STI: Staying the Course

Aug 1, 2004

Staying the Course
by Clara Chow

THE curry war in Race Course Road has got hotter.

The area famous for its fish-head curry restaurants since the 1970s is serving up new eateries, both from the expansion of old players and the infusion of some new ones.

The two big players - Muthu's Curry and Banana Leaf Apolo Restaurant - are not holding back.

Muthu's spent $7 million to open a 6,386sq-ft place at No. 138 in June. This includes $5.2 million to buy the unit. It is just down the road from its 35-year-old premises at No. 76 and 78.

The new Muthu's boasts contemporary chic decor, an open kitchen concept with steaming tandoor ovens and an artificially misted alfresco dining area.

It has been a hit, judging from the robust lunch crowds.

Managing director Kasivisanathan. A, 33, says: 'It's more modern, more Zen.'

Over at Banana Leaf at No. 54, 56 and 58, renovation plans are afoot for next year.

Having been in Race Course Road for 30 years, it opened a branch with standard Indian-flavoured decor at No. 66 and 68 two years ago.

The eatery's general manager, Mr C. Sankar, 32, says: 'There is more human traffic now because of the opening of the Little India train station in June last year.'

He and Mr Kasivisanathan, first cousins who have both taken over the separate businesses from their fathers, are sticking to their secret family recipes but buzzing with new marketing ideas.

Business has also benefited from the reopening of Race Course Road - site of Singapore's first turf club in the 1900s - as a 980m, two-way road in May 2002. It had been turned into a one-way street in 1998 to facilitate the building of the North-East MRT line, making it harder for motorists to navigate their way there.

New players have moved in to stir up their own pot of opportunity.

Gayatri Restaurant opened in December last year in a 4,000sq ft unit at No. 122.

Owner G. Shanmugam, 41, has a hot arsenal of customer-wooing tactics, such as $10 curry fish-head promotions on Mondays and Wednesdays. It usually goes for $18 upwards.

He tacitly acknowledges a 'curry war' of sorts as he nods towards his restaurant's manager standing outside, inviting passers-by to enter.

When LifeStyle visited the road on two consecutive afternoons, none of the other restaurants was doing this.

But Mr Bala Sundram, 29, owner of the three-year-old KP Pillai Curry Inn at No. 72, plans to hand out curry on spatulas to passers-by next month to entice them.

He says: 'My friends ask me why I've come here, sitting between Banana Leaf and Muthu's. But this is the big league - you only get recognised when you play here.'

Business is doing 'fairly well' although he admits that it has declined over the last six months. He puts it down to the sluggish economy.

Mr Clifford Tan, 53, owner of Delhi Restaurant at No. 60, says business is still good although it pales in comparison to the boomtime of the early 1990s.

'There were long queues then. Customers were willing to wait for an hour for a table,' he says.

He opened D' Delhi Pubb & Restaurant in 1993 at No. 48.

Customers, meanwhile, are pleased at how busy the street has become for those in need of a curry fix.

Marketing director Jacke Chye, 37, who has visited the new Muthu's Curry, remarks that the area is shaping up to look like the 'new Tanjong Pagar or Siglap restaurant stretch'.

'It's good that there are more choices available in this quaint part of town,' he says.

On this Race track

EATERIES you can find along Race Course Road:

Andhra's Spice
28 Race Course Road
Opens: 11.30am - 3.30pm, 6 - 10.30pm daily
Tel: 6296-9386

This cosy, six-month-old restaurant has a rustic feel, with mango leaves hanging above the door.
The food is a mix of north Indian cuisine and dishes from the south Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The Hyderabadi chicken dum briyani ($6), steamed in a metal pot, is fragrant and tasty. However, the Chinese dishes 'adapted' by its Indian chefs are a strange experience. The tomyam prawns ($4) hit hard with a strong peppery taste. And the chicken manchurian ($6) is essentially sweet-and-sour chicken with a curry after-taste.

Jaggi's Northern Indian Cuisine
34/36 Race Course Road
Opens: 11.30am - 3pm,
6.30 - 10.30pm (Mon - Sat); 11am - 3.30pm (Sun)
Tel: 6296-6141

A popular eatery that serves Punjabi food like plain, butter, garlic and cheese naan ($1 - $1.50). Patrons wolf down their divine-smelling food under a fluorescent glare in the spartan surroundings.

Banana Leaf Apolo
54-58 Race Course Road
Opens: 10.30am - 10.30pm daily
Tel: 6293-8682

One of two stalwarts - the other being Muthu's Curry - in the area, this outfit's signature dish is its fish-head curry, at $18 (small), $21 (medium) and $25 (large). The dish is less spicy compared to decades ago, which probably suits the tourists who drop in just fine.

Delhi Restaurant
60 Race Course Road
Opens: 11.30am - 11.30pm daily
Tel: 6296-4585

Mention Delhi Restaurant and most people will say: 'The posh one, right?'

When the North Indian restaurant opened in 1988, its 'bow-tie and dim-light concept' - as owner Clifford Tan describes it - was considered new in the area.

Inside, Moghul-style and Hindu art hang on the walls, contrasting with the Chinese bamboo-motif tiles. Glass goblets sparkle on pink tablecloths. The most popular item on its menu is the tender, smoky-flavoured, mixed grill tandoori items - best washed down with Kingfisher beer.

KP Pillai Curry Inn
72 Race Course Road
Opens: 11am - 10.30pm (Mon, Wed - Sun), 11am - 4pm (Tues)
Tel: 6293-8559

This is a cafeteria-like place which dishes out South Indian cuisine. Specialities include hot-plate tiger-prawns masala ($8, $10, $12), dum briyani ($5.50 to $6.50) and duck masala ($3.50).

Our Makan Shop
74 Race Course Road
Opens: 11.30am - 4pm
Tel: 6292-9475

Owner Tony Ng won't reveal the ingredients he leaves out of his Chinese-style fish-head curry to make it different from the version sold at Indian restaurants.

And never mind that the fluctuating prices are slightly higher - averaging at $26, $32 and $42 for small, medium and large respectively. Regulars still fill the eatery, which has retained many of the features of the 1970s, such as wooden booths and jade-green mosaic tiles.

Gayatri Restaurant
122 Race Course Road
Opens: 12.30 - 2pm, 6 - 10.30pm daily
Tel: 6291-1011

The fish-head curry, at $18 (small), $22 (medium) and $24 (large), offers soft morsels of meat swimming in a pale yellow gravy. It's strong with the sourish-bitter flavour of turmeric, but could be spicier. The friendly waiters in this dining hall-like space will teach you how to dig out the eye from a fish-head with panache.

Muthu's Curry
138 Race Course Road
Opens: 10am - 10pm daily
Tel: 6392-1722

The fish-head curry is undoubtedly enjoyable. Priced at $18, $23 and $28 (small, medium and large respectively), it boasts nice flavours - sweet and salty before blooming into a spicy sting in the mouth.

The mark of a cool restaurant is often in how swanky its toilets are, and Muthu's certainly has the best-looking ones on this stretch. A minimalist, black-tiled area equipped with sinks and automatic taps leads to the loos, which are new and clean.