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Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Ah Nam BBQ Seafood Part II

You guys remember Ah Nam right?
Well, when my old buddy Joseph saw the post about the Beef Hor Fun, he said "Me want!".
Or something along those lines. So we rounded up Rita and made our way to the far East aka Changi.

Well we didn't have much seafood this time (in fact NIL seafood) so this gave us the chance to try a few new items on the vast Ah Nam menu.

Thai Style Fried Chicken ($12)

Since the name includes "Thai Style" I'm guessing you automatically deduced that the sauce involves some sweet-sour-spicy taste and you are not wrong. But the great thing is that this sauce is not overpowering. It's tangy no doubt but it's great and it pairs very very well with the deep fried super crispy chicken fillet.
And I know some people are going to say I'm full of shit now - but I actually really enjoyed the veggies they added on top! The onions were sweet and fresh and really added to the dish!

Okay okay no need to get so excited that's only one dish.
What else did we have?

Butter Kailan ($8)

We were at a bit of a loss when it came to vegetable dish selection. Sambal Kangkong again? Meh maybe not. So the lady taking our order said "Try Butter Kailan lah very nice". So we did.
And what a great discovery it was.

Can you recall when you ordered 'Butter Prawns' or 'Butter Sotong' in the past? You know that buttery goodness you so enjoyed with that dish? Well it now comes with Kailan.
Crispy buttery slithers of deliciousness on top of fresh young Kailan.
"Loves it."

I'll be honest I had never heard of this Butter method with anything else rather than seafood so it was a very pleasant surprise discovery.
Some will say "wah so rich and oily ah?". Well treat yourself to a small dish of this anyways. It rocks.

We actually ordered another side dish - Hotplate Tofu.
You may recall this dish being reviewed in the first post on Ah Nam. We didn't manage to snap a picture of this one because.... well... it was a mess. The server almost dropped in when he arrived at our table so it didn't look very nice when we got it.

And truth be told there seemed to be almost NO vegetables on the hotplate at all. So I started to question the consistency of the cook handling the tofu.
But, basing it on a previous visit to another makan place (Joe & Rita - I KNOW you were thinking of Rex), both of them concluded one sure thing - this place definitely gave more tofu than the other place.
A lot more.

And the past few times I went, I ordered this drink but I always forget to mention it in the reviews.

This is actually Sour Plum Drink.
And it is the bomb. Seriously.

It's not overly sour or overly sweet for that matter.
I saw my sister-in-law Yana drinking it once and I thought let's try some sour plum juice. And I can almost never stop at once if I'm having a super big meal there at Ah Nam.

Maybe the sour plum increases your appetite as well. It's said that sour-ish things do so. And in that case - bring on the sour plum juice

But sorry I can't remember how much it costs per cup.
It's so good I just order, drink, pay.

And you know what?
The food was so good that 2 nights later I went back with my wife, brother and sister-in-law and we had the exact same dishes again so they could try it!

So Ah Nam remains a firm favourite.
More and more Halal 'tze-char' stalls are coming up all over the shop but so far Ah Nam has managed to keep drawing me back for more.

Adam's Verdict:
Thai Style Fried Chicken 4/5 -- Butter Kailan 4.75/5 -- Sour Plum Juice 5/5

Joseph's Verdict:
Beef Hor Fun 4/5 -- Thai Style Fried Chicken 3.5/5 -- Butter Kailan 3.5/5 --
Hotplate Tofu 2.5/5

Rita's Verdict:
Beef Hor Fun 4/5 -- Thai Style Fried Chicken 3.5/5 -- Butter Kailan 4.5/5 --
Hotplate Tofu 2/5

And for the record...
The Beef Hor Fun is still the bomb.



Ah Nam BBQ Seafood - Steamed Fish

Blk 1 Changi Village Rd
#01-2040
Tel: 9670 8575

Operating Hours:

Sun - Thurs: 5.00pm til 12 midnight
Fri and Sat - 5.00pm til 1.00am

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Otak-Otak Kampong Wak Murset


In case you don't know by now - I loves me some otah-otah!

