Kuah and I used to go to this great little Indian restaurant in the basement of Suntec City for thali. It was spicy but delicious. I loved that there were so many flavors to try and it ended with a sweet bite. Unfortunately, they are no longer there. So, when I started craving a thali this trip Kuah researched and found a few great options. I’m lucky that Kuah always finds wonderful places for us to try!
The first one we tried was Shikar. It has a famous chef, Surjan Singh known as Chef Jolly. He has been a judge on Master Chef India and a TV chef anchor. His restaurant is inspired by the grand feasts Indian royals used to enjoy. The restaurant itself is in a hotel and it has an Indian colonial theme. They have lots of old military uniforms and pictures on display. They are a bit fancier and have a no shorts or sandals dress code but I still saw someone in there wearing shorts.
We were there for a Saturday lunch which features the Let’s Chaat menu. We both decided on the vegetarian option which included the following; Raspberry Nimbu Fizz welcome drink, roasted sweet potato goat cheese tikki chaat, curd cheese kufte, shikari daal, baby spinach mash, chef’s choice vegetable, steamed basmati rice, and garlic naan. Kuah added on a lamb biryani. We also got a pistachio rose kulfi for dessert.
It was a beautiful presentation. There were little details like the designs on the paper straws in the welcome drink that made it fun. Speaking of the welcome drink, it was really refreshing. Although I liked the appetizer it wasn’t as good as the one we had last year at Tiffin room. However, the rest of the meal was better. We were wowed by the lentil dish. It is something I wish I could have more often and hope to go back for. The vegetable and curry dishes were good and the yogurt helped cut the spice when it got too hot. The curd cheese kufta was a bit of a disappointment as I love cheese and kufta but found this to be just OK. I had read a lot of positive feedback about their kulfi but for me the rose flavor was too overpowering. By that point I was pretty full so it was probably a good thing that I didn’t eat it. Kuah did enjoy it. He also was happy he had ordered the lamb biryani. Overall it was a fun and delicious meal.
The next place we went to was Podi & Poriyal. This restaurant, located in Little India, offers a lunch with vadam , 2 vegetable sides, house special sambar (lentil and vegetable stew), homemade curd and condiments. It changes weekly. When we went we had a carrot and bean vegetable, some taro, and the sambar. I got mine with millet and Kuah got ghee rice. I really enjoyed the millet and it made me feel really full. I also opted for a lemon soup starter and Kuah got a lentil doughnut. You would think that a doughnut always wins but my soup was better than his doughnut. It had a good combination of hot and sour flavors. I believe that overall I enjoyed my meal more than Kuah enjoyed his. I found the mix of flavors and textures to be delightful. When my mouth got too hot from the spices I had a vadam with some curd and it cooled it right off. We each had a cup of masala chai tea with our meal. It was mild and refreshing.
The picture above is a sample of the Podi & Proiyal lunch plate. As we went after fasting and getting our blood drawn we just dug into the food without taking a picture. Imagine eating without taking a picture first, the horror! The bowl all the way to the left with the red liquid looks similar to the sambar we had. The crispy vadam on the rice were refreshing with the curd. The bowl to the right of the curd was filled with carrots and green beans for us. And on the plate next to that we had taro. So, while this plate has different things it gives and idea of what the meal is like. If I eat there again I’ll replace the picture.
Our most recent thali was at MTR, also in Little India. Looking at the image below from left to right this one had, preserved lemon, curd, dessert halva, curry with nuts and beans, carrots. In front of the rice there was were it got spicy. The red and orange curries were yummy but too spicy for me to finish. The beans to the right of that offered a chance to cool down a bit. They served their rice with ghee.
This was the cheapest thali and it was fun but it definitely tested my spicy boundaries. The ordering and seating process was also a bit confusing to me but they were friendly and we were able to get a table fairly quickly. I’ll have to continue to eat more spicy foods to build up my tolerance. I loved trying the preserved lemon. It was also great to end with a sweet. At the end of the meal Kuah and I each had a cup of masala chai tea. I found this one to be a bit sweeter the day before and I really enjoyed it.
Since I’ve been eating so much thali I decided to look up a bit more info on them. The average vegetarian thali has about 735 calories. They usually consist of a grain, lentils, vegetables, chutney, raita (curds), pickles and papadum ( fried savory crisp). From a nutritional point of view they are said to be balanced containing carbs, protein, vitamins, minerals and fiber. From a taste point of view they are supposed to contain the 6 tastes of Ayurveda; sweet, salt, sour, pungent (garlic, onions), bitter and astringent. They are also supposed to be great for your microbiome.
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