Scintillating Spices And Vibrant Flavours

[ Food Review – When better to have Indian cuisine than during CNY? ] Since yours truly isn’t celebrating the festive season this year, we got to be a little more flexible with our food choices. As much as I adore Chinese food, having a whopping 6 reservations at Asia Grand before the holidays was taking a bit of a toll.

Since we wanted something fairly casual but didn’t want to contend with the heat, we ended up at Karu’s Indian Banana Leaf Restaurant. (If they sound familiar, they used to be one of my fam’s staple to-go places, and I’ve covered them multiple times prior!)

Managing to get into the queue before peak dinner hour, our wait time was only around ten mins. Which was a relief because as soon as we were seated, the queue grew to a half-hour wait, meaning that already sparse parking was just non-existent, yikes.

Dining at Karu’s means that regardless of your order, you will be served with free flow rice, papadam (dangerous, I know), curry sauce (chicken/fish), and two veg (this round’s was cabbage and pumpkin). So even if you’re fine with a small protein, you can still easily eat your fill with their “complimentary” options!

The one dish my fam always needs to get here is their Curry Fish Head ($28/$38/$41). A long-time signature, their fish head curry takes inspiration from the dish’s origins – here’s a fun fact: it’s a dish invented in SG, brought over by a Keralan! – and thus retains a thinner, tangier sauce. The fish is always fresh, and they actually serve you both sides of the head! (I never knew some places only serve half?!)

Typically, a small would be fine for two, but if you’ve ravenous dining companions, skip the medium and go for the large. You’re welcome!

To supplement our main, we ordered a serving of Chicken 65 ($7/$12/$14), and finally decided to try their Prawn Masala ($8.50/pc)!

Not a fan of C65 in general, but I appreciated how theirs wasn’t lathered in thick batter, and had a nice mix of spices to alleviate and elevate the fry. The tiger prawns were pretty good too – for their size alone, I’d give them the green light despite the prawns not being the freshest; but add on the hearty, rich masala, the dish really shines!

[ Food Review — My new-old neighbourhood Indian restaurant haunt ] Ever since Curry Gardenn closed for good, I’ve been trying to find a replacement in my neighbourhood. Cue a certain someone non-too-subtly reminding me of Indian Curry House at Sixth Avenue Centre. (Thanks for the reminder — my fam hasn’t visited in years, oops!)

Most restaurants tout themselves as offering restaurant quality food using fine ingredients in a deluxe setting/ambience. Big surprise, most of them don’t. ICH extols the same things with one major difference — it actually lives up to the standards! (Don’t worry, the prices aren’t inordinate.)

As it tends to be when we eat out, we were famished, which prompted us to order a little too enthusiastically. And that’s how we ended with this mini feast before us: Mutton Sheekh Kebab ($17.90), Kashimiri Rogam Josh ($17.90), and Chicken Masala ($16.90) as our mains, Aloo Gobi ($12.90) as my much needed veg side, and finally Garlic Naan ($4) for him and Peshawari/Kashmiri Naan ($6) for me. (Spoiler: We had to takeaway a bunch of stuff!)

Goodness, the flavours were even better than I’d remembered! Perhaps it’s a product of how ravenous we were, or maybe it’s my expanding appreciation for Indian cuisine, but I was more than satisfied with everything on our table. (As a bonus, the food arrived hot, and didn’t take too long either!)

A couple of highlights for the night: The kebab was excellent! When I get a kebab, I’m not just looking to have meat roasted on a stick (I can do it in my kitchen, or grab some satay) — I’m looking for that earthen roast and charcoal singe that give the outer layer its characteristic flavour. And yes, you do get that here! Better yet, these were packed with a kaleidoscope of spices bursting forth with each bite. I was smitten.

The other surprise of the night was the rogam josh. I’m usually not one for tomato-centric (and even less so for onion-heavy) curries, but the mutton here was so tender, and the curry was so vibrant, that despite already being full-up lamb from the kebab, I continued to spoon this onto my naan!

Oh their naan was excellent too! Defo get yourself 1-2 servings — the texture is excellent!

(Pst, they may still have 20% off for DBS cardholders!)