Ghazal

Note: Ghazal has ceased operations until further notice

December 2008

In football, sometimes you can have all the possession, pass the ball nicely around, create loads of chances, put the other team under pressure, but they still score a lucky goal and you end up losing.

I can’t help but think of this peculiar analogy when I stand on Changkat Bukit Bintang and look at Ghazal restaurant next door to where New Moghul House used to stand. Inferior in terms of food quality, less tasteful in décor, comparatively less attentive staff, Ghazal has somehow stayed in business as its neighbour closed its shutters for the last time. Now it stands triumphant as the only Indian restaurant in one of the city’s premier dining locations.

Not that Ghazal isn’t good. It just doesn’t compare to the quality of the bvgm Moghul House.

Some dishes do inspire. The hyderbadi chicken briyani is exceptional. The rice cooked beautifully and the vegetables and meat through it make it a filling, fragrant and fantastically satisfying dish. You’ll want a vegetable gravy
to go with that, of course. Eschew the creamy and incongruent mix offered by the Kashmiri navaratan korma in favour of the dhal mahkani; a simple yet dreamy butter gravy, less oily than most of their others. Otherwise, if you
want something a little spicier and more authentically prepared, take the masala dhal.

Other dishes that warrant inspection include the murgh lajawab (tandoori chicken in their signature mahkani gravy) and the prawn shaslik (marinated king prawns grilled with tomato and onion). However, don’t go overboard
ordering naan; the bread is thin, chewy and not nearly light enough. They also seem to just not ‘get’ certain classic dishes; their interpretations of butter chicken, vindaloo and tikka masala just not hitting the right spot.

I’m perhaps being harsh on Ghazal. It still offers a very high standard of North Indian cuisine. If I hadn’t known (and loved. Dear me, how I loved it) New Moghul House perhaps I would be kinder.

I admit that Ghazal do better than many of their peers. And several among their staff are great. I even grudgingly admit that I actually prefer the quaint atmosphere and decoration. But, the poor naan and way they can’t quite get the old favourites right means they don’t deserve any more than three stars. With trial and error you’ll be richly rewarded at Ghazal. But is that a commitment you want to make? YP Lee