Rock Salt Grill & Coffee, KL

Seeing the name of this new shop from afar with pictures of coffee and crepe cake on an inviting promotional banner, i never knew this shop in Aeon AU Setiawangsa was a Pakistani and Arabic eatery. Only now i learned that rock salt is recently famously associated to Pakistan (and so the name), with some claims that Pakistan has the best rock salt in the world.

The friendly waiter at the door was keen and kind to introduce and recommend some of the popular dishes- because it was our first attempt at an authentic Pakistani cuisine restaurant. This two-week old, first outlet in Malaysia has somewhat simple layout and decoration.We were led to a comfortable, cushioned sofa before the waiter keyed our orders into a tablet. The waiter informed us that our dinner would arrive in 20 minutes because the 'food is prepared fresh'- which i assumed that he meant the food was not precooked or to be reheated for serving. Feeling positive and looking forward to dinner.

 

The winner of the night, hands down, was the White Chicken Karahi. Recommended by the waiter, highly recommended by me. The white, yogurt-mixed gravy has that unique flavour and oomph that urges me to take more and more. The sourish taste of yogurt was not overpowering and it lingered in my mouth until i took my next bite- it even tasted like creamy butter style dishes. My combo, of its gravy with a piece of naan, was satisfying dinner. There was no need to wash this wok- it was clean after us! This RM 25.50 dish is well worth it.

Grilled Half Chicken (RM 18.50) is another specialty of this restaurant. It has great flavour and tender meat. But the size of this chicken does not sit well with the price paid for, personally. I felt this a tad too expensive.

 I have tried naan before. In fact, i ate since young and i wasn't expecting myself to be blown away by them in this visit. However, i have a mixed review. We ordered four different types: plain naan (RM 3.50), naan with seed (RM 4.50), garlic naan (RM 4.50) and paratha (RM 5.50). When it came, we didn't know which was which so we ate. Then we asked the waiter, so you can say my preferences were not influenced by the flavours then. I liked the paratha and garlic naan; i was not too excited over the plain naan and naan with seed.

 Chicken Malai Boti (RM 20) looks similar to chicken kebab, coming in two long strips here and each bite sized piece can easily be detached. The meat is tender but its taste scores average to me. Nothing wowed me, nothing to remember except for its easy and convenient eating.

I have to say, my short Pakistani food getaway was a pleasant one. I never knew, never tasted those above (except for the naans and grilled chicken), and i find myself liking the bursting flavours of the White Chicken Karahi. A great recommendation by the waiter; service was applaudable. I'm sure there are more to try from their complete menu in the future. It seemed like lamb is popular.

What? White Chicken Karahi, naan

Where? Rock Salt Grill & Coffee, Aeon AU2 Setiawangsa, KL