Maharaj, Jalan Gasing PJ

Posted on May 5, 2010 by Lyrical Lemongrass

I fell in love with Bald Eagle the day he brought me cherry tomatoes.

We were in university then, and were subject to the revolting food served in our halls. I expressed a craving for cherry tomatoes. Unbeknownst to me, he hopped onto a bus and went to the Mall to buy me tomatoes. I had no idea that he had even paid attention to what I was saying, so when he turned up at my door with cherry tomatoes, my eyes were brimming with tears.

His thoughtfulness has carried on through the years. Flowers for no particular reason. Dinner at my favourite restaurant when I least expect it. Breakfast in bed. Coffee in the morning. A cute momiji toy. A book that I’ve raved about. An unexpected text.

As skewed as his thoughts may be sometimes, I suppose everyone should subscribe to Fatboybakes‘ credo, i.e. do not do during courtship what you dont intend to do the rest of your married life, because the last thing one should do is feel that giving ought to be an obligation. It shouldn’t. And I would never expect flowers just because it is Valentine’s Day, and I would never expect diamonds, just because they tell you that it is the only way he can say “I love you” effectively.

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Maharaj is the place to go to if:-

1. You’re tired of thosai and idly.

2. You want to dine like a King (they have a couple of huge ornate chairs fit for royalty).

3. You think orange goes fabulously with purple. (it does!)

4. You’ve promised your girlfriend the Taj Mahal but your bank account shows only RM125.26 (including interest).

5. You want to rock your world with a new vocabulary with words like cuchumber.

Cuchumber is, indeed, a word, and it isn’t miss-spelt. Pronounced koo-choom-ber, it is a type of salad made with finely julienned vegetables. The salad is then tossed with lime juice or vinegar and coriander to give it a rather zesty flavour.

If it weren’t for an invitation by Marian Eu (on behalf of the owner, Ilan Govan) to dine at Maharaj, my life would have been incomplete and my linguistic tongue twisters would have been limited to thosai, vadai and apam.

The cuisine at Maharaj is as wide as the motherland. From Goan to Hyderabadi and Ilan Govani (i.e. owner’s variation of classic dishes), you will be spat upon if you requested for something as common as idly (you know…those round white steamed discs). Okay, so spitting’s not allowed. The servers at Maharaj are as gentle as the afternoon breeze on a hot humid rain-less day in Kuala Lumpur. But if you choose to dine at Maharaj, I appeal to you, be adventurous. Try the cuchumber.

Cuchumber – julienned raw vegetables. A nice appetiser, but can also be eaten with breads and grills.

It Doesn’t Matter if You’re Black or White

Vegetable Kebab – the texture was soft and mushy thanks to the potato, cauliflower and cottage cheese (paneer) filling, with a slightly minty flavour.

Coriander Salad – looked suspiciously like cuchumber, but with a mayonnaise and yoghurt dressing that helped counter the hot chilli effect from the subsequent dishes.

Mixed Grill – Minced Lamb, Fish Hariyali, Chicken Kebab, Chicken Tikka, Prawn Kebab. The minced lamb was heavily spiced, masking the gamey flavour of the lamb. The fish hariyali, deriving its colour from green chillies, was less spicy, while the chicken kebab was very tender and far from dry.

Tiger Prawn Tawa Masala. Tawa simply means hotplate. The prawns were slathered with masala spices then cooked on a hotplate, leaving a crust of spices that tasted very much like our Malaysian otak-otak. Very tasty, and probably the most expensive item that night.

According to the proprietor, Ilan Govan, the concept of the restaurant represents a journey of art, culture and cuisine of India. As such, the “rooms” are decorated differently; one painted with haveli windows of Rajastani abodes, another with a mural of the Taj Mahal, and one with paintings of courtyard dancers. Various decorative items are available for sale as well.

Various types of naans – plain, garlic, with sesame and ajwain, kulcha (stuffed) with cottage cheese, potatoes or onions).

