I had planned to have lunch at Abak Briyani Dam, which was awarded full marks in InSing.com's chicken briyani review. Unfortunately the biryani was sold out, so my mom and I wandered along North Bridge Road looking for a good place for lunch when we stumbled upon Ansari Briyani Restaurant.
The friendly lady in the shop explained that the biryani here is distinctive as it is prepared Dubai-style. Upon enquiry about the specifics of what a Dubai-style biryani is like, I was told that the meat and the rice were prepared separately before being baked together with spices. Wait...isn't this just a description of what dum biryani is- cooking the meat, rice and spices together in a pot? Oh well, I'll leave it to my tastebuds to suss it out.
My mom and I usually stay away from mutton as when it is ill-prepared, it will have a strong gamey flavor. Naturally, we chose to have the chicken biryani . It was a pity that the cool-sounding drink concoctions such as "The Habibi" (iced apple mint tea) and "The Malabar" were unavailable that day, so we settled for a good ol' cup of teh ($1) instead.
The friendly lady in the shop explained that the biryani here is distinctive as it is prepared Dubai-style. Upon enquiry about the specifics of what a Dubai-style biryani is like, I was told that the meat and the rice were prepared separately before being baked together with spices. Wait...isn't this just a description of what dum biryani is- cooking the meat, rice and spices together in a pot? Oh well, I'll leave it to my tastebuds to suss it out.
My mom and I usually stay away from mutton as when it is ill-prepared, it will have a strong gamey flavor. Naturally, we chose to have the chicken biryani . It was a pity that the cool-sounding drink concoctions such as "The Habibi" (iced apple mint tea) and "The Malabar" were unavailable that day, so we settled for a good ol' cup of teh ($1) instead.
Chicken Briyani ($6)
Where's the chicken? Don't fret, it's buried under the rice. Or rather, just covered by a thin layer of rice 'cos it's a heartily sized piece of fowl.
Where's the chicken? Don't fret, it's buried under the rice. Or rather, just covered by a thin layer of rice 'cos it's a heartily sized piece of fowl.
Zoom into the picture and you'll be able to see how long those rice grains are. Yup, that's real basmati rice, not the nasty fake basmati you get in nasi briyani, the wannabe cousin of biryani. The word dum is actually redundant here, but Mr Biryani had to give himself a first name to distinguish himself from nasi briyani.To my satisfaction, the biryani (briyani?) rice here was prepared beautifully. The grains were well-flavored, with a light and fluffy texture. And oh!- another thing that I like about Ansari's briyani rice is that it's prepared with just enough ghee so that it's not dry, while being not at all oily.
Smeared with a tasty and spicy paste, the chicken meat was moist and tender. It could have been more flavorful though. Note that the achar provided is oily and rather spicy, so those who cannot take much spice (like me) should steer clear of it. Vinegared pickles would have helped to alleviate the pespiration that was dripping down my forehead.
The only letdown in this meal was the dhalca, which was redolent of *gasps* the offensive odour of gamey mutton. I picked out the veggies instead and left the curry untouched, while my mom didn't dare to take any of it.
Ansari Briyani Restaurant
753 North Bridge Road