Botanical, Bangsar Village II, Kuala Lumpur

Another one of the B.I.G Group’s restaurants is Botanical. Situated in the heart of Bangsar Village 2, it is an all VEGETARIAN café (as the name suggests).

Here, mushroom and eggplant take centre stage as meat-substitutes and fusion cuisine forms the backbone of their menu. 

Eggs are considered sin-free and cream and cheese can be found rampantly throughout their menu. So, vegans beware and vegetarians rejoice!

We were served with a complimentary basket of Charcoal bread with Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar.

Mien: Loved the charcoal bread, the flavour was amazing, and toasted to perfection, crispy on the outside, but soft in the inside!!! 

Shiv: Enjoyed the earthiness of the charcoal bread married with the pungent balsamic-olio dressing. Splendid! 

Kav: Soft and crispy perfection!!!

Gaj: Charcoal bread was really good, never had it with olive oil and vinegar before and was pleasantly surprised.

As per usual, we attempted ordering at least one item of each food ‘group’. 

Type 1: SALAD

We ordered the Burnt Butter Wild Mushroom and Goat Cheese Salad. It is gluten-free, and comprises wild mushrooms, burnt butter, goat’s cheese and arugula. (RM21.90)

Mien: Good… love the taste of the mushrooms, and they go well with the arugula and goat’s cheese!

Shiv: Fresh and light, despite the generous portion of feta, and loved the buttered-mushroom flavour. Comes highly recommended!

Kav: The earthiness of the mushroom and spicy arugula was a pairing that I loved. The pungent feta and the flavour of the burnt butter just took the salad to the next level. 

Gaj: The salad was alright, enjoyed the combination of arugula and wild mushroom.

Type 2: ASIAN

We agreed on the Eggplant Dengaku (Warning: Contains Nuts). It was served with eggplant, miso paste, brown rice, mushroom broth and Botanical house salad. (RM21.90)

Mien: Hmmm… the best thing about this dish was the eggplant! Well marinated and cooked to perfection!

Shiv: The rice was bland and not cooked well, and although the eggplant was marinated well, the flavour was not enough to balance out the dish. The dish was mediocre in its entirety.

Kav: The rice was a disappointment as it was starchy and the salad was average. However I liked the eggplant as it was cooked through and the nutty flavour went perfectly with the eggplant. The mushroom broth tasted very much like a miso soup except that it lacked flavour.

Gaj: I was not impressed by this dish – did not enjoy the combination of the ingredients.

Type 3: PASTA

Mien insisted on the Tom Yam Tempeh, which is spaghetti aglio olio, lemongrass, shallots, kaffir lime leaves, ginger flower, bean sprouts, tempeh, and chive flowers. (RM19.90)

Mien: Bland… not a hint of spice at all, and couldn’t taste much of the tom yam flavour. However, I loved it as there was something very bland and ‘clean’ about it. Also, I LOVE TEMPEH!!!

Shiv: I love tempeh, and was expecting it to carry the dish, but the pasta was so flavour-less, and despite so many pungent ingredients, fell flat. An utter disappointment!

Kav: I expected a great Asian fusion pasta with a burst of spicy tom yam flavour. Sadly my senses were dulled by a bland pasta that could not be helped even with the various flavourful ingredients it boasts.

Gaj: This was totally unimpressive! Absolutely bland and totally disappointing! 

Type 4: DESSERT (Being sweet tooths, we greedily ordered two.)

Firstly, Mien forced the rest of us to order the Blackforest cake. (RM12.90)

Mien: This is like a Blackforest mousse instead of a cake - loved it!!!

Shiv: Don’t like Blackforest cakes, and this was no exception. The cake was very dry, and there was a chemical taste, which I suspect came from the cherry-jellied centre.

Kav: Agree with Shiv about the chemical taste from the jelly. Not a fan.

Gaj: I do not enjoy Blackforest cakes and this was just alright for me. 

We also ordered the Chocolate Fondant, served with vanilla ice-cream. (RM9.90)

Mien: Amazing for chocolate lovers. Loved the ice-cream. (The thing about the B.I.G group restaurants is that they always use good ice-cream.) I personally found it toooo chocolate-y!

Shiv: Nice. They did not overcook the fondant, and the gooey chocolate centre was present. The ice cream used was of good quality, and the dish was up to par. Good to share!

Kav: Being the chocolate fanatic that I am, the fondant was a dream to me. Melt in your mouth goodness with excellent vanilla ice cream. Yummy!!!

Gaj: I enjoyed this dessert, not the best that I have had, but enjoyable nonetheless.

*There are other food ‘groups’ in the menu: Soup, Starters, Pies and Tarts, Between Bread, and Mains. However, we did not order from those due to gastric restrictions. ;)

Verdict: WOK OFF!

PRICE: Reasonable – as with all B.I.G group establishments.

AMBIENCE: Beautiful, garden-like environment – there are seats outside the restaurant, so patrons can choose to sit inside or enjoy the view of the world passing by.

SERVICE: Good – waiters were polite and food arrived promptly.

FOOD: Unimpressive – but, to be fair, the restaurant was fairly new when we visited. As such, may be worthy of a second chance at a later date.

*Note: Botanical also serves High Tea, 3pm – 6pm daily.

BOTANICAL 

IF-28 & IF-K2, 1^ST FLOOR, BANGSAR VILLAGE II,

NO. 1, JALAN TELAWI 1,

BANGSAR BARU,

59100 KUALA LUMPUR

Tel: +603 2201 3028

Website: http://www.thebiggroup.co/botanical/

Opening Hours:

11am – 10pm, daily

Last order: 9.30pm

Fierce Curry House, Bangsar Utama, Kuala Lumpur

“IF YOU CAN DREAM IT, THEY CAN MAKE IT!”

