The Quest For Briyani Part 7: Bismillah Biryani

So a couple of readers had left some comments on our last installment of The Quest For Briyani Part 6 when we visited Saffron. And the same name kept popping up - Bismillah Biryani.

And it never really clicked until one day, one of our guest reviewers Raffiq, says he wants to bring us to what he calls "the best biryani" in Singapore. "Power!!" he says. Okay sure but where is this place?
And then he says it - "It's called... Bismillah Biryani".

Okay set!

So we make our way one sunny afternoon to Dunlop Street for this famous briyani.
And the first thing we noticed when we arrive at the shop is this sign.

You sure or not? Is it that tasty that we don't need any Dalcha? Is the rice so moist an fluffy that we don't need any gravy?

And then the next thing we noticed was the signboard with the prices. But more on that later.
Time for some briyani!

Kid Goat Biryani ($15.00)

Firstly - Yes. It's Kid Goat as in the young goat.
Secondly - Yes. It costs $15. But more on that later.

Overall, I have to say I found the serving quite small for the price I was paying. The most expensive briyani I've had cost me about $9 and it was a HUGE serving enough for 2 people but this one here looked like I might still be a bit hungry at the end of it.

But since it costs so much and the serving is not that big, that means they must really be confident with the taste of the briyani. So is it really that nice?

As you can see the rice is top grade Basmati. I didn't quite get the fragrant aroma of briyani you get when they first bring you the dish but I got a bit of it later which is actually quite weird. And I was right... the serving was way too small for a big eater.

The kid goat meat was really really tender. Again, the serving of meat was lesser than I expected but the little bit of meat I had was very tender. And not only was there no dalcha, there was no masala on the meat either!

So where exactly does the flavour come from?
Well, it seems they use a lot of dry spices in this briyani. Found lots of peppercorns, star anise, cloves etc in the rice and I guess that's where it comes from. Raffiq could definitely taste the spices and it seemed to be really spicy to him too.

I think the spiciness he was experiencing was from the accompanying dish of yoghurt which has onions and green chilli in it too. I thought yoghurt was normally served to cool you down when eating something spicy.... Hmmmmm...

Chicken Biryani ($8.00)

I think that after seeing how tender the chicken was, there is no doubt that their cooking method must be really solid because the meats here are really tender and well cooked. I guess the only thing I'm having a problem getting used too is the whole flavour issue.

Bismillah Biryani prides itself on its philosophy that it wants to serve you "good tasting" food but wants to make sure it's healthy for you too. "Taste counts but your health matters most".

This will explain why they do not use any Ghee in their briyani and also why there are no accompanying dishes of dalcha or acar and also no masala in their briyani. And somehow along the way of making this healthy dish, the prices seem to have gone through the roof.

I'm sorry. I don't mean to sound like some cheapskate but the briyani here is expensive.
I normally have the mutton (which costs $12 here) but we visited on a day where they only had Kid Goat and Chicken which cost $15 and $8 respectively.

Am I the only one who thinks that the prices are a little bit too much?

And I'm not saying that the briyani tasted bad. Not at all. It may not have been the best briyani I've ever had nor the worst tasting one either. But it's definitely the most expensive!!

Mango Lassi ($5.00)

And to add insult to injury, we wanted to have some coffee or tea after our meal but they didn't have any. So I ordered a Mango Lassi thinking to myself "Wah this Lassi surely gonna be the bomb one!".

So you can imagine my shock when the guy comes back 10 seconds later and plonks this bubble tea cup in front of me with Mango Lassi. And judging by the time he took to come back, this was obviously out a fridge and pre-prepared. I couldn't help but laugh a little...

Adam's Verdict:
Kid Goat Biryani 3/5

Azlan's Verdict:
Chicken Biryani 3.5/5

Raffiq's Verdict:
Chicken Biryani 3.5/5

I guess I'm glad we visited Bismillah Biryani so I could finally get it out of my system since everyone was raving about it. Again I say - there's nothing wrong with the briyani. But you gotta admit that the high price does kind of put you off a little doesn't it?

And I guess my idea of briyani is a little different. This may very well be authentic briyani according to some people. I guess I'll still be going back to joints like Saffron.

And by the way - Raffiq has tried all 3 versions (Kid Goat, Mutton and Chicken) and he says that the Mutton Biryani is actually the best!

