Thevar - Keong Saik Road — Nomadic Foodie on the Go

Thevar recently received its first Michelin star, and I’m not quite sure why it doesn’t already have two.

I’m not going to beat about the bush and wax lyrical about how amazing the service and ambience were (5/5 amazing by the way), but instead, I’m going to jump straight into the reason people come here in the first place – the food.

Beetroot Chaat

This purple, scrumptious little bite of heaven looked like it should have come out of a biscuit pack, but on much more advanced level steroids. There’s no mistaking it. It tasted like beetroot. But many different textures and layers of beetroot. And with the mixture of your usual Indian spices, this was a definite winner.

Summer Truffle Maitake Mushroom Samosa

I never have been, and possibly never will be, a fan of mushrooms. However, I can’t just say no when they appear on a set tasting menu, and I am very lucky that this was the case with this dish. When you think of samosa, you don’t think ice cream cone, but this was exactly how this was served. It was a miniature ice cream cone filled with mushrooms that I actually liked and then topped with a very generous sprinkling of truffle. If only this was served at actual ice cream vans – there would be a lot of mushroom converts!

Crispy Pork with Sambal Aioli

This was possibly my favourite dish of the night. The crispy pork was wrapped in a betel leaf (healthy version of a taco) and it just oozed flavour. It was deliciously crispy on the outside, while on the inside, it was juicy, tender and just about everything you want a piece of pork to be. The sambal was also delightfully spicy, and it was the perfect accompaniment to the meat.

Pani Puri

This golden orange snitch (without the wings) was a little ball of sheer genius. Who on earth would think of dehydrating carrot juice in the oven for 48 hours to make the delicate pani puri shells?! Thevar would. As soon as I bit into it, the shell just melted in my mouth and the filling inside was out of this world – masala chass (spiced buttermilk), pomegranate seeds, mint leaves and chaat masala (black salt, dry mango powder, ginger, asafoeteda, cumin, coriander) are now on my permanent supermarket shopping list.

Irish Oyster – rasam granita, finger lime

I have a bit of a phobia when it comes to textures, hence why I generally stay away from mushrooms. This is also why I have never even attempted to try an oyster up until it was served to me at Thevar. I am not going to lie – I had been psyching myself up for this oyster all day. I was genuinely worried that I might gag right in the middle of this gorgeous restaurant just as I had to swallow this goddam slimy piece of sea. Thankfully though, I was very pleasantly surprised. The oyster was nowhere near as slimy as I had expected it to be, and it was actually quite meaty and flavourful – I am going to assume that the fact that it came from the ocean of my gorgeous home country (Ireland) made it so good. And what really made this oyster scream, “Please eat me!”, was the rasam granita topping. Tomato and tamarind soup was made. It was then frozen. Once nice and icy cold, it was hacked up into delightful little soup breadcrumbs that then sat perfectly on top of the oyster. I do not think I would have liked it anywhere near as much without those luscious breadcrumbs.

Argentinian Prawn Kachori

I had never heard of kachori before, so I obviously Googled it. Once I read that it was a light dough filled with spiced ingredients, not all that dissimilar to a samosa, I was immediately onboard and couldn’t wait to try it. The prawns were juicy, succulent and just all round moreish, while the kachori itself was so light, but yet able to hold its own and mop up all of the delicious juices.

Chettinad Chicken Roti

I love chicken and I love curry and I love roti. If that doesn’t make for an absolutely perfect dish, then I honestly do not know what does. The chicken was cooked in its glorious Indian spices, and it sat in a beautiful roti that was able to soak up all of the yummy spiced chicken juices. This was stealing the idea of tacos and making them better at its best.

Pink Guava and Kashmiri Chilli Gujiya

What a lovely palate cleanser before the arrival of the mains. The guava had a light flavour, and the addition of some chilli meant that it wasn’t too sweet. As soon as I bit into it, these flavours burst out and I didn’t want them to end.

Crispy Scale French Bass – Polichathu

I don’t eat fish all that often, but I have been trying to do so more recently. Why? It’s absolutely delicious and I have just been too lazy to find the decent quality stuff. I digress. The bass was presented on a banana leaf, so I assume it was partially cooked on said leaf. The skin on top was incredibly crispy and delicious, while the actual meat of the fish was flaky, tender, and just downright fantastic.

Madras Crab Curry Rice

Can anything be better than a fried rice? Especially when you’re craving comfort food? I originally would have said no, the best comfort food is pasta, but that was until I experienced Thevar’s fried rice with madras crab curry. The spice level was perfect, the crab was fall apart tender and perfectly salty, and theses flavours just permeated throughout all of the rice. I unfortunately did not get a photo of this wondrous dish.

Tandoori Rack of Lamb – green goddess

I have always loved tandoori chicken – it is one of my mum’s specialities after all – so I was very excited to try the tandoori lamb, and it did not disappoint. The meat itself was tender, while the spices and the nice char made for a wonderfully balanced dish that just yelled, “Why is there not more?!”. Also, the green goddess sauce needs to be bottled and sold to anyone that enjoys flavour on their food.

Papaya Sorbet

The papaya sorbet was light and incredibly refreshing, which is just what was needed after 11 courses of sheer brilliance, and it also helped prepare us for the final indulgence of the evening.

Rasmalai

I had never heard of rasmalai before, but I am very glad that I have now. I hadn’t checked out what it actually was beforehand, so it was a lovely surprise to end our evening’s feast. It kind of reminded me of a bread pudding or a trifle, but on the next level. The sponge really soaked up all of the sauce, which was both sweet and a bit spicy from the cardamom and saffron, at the same time. The addition of nuts added a nice contrasting texture.

Thevar really lived up to my expectations and then absolutely annihilated them. The food was glorious, the service was perfect and now I just need to work out when I am next going back!

Thevar - Keong Saik Road

Wala Pizza - Private Kitchen

North Miznon - Amoy Street