The Quest For Briyani Part 5: Afghanistan

So it took us awhile but we’re back on the trail and The Quest For Briyani continues!
(You can read the rest of the series by clicking HERE if you’re just joining us)

For the longest time, even before I started this blog by the way, people have been telling me about how great the Nasi Briyani at Afghanistan in Tampines was. In fact, I’ve been hearing about its ‘legendary’ status since I was in my teens.

It’s actually quite surprising that this would actually be the first time I was going to try it especially since it was so accessible to me in the first place.

Mutton Briyani ($5.00)

Let me start of by saying that they’re quite generous with the serving.
Definitely enough to fill you up if you’re hungry or just right to share between 2 people.

The one thing that I noticed when I sat down with the Briyani was that something was missing.
You know how you get the aroma you get when you just sit down with a nice hot place of Nasi Briyani still steaming from the freshly served rice? Well, that was missing.

The rice was fluffy and no doubt the traditional Basmati but that’s about all I have to report.
There was no fragrant aroma and the rice was severely lacking taste. Very surprising for a plate of Briyani which I’ve been hearing about for years.

I will not claim to be an expert on Briyani and I know there are plenty more Nasi Briyani places for me to visit but I think I know what I’d expect from a decent plate of Briyani and something is quite wrong if that distinct aroma is missing.

The meat wasn’t exactly super tender but I guess it was okay. You could still tear it apart without much effort.
Unfortunately the masala was quite bland as well. Again, another shocker.

The acar gave some life to the dish I guess. Nothing spectacular but at least there was some flavour to it.

Actually, I realized something about halfway through my dish.
The individual parts of the dish on their own were severely lacking. The rice was tasteless on its own. The meat was not that enjoyable on its own. And there’s no point just eating the acar on its own. The only way I could get though it was to eat every single spoonful with a bit of everything. There was simply no chance of enjoying my meal by eating the rice or the meat on its own.

Adam’s Verdict:
Mutton Briyani 1.5/5

Who knows. Maybe I’m just being fussy? Maybe the Chicken Briyani is better?
Well, whatever the case may be, I was actually really disappointed. Has the standard of Afghanistan really dropped?

Perhaps I’ll try it again some time and hopefully then I might be able to relive the high standards that everyone seems to remember so fondly.