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Restaurant: Ishq, Kuala Lumpur Text by Jason and Wei Min, Photos by Wei Min For a visitor visiting the Mutiara Crown Plaza for the first time, we did not immediately notice the presence of ISHq, which is tucked nicely at a corner of the hotel. The outlook of the restaurant seems quite ordinary at first glance but upon walking past the entrance we were surprised to find ourselves actually standing on what seems to be a balcony platform overlooking a grand banquet hall below. A wooden stairway on the right hand side of the entrance led us down to the exquisite dining hall that reveals a water feature which runs across the center strip of the dining area. The theme of the dining hall is evidently Asian, with refined modern wood furnishing, and Balinese accents decorating the balcony railing structures. |
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Once seated, a small garden area outside the long window panes immediately caught our attention. This outer area looks to be an extension of the dining area and it caters for customers who would like to have a unique open-air dining experience within the hotel itself. We started off our lunch with some mango and orange juice as we waited in anticipation for the food that is being prepared in the kitchen that is mostly visible from the dining area.
For the entrée, the waiter served Vietnamese fried spring rolls that were packed tightly together with a strip of pandan leaf. The ISHq Spring Rolls was served with a dab of their signature mint and mango chutney sauce. Just like the way it was presented, we found the stuffing in each of the spring rolls crispy on the outside and neatly packed on the inside, tasted surprisingly juicy and not oily as one would expect.
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Next, we were presented with a large succulent prawn king in tom yam flavoured soup and our waiter proudly informed us that this was a special preparation by Chef Orothai which was not available in the menu. The fragrance of the lemongrass rising up from the tom yam soup is just great to make one’s appetite goes crazy. The chef opted to use tomatoes as an added flavour in the tom yam soup, rendering it less spicy and possibly to suit the wider range of customers from the hotel who frequent the restaurant. Besides the special Thai offerings, the restaurant also boasts a range of authentic Indian cuisines prepared by their own chef flown in directly from the Indian continent. Among the list of Tandoor selections that they served were the Butter Chicken, Lamb Roganjosti, and Naan bread. |
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The Butter Chicken is a dish prepared with mainly lots and lots of butter blended with Indian spices. The savoury taste goes well with their thin slices of Naan bread, but after a while, one might find the Butter Chicken a little bit too rich to digest in large helpings.
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Alternatively, we thoroughly enjoyed the delightful combination of the Lamb Roganjosti and Briyanni rice; the lamb meat was perfectly stewed and we can suck the marrow off the bone easily, and we thought we could have easily voted that as the highlight of the day – but we were wrong. Just moments later, a waiter showcased the Chicken Malai Tikka on a mini barbeque grill with real charcoal smoke rising profusely from the little square container. The Chicken Malai Tikka is evidently one of their specialties and it was tastefully grilled, without any evidence of the marinated chicken getting burnedde finitely a MUST TRY. This was followed by another dish, the stir-fried chicken with cashew nuts, Gai Pad Meh that brought us back down to earth after the experience with the Chicken Malai Tikka.
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For desserts, we were offered Thai mangoes with sticky rice that was noticeably fresh and came in generous portions. Finally, we were delighted to be served a unique Indian dessert made from milk product, making the entire experience truly a treat. |
