Masala Art

Opened in June 2006, Masala Art is a North Indian Restaurant located at Peninsula Plaza. The interior decoration is a mixture of Indian handcrafted mirrors, wooden screens inspired by the mogul design and the latest zen look. It has the capacity to fill up to 280 guests and also boasts a small stage for performing singers and dancers. I was there one Friday afternoon with a small lunch party.

For drinks, I tried the Masala Art lassi rather than the usual mango lassi. It is a mixture of yoghurt, honey, pistachio nuts, spices and a shot of sugar syrup. The drink was cooling and the concoction was just right. For future visits, I must remember to request for the lassi without the sugar syrup as a 
weight-watcher.

The buffet consisted of 22 dishes including salad, raita, soup, snacks, vegetables, meat dishes and desserts. I glanced through the menu and found many unusual items like afgani murg, tangri kebab and fish cutlet (often served in a Maliali home). A chef was also stationed near the buffet table, making chapaties on the spot.

I selected some of my favourite dishes from the buffet – dhai bhalla, chicken alhari tikka, mixed vegetables, chicken saag wala and fish masala. I was told by the captain, Mr Sohan, that chicken alhari tikka was chicken marinated in pickled oil, yoghurt and spices for hours before being roasted in the tandoor. No artificial colouring was added. When I tasted it, it had a very mild chilli taste and just a tinge of sourness. Now I know why I like Indian food so much – because the spices are like scents, they linger in your mouth and memory long after the food has been digested.

I liked the chicken saag wala. I always tell my friends that for a non-Indian, saag is an acquired taste. It is spinach blended into a fine paste and cooked for hours with onions, garlic, green chillies and many other ingredients.

We also sampled some unusual dishes from the menu like jal pari kebab, which was saffron flavoured fish rolls stuffed with prawn and cooked in a tandoor. The other dish was mutton kebab with mint sauce (see above photo) which one of my lunch companions, Dr Myint Soe, enjoyed very much. We used to tell non-Indians that eating mint sauce was like eating toothpaste.

By this time, we were all quite full and in prayerful silence. But one could not end a good meal without trying something from the dessert section. I tried the sabudana kheer topped with moong dal halwa. Moong dal halwa was something new to me but it was excellent. It was not oily and not too sweet. We also ordered masala tea which I feel is the soul of any good Indian meal. The tea was made with fresh milk instead of condensed milk as people are more health conscious these days. It had black pepper, which is a blood purifier, cardamom which is good for the colon, cloves which are for the nervous system and cinnamon for the bones. However, I felt that more spices would have made the tea perfect.

We asked the general manager, Mr Sukhvinder Singh, the story behind the name ‘Masala Art’. He said cooking is an art. In the same way an artist has a palette of colours to create his art, so does the chef who uses a palette of spices and ingredients to create his food.

Gina Ho

Amolat & Partners

Address:            

#B1-07d, Peninsula Plaza

Tel: 6338 7555

Opening Hours: 11.30am to 11pm daily