Muthu's Flavors: Re-inventing the Indian food icon of Singapore

There are loads of curry places all over Singapore -- especially in the Little India vicinity -- but very few of them can boast being around for more than four decades. Muthu’s Curry first opened in 1969 and now has two branches, at Race Course Road and Suntec City. Now, the veteran of Singapore’s Indian cuisine scene has opened The Muthu’s Flavors, with two restaurants that serve up the best of both worlds. It dishes up authentic flavours, presented in contemporary style.

The first outlet opened at trendy Dempsey Road in November 2009 and the second one has just opened at 313@Somerset this week. So how exactly is The Muthu’s Flavors different from Muthu’s Curry?

"The Muthu's Flavors took us two years to create," says Ms Veshali Visvanaath, director of marketing at The Muthu’s Flavors. "We wanted a concept that would take flight overseas and locally as well. It was our dream and passion to build a concept which will have a great balance between authentic food, affordable prices, modern Indian interior and a service that is unforgettable. After much market research and refining of ideas, we decided on The Muthu's Flavors -- casual, chic Indian dining with a lighter touch."

Diners at the new Muthu's Flavors shouldn't expect the same traditional communal dining atmosphere. Instead, it's an entirely different style of presentation whereby individual dining is the focus, with a complete meal served on a plate that encompasses a main dish, healthy seasonal side salad with homemade house dressing, accompanying rice or naan and the house special -- pappadum 'twisties' (like the snack). The result is a meal that is light yet fulfilling. In addition, the chefs have created a selection of main dishes unique to The Muthu’s Flavors.

With the aim of filling the gap between fine dining and communal-style dining, the menu is filled with favorites from the north and south of India and also includes some very unique dishes created by the team. Two that stand out are pappadum bruschetta and masala Coke.

"We wanted a fresh take on the familiar," Visvanaath shares with CNNGo. "Many people would be familiar with Coke and pappadum for example, so we wanted to jazz it up. The masala Coke contains a delicious mix of spices such as cumin, caraway, pepper, as well as lime -- the taste is quite unexpected, yet delicious.

"For the Pappadum Bruschetta, we made the pappadum smaller than usual and topped them with finely chopped onions, tomatoes, chillies and coriander, making it an easy snack that resembles the bruschetta but tastes very Indian. So far the response has been wonderful for these two items."

Other new additions include the tandoori chicken, which comes skin intact (most tandoori chicken dishes are served skinless, as it's very hard to cook without burning the skin), thus ensuring the meat stays moist, with just a hint of crispness. This dish is served with Basmati rice, house salad and pappadum twisties. Other interesting dishes are the lamb rack ananas and the masala mussels.

The timing of the opening of these two new outlets was coincidental, with the availability of space in new dining areas.

"We felt it was a good time to launch the concept in two different locations, with a different feel, but still attracting the target market that we want -- diners who are looking for a refreshing new way of enjoying Indian cuisine," says Visvanaath. "The decision was also helped by the availability of the locations -- both are brand new (new clusters in Dempsey Road and 313 @ Somerset) and great for the launch of our new concept."

It’s all well and good to go on about the food but a true test of a restaurant’s standard is whether the people who work there would dine there themselves. Ms Visvanaath had a fun time picking out her three personal favorite items on the menu:

"Wow, this is a difficult choice to make. I would begin with my fish head curry -- I am crazy about it -- followed by the lamb rack ananas. This is one dish I enjoyed during the R and D rounds, I love the perfectly done lamb. I would love to finish it off with my masala chai flan. I can satisfy my craving for masala tea and dessert at one go -- perfect for me!"

getting there

The Muthu's Flavors
Block 7, Dempsey Road, #01-02, Singapore
Tel +65 6474 5128
Open daily from 11.30am to 3pm (last order 2.30pm) and from 6pm to 10.30pm (last order 10pm)

313@Somerset, 313 Orchard Road, #B3-02/03, Singapore
tel +65 6884 8380
Open daily from 11am to 11pm

The Muthu's Flavors Facebook page