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

Citrus Café and Restaurant, Bangsar Village 2, Kuala Lumpur

Having covered a number of eateries at Bangsar Village 1 and 2, we decided to try one that we’ve not covered previously, and made our way to Citrus Café and Restaurant located on the second floor of Bangsar Village 2 (a few doors away from Starbucks). 

The ambience of Citrus is one that is eclectic, modern, and fresh, and the waiters are pleasant and very informative (more on that later).

We started our meal by placing an order of  Citrus Nasi Goreng Kampung served with chicken or beef rendang, fried egg, keropok and sambal belacan (RM14.90). As all four of us don’t eat beef, we opted for the chicken instead.

Gaj: The rendang and sambal belacan were really tasty, but the rice itself was not well-flavoured.

Kav: Dislike the nasi goreng. However, the rendang was delicious and the sambal was to die for. The fish keropok was one of the better ones I’ve tried in recent times.

Mien: The rice was too mushy and not flavoured well. However the rendang helped the dish by leaps and bounds, as it was not too coconut-y and there was a ‘kick’ to it.

Shiv: OMG!!! The sambal belacan was savoury perfection, and the rendang chicken was very fresh and pleasantly pungent. Not overly impressed by the rice though, as it was overcooked and bland.

After much discussion, we decided to try one of their pizza’s, but couldn’t quite decide between the Medley of Mushroom Pizza (RM19.90) and Salmon Pizza with Smoked Salmon, Asparagus, Capers and Red Onions (RM23.90). Fortunately, our waiter came to the rescue and informed us that we could split the pizza into 2 parts - half and half, which we gladly opted for (RM23.90).

Gaj: The mushroom pizza was sweet. Dislike. The salmon one on the other hand was mediocre.

Kav: Salmon pizza was ok, but it tasted like something I could have prepared at home. The mushroom pizza was not savoury enough, and the chicken was too dried out. Didn’t like it.

Mien: Preferred the mushroom pizza to the salmon one, as I liked the flavour from the mushrooms. The salmon, although fresh, did not wow me as it was very plain.

Shiv: The cheese-ladened salmon pizza was pleasantly flavoured (although they could have been more generous with the capers). Was not overly impressed with the mushroom medley, as it was slightly sweet.

Being pasta-lovers, we obviously had to try one of Citrus’s many pasta options, and as such, decided to go with their Tiger Prawn Linguini Special, pasta with tiger prawns and eggplant (RM25.90).

Gaj: The pasta had a creamy flavour to it - wasn’t the best pasta I’ve tried, though the freshness of the prawns must be credited for. Tasted almost like an Indian pasta.

Kav: The pasta sauce used was too heavy, and the dish tasted starchy. Did not like the Asian influence in the pasta. Will not order it again.

Mien: Not a fan, as it had a creaminess to it. However, there was something interesting about it – must have been the Asian flavouring.

Shiv: Initially I thought it was mediocre, but as I went on eating it, the flavours of the dish really came through, and it was uniquely delicious. I suspect the thoroughly cooked eggplant had something to do with the creaminess of the dish, which I had no issue with. Polished this one off the plate.

As usual, our bottomless pits were still yearning for more food, and we thought of sampling their cheesy nachos with olives, cherry tomatoes, etc, but again, our kind waiter advised us against it, as the nachos are supposedly not the most popular dish at Citrus.  

Instead, he suggested that we try the Lamb Biryani, which is aromatic rice cooked with lamb chunks and spices and served with papadum and daalca (RM23.90). 

 *All four heads nod in unison, in agreement to his suggestion*

Gaj: AMAZEBALLS! The rice was very delicious. Daalca was mediocre, and the lamb, although flavoured well, could have been cooked longer.

Kav: The rice was fragrant and the spices made the biryani yummy. True to the authentic Pakistani biryani, as one of the chefs at Citrus is of Pakistan origin. However, the lamb was tough, tsk tsk.

Mien: Love the accompanying raita (yogurt salad) as it was sour and flavoured well. The rice was tasty and spiced adequately. I was satisfied with the lamb as it didn’t taste gamey.

Shiv: Best dish of the night. The rice was truly aromatic and well-flavoured, and the accompanying yogurt condiment was fresh. The lamb however could have been more tender (they should learn tenderisation techniques from Middle-Eastern chefs!)

Verdict: WOK ON!

 

PRICE: Reasonable (RM97.45 for four dishes).

AMBIENCE: Contemporary and fresh.

SERVICE: Excellent, the waiters were polite, informative and honest.

FOOD: Highly recommend the Asian dishes (but be prepared to drink copious amounts of water, post meal).

CITRUS CAFÉ AND RESTAURANT

2F25A, SECOND FLOOR

BANGSAR VILLAGE 2

NO 1, JALAN TELAWI 1,

BANGSAR BARU

59100 KUALA LUMPUR

Tel: +603 2287 9560

Opening Hours:

10AM – 10PM daily