Frontier

> Location : 1/F, Room 101, Cheung's Bldg., 1-3 Wing Lok St.,
Sheung Wan, Hong Kong
> Cuisine : Indian (Southeastern Asian curry)
> Tel. # : (852) 2850-5075
> Website : N/A

Frontier is an Indian restaurant fused with with some Singapore, Malaysia and Thai curry elements to it. As advertised by their business card, there highlights are "kebab, tandoori B.B.Q, satay, spring roll, Indian curry, Thai curry, Malaysian curry and roti channai." Frontier is right across from a fresh fruit juice stand and right next to Pasha (which I did a review on if you're interested in Turkish gyros). Just go inside Cheung's Bldg. and take the elevator up one floor. Kukretti Pawan Kumar, the chef of Frontier, is a very friendly guy who does some great cooking! So if you're interested in Indian food and the alike, please read on!

I've personally gone to Frontier multiple times so I can give you readers a pretty accurate opinion/information. First up is the menu: The menu is vast and have a lot of items to choose from. The sections are as follows: appetizer (ranging in the $20 HKD), side dish, soup, salad, kebab & tandoori B.B.Q., chef special kebab rolled in pita bread, Asian curry specialty, Indian non vegetarian dishes (ranging in the $50+ HKD), Indian vegertarian dishes (ranging in the $40+ HKD), Indian Charred oven baked Indian bread (ranging in the $10+ HKD), rice (pilau, biryani) specialty, desserts. There's also a drink section and even a set meal menu. I told you it's a lot to choose from =D Pretty much the whole menu is Indian cuisine related except for the curry section you have the choice to try some Thai, Malaysian or Singapore curry if you don't feel like having Indian curry.

The environment is just slightly dim and well lit. During the daytime, if you want more light, there's a big window you can choose to sit right next to. The capacity is about 35 so people. The two waiters are both friendly and definitely ready to take any request. You can order using English or Cantonese. The younger waiter is better with Cantonese if you don't know much English.

Before I give one of my specific taste review of what I recently had, I'm going to share some quick information of what I had at Frontier before. (1) Their samosa (India's infamous appetizer item) is very standardized and tastes good. (2) Onion Pakora, which is like onion rings but deep fried using Indian spices to give it a distinct flavor. It's very interesting if you're into onion rings. (3) Masala papadum is a lentil wafer (thin crispy wafer/this comes with set meals F.Y.I.), that's crispy, a bit salty tasting and has some spices to it. Usually, this is served with Frontier's three sauces (mint, sweet medlar and sour lemon). (4) As for Indian curry, their tandoori dish fish tikka masala with thyme seed and butter (the chicken and lamb version that's similar also), are great dishes. The aroma of the curry/spices, the tenderness of the meat (I've personally tried them all and from lamb to fish to chicken, they are all tender, soft and full of goodness =D). (5) Black lentil with tomato butter and herbs is a Indian vegetarian dish. Black lentil or also known as urd bean or black gram is a type of bean that's highly cultivated in India. Black lentil is very nutritious (there's also a white version also), and used often in Punjabi (India) and Pakistan cuisines. The black lentil dish at Frontier has a definite sense of tomato flavoring along with the herbs. A lot of black lentils are added so you'll definitely get use to the taste of it. (6) Next is the cottage cheese and green peas curry. This curry is more mild tasting (not as define or overwhelm by any of the ingredients). The cottage cheese are in little blocks. (7) Cottage cheese with grounded spinach finish with cream and butter is another item I had. this dish is very similar to the previous but using spinach. (8) Their naan (plain, garlic, onion and all of the alike bread items) are all done very well. Their naan isn't too thin, hard and dry but perfectly soft and tastes great especially garlic naan! If you ever went to some other places that serves Indian naan before, it's so dry and sometimes very thin, it's just wrong. But definitely not Frontier's. There might be some plus and minus' once in awhile, but overall, you can be confident about it.

Now onto my recent experience. My prior experience at Frontier is with their set meal for lunch. Their set meal comes with soup of the day, plain naan, rice, some mixed vegetables, a samosa, and your choice of curry (cost varies depending on your choice). The prices range from $39 HKD to $70 HKD for the choices. Drinks are $8 HKD extra (check for what's available). For this section of the review, I've gone with the Indian Vegetable Curry ($39 HKD for the whole set) and the India Chicken Tikka Masala ($55 HKD, whole set). No, I didn't eat both myself =D Though the vegetable curry set is the cheapest of them all, it doesn't lack ingredients at all. The vegetable curry comes with cauliflower, potatoes, cilantro, onion, peas, string beans, carrot, green pepper, broccoli, and cabbage. The curry has a strong vegetable taste to it. It's slightly spicy and tastes like your standardized, good tasting Indian vegetable curry.

