Footsteps - Jotaro's Travels: March 2022

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Jotaro's Food Review

Addictive Eastern Indian Food @ TasteBud, Sentul

Sentul, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - February 2022

Every now and then a foodie place just grabs one's attention. It could be just a simple place where the food is so memorably good that one will recall it easily. Such a place is TasteBud.

We had tried to come here a few times but were unsuccessful - either we were too early (the place opens at 11am) or the place was packed. Such is the reputation of the place.

But this time round, during one of our cycling rounds in Sentul we managed to get a table!

So here goes!

Running through the menu, we were a bit at a loss! The menu was quite extensive and they have a good variety of food, the names of some we were not familiar with! Thankfully a waiter was at hand to explain and make recommendations.

With sound advice, we kicked off with Palak Paneer, Kerala Fish Curry, Phulka Indian Bread (seen above, clockwise from left) together with Tikka Chicken Biryani for the four of us.

The Phulka came as a set of two served in a fine rattan basket. Phulka is capati that is puffed up by putting it over an open flame during the final stages of cooking (see a video of how it's puffed up) - but by the time I took a photo, their puffiness had subsided.

We had thought that the set of two Phulka would be enough as part meal for us; but when they came they were of a smaller size (about 5" diameter) - but no worries, we will take this chance to order some other dishes later. Size aside, they were excellent - bitey firm as they were made from wholemeal wheat and with a good aroma of ghee.

A better view of the Palak Paneer, Kerala Fish Curry.

The Palak Paneer, I have had this dish while on my travels to India. But the one here is different, but differently good. While the ones I had previously were with coarser pureed spinach (where parts of the fibrous vegetable can still be seen) and with small cubes of Paneer Cheese); the one here has spinach finely pureed with the cheese and topped with a sprinkling of plain raita. I think this is more close to the original recipe. Whatever the case is, our friends who had not had this before thoroughly enjoyed its fresh spinach taste with the strong hint of cheese.

With a bit of experimentation, we found out that the Palak Paneer goes very well as a spread for the Phulka - a good balance of crispiness and softness 😋.

Next on the menu was the Tikka Chicken Biryani; it came with side-dishes of plain raita and shorba. Don't see the Tikka Chicken? It's somewhere inside the rice, adding it's flavour to the dish as it should be unlike some eateries that un-originally add separately-cooked chicken on top of the rice.

I had always wondered what Tikka Chicken is; well it's small pieces of boneless chicken baked using skewers on a brazier called angeethi or over charcoal after marinating in Indian spices and dahi (yogurt)—essentially a boneless version of tandoori chicken.

With the accompanying side-dishes of raita and shorba, one can eat the biryani with the accompanying side dishes and nothing else 😄. But there's no harm in having more oomph by adding this Kerala Fish Curry., and it went well with the Phulka too and the Malabar Parota seen below. Having toured Kerala before, I has some leanings towards Keralan food; but I also wanted to see how the one here compared to the ones there.

Well, we were not disappointed, it tasted good with the fish in smaller cuts and the curry not being overly creamy with santan. I would have love it more chilli hot though.

Our next Indian bread was the Malabar Parota. Hmmm..... this Parotta looks like torn Paratha (more commonly known as Roti Canai to Malaysians). In fact I couldn't tell the difference between Parotta and Paratha. There is though: Paratha is made of whole wheat, while the Parotta is made of maida. “Another difference is that with most Parathas, you roll and fold the dough to get the layers, whereas the Parotta belongs to a sub-type in which the dough is rolled into a ball and then into a long rope, which is coiled and then rolled out again.

Taste-wise, I found the Parotta more fluffy and stayed firmed even when dipped into the curry. Yeah! for roti banjir fans!

After one rice and two bread dishes, we were still hungry. Haha.... we didn't know that the each helping served here is good for one person only! So we ordered another biryani - a Fish Biryani. This came served with plain raita and shorba side-dishes too.

Like the Tikka Chicken Biryani it was cooked with long grain basmati rice together with saffron and other spices. Just for note the longest-grain basmati is the Pusa 1121 rice. The good thing about basmati is that it is not overly glutinous and none-sticky and as such absorbed the flavour of this good fish curry without becoming too wet - just with the right amount of flaovoured wetness and comfortable bitey-ness.

