels of food colouring, were a pretty tasty beginning.

Then came the main courses – two types of chicken, two types of lamb, some dahl and some raita. These again was all perfectly palatable (although not a patch on Khansama) and satisfyingly spicy. The bottom line on the bill was also fair, especially considering the vast amounts of food ordered.

We left fairly satisfied and happy to consider Samy’s as an occasional alternative for Wednesday night get-togethers. Until the next day that is… when between the 7 of us we managed to notch up bathroom visits well into the 30s… and so now (unlike our bathroom visits) we certainly won’t be running back here in a rush… You have been warned!

Samy’s - http://www.samyscurry.com/
Dempsey Road

Special Indian

It was Mr Greedy Glutton’s birthday eve, so being the loving and doting wife that I am, I booked us a table at Song of India, somewhere he has been dying to try for a while.

Set within a colonial black and white bungalow, with its pillars and chandeliers and modern art-clad walls, this is certainly a notch above the rest when it comes to class and style. Unfortunately though, it was one of those atmospheres where I felt the need to lean across the table and whisper to my other half, as there wasn’t much of a buzz about the place.

The menu too was certainly a notch above the rest, particularly the Starter section. After much deliberation, we decided on the Lahsooni Jhinga – Jumbo prawns stuffed with spiced crayfish and shrimps in a garlic enhanced tandoor marinade, and the Til Ke Aloo – Tandoori potato buckets stuffed with peppers, cheese, sesame and pine nuts.

These were beautifully presented – shared up between us and elegantly served on long plates, complete with decorative swirls. And they were completely delicious. Not only this, but they also bought us an amuse bouche – an upmarket version of a chaat in its own crispy little basket.

Moving onwards to the main courses, the menu wasn’t quite as inspiring, featuring all the usual favourites – Chicken Tikka Masala, Rogan Josh, Goan Fish Curry etc etc. We opted for their Chicken Tikka Masala

and the Kashmiri Rogan Josh.

Both of these were exceptionally good examples of these famous dishes, and you could really taste the distinctive flavours of the various spices within. However, at the end of the day – it was just a Tikka Masala and a Rogan Josh…

We did however team these with the Kuttu with Appam – mixed vegetables in coconut curry with fluffy rice hoppers, which was slightly more unusual, truly delicious and a great accompaniment to the richer meat dishes.

Washed down with a bottle of Kanonkop Pinotage

(we visited the vineyard whilst on honeymoon in South Africa and therefore become very excited when we spot one of these on the menu), this was a really fantastic meal.

However, for the prices they charge, I’m not sure I would justify returning for a ‘curry’. Instead I would be tempted to come back and make up my meal from their imaginative starter menu… and then I feel you might be in for something rather more special…

Song of India - http://www.thesongofindia.com/

Birthday Curry

It was a friend’s birthday so 15 of us hit Clarke Quay for a curry at Ras. I’ve been here a few times and always hugely enjoyed it. It’s a whole lot more expensive than anywhere we normally go in Little India, but it’s great for a special occasion such as this, or if you just want a night out where the action is, and enjoy a really good Indian chow down at the same time.

We ordered up a whole selection of dishes, starting with Paneer Pakoras

Tandoori Vegetables

Lamb Koftas

Tandoori Fish (really fantastic, the winner of the starters)

And going on to enjoy Lamb Vindaloo (not as hot as you would think, but very tasty)

Butter Chicken

Lamb Rogan Josh

Palak Paneer (I know I perhaps say this a lot, but this has to be up there with the best Palak Paneer ever tasted)

and a selection of other vegetable dishes including Bhindi

Potatoes

and Eggplant (slightly bland and my least favourite of the vegetable dishes, which on the whole were fabulous)

Good food… good wine… good company… and a happy birthday boy… what more could you ask for?


Ras - http://www.ras.com.sg/

A New Favourite

We once again made our way up to Little India for a mid-week after-work curry, but this time we went armed with the best tool in the box.... a food-lovin' Indian friend. She took us to Khansama on Serangoon Road, and I'm pleased to announce that we have found our new favourite Indian restaurant in Little India.

They had the largest menu I have ever seen in an Indian restaurant - they even had a whole page dedicated to different types of Raita. My friend was wondering why I was spending so long looking through the starters... I didn't realise there was a whole other section of main courses! After much deliberation, we settled on a selection of starters:

Paneer Pakoras

Mix Tikka - five different types of Chicken Tikka

Gobi Manchurian - a spicy, sweet-and-sour cauliflower dish.

That's the great thing about going to restaurants with other people, we would never have chosen this dish had it been just the two of us, but this is our friend's favourite dish, and one mouthful and we could see why - I am sure a Manchurian dish will be up there in our dishes of choice in the future.

