It was 31st Oct 2013. While the rest of the world dressed up in weird and bizarre costumes that night, I donned my Punjabi suit,put on a lil bit of makeup and head over to Trishna Restaurant. No, I did not head over there to celebrate Halloween, but to meet the awesome folks from Vibe Hero and have some wonderful pre-Diwali meals. Initially I wanted to go alone, but apparently the day itself played tricks on me and I ended up going all Bollywood with kiddo and the big kid that night. Oh well…doesn’t matter I suppose. it was kiddo’s birthday too so I guess it is befitting to bring him for some good food though I did threw a party for him in school.

I arrived pretty early and surveyed the place a lil bit.

The gateway to Northern Indian delights. Trishna Restaurant, Hotel Istana.

Spotted something that made me grin a lil bit…my all time favourite Bollywood hero and heroine, Hrithik Roshan and Ashwarya Rai Bachan. Well…not in the flesh, but in the form of Jodha Akhbar’s  poster. I’m a big sucker for this movie. Apart from my all time favourite Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Kaho Na Pyar Hai, Joda Akhbar is always on my ‘to watch when stressed and miserable list’.

Jodha Akhbar Trailer

Unlike most Bollywood movies, Jodha Akhbar is different in the sense of settings and cultural background. Basically it is a historical Hindustan movie set in the Mogul era, where the love story between the Mughal emperor Jalalluddin Muhammad Akhbar and the Rajput Princess Jodha Bai is told. Though I doubt that the real Mughal emperor and the Rajput princess shared such romantic relationship when they were alive as theirs were a political marriage, the movie adaptation of history is beautiful nevertheless. Highly recommended movie to all hopeless romantic out there.

Now that we have established that I’m a real mush at heart, let us move on before I make a fool of myself drooling over the hunky Hrithik Roshan, shall we?

The interior and the deco in Trishna Restaurant can be described as cozy,spacious and classy.

Private room is also available for those who wants privacy. Staff are helpful and eager to please. And the food? The food surpassed my expectations. I’m not easy to pleased when it comes to sampling Indian food, but the appetizer served got me hooked.

Acchari Chicken Tikka

Juicy and bursting with flavours. Adeptly marinade in myriad of spices. I shamelessly asked for three pieces of this though it was just appetizer and I’m supposed to save space for more.

Paneer Tikka. Paneer means cheese, and being me…I did not asked what I was eating and simply stuffed it into my mouth. Foolishly mistook this for chicken until they told me that it’s cheese. Very flavourful with meaty texture. Again,shamelessly asked for seconds.Yea…I’m that shameless… But hey…I love good food. I can’t help myself! Good food should never go to waste. Hahahaha.

Another chef recommended appetizer that was offered to us was Ajwain Fish.

Never a big fan of fishes. Their bones spooked me and I hate the fishy smell, but these are lovely. They were served in the form of fillet and was well done. Very flavourful and juicy. The usual muddy taste and fishy smell was surprisingly absent. Good enough to tempt me and my boy for seconds. So thumbs up and my salute to the chef for managing to make me eat fish.

Main Dishes

Main dishes on my plate: Mutton Rogan Josh, Butter Chicken, Saag Paneer,Began Aloo, Dhal Makhani, Pulao Rice, Naan Roti Mix.

Dhal Makhani. Now, I’m not a huge fan of Dhal, but this one is surprisingly good, and I practically took a few helpings of this. The boy loves this too, not overly spicy, but flavourful enough on the palate.

Mutton Rogan Josh.This is perhaps the most famous of Kashmiri dishes, and Thrisna does justice to it. This dish is an aromatic dish of Persian origin, which is one of the signature recipes of Kashmiri cuisine. It consists of braised boneless mutton chunks cooked with a gravy based on browned onions or shallots, yogurt, garlic, ginger and aromatic spices. I’ll be frank with you, this dish is to die for, but then again, I’m biased. I’m a bit of a carnivore. I love everything mutton and lamb. My hat’s off to the chef. 😀

Butter Chicken was all right. Creamy and mild. I did not take much of these, but the boys had a few helpings of these.

Saag Paneer turns me off with the colour for a lil while when it arrived. This is an Indian dish consisting of spinach and Indian farmer’s cheese in a thick curry sauce based on pureed spinach. I never did fancy anything green on the plate, but it was cubed cheese was so good that I had to stop myself from taking too much. 😀 A must try for all those who loves cheese but hates the overly gooey and cheesy texture.These are solid, and taste positively like meat.

Began Aloo was lovely too. This is a very popular North Indian side dish made with potatoes and brinjals. The subtly spiced vegetable goes very well with Naan roti and Pulao Rice. 😀

Naan Roti Mix in Trishna is not something we’re familiar with. Unlike the ones we can obtain in Mamaks, theirs are thin and rather crispy instead of thick and overly chewy. Love these to bits, and please don’t ask how many of these naan I dipped with all those assorted curries above. 😛 You won’t want to know.

Pulao Rice was made from Basmathi rice. It was not only fragrant, but flavourful too. Goes well with the side dishes and curries.

Pickles… for those who don’t like spicy, well, considered yourself warned. These are surprisingly spicy…and sour too. Initially I thought it will be sourish, but gosh, I had a real shock that night!

Salad. Well seasoned. I only had a slice of the tomatoes.Too full from the main dishes to take any more of these.

Dessert was Gulab Jamun. The deep-fried dough balls immersed in sweet syrup is a must try. Not overly sweet and the texture is just nice.

Refreshing fruit punch to wash down all the spiciness with. We were also served with Masala tea, but too bad, I was too busy chatting and ahemm… eating more food as everyone else was snapping away. 😛

Overall, the dining experience in Trishna Restaurant, Hotel Istana is superb. Love the foodto bits. They’re simply authentic and divine. Love the ambiance in Trishna, and I by the time I’ve filled my tummy, I felt positively like a pampered Hindustan Empress. Special thanks to Vibe Hero for the invitation and Mr. Benny Bedi for having us that night. 😀 My family and I enjoyed ourselves very much.

See what other foodie thinks about this place here: https://www.vibehero.com/malaysia/kuala-lumpur/trishna

Intend to indulge yourselves with spice, rice and everything nice at a reasonable price? Well check em out. 😀

Trishna Restaurant

Level B1, West Wing,

Hotel Istana,

73, Jalan Raja Chulan,

50200 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-2142 1575 / 012-3750 412

Business Hours: Opens daily from 11am – 3pm and 6pm – 12am

Pork Free: Yes

GPS: 3.149536, 101.709558

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/trishnarestaurant

Cleffairy: The way to my heart is through my tummy. 😀