Tiffin Room @ Raffles Hotel Singapore

Christmas is coming, and each hotelier has its own way of celebrating this joyous occasion with its guests. If you would like to experience a cross cultural Christmas experience, dining at Tiffin Room at our iconic Raffles hotel this year may be a good option. For this festive month of December, Chef de Cuisine Kuldeep Negi has created a special buffet menu for lunch and dinner featuring some of the restaurant’s North Indian signatures.

Red Snapper 3.5/5, Spinach 3.5/5, Butter Chicken 3/5, Murgh Dum Biryani 4/5

Seldom that I will head straight to the mains instead of the starters, but I was magnetised by the array of curries and the golden bryani rice. I started off with a bit of each – fish curry, meat, greens, rice and yogurt. The Basmati Rice says a lot about quality. Perfectly cooked, each grain was close, yet separated from one another at the same time. Perhaps it is the rose water that it has been cooked it, it embedded a fragrance which elevates the overall taste of the basmati rice. The Red Snapper curry was milder than I imagined it would be, and relatively light on the palette. That discarded my worry of leaving this place ‘heavier’ than I should be. I particularly like the Spinach. It wasn’t oily, compared to what I have tried elsewhere. Despite being mashed, it still tasted ‘green’!.

There is also a vegetarian section, which is just as tasty as its counterpart. Apart from the Spinach, you should also try the Dal Makhani, a curry made with Black Lentils Cooked Overnight with Tomatoes, Butter and Cream. I saw quite a few going back for a few more servings.

Palak Ki Tikki 4/5

From their vegetarian section, don't miss out their deep-fried Spinach Patties. It has a very enjoyable chewy texture and robust flavour.

Roasted Stuffed Christmas Turkey 3.8/5

A Christmas spread wont be completed without live carving stations. Tonight the stars were the Roasted Stuffed Christmas Turkey and Glazed Christmas Ham. The turkey meat was juicy and tender. Its stuffing was served at the side. I had my fair share of roasted butternut and brussels sprouts, which were great accompaniments to the meat.

Keema Mattar 3.8/5

In between we had 2 Pass Around Dishes. I quite like the sweetness in the minced Lamb Curry, and eating it with the piping hot naan was comforting.

Khumb-e-Malai 3.8/5

The Grilled Mushroom filled with Cheese, Onion, Garlic and Cream Cheese was very juicy, something that I didn’t expect coming from Indian cuisine.

Tummy half filled, I visited the cold section. That was when I spotted an array of colourful chutneys. I have always love Indian Chutneys. Sweet and tangy, they complement savoury dishes really well. I tried a couple of them as I went for my second round of mains. I so regretted not taking them in my first round!

Bread and Butter Pudding with Brandy 4/5 

For desserts, I was quite impressed with its western desserts. I love its mini Bread and Butter Pudding with Brandy. The brandy sauce was so yummy that I almost drown my pudding in it. I adores its homemade Rum and Raisin ice cream. It was infused with cardamom, and hence it has a more complex flavour. It tastes as delicious as it smells.

Wines from India is also available if you would like to make it a real complete experience. Simple spread but the flavours are robust and intense enough to satiate my appetite. With its antiquated and charming surrounding, it does set everyone in the mood for Christmas!

North Indian Curry Buffet Lunch & Dinner with Live Festive Carving Station
Date: 1 December to 24 December 2015
Price
Lunch: $65++ per Adult, $35++ per Child
Dinner: $75++ per Adult, $40++ per Child

Photograph and written by Si An. A girl who is allured by travelling, loves the feel of freedom, smell of the rain and the aroma of fine coffee and food.


Tiffin Room
Raffles Hotel Singapore
1 Beach Road
Singapore 189673
Tel: +65 64121190
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Website
Nearest MRT: City Hall (EW Line, NS Line), Esplanade (CC Line)

Opening Hours:
Lunch: 12pm - 2pm
Dinner: 7pm - 10pm

Direction:
1) Alight at City Hall MRT station. Take Exit A. Cut through Raffles City Shopping Centre. Walk to Bras Basah Road. Cross the road. Walk to destination. Journey time about 5 minutes. [Map]

2) Alight at Esplanade MRT station. Take Exit F. Walk to Beach Road. Cross the road. Walk to destination. Journey time about 3 minutes. [Map]

Copper Chimney @ Syed Alwi Road (Little India)

Many of you may not be foreign to Copper Chimney which has been around for 10 years at Syed Alwi Road, Little India. The restaurant recently has gotten a fresh new interior and revamped its menu offering Chinese Indian and North Indian cuisine under the new leadership of CEO Vikram Natarajan, who took over the reins two and a half years ago.

