Of claypot briyani and badam milk
I am sooo full, I regret eating. So, let me see if I can ease my indigestion by blogging about the dinner I just had about three hours ago. It is already three hours and I am still choking with badam milk and mutton briyani. Regret, regret, regret.
Initially, we went to Chulia Street (I think) because we wanted to try the kari itik nila from Kassim Mustafa. However, I found that they only sell on Saturday and Sunday. Lawrence told me the duck curry is good but I must go around 8 pm or they will be sold out the moment they take out the dish.
Since there is no duck curry, hubby suggested Kapitan because he said the Kapitan in Bandar Perda, Butterworth has mixed grill with its naan. However, the Kapitan here only have tandoori chicken. So, I ordered the item most advertised, i.e. claypot briyani. I am never a fan of flavoured rice like nasi minyak, nasi lemak, nasi briyani or anything kind which has its own taste because I find that too filling. The rice is not even served in any claypot but a metal container like a cake tin.
Meanwhile, my son ordered the tandoori chicken set with butter naan. I prefer the tandoori at Kassim Mustafa in Jalan Burmah.
They have a pullcart selling badam milk. I like badam milk or almond milk. However, the one at Kapitan is soo thick, so rich and full of cashew nuts, raisins and don’t know what skin, like foo chook (soyabean skin) it made me sooo full. Adoi lah…I hope I don’t develop lactose intolerance and squirm on the floor tonight. Sometimes, if I eat some wrong kind of foods, I can get tummy ache so severe, I can faint. The badam milk is rather nice. But not to be drank with a rich meal like briyani mutton or else you will suffer like a python which had swallowed an animal ten times its’ size.
The pushcart which prepares all kind of healthy drinks like Milo with raw egg, tongkat ali tea and don’t know what kind of ’strengthening coffee’.
Kapitan does not serve the tastiest foods but they have a wide range of things not found at other mamak stalls. They have a few outlets in Penang and one of them is at Gurney Hotel at Gurney Tower, next to Starbucks. The one I ate is at Chulia Street, Penang.
Now, I have to find a way to get my food digested or else I can’t sleep. How?
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Invited Review | Karaikudi Restaurant @ Market St – Part 2
We had the opportunity to attend a at Karaikudi Restaurant at Market Street last week and the experience of dining at this Indian Restaurant is something different compared to other reviews we have done. Despite having quite a lot of Indian Restaurants or eating outlets in Penang, we have to admit that we have less exposure about Indian Cuisine and there are still a lot of interesting facts about Indian food that we have not found out.
In the second part of the Invited Review, we will showcase the rest of the dishes that we have that time and save the best for last, a home made recipe (although not from Karaikudi) that gives us a lasting, “sizzling” impression. 
The three dishes that we had that time, clockwise from bottom left; Mutton Chukka Varuval, Chettinad Potato Masala and Ladies Finger Pepper Fry. Notice that all the dishes were put on the same type of container, called “kadai“.
Kadai in this case, refers to the cooking pot which the dishes are prepared and normally bigger in size. The smaller ones as shown here are used for serving instead. The loop shaped handles make the kadai easy to carry.
This dish is a favourite among the food bloggers during the review until we actually requested the second portion Ladies Finger Pepper Fry (RM7.00). It is quite chewy and some say it is “quite Q (the Cantonese version)”. The pepper taste for this dish is not as strong as the mutton dish.
The dish in slight yellowish is a simple dish that every other cuisine will have as well. The indian version of “telur goreng” or scrambled egg is Egg Podimass (RM4.00). Huat Koay said this is the first time he had noticed the Indian scrambled eggs dish. Taste wise, you have guessed it, just like scrambled eggs.
Kadai Vegetable (RM9.00) contains assorted vegetable cooked in rich gravy. Some dishes uses Kadai to indicate the dish is prepared using this type of cooking pot.
Chettinad Potato Masala (RM6.00) is a good dish to have with either the naan or dosai. The masala sauce and potato taste good with the potato being soft and easy to chew with the bread.
Squid Fry (RM8.00) is definitely different from the that we have been tasting at the Malay outlets. The Malay version is just squids fried with flour but for the squid fry here is dipped in spicy batter before being fried and the red colour is just part of the spices used.
The squid has some spicy taste which makes it interesting than the conventional ones and we also squeeze some lime juice on top which taste very nice and totally different. Just like any other fried squids, it must be consumed as soon as it is served or it will harden the longer it is exposed to air.
The lamb dish is always Tam Ciak’s favourite but Fei Fei will always keeps a distance because of its pungent smell. Yet with Mutton Chukka Varuval (RM18.00), we feel surprised when we noticed Fei Fei keeps taking pieces of the mutton for himself.
The Mutton Chukka Varuval has the pepper spiciness that can be quite strong which is the reason the lamb smell is not that dominant anymore. The meat is quite tender and easy to chew and comes in the dry curry type which is just excellent.