But believe it or not, it's not that easy to find a place where you can call a go-to place for otah-otah.
I mean think about it. Where do you normally get your otah-otah?
At the odd pasar malam when it pops out? At some random dude selling it from a table in your neighbourhood? (that's illegal by the way)

Well, now you can pop by Geylang Market when you're itching for some otah-otah!

Otak-Otak Kampon Wak Murset seems like a joint that really know what they're doing.
Their main product is of course - otah-otah. In fact, it's "100% Otak-Otak Kelapa Anak Melayu".
But they do also sell otak-otak rempah and other things needed for making otah-otah like coconut leaves and even the toothpicks!

But was their otah-otah any good?

Otak-Otak ($2 for 5)

Doesn't that look lovely?

The otah-otah paste is made daily so you know it's going to be fresh.
And when I went there was a queue... which is not necessarily a bad thing if you think about it. If there is a queue, this means the product is gonna be freshly cooked when you get it.
This means piping hot fresh otah-otah hot off the grill!!

The otah-otah I normally buy (from the pasar malam) is usually red-ish and quite a solid chunk of otah.
Meaning it's actually got quite a lot of flour in it and it becomes a solid piece which you can flap about (you know what I mean right)


As you can see above, the otak-otak from Wampong Wak Murset do not really resemble that type of otah-otah at all. It's nowhere even close to the shade of red I was expecting. I guess the closest comparison I can make it that this version is... drier.

This is because it's made up mostly of coconut and you still get substantial chunks of tasty fish in each bite.
But because of that, my darling wife didn't really fancy the strong coconut influence on the otak-otak. She says it's good and tasty but those of you who don't fancy coconut... Ehhhh...
And although some might point out that this is actually the traditional way of making otah-otah, I'm guessing some people may feel that they still prefer the type we are so accustomed to nowadays.

Adam's Verdict
Otak-Otak 3.75/5

Maryah's Verdict
Otak-Otak 2.5/5

So there's no denying that this is a tasty otah-otah.
I guess it just boils down to your preference whether you are dead-set on the type of otah we get at the modern day pasar malam or whether you like the more coconut-y traditional version.


Otak-Otak Kampong Wak Murset

Geylang Serai Stall #02-165
Geylang Serai Market
Tel: 94463549

Operating Hours: 10.00am til 7.00pm daily

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Mr Teh Tarik Changi Village: Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee and Fried Oyster

I find myself hanging out more and more at Changi Village nowadays especially for supper.
This is especially odd because I thought that when the main Food Centre (where all the Nasi Lemak action was) closed for renovations, I'd probably not be back in Changi for quite awhile.
And now it turns out I'm spending more time there now than before!

There are a few places to find some good eats in the area like Ah Nam among others but just at the start of the Changi Villa stretch, you'll find Mr Teh Tarik there.

And like the other Mr Teh Tariks you might find, they have several stall within the premises which sell a variety of cuisines that might tickle your fancy. And the Mr Teh Tarik Cafe at Changi Village is no different because you'll be spoiled for choice.

But for now, I'm just gonna cover one particular stall.



 Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee ($5.00)

It used to be so difficult to find Halal Hokkien Mee in the past but it seems like more and more people have started selling this fan favourite. With the boom of Halal restaurants and hawkers selling Chinese cuisine, you might be able to find a good handful of places which sell a mean plate of Hokkien Prawn Mee.

Mr Teh Tarik at Changi Village is one of those places.

There is a stall there that sells a delicious plate of Hokkien Mee.
We always go there late at night so we always see the same aunty cooking the dish but I'm not sure about the afternoons by the way.

The serving is huge and 2 people can easily share a plate.
And it's packed full of seafood like prawns (duh) and squid. The prawn stock is tasty and delicious.
In the photo above you might think that there seems to be a bit too much gravy but fret not that's actually the first time that's happened in all the times we've been there. Anyways more gravy better right?

