Restaurant d' Tandoor @ Damansara Utama, Petaling Jaya

Having not patronised this outlet in ages, I recently returned to this place about a month ago and being hooked to their food, I returned here again today and this time with my entire family. This place offers great food but at very steep prices. Yet, as food lovers, we are willing to pay the premium for good food and it is not surprising that this place is frequented by celebrities and political premiers too. To read my previous entry on this place, please click on this link: http://venoth.blogspot.com/2013/05/restaurant-d-tandoor-damansara-utama.html

Restaurant d' Tandoor in Damansara Utama

Their Menu

This restaurant offers predominantly various variety of food from the Indian sub-continent. They specialise in Mughal, North Indian, Pakistani and South Indian dishes. 

Table Decoration

Interior of the restaurant

Interior of the Restaurant

Us at the Restaurant

Us at the Restaurant

The service level is always excellent here. All their waiters have been with this restaurant for at least 10 years. Their attention is always swift. We were relatively early here tonight and that is why the restaurant seems quite empty. As time went on, by 9 pm, the restaurant was packed and people were literally queuing outside the restaurant for at least 30 to 45 minutes to get a table. Some even had to share tables with others. Must be the weekend. Even when the crowd was packed, all their staffs were handling the crowd very effectively.  

Papadam & Mint Chutney on the house

While waiting for the food to be delivered, we were served the above Papadam with Mint Chutney and this was on the house. A point worth mentioning here is that all their food is cooked upon order and this includes their deserts and cakes as well and hence some waiting time can be expected. They even have some specialty dishes, like the Biryani that I had the last time, may take up to three hours of cooking time and in those cases, it is best to call before hand and place your orders so that the waiting time is kept minimal. For us today, we had to wait around 40 minutes for the dishes to arrive. 

Plain Naan (Right) @ RM 4.50 & Garlic Naan (Left) @ RM 6.90

We ordered a whole load of Garlic and Plain Naans and I think we topped the above basket up at least three more times. The Plain Naan is charged at RM 4.50 each and the Garlic Naan at RM 6.90 each. The Naan's were really good, soft and tasty. I would rate the Plain Naan at 8.5/10 and the Garlic Naan at 9.5/10 . Although they were a bit pricey, they were still worth the price. End of the day, I think the bill for Naan's alone came to RM 60.00 +. That's a lot some may feel but there were five of us and when you multiply by the cost of a Naan, it is nothing much. 

Masala Pomfret Fish @ RM 45.50

This dish was super duper good. We literally cleaned the gravy off the plate. It is a single Pomfret Fish that has been perfectly fried with spices and comes with a heavenly gravy and is served on a hot plate. Although the price of RM 45.50 may seem expensive, once you try it, you would know that it is absolutely worth it. A fantastic dish and I would rate this dish at a perfect 10/10 .

Lamb Madrasi @ RM 25.90

The next dish that we ordered is a dish called Lamb Madrasi. It is typically Tamil style Lamb Curry. This dish is priced at RM 25.90 which is again on the high side for the small amount but they never failed to impress me with the taste. Do note that this preparation is extremely spicy and comes with loads of black pepper in it. The gravy was thick and goes very well as a side dish or even just like that with some Naan. The only setback was that there were merely 5 pieces of lamb in it and we are talking about really small chunks. The chunk size is smaller than the nail on my thumb. Although it is not clearly identifiable from the photo, this dish was just slightly larger than my palm size. Still, this dish was really delicious and I would rate it 9.5/10 .

Prawn Madrasi @ RM 29.90

This dish is the same as the above dish except that this has prawns in it but the base curry is exactly the same. I literally counted the number of prawns in this dish and altogether there were 4 pieces of small prawns. As there were 5 of us, I had to pass. The taste, was great and I don't have to repeat it as the gravy was the exact same as the previous dish. I would rate this dish at 9/10 . The half point down rating is because I did not get a prawn and my only recommendation would be to increase the number of prawns in the dish. Even a few would extra would not cost you much more as the dish is charged at a premium price. 

Dinner in Progress

Bru Coffee @ RM 6.50

Just as with any other Indian restaurant, it is almost customary that the meal must be ended with a cup of good coffee or tea and we choose to have Bru Coffee. I would say that their coffee was good and decently priced. I would rate this at 8.5/10 . 

Gulab Jamun @ RM 8.90

Their Gulab Jamun's were just made before they were served and they were still hot. Taste wise, it was extremely delicious and I would rate this at 9.5/10 .

Overall, this is a great family restaurant. The ambiance is excellent to have family dinners and they too have a huge dining hall upstairs which could be used for private functions. Though their price is on the high side, the food is surely delicious and addictive. Do check out their menu through their website which is stated below and discover their food offerings.But do note that the price shown on their website is the old price and this has been revised or shall I say increased. Some unique dishes are listed there as their specialty and some even require confirmation a day before for preparation. Definitely a must visit restaurant if you love Mughal food. 

