TRILOGY – a Pakistani Treat in the city

Speaking to Sunita Hariramani, one can’t help but gets affected by her love and passion for Pakistani cuisine.  A much-travelled entrepreneur, Sunita who’s a Pakistani through and through, decided to set roots in Kuala Lumpur by setting up Trilogy.  The tri-factors in the name refer to the “restaurant”, “bar” and “hostel” – the latter is now being converted to karaoke rooms instead.  The bar is located on the upper level and is a very happening watering-hole in the evenings.

The restaurant on the ground floor encompasses a spacious al fresco dining area where diners can watch how their meaty seekh kebabs and chicken bihari are cooked on an open charcoal grill.  The chefs at Trilogy are all from Pakistan as Sunita is particular about serving authentic Pakistani food to her diners.  I may not be the best person to tell whether the dishes served are truly authentic but I do know the chefs take great pride in cooking their specialities with the skills they possess.

Pakistani food is similar to northern Indian food and yet different.  The differences may not be very apparent; in fact they can be rather subtle as most of the spices used are also present in northern Indian cuisine.  The delicate variations were from the cooking methods and cultural heritage.  Pakistani cuisine is diverse and full of abundant variety due to the influences of its western Afghan-Iranian and eastern Indian neighbours.  Tasting a variety of dishes at Trilogy recently, I got a delicious introduction to what Pakistani food is about.

Fresh from the hot embers of the open charcoal grill, the Chicken (RM22.90) and Mutton (RM27.90) Seekh Kebabs were mouth-watering even from the aroma alone.  The minced meat were grilled wrapped around thick skewers and then removed and served on plates.  Marinated well with a variety of spices, the kebabs were really good.

The Paneer Tikka (RM19.90) – chunks of grilled spiced cottage cheese were excellent.  Sprinkled with spices before being grilled, the tastes and texture of the cheese were superb and bowled me over, who is not a great fan of cheese.

I experienced fire on the tongue from their Batata Wada (RM9.90) – deep-fried potato cutlets so fiery that die-hard chilli lovers would adore.  Just caution them on the chilli level according to your tolerance.

On the other hand, the spice level of their Chicken Bihari (RM15.90) was just nice.  Tender and juicy, those pieces of grilled chicken were well marinated with mustard oil and chilli flakes and were so good that we nearly ordered a second portion.

We ordered some Kandhari Naan (RM5.90) and Garlic Naan (RM4.90) and this was where the difference from northern Indian naans was clearly noted.  Unlike northern Indian naans which are mainly thicker  and more fluffy, Pakistani naans are thinner and denser in texture.  The shapes were a bit different too, especially the Kandhari Naan which was huge and pulled to an elongated oval-shape.

To go with the naans, we had a good variety of other Pakistani dishes like Fish Hara Masala (RM17.90) – fish cooked in a delightful spicy creamy mint sauce and Palak Gosht (RM19.90) – mutton cubes simmered till tender in spices and spinach.

We adored the Butter Chicken (RM19.90), an additictive concoction of chicken in a creamy butter and tomato sauce with a wonderful nutty nuance, thanks to the addition of cashew nuts.  Equally good was the Khadai Chicken (RM17.90) which looked more lethal but was actually not – it’s chicken cooked in a mildly spicy tomato sauce.

Their vegetarian options were delicious too – don’t miss out the  Dadka Dhall and my favourite Bindhi Baingan Sabzi (RM16.90), a lovely dish of mixed okra and eggplant cooked in tomatoes.

If you love biryani, check out their Pakistani version which is served not with curry (serving it with curry seems to be norm only in Malaysia!) but just a yoghurt chutney and some tangy raita.

Traditional desserts came in the form of Gulab Jamun (RM10.90) – fried dumplings dipped in sugar syrup, Gajar Ka Halwa (RM10.90) – custard made of carrots and of course, the popular Kulfi.   These would be a good wrap-up of a satisfying spicy meal here in Trilogy.

 

TRILOGY
50 Jalan Raja Abdullah
50300 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2602-3411

*Pork-free

Website: www.trilogy.com.my