Karaikudi Restaurant (Part 1)

Karaikudi Restaurant @ Market Street, the heart of “Little India Penang”.

This is an invited food review arranged by PenangTuaPui. Frankly speaking, I wouldn’t have explored this Indian restaurant by my own if it’s not the invitation extended by them. For me, I have this equation in mind, “Indian food = Spicy”. Therefore I took this golden opportunity wishing that Karaikudi could prove me wrong.

It’s a Friday night. A FLY-day as it’s begining of the weekend!

It opens 364 days! The only day off is Deepavali Holiday! Phew~! Salute!!

“Wahlau ei! “ was the first sentence muttered from my mouth when I first stepped into the restaurant.

Yellow lighting. I love it! It would be sooooooooo great if we could have been seated downstair that night. What a pity to me!

Upstair seems to be more spacious, can hold functions and parties. MINUS the rich yellowish ambience.

Mango Lassi (RM4.00) – Mango Flavoured Yoghurt (My rating : 10/10)

This is my favourite drink of the night. A MUST ORDER! THICK & RICH mango lassi. 真材實料. There’s no fancy or special glass served for this lassi, just let the taste speaks for the quality!

Vegetable Soup (RM3.00) – Delicious Spiced Vegetable Soup (a Chettinad Style) (My rating : 6/10)

There are plenty of ingredients e.g. cauliflower, carrot, dhall and french beans. I could finish up the whole bowl as it’s not spicy.

Bitter Gourd Chips – RM6.00 - Sliced bitter gourd marinated with spices and deep-fried. (My rating : 8/10)

This is the first surprise to me. A basket of salty and crunchy bitter gourd chips. I have never eaten this type of spiced bitter gourd slices before. The bitterness tasted no more with this version of preparation. It is indeed addictive. Once you’ve eaten one, you’ll definitely be asking for more!

Squid Fry (RM8.00) – Squids dipped in spicy batter & deep-fried (My rating : 6/10)

To my surprise, this fried squid is not as oily as I think of. I like eating it when served with lime juice. A bit sour to neutralize the oiliness. The squid’s texture is not too chewy and in actual the whole dish is not that oily either.

Chicken Cutlet (RM6.00) – Boneless pieces of chicken marinated with egg & bread crumbs and deep fried. (My rating 8/10)

Oh-so-lovely! The chef prepared for us the heart-shaped chicken cutlet. Very finely-minced chicken with turmeric as colouring and flavour. Its bread-crumbed skin is very thinly fried. Does the taste and texture resemble KFC nuggets? NO NO NO!!! Definitely not! This is a lot more healthier and flavourful with spice even without dipping the tomato sauce.

Egg Podimass (RM4.00) -Scrambled egg cook with onion, salt, pepper. (My rating : 5/10)

Indian style of scrambled egg. Not spicy either.

Kadai Vegetable (RM9.00) – Assorted vegetable cook with rich gravy. (My rating : 8/10)

From this dish, I trusted Karaikudi will serve very good vegetarian set.

Chicken Dhum Briyani (RM9.50) – Tender pieces of chicken cook with basmathi rice and spices. Dhum means to “steam” or “mature” the dish. (My rating : 6/10)

Served with curry or raita. I love the taste of raita as it’s pretty much like the yoghurt. What a great choice for a person like me who couldn’t take flaming spicy food!

To be continued….Karaikudi Restaurant (Part 2)