Sentral Chappati House @ Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur

Sentral Chappati House is the very first Chapati House to open it's doors in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur. They started their business in May 2002 and since then, they have just been growing in terms of their customer base. Although there are many new Chapati houses in Brickfields these days, these guys are very much still dominating the Punjabi food scene. This restaurant is located along Jalan Thambapillai which is the street that runs parallel to Jalan Tun Sambanthan. I have always wanted to try the food here and it was only this afternoon that I had the opportunity. 

Sentral Chappati House Located Along Jalan Thambapillai

Punjabi Sweets

Freshly Made Chapati's

The front of the restaurant is where the Chapati's were being prepared. As always the place was almost full house and the worker's were busy preparing fresh Chapati's for the customers. Besides this, they also had a number of Punjabi sweets displayed in a glass cabinet at the entrance. 

Punjabi Curries and Some Tea Time Cakes

Punjabi Curries

Punjabi Curries and Some Tea Time Cakes

The food station was also located at this very place. The practice here is that one collects the Chapati's, selects the curries and then goes in to the air-conditioned dining area. Very much this is a self service restaurant as far as the food goes. Only drinks are sent over to the tables once you place your orders inside. All the curries looked very good and these were prepared in the authentic Punjabi style of cooking. Both vegetarian and non vegetarian dishes were available but they were not segregated into two different areas. I doubt if this would be an issue with most people. Too many choices actually and after having finally decided what to eat, I selected the food items and then moved over to the dining hall.

Air-Conditioned Dining Hall

Air-Conditioned Dining Hall

The place was clean and comfortable. Waiters were very busy with customers, nevertheless they were quick to attend to customers needs. For example, once I took my place at one of the tables, within a matter of minutes, my drinks order was taken and in less than five minutes, they were sent over to the table. Very efficient I must say they were. Prices of the food items too were displayed on the wall for all to see. This is good as it eradicates any form of possible confusion or misunderstandings when it comes to how they derived the bill. This is a sticky area as one collects the curries themselves from the curries station and portions can defer from one to another. So far during the time that I was there, there were no such issues and I believe that they were doing it well and in an acceptable manner. 

My Lunch @ RM 8.50

Once the waiter takes the drinks order, he then sums up the bill and places it at the table. Do take note that these are itemised bills and not lump sums. I really appreciated them doing so as I would know which items costs what here. My meal consisted of two Chapati's, some Mutton Keema, some Sour Vegetable dish and a Samosa. RM 8.50 for this is definitely a very reasonable price. 

Chapati's @ RM 1.50 each

Their Chapati's were really soft and smooth. I generally have a very high expectation when it comes to these authentic Punjabi restaurants as I tend to expect them to serve me excellent Chapati's as this is their traditional food. And as expected, it was awesome. It definitely was up to the mark and I would rate this at 9.5/10 .  Besides this, the price of RM 1.50 each was also very reasonable as I know many if not most South Indian restaurants charge the same price for an inferior quality Chapati and therefore, I would not mind paying the same for authentic stuffs. In fact, personally, I am prepared to pocket out more for these. 

Mutton Keema @ RM 3.00

I did take a lavish portion of Mutton Keema and this was priced at RM 3.00 . Their Mutton Keema was superb! They were lavish with the Mutton and it was made slightly spicy with just the right amount of spices. A perfect dish and I would rate this at 9.4/10 . 

Vegetable @ RM 1.50

I am not sure what the name for this is but it definitely was made using Curd and some Cauliflower along with other spices. It was sour, spicy and delicious. A perfect side dish for Chapatis and the price of RM 1.50 was surely acceptable. For me, I loved it and I would rate this at 9.4/10 .

Potato Samosa @ RM 1.00

Pure Potato Fillings

Their Potato Samosa was again quite good. Made just perfect according to the Punjabi way. This has a slightly thicker crust as opposed to the South Indian style of preparation. The fillings were made of Potato Masala and they were good. Some do prefer to have this with some Mint Sauce but I prefer to have it plain. That is just a matter of personal preference. Overall, this was good but personally I would have preferred it if the Potato Masala fillings were slightly spicier as it would have brought about a greater taste along with the crust. I would rate this at 8/10 only as I have tasted much better ones in other Punjabi restaurants. 

Masala Tea @ RM 2.00

Having been done with my lunch, now time to wash the food down with some authentic Punjabi style Masala Tea. Here they could prepare the drink with both fresh milk or otherwise, depends on one's preference. I was not in the mood for fresh milk and preferred them to just prepare it using the usual condensed milk. Obviously the taste would differ for both and so would the price. Nevertheless, this was still a good preparation, but not the best that I have tried. I felt that the 'Masala' was slightly less and I did not get that 'punch' factor that I was looking for. Please don't get me wrong as I am not saying that this was a bad drink. It was good but not as good to meet my expectations and my expectations are solely build based on my past experiences in similar restaurants. Therefore, I shall be rating this drink at 8/10 .

The Bill

Overall, it was a pleasant dining experience here this afternoon. The food was impressive and I felt that the prices were very reasonable. The Chapati's too were awesome. There was a slight slack on the drink and that basically could differ based on the person mixing the drink. Perhaps I just happened to get the wrong guy to mix my drink this afternoon. Otherwise, a very pleasant experience and surely a place that I would highly recommend for Chapati's and Punjabi curries. 

Address: No. 45, Jalan Thambypillai, Brickfields, 50470 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Opening Hours: 0700 - 2200 Daily

Telephone: +603 2260 4210

Email: contact@sentralchappatihouse.com 

Website: http://sentralchappatihouse.com/