To go with our meal we had Chai Masala, which is made with fresh milk OR for those lactose intolerant, made with creamer. I found their Chai Masala a bit lacking in spiciness thus not giving that oomphy kick!. Perhaps have to ask them to add more black pepper?

We found TasteBud to be remarkable because of it's extensive and very varied menu, remarkable also as eating here is like learning exercise about Indian food.

As a friend remarked, the food here is addictive. I must agree, as even now the place is calling to me..... I will be back!
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UPDATE AUGUST 2022

As mentioned, the food is addictive and we have been back several times; and have to share several tasties which should not be missed:

This Iced Mint Lemon juice has lots of oomph, with a eye-widening zing! It's flavour made all the more unique with the added Black Himalayan Salt (Kala namak) giving it a musky, slighty sulfurous taste. Mint is finely blended, and a quick stir will mix it well into the lemon juice. For those who don't have a sweet-tooth, ask them to reduce on the sugar.

I have tried Samosa many times at other places.... didn't quite fancy them until these ones here! This vegetarian one is the REAL DEAL and others are now distant memories.
The skin is adequately thick and more importantly crispy and crunchy instead of the usual flaky.

A peep inside shows an assortment of diced vegetables including peanuts cooked in a spicy gravy.

The samosas came with tamarind and mint dipping sauces.

And, oh yah, they also serve frothy Bru Coffee here too, one with it's distinct taste probably from the freshly roasted Robusta beans (instead of the Arabica that is usually served in this region) with added chicory.

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TASTEBUD SHOP

TasteBud have a wide-range menu, go further down to see their menus. In the meantime let's look at their shopping corner which is set around the payment counter. Here they sell home-made or imported Indian sweets and desserts, and imported Indian snacks, some of which are favorites.

Some of their home-made: note sure what this are, they look like Laddu.

More laddus? Actually I am not sure what these are, perhaps someone can enlighten me.

Cakes & cookies from Britania and Karachi Bakery. Both are good brands from renown bakeries in India.

Silly me had thought that these were bottles of sweets. In a way they are, as these are Ayurvedic digestive tablets.

The flavorful tablets that are formulated in a unique tangy, salty and spicy regular flavours which are delightful to the taste-buds. The above are Hajmola Digestive Tablets. which has a blend of Indian herbs, spices and edible salts that helps with your digestion when taken after a meal. These tablets can be very useful in cases of indigestion, loss of appetite and flatulence and can be taken regularly especially after a spicy meal.

See a video on how these Hajmola digestive tablets are made.

At a corner of the shop, I was pleasantly surprised to find Indian Snacks from Haldiram's!

I was hooked on these during a tour of Northern India and am glad that now I can get it locally.

The shop owner recommended Methi Gathiya which are sp;icy stick chips prepared from Chick Peas Flour, Green Chilli, Fenugreek Leaves, Black Pepper, Coriander Powder, Ajwain, and Aniseed.

(See more of the wide range of food available in their menu shown much further below)

TASTEBUD KL
834 Jalan Sentul, Sentul, 51000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Tel: +6013-5259000

Website: https://tastebud.com.my/

Order Weblink: https://order.tastebud.com.my/

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

Hours: 11:00am-10:00pm

(Click here for Google Street View)

(Click here for Google Map Link)

(Click here for Directional Map GPS: 3.18350, 101.69177)

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TASTEBUD'S MENU

(For a larger view, click on the respective menu photo. Prices are at time of this blog.)

Beverages Menu

That includes Masala Tea, Kulukki Sarbath, Falooda, Jai-jeera, Thandai & Lassi.

Starter & Teatime Special Menu

(Glossary - click for meaning/details: Palak Soup, Manchow Soup, Gobi=cauliflower, Paneer, Medhu Vadai, Masala Vadai, Pakoda, Samosa, Kaya)

Tandoori & Kebab Menu

(Glossary - click for meaning/details: Tikka, Achari Fish Tikka, Kebab,
Types of Kebabs, Kebab vs Tikka, Tandoori, Tandoor vs Tikka, Andhra Tandoori Chicken)