Dining With Jewelle

This was actually the first Indian restaurant which I wanted to check out in KK last week. But when Vee, my chauffeur cum dining mate refused to be adventurous, I decided to shelve the idea until I had another dining mate. That happened to be my youngest brother who had a choice of being either a baby sitter or my chauffeur, and the smart man chose the latter.

So it was off to Kohinoor for me, finally.

This fine dining North Indian restaurant was located at the Waterfront a few doors next to BED and flanked by bars. We went there for lunch on a weekday so I was a little surprised to find that the place was empty.

The decor of the place was lovely, with lots of flowing fabrics on the ceiling. It featured an open kitchen concept so it was a little disconcerting to find the eyes of all the chefs (supposedly flown in from India) on the two of us.

I read somewhere that their lunch sets were recommended and that was what both of us had. Since Jay Frediano never had any Indian food before (except roti canai or murtabak), I ordered the mutton set and chicken curry set. I convinced Jay to try the mango lassi and fortunately he was okay with it. I attempted another Indian drink called a Jal Jeera which is a concoction of lime, mint and something else I can’t remember right now. It’s actually quite nice but I think you need to acquire the taste for it.

Of course, as with any other Indian restaurant, the poppadum were served first. Theirs were bigger in size as compared to Choice Restaurant.

This was followed by a plate of pakoras and samosas which I thought were quite good that I finished them all.

Soon after that, our main dishes arrived. Besides the Punjabi chicken curry, I was served a bowl of long beans masala and daal terkawali.

While Jay’s mutton korma came with Jeera Aloo (supposedly a favorite North Indian dish) and Bhindi Masala (ladies fingers). We thought that the ladies fingers used in the dish were quite tough, perhaps too old.

I was actually looking forward to the Jeera Aloo the most. I once had a potatoes with mustard seeds dish cooked for me by a close friend’s MIL and I have been crazy about it ever since. However, I was never sure of the name and since the Aloo Ghobi at Choice, the other Indian restaurant, was cooked with cauliflower, I thought perhaps the Jeera Aloo would be the type that I would prefer.

However, I was a little disappointed as this dish was quite dry and the potatoes still quite hard. I’m sure this was the authentic way of serving this dish but I think I prefer the Aloo Ghobi more than this.

All the dishes were great. The portion was just nice, if a bit too much. In fact, even the plate of rice came with 4 slices of naan bread and salad! Jay, someone who can eat 10 slices of bread in one sitting, was already struggling to finish them off. I should have brought my other brother here (he’s the type who can eat 20 slices of bread in one sitting!).

There was even a plate of fruits and coffee for dessert.

For a set of RM15++ and RM19++ each, they were really value for money.

I think for a fine dining place, the dishes were reasonably priced. The service was great and the food was lovely. Perhaps the only problem I had with this place was when they let the cooking smoke from their grilling section entered the restaurant. But at least they noticed my frowning face and quickly closed the door.

Also, this place has no toilet but there is a public toilet a few doors down.

Finally, here’s my brother stuffed to the max and I’m sure is so happy now that I’m back to Brunei and no longer around to pester him to babysit Eu and Qi, take her shopping and drive her around town!

But seriously, thanks Jay Frediano!