Indus Indian Restaurant: South & North Indian Cuisine

I'm a Malaysian Indian and Indian food definitely makes me feel like home although I don't favor it that much. I still remember my trip to India a few years back where I actually got home sick because all I had for my everyday meals were curry and masala. Now that I'm living abroad in Ho Chi Minh City, Indian food has become one of the comfort food that I can find whenever I miss mummy's cooking.

I have to admit that I'm not that good in cooking Indian food because I usually enjoy cooking fusion Malaysian dishes. But whenever we are craving for Indian food, Indus Indian Restaurant would be our number one choice. The food here tastes authentic and its very much on the cheaper side compared to a few other Indian restaurants here in HCMC. It is located at 2G Thi Sach Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and they also offer delivery with no minimum order. You can call them at +84.8.3521.0326 to place in your orders.

Egg Rava Thosai

Tandoori Chicken

Mutton Kottu Parotha

My husbands favorite would be the egg rava thosai. Not many restaurants here serve rava thosai and the combination of egg just makes it more flavorful! The tandoori chicken here is definitely the best out of the rest that I've tasted so far. Its tender, juicy, flavorful and not oily at all. My all time favorite would be the mutton kottu parotha. So far, I could only find this dish at Indus and not elsewhere. Kottu parotha is actually stir fried parotha , something similar to fried noodles but using parotha instead.

Chettinaad Chicken Curry

Chicken Curry

Plain Thosai

There were 2 different types of chicken curry on the menu. One was chicken curry and the other was chettinaad chicken curry. The flavors were similar but the chettinaad was a bit more spicier and used boneless chicken instead of chicken leg. The plain thosai was nicely cooked and crispy, not too sour but that's about it.

If you happen to be in Ho Chi Minh City and craving for Indian food. Head over to Indus Indian Restaurant for a scrumptious hearty meal!

* photography courtesy of Yogarajan Egambaram and Epicure, Manicure

Nasi lemak

Steamed coconut rice, sweet and spicy anchovy sambal sauce, fried anchovies, roasted peanuts, fried or boiled egg, and some sliced cucumbers. These are the basics for a plate of Nasi Lemak, Malaysian's national dish. 'Fatty Rice' is what it literally means and the fat is referred to the coconut milk cooked with the rice making it rich, fragrant and yummy. This dish is also usually served with beef / chicken rendang and stir-fried kangkung (water spinach).

The basic ingredients to prepare a good anchovy sambal sauce are ikan bilis (anchovies), shallots, onions, garlic, ginger, dried chili paste, belacan (shrimp paste), lemongrass, tomatoes and some salt and sugar to balance up the flavor. The key to cooking the perfect tasting sambal is to fry the chili paste in generous amount of oil until the oil separates from the paste and turn to a slightly darker color.

On the other hand, cooking the coconut rice is actually really simple. For 2 cups of rice, add 1 ½ cups of water and 1 ½ cups of coconut milk. Also add in some sliced ginger for the aroma and some salt to taste. Yes, its that easy.

Cooked this for dinner a few days back and the husband loved it. In fact he declared this, the best Nasi Lemak he had ever tasted, even better than his mum's! I also served this for brunch when my friends from Malaysia was over and it was a hit. Will definitely make this dish again when more friends and family are over!

Quiche

Quiche is a savory open-faced pastry crust dish with a filling of savory custard with cheese, meat or vegetables. I learnt about its existence when I took up a short baking course back in Malaysia. Loved how it tasted and so I decided to make it for dinner a few days back.

It was my first time making it on my own and this time I tried another recipe for the pastry crust which turned out just the way I wanted it to be. This recipe calls for 1 cold egg instead of using cold water. The dough was much easier to handle compared to how it was when I made my first pie.

Most recipes requires blind baking so I did a lot of reading on it and came to a conclusion that it is not necessary to blind bake unless your tart / pie filling requires light baking like a meringue pie or no baking at all. For quiche, the trick is to bake it at 220°C / 425°F for the first 15 minutes and then reduce the temperature to 160°C / 325°C and bake it for another 35 minutes. Another way is to cover up the top with foil paper to prevent browning and bake it at 205°C / 400°F for 30-40 minutes and another 10-15 minutes without the foil paper. How to know if your quiche is done? The filling should appear only slightly jiggly and not be totally firm and set. 

Its really not that hard to make your own quiche, pie or tart. If I can make, so can you!

Good food and entertainment, Teppanyaki style

How often do you get both good food and entertainment in one place? Vicki's Teppanyaki & BBQ is the place to be if you fancy live cooking experience. Not only do they serve mouth watering dishes, but the chefs here also have a very good sense of humor and never fail to entertain their customers while whipping up dishes at the same time. 

This restaurant is a perfect place if you would like to entertain your guests, clients or even have a small party as they offer a private dining experience. Their menu varies from chicken to lobster, all cooked on the iron griddle with special skills. It was my second time here and I enjoyed it as much as I did the first time.  

salted fish fried rice

squid cooked in sambal belacan

Chicken cooked in special sambal sauce

lamb cooked in spicy sauce

mixed vegetable with mushroom and tofu

our very funny chef who made us laugh with his tricks

Muslims can also enjoy this experience as this restaurant is certified halal. Vicki's Teppanyaki & BBQ is currently having a lunch promotion where diners would get 50% off their bill when you dine-in at their restaurant from 11am-3pm daily. (not applicable for drinks). 