I grew up knowing Hokkien Mee as 'Rochor Mee' because my Dad tells me that in the old days, this dish was evolved and popularized in that area. I don't many people still refer to it as 'Rochor Mee' anymore but I'll always remember it by that name.

Some enthusiasts will argue that the types noodles you use as the 'white' noodle in this dish makes a difference which is actually true. When my dad cooks it at home, he uses a mix of yellow noodles and white bee hoon because he says it gives the dish a nice difference in texture with the different noodle thickness and it's also how he used to eat the dish when he was younger.

When you buy the dish nowadays, it's seldom with bee hoon. In the picture above you can see the stall at Mr Teh Tarik uses a thicker noodle very similar to a laksa noodle.
And don't be alarmed. It's more white noodled than yellow noodles because my darling wife told the aunty to add more white than yellow :)
And you have a choice of $3 / $4 / $5 depending on how hungry you are.

But if you're not a noodle kinda person...

Fried Oyster ($8)

Now Hokkien Mee may be a dish becoming more and more available but Fried Oyster is a dish that still remains elusive when it comes to the Halal version. I've seen quite a few 'No Pork No Lard' versions around but that's just not Halal is it?

The original dish is normally fried in lard which many think is essential but the Halal version is just fried in normal oil which is still fine right.

The Fried Oyster (or Orh Luak) here is quite steady actually. So steady that we seem to order it every single time we go! And I normally see this once Chinese guy making it and I can vouch that his Fried Oyster is consistently the absolutely bomb. But this one time it was this makcik whom I did not have any confidence in.
But my brother says it's normally her and she cooks the bombs as well.

And it was nice lah!
(Although I personally prefer the Chinese dude. Call it an OCD thing.)


The oysters were fresh and plump and juicy!
And it's not those itsy bitsy tiny little oyster you're probably expecting. These were respectably sized and delicious if you're an oyster lover.

The mix of egg and starch (I think they use rice flour instead of sweet potato flour) is just nice and it gets a really nice crispy edge (which is probably everyone's favourite part.. admit it!)

But I have to say that the chilli is not bad too but I have a feeling some people may feel it's nothing special.
And I know that some people REALLY pin a lot of hopes on the chilli. It's quite okay and has nice kick to it but I guess you have to try it for yourself before you decide whether you like it or not.
You can have either a $5 or $8 serving.

Adam's Verdict:
Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee 3.5/5 -- Fried Oyster 4/5


Maryah's Verdict:
Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee 4.5/5 -- Fried Oyster 4/5


Azlan's Verdict:
Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee 4/5 -- Fried Oyster 4/5

Yana's Verdict:
Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee 4/5 -- Fried Oyster 4/5

So the ratings are quite steady... but...
I think there's one thing that we all agree is a small issue - Consistency.

Like my brother said - sometimes it can be damn power like 4/5 but sometimes it really sucks like 2/5.
So is it a matter of who cooks it? Maybe the time of day you go?
Who knows?

Well I can tell you I've only gone at night. And my advice is - look for the Chinese dude.
Other than that please do try your luck. It's still probably gonna be worth it.



Mr Teh Tarik Changi Village: Local Delight Stall

Blk 5 Changi Village Road
Tel: 6742 5522
http://www.mrtehtarik.com.sg

 Operating Hours: 24 hours






Friday, August 17, 2012

Salam Aidilfitri



The Halal Food Blog
wishes all its readers

Salam Aidilfitri

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Ramen Ten

I remember having Ramen Ten quite a few years back.
It was situated at Century Square in Tampines back then and it seemed very popular because it was pretty much one of (if not the only) place you could get Halal Japanese cuisine.

I remember there was even a commercial shown on Suria where some Suria actress (whose name I can't recall) tells you about Singapore's first Halal Japanese Sushi Restaurant and exclaims at the end - "Oiishi!!".
Unfortunately I couldn't find the ad but (believe it or not) Ramen Ten has their own "Corporate Video" which you can watch HERE.

So I went to Ramen Ten almost 10 years after my first visit and I didn't know what to expect.