Address: 52 Ground Floor, Jalan SS 21/62, Damansara Utama,
                  47400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.

Telephone: +603 7728 2020 & +6012 644 4970

Opening Hours: Sun - Thurs 1100 - 1500 & 1830 - 2230
                               Fri & Sat    1100 - 1500 & 1830 - 2300

Website:  http://www.dtandoor.com/home.html 

Red Onion @ Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur

Located in Jalan Telawi, Bangsar is this restaurant called Red Onion Restaurant that serves good Pakistani and Middle Eastern dishes. They are located towards the end of Jalan Telawi facing the houses and right beside the Dominos Pizza outlet. I first heard of this restaurant from a friend of mine who loves Pakistani and Afghan food and he strongly recommended this place to me. Having heard from a fussy diner like him means that this place must be surely good. 

Red Onion Restaurant in Jalan Telawi

Interior of the Restaurant

Interior of the Restaurant

As always, we had a great problem finding a parking bay. Jalan Telawi is an area that is buzzing with activity be it day or night. I have had to park at a distance and walk up to this restaurant. This restaurant is fairly new and has been designed beautifully. I specifically liked the extremely warm reception given at this restaurant by everyone there. The design and ambiance is also lovely and the tables are well spaced to give the diners some decent privacy in their conversations. There is also a TV that continuously plays Pakistani channels. 

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

Cutlery

The above are just photographs from some of the menu pages. They serve a wide variety of dishes which covers Pakistani, Arabic, Middle Eastern, Western and Afghan Cuisines. Not to forget they also offer a small number of Vegetarian dishes. I think their specialty lies specifically around the Pakistani, Arabic and Afghan Cuisines. This is based on my observation from the number of people in the restaurant ordering these dishes. It did not take us long to decide on the dishes as my friend had already recommended some good dishes here to try.

Chicken & Corn Soup @ RM 10.00

This was the first starters that came and Angie had ordered this dish. It is Chicken & Corn Soup, Pakistani Style. I tried this soup and my verdict is that it was absolutely great. It was lightly flavoured but with great amounts of black pepper and that makes it quite spicy. There is also some eggs in it. I have never tasted anything like this before in all the Pakistani restaurants that I have visited. It's simply fantastic. I would rate this at 10/10 .

Salad @ RM 10.00

Okey, yes I know what you are thinking. There was no photograph of this dish in their menu and I had ordered this Salad as the starters. I don't really know how to call this a salad but it is and it is priced at RM 10.00 . To me, this looks more like fresh ingredients that would be added into another dish while cooking and chili....that's a little too much. Maybe this is the Pakistani style? I do not know and because of that I would not rate this dish at all.

Naan Basket @ RM 10.00

This is by far one of the best Naan that I have ever tried. It was on the thick side and yet it was extremely soft and fluffy. The Naan Basket comes with two huge Naan breads. I would rate this at 9.8/10 .

Lamb Dopiaza @ RM 20.00

This is a Pakistani dish which is made out of Lamb and Onions in Gravy. It is not spicy but is was well spiced and was really good. The only setback which I felt was that the amount of lamb was a notch too little for the price paid but hey, this is Bangsar and everything is expensive here. Nevertheless, the dish was really good and went extremely well with the bread. I think it would be a good dish to have with rice too.  I would rate this at 8.8 / 10 .

Special Chicken @ RM 22.00

The above dish is called Special Chicken which is Chicken that is marinated overnight with Yoghurt and is then cooked with Salt, Pepper and spices along with some gravy. You can choose which part of the chicken that you want for this dish. It was a pretty good dish and not spicy although there was pepper added. The Yoghurt had been absorbed well into the chicken and has made it very soft. I would rate this dish at 8/10 . Between this and the previous lamb dish, it would prefer the previous. 

Angie All Set For Dinner

Pista @ RM 11.00

This was the desert that we had after dinner. It was typically Almond Pudding with nuts. Even between us, we had different opinions on this dish. Angie did not like this dish but I found it to be just okay. Well, it was not sweet enough and tasted somewhat like oats. I would rate this at 5.5 / 10 . 

Masala Tea @ RM 6.00

Just as the last touch for dinner, I ordered a cup of Masala Tea. It was not bad and came boiling hot. I know many would love it this way but I for one never like hot drinks to be too hot and so for me I had to wait for a while till it cooled down. But I know that most people would love their hot drinks really hot and this would be just perfect for them. I would rate this tea at 7/10 .

Their Other Outlets

I was surprised to learn that they have other outlets too in the Klang Valley and therefore the response from the public must be surely good. I find that their prices are slightly high for the portion size but the food is reasonably good. Another thing that I like about this place is that the owners and waiters keep coming to us asking about how the food was and if we had any complaints or recommendation. This is good customer service.  Definitely worth a try at least once.