Salt and Pepper Babycorn (Dry) 4.2/5

Dinner at Copper Chimney started with some light bites. The first dish, Salt and Pepper Babycorn, Dry ($9) already got me excited and looking forward to find out more about Chinese Indian or Chindian cuisine. The babycorn is lightly battered, fried to a crunchy bite. It is then stir fried in garlic, peppers, and soya sauce. The taste is very similar to XO sauce. This is an addictive dish.

Chilli Paneer (Dry) 4/5

When the Chilli Paneer, Dry ($10.50) was served, the first instant that came to our mind is chai tow kway. The cottage cheese cubes coated with the chilli sauce is another delectable bite which I can find a familiar taste to Chinese cooking.

Malai Chicken Tikka 4.2/5

Next we had the Malai Chicken Tikka ($12) which impressed us with the well marinated and tender inner fillet of the poultry. The owner shared with us the importance of the marination and the used of hung yogurt, garlic and ginger etc for the flavourful chicken.

Szechwan Fried Rice 3.5/5

Szechwan Noodles 3/5

The owner shared with us that he has grown up with Chindian cuisine and the popularity of it, usually in the form of street food vendors have spread to even metro cities like Mumbai. Copper Chimney probably is the only India restaurant in Singapore offering Chindian cuisine. We tried the Szechwan Fried Rice ($11) and Szechwan Noodles ($11) on the menu. Yes it is spelled as Szechwan not Szechuan. I definitely can taste the similarity of the dishes to Chinese cuisine. However compared to Chinese cuisine I think it is still lacking that wok hei aroma. The spicy level can also up a notch since the dishes are named after the state in China known for its hot and spicy dishes. Nevertheless, both are still hearty dishes, especially using basmati rice's long grain for fried rice.

Gobi Manchurian (Wet) 4/5

Gobi Manchurian, Wet ($9) is another Chindian dish that adopts the Chinese cooking technique and seasonings. The lightly battered cauliflower is fried to a crunchy bite. We went for the wet version as the Indians like to eat the rice with the gravy. There is also the dry version if you want to try.

Veg Jaipuri 4.2/5

I simply adore this rich and creamy Vegetable Jaipri ($10) with an array of vegetables. This vegetarian dish is so addictive that I kept going back for more.

Mutton Roqanjosh 4/5

Butter Chicken 4.5/5

The next two dishes, Mutton Roqanjosh ($12) and Butter Chicken ($11.50) are best to eat with some Rumali and Naan. The mutton is cooked to a nice beautiful fork tender while the spices infused gravy is just too good not to wipe them clean with the Rumali and Naan. The butter chicken was also outstanding. It was not overly sweet. The smooth and creamy gravy with the tender chicken has a perfect match made in heaven..

Lychee Kulfi 4.8/5

If you have the chance to visit Copper Chimney, I would recommend you to have the Lychee Kulfi ($7). The frozen dairy dessert infused with Lychee, tasted just like ice cream, is so refreshing. They have other flavours such as Pistachio and Rose too.

Sizzling Brownie & Ice Cream 3/5

The Sizzling Brownie and Ice Cream ($7.50) definitely caught a lot of attention when the chocolate syrup is poured over the brownie filling the whole restaurant with the beautiful chocolate aroma. The restaurant even got a few orders from the other guests after seeing what we had.

Overall I find the Northern Indian food at Copper Chimney is outstanding. The Chindian cuisine adds an interesting offering to the menu. I personally felt some of the Chindian dishes need bit more fine tuningto win the palate of the Chinese.

Copper Chimney

100 Syed Alwi Road

Singapore 207676

Tel: +65 62948891

Facebook

Website

Nearest MRT: Farrer Park (NE Line)

Opening Hours:

Sun-Thur: 1130am - 12midnight

Fri-Sat: 1130am - 1am

Direction: 

1) Alight at Farrer Park MRT station. Take Exit H. Walk to the traffic junction of Kitchener Road, Rangoon Road and Serangoon Road. Cross the road and walk down Serangoon Road towards Mustafa. Turn left onto Syed Alwi Road. Walk to destination. Journey time about 8 minutes. [Map]

Food Panda Delivery - Indian Curry House

Food delivery has gotten even easier and convenient with the Food Panda App that is easily available on the smart phone. The Food Panda Home Delivery App can be easily download from the Apple App Store, Google Play and Windows Store

It was a raining day and we were too lazy to cook. Hence I went to the Food Panda App for rescue. Upon launching the application and keying in the postal code of our place, the application listed down the restaurants that are opened for delivery. After browsing through the restaurants list, I decided to try some Northern Indian cuisine from Indian Curry House. It will be perfect for the cold raining weather.

