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Monday 7 December 2015

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

21 comments:

  1. Ah! So it's good eh? I have never tried this restaurant. My brother did mention that he was keen and maybe some day we will. Since your review is positive, then I say we make the visit real soon!

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    1. I know you love your Indian food...hopefully, you and your brother can make a visit soon and find the food to your liking.

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  2. Did you intend to go to Curry Leaf at Damansara Uptown at first? Chicken Breast Meat for the chicken curry is perfect for me. Thosai Rawa, it made from semolina aka suji right?

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    1. Yeah, I think it was quite obvious that the other BLR in Uptown would be Curry Leaf ;) I thought semolina is used more for making pasta? I'm not sure what thosai rawa is made from, but a check online revealed that it's made from a fermented batter of idli rice and urad dhal (if that helps).

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    2. How come wiki says https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rava_dosa that rava dosa (thosai rawa) is made from semolina and when I searched for the ingredients you found, the results say idli rava for idli.

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    3. Erh, I think rava means semolina in one of the Indian language.

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    4. Oh, you're right. Sorry, my bad...I googled thosai (without the word rawa). When I re-googled rawa thosai, I see that it's actually made up of 3 flours......semolina, all-purpose and rice flour.

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    5. ah, ok, np. Thosai alone taste very different from Thosai Rawa because Thosai does not use the semolina flour. I prefer to eat Thosai than Thosai Rawa but I think Thosai Rawa is a healthier food than Thosai alone.

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    6. I actually prefer thosai rawa to thosai for the crispiness and the fragrance of the ingredients.

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  3. Hee hee... I always find it amusing what we find more enticing depending on where we group up. Breast meat would definitely be my preference, but many of my Malaysian friends prefer the dark meat with skin, fat and bone too. ;-)

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    1. I think many of us prefer the dark meat coz the breast meat, more often than not, is treated incorrectly and becomes overcooked and render the meat too dry for our liking.

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  4. what.. no fish head.. bummer! i was reading this post in anticipation of that! LOL. BTW so little sambal in the nasi lemak..? Got to be kidding me.. I guzzle that like by the dollops! :P Fried chicken looks good tho.

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    1. I guess there was so little sambal because it had quite a bit of ikan bilis in it + the plate of nasi lemak was only around RM3, so it's acceptable-lah! I didn't get to taste the kari kepala ikan but I did buy the fish head curry paste, so I'll attempt to make my own...haha! :D

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  5. Honestly, the nasi lemak looks just like any other nasi lemak. Looks can be deceiving huh...

    I think I would go for the fried chicken first. The fragrance of it would make me go weak already...

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    1. Yeah, the fried chicken would be a good choice...fragrant and crispy. The nasi lemak looked pretty ordinary but I was more surprised that an Indian eatery could do this Malay dish so well.

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  6. Been here myself, food doesn't look so great but they sure tasted rather good!

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    1. Especially the watery looking curry chicken, right? ;)

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  7. i'm usually not out and about yet at 10am on a sunday morning ... but on the bright side, i assume parking was a breeze here at that hour! :D

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    1. You're obviously a night owl...but you'd be surprised at just how many people are out and about at that time on a Sunday morning! ;D I'd say that parking is easier but never a breeze in Uptown area that's loaded with food choices.

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  8. I want that fried chicken, it is calling me!

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