Monday / Thursday / Sunday - Kid Goat
Wednesday / Friday / Saturday - Mutton
Every day - Chicken & Vegetarian

Bismillah Biryani

50 Dunlop Street

Operating Hours: 11.30am til 3.00pm / 5.30pm til 9.00pm Daily
Closed on Tuesdays (Unless it's a public holiday)

Adam's Corner Seafood Restaurant - Bubur Taiwan

Bubur Taiwan ($5.50)

I used to pass by Adam's Corner in my younger days when it was still situated along Serangoon Road closer to St Georges Road. I'd never really stopped because I guess I didn't really see what was so special about it.
I thought that it was pretty much your run-of-the-mill makan place with the usual y'know?

Well, one day my then-girlfriend who is now my darling wife brought me to Adam's Corner.
She was feeling a little under the weather and wanted to have some porridge. "PORRIDGE? THERE?" was the thought that crossed my mind. So I figured it was Bubur Ayam or something.

To my surprise, it was actually Bubur Taiwan!
I normally only eat this at home when it's prepared from scratch including all the condiments and side dishes and it's more Chinese Porridge than Taiwanese Porridge at my house. I always thought you couldn't find this kind of dish in a Halal setting so I was very very pleasantly surprised.

Anyways, Adam's Corner has moved from its original location but it's still nearby.
It's moved a little closed to Serangoon Road itself and is situated directly across the street from the Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple.

So this is Bubur Taiwan.

You'll get a nice big bowl of porridge. And when I say big, I mean BIG.
It's really a very generous serving of steaming hot porridge so you're sure to get your fill.

Along with the porridge, you'll get a nice serving of accompaniments to go along.

Ikan Bilis and peanuts, Kang Kong, Pickled Radish, Salted Fish, Salted Egg, Century Egg and some sambal kicap. Seems like a pretty standard platter for porridge if I do say so myself.

The Kang Kong is cooked very simply with some chillies, garlic and onions so it goes really well with the porridge. I think the ikan bilis and peanuts had a bit too much of a spicy thing going on in my personal opinion. Would have liked it better if it was just plain crispy ikan bilis and peanuts I reckon...
The pickled radish is the type you get out of a jar from the supermarket. Nothing special but still a staple when it comes to porridge.

The salted fish is always welcome in my books as is the salted egg which I'm sure is also a favourite of many.
One of the unique inclusions would be the Century Egg. I have to say that more and more youngsters seem to be warming up to the acquired taste of Century Egg in recent times. But having said that, the Century Eggs nowadays don't seem to have the same 'kick' as before. They're pretty mild and almost tasteless nowadays and you don't even need to eat it with pickled young ginger anymore and it's still palate-able.

And I know some of you (like my dear Mum) might be very particular about the consistency of your porridge so I included a close-up pic so you can see for yourselves.
Some like it thick. Some like watery. Some like hot. Some like it cold. Some like it in the pot 9 days old.

I would say this was still quite watery. The rice hasn't fully 100% broken down so you can still see some of the grains there. It's not too thick and just nice to enjoy with all the goodies we get with the set.

Oh, and by the way, the sambal kicap is really quite spicy.
Might wanna give it a miss if you're having this porridge literally because you're not feeling well.

Adam's Verdict:
Bubur Taiwan 3.5/5

Adam's Corner also offers other types of porridge including Bubur Ayam, Bubur Ikan and Bubur Daging.
Not too sure what you get though but at least this place is good enough to give you some variety.
Plus, the name of the place is also very very nice. :P

Adam's Corner Seafood Restaturant

452 Serangoon Road

Tel: 6294 1821

Operating Hours:
24 Hours Daily

The Quest For Briyani Part 4: Blue Diamond Restaurant

 

So I mentioned my quest for Briyani to my Mum and she says "Wah you have to try Blue Diamond Briyani!".
Normally when my Mum makes a claim that something is nice means she really really likes it.
So I made it a point to pay Blue Diamond a visit.

Tucked along the row of shophouses along Buffalo Road, I almost missed it.
The restaurant looks so well-blended in that I actually had to look for a sign before I knew exactly where it was. And since this restaurant was actually pretty famous, I'm not sure if that's a good or a bad thing.

My Dad and Brother were along for the adventure but my Mum couldn't make it out for lunch...
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.............................

Well my Dad and I had different types of Dum Briyani and my Brother had the Naan which I actually reviewed earlier. (See that review HERE)

Now it's interesting to note that they are listing this as "Dum Briyani" which means they cooked it in the 'Dum' style of cooking the meat and rice together. There are a lot of places that claim to serve 'Dum Briyani' but actually don't. How would Blue Diamond fare?