That ought to be the tag line of Fierce Curry House (FCH), where specialty biryanis are the order of the day.

Owner Herukh T. Jethwani has perfected the art of making a sublime blend of 27 herbs and spices for the authentic Hyderabadi dum biryani recipe, which apparently comes from an aunt from Hyderabad.

On the menu are three ‘genres’, if you will, of biryanis:

1. Ordinary Biryanis: Chicken and Mutton. (You can walk into FCH directly and order these on any given day.)

2. Fridays-Only Biryanis: Mackerel Fish and Vegetarian, consisting of cauliflower, carrot, potato and long bean. (Only available on Fridays, for now.)

3. Specialty Biryanis: Lobster, Crab, Scallop, Cod, Ostrich, Lamb Shank, Venison etc. (Please be advised that you need to order at least a day in advance for these.)

Note: If you have a very extraordinary order, do not hesitate to ask Herukh if he can work some of his magic into cooking it up for you :-)

All biryanis are served with a side of curry gravy, a vegetable and yoghurt, and they come in pots that are sealed with chapati dough and steamed for two hours. The dough keeps the moisture and aroma in but prevents steam vapour from entering the pot.

The meat and fish used are delivered daily to ensure that freshness is maintained. Herukh also uses a special grade of Basmati rice which is longer and a whole lot pricier than ordinary short grain rice, but assures that it makes his biryanis that much more luxurious.

Besides these unique creations, they also have other more typical Indian fare such as banana leaf, thosai, rava thosai, thosai nutella, chapati, roti canai, roti nutella etc.

Good news for you health freaks out there: FCH’s cuisine is free of MSG. Woohoo!!!

Now, on to the dishes. First up was Crab Biryani. Served in a big portion, it can easily feed 4 BIG eaters or 6 small eaters. (RM120)

Kav: The crab was fresh. The biryani was well flavoured and the spice mix used was perfection. The sweet flavour from the crab permeated the entire biryani. Loves!!!

Gaj: I love crab and this dish was amazing! The crab was fresh, succulent and fairly huge. Would definitely order it again!

Shiv: Wowzer! Crab lovers, leave whatever you’re doing immediately, and call FCH, because this is too good! The crab meat was flavoured well, despite it being a huge piece, and the rice was also very fragrant.

Mien: Good… The rice was infused well with the crab flavour. However, as a lazy eater, I probably wouldn’t order this again, because cracking the crab shells is an arduous task for me! Unless… someone cracks it for me, and presents me the beautifully shelled crab meat only… :-)

Next up was the Scallop Biryani, which comes in a normal portion, fit for 2 average eaters or 1 BIG eater. (~RM75)

Kav: The scallops were cooked to perfection and the the seafood flavour carried the entire biryani. To top it off, the masala, like in the other biryanis, was very good. However, felt like the ratio of rice to scallop was high. Nevertheless loved it!

Gaj: The scallops were alright, and though it was cooked to perfection, I felt something was missing in terms of flavour. I am not entirely sure if scallop and biryani go together, but it was interesting nonetheless.

Shiv: Delicious. The scallops were bouncy and juicy, and again, the rice had a strong seafood flavour to it. However, I would have liked it if they were slightly more generous with the scallops, as I was left wanting for more.

Mien: Good, but I expected it to be better. I too wish there were more scallops to go with the abundant rice.

Finally, we had Cod Biryani,  which also comes in a normal portion, fit for 2 average eaters or 1 BIG eater. (~RM85)

Kav: OMG!!! I have never been this WOW-ed in a long time! The oily, fatty, fresh cod, together with the deliciously-spiced masala, was like nothing I’ve ever had before. Unlike most other fish biryanis that I’ve tried, they were very generous with the fish, and the fish was cooked to perfection. My only complaint about the biryanis, as a whole, is that the rice could be fluffier.

Gaj: The cod was very very very GOOD!! The fish was fresh and was oozing with oily goodness. AMAZE-BALLS! The downside to the biryanis here is that the rice is not flavoured well enough and a tad bland. The rice could use a pinch more of spice.

Shiv: CODGASMIC! Every mouthful was so delectable, and the cod slice was huge, and more than enough to complement the entire serving of rice. The cod was also über fresh, and flavoured beautifully without overpowering the natural fishy flavour of cod. Seriously good stuff.

Mien: MY FAVVV!!! SOO GOOOD!!! The fish - so fresh!!! More fish than rice. LOVES LOVES LOVES!!!

Verdict: WOK ON!

PRICE: Expensive – as expected, as pricey seafood items were used for our orders and the portions were rather big. (RM280 for 3 dishes)

AMBIENCE: Standard family restaurant with a cosy edge – has an air-conditioned section.

SERVICE: Good – the staff here are very friendly and accommodating. One of them actually helped us to crack the crab shell. (Thanks, Nurul!) However, it can get slightly understaffed on a busy day, especially during lunch hours.

FOOD: Very good – MSG-free, flavourful and prepared freshly. (A fresh batch of food is prepared daily for dinner.)

FIERCE CURRY HOUSE,

16 JALAN KEMUJA,

BANGSAR UTAMA

59000 KUALA LUMPUR

Tel: +6019 383 0945 / +603 2202 3456

Email: info@fiercecurryhouse.com

Website: http://www.fiercecurryhouse.com

Opening Hours:

10.30am – 10.30pm