We then added on some main courses:
Mutton Do Piazza


Kadahi Paneer


and accompanied with some Handkerchief Rotis


Every dish was completely delicious - sometimes when you order a selection of dishes from an Indian restaurant it can be hard to distinguish between the sauces, but here I'm happy to report that each dish had a very distinctive flavour, and they were all fantastic... in fact I'm hungry again just writing this.

When we went to Muthu's, we thought we'd found a winner... but I have to say for us now it will be Khansama all the way... and with the size of their menu, we could come back every week for years and not have the same meal twice... just imagine... mmmmm...


Khansama - http://www.khansama.net/

Curry Time

Saturday night and we were trying to stay out of the pub, so we hopped on the MRT and made our way up to Little India, to try out Muthu's Curry, which we had heard many good reports about.

With the exception of Banana Leaf Apolo, this was by far the most popular restaurant on Race Course Road, and also the most 'upmarket'-looking, with its mood-lighting, shiny surfaces and uniformed staff. Our table even had in-laid spices as a design feature, and the banana leaves are secured in trays. The open kitchen in the middle of the restaurant allows you to watch the chefs in action as they knead, toss and cook the variety of breads, and prepare the kebabs for the Tandoor. The pre-prepared Southern Indian curries are also on display in this area.

Their menu was divided into Southern Indian and Northern Indian specialities. We decided to mix it up a bit, choosing the Mutton Curry from the South Indian menu (very spicy and very tasty),

and the Murgh Pudina Kebab (this was Ok, but probably the weakest dish on the table) and

Palak Paneer (proclaimed to be Mr Greedy Glutton's best Palak Panneer ever) from the North Indian menu.

Thrown in were some Tandoori Roti and Rice, and we had ourselves a feast. On a whim I also added a late addition to our order - the fish cutlets.

Well, what an inspired addition it turned out to be - like curried fish cakes, with fish meat, potatoes and spices mixed together and deep-fried in a light crispy coating, and were really delicious and are a definite must for next time.

All in all, we hugely enjoyed our first visit to Muthu's and without a doubt we will be back... and yes, it did keep us out the pub, as we were too full for any beer after we'd finished in here...

Muthu's Curry - www.muthuscurry.com

Friday Night Curry

We have been to Go India a couple of times before, but I haven’t had a chance to include it here because the first time I forgot my camera, and the second time the battery was flat – well, what a perfect excuse to have to come back again! We took an outdoor table overlooking the water and ordered in some beers while we cast our greedy eyes over the menu.

Having taken our order, the waiter brought us along some spicy poppadoms with equally spicy dipping sauces, which unfortunately meant we had to drink our beers quicker…

The mains then arrived and were promptly devoured – Black Pepper Coconut Mutton, Chicken Tikka Masala, and Roasted Methi Bindi all wolfed down with Rice and a Tandoori Roti.

Go India isn’t the best in Singapore I’m sure and it certainly isn't the cheapest, but it’s good enough for us to have been back time and again, and as it’s our local, I’m sure we’ll be here a good few times more.

Ah… there’s nothing like a curry and some lager on a Friday night…

Go India - http://ivorykitchen.com/singapore/goindia/go-india

A Mound of Curry on a Banana Leaf

Last night we finally made our way to the famous Banana Leaf Apolo, having read so much about it but never made it there. I met Mr Greedy Glutton from his office in the CBD and headed up to Little India – I love that about Singapore, that just a few stops on the MRT and you could be in a totally different country altogether. We past lots of very tempting smells from the various restaurants on Race Course Road, but we had our sights set on one place and one place only – The Banana Leaf Apolo.

I’m afraid to say we shied away from the dish that made this restaurant famous – the Fish Head Curry – better to try it when we are with someone experienced at digging out the flesh from the cheeks and eyes (or at least that’s how we justified our cowardice!). Instead we opted for Chicken Masala (very tender chicken on the bone in a masala sauce), Mutton Mysore (a dry lamb curry riddled with chillies) and a Prawn Masala (an enormous prawn in a spicy masala sauce).

Our banana leaves were duly delivered to the table (no plates here) and a man appeared with buckets of vegetable curries which were sploshed on top of our banana leaves – you don’t order vegetables here, they just bring you their selection of the day. Today’s selection was a cabbage dish and an okra dish, awash with fresh spices. Another man appeared and piled up our banana leaves with a mound of vegetable rice, again full of fresh spices.

Altogether a delicious and hearty meal – and we were certainly grateful for the large glasses of lime juice to take the edge off the spiciness of the dishes. We left there having totally overeaten (no surprises there!) and waddled our way back to the MRT.

And this morning… my hands are still stained yellow from digging into the curry with my fingers…

(no photo to accompany, my camera chose last night to run out of batteries)

Banana Leaf Apolo – www.thebananaleafapolo.com