India Chicken Tikka Masala is up next. The masala sauce was great (there was some chopped up onions inside, and cilantro sprinkled on top for people who are curious about any other visible ingredients). The sweet, salty and spiciness are all well-balanced together. The chicken was very tender. Along with the masala sauce, it was just marvelous! You can definitely sense the herbs used in this dish along with a lot of similar dishes in their regular menu.

The soup of the day was dried bak choy soup. It had a mild taste to it but you can definitely sense the bak choy used. The samosa served here is always consistently good and the masala papadum (lentil wafer) is always a nice treat with the sauces. The 4 pieces of naan that comes with the meal are good (get garlic naan from the menu, it's good!) and the mixed vegetables are seasoned with a minor vinegar like sauce.

Any other information Simon? Well, to me, the highlight of Frontier is their Indian cuisine choices. Their Southeastern Asian curry dishes are above average but I always preferred the Indian flavors. I really don't have much to complain about this place. If you stick with the main items on their menus with keywords that are listed multiple times, you won't be disappointed. I still have to try their B.B.Q. items to get a full gist of things. I actually seen some people ordering it and it sure looks good! I've mostly touched on their curries and bread for the most part. Their service is friendly and I definitely recommend anybody going if they're in the Sheung Wan, Central area! Anyways, my verdict for Frontier is...

< 4 out of 5 >

Malaymama

> Location : Shop 11A, Mercer Street, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong
> Cuisine : Malaysian noodles
> Tel. # : (852) 2542-4111
> Website : http://www.malaymama.com/

Malaymama is hidden in the alleys of sheung wan , very near the grand millennium plaza where fitness first is. voted as the best laksa and prawn mee by "eat and travel weekly," malaymama provides not just those two malaysian highlight, but also kon loh mee, ipoh ho fun, klang bak hut teh, different types of vegetables, side dishes, drinks and even toast. pricing wise, this place is no joke. ranging from $23 hkd to $55 hkd for the main dishes, it really isn't a lot for something that is rated the best laksa and prawn in hong kong by a magazine!

so here's the question for some people who are asking: what is laksa? well, laksa is an infamous spicy noodle soup from the peranakan culture. check out wikipedia for a definition of what peranakan is. so malaysian laksa is actually malaysian and chinese cooking style mixed together. laksa is not only famous in malaysia but also in singapore. the word laksa itself actually means "many," referring to the dishes usage of various ingredients. laksa comes in two forms. the first is the more popular type which is curry soup base and the second is a sour fish soup base.

okay, so what did simon had at malaymama? i had #6 the "traditional laksa" ($35 hkd). this laksa dish contains chicken slices, prawns and tau pok which is essentially fried bean curd tofu. you have the choice of egg noodles or rice vermicelli. the most popular way of eating this laksa is requesting them to use both at the same time! other ingredients that are in the dish not mentioned in the menu are eggplants and bean sprouts. the soup is just superb! it is slightly spicy therefore it won't make you think about how hot it is and not be able to concentrate on the flavors. the soup is the curry base laksa so every bite of noodle and soup is full of sweet curry aroma and taste! the soup reminds me of thai panang curry and i believe it might be something similar to it. you must remember, although we're talking about curry here, the soup is still liquid and not slightly thick or anything. it's really neat eating both noodles at once. you bite into a thiner noodle in vermicelli and a thicker noodle in egg noddles. it's a unique sensation in your mouth along with the delicious curry soup. simply excellent! i concur with the magazine until further experiences with other malaysian laksa!

the next dish is the bak kut teh in ho fun. ho fun is a flat and soft type of white noodles. it has a slick texture to it. the main highlight of this dish is the pork spare ribs. the dish also contains tau pok. the soup of the dish has a light yet define taste to it. the soup tastes like the pork spare ribs, a light sweet flavor. this dish definitely is the reverse of the laksa soup. the taste isn't as strong but still very good in its own way. on the side, a small plate of thick sweet soy sauce with red pepper is given for the dipping of the spare ribs. this helps heighten the flavor of this whole experience. good dish if you want a lighter and more refreshing meal.

lastly, i ordered the day's special appetizer! it is the curry beef brisket. the dish comes with bean sprouts, potatoes and of course your beef brisket in curry. the curry is a heavy type of curry (i know it is some type of chinese curry usually use for beef). the curry is slightly spicy and strong in curry flavor. the beef brisket is nice and soft and not too much fat. this is a very heavy, kinda oily dish but the combination of the two is just undeniable. extremely tasty if they had rice!

before i end this, lets talk about structure of the place. malaymama a smaller type of restaurant. holding about 20-30 people max. the kitchen is wide open and you can clearly see it. the service is helpful and friendly overall. i definitely fell in love with the laksa! if you're in hong kong, you must try this place! anyhow, what's my verdict? well, lets see, with what i had so far...

< 4 1/2 out of 5 >