“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
