Daawat Tandoori Restaurant: Palek Paneer

Photo: Palak Paneer from Daawat Tandoori Restaurant

Daawat Tandoori Restaurant: Palak Paneer

I tried the Palak Paneer, a North Indian dish of cottage cheese with spinach, from Daawat Tandoori Restaurant recently. This North Indian restaurant is located at Singapore Expo in Simei.

For first-timers, don't be alarmed at the greenish gluey sight when the palak paneer dish arrives. This palak paneer may not look very pretty but once you pop a spoonful into your mouth, you will get hooked!

The cottage cheese inside this Palak Paneerhas a texture similar to Chinese tofu. When cut into small cubes, the resemblance between palak paneer and tofu is uncanny. I like the curd-like bite as it almost melts in the mouth.

The spinach is grinded into a paste-like texture in palak paneer. The good thing about the palak paneer is that the vegetable taste does not overpower tastebuds with the presence of spinach. In fact you hardly notice there's any vegetable taste at all.

The palak paneer taste is surprisingly good, with a sweetness that belies its looks. There is also a bit of spicy chilli aftertaste. The fragrance of its North Indian herbs and spices makes the cottage cheese stand out from the usual Chinese food that I eat.

If you have never tasted cottage cheese and you like tofu with a robust sweetness with spice, this palak paneer from Daawat Tandoori is for you.

A small serving of palak paneer goes for $9.50. This dish goes very well with plain cooked Basmati rice.


26 June 2009: Latest Update
Restaurant is closed.

North Indian Food, Singapore Expo

Photograph: Mutton Vindaloo, a tasty kind of North Indian food at Singapore Expo

North Indian Food, Singapore Expo

The picture you see here is the North Indian Food called Mutton Vindaloo found at Singapore Expo.

With the coming Deepavali celebration, why not try a change of palate with food that originates from North India. Actually, the restaurant name is Dawaat Tandoori Restaurant, where Dawaat carries the meaning of "invitation to feast" in Pakistani. So is it really food from Pakistan which lies north of India? Whatever the restaurant name or its geographical origins, the food served here is definitely North Indian in style and taste.

I sampled this Mutton Vindaloo which was made of thick tomato paste with chunks of mutton, potatoes and North Indian herbs. It had a creamy sweet taste with just the right tinge of sourness.

The mutton chunks was cooked until the meat was soft, tender to the bite without the overpowering flavour of mutton. Most mutton vindaloos that I've eaten at other North Indian restaurants either tasted too strong of mutton smell or were a tad harder to chew. This was different and Dawaat's North Indian cooking style was closer to my liking.

A pity though that this North Indian-style food serving of mutton vindaloo came in a smaller portion than I had expected for the price of $12 before a 10% service charge. My charge slip did not reveal any GST on my invoice of this North Indian restaurant.

Details on where to find North Indian food at Singapore Expo:

Location: Singapore Expo, #01-44, Hall 4 Atrium

You can see the stand-alone single-level North Indian restaurant just next to the Singapore Expo carpark in Simei.


26 June 2009 Update:
Restaurant has closed.