So the guy brings out our Briyani in these small little pots.
He lays the banana leaf out for you and then proceeds to flip the rice and meat out on to your plate.

But does this small pot mean that it's not authentic 'Dum'?
Not at all. I can confirm that Blue Diamond serves authentic Dum Briyani because we saw the guy scoop the rice and the meat out from a much larger pot where the Briyani was cooked.

Apparently they pack it into these pots to keep the dish warm and this means they can serve it to you steaming and piping hot.

Dum Mutton Biryani ($7.00)

Dum Chicken Biryani ($6.50)

As you can see, the servings are very very generous!!

The mutton version comes with 2 pretty big pieces of mutton and a whole quarter of chicken for the chicken version. Plus a hard-boiled egg atop a nice big fluffy bed of rice.

The Basmati rice used was very fluffy and very delicious. I have to say it was actually very tasty even if you were to eat the rice on its own without any curry.

But let me explain that this is because this Biryani is heavy on the spices.
That's a fierce colour for a Biryani to have and it's because of the masala spices they use and boy do they use it generously here. It's not over-powering but I can foresee some people may not fancy it too much.

Some people like their Briyani to be relaxed and not too strong while some like it spicy and packing a punch.
If you are the 2nd type, then you'll probably enjoy this because this is definitely a dish that emphasizes the powerful flavour of biryani spices.

The mutton itself was very tender and tore apart relatively easily. This is what you at least expect as a minimum for Dum Biyani am I right? Unfortunately with my luck, I got a nice big joint bone which means less meat for me. Yeah sure I love the bones but I prefer meat with my biryani.

The chicken version however didn't fare so well.
The meat was definitely tender but when you have to cook chicken meat that long to get it to that state, you sacrifice a lot of the moisture in the meat so it turned out to be very very dry. The chicken version also appeared to have less masala spices compared to the mutton version.

Cucumber Raita

Curry

You also get the usual extras with your plate of biryani.
Cucumber Raita was a welcome change as it definitely cooled of the spice of the biryani.
I thought that the curry was actually Rasem or something because it looked so watery but don't let looks deceive you - that's one tasty and spicy curry! But with the biryani already being heavy on the masala spice, I didn't really need the extra curry.

In fact, to be honest, I actually liked it best when I had the biryani rice with the Butter Chicken which came with my brother's Naan!

Adam's Verdict:
Dum Mutton Biryani 3.5/5

Azlan's Verdict:
Dum Mutton & Chicken Biryani 3.5/5

Zain's Verdict:
Dum Chicken Biryani 3/5

A close friend and fellow foodie says that Blue Diamond was indeed a top name when it came to Briyani back in the day but he also mentioned that the old and original chef passed away a few years ago.
No doubt the recipe may be the same but we all know what they say about the people cooking the dish being just as, if not more, important than the recipe itself. Well, this is still a pretty tasty biryani nontheless.

The Quest For Briyani continues!!

Blue Diamond Restaurant

24 Buffalo Road
(Across from Tekka Market)

Operating Hours: 9.30am til 10.00pm Daily

Blue Diamond Restaurant: Naan and Butter Chicken

My Dad, Brother and myself went to Blue Diamond Restaurant with the intentions of having biryani for our next installment of the Quest for Briyani series (which will be posted soon).

But my Brother decided to try something else at the same time.

Garlic Naan ($2.50)

Oh I love Naan. And apparently so does my Brother!
There's something about freshly baked bread that just does it for us I guess. Fresh and hot!

The garlic flavour is not too strong on this one so those 'vampires' among you need not worry.
My brother says this one is a bit too dry though. And we LOVE our garlic so I guess this was a bit of a letdown for us.

Butter Chicken ($6.00)

When someone says Butter Chicken, I always imagine some pieces of chicken swimming in a butter sauce. Well technically, this is exactly the same description but definitely more vivid.

The butter sauce is delicious in my opinion. It's buttery and still have the spicy taste you expect.
It's not too spicy though so you don't have to worry. In fact, my Dad says it's sweet!

It goes really well with the Naan and surprisingly well when I paired it with my briyani too!

Adam's Verdict:
Garlic Naan 3/5 -- Butter Chicken 4/5

Azlan's Verdict:
Garlic Naan 2/5 -- Butter Chicken 3.5/5

Zain's Verdict:
Garlic Naan 4/5

I have a feeling we will be going to a few more places for Naan and Butter Chicken..

