Review: Aroma Restaurant, Brickfields (Indian Cuisine)

Overall comment: I love the food here! An aptly named restaurant, serving an array of aromatic dish, each having its unique/distinct flavors, depending on which province of India it originates. SO GOOD. This will be one of my favorite Indian restaurants when I crave for Indian food, especially Northern Indian food! :D
Halal: Pork-free

"Best of North & South Indian Cuisines"

Brickfields is no stranger when it comes to a variety of Indian cuisines. It's not called "Little India" for no reason, eh? The traffic here & parking can be quite a challenge, but thankfully, Aroma is located near the Bank Rakyat building, so you can still opt to pay for an hour or two of parking for a good meal that you won't want to miss out.

Alternatively, there's always Food Panda, Malaysia's most convenient online food ordering & delivery site that connects fellow Malaysians with the best restaurants around them. Ordering with Food Panda is as simple as a 4-step recipe:

1. Search: Find restaurants that deliver to you by entering your address
2. Choose: Browse hundreds of menus to find the food you like
3. Pay: Pay fast & secure online or on delivery
4. Enjoy: Food is prepared & delivered to your door

It was thanks to Food Panda that I had the opportunity to try out Aroma Restaurant's fantastic food. It was an Aromatic Dinner date, no doubt!

Each month, Aroma Restaurant will introduce some promotions/new dishes, so for October - December, the below are their featured dishes.

Aroma's Menu 

Below were what we were introduced to for our review session. I'm going to share my review according to my preference-level with my favorite dishes first! :D

Punjab Patiala Lamb (RM20.00/serving)

This is a WINNER! I've never had such a delectable lamb dish! This flavorful lamb dish from Patiala southeastern Punjab in Northern India is so creamy & rich from cashew nuts & almond, tastes sweetish, has a honey sweetness smell & goes extremely well with breads like the Kulcha. The lamb chunks were really tender yet not 'disintegrated' until there was no 'chew'. Ah...I'm missing this dish so much!

Gobi 65 (RM15.00/serving)

Who would have expected that cauliflower could taste so delicious when deep-fried with some spiced batter? It's a great snack, appetizer & dish that is slightly spicy &very aromatic with the variety of herbs & spices infused into the batter. The dish is named "gobi 65" as the chef would cut the cauliflower up each time to exactly 65 pieces! *whoa!* Apparently, this is a skill. Of course, if you were to replicate such a dish at home, you may not achieve such precision...haha. This dish is best enjoyed by itself or with some of Aroma Restaurant's mint chutney!

Mint Chutney

Mint n coriander sauce/chutney with a hint of chili padi. LOVE IT! It goes well with papadam too!

Kulcha (RM6.00/piece)

Kulcha is a type of leavened bread (curd, baking soda and baking powder are used instead of yeast) eaten in India and Pakistan, made from maida (wheat flour). It is particularly popular in India and Pakistan, and is usually eaten with chole (chickpea curry). Here at Aroma Restaurant, a piece of kulcha (quite large) is cut into 4 pieces. I enjoy such kind of flat breads, especially when there's gravy to go with it!

Palak Paneer (RM20.00/serving)

It may not look very appealing, but those who know what it is & enjoy this nutritious dish of blended spinach (Popeye would love it!) with cottage cheese will not want to miss Aroma Restaurant's Palak Paneer. It's a skillfully prepared dish of diced cottage cheese & blended spinach, cooked with fenugreek leaves, ginger, garlic paste & fresh herbs. There's a technique to get the spinach (in Mandarin, it's called "poh chai") to maintain its evergreen color too :) I've yet to find out cos the chefs ain't sharing this with me...hahaha...

Malabar Egg Curry (RM15.00/serving)

Interestingly, this is a south-west Indian dish! It looks more like a northern Indian dish to me since it's not the typical red/orange-colored, spicy southern Indian curry. The hard-boiled eggs are cooked with ginger, garlic, tomatoes, onions, green chilies, turmeric powder, coriander powder, curry leaves, garam masala & thick coconut milk among the few main ingredients. What you get is a creamy gravy with hard-boiled egg that is OH-SO-YUMMY!

