out of all the asian cuisines, indian food has always been the most unfamiliar to me. i think i've been intimidated because my knowledge about it is zero and i've always thought that their dishes would be too spicy for my liking. so this foodie meet-up is literally like the beginner's guide to indian cuisine for me. let me share with you this delightful culinary adventure where this n00bie (~moi~) eat indian food for the first time at a legit indian restaurant.
the interiors looked very lavish, regal and impressive. purple velvet chairs, intricate ornaments, the pillars, the ceiling, the lights, the doors -- everything looked elegant. i wasn't able to take photos because it was a busy lunch time when we went there, a flurry of expats would come every now and then, and the entire resto is actually 5 floors, so i just settled on getting snapshots of the food.
i was blown away by the flavors of these dishes! i can't pick a specific one i enjoyed more above the rest because i was just continuously munching on everything all throughout. haha. we started with the masala papad, which was crunchy, light and bursting with flavors. my favorite dip to go with it would be the coriander. for drinks, i had a mango lassi, which is sort of like a mango smoothie but 5 times better. another one i fell head over heels with was the butter naan. there's just something about that soft, sheen chewy bread with that distinct butter taste and smell that's so addictive.
i honestly just did a whole mish mash of the dishes (a heap of hyderabadi biryani topped with murg mukhani plus chicken malai tikka and some paneer lababdar on the side) and it completely worked for me. the paneer lababdar was such a revelation because i didn't know that it was cheese until i took the first bite. there was this balance of the soft cheese with the creamy sauce. you could tell it was cooked well because the cheese didn't disintegrate or got lost in the whole mixture. i love how everything we had was flavorful (sweet, creamy, spicy, savory, smoky, nutty) and the perfect blend of spices added this extra bite and bounce to all the dishes. there were the other components too that i don't usually encounter: yogurt, coconut milk, coriander and chickpeas!
we finished our indian feast with gulab jamun, which my ignorant self thought at first were tomatoes. haha. i was surprised by these warm donut-like sweet treats (which are, fyi, milk-based!) that are laced with syrup and garnished with almond shavings. every bite of it oozes with the sugary syrup. i can't get enough! it was amazing.
there's no other perfect way for me to ease into appreciating indian cuisine than experiencing it firsthand at royal indian curry house. all the dishes were colorful, hearty and absolutely delicious and satisfying. i am missing out on so much all this time! for someone who has never tried authentic indian cuisine before, rich certainly, hands down, won me over. jsyk, their menu has 17 pages in it, so yes, i'll certainly be back to try more.