Located along the main road of Danga Bay in Johor Bahru lies this Indian restaurant called 7 Spice Indian Cuisine. It stands out majestically from it's neighbours and it is very difficult to miss it. Clark Hatch Danga Bay which had recently been closed down was right beside this restaurant. I mentioned Clark Hatch here as it is a very famous landmark in Danga Bay, although it is no longer there today. Now, this restaurant is located on the ground floor and it serves full fledged Indian meals both from the North and South Indian region. On the first floor is another restaurant called Breakfast at 7 which typically serves tiffin and light meals and has a separate entrance by the side. Both of these restaurants belong to the same owners and my review today is specifically about the restaurant on the ground floor. Well, I just arrived from Kuala Lumpur and it is already 8.50 pm. As I am staying in Tune Hotel which is just towards the end of this block, this seemed to be the best and closest option instead of having got to drive further into the city in search of another restaurant. I did do some browsing on the internet while sitting in the car and there seems to be loads of reviews about this restaurant which were mostly positive. With that assurance in mind, I walked into the restaurant.
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| 7 Spice Indian Cuisine @ Danga Bay, Johor Bahru |
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| The Logo at the entrance |
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| Interior of the Restaurant |
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| Interior of the Restaurant |
The restaurant was mostly packed when I walked in and I had to wait to be seated. I liked the fact that they were very systematic in their processes and all the waiters and waitresses were dressed in a very nice uniform which was as good as any 5 star hotel.Their customers were also mixed and you find a mixture of Malays, Indians and Chinese dining here. Definitely from the looks of it, this is not a very cheap restaurant to dine in and in line with that, I was hoping that the food would be really good.
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| The Menu |
It seemed that although there were many waiting the tables, the orders were only taken by one Indian guy. He handed the menu over to me and then came back to me in about three minutes to take my orders. Their menu is very elaborate and it has a great variety of dishes from many parts of the Indian sub continent and this covers both vegetarian and non vegetarian dishes. What pissed me off here is that he did not have the patience to take my orders completely and after writing two dishes, he started walking off and I had to stop him and add more dishes and I had to do this until I was finished with my orders. As far as I know, there were't any new customers after me but I just kept silent to see what the hurry was all about. Right after taking my orders without having the patience to answer any of my questions, he walked over to the table in front of me where there were two girls seated without having ordered any food, he pulled a chair and spent the rest of the time that I was there by just talking to them and this we are talking for about an hour plus. Hey...if they are your friends and entertaining someone who does not bring any benefit to the restaurant is your priority, then don't ever attend to paying customers as just because of your attitude today, it has spoilt my evening. I came here, willingly paying a premium for my meal and it's not just for the food but also for the dining experience and you just ruined it. Thanks to you. Nevertheless, my review of the dishes tried shall be honest and will not be prejudiced just because of this experience.
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| Masala Coffee @ RM 3.50 |
They have a wide range of coffee to select from but bear in mind all their coffee and tea is made with fresh cows milk. I asked if they had an option of having the condensed milk and was informed that they do not accommodate that request. Sorry to those that are Lactose intolerant. I ordered the Masala Coffee. The price is reasonable if not cheap and it was quite decent. Though I would have preferred the spices to be a little stronger in taste, still this was a good drink and I would rate this at 8.5/10 .
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| Steam Rice @ RM 3.00 |
Again, they have a few types of rice and I went for the basic White Rice. It is priced at RM 3.00 per plate but this is good for two average eaters. Even tonight, I was only able to have half of it.
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| Sambar....On The House |
As most of the other dishes that I ordered tonight were quite dry, they gave me a plate of Sambar which was on the house. Their Sambar was really nice, in fact when I was done with my meal, I was almost drinking this curry.The spices were really balanced and everything seemed perfect about this dish. I would rate this at a perfect 10/10 . Excellent one!!!
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| Ajawain Fish Masala @ RM 16.00 |
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| Closer Look At The Fish |
This dish came with a note of spiciness. There were small chunks of fish in the thick gravy which was heavily spiced. To give more spiciness to it, there were loads of Bird Eye Chili found in the dish. This dish definitely had a tantalising effect on the palate. The aroma was really great and when mixed with the White Rice and Fish, it was really smooth and lovely. A highly recommended dish here. Though the portion seems small and the price a little steep, I would still vouch for this dish as it was worth it. I would rate this dish at a perfect 10/10 .
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| Fish Cutlet @ RM 7.50 |
This Fish Cutlet was a major disapointment!!! It was not really a fish cutlet and there was very little fish in it. They had mixed the little bit of fish with bread crumbs and flour and made it into a thick and hard patty that was crunchy yet tasteless. I could only force myself to eat half of it as the taste was so disgusting and I was feeling nauseated as I was having more of it to the point that I said enough is enough. It seemed like I was chewing on rubber. I would never even recommend this dish to my worst enemy. My rating for this would be a 0/10 .
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| Kashmir Lamb @ RM 10.00 |
Being a Lamb lover, it found this dish to be below par. Firstly, it was mostly bones and secondly, the gravy was just not up to the mark. Together, it made this dish a flop. I could just have one or two pieces and then I was not enjoying this dish at all. This dish definitely needs a serious recipe re-engineering. I would only rate this dish at 4.5/10 .
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| My Meal |
On the whole, I was rather disappointed with my dinner. The Fish and Sambar were really great but the other dishes were not so good. Above this, the attitude of the waiter was another major drawback. Having spent RM 40.00 on my dinner alone, I would surely expect much more from this restaurant. My recommendation would be that when dining here, you should be really selective with the dishes and do expect some dishes to be not so great. Also I do hope that the waiter improves on his attitude and I have deliberately highlighted it here for someone to actually inform him that such an incident had been highlighted in a blog and for him to realise the consequences of his action. Improve or not, it is up to him and it would surely have an impact on the customers.
Address: G-01, Block 5, Danga Bay, Jalan Skudai,
80200 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia.
Opening Hours: 1100 - 2300 (Closed on Tuesday)
Telephone: +607 235 6969