 Super Spicy Ramen ($9.90)

I decided to have something that seemed like something I would enjoy.
Super Spicy Ramen consists of yummy ramen noodles, delicious minced chicken in a super spicy broth.
Only the spicy part was true by the way.

When they say Super Spicy boy do they mean Super Spicy.
You can definitely feel the heat from the chilli oil that comes with the minced chicken and the broth.
So all you lovers of spicy food can rejoice.

But here's where it all went wrong for me.
If there is one thing I cannot stand food with that 'hanyir' or 'hanching' taste/smell.
(I developed my own word for it - 'hamching')

This is the 'fishy' taste/smell you get if you don't wash meat or fish properly.
And this was the case with this dish.


From the very first taste of the minced chicken, I literally had a look of disbelief on my face.
I simply could not fathom that this supposedly fine establishment had served me a dish that was hamching!
Okay so maybe I'm very sensitive to this kind of thing (I take after my mum in that sense) but even my darling wife agreed with me something was definitely wrong taste-wise.

Well it may taste perfectly fine to a lot of people no doubt.
But to me, if with that much chilli and spice and you can still taste the hamching - something is so wrong.

I stopped eating my dish after less than 10 bites.
I tried oh trust me I tried.

Tom Yum Beef Ramen ($11.90)

My wife decided to have the Tom Yum Beef Ramen which seemed like it might be nice.
(Well it was deifinitely better than the Super Spicy Ramen I can tell you that much)

The tom yum flavour in the broth was very nice. Not too strong yet very typical tom yum.
Not too spicy though so don't expect the spicy type of tom yum.

The one thing my wife and I both agreed on was that the beef itself was excellent. It absorbed the tom yum flavour very well and was very tasty.

Best part? The texture of the beef.
It was cooked just nice so that it was melt-in-your-mouth tender! Needless to say, all the beef was completely wiped out from the dish!

Perhaps it's worth mentioning however that there is not much beef given to start with (as you can see form the picture above). Which is kind of weird because it's actually one of the more expensively priced Ramen on the menu @ $11.90.

A few more pieces of tender beef in the bowl would have definitely made it worth the price.

So we've covered the meat (both hamching and yummy) and the broth...
there's only one thing left to cover...




Something my darling wife definitely wants me to mention the Ramen noodles.

She says that it was more like Maggi Mee than ramen.
I agree with her that the noodles were not fantastic but I wouldn't go as far as to say they were like Maggi noodles at all.

Sure they may look a bit thick but I think the biggest problem is that they fail to compliment the broth.
You may think me silly but I found it a real chore to have to chew those tasteless noodles.
I'd rather just eat the beef and drink the broth. Just not my kind of noodles I guess.

Blue Lime Soda ($3.90)

The most consistently delicious part of my meal was this thing called the Blue Lime Soda.
Citrus. Sweet. Refreshing. I love it.

Adam's Verdict:
Super Spicy Ramen 0/5 -- Tom Yum Beef Ramen 3/5 -- Blue Lime Soda 5/5

Maryah's Verdict:
Super Spicy Ramen 0/5 -- Tom Yum Beef Ramen 2.5/5


Well there you have it. The first dish I've reviewed on this blog that got a ZERO rating.
Blame it on the 'hamching'.


Ramen Ten

14 Scotts Road, #01-22 Far East Plaza
Tel: 6238 7983
http://www.ramenten.com

Operating Hours: 11.30am – 10.00pm (Daily)

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Geylang Serai Bazaar Ramadhan - Churro Brothers



So we love Churros.
And I've had Churros before. But it was always at some bistro or Tapas joint or rather.
I had never come across Halal Churros in Singapore. Until yesterday.


So what is a Churro anyways?
Well it's actually a Spanish pastry. If you ask me, I'd call it a variation on a doughnut or a pretzel but believe it or not it's actually more of a Choux pastry (for all you bakers out there) than a doughnut or pretzel.
Well whatever you want to call it - Churros are delicious!
And the popular way to eat them is with some hot chocolate or chocolate sauce.

