The Muthu’s Curry At Dempsey

Al is my decade long bachelor friend. He was educated in Melbourne so when I was living there, he would tell me the name of the streets he lived and walked but till today, I have no idea which grid he was talking about. Hush…

We had pre-dinner drinks at a pub before deciding the venue Red Dot at Dempsey to avoid the festive crowd in Orchard Road. While having drinks, Al whipped out his handphone casually and showed me a picture of a baby. I exclaimed, “What’s that???” He laughed and said “Confession, confession…”

Al, in the recent years, had met a lovely lady and got married. His bubbly baby girl is 6 months old. After our dinner, we were having drinks at The Wine Company @ Dempsey and that’s when Al’s wife called. I got to meet her via video chat through the phone’s camera (the wonder of technology) as well as the bouncy chubby little one who was still wide awake! She reminded me of Valerie who was extra active in the night and would only sleep in the day. Al said his wife and himself are turning into Jia Jia and Kai Kai, the giant Pandas (residing in our River Safari, a river-themed zoo and aquarium).

I usually eat Indian food at The Banana Leaf Apollo in Little India but today, our appointed venue at Red Dot was hosting an event and they could only accommodate us after 10pm. We were too hungry to drive out of the Dempsey Hill compound to hunt for another place so we ended up at Muthu’s @ Dempsey (one of the 2 branches with the other at Suntec City).

Muthu’s Curry has been serving Southern Indian cuisine for the past 4 decades, since 1969. From Muthu Makan Shop on Klang Road to Muthu’s Curry Restaurant (flagship shop at Race Course Road), they have been quite consistent in their spicy fare, dishing out their signature Fish Head Curry and Mango Lassi (drink).

When we stepped into the restaurant, I saw Tandoori Turkey on their promotion board. I turned to Al and whispered “I hope this branch retain the traditional cooking and not turn it into some Asian-Western fusion meal.”

Al had Mango Lassi (background). Papadam is a thin, crisp disc-shaped Indian cracker, made from seasoned dough of black gram, and deep-fried fried. It is a common tidbit served before the main meal.

Rice with Vegetables. This used to be served to vegetarians and cost S$3 for unlimited servings of rice back in the 80s. I’m not sure if they still have this on the menu.

Dinner for two. I hear a rumbly in my tummy

Crispy Ladies Fingers (Okra). I used to eat Bhindi Masala almost daily together with Fish Biryani when living in Dubai. Looking at the dish’s composition on the menu I thought this was that. I had overlooked “Crispy”. This dish was well, crispy! The weird part was serving it with sweet chilli sauce. Not bad but will not order this next time.

Fish Head Curry. The creamy spicy and tangy gravy did a good job on my appetite. There were some ladies fingers in this dish which I enjoyed much more than the crispy version. I found the fish to be fresh (I ate the eyes or rather the gelatinous part of the sockets, best way to find out if the fish was fresh) but thought the flesh to be overcooked. Otherwise, it was perfect. The menu states the dish to cost S$28 but we were charged S$26 so the management was being fair.

Black Squid. Thick gravy and succulent baby-medium sized squid had me almost eating them all by myself. Needless to say, I did enjoy this dish a lot.

We opted to sit outside as there was a small gathering in the air-conditioned dining room. I was handed a menu and wasted no time ordering. The waiter offered tandoori turkey when I asked for tandoori chicken. He said the taste was similar but I was reluctant to eat this bird early. We usually have leftovers enough for the next 2 weeks after Christmas! No way Jose, I’ll pass on the turkey.

Food arrived quickly. Al was patient with me as I took pictures of our dinner. He even anticipated I needed a rice set and scooped some onto the banana leaf. That’s the beautiful part when eating with old friends.

Cheers to Al and his newly formed family. May more bundles of joy come his way