Monday, July 30, 2007

Bombay Woodlands has moved...sorta

Bakala Bath

I was a bit shocked when passing by Tanglin Shopping Centre a couple weeks ago: Bombay Woodlands seemed to have shut down in favor of some fancy "Indian Grill" place. Thankfully, I realized later that Bombay Woodlands was still around, but just a number of doors down and in a much smaller rendition (#B1-12, 6836-6961) of its former self. In the process they got themselves some new placemats, porcelainware, and printed menus.

The food itself looked generally the same (although there was an oddly placed Mexican dosa on the menu...huh??). I selected a couple things that I'd never had before, most notably the bakala bath, which was some kind of cold rice mixed with yogurt and cucumber. I was hoping for a refreshing yet edgy taste, but it turned out to be quite a bore. Well, I guess that the rest of their items will always be there.

And in case you're wondering, that Indian Grill place is indeed run by the Bombay Woodlands people (apparently they started the other place just to be able to offer non-vegetarian food). What was more surprising to me though was that these guys are also behind Bombay Cafe. So all of that effort to go way out to Tanjong Katong Road to try what was allegedly the best chaat in Singapore was perhaps rather futile, given that it was run by the same guys who provided my very first taste of chaat right inside the city. Hmph!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yogurt rice is usually taken at the end of a meal or given to people with weak digestion (or stomach bugs). That might be why you didn't find it very edgy.

My husband just returned from Bangalore, reminiscing about the bisibelebath that he used to eat there in his student days. So, I found a recipe on the internet and we've also become fond of it at Saravanaa Bhavan.

Bisibelebath is rice cooked with dal, vegetables and hot spices. People in Bangalore will eat a portion of this rice, then finish off with a portion of yogurt rice to cool down.

Anonymous said...

Actually

there is now a bombay cafe at suntec city so if you wanna get your fix you don't have to go all the way to katong.