So Ziela tells me in the office about this stall at the Geylang Bazaar which sells Halal Churros.
And I say "No way!" because like I said - I had never come across Halal Churros in Singapore.
So you can imagine my excitement if I actually bother to go check this out the very next day.

Sure or not???

So anyways this is what they offer.

They've got 3 types of Churros - Cinnamon Sugar, Chocolate-filled and Caramel-filled.
They also have 3 types of dips - Milky Chocolate, Candy Caramel and Grandma's Apple Pie.

You can buy 4 Cinnamon Sugar or 3 Chocolate/Caramel-filled for $2 or
you can buy a Buddy combo of 6 Cinnamon Sugar, 2 Chocolate-filled and 2 Caramel-filled PLUS one of each of the dips for $5. (No prizes for guessing which one I bought)
Individual dips will cost you 50 cents a pop.


Chocolate / Caramel
Churros

Let me start by saying that the Churros are actually very good and have a nice bite to them.
I know you're saying "But Churros are normally long what" well these have been cut into bit-sized pieces for us because I'm sure you don't want to walk around Geylang Bazaar with a super-long Churros sticking out of your mouth or pocket.

And at the rate these buggers were selling, I'm guessing you're probably going to almost always get a fresh batch because people are snapping them up as soon as they come out of the fryer. Even I was lucky enough to get a fresh batch in my bag. They make and pack all their stuff on site so you're know you're getting a fresh good Churro.

I even went a little further and kept them for awhile to see if the pastry hardened (like most unfortunately do).
After an hour - still had a good bite.
I even kept some for sahur the next morning - and they still were not hard!
But of course, like most things, best to eat em while they're hot and fresh.

Candy Caramel / Milky Chocolate / Grandma's Apple Pie

So how did the dips and fillings measure up?
I have to say that my favourite was the Candy Caramel. We all know I'm a sucker for sugar.

I'm guessing a fan favourite will probably be the Milky Chocolate but take note, just like the name literally says, this is a milk chocolate sauce as my darling wife pointed out. Some of you darker chocolate fans might be whining but it's still not too bad a sauce and goes well with the Churros.

Cinnamon Sugar Churro with Milky Chocolate Dip


The one I couldn't quite get used to was the Grandma's Apple Sauce.
It tasted a lot like McDonalds' Apple Pie but it was kinda watery and there was something about it I could not quite put my finger on.

Or maybe I just wanted more of the Candy Caramel.

Cinnamon Sugar Churro

The Cinnamon Sugar Churro is actually excellent enough on its own.
But I'm gonna bet my last Candy Caramel dip that you're probably gonna be dipping it into some sauce.

The Churro Brothers

So apparently those two are the Churro Brothers aptly named Bro #1 and Bro #2.
(I am not aware of the existence of any other Churro Brother at the time of release at this blog post.)

And I'm thinking this idea probably came about like this.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking Bro #1?"
"I think I am Bro #2!"
"IT'S CHURROS TIME!!!"

Okay so maybe not EXACTLY like that lah but you get the idea.

 Adam's Verdict:
Churros 4/5

Maryah's Verdict:
Churros 3/5


Oh. And like I said. They're really popular. Remember that sign at the start about queuing?
Well if you do go down during peak period at the Bazaar, you're gonna have to deal with this.


But like they said - it's worth the wait.

I must applaud these 2 Churro Brothers. They've taken a great idea and a good product and brought it to the masses at a location where it's relatively accessible to pretty much everyone. And they're really friendly too!

I'm sure what their plans are after the bazaar is over but I reckon I might check their Facebook page to find their location when I have a hankering for some Churros.


