MANAM — Restaurant in Singapore

Located in a hole in the wall is the newly established Manam, where they use fresh meats and home grind spices for their dishes, with no MSG and artificial colouring in their food, so drop by and enjoy the ultimate experience in South Indian cuisine.

Chicken Dum Biryani ($21) is an old school classic Indian food that's no stranger to all. The aromatic basmati rice has thoroughly absorbed all flavours of the spices that were thrown in, making you heady with all the aroma coming at you. The chicken was bursting with flavour as well, and I particularly enjoyed pairing it with the Varutharaicha Kari Kuzhambu ($23) which is mutton curry, in layman terms. I was glad the tender mutton was not at all gamey and was served in small chunks, making it easier to enjoy while looking glam, given how this is a restaurant setting. The potent array of herbs, aromatics and spices involved in this 2 pairing is just heavenly, and I can assure you that you'll have a jolly good meal here.

The Kongunadu Kozhi Kuzhambu ($19), is good old chicken curry with freshly roasted spices. With the viscosity slightly denser and thicker than the usual ones served at your neighbourhood prata stall, this makes them the perfect vessel to coat their Garlic Naan ($6) and Tandoori Paratha ($7). Doughy and flavourful, yet not overly thick and heavy, the flavours of the naan settles nicely on your taste buds, complementing the taste of the curry. I would have devoured a couple more naan if I weren't already this full by the end of the meal.

Paneer Tikka ($18) is a famous Indian appetizer where pieces of Indian cottages cheese are marinated with curd and spices before being grilled until charred in a traditional tandoor oven. On the first mouth, it resembles 'tau kwa' with its soft mouthfeel and the way it breaks apart with each bite. I enjoyed the smoky element which was a result of the grilling and it does help to cut through the flavour a little given how jelak I was by the time I was having this.

While I usually drink teh when I'm having Indian cuisine, I find myself having an identity crisis when I ordered a Martini as my choice of drink. While it may come off a little strange to others, I do enjoy it regardless, as it was perfectly done. If you would like to celebrate an occasion with Indian cuisine without looking too shabby, I'd recommend having it here where you can end the night off...

What we had

𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 🍳 𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐬 𝐄𝐠𝐠 𝐁𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐣𝐢, $𝟏𝟎 Looks like fried rice at first but it’s actually Madras Style Scrambled Eggs with Onions & Tomatoes 🤓

🐑 𝐀𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐮𝐤𝐤𝐚𝐫𝐢 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐮 𝐕𝐚𝐫𝐮𝐯𝐚𝐥, $𝟐𝟒 Boneless mutton marinated with ethnic spices & sauteed with curry leaves & pepper

🦐 𝐊𝐚𝐫𝐮𝐯𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐢 𝐄𝐫𝐚𝐚𝐥 𝐕𝐚𝐫𝐮𝐯𝐚𝐥, $𝟏𝟗 Prawns marinated in spiced curry leaf paste. Tender and has strong flavours

𝐕𝐞𝐠𝐠𝐢𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫 🥬 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐲 𝐎𝐤𝐫𝐚 𝐅𝐫𝐲, $𝟏𝟓 ⭐️ Okra sprinkled with spices and deep fried. Crispy and great as snacks 👍🏻

🧀 𝐏𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐢𝐤𝐤𝐚, $𝟏𝟖 Cottage cheese marinated with curd & Indian spices & cooked in traditional Tandoor oven. Need to pair this with the dipping sauce otherwise it can be a little plain

𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 🍗 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐓𝐢𝐤𝐤𝐚 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐚, $𝟏𝟗 ⭐️ Tandoor roasted marinated chicken chunks in a cashew onion tomato gravy. Reminds us of butter chicken but with more spice/kick

🐟 𝐌𝐚𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐢 𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐊𝐮𝐳𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐮, $𝟐𝟎 ⭐️ Fish curry with raw mango & aromatic spices. Slightly tangy curry sauce & tender fish meat which pairs really well with rice 😋

𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐬 🫓 𝐁𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐍𝐚𝐚𝐧/𝐆𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐍𝐚𝐚𝐧, $𝟔 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡

𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐭 🥥 𝐄𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐚𝐲𝐚𝐬𝐚𝐦, $𝟗 Classic South Indian dessert prepared with coconut milk, coconut water & milk and topped with coconut flesh. It’s sweet with a tinge of spice flavour from cardamom. Interesting 😁

𝐃𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐬 🍹 𝐂𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚, $𝟏𝟐 🍹 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐒𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠, $𝟐𝟎 🍹 𝐓𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, $𝟐𝟎 🍹 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐦 𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫, $𝟏𝟕

They also have interesting cocktails to choose from with cute names like ‘See you tomorrow’ which we didn’t dare to try 😝

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We attended a reservation for a Friday evening at Manam and were delighted by the wonderful service and even better food that was presented to us.

We were in the service of Anita, who was not only friendly and approachable, but also was very patient and understanding in the questions we had regarding the food.

As a result of her wonderful recommendations, we ended up settling on the Butter Chicken and Varutharaicha Kari Kuzhambu, which she had explained was a less spicy mutton curry dish as compared to the Mutton Rogan Josh, which may be something to take note of if you are spice averse. However, do not forget to order the very well prepared Naan, which goes hand in hand with the delicious assortment of curries that they prepare. Between the Garlic Naan and Cheese Nan, my partner and I could not decide which was better, as they both had their own individual flair and were delectable in their own ways.

The ambience of the restaurant was wonderful, albeit in a small environment, which felt very cozy as a result. The background music as well as decor really added a nice touch to the ambience of the restaurant and made our meal that much more enthralling.

All in all, the service, ambience, and of course the food, were all very delightful; and as we told Anita, it is our first time coming to Manam, but will definitely not be our...