Oman dining: Visit Foodlands restaurant in Al Khuwair

T-Mag Wednesday 06/December/2017 17:50 PM
By: Times News Service
Oman dining: Visit Foodlands restaurant in Al Khuwair

If you are looking for a mix and match fare then Foodlands is the place to be. It has everything that an authentic North Indian eatery has along with some flavours from South India too. This week taste of India beckons.

For many things in life it is said that one should wait for the right time. Not quite sure what made the ‘right time’ arrive so late but somehow a visit to Foodlands remained deferred for years until it finally happened last week.

Having passed by this restaurant owing to it being located at the heart of Al Khuwair, it was easy for us to locate the place and soon we were ushered to the quaint corner, the family section of the restaurant.
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Sipping the refreshing mocktail of orange and pineapple juice that was served upon our arrival we started with kebabs, it being the most favoured choice when it comes to starters.

Served in both vegetarian and non vegetarian options the platter had plenty to choose from. We started with Crispy Palak Fry that is deep fried gram flour coated spinach leaves, Vegetable Amritsari; cheese stuffed mixed vegetable patties, Paneer Reshmi Kebab; cottage cheese slabs marinated in mustard and spices and grilled to perfection, and Aloo Tilwada or stuffed potatoes grilled with tandoori spices and coated with toasted mustard seeds. Kebab connoisseurs would agree that when it comes to kebabs, vegetarians always become a loner in the meaty environment but we were bowled over by the attention given to the vegetarian side too.

The subtle flavours of the spices gave a great start to the non vegetarian starters that followed. They were Creamy Garlic Chicken, Grilled Chicken Kebab presented in satay style, and Mexican Pepper Prawn in which jumbo prawns were marinated in Thai chilli paste, parsley leaves, and pepper and then grilled. This was served with a tartar sauce dip.
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Thyme Grilled Chicken; boneless chicken pieces marinated in rosemary, thyme, cream and pepper were chargrilled and served with a tomato, parsley, and chilli flakes dip. The kebab platter had Murgh Rozali, Dahi and Lucknowi Kebabs. Rozali Kebab were chicken pieces stuffed with mutton mince and then grilled.

After a hearty kebab binge it was time to shift our attention to the main course. Since Foodlands is known to serve cuisines from both North and South India we started with Butter Chicken and Paneer Pasanda with naans. Both these creamy, tomato and cashew infused curries were velvety in texture and flavourful. Subz Bhuna Palak with mushrooms and corn was another vegetarian main dish which was very delicious.

When it came to the south Indian delicacies it was a delight to be served some traditional dishes. It was also time to clear the misconception that south Indian food mainly revolved round idlis and dosas. The southern Indian platter had some beautifully presented authentic curries from Kerala.
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We started with Attirachi Tawayil Kuthi Porichathu. It might sound like a tongue twister for those who are alien to the language but it is mutton fried on the tava with sliced coconut and a dish meant for those who have a palate to savour spices. The mango pulp dip was a great accompaniment. We also had Beef Koottularthu; cooked with sliced onions, spices and roasted with dry coconut, Chemeen Kizhi; prawns which were sautéed with onions in a thick gravy, and Fish manga curry made with kingfish in coconut milk, raw mango, and spices along with steamed rice. These were served with the traditional Kerala parantha, appams, and Thalassery Chicken Dum Biryani. We devoured in delight as we sipped kiwi strawberry mojito which had chopped kiwi and strawberry bits in strawberry syrup topped with soda. Mango lady that had vanilla ice cream, with mango pulp with crushed mint and ice caught our fancy too. Green mango was a refreshing medley of lime, coriander, ginger, raw mango with a mild kick of green chillies.

The mixed bag of rich and spicy food left us staggering and we decided to burp it off with fried ice cream and falooda.

If you are looking for variety all under one roof that’s easy on the purse too you know where to go this weekend. —[email protected]

Location
Opp. City Seasons Hotel, Al Khuwair
7:30am till midnight
+968 2448 9888; +968 9911 7821