Churro Brothers

Geylang Serai Bazaar Ramadhan
Just outside the entrance of Darul Arqam Muslim Converts Association

www.facebook.com/ChurroBrothers

Operating Hours: 5.00pm til they sell out of Churros
Bro #1 tells me they normally sell out around 10pm

Monday, August 6, 2012

Bazaar Raya Utara (Woodlands Bazaar) - Putu Piring



I remember back during fasting month in my active NS days, I used to visit the Woodlands Bazaar.
We're talking about back in 2005 when my camp was in Mandai and in our spare time in the evenings, we'd either go to Choa Chu Kang or to Woodlands mainly because the buses outside our camp went to either.

And in 2005, Woodlands Bazaar seemed like it was such a wonderful place.
It was the first place I had ever heard of 'Bee Hoon Briyani' and also a place for us to get food there was no way of getting anywhere near our camp like 'Siput Sedut' and 'Murtabak'.

So I thought what a nice idea it was for my darling wife and me to take a trip there.
Revisit the old days of exploring the wonderful offerings of the Woodlands Bazaar.

Oh boy was I wrong.

Don't get me wrong it was still a massive area of food stalls. But the problem is they were all selling the same thing. And I know you're probably saying "Why you complaining? It's the same everywhere what!"
Well, in that case I choose not to travel all the way too Woodlands when I can experience the "same" in the east side.

But some notable mentions though.
I saw a really long queue forming along one of the stalls which was apparently selling 'Nasi Bukhari'.
It seemed so popular that when one giant pot finished, people were willing to wait while another giant pot was being delivered to feed the masses.

Another popular stall was one selling Laksa. But we didn't buy any.

We did however buy some Putu Piring.


So there was this table set up beside one of the bigger stalls selling Nasi Briyani.
I mean literally a table with no sign and just this dude and a pregnant lady making the Putu Piring.

Seemed like a decent enough set-up and well I guess I was hankering for some Putu Piring.

Putu Piring (5 for $2.00)

So this traditional Malay kueh is basically gula melaka encased in rice flour before being steamed.
It's served with grated coconut and definitely satisfies a sweet tooth.

Okay so the Putu Piring itself was not too bad and was going for a decent price.
However, truth be told, there are definitely better quality Putu Piring out there for the same price.

Okay so I don't care so much about the rice flour because in the end the kueh is still there.
But as my darling wife was the first to point out - the gula melaka was mixed with normal granulated sugar.
And for some reason - that really really made a difference.
If you click on the photo I took above of the guy adding the gula melaka to the kueh, you can see (if you zoom) that it's not really pure gula melaka.

But hey hey who knows maybe times are hard and gula melaka prices are on the up and up. So that's fine.
But another thing - it wasn't even cooked properly...
Maybe the growing crowd made them think they could shave off a few seconds of steaming time.
Big mistake.

In my humble opinion, Putu Piring is one of those things that you should eat as soon as possible while it's still warm and soft. So I guess the fact that we ate it only 2 hours later for our breaking fast plays a big part.
(But I doubt that eating it hot would have made us miss the granulated sugar)

Adam's Verdict:
Putu Piring 2/5

Maryah's Verdict::
Putu Piring 1/5

Well overall it wasn't so bad if you ask me.
Not the best I've had but it's still good enough for anyone who feels like having some Putu Piring.
Just make sure they cook it properly.

 No Name Putu Piring
(Look for this sign)


Bazaar Raya Utara (Woodlands Bazaar)
Beside Woodlands MRT Station


Operating Hours: 2.00pm - 7.00pm

Thursday, August 2, 2012

The Quest For Briyani Part 1: Haji Mohd Yussof Warung Nasi Baryani

So I want to do this whole series on Nasi Briyani for the blog but there are simply too many for me to cover in just a few short posts or to just have a Battle on its own. So I decided to start on this epic quest...
The Quest for Briyani!

Quite a few recommendations came in on where I should start this epicurean journey but it just so happens I was in the area of Geylang Serai so what better place to start than the Geylang Serai Market.
At this melting pot of delicious food already got so many choices for Nasi Briyani alone I reckon I'll be visiting quite a few times so I can cover all the stalls!

And I'm not covering the stalls in any particular order just so you know.
All of the them have been recommended at one point or another so it's going to be random and at the of it all you can form your own decision on which is your favourite.

