Casuarina Curry @ Off Upper Thomson Road

I have a really good friend who stayed in Hougang and we frequently go to Casuarina Road, which is at Off Upper Thomson Road for meals.  We know of Casuarina Curry which is very famous but we never stop by to eat it.  Usually we either have the Zhi Char store (Ban Leong) or the quaint Japanese store along the shophouses.  Casuarina is always packed with a good crowd and occassionally can have queue forming outside the store.  Casuarina is also amongst private residential area and is adjacent to the Lower Pierce Reservoir Nature Reserve Park.  Along the car park area, you may frequently spot monkeys playing along the perimeter of the reserve.

So I visited Pierce Reservoirs Nature Reserve Park over the super long weekend.  Naturally we stopped over at Casuarina and decided to check out the magic of the famed Casuarina Curry.   Indeed, this is no ordinary Indian prata shop!  I was strucked in awe with the dark blue and orange decor of the restaurants.  I feel like I am instantly transported to an Aladdin setting.  Don’t ask me why Aladdin, I just thought of this when I went into the restaurant.  (Just like I always think of Avatar when I see the glowing Supertrees at Gardens by the Bay!)

Cute interesting cash counter that is located just at the exit.  They also sell some indian snacks and curry puff.  It seems quite cheap at $1.50 per piece.  I should buy some and have a picnic inside the Nature Reserve some other time.  Look at the staff uniform, it is pretty neat and co-ordinate with the decor of the restaurants.

Casuarina Curry isn’t just a regular prata place.  They do serve other local indian dishes like fried nasi goreng, mee goreng and nasi briyani.  Evidently, they do serve a lot of roti-prata in many styles.  As you can see, the man is always busy packing some prate; whether it is “for here” or “to go”.

Roti Prata Kosong ($1/pc)

The roti prata kosong (plain) goes for $1 per piece.  I reckon that given the fact you can dine in a cool air-conditioned comfort, paying $1 for a piece of prata ko-song isn’t quite extravagant!  For $2, you can actually have a very satisfying meal with simple curry.  In fact, if I do have 2 pieces of prata for breakfast, I can wait till about 3pm to have lunch without actually getting hungry!  I find that the prata here really didn’t meet my expectations as there were rather hard.  It is not the soft and fluffy kind which I would very much expect.  I feel that I can do a better job frying the prata if I bought those convenience pack from the supermarket!

Mutton Cubes ($5.50)

The mutton cubes are not my usual order, but apparently it is for my friend!  I found it to be rather tender, but my friend said it is “harder than usual” for him.  Still, I like these mutton cubes especially the curry which really took away any strong taste of the mutton.  Best is the mutton are not too fatty and you won’t get sick eating too much of it.

Milo Dinosaur ($2.50)

This devilish beverage is the milo dinosaur.  Actually the name “Donosaur” came about because these iced Milo drinks are served in very huge mugs and topped with more Milo powder on top, making the drink very very chocolatey.  It is popularised particularly in night prata outlets that served these beverages to teenagers with big drinking appetite.  However, I would consider this to be Milo Mini-Dinosaur instead and the size is too tame.  Taste wise, I think it is thick and chocolatey!  But definitely not a drink I will pair with Prata and my main course!

Bee Hoon Goreng ($2.50)

Maggie Mee Goreng ($3.50)

Actually I came into the shop and wanting to eat prata only.  Turn out my friend decided on ordering maggie mee goreng.  So I followed suit ordering a bee hoon goreng for myself.  Of course, I was the one who persuaded him to try the roti-prata as I feel that it must be one of the signature so we can’t walk away not trying, particularly that we travelled a long way to Casuarina.  We felt the maggie noodles to be quite plain and thought it should be more “orangey” in colour rather than yellow.  The noodles doesn’t taste quite like maggie noodles too, but some other generic cheaper version.  My bee hoon goreng was tasted average.  The scoring point for them is that the served huge slices of cucumber and tomato ketchup with the friend noodles dishes.  I love my goreng with lots of cucumber and ketchup!

Overall, I think Casuarina is a worthy place to hang out given its ambiance.  Prices are reasonable considering they give you a cool environment to hangout, unless you are sitting at their outdoor area.  However the food is mediocre at best.  So you have better judge it for yourself.

Casuarina Curry
136 Casuarina Road
Off Upper Thomson Road
Singapore 579524
Tel: 6455 9093
Opening Hours:
Monday – Friday:  7am – 11.30pm
Saturday, Sunday & Eve of PH: 7am – 12 midnight

 

Casuarina Curry is now available at 187 MacPherson, next to UOB Bank.