The good folks at Flying Elephant have two reasons to celebrate, according to Executive Chef Teuku Syafrulsyah. “We are celebrating our fourth anniversary, as well as the lifting of the liquor ban on the state and national highways. Our bar is fully functional again, and we felt it was the perfect time to launch a new menu not just at the bar, but the restaurant also, given that we had plenty of time to perfect our dishes,” he says with a welcoming smile.
Sure enough, perfection comes served to us on a plate when we sample a few dishes off their new menu. The multi-cuisine restaurant serves Indian, Italian and Asian cuisine, and we get bite-sized samples from each. After a sip of our heady cocktails — the Madras Cafe (rum, filter coffee, cinnamon) and Serendipity (gin, strawberry syrup, lemon, cucumber and coriander), we begin with a Singaporean slaw salad, created right in front of us. Crispy vermicelli, pickled ginger and taro (root) are mixed in an apricot and miso dressing — crunchy, sweet and spicy in equal measure.
Next up is the tandoori tarbooza, charcoal cooked watermelon with hung yogurt and a chilli marinade that is juicy and sweet all at once, with a smoky aftertaste. From the Asian station, we sample the Nonya Chicken — succulent chicken rubbed with a mix of Malaysian and Indonesian spices, a special inclusion courtesy Chef Teuku.
For the main course, we begin with ossobuco di agnello alla Milanese (slow-cooked lamb shank cooked with sweet and sour spices) served on a bed of creamy saffron risotto. Easily the best dish on the menu we sampled so far, the perfectly flavoured lamb falls off the bone with ease and makes for a filling meal when eaten with the saffron risotto.
The sea bass comes highly recommended, and our next dish, Branzino in crosta di sale e erbe (roasted sea bass in sea salt and herbs, served with parsley baby potatoes and wilted spinach salad) doesn’t disappoint. The fish is cooked just right in a pastry shell, and is mildly spiced with salt and herbs.
As we await our next item, which we are told are flying naans, we debate on how they would be served – until the chef assures us that they are not going to fly at us, but the ‘flying’ is simply a nod to the restaurant’s name. When it arrives, we find that they are triangular bits of naan, topped with garam masala and other spices (much like a pizza), and is to be eaten with their signature daal makhni (retained from the old menu).
With little room for dessert, we settle on the soft-baked peanut brownie, served on a skillet with a peanut ice cream – a crunchy end to a delicious meal.
Open from 7 pm to 3 am. Meal for two: Rs 4,000. Details: 71771234