Saffron

I was asked if I was okay with having dinner at Saffron on Tuesday. Okay? Are you kidding?! If I had a video phone, the person on the other end of the line would have seen me nodding my head so furiously that I was beginning to look like those Chinese “bu dao woong” (“won’t fall over”) dolls I used to play with as a kid. “Oh yes, let’s, let’s… please, yes…” I was beginning to sound like I was about to… Never mind. Don’t worry, we’re still talking about food here. I can of course be excused for my “exuberant enthusiasm” – I haven’t had North Indian for at least a couple of months.

I would never pass up a chance to savor North Indian cuisine. I probably enjoy it more than I do South Indian food. I like the more complex layering of different spice notes, with chilli heat forming but part of the overall picture, and balanced out with the smooth subtlety of either yogurt, milk or cream, compared to the stronger and perhaps more dominant notes of chilli and coconut cream in Southern dishes. And of course, being the bread person that I am, naans, bhaturas and rotis are all close to my heart…

Saffron is billed as a North Indian Bistro and Tapas Bar. (Yes, the irony of it all… an Indian restaurant partly calling itself something quite Spanish. As is very often the case in Singapore, a word with a specific meaning is taken and used so much that it takes on a whole new meaning and is used to define and describe a broad category of things or even a style of doing things similar to or just inspired by the original meaning of the word). Located on Circular Road in the heart of the business district, Saffron caters mainly to the professional crowd.

The décor is what I would describe as “contemporary Indian”. Dark furniture with clean lines in the style of maybe a modern, hip New York bistro provides the contemporary touch. The dimmed lighting adds a touch of formality to the casual furniture. Indian artifacts provide the Eastern accents. And of course, the all important strong whiff of Indian spices and cooking as one walks through the door lends the final touch of authenticity.

We happily munched on the papadums with the accompanying dip and chutney whilst we perused the menu. I was delighted to see that they offered toasted papadums instead of the usual deep fried ones. This is one happy trend that I’m glad to see spreading in Singapore. I think it started with the hip and upmarket Vansh, which rolled out their cigar-shaped toasted papadums over a year ago. And since then, a lot of the Indian restaurants in the city have followed suit. Saffron’s came folded into wedge-shaped pieces, a la the Chinese kueh sapit (love letters).

These were good. The spicy and peppery tones of the papadums were not tongue searingly overwhelming, as they often are wrought to be. The chutney was good. Not sure what it was though. It wasn’t mango. We thought possibly apple? Or maybe pear? Whatever it was, it was nicely sweet, slightly crunchy with nicely balanced hints of spice. The creamy mint dip was slightly less successful with us. Perhaps it was the color - a not too natural green. The flavor was okay – very creamy though. Maybe too creamy.

There were actually no tapas (as in sampler sized dishes) listed on the menu. The listings looked like regular “order and share” dishes, and looking around at the other tables, we realized their portions were fairly generous. Wanting to try as many of their dishes as possible, we decided to skip the normal Indian appetizers of pakoras and samosas and go straight on to the mains.

The lamb ribs (S$22.00; US$13.00) came highly recommended on the menu. And we had to agree. They were good! Each rib came with a thin layer of meat that was meltingly tender and completely infused with flavor, evidence of careful marinating and slow and patient cooking. The meat was held to the bone only by the skin of the ribs, which is usually removed but kept in this instance, perhaps precisely to hold the meat to the bones and not have it disintegrate into the gravy. It was that tender.

The spice flavors were intense, and yet perfectly natural. That is the only way I can think of to describe it. There wasn’t even a hint of gaminess. Earlier, as we placed the order, I had the slightest moment of hesitation - lamb ribs are usually strongly gamey, unless cooked absolutely perfectly. And here the worry was completely unfounded.

The gravy was divine. Sinful, but exquisite. Most of the fat had been cooked out of the meat and into the gravy. That was what made it so good. But that was also what would probably send my cardiologist into a right tizzy. Still, we couldn’t resist mopping up all that tasty, thick and rich stuff with our naans.

Next was the Jhinga Masala (S$17.50; US$10.50) – tiger prawns in a tomato and onion sauce. The prawns were very fresh, with beautiful crunchiness. The gravy was less intense than that of the ribs, but again nicely balanced, with just enough creaminess – perfect with the naans. The fresh coriander sprinkled on top added a nice refreshing note. (You will notice, as we go along, that the chef had a great fondness for coriander. It was liberally sprinkled on almost all the dishes. Luckily for us, everyone in our party loves coriander. So the chef did right by us on that score). I also liked the chunks of soft, sweet onions in the gravy. It made for more textural interest, rather than the usual purely creamy gravies.

Here’s a slightly better (not much, but slightly better) view of the prawn…

This chicken dish was from their “Monthly Specials” menu. Each month they feature dishes from a different area of India. I can’t really remember what this dish was called – Murg Laziz (S$13.50; US$8.00), if I’m not wrong. Chicken with a creamy almond and cashew nut gravy.

Big pieces of bone-in chicken were cooked in the very, very creamy gravy. We found this a little too creamy for us. There was obviously a lot of cream in the gravy, and some coconut cream too, with more of the latter poured over the top just before it was served. We found the spice balance less finely tuned in this dish, with the cream and coconut cream forming strong, dominating central tones. This was perhaps just a little too rich for our palate.

