The Curry Leaf

Our food quest took us on a tasting tour of Malaysia. A quaint, no frills place simply named, The Curry Leaf was our hub grub this time. Located at 135-31 40th Rd. in Flushing, Queens this small restaurant sits in the heart of this town but is easy to miss. 

The special diners this trip were my father, nephew and little sister who came along as a reward for doing well at the NYS High School placement test. We were greeted immediately by a very friendly little woman who spoke very little english but led us straight away to a small table in the middle of the restaurant. This is by no means a date spot, as the ambiance is quite lacking. There are no pretty colored walls or paintings here, just tables, chairs, cutlery and a television that was showing a modern day kung fu flick. 

For our starters we chose two orders of Roti Canai (Malaysian version of roti, an Indian flat bread and chicken curry), Chicken Satay with peanut sauce and a Sesame Oil Chicken Soup. The roti was thin, crisp and quite large. The chicken curry sauce was absolutely delicious. A perfect blend of savory, spicy and sweet from the coconut milk. Oh what a treat that was. Chicken satay was well cooked and seemed to be marinated in sugar as it was quite sweet. We didn't care so much for the peanut sauce so we put it aside after a small taste. Mmmm... The soup was glorious. The vegetables were perfectly cooked, slightly crunchy and full of flavor. The sesame oil gave the dish its smooth smoky taste and we loved every drop.

Our waiter was personable and spoke more english than the host so we took the opportunity to ask for her suggestions of entrees that would best represent her homeland. Sizzling from the kitchen came a large plate of Thai Style Fried Rice, Pipa Duck (Roast duck in a sweet sesame brown sauce) and Sizzling Tofu Japanese Style. Everything looked and smelled delicious. Like usual, we didn't skip a beat and with spoons and forks in hand we gladly accepted the challenge of emptying the plates set before us. The rice was oh so good. Definitely a seafood lover's dream. Loaded with crab, shrimp, scallops and squid this dish hit the spot. No one at the table (with the exception of my dad) was a tofu lover but boy were we converts after the first bite of the Tofu platter. This homemade soybean concoction was wonderfully cooked and rested in one of the most perfect sauces I've ever tasted. Wow! That was indeed a winner. Now for the duck. No disappointments here. Crispy on the outside but moist and succulent on the inside, it was served with what tasted like a hoisin and sesame sauce. The only complaint was that the sauce was just a bit salty for our pallets. Over all it was good.

Tried though we did, we were unsuccessful in clearing our plates and a doggy bag was requested. There was no way that dessert was possible. There may always be room at the cross but that's not the case for our stomachs :-). Ahhh... The Curry Leaf did not disappoint. Simple name but big bold flavors are to be expected from this little hole in the wall restaurant. So for a clean, quiet restaurant, friendly staff and food that was outstanding from start to finish we gladly give The Curry Leaf our first A-. Good job guys. We shall indeed return.

Baluchi's: An Indian Tale

Our tasting resumed after a short break for the holidays and we were ready to go. For the past two months the television has been set to all shows featuring Chef Gordon Ramsey. Needless to say we watched a lot of shows based in the U.K about Indian cuisine. Feeling inspired to find a place that served spicy, flavorful dishes that represented this vastly cultural country, we made our way to Baluchi's. Located at 113-30 Queens Blvd., this Indian spot was hard to miss.

We walked in with a big appetite and great expectations. A warm and friendly hostess wearing a lovely white salwar greeted us and showed us to a cozy section of the restaurant. The ambiance was quite nice, with mustard colored walls, candles on every table and a jeweled chandelier hanging in the center of the room. We were greeted by one of our many waiters for the night and we ordered our drinks (a mango and yogurt drink called lassi and iced tea) and dared the feast to begin. Our appetizer of choice was an order of Tikiyas, two potato cakes fried to a golden crisp and served with a green herb sauce and another tamarind syrup.

The starters were mild in flavor, with only a hint of geera. They were crisp and hot and did the intended job. We sat there with empty plates for about 10 minutes before someone came to take the orders for our entrees. Classic Lamb Rogan Josh (lamb cooked in an aromatic tomato sauce) was a must and was followed by Chicken Saagwalla (chicken pieces in a spinach sauce).

Another waiter came rather quickly and presented us with the piping hot dishes. The offering was rounded out by a small bowl of jasmine rice and a tiny basket of naan bread. Our first impression was that the feast we were expecting looked more like a kiddie meal. Since we both love starchy foods we reached for the bread but were disappointed to find it overly charred and crispy.

The Lamb Rogan Josh was next and had a better reception. The tomato based flavored sauce was a perfect home for the lamb chunks and we were pleased. Chicken Saagwalla time! This dish was interesting to say the least. Spinach was the first taste on our tongue and that pleased us as we are avid spinach lovers. Sadly it went downhill from there. The next mouthful included the extremely unpleasant crunch of three lemon seeds. YUCK! It also featured large strips of ginger that made for an interesting contrast of textures. Determined not to let that stop us we put the chicken aside and finished the lamb.

It could have been said that we were no longer in the mood to be adventurous so we chose the most basic dessert possible, home made ice cream. Well apparently this wasn't so basic after all. We were served approximately two ounces of frozen solid mango ice-something. After letting it sit for a few minutes hoping it would melt we attacked it with our dinner knife, cutting the sphere into four triangles. The flavor was decent but it was extremely difficult to avoid the brain freeze as it was more like sucking on milk and mango flavored ice cubes. The memory of this is grievous unto us. The meal ended with the bill which caused some added confusion to a night that was already filled with so many other disappointments. There was an extra charge for the one tiny bowl of jasmine rice and also for the burned naan bread. What did they intend to serve the bowl of Lamb and chicken stew with? That was NOT a balanced meal plan by the chef.

So for a night that began with such great expectations but ended in extreme disappointment from the kitchen staff, the many different waiters (we weren't sure which one we were suppose to tip) and the frozen ice cream we give Baluchi's a generous D. We left hungry and made a stop at Wendy's. The end.