Northern Indian Food @ Chutney Mary, Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur

the pot of goodness - fluffy briyani rice with a touch of aromatic spices

It has been a while since I've indulged in Northern Indian food. Weirdly enough, it's one of those cuisines I absolutely love (something I picked up during my university days in England) but don't seem to eat it often enough. I put it down to the fact the food can be just too filling for dinner and when the two of us dine out, we seem to prefer lighter alternatives like Japanese food.
cute crackers, tangy dips, lovely table settings

While this place is not new (reviews seem to hark back to 2007), I admit I never noticed it until that day we visited. See, the problem with me is whenever I'm in Bangsar, I only zoom in on Village Grocer for my grocery shopping.


palak paneer, butter chicken and prawn curry at the back, faux jewels on the tablecloth, garlic naan

While this place may not be bustling with people (have you noticed how deadly silent the dining scene has been recently? I wonder if this is a sign of the dwindling economy?), I do love their chic decor. Tables are given a bright pink sizzle with runners boasting the restaurant's name and colourful glass shaped jewels. Pink seems to be a beloved colour, as you get that same splash of colour in their toilet facilities including a unique pink coloured sink! All around the place, you see touches of Indian elements - not overwhelmingly so that you don't feel like it has been overdone. My only gripe - they definitely need to republish their menu since it's dog eared and torn in certain places.

Once our orders are placed, food arrives quickly. If you're curious about their cooking methods, you can peek through their open kitchen covered with a glass window to see what is happening. For starters, our crackers came with two types of dips - a mint flavoured one and a mango chutney that tasted homemade and less tangy compared to the bottled variety. The briyani rice (RM9.90) is heavenly - each fluffy grain emitting a lovely aroma of spices that I kept digging into the small pot for more. As Northern Indian curries are rich and creamy, we only sampled their Malabar prawn curry (RM21.90), the butter chicken or murgh hava-mahal (RM18.90) together with one of my must-haves, the palak paneer (RM13.90). I quickly became a fan of their gorgeous butter chicken, a dish rich with flavour and a thick creamy mouth texture. Even the palak paneer, a common dish found in almost all Northern Indian restaurants tasted different as I could actually identify the thick cubes of cottage cheese. My least favourite were the prawn curry since it didn't seem to stand out much compared to the other dishes. The garlic naan (RM5.90) was also nice and fluffy even though they were quite mild with the garlic. We ended our lovely meal with a pot of masala tea (RM11.80 for 2).

I reckon I'll be back for more, as the food definitely perks my interest. I also loved how they beautifully present their food - in copper pots that keeps it warm, a lovely floral clay pot for our briyani rice and even the usual hum-drum flat crackers were given a pyramid shape. Also spotted on their menu - romali bread, a favourite of mine made with no oil as they cook it at the back of the wok.

Chutney Mary
No. 21-G, Jalan Telawi 2
Bangsar

Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-2282 9923

(Pork free. This place is on the same road as Planters Jim and La Bodega. It is further up from Woods Macrobiotics. Open from 11am until late. For more pictures, see my Flickr set.)

*Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. This review is time sensitive; changes may occur to the place later on that can affect this opinion. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from this place for writing the review.

Other review:

• Memoirs of a Chocoholic