Ratha Raub @ Damansara Uptown

We were looking to have Banana Leaf Rice at a restaurant in Damansara Uptown but soon realised we were too early (on a Sunday morning) and the BLR was far from ready.

So, we detoured to another place in the area and ended up in Restoran Ratha Raub @ Damansara Uptown and then realised we were also too early (and not everything on their menu was available).  Sometimes, I just wish that these Indian restaurants, which open as early as 7am, can serve their lunch earlier (on weekends) from say 10am instead of 11 - 11.30am.  The restaurant is not very big and, if you can't find any seats, not to worry as there's another floor upstairs.

Famed for its fish head curry, this place has its origins in Raub, Pahang but this is the only outlet in Klang Valley (with one other outlet in Gohtong Jaya, Genting Highlands).

Once seated, we got down to ordering what was available...and that was basically restricted to what was on their all day menu.  And, on their all day menu, was all types of roti and tosai (Indian flatbread) and nasi lemak (luckily, some of their accompaniments for the nasi lemak, notably their lunch/dinner "best sellers", were available).

First up, we ordered their Famous Raub Nasi Lemak @ RM3.20 a serving.  This plate of plain nasi lemak was served with one whole hard-boiled egg with condiments of fried "ikan bilis" (anchovies), "kacang" (nuts), "sambal" (cooked chilli paste) and cucumber slices.  The rice had a good dose of "santan" (coconut milk) flavour and I also detected the aroma of ginger in it.  The ikan bilis and kacang was crispy and aromatic while the sambal was decent with a strong hint of ikan bilis.

Next, we had the Nasi Lemak Ayam Kari @ RM8.80 where the "ayam kari" (chicken curry) was served separately from the nasi lemak.  When I saw how watery the curry chicken was, I was sceptical at first...but one scoop of it into my mouth and all fears were put to rest.  

For something diluted, it was not short on bold and tasty flavours.  No wonder it's known as the Famous Raub Chicken Curry.  Though the curry looked like a fiery red, it wasn't all that spicy.  And since we didn't specify which part of the chicken we wanted, we got the breast meat (unfortunately) but it still came out tender.

My mother-in-law had the Nasi Lemak Ayam Rendang @ RM8.80.  The thick "ayam rendang" paste was also very decent, just not as good as the chicken curry.

I wanted to try one of their roti and went with the Rawa Thosai @ RM4 which is a thin batter filled with onions, green chillies, mustard seeds, curry leaves and maybe some other spices.  This lent an excellent flavour to the batter which I liked.  It was rather tasty and I wouldn't have minded if had a bit more of a crisp.  It was served with dhal and the same delicious chicken curry above.  Only thing that was missing was the coconut chutney (that's usually served with rawa thosai).

How could anyone resist the temptation of ordering this mouth-watering fried chicken after seeing it on display in all its glory!  So, we ordered a piece of their Famous Raub Fried Chicken @ RM6.50 and I asked for the drumstick portion (the menu lists the price as between RM5.50 to RM6.50, so I'd assume the different prices are for different parts of the chicken). 

The fried chicken was expertly executed with crispy and fragrant skin while the meat remained succulent and moist.  This was a very good piece of fried chicken, I must say!

With all that rice and curries, an order of Papadum @ RM1.80 is only appropriate.  As addictive as the papadums were, they were not as thin, savoury and crisp as I would have loved them to be.

Of course, I wasn't able to try their equally Famous Raub Kepala Ikan (Fish Head Curry) as 1) it wasn't ready so early in the morning and 2) only my mother-in-law and I like to eat fish head curry, so we wouldn't have been able to finish one serving on our own even if it was available (RM49 for small, RM72 for medium and RM80 for large).

Also not available at breakfast time was their Fried Lamb (@ RM9.50) which many blogs sang praises of.  My spouse had that before and he concurred that it was very good too.  I don't eat that much lamb anyway, so I'm not particularly sad to have missed this.

You'll notice that there's a corner where you'd find a variety of conveniently pre-packed curry pastes for sale.  They offer six types of curry from chicken to fish, seafood to kurma and rendang to fish head. 

My mother-in-law bought the curry chicken paste @ RM4.90 while I took home the fish head curry paste @ RM8.90.  Well, I thought, since I don't have enough people to share a fish head curry with me and didn't get to taste it here, I might as well try to cook a smaller portion of it at home with their ready-made paste and, hopefully, it might just turn out as good as the one served here at the restaurant (*fingers crossed*) since it's the same recipe after all! ;)

The classic Mango Lassi @ RM6.50 was thick and full of mango flavour with the right balance of sourness from the yoghurt and sweetness from the mango.  The Iced Teh Tarik @ RM5 was alright, just a tad sweet.

My Personal Opinion

I can see why they're the famous Raub Kari Ayam and Kari Kepala Ikan (although I didn't get to taste the latter) coz what I tasted so far, I have no complaints.

If I had to pick, I think I'll go for the chicken curry first with the fried chicken, a close second.  What surprised me though was how decent the nasi lemak was at this place, a dish that I certainly didn't think would come out so well from an Indian-type restaurant.

Return trips are definitely on the cards and, hopefully, our paths will cross at a later time (and by that I do literally mean a later time) and I get to try some of their other dishes that are not available early in the morning! ;D

Restoran Ratha Raub
No 32 Jalan SS21/35
Damansara Utama
47400 Petaling Jaya
Selangor
Tel: 03-7733 9287