Visiting Najia’s Tawa and Grill in Solaris Mont Kiara was my first encounter with Pakistani food and to my surprise it was much more than what I expected. I was expecting the typical Indian subcontinent food with the use of a lot of spices but I found out although Pakistani shares quite a lot in common with the typical Indian food, it also has a good number of food with Chinese influences as they too share borders.
This casual restaurant in Solaris Mont Kiara serves buffet lunch at only RM 8 per person and the buffet consists of Briyani rice plus an assortment of Pakistani favorites with some choices of dessert and drink … what a fabulous deal for weekday lunch in Solaris Mont Kiara. Over the weekend, the restaurant will whip up some thematic Pakistani buffets at affordable prices too and the buffet changes on a weekly basis.
However, we were here for some authentic ala-carte food from their menu and these are what we tried … Chicken Zinger Burger with Masala Fries, Chicken Tikka, Sindhi Chicken Briyani, Mutton Paya and Beef Nihari with Puri and the Gola Kabab.
So what’s my favorite? I would say it would be the Sindhi Chicken Briyani. They Sindhi Chicken is so well marinated and so tender while the Briyani which is cooked with sella rice has a nicely balanced spice flavor – not too strong so it does not overwhelmed the taste of the Sindhi Chicken. The sella rice also gives the Briyani a firmer texture and bite.
The Chicken Tikka is probably my equal favorite item that we had here. Marinated perfectly and grilled to perfection. The flavors are great, very aromatic, and yet the chicken is so moist and tender.
The Chicken Zinger Burger with the Masala Fries is super delicious too – probably better than what you get at KFC ~ both the burger and definitely the Masala fries. The chicken has a good crunch but yet is tender and juicy on the inside. The Masala spices also made the fries much more delicious compared to the usual fries you get out there.
Mutton Paya is a traditional Pakistani thick, curry-like (but not spicy hot type of curry) stew cooked with lamb or goat trotters and has good medicinal properties to it. The Mutton Paya here at Najia’s is slow-cooked to bring out an aromatic rich broth and is filled with gelatin from the trotter. It might taste slightly bland on your first sip but the taste and flavor grows on you.
The Beef Nihari is another traditional Pakistani stew with an Indian origin, slow cooked with chunks of beef and mostly eaten during breakfast. The Nihari is slow cooked to ensure the beef is tender and silky, almost to melting in the mild-warming flavorful broth. Both the Mutton Paya and Beef Nihari goes so well with the the fluffy puri served.
The final main (or side snacks) that we had for our lunch is the Gola Kabab. These oval-shaped kabab are so flavorful and tender that it pretty much melts in your mouth. Definitely an addictive snack item.
For drinks, my friends had the mango lassi and vanilla milkshake which they liked quite well while I stick to my usual plain old water.
I truly enjoyed the meal here, my first time, and yet I do look forward to coming back, maybe for one of the thematic weekend buffet so that I can try out more varieties of the food here.
Najia’s Tawa and Grill
6 Jalan Solaris 5
Solaris Mont Kiara
50480 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: +603 62061236