At the extreme end of the 2nd level of the market (the Joo Chiat Complex end) you will see a stall with a bright yellow sign and it will most likely have a long queue as well.

My darling wife received a recommendation to try "Yusoff Briyani" at Geylang Market.
This is not to be confused with Yusof Power Beryani Dam by the way. Completely different stall okay.
And when we arrived it seemed like the stall was living up to the hype because there was a considerable line of people waiting to get their briyani fix that Saturday morning.

And you'll see picture hanging around the stall - former President SR Nathan ate at the stall!
A little research showed that they stall was mentioned in The President's Award For The Environment in 2009. But was their briyani any good?


Chicken Baryani ($4.00)

Let me start of by saying that the spices used in the curry are very strong.
If you're the type that likes their curry to pack a strong punch, you're gonna love this one.
But although it's a strong curry, it's not too spicy to the point that you're gonna burn your mouth. It's actually just right now that I think about it.

However, because the curry itself is already packing so much heat and taste, you may end up not using the accompanying bowl of dalcha even though the dalcha on its own is actually quite tasty.
In fact, I didn't have more than 2 spoons of the dalcha because the curry on its own was enough. When I did have the dalcha with curry together, talk about flavour overload.


The rice itself was fluffy and fragrant. Quite a typical quality of rice you might get when ordering a decent plate or briyani anywhere. It pairs extremely well with the curry and the meats.

As for the chicken...
I'm not sure if the meat and chicken were cooked within the rice from start to finish (which how supposedly 'authentic' Dum Briyani is supposed to be prepared) but I'm guessing they may have been in the rice at some point or rather.

But then again, I saw them scooping the rice from a separate pot and then the meat/chicken with curry out of a another pot onto the plate before topping it all off with some more rice to cover the meat.
Cooked together then separated before serving? Or not at all? I'll be honest - I'm not sure.

But whether it's Dum or not, the chicken was exceptionally tender.
As you can see from the first picture, the meat is literally shredding itself from the bone and you can just use a fork to rip that tender chicken off. And the strong curry flavour really penetrates into the chicken flesh (a sign of the chicken being cooked in the curry?) so you really have an explosion of spice flavour when you chew.

Mutton Baryani ($4.00)

Now as you may have noticed by now, the Briyani is very attractively priced.
$4 for a plate of either Chicken or Mutton Baryani and $4.50 for the Fried Chicken version.
This is definitely cheaper (as much as almost half the price) of some other famous stalls where a plate can go for as much as $8 or more.

But this also means that the serving size is considerably smaller.

That's the mutton briyani above and that's the only piece of meat that you'll get in one serving.
And to be honest - it's not enough. I'm guessing that's not even going to be enough for people who consider themselves small eaters.

Sure there's rice but for people expecting what they normally get at other places and think that they're getting a really good bargain, well, the price fits the serving size is all I can say.


Oh and a little bit more on the mutton itself.
It wasn't tough or hard or anything like that but let's just say it wasn't the most tender briyani meat I've tried.
And it also tended to be a little dry (and stringy) so I wasn't really impressed with the Mutton Briyani.

And by the way - the achar wasn't really spectacular and a little on the sweet side.

Adam's Verdict:
Chicken Briyani 2.5/5 -- Mutton Briyani 2/5

Maryah's Verdict:
Chicken Briyani 3/5 -- Mutton Briyani 2.5/5

Okay so it may not be the best briyani I've ever had but it's actually not so bad.
But I have to say that the only reason it gets a passing mark in my books is because of the intense flavour which somehow grows on you and you keep wanting to take bite after bite of the chicken and rice.
And I'm a fan of Mutton Briyani so I was quite disappointed with that.

But at $4.00 a plate, I reckon it's reasonably priced... unless you're DAMN hungry.

Haji Mohd Yussof Warung Nasi Baryani

Geylang Serai Market
1, Geylang Serai #02-169


Operating Hours: 9.30am - 5.00pm