I don't remember exactly when it was that I started coming here to Islamic Restaurant along North Bridge Road.
It might have been when a friend introduced me.
Or it might have been when we were walking down the road from the Jalan Sultan side looking out for places to have dinner.
Whatever it is, I've been coming to this place for a couple of years now.
And each visit has granted me a most lovely time.
One thing about this place that charms me is the decor.
It's remarkably cozy- a sharp contrast to the cool brick of the shop house outside- and makes me feel like I'm having a meal in the living room of a person's home, complete with beautiful, elaborately designed lamps, richly-colored furnishings and solid, comfortable wood.
To step into their restaurant is to have a hint of what living spaces and dining spaces of some homes used to be.
Come to think of it, their menu too might be a mirror of what meals in these homes (might) have been.
They've got a fairly extensive one, and a quick flip through its pages will reveal varying dishes of appetizers, fish, meats, vegetables, rice, noodles, breads, desserts and drinks.
This is a place where you can have naan, briyani, murtabak, cuttlefish sambal, nasi goreng and kuay teow goreng all at one go.
But then we are creatures of habit and so always end up with an order of mutton briyani, an ice Milo, and a cup of hot masala tea.
It isn't always about the briyani, of course.
There have been times where we've ordered the butter chicken.
And there was this one time we ordered the palak peneer too.
I like their food.
You don't feel it so much when you're there, but the portions have been carefully calibrated (even the briyani) where you find yourself feeling sufficient with your own plate, yet still be able to share out a couple of other dishes too.
Also, their food doesn't leave you feeling overwhelmed.
Super clean-tasting, with no aftertaste of grease, spice, or oil on the palate, it's the kind of meal that can be served to foreign dignitaries, Royals, and diplomatic leaders.
It's also the kind of meal that you (truly) can have every day, not worry too much about nutritional portioning, and still leave you feeling full, light and clean.