Monday, June 23, 2008

Kohinoor North Indian Restaurant

Last year, Shan came across my blog and featured it in an article she wrote for a local daily. I think she found Louis on my blog and also did a feature on him. The three of us then got together for a meal and it was so natural and enjoyable, despite us never having met before.

Last night, we got together again (after one year) and this time, we were joined by Louis' pretty wife, Jasmine. Again, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. It's amazing how comfortable it felt with the three of them. We were able to zip from one topic to another, talking about mutual friends to our travels to our latest antics. I was happy to learn that Louis is from U of Toronto (I'm from U of Manitoba) and we both miss Canada! We were priviledged to listen to Louis talk about his work. He was excited about a wedding he shot last Friday for a beautiful couple from Perth, who flew in 60 guests for their wedding at Tanjung Aru Beach Resort, alongwith many beautiful trinklets and wedding favors unavailable here. I am so waiting to see the photos which Louis promised will be up soon. If any of you are getting married this year, go to Louis's website and you'll be awed by his photos, plus the beauty of Sabah as your wedding venue. However, with Louis being a much-awarded and acclaimed photographer, you may have to defer your wedding to suit his schedule, which is nearly full!

I arrived a little early and joined Shan for a drink at The Loft in The Waterfront, a short stretch of restaurants along the sea in town. Shan is full of enthusiasm about the Borneo Marathon this October, dropping names of the celebrities who will be running, including a world-class runner who just confirmed his participation, but I've forgotten his name! Shan is the person to sidle up to if you want to get some autographs of the celebrities at the Marathon. That list includes Kenny Sia, and I think we Sabah bloggers should pin him down and get some tips from him on blogging.

When Louis and Jasmine arrived, we walked a couple of doors away to Kohinoor, a restaurant that serves north Indian food. I had wanted to eat there because I love their butter chicken, but besides that and naan, I was at a lost to order, and so were Louis and Jasmine so we left it to Shan to order for us.

Of course I was nervous taking photos when Louis was right in front of me. I avoid using the flash most of the time but when Louis said it was ok, who was I to defer. In front of sifu (master), I obey.
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Kohinoor is a casual and comfortable restaurant that bustles everynight, proof of their popularity.

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Tandoori chicken RM26.90/US$8.40. Never my favorite anywhere because they always come neon-orange and dry, so I was pleasantly surprised with these nicely-spiced, tender and just-moist chicken. I will definitely order this again next time I go. Btw, you can choose to have your dishes either mild, medium or hot. We played safe and chose medium.

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Spinach paneer RM18.90/US$5.90. This is spinach with paneer, a young cheese that has the texture (and flavor I think, being very mild) of mozzarella. Shan has given me the how-to on making paneer and I am excited about it. I may have found a substitute for mozzarella!

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Butter chicken RM23.90/US$7.50. Of all the butter chicken I've tried in KK's Indian restaurants, Kohinoor's rank the best for me and my family. However, I must say I found last night's butter chicken slightly more sugar-sweet than usual. And I wish they would give chunkier (the pic above is highly zoomed, the size of the chicken pieces were about the size of walnuts) and more chicken because what we had was more butter chicken sauce. For that price.

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Dhall, a lentil dish, RM13.90/US$4.40. This was good but next time, I'd go for a spicier version. I told Shan that I've noticed that Indian food is not big on veggies but she told me it's the contrary. You could eat vegan all the time in India. Looking at these pictures, I think what I should've asked was, are all Indian veggie dishes pulverized into baby food??

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Naan, that loveliest of Indian bread, about RM4/US$1.25 each. We had a basket of naan each, and I had garlic naan (yumz!) and a wholemeal puri.

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At the right hand corner is a bowl of cuke raita, a perfect refreshing dish for in-between mouthfuls of curry.

Including our drinks, the 'damage' as Shan put it, was RM132.30/US$41.30 after a 15% discount. I thought it was pretty decent. When I got home, Hub had just driven in with Wey holding two doggiebags of grilled lambchops, and I wolfed down a whole piece before Wey could stop me (I am trying to loose a little weight, so am hungry all the time...). The chop was very good, thick and tender and well-marinaded (a little too sweet and salty actually), and it was from Archie De Corner which happens to be round my corner. That'll be my next food review for sure.

Shan, Jasmine and Louis, it was wonderful meeting up and like I said, when I get myself together, you guys will be invited home for dinner!

23 comments:

"Joe" who is constantly craving said...

i love northern indian food..esp butter chicken! cant find as good as the ones i had in australia..wat a pity

Shan said...

