The word of the day is 'MUGHLAI'. Today's cravings were all about meat in Indian spices. We set our GPS on to the much recommended 'Coriander Leaf' and as Alex drove, I scanned through the menu online. I couldn't help but read out the one-line descriptions of each dish and we both were in near drool situations! Rich, Spicy and Ravishing Red pictures of the food was only adding to the rumbles in our tummies. By the time we got to our destination, we knew what we were going to eat.
Considering it was Saturday Noon, we were quite surprised to the find only one other table with guests. This got us a little nervous about our choice but we still took our seats thinking - why not give it a shot!
We were seated right next to the window with a view of a fountain pool. Joining us for company were a couple of pigeons and storks who were busy quenching their thirst while we watched. The tiles of the pool were broken and there was shallow dirty water which gave us an immediate impression of poor maintenance for a Vipul Enterprise. We've been to a couple of other restaurants owned by the same group 56 Italia and Jing and both were beautiful at night with the dim lighting and water floating down glass walls - although after seeing Coriander Leaf during the day, I have my doubts about the general maintenance around these properties.
The interior decor was minimal - yet classy, staff was dressed to impress and very courteous. We were welcomed with some refreshing cold towels and a chilled glass of 'Aam Panna' (a raw mango drink). For a hot summer day with temperatures anywhere between 40 and 45 degrees Celsius, this was all we needed to start our meal. They also served us a basket of 'Papad' , a thin, crisp, disc shaped snack accompanied with pickled onions and Coriander - Mint chutney (paste). As planned, regardless of how hungry we were, we refrained from eating too much of the snacks as we were eagerly awaiting the main course. But from what we tasted, each of the items including the drink were very well prepared and savoured by us.
The main course we ordered included the following
Murg Amber Biryani : Long grain rice cooked with succulent pieces of chicken flavoured with exotic spices and saffron
Nihari : Shanks of baby lamb infused with an exclusive mix of herbs and spices, which is originally a breakfast item and a specialty in Pakistan
Brain Curry : Mouth watering delicacy of lamb brain simmered in milk and tempered with light spices, garnished with juliennes of tomato and capsicum
*The descriptions are as given in the menu
Service was quick and the food came in piping hot. Alex and I, by now ravenous, got down to business. We started off with the Brain Curry accompanied with Rumali Roti - the Brain curry was melt in mouth and the flavours from spices were out of this world. After getting thoroughly satiated by the brain curry, we moved on.
Nihari which was recommended by the waiter, was quite disappointing The mutton pieces were literally drowned in oil/ghee which made the dish extremely heavy. Also, we had a little surprise addition in the dish 'A strand of Hair'!! This pretty much killed our apetite. Even though we have stomach's of steel, we do get cranky about these small things when we are paying top dollar for the meal.
We did complain to the staff regarding this and promptly our dish was replaced. They also made it a point to re-heat the Biryani and bring the two in together. This time 'all was good'. The Biryani was aromatic and had a plethora of very different flavours. The meats - Chicken & Mutton were tender and succulent. By the end of the meal - half aborted (rest packed), we were like stuffed chickens!
All in all we quite enjoyed the lunch and the 'left overs' dinner that followed.
Considering it was Saturday Noon, we were quite surprised to the find only one other table with guests. This got us a little nervous about our choice but we still took our seats thinking - why not give it a shot!
We were seated right next to the window with a view of a fountain pool. Joining us for company were a couple of pigeons and storks who were busy quenching their thirst while we watched. The tiles of the pool were broken and there was shallow dirty water which gave us an immediate impression of poor maintenance for a Vipul Enterprise. We've been to a couple of other restaurants owned by the same group 56 Italia and Jing and both were beautiful at night with the dim lighting and water floating down glass walls - although after seeing Coriander Leaf during the day, I have my doubts about the general maintenance around these properties.
The interior decor was minimal - yet classy, staff was dressed to impress and very courteous. We were welcomed with some refreshing cold towels and a chilled glass of 'Aam Panna' (a raw mango drink). For a hot summer day with temperatures anywhere between 40 and 45 degrees Celsius, this was all we needed to start our meal. They also served us a basket of 'Papad' , a thin, crisp, disc shaped snack accompanied with pickled onions and Coriander - Mint chutney (paste). As planned, regardless of how hungry we were, we refrained from eating too much of the snacks as we were eagerly awaiting the main course. But from what we tasted, each of the items including the drink were very well prepared and savoured by us.
The main course we ordered included the following
Murg Amber Biryani : Long grain rice cooked with succulent pieces of chicken flavoured with exotic spices and saffron
Brain Curry : Mouth watering delicacy of lamb brain simmered in milk and tempered with light spices, garnished with juliennes of tomato and capsicum
*The descriptions are as given in the menu
Service was quick and the food came in piping hot. Alex and I, by now ravenous, got down to business. We started off with the Brain Curry accompanied with Rumali Roti - the Brain curry was melt in mouth and the flavours from spices were out of this world. After getting thoroughly satiated by the brain curry, we moved on.
Nihari which was recommended by the waiter, was quite disappointing The mutton pieces were literally drowned in oil/ghee which made the dish extremely heavy. Also, we had a little surprise addition in the dish 'A strand of Hair'!! This pretty much killed our apetite. Even though we have stomach's of steel, we do get cranky about these small things when we are paying top dollar for the meal.
We did complain to the staff regarding this and promptly our dish was replaced. They also made it a point to re-heat the Biryani and bring the two in together. This time 'all was good'. The Biryani was aromatic and had a plethora of very different flavours. The meats - Chicken & Mutton were tender and succulent. By the end of the meal - half aborted (rest packed), we were like stuffed chickens!
All in all we quite enjoyed the lunch and the 'left overs' dinner that followed.
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