Bismillah Dum Biryani - The Best Dum Biryani in Singapore?

A recent weekday lunchtime saw me being adventurous and I instigated a few of my colleagues to follow me on this jaunt to unchartered territories i.e. Dunlop Street in the quest for the best Dum Biryani. Readers of this blog may remember my previous  post on Al Azhar's Dum Briyani. 

Anyway, the taxi meandered through the long and winding roads (thanks to all the road diversions caused by the construction of the yet to be finished downtime line MRT) finally getting to our destination - An unassuming shophouse unit opposite Fragrance Hotel at the junction of Perak Road and Dunlop Street. Unassuming if you discount the red banner on top of the shop that proclaims that if you do a google or yahoo search for the best Dum Briyani in Singapore, you would end up here. 

We made our way to the corner table in the back nearest to the kitchen area and waited patiently for our orders to be taken by an elderly chinese man, who was busy taking orders and bringing drinks to the occupied tables. This nearly had me doing a double-take to check if we were in the right location. My early apprehensions were laid to rest when I saw the Uncle bringing plates of Biryani and baskets of Papadums to the hungry customers. Those who know me, know how much I love Mutton so its a no-brainer that I ordered the Mutton Biryani while a few of my companions went for the Chicken Biryani.  Pictured below is the Mutton Biryani :

Quite a sizeable portion as you can see, the Basmati rice is garnished with Fried Onion slices and comes with a Hardboiled egg and a small saucer of yogurt chutney ( I think). You don't need to dig much to find the mutton, there were four big chunks of mutton encased in the rice. Close up of a Mutton piece below:

Now to the most important part: The taste!  At first glance and taste, you might think it resembles fried rice in some aspects. This rice is "deceptively" spiced i.e. the initial mouthfuls won't make you think it is spicy hot but it grows in intensity the more you eat, a slow burn. The Mutton, on the other hand, is so tender that it almost takes no effort to separate it into smaller pieces with your fork or spoon. The inner parts of the meat are slightly reddish. It is nicely spiced, not overly salty and has a slight sour taste (I'm guessing that there's yogurt in the marinade). The yogurt chutney helps to keep your tastebuds interested and prevent you from getting too "Gelak". Now complement this with papadums and you have a winning combination! You can definitely taste the effort involved in creating this dish. 

As a bonus, the dish is not oily and is probably the healthiest Biryani I've tried so far :)

My Colleagues who tried the Chicken Biryani also gave it the thumbs up. When we were paying up, the owner also recommended for us to try the Kebabs, not forgetting to put in the comment that Lonely Planet rated their Kebabs higher than their Biryani! Oh, more things to try in the future. Here's a view of the menu:

A word of warning that this is not the Biryani that most people are used to in Singapore, the kind where the meat is slathered in curry gravy. There is NO curry gravy, ok? The faster you can get that into your head, the better.  

Taste Verdict:  Definitely a keeper, if you love Dum Biryani, this place comes highly recommended.  The Mutton Dum Biryani is excellent but at S$9 a plate isn't cheap (Chicken Biryani is S$7) but considering the effort involved and the sizable portion, it is definitely worth a try. I give it 4 and a half out of 5 stars. Is it THE best Dum Briyani in Singapore? I can't say so till I've tried the competition. But as it stands, it is one worthy candidate.

Where: 

Bismillah Biryani

50 Dunlop Street (Located at the junction of Perak Road and Dunlop Street, opposite Fragrance Hotel)

Opening Hours: Daily: 11.30am–3pm, 5.30pm–10pm (Closed on Tuesdays)

    

   

Newsflash: Taiwan Instant Beef Noodles are OFFICIALLY back in Singapore!!!

To all fans of Taiwan Instant Beef Noodles (yep, the ones I mentioned in my earlier post), Kee Chiu!!! (Raise your hands in the air in Hokkien dialect). Let me show you a picture that will bring a smile to your face..TA-DAH!!