Black Pomfret in Masala Sauce. The fish was first deep fried, after which a masala sauce was poured over it. The texture of the flesh was firm, similar to mackerel. Went wonderfully with the breads which soaked up the sauce.

Royal Minced Mutton Briyani. The caramelised onions provided a sweet taste to the briyani.

Squid Vindaloo. Not as spicy as I’d expected, the squid were tossed in a mildly spicy puree made with onions, tomatoes and chilli. Not mushy at all.

Garlic Rice. I LOVED the garlic rice – steamed basmati that was light and fluffy with a moderate garlicky taste.

Mutton Rogan Josh. The mutton was rather chewy and not the best I’ve had. This is a popular Kashmiri dish where the colour is derived from a special kind of pepper.

Chicken Hyderabadi – the mildest of all the dishes, the sauce had a cashew nut base, and the flavour was enhanced with garlic and tomatoes. Was definitely one of the more popular dishes that night.

Palak Paneer and Navaratna Kurma. The cottage cheese (paneer) in the Palak Paneer was smooth and firm. An extremely addictive dish. The Navaratna Kurma was new to me. The dish was made with nine types of vegetables and dried fruits and cooked in a cashew nut gravy. When so many ingredients are used, inevitably the dish is a winner.

Mango Kulfi – deriving its colour from saffron, the kulfi included almond, cashew nuts and pistachio. Very rich and dense.

Gulab Jamun. A little too soft for my liking as it was probably soaked in the syrup too long.

Carrot Halwa. Absolutely delicious. The taste of the carrots was still recognisable and not masked by the sugar.

The food at Maharaj, while not being ambrosial, warrants merit. This is the place to go to when one wants to have a nice relaxing evening in an airconditioned environment and with polite and attentive service. Beers and wine are also available. The restaurant is situated in a bungalow, and there is enough parking space for approximately 30 cars.

Maharaj
59 Jalan Gasing
46000 Petaling Jaya

Tel: 03-7968 5515

Opening hours: Daily, 11.30am to 3.00pm, 6.30pm to 11.00pm (last order)

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The pictures above were taken with the Panasonic GF1 (a surprise gift from Bald Eagle). It is such a sexy camera, compact enough to slip into my handbag without weighing it down too much, and filled with features that would rival a DSLR. Needless to say, I’m loving it.

Frontera in the Annals of my Mind

Posted on October 29, 2009 by Lyrical Lemongrass

Half the Malaysian population thinks that annal means having a constipation problem. Like how an employee goes, “My boss is so annal!!” Or, “Touch my annal and I’ll make sure you go down in the anus of history”.

My obsession about this topic stems primarily from an encounter I had last week. My anus was set on fire by a certain gentleman called Larry, not to be confused with Leisure Suit Larry, or Larry who used to spin at 11 LA (this bit should flush through the anus of anyone born after 1980), at a Tex-Mex restaurant in Jaya One called Frontera.

What started out as an innocent celebratory birthday dinner for two to contemplate the deeper meaning of amoeba life turned out to be a rambunctious affair, thanks to one surprise guest (who happened to be the owner who happened to be called Larry who happened to have his stash of prized tequila nearby). Three ain’t a crowd, and four, even merrier, as our new friend Tim, an American who was perpetually quizzed on the authenticity of the food at Frontera, joined the merry bandwagon of anus worshipers. Well, it wasn’t all fun, no sirree. Larry made it his goal to educate me on the complexities of Tex-Mex cuisine after pointing out that I did not have a Tex-Mex category on my blog. “You don’t like Tex-Mex food, do you?” he asked in an accusatory tone. Eep. I really do, sir. I’ve eaten it all of five times in my life. Gulp.

Tex-Mex food should not be confused with Mexican cuisine; should the muddle take place, aficionados of either cuisine would most likely fart on you (by virtue of being bean eaters), much like if you confused annal with anus. Seriously, though, I learnt in a mini lecture (Larry can be pretty intense about food when he’s not drinking his tequila) that fajitas originated in Larry’s kampung in Texas at a li’l eatery called Ninfa’s in 1973. A customer had ordered “tacos al carbon”, but Ninfa Rodriguez Laurenzo jazzed it up with various other condiments like cilantro, tomatoes, sour cream, cheese and onions, and voila, the fajita was born and Texas got its little green pin on the food map.

