Passage thru India

February 2013

Barely three months old, this newly opened restaurant at the Hillside area in Tanjung Bungah called Passage Thru India serves Northern Indian fare. The interior of the place is comfortable and has walls adorned with Van Gogh-style paintings of flowers in cheerful primary colours. When seated, a basket of delicately spicy papadom with a mint-chutney dip is served as a palate teaser.

Menu wise, their boneless chicken pakoda at RM9+ is considered as an appetizer but is a perfect companion to their bagara baingan at RM15+ that is fried aubergine cooked in spicy red sauce and their extra-long grain rice. The rice is good enough to eat it on its own at RM4+ per serving. Each portion is good for two small eaters.


Chicken pakoda

There are various chicken and fish dishes but the popular ones are in the Northern Indian delicately spicy but creamy gravy from RM18+ and also a nice range of vegetables such as cauliflower and okra in either spiced stir-fry or simmered in mildly spicy gravy. Regardless of what you order, end the meal with their masala tea at RM5.50+ as a sweet note. Service wise, the wait staff are pretty attentive and friendly.

In short, the food here is enjoyable and at a reasonable price too, but do stick to the ‘normal’ Northern Indian fare on their menu to ensure a satisfactory meal. Being even a little adventurous, such as ordering the tomato soup, will leave you sorely disappointed. Right now there's a 'just open' 20 per cent discount on everything in their menu as a way to welcome you. Su Aziz