A bunch of us decided that we should have a big Indian dinner and we picked out one in Little India. Khansama Tandoori Restaurant is highly rated on Tripadvisor and it was not surprising to see lots of tourists here.
They had lots of interesting carvings as part of the decor, which adds a lot to the Little India atmosphere, touristy as it may be.
We started with some drinks – I liked the jaljeera here. It’s a salty, minty lemonade spiked with cumin that’s a bit of an acquired taste. Most drink it expecting a sweet drink and the swamp-like colour doesn’t really add to the appeal. I like its refreshing flavour and change from the usual over-sugared carbonated drinks.
It’s topped off with crunchy fried dough bits, so you need to eat that quickly before it gets soggy.
For starters we had a chicken kebab platter with different kinds of marinade. My favourite was a dark green one with spinach in it. The spinach smoothed the spices nicely, paving the way for the main course.
We also had some side dishes, like the palak paneer, a must-have for me when having anything tandoori. I love the smooth spicy spinach paste that goes so well with the curd cheese.
We also had a mushroom curry which was OK (I don’t even remember what it is!), at least we got some fibre in the meal.
The naan was pretty good, but the roti less so. I liked the light texture and fragrance.
And then came the star of the show – the Sikandar Ran, a whole roasted leg of lamb. It’s hard to see exactly how big it is because they gave us a massive knife to cut the massive leg.
It was quite an interesting experience to tuck into such a big portion of meat, but I found it a bit tough and poorly seasoned for my taste. The marinade on the outside was mainly just chilli hot and nothing else. A pity given our high hopes.
Still, some people enjoyed it, like DC. Here he’s happily gnawing on one of the bones, so you can see how big it is.
Khansama Tandoori Restaurant
166 Serangoon Road
Tel: +65 6299 0300
We next headed off for dessert and popped into Komala Villas. Since there wasn’t any space in the restaurant, we took it away and enjoyed it over some TV at Eeyore’s place.
They were generally sweet and floury and nutty, and we forgot the names once leaving the place. The only truly memorable one was the sour jalebi: see the orange swirled pastry in the picture. I liked how it was like a sweet fried pretzel soaked in sour syrup. Very moreish after a heavy dinner.
Komala Vilas: Sweets and Savouries
82 Serangoon Road
Tel: +65 6294 3294
eat. drink. cook. travel. 