Now I must admit Bukit Jalil is not an area I frequent much. But then I heard about this Indian restaurant there that serves a good variety of both Northern and Southern Indian favourites and thus, we made our way there.
Opened just last year in this rather quiet neighbourhood, Mallikas Restaurant occupies a middle lot in one of the few rows of shops in the Bukit Jalil commercial area. Inside, its fuss-free set-up was clean and simple with efforts and resources focusing on the food served. The menu listed an impressive array of dishes – in fact, I was thinking maybe the list was a bit too ambitious.
Most of the time, the friendly and amiable owner, Robert Durai would be present and he’s always more than happy to recommend suitable dishes for his customers. So based on his suggestions, we settled ourselves for a grand feast.
Because Cream of Tomato Soup (RM7) is seldom on the menu of an Indian restaurant, we decided to give it a try. Made from fresh tomatoes, the soup was refreshing and tasty, its tangy overtones readying us for the rest of the dishes.
The Goat Leg Marrow Soup (RM9) sounded intriguing and I was a wee bit disappointed to find out that it’s just the regular “sup kambing”. Touted as a South Indian mutton speciality favoured by family gatherings, the soup was just average.
Next, we had a vegetarian appetizer – Gobi 65 (RM12.50) which was blanched florets of cauliflower, coated with spiced batter and deep-fried twice.
We totally enjoyed the Mutton Barra Kebab (RM18) – spiced lamb chops gently roasted in the tandoor oven. The lamb was marinated with a good mix of spices which had fully seeped into the meat, resulting in deep flavours that’s hard not to like. We polished off every morsel from the bones.
Chicken 65 (RM15) popular South Indian dish – chunks of chicken marinated in red spiced batter and deep-fried. This was similar to the Gobi 85. What’s commendable was that the breast fillet weren’t dry or chewy at all and when eaten hot, it’s actually very good!
Palak Paneer (RM16) – cubes of soft paneer simmered with spinach, gently spiced, made creamier with cashew nuts. This North Indian delight has always been a must-order thing with us.
At this point we had to have some naans and paratha to go with the palak paneer and chicken dishes coming up. Malikkas’ naans were really good – soft and fluffy textures that won us over.
If you love cheese, go for the Cheese Naan (RM7); otherwise the Plain Naan (RM4.50) was good for me.
Cheese Naan (RM7)
Paratha (RM6): despite its appearance, this paratha was really soft and tasty!
We had a variety of chicken dishes cooked in spiced gravy to go with the naans and paratha. We had Chicken Tikka Masala, Chicken Kurma and Kanchi Koli Kolambu. Of the 3, my favourite was the Kanchi Koli Kolambu for its delicate flavours as the spices, chilli and ginger garlic paste were cooked in coconut water. What’s even more unique was the addition of “drumsticks” – those thick beans commonly used in Indian cooking.
Chicken Tikka Masala (RM17) – roasted chicken cooked in orange-colored spicy creamy sauce
Chicken Kurma (RM17) – coconut, yoghurt, poppy seeds, nuts and spices
Kanchi Koli Kolambu (RM16) – a rustic South Indian curry of chicken cooked in coconut water with spices, ginger garlic paste, chilli and drumsticks
We had another lip-smacking mutton dish – the Mutton Chukka (RM18). It’s a dry-fry dish where the mutton chunks had been well-cooked in a variety of aromatic spices and lots of curry leaves.
Mutton Chukka – a popular Chettinad dish – dry & spicy!
Seeing seafood on the menu, we just had to try the Malabar Prawn Curry (RM18.50) and of course the Crab Masala (RM19.50). The prawn curry was thick and creamy, cooked Kerala-style. The crab masala was served as how a good masala dish should be – smothered with spices and a good mix of aromatics.
Malabar Prawn Curry – Kerala creamy coconut milk based prawn curry
Crab Masala – medley of spices and aromatics
On top of all the above dishes, we tried and absolutely loved their Paper Roast (RM10) – it was so crispy and light! We also tried the Chicken Biryani (RM16.50) – a substantial portion for the price – have this only if you are not ordering much of the other dishes!
Paper Roast
Gulab Jamun
Keseri – semolina cooked with spices, raisins and cashew nuts
So if you are looking for an Indian restaurant that serves tasty Northern and Southern Indian cuisines at affordable prices, go check out Mallikas.
MALLIKAS RESTAURANT
5-10-G Jalan Jalil Perkasa 14
Aked Esplanad
Bukit Jalil
57000 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-8998-1718
Open 10am till 10pm daily
website: www.mallikasrestaurant.com