Hehe that was a really fun dinner and like Louis said, it's nice to have some Indian food for a change. Next time I will wrestle for the check though. Be warned :D

MeatballOnline said...

i haven't try the food in Kohinoor yet.. i went to Anjappar at Komplex Asia City.. and fell in love with the naan and butter chicken there.. now i wonder which serves better food... can't wait to go Kohinoor.

Agnes @ rB said...

My Goodness I like the spread!!!! The Paneer is Goat Cheese if I am not mistaken. I read in a food magazine called "Flavours", ever heard of it?? Under The Star Newspapers

Greg Wee said...

Dinner is late tonite cos Nee is upgrading the kitchen. This makes me wanna have Indian food NOW.

What a small world. I did my first degree at U of Winnipeg (Winterpeg). I did drop by U of Manitoba once to visit some friends, went pubbing & ice skating. Coool, or should I say FREEZING!

Anonymous said...

Hi Terri,

I’m from Ate Media, a media company specializing in F&B, travel and lifestyle. I have some exciting information that might interest you.

I couldn’t find any email address on your site. Perhaps you could reply me at cheryl@atemedia.com and I can follow up with you via email?

Thanks and have a great day!

Warmest regards,
Cheryl
Editorial Consultant
Ate Media Pte Ltd.

Shan said...

Ate Media? Terri, sounds like you are on your way up,up,up. Love Chubby Hubby's site!

Terri @ A Daily Obsession said...

joe: my friend said tt there's lots of packaged butter chicken gravy available in Oz so there's no need to cook frm scratch. i must try butter chicken next time i'm in Oz.

shan: u sure it's chubby hub's people contacting me?? can't sleep tonight...thanks for ur call :)

meatball: i didn't find anjappar as good as kohinoor, n Shan & her indian food gourmet friend too. but, u never know, tell me how u find the food.

agnes: yes, seen flavours the mag.have u seen 'saveur' mag? i like tt n get it whenever Times has it. i don't think paneer is made only with goat's milk; any full cream milk will do i think, frm what Shan told me. oh, i'm eagerly looking to make it tomorrow!..but what would i cook it with???

gregwee: what the, u studied in winterpeg too?? hey, have u ever watched ditchbowl???? it's a crazy sport where people sit around the rim of a dug-out court of 10-foot high snow (only in the prairies can u get so much snow you can make a 10 foot deep ditch!) n watch ppl play some kind of ball game. it was so bluudy cold my memory of the game never registered but i wish i took a photo of it.

cheryl: ok, will write u soon. my son's just finished his A levels n hogging the computer day and night. i may have to go to a cyber cafe just to check mail.

Terri @ A Daily Obsession said...

greg: i just youtubed. it's ditchball n invented by the archi students of u of manitoba. seems like a stupid but fun game.

Denise ^ ChickyEGG said...

Hey I used to like this place! ha, u're nervous when u took pics infront of LP, hahaha! I can understand that, same goes to when u teaach me make Molten Cho. when u're standing next to me.! hahahah1 really nervous!
hey, looking forward to ur publication?? ;P

Indo Dreamin' said...

whats with all the cutlery?? you got to use your fingers and really dip into all those gravies. like how you eat Chinese food with chopsticks, Indian food is best when eaten with your hands. :-)

Terri @ A Daily Obsession said...

denise: esp when i was using a 'kiddie' camera!

indondreaming: shan n i used our fingers of course! while i can't/wouldn't eat rice with my fingers, malay-style, i love using fingers for chicken, ribs, breads. n pizzas. it always amazes me when people eat pizzas with a fork n knife. i bet pizzas taste only 1/2 as good with cutlery.

bryan said...

Heya Terri, saw the bit about Archie De Corner, where is it now? Last I knew it was near Merdeka Supermarket.

Terri @ A Daily Obsession said...

bryan: archie's is now at shoplot 14. Tamn cantek. the shop where u can get good ban men for breakfast n lunch.

Rebeca said...

Tonight I went to my very first Indian restaurant!! The Roommate and I went to a restaurant called Kohinoor in Altamonte Springs. It’s in the plaza next to First Watch which is one of my most favorite breakfast places!!

western Dental said...

I've never been a fan of indian food, but after seeing your pictures I just might like to try some!

Unknown said...

It's amazing blog about restaurant.I also like the name and fame of this restaurant.Restaurants in Noida

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List Of Local Australia said...

What a delightful recount of your rendezvous! From the bustling streets to the savory delights of Kohinoor, your evening exudes warmth and camaraderie. Capturing moments with Louis and Jasmine, amidst tantalizing dishes, invokes the ambiance of a cozy candle light dinner in sydney . Cheers to cherished friendships and culinary adventures!

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