Navigation of the restaurant's menu is easy with photos and description of the dishes. After adding the food order, the basket will display a summary detail of the items, total amount as well as the expected delivery time.

Last but not least, proceed to checkout to make payment with a choice of Cash On Delivery or Online Payment.

I wasn't expecting a panda greeting me when I received my delivery. It came in a very cute delivery plastic bag with my food neatly packed and secured. The greatest part is my food arrived warm.

Check out the spread of food I have ordered from Indian Curry House. The Chicken Biryani, Butter Chicken, Baingan Bharta are packed in plastic containers while the Butter Naan is wrapped in aluminium foil.

Butter Naan

Butter Chicken, Baingan Bharta

The warm Butter Naan was really good and fluffy. The naan goes excellently with the Butter Chicken and Baingan Bharta packed with aromatic spices.

Not seen in the picture is the chicken pieces and a hard boiled egg underneath the pile of fluffy basmati rice. This is definitely one delicious Northern Indian feast. The Food Panda App has made home food delivery is a one simple and seamlessly easy.


Food Panda 
Website: https://www.foodpanda.sg/
Download at Apple App Store, Google Play and Windows Store

Indian Curry House
Sixth Avenue Centre
805 Bukit Timah Road
#01-03
Singapore 279883
Tel: +65 64636289
Website: http://www.indiancurryhouse.com.sg

Vatan Se @ Costa Rhu Clubhouse

When I was told that there is an Indian restaurant inside the Costa Rhu Condominium's Clubhouse, I was really curious to check out what sort of restaurant has decided to be nestled in the Tanjong Rhu area surrounded by block after block of condominium apartments. To be frank who in the public would have thought that there is an Indian restaurant inside a condominium and it is open to the public.

Vatan Se is a small homely Indian restaurant. The owner who used to be an architect decided to quit his job and pursue his passion for cooking and eating. Vante Se strives to bring to its customers food from home, just the way one would cook their food at home. The food is cooked with minimum oil and uses the best available ingredients. No artificial red and orange food colourings or MSG were used in the cooking.

Papadum with Mint Sauce 3.5/5

Complimentary Papadum is served with a mint dipping sauce while the kitchen prepares your order. I like the idea that the papad is folded into a corn shape so we can get that cracking sound when we get to break it to go with the mint dipping sauce. It just shows that the papadum was freshly made.

Chaat Papri 4/5

A popular Indian street food, the Chaat Papri ($6) was definitely my first encounter. It looked quite messy in appearance but the mixture of mint, yogurt, coriander and crisp fried dough wafers was bursting with an array of beautiful flavours working harmoniously together.

Tikka Platter 4/5

To showcases the delectable food prepared by the Tandoor (a cylindrical clay oven), I got to try the Ajwaini Paneer Tikka ($11 for full portion), Achari Fish Tikka ($12 for full portion), Mutton Seekh Kebah ($12 for full portion) and Kali Mirchi Chicken Tikka ($14 for full portion). The beauty of cooking with Tandoor is that it uses the radiant heat of the charcoal to cook the food, locking the juiciness of the meat as well as being fragrant by the smokey charcoal fire. My favourite among the platter was the Kali Mirchi Chicken Tikka and Ajwaini Paneer Tikka.

Chicken Roomali Roll 4.5/5

I am told that not many Indian restaurants make Roomali or Rumali Roti. It is basically a thin flatbread that has a delectable bite to it. I love the texture of it and its my new must order when I next visit another Indian restaurant. A must order for me at Vatan Se has to be the Chicken Roomali Roll ($12). Jam packed with beautifully marinated chicken wrapped with the roomali, it's a delish meal by itself.

Roomali Roti 4.5/5

Roomali Roti

Moving on to the mains, I have opted for the Roomali Roti ($3.50) to the rice. Yes I could not get enough of the roomali roti. Served folded like a handkerchief, the thin flatbread was huge! It can cover the whole face.

Butter Chicken 4/5

The Butter Chicken ($14 for full portion) comes with tender and moist tandoori chicken blended beautifully in a tomato and cream based gravy.

Roghan Josh 4.2/5

Roghan Josh ($16 for full portion) a traditional Kashmiri goat mutton curry blown me away with its lovely flavours and aromatic spiciness. The goat mutton was really tender and it melted in the mouth.

Punjabi Kadhi 3/5

Vegetarian selection such as the Punjabi Kadhi ($10) is available on the menu. It is a mildly spiced yogurt based curry with chickpea (besan) balls.