Address: No. 4, Jalan Telawi, Bangsar Baru, 59100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Opening Hours: 1200 - 0000 Daily

Telephone: +603 2201 6674

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RedOnionBangsar

Restaurant D' Tandoor @ Damansara Utama, Petaling Jaya

Restaurant d' Tandoor is a name that is very famous in a number of countries including Malaysia for their Mughal Food. I last visited this restaurant when I was still a teenager and hence it is not my first visit although I cannot remember much of the dining experience then. This restaurant is located in Damansara Utama right beside ASTRO outlet and along the same row as the famous Copy Cats Photocopying Services. I know that during the day it would be almost impossible to get a parking here and that was the reason that we decided to do dinner.

Restaurant d' Tandoor @ Damansara Utama

The Door Shaped Like An Earthen Jar

As I can see, they have recently renovated this place and I think that had happened just a few months back. Their logo here seems to be the earthen jar as this design is repeated in many places from their drinking utensils to their business cards which you would be seeing shortly. As such, their door follows the same design too. As you can see from the banner hung out of their restaurant, they are also using this opportunity to celebrate their 21st anniversary by providing some great value meals. 

Recently Renovated Interior

Recently Renovated Interior

Photos with Tun Mahathir, Present Premier and Many Other VIP's 

It is a well designed restaurant and they have this wall of fame which has photographs with various VVIP's visiting their restaurant and this includes the present Prime Minister and Tun Dr. Mahathir. They definitely seem to have a good number of VIP customers. We were here early today and that is why you see that the restaurant is almost empty but as time passed, it was fully taken up and by 8.30 pm, most people had to go upstairs to their dining hall. I must say that the PR at this restaurant is fantastic. Right from the moment we stepped in, we were greeted and very cordially looked after. I guess in a high end restaurants like this, the two things that matter the most to customers are good food and great customer service.

The Menu

The Menu

Cutlery

Their Water Cups

Their menu is very comprehensive. It offers a wide range of Mughal food at slightly high prices. But once again, we have got to pay the price for quality right and anyone who pays a premium, would expect quality in return. Since it was just the three of us today, we decided to go for a huge platter of Briyani which is another story to tell and some gravy. I shall speak about these dishes in greater detail below.

Murg Mussalam Akhbari Set @ RM 75.90

Closer Look At The Chicken

This huge platter of Briyani you see above is a result of great innovation and culinary creativity. I am sure that this is not a traditional Mughal dish and was surely born out of this restaurants' kitchen. I shall tell you why. It is typically Chicken stuffed with Mutton and cooked in a great sweet and spicy Mughal style gravy and then served with Briyani Rice, Raisins and Cashew Nuts. This dish was designed for three good eaters. I must say that it gave an extremely unique taste and with each bite, the blended taste of chicken and mutton was really unique and delicious. The gravy blending in with the rice was again another heavenly experience. I must say that this is a fantastic dish. Though being priced slightly steep at RM 75.90, I would still be willing to pay that price just for the taste. My ratings for this dish would be 10/10 !

Prawn Madrasi @ RM 29.90

Close Look At The Prawns

The next dish that we ordered is a dish called Prawn Madrasi. It is typically Tamil style Prawn Curry. This dish is priced at RM 29.90 which is again on the high side for the small amount but they never failed to impress me with the taste. Do note that this preparation is extremely spicy and comes with loads of black pepper in it. The gravy was thick and goes very well as a side dish or even just like that with some Naan. The only setback was that there were merely less than 10 prawns in it and we are talking about really small prawns. Although it is not clearly identifiable from the photo, this dish was just slightly larger than my palm size. Still, this dish was really delicious and I would rate it 9/10 .

Bru Coffee @ RM 6.50

Just as with any other Indian restaurant, it is almost customary that the meal must be ended with a cup of good coffee or tea and we choose to have Bru Coffee. I would say that their coffee was good and decently priced. I would rate this at 8.5/10 . 

Other Outlets Around The Globe

Overall, this is a great family restaurant. The ambiance is excellent to have family dinners and they too have a huge dining hall upstairs which could be used for private functions. Though their price is on the high side, the food is surely delicious and addictive. Do check out their menu through their website which is stated below and discover their food offerings. Some unique dishes are listed there as their specialty and some even require confirmation a day before for preparation. Definitely a must visit restaurant if you love Mughal food. 

Address: 52 Ground Floor, Jalan SS 21/62, Damansara Utama,
                47400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.

Telephone: +603 7728 2020 & +6012 644 4970

Opening Hours: Sun - Thurs 1100 - 1500 & 1830 - 2230
                            Fri & Sat    1100 - 1500 & 1830 - 2300

Website: www.dtandoor.com