This was a popular tune in this part of the world in the late 60’s – the instrumental version by the Singapore band, the Quests and also the Mandarin version by Sakura (樱花), “In-doo ku niang“…and we used to dance to it then, way back in the good ol’ days.
Anyway, this isn’t going to be a music post, just that my girl came home for the holidays and when I asked what she wanted, she said she would love to have some Indian cuisine for a change…and the only place where we can have real authentic Indian delights in this little small town would be here…
They have a chef, an Indian from northern India (so you can expect what he dishes out to be not very spicy in comparison with the southern ones) and they even had a stone oven (tandoori) custom-made for him to use. Incidentally, they have separate kitchens – the Indian chef and the Indonesian…as the latter has beef in the dishes and that is considered sacred by the former. They even have separate menus so if you drop by the place, you will be given three menus – one for the Indian cuisine and another for the Indonesian and the third one is for the drinks.
Incidentally, they have just been certified halal…
…which is not the same as places that claim to “serve no pork” or to be “pork-free”.
Melissa had the lamb bryani (RM17.00)…
– and that was certainly a very generous serving of the meat and also the rice – easily enough for two, in fact, I would say. We thought it tasted really great and the curry was somewhat different from the usual that we would find around here – I guess that’s northern Indian for you and it was nice, very nice!
My tandoori chicken with pilau rice (RM15.00)…
…was very good too. The meat was succulent and juicy…
…unlike some tandoori chicken that I had elsewhere – it tends to be somewhat dry and that was why I was hesitant in ordering that and finally, got round to doing it after a number of visits to this cafe. Thankfully, it wasn’t like those I had in the past and I enjoyed it very much…though I did feel it could do with a bit more of that slightly sourish yogurt taste that is usually more detectable in chicken cooked this way – or maybe that’s southern, I wouldn’t know…
Well, since we had Indian, an appropriate drink to wash all that down would be their ginger tea (RM5.50)…
I can’t remember having had that before and to me, it tasted like tea plus milk with ginger added.
My missus wanted the very nice nasi tumpeng (RM13.00) that she liked a lot on her previous visit here but it was not available…
…so she decided to try the nasi kaloi ayam (RM13.00) instead…
…and she said it was very nice too.
That certainly was a delightful dinner…especially with my girl home for the holidays and rest assured that we would be up and about more than usual now that I have her around.
By the way, should anybody be thinking of dropping by this cafe for lunch or dinner, they will be closed for two days tomorrow and the day after for Hari Raya but business will resume on Saturday, the 10th…and on normal days, they are closed on Mondays.
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
I remember this place, is the food still as good?? I hope they maintain their standard, so that I can have it again when I am back.
Yes, very good. I had the Indonesian on my last visit so I chose the Indian this time around.
food looks good leh. I wanna try the briyani rice
VERY nice, nicer than what we had in PJ. Hehehehehehe!!!! Bila nak datang? 😉
Hi Arthur!
Indian food is one of my favourite cuisines because of the wide variety of spices used. The mutton biryani that Melissa had, was it dum biryani?
I had tried cooking tandoori chicken at home using oven and it was not too bad.
You have a wonderful holiday and long weekend ahead!
No idea what it was – I only know it was bryani. Not too familiar with Indian as we do not have an Indian restaurant here, just a couple of mamak shops which may be local or Malay-influenced in some ways, not that authentic. Very few of them here. I had tandoori chicken, fried at one shop here and it was very nice too but of course, it was nothing like the real thing! 😉
the briyani’s portion quite big eh… i think it’s quite worth it for the price 🙂
http://www.clevermunkey.com
It is! That was my impression too – so much! And so much meat! In Penang, I had a bowl of the rice with a piece of lamb buried in it…and in PJ too, they were not so generous…and they did not come cheap either.
I prefer Japanese foods to Indian foods, hehe…
I’m your opposite. No worries, we’ve a nice Japanese place here too.
oh, at first i thought you are going to talk about some real people when i see the topic, but hahaha, your posts can never run away from talking about just FOOD!! nice indian food, i like that tandoori chicken.. oh, do they have mango lassi?? that would be good for me to neutralize the spiciness..
Yahor??? No lassi drinks here… Must mention this the next time I drop by – I like mango lassi! Hmmm…no leh? Two posts ago, about songs…and very few people commented. 😦 Even the simple egg sandwich post garnered a whole lot of comments comparatively. I think tomorrow’s post is also NOT about food.
Me likes tandoori chicken! but gemuk tu 😛
No worries…baking or roasting…all that fat would have dripped off the meat but of course, over-roasting would render the meat dry and not very nice to eat. 😦
Not really into Indian food but once a while I would go for it. Among all, I like the set you order. The chicken looks so juicy but beware of the burnt parts. One of my favourite song “In-doo ku niang“ by Sakura.