I really liked their Murg Briyani (chicken saffron rice) (S$13.50; US$8.00). The chicken was moist and tender. Every single grain of rice was infused with wonderful flavor. Again, kudos to the chef for the fine balance of spices. Apart from the usual ground spices cooked into the rice, I think I also saw some whole green cardamoms and whole coriander seeds. There was also enough of a hint of saffron. They did use a tiny bit of orange coloring in the rice, but for once, I didn’t mind – it just made the rice looked even more delicious and enticing. The light sprinkling of crispy fried shallots and chopped fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves on top of the rice were the perfect finishing touch.

The rice was very moist and fluffy. Some people could possibly find it too moist for a briyani. However, our party actually enjoyed the textural uniqueness of this version. It made for an interesting change from the usual harder and dryer versions one normally finds. It was moist without being mushy – each grain of rice was nicely defined and whole.

I have to admit, guiltily, that I polished off a large portion of the rather substantial pot of rice! And I think my dining companions let me, just so to assuage their guilt a little of having deprived me of my naan…

We had ordered 2 plain naans (S$2.90 each; US$1.70)…

…and 1 lasuni (garlic) naan (S$2.50 each; US$1.50)…

The plain naans were very good. Almost reminiscent of Shahi Maharani’s when they had their original naan Master Chef when they first started out in Crowne Plaza’s annexe building. The first time I ate Shahi Maharani’s naans, I almost cried. They were really, really good. Unfortunately, changes before and after their move to Raffles City have altered my naan experiences there, and I have yet to find a close enough replacement. Saffron gave a glimmer of hope. The naans on Tuesday were quite delectable, especially when they first came out of the oven. Nicely crispy on the outside and slightly fluffy on the inside.

I never got to try the garlic naan. And there’s a rather humorous story behind this. The restaurant was very busy that night, and the kitchen was perhaps struggling a little. And so, our food was somewhat tardy in arriving at the table. The restaurant managers were extremely apologetic and wonderful about it. When the food finally arrived, my two dining companions could barely conceal their impatience as they waited for me to do my stuff with the camera. I had just finished snapping the garlic naan, and I looked down to switch off the camera and place it on the table. I looked up one and a half seconds later, and all I was looking at was an empty bread basket! That certainly gave a whole fresh new perspective on the saying “gone in the blink of an eye”! All I saw were two slightly guilty smiles flanked by rounded cheeks bulging with garlic naan! I could only guess that it must have been as good as, or maybe even better than, the plain naans, given the speed and ferocity with which it disappeared!

This was a pleasant surprise at the end of the meal. It came with the compliments of the restaurant manager, perhaps as apology for the tardy food. This was the prettiest presentation of kulfi (Indian ice cream) that I have seen. Usually, it just comes served in a bowl – even at high end restaurants. Here, the fresh home-made mango kulfi was cut into bite-sized round disks and displayed, together with prettily cut apple, in the shape of a peacock’s tail. Toasted almonds, chocolate sauce and a fruit-based sauce added the rather elegant finishing touches. I really appreciated their attention to detail and presentation. This was so traditional and Indian (peacock symbolism), and yet so modern and Western all at the same time.

The mango kulfi itself was very good too. It didn’t have the tooth-aching sweetness of the usual kulfi. It was very sweet, but just enough to re-balance our palate from the preceding spice-filled food. The texture was nicely smooth and creamy. A beautiful sweet note with which to end the meal.

It was a very satisfying meal. The portions were definitely more generous than the standard servings in almost all Indian restaurants. Even with the delicious food, we struggled a little to finish everything. And, I have to say, the service was excellent. For a city where indifferent or sometimes even brusque service can be all too common, this was such a heart-warming change. Staff was attentive without being intrusive. They noticed the details, the small things. Empty beer and drink glasses quickly caught their eye, and a polite, quiet query about a refill would follow. Unobtrusively, glasses were re-filled. They noticed when we started to look a little impatient about when our food would be arriving. Without us enquiring about the food, they apologized and tried to speed things along for us. We were impressed.

Perhaps the only thing that marred the very enjoyable culinary experience was the acoustics of the place. I think it was just a factor of the physical construction of the restored shophouse. It was full house on Tuesday night, and with the tables placed closely together in the limited space, conversations started echoing around the high-ceilinged area. As each diner in the restaurant strained to hear their companions, the louder they spoke to make themselves heard. The louder the noise levels got in the restaurant, the more we strained to hear and be heard. And so it went. This is perhaps not a place for quiet, intimate conversations. But for highly enjoyable food and excellent service, Saffron is a good place.

Reservations are recommended. There are a limited number of tables, and even though we were there on a Tuesday evening, it was full house, with some tables already having done two turns during the time we were there.

Saffron Bistro
50 Circular Road
Singapore 049405

Tel: 6536 5025
Fax: 6536 0852

Closed on Sundays

[Note: Each month, Saffron offers a supplementary “Specials” menu which highlights the culinary specialties of a region of India. The month of March will feature dishes from Kerala, and April will highlight specials from Hyderabad.]

Copyright © 2004 Renee Kho. All Rights Reserved.
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