Trishna at Istana Hotel: Restaurant Review

Quite a pleasant option for North Indian food in the city center, with a sterling service team that really knows its menu.

Papadum

Keeping things light at the outset of a heavy meal, starting with fresh, crisp papadum.

Chicken

Chicken drumstick stuffed with minced mutton (RM14++). Desecration? Complementary, actually; two meats sometimes do work better than one. But for customers who want only one type of meat on each plate: kebab-like boneless chicken, seasoned, skewered and grilled with an egg coating (RM19++).

Flatbreads

Parantha, laced with cauliflower for thicker texture (RM9++).

Curries

Keema egg curry (RM20++). Creamy, ideal with rice or bread to soak everything up. Paneer makhani (RM18++). Trishna claims to make its own cheese. Smooth stuff. Good gravy: Black lentil daal and Green spinach mutton saag.

Trishna’s Triumphant Triumvirate

chicken, mutton and veggies; layered, rolled and grilled.

“Chicken Maharaja”

Can’t beat a combo of chicken, creamy sauce and rice, especially when the fowl dish is called “Chicken Maharaja” (cooked with cashew paste, nuts, poppy seeds, saffron and milk) while the grains are Jeera Rice, laced with cumin seeds.

Alcohol

Wine or cocktails? For the latter, this Cranberry Martini (RM25++) is worth a shot. Chivas & Black Label 12 Years Scotch Whisky (RM18++ per 30-ml glass). Trishna’s motto is “spice, rice and everything nice at a reasonable price.” Run by a couple who’ve been married for three decades, this certainly is a place that deserves some attention.