Indian Delights 👳🏾👸🏾

Rediscovered this restaurant in Siglap area after not visiting in years. We ordered a few dishes as guided by our young server and I'm pleased to say we liked everything we had. This included the items shown above. The Navarathan Masala, a medium-spicy and slightly sweet concoction with mixed vegetables, was really thick and creamy. It was well matched with the sharp heat from the chopped garlic of the piping hot naan.

Didn't plan on ordering this, but did so anyway at the unexpected enthusiasm of the soft-spoken waitress. I found the truffle scent too subtle to make any impact, although some may prefer it this way. Still a pretty nice starter to have with the accompanying paneer mousse and pear chutney, the latter I found interesting as its melt-in-mouth texture felt like fine snow.

Looking all innocuous, but packed a punch with a lovely tingling heat and the aroma of curry leaves. The calamari rings were really tender, and were coated with a light, slightly sticky batter that got more addictive with each bite.

Sharing with you a food review of a guest blogger...my twin sister Cleo. Yes, I have a twin! And like me, she shares the same passion for great food! Enjoy Reading!😊

Islamic Restaurant is nestled amongst the various shops and restaurants near Arab St. Have I known about this restaurant before, my husband and I would have always come back here when we're craving for Nasi Biryani or Indian food. Not only was their food delicious, but their servings were big and their rates were very cheap! I read somewhere that they serve one of the best Biryani in Singapore and they were not joking about that. Although I'm not an expert in Biryani, I've had my fair share of them and theirs definitely made an impression. Their Fried Chicken Biryani was really delicious. The presentation was not good but I've learned here that you should not judge a book by its cover. The Biryani rice was definitely the star of the dish! The basmati rice was cooked just right. It used the right amount of aromatics and spices, and the gravy poured onto the rice was so flavorful. The fried chicken was juicy and tender. I like that they offer breast part as well (which is the part of the chicken that I prefer) since some restaurants only have the thigh part available.

I must admit that some of their Indian food was just at par. Their Butter Chicken was good but compared to the ones I've had before, it was less creamy and the morsels of chicken were definitely smaller. Also, their Garlic Naan was not garlicky enough for me. Their Keema Mattar and Dal Fry made up for it though. I'm not a fan of mutton because of its gamey aftertaste but the minced mutton in their Keema was not like that. I can subtly sense its gaminess and the green peas were not too mushy. I enjoyed it to the point that I was able to eat several helpings of it. Their Dal Fry on the other hand, was very tasty and had the right balance of spices for me. I would have to say that they should have a light hand in using ghee though since it was a bit oily.

The Mango Lassi was very refreshing, my husband and I really liked it. It had the right amount of sweetness and tanginess and you can really taste the mango. Hmmm...I wonder what mango they used since it was really good!

As for the Caramel pudding that I had for dessert, I have to say...I was quite surprised that they offer this. It's the same as our country's delicacy called "Leche Flan". I didn't know that Islamic and/or Indian cuisine also have this. Actually, had I known, I would have opted for another dessert. It's not that it was not good, it was...but if I would compare it to the one I make, I prefer mine any time of day...Lol! Theirs was a bit firmer and less creamy. I can tell that their rendition had a bit of egg whites mixed in. The caramel sauce would have been better if they squeezed a bit of lemon to it just to balance out the sweetness.

Overall though, I really enjoyed my experience here. It was just disappointing that there were a lot of dishes that were not available when we went there (according to them, it was because their real chef was not around and will only be back after 2 weeks). Now, there's a reason for us to come back soon...to try the other dishes that we've missed and to test out their "real" chef's cooking.