Juniper
It was indeed a dark and (very) rainy night on 22nd June when I made my way to Gin Rik Sha, Bukit Damansara for their Grand Re-Opening Night. It was one of the heaviest downpours last month but the warm welcome at Gin Rik Sha washed away the stress of having to walk there with an unsturdy umbrella. Seated at one of their smaller, innermost tables, I was immediately approached by one of their mixologists who offered me a drink, choice of Rik Sha Raga or a beer. I chose the Rik Sha Raga by Shawn Chong, a gin cocktail (Soulsister Spirits Gin, no less!) made with lychee cordial, pranic juice and lemon.
Reading the Grand Re-Opening Menu on my table, it was a long list of what must surely be delectable modern Indian food, all served canape size so that we could have a taste of everything. It was free flow of canapes, we could request for more of what we liked which was basically everything but as I’d arrived with quite a full stomach, I didn’t have that much space to begin with. The Rik Sha Raga packed quite a punch for me, who isn’t a regular cocktail consumer. There’s a promo on at the moment where you get 1 Rik Sha Raga free with every purchase of the same.
The 1st set of canapes served was the grilled meat platter – variations were fish, prawn, chicken and mutton. They were all good but my favourite was the prawn, light and mildly crunchy on the exterior, this was a delight to start the never-ending flow of canapes.
The Lucknow vegetable briyani with okra raita is rather spicy. There is plenty of “oomph” in this little serving. Later, when I spoke to Chef Consultant Bavita about the spice level, she said that it’s Keralan cuisine so it HAS to be hot. One thing is for sure, the cuisine stays true to what one would expect of Keralan food.
Equally spicy was the tamarind rice with aubergine pachadi. If you love spicy Indian food, this is THE place but of course, there are also many non-spicy dishes which everyone should try.
One of my favourites of the night are the lamb shank in mini pooris. I was looking forward to this as I love pooris (I am always on the loo-out for pooris but it’s getting harder to find) and these certainly didn’t disappoint. This was the perfect combination.
My all-time favourite is the kerala prawn on mantou buns. You’d think to find mantou buns at a Chinese restaurant but it is available on the menu at Gin Rik Sha and this is another perfect combination. If I could only have 1 dish at Gin Rik Sha, it would have to be this but of course you can’t stop at just one dish here when they offer so many equally delicious food.
Banana leaf baked seabass with aubergine sambal is not as spicy as I expected and has a tangy, sourish taste which is absolutely mouth-watering.
Now for the pièce de résistance which isn’t on the Grand Re-Opening menu – the Spanish cheesecake and basil lemon tart came beautifully presented. The basil lemon cake was good but the cheesecake was phenomenally great. I couldn’t get enough of the cheesecake and was sorely tempted to order another piece!
You’d be surprised by the flavours at Gin Rik Sha. It’s not the kind of Indian food you’d expect at most other Indian restaurants. This is Indian fine dining at its best. It’s unique and for people who truly appreciate the finest Indian cuisine, nonpareil and special.