Below are videos of some of the tricks shown to us during our dining experience at Vicki's Teppanyaki & BBQ.

the salt and pepper trick

tossing the eggs

the art of frying egg

the funny chef posing for me 

Tempted to try? Their restaurant is located at Le Anh Xuan St. 42., Ben Thanh Ward, Dist. 1, HCMC. Go ahead and experience it for yourself!

Malee Thai: An authentic experience

Weekends can only mean one thing. Relaxing and hanging out with the husband. Well, its not that I don't relax during the weekdays, but it is just totally different when the husband is around. I was thinking about making Tom Yam soup with noodles during the weekend, but Ram insisted that we should have a proper Thai meal since he was craving for Thai cuisine. We headed out to Malee Thai, which is by far our favorite authentic Thai restaurant, situated at 37 Đông Du, District 1, Saigon.

The one thing that I love about eating at a restaurant besides the good food is the pretty interior. The amount of effort taken in decorating the place makes a lot of difference, and one would not mind paying a little bit extra just for the cozy experience. Malee Thai has done just that by bringing Thailand closer to you with their authentic and traditional settings.

first floor

a more traditional look on the second floor

We ordered our usual which was white rice with green curry chicken, Tom Yam Goong, stir fried mixed vegetables and fried omelette. We were very impressed with the service as the food came out quite fast despite the lunch hour crowd.

fragrant Thai white rice

green curry chicken

Tom Yam Goong

stir fried mixed vegetables

fried omelette

The food here is definitely worth the price. The green curry chicken is rich, creamy and yummy compared to a few other places that I've tried. As for the Tom Yam Goong, you may choose the level of spiciness. So, for those who don't prefer spicy food may opt for a non spicy version. The stir fried mixed vegetables includes a variety of vegetables in it, including cauliflower, baby corn, snow peas, carrot, cabbage, button mushroom, onion and spinach. You may also add minced pork or chicken into the fried omelette if you wish to add more flavor to it.

So if you are down in Ho Chi Minh City craving for an authentic Thai cuisine, head on over to Malee Thai for a scrumptious meal.

Honey teriyaki roasted chicken leg quarters

It's been a while since I roasted any other part of the chicken besides the breast. Roasting or baking chicken breasts can be tricky. If you leave it in the oven for too long, the meat turns out dry and chewy. Last night I decided to roast chicken leg quarters and it was the best roasted chicken meal I've had in months. The meat was juicy and tender unlike the roasted chicken breast I use to have before this. 

Its actually really simple to make this roasted chicken. All you have to do is marinate the meat in some teriyaki sauce, oyster sauce, a little mixture of chili-tomato sauce and some honey. I can't give a specific measurement but all I can say is, taste the mixture and if the flavors are balanced and tastes right for you then its done! If possible, let your chicken marinate for an hour or longer before you roast it. Set your oven to 190ºC / 375ºF and roast your chicken for 40 minutes or more (depending on the size of the chicken).

Roasting chicken can get your oven messy, so here's a tip. Line the oven's baking tray with foil paper and place it in the lowest part of the oven. The chicken parts should be on the oven's wire rack shelf placed in the center of the oven. While roasting the chicken, the juices/fats will fall onto the foil paper instead of the tray, making it easier to clean up after.

Back at home, when my mum makes roasted chicken, she usually serves it with some french fries and coleslaw. I decided to make a healthier version by making some roasted pumpkin instead. Its easier to make as well. Just slice the pumpkin into wedges, coat the sliced pumpkin wedges with some olive oil, sprinkle some black pepper on it and pop them into the oven at 180ºC / 356ºF for 20-30 minutes (depending on the size of the wedges). Simple isn't it?

Try it for yourself!

A taste of home

I was craving for Malaysian food last night, so me and my husband decided to head out for dinner at one of the Malaysian restaurant, D'Nyonya. They serve authentic Malaysian cuisine and you can find almost any food you want here. D'Nyonya restaurant currently has 3 branches located in Ho Chi Minh City, Pnom Penh and in Perth. According to their website, they'll be opening another branch in Perth soon. They used to have a branch back in Malaysia located in Ara Damansara but I'm not too sure if they are still in business since they have removed it from their website.

The interior of this restaurant pretty much reminds me of home. Huge posters of the Baba & Nyonya family and the olden days of Penang pretty much creates a cozy atmosphere.

I can assure you that the food here is awesome and almost anything you order would taste delicious. I've tried their Nasi Goreng Kampung, Char Kueh Teow, Nasi Lemak, Curry Laksa and Prawn Mee. I would consider myself a difficult customer when it comes to food, but I approve all of the dishes above. I decided to go with Prawn Mee this time but Ram felt like eating rice so he ordered white rice, with fried tofu telur (egg tofu) and stir fried kailan (Chinese Broccoli / Mustard Orchid) with garlic. The fried tofu telur was amazing. It was deep fried and served in a special sweet and sour sauce. As for the stir fried kailan, it was nothing much to be screamed about.

Prawn Mee

Fried Tofu Telur (Egg Tofu)

Stir fried Kailan (Chinese Broccoli / Mustard Orchid) with garlic

Sirap Bandung (Sugar syrup with milk)

The drinks here can be a little too sweet, but you may choose to reduce the sugar level. They also offer a variety of Malaysian desserts. I've tried their Ais Kacang / ABC once and I liked it.

Char Kueh Teow (Picture taken a while ago)

Ais Kacang / ABC (Picture taken a while ago)

Overall, I would rate D'Nyonya as the best Malaysia restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City and I would highly recommend this place if you want a taste of authentic halal Malaysian cuisine.