Chicken Nawabi Tikka (RM25.00/serving)

Another Punjab dish, which was surprisingly delectable despite it looking very plain is this chicken Nawabi tikka. This moist & gently spiced kebab is flavored with mace (dried, outer aril, enveloping firmly around the nutmeg kernel) & grilled in tandoor. Thanks to the intense aroma of mace (rakes a higher price & has a special place in the kitchen spice box!), the usual chicken tikka is brought to the next level.

Mumbai Fish Tikka (RM28.00/serving)

If no one tells you that it's fish, you would have thought it's chicken breast meat...hahaha. Cubes of boneless fish marinated in yogurt & exotic spices are barbecued in the tandoor clay oven. It's best eaten with the mint chutney!

Kerala Chili Prawns (RM24.00/serving)

Kerala is a state on South India's tropical Malabar Coast. It's no wonder that seafood is a main source of food for that state. Aroma Restaurant continues to bring us on a journey around India by introducing us to this dish of fresh prawns tossed with fresh & spicy green chilies, shallots, & curry leaves. This is a dish for those who fancy a spicier "kick" to their Indian meal :)

Aubergine Masala (RM12.00/serving)

Aubergine is widely used in Indian cuisines. The aubergine masala consists of diced aubergines, stir fried with coriander leaves, tomatoes, ginger, cumin seeds & Aroma Restaurant's "chef's own masala sauce"! I love soft & perfectly spiced aubergines, so this was just right for me.

Fuh! We've practically consumed the entire India in a meal! I thought we didn't have THAT much of food, but I was actually stuffed! When it comes to Indian cuisine, I certainly could eat more than my usual. Thankfully my fiance loves Indian food as well, so I've a partner for life to enjoy Indian cuisines with me *yay* To conclude our review session, we were served with the 2 Indian desserts & Aroma Restaurant's masala tea/brewed coffee *rubs hands with glee*

Gulab Jamun (RM10.00/serving of 2 balls)

I've never really fancied Indian desserts as I don't have a sweet-tooth. Milk dumplings in sugar syrup? Hmm...I just gave it a try, thinking that I wouldn't like it since I've never really fancied gulab jamuns, but hey, I actually finished this & liked it compared to the carrot halwa! It's not too sweet 'til the sweetness stings your tongue & when eaten warm, it's actually quite tasty. 

Carrot Halwa (RM9.00/serving)

I've never liked carrot halwa & I still didn't like it although my friend loved it & finished up both our shares! We swapped desserts - I ate up her gulab jamun & she helped me finish up my carrot halwa...hahaha. Perhaps carrots + sweet condensed milk just didn't work for me.

Masala Tea (RM5.00/serving)

After an exotic & gastronomical journey around India in ONE meal, it was just comforting to sip on a hot cup of masala tea. Traditionally, masala chai tea consists of spices like the green cardamom pods, cinnamon sticks, ground cloves, ground ginger, and black peppercorn together with black tea leaves. If you sip on Aroma Restaurant's masala tea (with fresh cow's milk) slowly, you'll be able to taste each spice sip after sip. I managed to pick out the cinnamon, cloves, ginger & black peppercorns after a few sips - it was delightful!

I thought that day ended well - what's not to love about good food, good tea, good ambiance & new found friends? Food Panda provides delivery within an hour for just RM8.00 (delivery fee) with a minimum order of RM15.00. You can browse through Aroma Restaurant's menu on Food Panda's website & begin your gastronomical journey right at the comfort of your home or at the convenience of your office! Have a great one!


Aroma Restaurant (Brickfields)
19, Jalan Travers
Brickfields
50470 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia.
Tel: (+603) 22721749
Business hours: Daily 10:30a.m. - 10:00p.m.
FB: Aroma Restaurant (Brickfields)


Ratings:
Presentation: * * * 1/2
Price: * * *
Environment: * * *
Taste: * * * 1/2
Service: * * * 1/2


Overall:






LOVE Indian food, especially Northern Indian,