Namastaey India - Farrer Park

Syed Alwi Road has recently greeted another 100% vegetarian establishment to its famed area, in the form of Namastaey.   Those who have been following my blog will know that I recently made the transformation to a vegan lifestyle.  Eating at Indian eateries can be difficult as a vegan, however, after discussing with the waiter, he was more than willing to convert the dishes into being dairy free.  Enough talk, lets see what Namastaey has to offer...

Namastaey India
Location: 80 Syed Alwi Road
Contact: 63922449
Opening Hours: Unknown

The menu offers the typical Indian delights, more North Indian based though.  What was more surprising was some of the prices.  For example, plain basmati rice being priced at $4.20 seems unusually high (hence I didn't order any rice in this review).  What seemed a little more pleasing was the bhatura, which cost only $2.60 - However, after ordering it, it simply never arrived, this was after asking for it on a separate occasion also.  Pretty unacceptable service, even more so as the restaurant was virtually empty.  Waiting time for all dishes was very high.

Considering how overpriced rice was, I decided to order bread only, to accompany the curries.  Starting off with the Tawa Roti, this flat bread was charred nicely (as you can see my the beautiful black markings on the bread).  Also the bread was served fresh from the tava, as indicated by the puffiness of the bread.  A simple, yet tasty bread.
Plain Naan is probably one of the most widely known Indian foods on the planet, yet very few people actually know how a great naan should be.  Chewy, yet not too tough.  Flaky, yet not too brittle.  Soft, yet not too doughy.  Charred, yet not burnt - It is safe to say, getting a naan perfect is quite a uphill task.  Namastaey does have a pretty credible rendition, however.  The naan was charred expertly, and had a delectable chewy yet light quality, which made it incredibly addictive. 

Price: $2.20.     7/10

As a starter, I went for the Aloo Chaat.  Due to this being made vegan, yogurt and mint chutney was excluded from this dish.  Therefore, if vegetarians order this dish, prepare for it to look quite different from this picture.  The potatoes in this dish were fried perfectly, but the dish is a little on the dry side, without the chutney and yogurt. The fresh tomatoes do add a bit of much needed moisture, and I would have liked to have seen more of them in the dish.
Price: $4.20.     7/10

This Bhendi Masala suffers from a few problems.  Unfortunately, the bhendi (ladyfingers) that are found in Singapore is of very poor quality - Consequently, the ladyfingers are sometimes old and tough in texture, as was the case in this dish.  Therefore, on a couple of occasions I had to spit the ladyfingers out, as the skin was too tough.  Let me just emphasize, this is not because the ladyfingers were not cooked sufficiently.  It is due to the ladyfingers itself being too old.  The spices were solid and flavourful, but too much whole garam masala inside, as I will explain about more in the next dish.


A fiercely debated topic amongst Indian cooks is whether to use whole garam masala (whole pieces of cloves, cardamom etc) inside curries, or to simply use powder.  For myself, whole spices inside the curry is fine, as long as there is not too many.  For this Maithi Mutter Masala, there was simply way too many.  To the extent that every single spoonful I was having to dissect the whole spices out of it.  It is not a pleasant experience for the consumer.  The texture of the sauce is silky and rich, but the flavour of maithi leaves is lost in the dish.  It would have been a decent enough dish, if not for the constant annoyance of having to pick out the spices.


Conclusion - There is certainly potential at Namastaey, but unfortunately it is currently not living up to it.  I was very encouraged by the willingness of the staff to make the dishes vegan for me, however, this fond memory was soon erased by the slow service and forgetting my bhatura.  As I mentioned, forgetting orders in a packed restaurant is understandable - But forgetting orders when only two tables are occupied is unpardonably clumsy.  Regrettably, Namastaey represents one of the more forgettable vegetarian restaurants on the Syed Alwi stretch - I can't see myself being a regular visitor.

Overall Rating
Food - 6/10
Ambiance- 6/10
Service - 2/10
Value - 6/10