If you have eaten banana leave meals before, this is probably something you have experienced. Each of us was given a large stainless steel plate to put our dishes. All the dishes mentioned above were served to us one at a time and every when the waiter scoop the dishes onto our plate, they will mention the name of the dish to us, to tell us what we were having at that time.
Sometimes it may be hard to understand or to catch the name of the dish because of their heavy Indian accent, we have to ask them repeat a few times, even to the extend of spelling the dish. Yet, they are more than willing to educate us especially on the Indian terms used to make sure we understand them. Yes, the service and hospitality offered by staffs of Karaikudi Restaurant are quite welcoming.
Nickname “the Indian Pizza” is Chettinad Special Dosai (RM4.00). How special can it be? Well, this is actually a “thosai” that all of us commonly know of (besides the chapati and puri).
Chettinad Special Dosai comes in a very colourful topping that we feel it looks more suitable for culinary contest. With topping ingredients like chopped coriander (yes, they use a lot here), onions, potato, chili flakes etc, it combines the usual slight sour “thosai” taste with these ingredients and taste just wonderful.
Before being served with the final dessert, we were served with Chettinad Filter Coffee (RM2.80) to neutralize our tongue and to wash away all the remaining flavours that still exist in the mouth. Unlike other types of coffee, the fragrance of Chettinad coffee can be smelled in close proximity. Also, there is heavy use of milk in this coffee that it taste more like latte than kopi O.
The “eruption” feeling of the night was the Karaikudi’s signature dessert, Sizzling Brownie (RM10.00). The sizzling brownie is in fact a creation from the wife of the owner of Karaikudi Restaurant. All of us were excited seeing the ice cream brownie being served and all the bloggers were quickly, happily snapping the pictures because the ice cream melts fast.
The sizzling brownie looks like molten lava erupted from volcano with the chocolate sauce on top of the melting ice cream flowing down while the base where the brownie and cashew nuts are at the hot plate look hot and boiling, creating a sizzling effect which spills all over towards the surrounding. Notice the smoke effects going upwards on top of the ice cream…
Once the sizzling effect settles down, it is time to savour this delicious brownie with every spoon ends with “MMmmmmm“, “Aaaahhhhhhh“, giggling and laughing, re-enacting our childhood behaviours seeing those sweet delicacies. The sizzling brownie is just the right dish to leave a lasting impression of dining at Karaikudi Restaurant.
The GPS coordinate as shown (N 05° 24.992? E100° 20.442?) or map at below
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By Invitation: Karaikudi Restaurant at Market Street, Little India
My family and I eat regularly at , but we’ve never gone to the original outlet at Market Street. I’ve always enjoyed the food there which serves Chettinad cuisine and immediately said yes when the invitation came in from PenangTuaPui. I was excited to see what the original outlet had to offer! The menu for the night mainly focused on South Indian cuisine and we were told that the food is cooked fresh everyday!
First up to whet our appetite was a Chettinad style Vegetable Soup (RM3). It was a light clear soup with cauliflower, carrots and french bean. The soup was a great start to the meal! We were told that the soup had a yellow tinge due to the use of dhall.
Next up was Bitter Gourd Chips (RM6). This was a surprise as it was sliced really thin and crispy to the taste! I’m not a big fan of bitter gourd though cos I don’t like the bitterness and this was plenty bitter!
The Squid Fry (RM8) was dish I really enjoyed. Squids are very easy to overcook. But there was no sign of hard rubbery squids here. Even after it cooled down substantially from all the photography, the squids were still nice and tender.
Meanwhile, the chicken cutlet (RM6 for 2 pieces larger than the photo above) is easily my favourite appetizer of the lot. The cutlets were very flavorful thanks to the generous use of spices with a slight tinge of heat to it. And there were also very soft with a slight crisp edge. I would definitely order this again!
The luciously thick Mango Lassi (RM4 – comes in a bigger glass than the photo)
The Ladies Finger Pepper Fry (RM7) was an instant hit! The ladies fingers were finely chopped and had a surprising chewy texture. The generous but not overboard use of black pepper gives the dish its zing. I’ve never had ladies fingers cooked in such a delicious manner!
The Kadai Vegetable (RM9) was an assorted vegetable dish cooked in a rich slightly spicy gravy. I tasted beancurds, tomatoes and lots of button mushrooms in the dish. We were told that Kadai is the big vessel that is being used to cook the dish, hence the name.
The Mutton Chukka Varuval (RM18) is another one of Karaikudi’s specialities. This turned out to be the spiciest dish of the night. But I loved it! The mutton pieces were scrumptiously tender and very well marinated with spices. I wouldn’t hesitate to order this again as I found it paired very well with naan bread.
Next was the Chettinad Potato Masala (RM6) which was a mild dish. It would go well with the spicy mutton dish too! I liked the fact that the potatoes here were not too mushy so there was still a bite to it.
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