I spotted this in NTUC Fairprice AMK this evening and just had to share this with all those who have been deprived of this locally for so long. Most of us had to depend on friends or family or ourselves going to Taiwan and importing whole cartons back. Others resorted to paying people who made a business out of parallel importing these noodles to cash in on this niche in order to get their fix. Well ladies and gentlemen, wait no longer, rush down to a Fairprice closest to you to see if they have it in stock.

For so long, we have been deprived of this that I felt a great sense of liberation! I'm not sure if this is a temporary arrangement or here to stay, all I can advise is grab it while stocks last!! Yes, it is pricier than before at S$3.75 a bowl (a 50% increase over the price it sells for in Taiwan) but isn't it worth your while to get it here and save more space in your luggage to bring back other nice stuff from Taiwan the next time you are there? :-)
Price : S$3.75 per bowl
Where: NTUC Fairprice supermarkets (depending on availability)

K-Cup accessories: Refillable Cup options for Keurig brewers

K-Cup enthusiasts that are not convinced by Keurig's own My K-Cup Reusable Coffee Filter and don't want to go through the trouble of modding it to work properly with your own coffee on your Keurig Coffee brewer have other options available.

2 of these options are
1. Solofill Refillable K-Cup:

2. Ekobrew Refillable K-Cup:


Those pondering on whether to give it a go, now's a good time to try as Amazon is having a sale on Ekobrew - an additional 10% off  if you enter the code EKOBREW2 at checkout. Offer till15 Feb 2012. (see link below)
Additional 10% off Ekobrew Refillable Cup for Keurig brewers

Personally, I have not tried any of these options so I'm not sure whether they are as good as they claim to be. Perhaps if you do try, you can enlighten me by posting your experience as a comment to this post.

Al-Azhar Eating Restaurant: Chicken Dum Biryani

A hidden gem tucked away in a row of shophouses opposite Bukit Timah Shopping Centre is a 24 Hour Indian Food place that goes by the Moniker of Al-Azhar.

A few weeks ago, my colleagues and I had just finished jogging at West Coast Park and were looking for a place to have dinner. One of my colleagues then suggested us to try Indian Food at this place he usually goes to.

I don't usually hang out at Bukit Timah so I wasn't even aware that there was this row of shophouses that housed lots of eating places. From the open carpark, we walked across a small lane and walked down another lane till we came to the said place. At first glance, it looked like most Indian Food / Prata Places except there is an extensive menu of drinks and western food along with usual Pratas, Curries and Naans.

On our colleague's recommendation, I plunked for the Chicken Dum Biryani and my other colleague went for the Mutton Dum Biryani. So much for our exercise :D For Dum Biryani, unlike the usual Briyanis we get in Singapore where the meat is cooked separately in curry and then added to the rice when ordered, the meat (chicken or mutton) is seasoned with spices and flavours and cooked together with the Basmati rice over coals. That way the flavors are locked in and the meat is supposed to be tender and moist.

Frankly I didn't have my hopes up on how it would turn out. Needless to say I wasn't disappointed:

As you can see, the serving is pretty large for one person. The Basmati rice and chicken were housed in this large metal bowl together with a Hard-boiled egg. It was accompanied by a yogurt salad and curry. Taste wise, you could tell that the Chicken was really cooked together with the rice. The full flavoured spicy chicken was tender and it went really well with the biryani rice. Excellent! My other colleague  also loved the Mutton variation and said he could even share it with the wife. Let's take closer look at the Biryani again:

I washed down the Biryani with a Soursop drink which wasn't too bad. 

Less calories than a Lassi (or so I hope).

Taste Verdict: I give the Chicken Dum Biryani  a 4 out of 5 rating. More than decent portions, tender and well flavoured meat and fragrant rice. Definitely worth a try if you are in the area. The Soursop drink was not bad but nothing to really shout about. If I remember, the total meal costs about $11. Biryani costs about S$8 or S$9.  