Blue Diamond Restaurant

24 Buffalo Road
(Across from Tekka Market)

Operating Hours: 9.30am til 10.00pm Daily

Sri Kamala Vilas Restaurant - Ghee Masala Paper Thosai

I love Thosai.
To be more precise, I love Ghee Masala Paper Thosai.
(I know somone is saying "It's DOSAI lah!)

Many many many years ago, one of my best buddies and I were in the vicinity of Serangoon Road one afternoon and we decided to have lunch. He brought me to the famous Komala Villas (the old one at Buffalo Road and not the newer one along Serangood Road itself) and treated to me to thosai.
But not just any thosai.

My buddy, Raffiq, ordered for me a Ghee Masala Paper Thosai.
I'd always ordered just normal Masala Thosai in the past and it definitely used to be my favourite.
But - my life was changed forever that day.

And I know the extra ghee gives it the unhealthy edge so we should definitely enjoy it in moderation. But, I tell you, the few times that I DO have it, it's the bomb!

Now every time I have thosai, it has to be Ghee Masala Paper Thosai.
And I always went back to the Komala Villas at Buffalo Road because I knew I was guaranteed a delicious meal.

But recently, my darling wife told me that one of HER best buddies, Marina, recommended a new place to try some thosai. And it was just a stone's throw from Komala Villas.

Sri Kamala Vilas is just at the block opposite Tekka Market. It seems like a humble enough place but the food inside is waiting to take you for a delicious and sinful trip.
 

 Ghee Masala Paper Thosai ($4.80)

Okay first things first - what's the difference between a normal Thosai and a Paper Thosai.
Well, as the name implies, in the latter the thosai is 'paper thin' (just like the difference between a normal prate and a paper prata). A layer of the dough batter is scraped off while on the pan resulting in a thin crusty pancake known as the Paper Thosai. 

Now for those of you who have had Paper Thosai before, you will also know that it is very obviously bigger in size as compared to a normal thosai.

That picture seems like it's small right? Well that's just the camera angle so I could fit the whole thing in the frame. That Paper Thosai there is as long as my arm!

The thosai itself was very crispy and despite being 'paper thin', make no mistake - it will fill you up.
And the ghee which is drizzled on the batter as it cooks definitely gives it the extra 'kick' that many of us enjoy albeit a very unhealthy one.

Another important factor is the filling.
And this was one part that had me pondering quite a bit.

The masala filling at Sri Kamalas was different from most other places where I've had Masala Thosai.
It was a little more 'mashed-up' to put it one way. Most other places I went to had a more chunky texture to their masala where you can see the chunks of potato and carrots etc.

Make no mistake the masala was super tasty but it had more of a 'creamy' texture if I could put it that way.
And because I was so used to a more 'chunky' masala, my initial reaction was one of surprise.
But the more I think about it, maybe it wasn't so bad after all.

I guess one of the main advantages of having it this mashed-up is that it's not too dry!

Coconut Chutney, Spicy Coconut Chutney & Sambar

Of course you'll the usual assorted accompaniments all of which were tasty.
In fact, my darling wife seldom has the coconut chutneys but even she was going for it!
Wash it down with a nice cool Lassi to finish off the meal!

Adam's Verdict:

Ghee Masala Paper Thosai 4.5/5

Maryah's Verdict:

Ghee Masala Paper Thosai 4/5

Well after years upon years of going to Komala Villas, I finally have another place to go.
And to be perfectly honest, it's been quite a long time since I went to Komala Villas for a meal so it would not be fair to compare the 2 right now.
Maybe I sense a Food Battle on the way yes? :)

Well whatever your taste may be - normal or paper, ghee or masala, egg or plain - I seriously recommend you try out this place if you have not yet done so.

But I'm sure you thosai lovers will agree with me on the next statement...

 If it doesn't have one of these... it ain't a thosai joint!

Sri Kamala Vilas Restaurant

Blk 662 Buffalo Road
#01-16 (Opposite Tekka Market)

Operating Hours: 8.30am til 9.00pm daily





================================================
Updated 7 May 2013

Well it's looks like Sri Kamala Vilas has undergone a slight makeover!

They have renamed themselves to a simpler 'Kamala Restaurant'.
Not to worry, it's still at the same location. They've just done some minor renovations to clean up the place and make it a little more roomy.

And in case you were wondering, it's still Halal and the prices are still the same :)
In fact, I had another Ghee Masala Paper Thosai today and it seemed a little bigger! An absolute monster!

So head down soon and don't be shocked to see the new decor!