Hahahaha!!!! You’re so old. She was so popular at one time, with her partner, Rita Chao. Muahahahahahaha!!!!
This morning my colleague bought me indian food for breakfast… but now after seeing this, feel like eating the curry rice… I must cut down on my sweets and eat more savoury instead..
Lucky you! Careful…with the rice too, can reduce a bit. You may not see it but there may be sugar hidden everywhere. Good to cut down, don’t go for those sweet desserts so often, people our age…or go with others and share – nibble, nibble…buang gian! 😦
I saw only one India restaurant in Metro Manila and it is located out of my way. I hope to find a chance to dine there. We have so many Indian people here and I don’t know where they eat their traditional dish. Maybe they cook their dish since Indian restaurant is rare in the Philippines.
I find it weird that the Indian chef will still work in the same restaurant that serves beef, which is sacred to them. Maybe his cultural tolerance is very high.
Well, at least, they have separate kitchens. I do find that they are quite tolerant or those that I’ve encountered, at least – as long as they do not eat the meat themselves and some may be Indian Muslims or some other religion, I wouldn’t know. Here, in my little town, we only have a handful of Indians – that’s why it is not easy to find Indian food. Lots in some of the other towns and cities in the country…
I like Indian food oso! With that kind of environment… the food prices seems okay. Not very expensive. Food oso looks good 😉
Yup…classier place plus the portions were huge – the rice & the meat! One would be enough for two actually…or our two orders could have been shared by 3, more than enough to go round.
Once in a while I crave for Indian food….that tandori looks really really good. Think I’m gonna have tandori for dinner tonight.
No problem there. Indian restaurants and mamak shops and stalls all over, 24 hours even… Not here. 😦
now i am craving tandoori after that pic that you posted up! perhaps it will be tandoori for dinner…though i actually have soup and claypot (rice cooker) chicken rice waiting for me at home.
Wow!!! Looks like you will have to put off the tandoori till another day then. Two public holidays, long weekend coming up…ample time to go for that at the many Indian and mamak joints there. But mamak shops closed for Raya, I think – they’re Muslims, right?
We’ll have to go to this place next time. Love tandoori chicken. The one in your pic looks especially tantalizing!
Haizzzz!!! You never mentioned that to me before – we could have dropped by. Looks like this will have to wait till December or next year then. Truly worth a visit – the Indian cuisine (and Indonesian too) can rival any I have had in KL or elsewhere. Really good.
Too many goodies here and I can get tandoori chicken anywhere, but not kampua or hay mee, and should I add, jelly pisang.
LOL!!! When in Sibu, do as the Sibuians do. It’s a food marathon every day! 😉
Arthur, ku-niang means lady lahhh not maid hahaha!! Kesian itu in-doo-ku-niang :p
Maid as in maiden = lady mah, not as in Indon maid. 😀
Lamb bryiyani looks tempting, I love the way they present the food!
Yes, pretty impressive, I would say…
Ooooo!!! I love Indian food! I would choose the lamb biryani too 🙂
My daughter prefers lamb/mutton to chicken.
The food looks good. I love Indian food especially the briyani and curry. Drooling!!
Lai Chee Lane – right behind Bank Simpanan Nasional – go through that narrow lane on the left of the bank.
Very nice place with delightful Indian AND Indonesian cuisine! 🙂
I still remember the day you brought me there. I liked it. Glad to hear they finally got their halal certification.
Does that mean they won’t allow people to eat certain takeouts on the tables outside anymore? 😉
No idea…but it did look like they cater to a different kine of clientele now – all the other diners that night were there to break fast…
I have never had Indian food growing up in Bintulu and only got introduced in Oz. I love Northern Indian food!
I don’t think I had ever seen roti canai and the rest all my years as a kid…until I went over to Singapore in 1973. Fell in love with all the Indian delights instantly there though I did have my mum’s kuih bayi (Sikh bread) to eat with curry but it was basically pan-fried shortcrust pastry…
I love tea with milk, especially when it comes cold, shiok!!!
This had ginger in it too…
I like the mutton bryani, one of my favourites, I love Indian food, if I ever go Sibu, would want to try this restaurant.
Gosh! I bet you have lots of good Indian places in Singapore. I first tried Indian food when I went over in 1973 – hardly any Indians around here so we never got to see Indian food at all when growing up, much less try it. 😦
i was drooling over that chicken, the black part were really
for me was the most interesting part haha, i don’t know why
but i kinda like those parts haha
The most unhealthy part. My daughter loves it too – fragrant!