Where:  11 Cheong Chin Nam Road (Opposite Bukit Timah Shopping centre)

              (Open 24 hours)

Afternote: No, I haven't dropped off the face off the earth, the last few months since I last blogged have been about change in more ways than one. 2 major changes: I changed my job and my Windows Notebook was replaced with a Mac Mini. I have long been planning to write about other stuff too so I kicked off a new blog http://tech0nme.blogspot.com to give me a platform to write about gadgets and stuff. Do check it out ! I will definitely try to post more articles as I can. Thanks and Happy Lunar New Year to all! 

Bakery (Penang): Soon Hiang Tau Sar Pneah(Tambun Biscuit)

If you have been to Penang, Malaysia, you would probably be familiar with their famous Tau Sar Pneah (Hokkien for Mung Bean biscuit). These are circular balls made of layers of thin puff pastry stuffed with Mung Bean filling, a mix of dried mung beans fried together with shallots in lard oil. Some shops have substituted the lard with vegetable oil to cater to the health conscious, which kind of dumbs down the taste. The most famous brands are Him Heang and Ghee Hiang. 
In a trip to Penang last year, while surfing for more information in my hotel room, I came across this website which described a small shop that does things the traditional way and I decided to take a chance and check out this place. 
Located along a row of 2 storey shophouses. We were met at the door by a matronly auntie who spoke in Hokkien and spoke with great pride about her products. She even gave samples of the biscuit to try. Fresh from the oven, the fragrance of the shallots and lard oil was permeating the air with a wonderful aroma. Needless to say we bought a few boxes from her.  
Fast forward to this year, my friend from Penang came back with a box of her mung bean biscuit and a bag of Beh Teh Soh so we could relive the experience.
Tau Sar Pneah

	Taste Verdict: Layers of soft pastry encase the sweet and salty Mung Bean Filling which retains the distinct flavour of the shallots and lard oil. Yum! However I do find the filling a little too sweet.

Beh Teh Soh
This was supposed to be the sideline but for me, it stole the show from the Tau Sar Pneah. Beh Teh Soh is a bigger, UFO shaped biscuit with layers of crumbly pastry and with a thin layer of sweet molasses at the bottom.

	Taste Verdict: The pastry is nice and crumbly. The molasses filling is soft and sticky and you can taste a slight onion taste. Heavenly! This is unlike most of the ones we have in Singapore which have an extremely hard filling. Note to self is to try to sample the best Beh Teh Sohs from Malacca which are quite famous too.

So next time you are in Penang, you might want to drop by this home run business to try some. Just a tip that since that time last year, its popularity has grown and my friend's advice is to call up a few days in advance if you want to buy more than 1 box from them.

Where: 36 Jalan Kuantan 10150 Penang. 
Tel No: 04-229 5799


Directions: From KOMTAR shopping complex, drive along Jalan Datuk Keramat past Gama Supermarket (which should be on your left). After Gama, keep an eye out for Jalan Kuantan on your left. It is a small lane just off the main road. Turn into the lane and look for no. 36 (the house/shop should also be on your left) 

Restaurants: Villa Di Parma

Formerly the restaurant known as Ristorante de Parma, Villa Di Parma serves Italian Home-style cuisine. About a month ago, my wife brought me here for dinner on my birthday. Excuse the grainy photos, the place is quite dimly lit and posed a challenge to my trusty Samsung Galaxy S2 phone camera.
Foccacia

The complimentary Foccacia and Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar was a pleasant combination. The bread was nice and crisp and paired nicely with the dip.  

Deep Fried Calamari Rings

We decided on what we thought was a safe starter. The version cooked up here is one which comes lightly battered and accompanied by a tomato based sauce. It isn't the extremely crispy version that most of us expect but the freshness of the Calamari and its slightly chewy texture makes you want to have more.      
Smoked Salmon Pizza
From what my wife read up on forums and reviews, this is one of the recommended signature dishes. 

