Curry Magic – Adding a dust of magic to your not-so-typical Indian food!
Location: 15-1 Jln Riang, Singapore 358987
Located beside the renowned Wimbly Lu is a quiet little bar called Curry Magic.
On the fateful night of the eve of mooncake festival this year, Jeremy and I chanced upon this place while hunting for our next dinner spot. Located within private housing estates, this bar is not the easiest to locate. This is also probably why there are not many websites providing review on this small little eatery.
The empty tables and seats of this bar will make you think twice before deciding to dine there but trust me that regrets will be little, if any dining there. First thing I noticed upon entering is that the walls are painted orange and that they were promoting Jim Beam. A little research on the internet would return you results stating that orange is a dominant color used in India for it represents courage and sacrifice. Even their own national flag uses this colour! Jim Beam is also widely drank in India as the spirit company managed to make their brand more known by occupying prominent space shelves by bribing Indian government officials.
Curry Magic prides itself in offering Kerala and North Indian Cuisine. If you do not already know, Kerala is a south Indian state and is famous for both its beaches as well as spices. The staff at Curry Magic was very patient in explaining to us what the bar offers. Initially, I wanted to order Butter Chicken and Palak Paneer but the staff laughed and said “Singaporeans always order these.. why don’t you try others. Also nice.” In the end, we decided to go for the palak paneer (since I was craving for it weeks ago), Kerala beef roast (which is way out of my comfort zone) as well as paratha (not prata!). Prata and paratha are both made of the same flour but paratha has different layers and thus is thicker. If you’re wondering how can Hindu Indians eat beef, Jeremy was thinking the same. We learnt that day from the staff that in India, the definition of beef is narrower to mean only cows. In fact, many Indian states ban the slaughter of cows, but not buffaloes. So the meat that is eaten in India are supposedly buffaloes.
The tantalizing smell of the two dishes is enough to make me salivate.
I always like Palak Paneer because of the cottage cheese. However, this dish served here in particular isn’t as flavourful as the ones I tasted elsewhere. That being said, it somehow tasted healthier as it was less salty. The cottage cheese was better than those I ate before, as it was soft yet chewy.
With high risk comes high reward! Ordering the Kerala beef roast was like ordering a mystery gift box without knowing exactly what the contents are except that it is a gift box. The beef comes with a thick gravy mixed with onions, tomatoes, dried coconut flesh and spices. It is spicy and its unique taste refreshes our palates. The beef was also cooked long enough to be tender and the tendons attached to the meat gave it a spongy texture. It reminds me of eating rendang but just that in this case, it is beef instead of mutton with a very different gravy. The astute staff at the bar was kind enough to offer me iced water after observing how I reacted to the gravy. The gravy was a little spicy but that’s also what makes the dish so shiok!!
I like the ambience at the bar not so much for the decor as the entire place has a very minimalist vibe. I like the fact that this place is peaceful and quiet. Unlike many popular bars where it can be difficult to hang out and have quality conversations, this bar is perfect since the background music is adjustable and not many people know of this place enough to make it crowded and noisy. If you are up for something different and you’re not afraid to try new dishes, do go to Curry Magic to see the magic!
I can’t wait to return to this place to try the other dishes on the menu!
Food ♥♥♥♥♡
Service ♥♥♥♥♡
Ambience ♥♥♥♥♡
Value for money ♥♥♥♥♡
Till then,
Harmony Tee