Dhaba Daal 3.5/5

A staple India dish, the Daalis often eaten together with rice and roti. I am a good fan of lentils but I have to say the Dhaba Daal ($9.00) was really good and went well with the roomali roti.

Kesar Kulfi 4/5

Dessert was Kesar Kulfi ($6 for full portion) a type of Indian ice cream dessert. I was already very full after the heavy meal but I could not resist finishing the kesar kulfi. The ice cream was extremely sweet but I enjoyed it a lot because it was drenched in condense milk sauce and topped with pistachio. All my favourite!

After finishing my meal, the owner showed me a rectangular box filled with colourful spices. I was told to grab a mouthful and pop inside my mouth to chew on. It is actually quite interesting. It tasted like mouthwash and the spices help to cleanse the palate.

I like the owner's enthusiasm toward's his food. It shows he is servicing food from his heart. We both agreed that there is no such thing as authentic Indian food when you are outside India. One can only strive their best to bring the authentic flavours to their customers. With this in mind, his kitchen uses specially handcrafted copper pots brought in all the way from India to prepare the food in the restaurant.

Vatan Se not only offers a homely, casual, dine in experience. It also provides home delivery and take away services. For more information check out their website. During weekends and special festive occasion, the restaurant will put up special items on the menu. Vatan Se has recently opened another outlet at China Square food court, bringing their honest and delectable Indian food closer to you.


[Moved]
Vatan Se
Costa Rhu Clubhouse
7 Rhu Cross
#01-02
Singapore 437435
Tel: +65 64404644
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Vatan-Se/291247410984740
Website: http://www.vatanse.com/
Nearest MRT: Mountbatten (CC Line)

Opening Hours:
Mon-Fri: 1130am - 230pm, 6pm - 1030pm
Sat-Sun & PH: 10am - 230pm, 6pm - 1030pm
(Closed on Tues)

Direction:
1) Alight at Mountbatten MRT station. Take Exit B. Walk to bus stop along Mountbatten Road at Block 2 (Stop ID 80279). Take bus number 158 and alight 8 stops later. Journey time about 13 minutes. [Map]

Curry Garden @ The Grandstand

Recently I have been going to The Grandstand and I always noticed a crowd at the Indian restaurant, Curry Garden. In one of my recent visit, I decided to check it out since the restaurant always has a constant flow of customers. Actually I was quite lost in what to order so I just went to the set menu section and ordered from there.

Mango Lassi 4/5

While waiting for my meal, I ordered a Mango Lassi to start with. Lassi is a traditional yogurt based drink originating from India. The mango lassi blended with yogurt, water and mango pulp was cooling, soothing and perfect compliment for the spicy food.

Garlic Naan Chicken Set 3.8/5

The Garlic Naan Chicken Set ($7.50) comes with 2 pieces of garlic naan cut into 4 pieces, curry and with a choice of butter chicken or chicken tikka. I went for the chicken tikka but I order another serving of mutton masala. I can't resist ordering the mutton masala after noticing the next table having it. The chicken tikka was too dry to go with the naan, mutton masala is better option. I also did not like the curry as it was served cold.

Batura Set Chicken 3.8/5

My partner ordered the Batura Chicken Set ($6) with butter chicken. We did not know what is a batura and we were surprised to see the huge puffed bread made from maida flour when it was served. We are also surprised that the butter chicken did not have gravy, we thought they have served us chicken tikka instead.

I noticed quite a few patrons ordered their curry fish head, I should try to have them in my next visit. The naan is pretty good too but I will prefer the mutton masala to the chicken tikka or butter chicken.


Curry Garden
The Grandstand
200 Turf Club Road
#01-06
Singapore 287994
Tel: +65 63144640
Website: http://www.currygardenn.com/
Nearest MRT: Sixth Avenue (DT Line)

Opening Hours:
Mon-Fri: 11am - 330pm, 530pm - 10pm
Sat-Sun & PH: 10am - 4pm, 5pm - 10pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Sixth Avenue MRT station. Take Exit A. Use the overhead bridge to exit B. Walk to Turf Club Road. Continue on Turf Club Road. Walk to destination. Journey time about 20 minutes. [Map]

2) Alight at Sixth Avenue MRT station. Take Exit A. Use the overhead bridge to exit B. Walk down Dunearn Road towards Turf Club Road, to bus stop opposite Sixth Avenue Centre (Stop ID 42019). Wait for The Grandstand Shuttle Bus. 15 minutes. [Map]

3) Alight at Sixth Avenue MRT  station. Take Exit A. Walk down Bukit Timah Road. Walk to bus stop at Sixth Avenue Centre (Stop ID 42011). Wait for The Grandstand Shuttle Bus. Journey time about 15 minutes. [Map]