Don't be alarmed if you think they forgot to heat it up for you. We did ask the waitress just to be sure so you can be spared the blushes. They make the dough fresh and bake it on the spot. Then they actually leave the crust to cool before adding the Smoked Salmon and creamy sauce that keeps the Salmon on the thin crispy crust and top it off with onions and olives. Think of it as smoked salmon on a biscuit. Found it rather refreshing and quite tasty.

Seafood pasta

I can't remember the actual name of the dish (one year older and one year closer to Dementia) but I believe it is a variant of Seafood Marinara served with Linguine. The sauce is slightly spicy and comes with servings of scallops, prawns, mussels and squid. Not bad but not mind blowing though.
Tiramisu
Most people have high expectations whenever it comes to this dessert. While  the version served here doesn't disappoint, it also doesn't dazzle either. A overall decent attempt to round off the meal.

Verdict: Nice, cosy ambience where one can have a hearty italian meal with wine and good conversation. For Food, budget about S$50 per pax (more depending on what wine you decide to have)

Where: VILLA DI PARMA

14B KENSINGTON PARK ROAD, SERANGOON GARDENS.
TEL: 6281 3380, 6280 1096. 
CLOSED ON WED, EXCEPT ON THE EVE OF A PUBLIC HOLIDAY.


Check out their website: Villa Di Parma

Fast Food Escapades: The Bratwurst Shop @ Plaza Singapura

Tucked away in basement 2 of Plaza Singapura Shopping Centre, opposite Carl's Junior, sandwiched(pun intended) in between "Chippy" and another stall which I can't quite remember, lies this no-frills joint that serves up hot dogs and sandwiches. From what I read up on the net, this shop has Aussie roots, being somewhat linked to a famous stall in Melbourne.   

As the name of the shop proclaims, the sausages served here are mainly Bratwursts or at least the SIZE of bratwursts. Wikipedia defines a Bratwurst as a sausage usually composed of veal, pork or beef but I did notice some of the sausages sold here are stuffed with chicken. I have patronised them before in the past and did notice that in recent years, the menu has changed i.e. less variety but it's still worth trying. Just don't expect a huge sitting area, picture a few tables with red PVC upholstered seats. This time around my wife and I dropped by during dinner and ordered the following:
The Big "Brekky"  
My wife went for the Big "Brekky" which is a Breakfast platter that is offered all day.

 A hearty meal consisting of 2 sunny side-up eggs, 2 grilled tomatoes, 2 triangular slices of toast, sauteed mushrooms, a few thick slices of ham (or bacon? meat doesn't have much fat so I'm guessing it's ham) and 1 sausage. Priced reasonably at S$10.90. You get a choice of 5 sausages and have the option to upgrade it to a "Jumbo" sized sausage by topping up S$1. I chose the Black Pepper Chicken sausage from the 5, which would've been better if it was less salty. Overall, a very satisfying combo and it makes the McDonald's "Big" breakfast look like a Kid's meal.
Mushroom Swiss burger
This time around I decided to try a burger instead and opted for the Mushroom Swiss Burger.

The burger by itself costs S$8.90 and for S$2.90 you can top up to get fries and a drink. The mushrooms did not stand out but the thick beef patty(slightly pink in the centre) with a nice grilled flavour more than made up for it. The fries tasted like they were coated in batter to make them more crispy but were an adequate complement to the meat. One good thing going for it is it doesn't have the mass produced burger taste that you get from fast food joints like Burger King and Carl's Junior. 

Taste Verdict: Like what I've tried here so far. Above average fare from a no frills joint at prices that are not exactly cheap. However, with substantial servings like this, you can't really complain especially when compared with other fast food joints that raise prices and reduce the size of their burgers/servings. 


Where: Bratwurst Shop, 68 Orchard Road, #B2-39C Plaza Singapura
Tel: +65 6884 4093
Opening Hours: Daily: 8.30am – 10.00pm