Thus began our exploration into the world of Tex-Mex cuisine at Frontera. From the crispy popiah lookalike Taquitos de Pollo with freshly made guacamole (not always available, apparently, so call early and beg for it ‘coz it is soooo goooood) to chicken sour cream enchiladas (corn tortilla filled with minced chicken), San Antonio style chicken with a very North Indian-tasting Cilantro Cream Sauce (Larry gave me a look of disdain when I expressed the Indian bit…*amateurs*), crispy beef tacos and chicken chimichanga. The predominant ingredients in all these dishes were tortillas, minced meat, sour cream and cheese. Personally, there’s only so much tortilla that I can eat. My favourite had to be the Chili Con Carne, a potpourri of minced meat, garlic, peppers and cumin, very dense in texture, and tasting rather fiery. To say that we were stuffed would be an understatement. I didn’t get to try the bestselling burgers, but according to Friedchillies, “each bite is filled with pure meat on meat action plus a pleasing tongue tingling spiciness”. Wow.

Human beings are rarely satisfied, even when they know they already have a good thing. At a microscopic level of this theory, Larry teased and dangled a carrot, and birthday boy, Jek, and I rose to the challenge. Looking back, I think the awesome margaritas clouded our judgement. Anyhow, what’s a bit of chilli, eh? We’re Malaysians, man. The first challenge was to attempt at least three chicken wings slathered with a sauce prepared with habanero chillies. (Note: Habanero chillies vs our local cili padi is like prostitutes matched against primary schoolboys who can’t rise to the occasion.) The reward? Bragging rights. No prizes for guessing who won this. A picture speaks a thousand words, and no amount of photoshopping can remove the beautiful pink flush on the cheeks. My Indian genes come in handy occasionally.

Then Larry brought out the second challenge, one that Jek declined – the habanero chilli in its raw form. The truth is, I’m a wimp. I shed tears even when I’m eating nasi lemak with sambal ikan bilis, but I had to defend my honour, and so I looked it in the eye, tipped my sombrero, and chucked it in my mouth. “This ain’t so bad,” I said. At that moment, a burning sensation crept to my throat, and before I knew it, I was screaming in my head – “Arriba! Arriba! Make it stop! Make it stop!”. I couldn’t cry. Tears would have caused my mascara to streak all over my face. Not cool. As Larry described it later, “She didn’t even bat an eye”. Hehe. I fooled them all. Oscar nominations should be coming my way any day now.

Barring the heat factor of the chicken wings, they’re actually quite tasty as the sauce has a tart piquant quality that I imagine would go wonderfully with beer. There are several heat levels for the chicken wings, so one does not have to be suicidal to enjoy the tasty morsels.

A great remedy to combat the fiery sensation from the habanero (which lasted up to 15 minutes in my case) is to have the key lime pie, a quintessential tangy American dessert. I reckon the milk in it neutralizes the pain caused by the chillies. My personal solution to fight the heat is to gulp down some really hot water which ends up numbing the tongue and makes you worry about other problems (like burnt tongue hehe). Works way better than iced water.

And so, we come back to the anus. When consuming the habanero, always be aware that there are consequences. My anus was on fire the morning after, thanks to my stupidity and an American named Larry H. Martin. Beware of him.

Frontera Bar and Grill
No. 19-8-2 Block L,
Palm Square, Jaya One,
No. 72A Jalan Universiti, 46200 PJ.

Tel: 03- 7958 8515

Bookings can also be made through theQguides.com.

Opening times: 12.00 noon till late

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Note: Whilst this was not an invited review (our sole intention was to celebrate Jek’s birthday at the restaurant and I had planned on footing the bill), our friend Larry surprised us by paying for the meal, and since he is the owner of Frontera and did all the ordering, some elements of an invited review may be present. Thank you, Larry, for a fun-filled evening. Your generosity is much appreciated.