Recently, I was with my colleague and boss to Anjappar. Having already been here before in June with NTT and Malique, I thought that the food was nice, my only qualm was that many of the items that I wanted to eat on the menu were not available when we went there in the evening.
Thus I was extremely thrilled to see the range of food available there when I was there the second time.
The place
Anjappar was situated along Racecourse Road slightly off the hustle and bustle of Serangoon Road where the heart of Little India is. Searching for parking area might be of a problem for motorists though as even at 11.30 am when we reached there, there were few empty slots on the road.
Dont worry, its not always this crowded
We entered the restaurant where one staff welcomed us and ushered us to our table. I looked around and the same as in June, – there were a simple and rustic decoration with its Tamil styled artwork on the wall and the wooden chairs and marble tables.
Then something struck me about the place. Didn’t this place used to be Muthu’s Curry about 2 years back? The shape of the restaurant and the location seems to be it. I remember that Muthu’s Curry was nice, but it just wasn’t hot and flavourful enough for me.
The Service
The menu has changed since the last time that I’ve been here. Glancing through the menu, the prices costs slightly more but at the same time, there were more items in the menu compared to before. I took a while to decide what to eat and we munched on the papadum while reading the menu.
In the end, the boss decided to order for all of us and called out for the staff. The staff were very attentive. In no time at all one popped out and took our order in his nifty PDA.
It was such a funny conversation. The boss likes a variety of food while he eats so he ordered quite a large number of food. After a while, the staff got a little concerned and said, “I’m not taking any more orders from you!“. He was worried that we would not be able to finish the food.
That was the first time in my life that any restaurant would not take more order!
The Food
The food was prepared pretty quickly and before you know it, was on our table in no time at all! And in front of me were food with a an attractive range of colours and really lovely smells of spices. I couldn’t wait to pounce on the food.
I love Indian food!
I love the exhilarating feeling that I get after eating chilli – your mouth will be begging for mercy, your nose will water unglamorously. But after that, the heavenly feeling begins.
This was the Sura Puttu.
This is an interesting dish made of scrambled egg with shark. The boss said that in Southern India, Shark was not common and thus a delicacy and would usually be prepared in this manner.
I couldn’t really detect the egg from the spices and herbs but the unique taste of the shark was there. It was really delicious. I liked it a lot.
This was the Chicken Tikka Masala.
Oh my gosh. I love this a lot! This was delicious with the roasted chicken chunks cooked in tomato gravy. Such a delight. It was not too sour and it was full of flavour – just perfect.
If I am not wrong, this was the Mutton Masala.
I’m not big on eating red meat, but this was really tasty. Knowing how challenging mutton is prepared made me appreciate how the meat was tender and melts in the mouth.
This was the Chicken 65
I liked this a lot. Chicken 65 is chicken cubes, marinated in Masala and then deep fried. The taste is just wonderful and bursting with flavour.
I was curious about the name Chicken 65. Why 65?
It was then when the Boss mentioned that traditionally, when the chicks hatched, 65 days later they were then taken to be used for this dish. Upon hearing that I was a little sad for the chickens but he added that most restaurants here just used the recipe with regular chickens.
Next in line is one of my favourite food. Naan!
I love love love Naan. Naan is leavened white flour dough which is cooked in a clay pot. Ever since I’ve been to Penang and had tasted the most delightful Naan there, it was hard to find Naan here that matched up to it.
Till now.
This was my Stuffed Chicken Naan. Just smelling it when it arrived whetted my already excited appetite. I love the smell of freshly made Naan! And the Naan having cottage cheese, with chicken and onion and herbs. It was really delicious I tell you. One bite and you’ll fall in love.
I’m still thinking of my naan at this point of writing.
We also had the Mutton Dum Biriyani as well as the Chicken Dum Biriyani.
Mutton Dum Biriyani
Chicken Dum Biriyani
I love seeing the colours in Biriyani. I always find the yellows and orange cheerful and attractive so this was no exception. With that whole hardboiled egg hiding insouciantly, it was kind of cool.
Their Biriyani were paired with these two gravies :
Their delicious and flavourful mutton curry which was just lovely to be eaten with the biriyani.
As well as their onion Raitha which is a yogurt dish. This was surprisingly tasty to me considering that I’ve been other other Indian restaurants where I’ve tried their Raitha and I didn’t like it as it was just too sour. But this one was good. It was sour but not unpleasantly sour like the others that I’ve tried.
By this time I was already feeling as stuffed as my stuffed naan. The boss and colleagues were feeling like they were bursting too. The staff jokingly asked, “Would you still like your chappati sir?”
We washed our food down with hot coffee and tea – I found the taste unique.
It was thicker than fresh milk and but not as sweet as condensed milk. I just could not put a finger at it.
At the end of it all, as stuffed as I was, I was feeling very contented. Happiness! Forget about diet, happiness comes first. In fact, you know what? I want more! MORE!
Who wants to eat Indian food?
Related Links :
Sidenote : Dont forget to pop some of these in your mouth at the end of your meal and as you leave. These are usually placed at the counter to give you a fresher breath after your fiery meal.
If you liked this post you might also be interested in :
I love Indian food! I’ve only been to Khansama at Little India but I’m game to try other places. I love raita , the yogurt dish, with naan and rice. Did you try their masala tea? I luuuuuurve masala tea.
the naan looks good! craving for indian food now…
Mintea
Khansama? Where is that? Is it a vegetarian Indian restaurant?
I think that you might like Anjappar, its really good food, its a little bit more expensive than regular Indian restaurants but its worth it 🙂
I’ve had Masala Tea before … and oooh … I love anything spicy and hot! 😀
Sylv
Ok, lets go for Indian food then we go for Japanese, then Malay, then Lebanese, then Korean, and then Thai 😀
ooooooookay does this mean we have too many outings pending?
come let’s go! before you go to rome and stuffed with pizza and pasta everyday =P
it was a pity they didnt serve the rest of their menus when we were there. (was it cos its available only after a certain time?)
food is good, location is great, fantastic experience!
Khansama is a non-veg North Indian restaurant, though they do have the vegetarian menu as well. They’ve got a few outlets; one at Science Park 1 and the other at Biopolis. THe main branch is at Little India, walking distance from Mustaffa Centre.
Sylv
Ok set! Lets go! 😀
Lets make a list of the food to try ok?
Malique
That was what I was wondering too! I suppose so then cos we went there in the evening and that there isnt much to eat, when we went there again at about 11.30am the food were all available … 🙂
I really like the food there, its fantastic!
Mintea
OK lets go 😀
I’m dribbling all over my Property Law Textbook.
I think anyone who can write so extensively about food is capable of a style that makes people sit up and feel different as a response to your words. Love to talk some more if time permits.
Charles
What can I say? We all love food 🙂
Jerrick
Makes you wish that you weren’t in Warwick right? 😛
Khansama is best among the lot. There Chaats are best. I ate at the almost all places as they are my fav. But my msearch of perfect ends at Khansama. And Chickedn vidloooooo love to die for …