Charisma
D'Venue is a Halal semi-fine dining restaurant offering a unique
gastronomic experience blending local South East Asia cuisine with
western technique at an affordable price. Chef Fauzie is the Chef in
charge of the innovative menu, with the ever popular Charisma Biryani
(or Briyani)
Located
opposite Kwan Im Temple in Joo Chiat, this place can be very catchy
in the evening. The restaurant decided to use purple lighting and you
can spot this place from far away. The decoration is simple, yet
modern and sophiscated. Once you enter the restaurant, you can see at
the end there is chairs displayed for Malay wedding function. Oh ya,
did I mention that Charisma D'Venue can also cater to your special
events, such as wedding.
The Decor |
Wedding Stage |
As catchy as
the purple lighting is, it is the bane for photographer. It made the
colour of my photos out of whack. In respect to other people dining
in the restaurant, I always try to limit the use of flash as much as
possible. Therefore, my apologies if the picture looks weird.
Since Biryani
is the most popular this in this place, we ordered their famous
Biryani Lamb Shank ($18.80). The generous size of lamb shank is well
braised, tender and fall of the bone. The gravy is excellent, robust,
rich in flavour and goes well with the rice. The rice is flavourful
and al dente, without the overpowering spices that you normally find
in Indian Biryani. The mango chutney is a good counter balance for
the richness of lamb shank. Although the dish is served with dalcha,
we find that is just not necessary. The gravy from the braised lamb
is enough to bind the rice and the meat. Yummy!!
Biryani Lamb Shank |
Another
winner here is Charisma Calamari ($6.80). The fried calamari is
crispy on the outside, and it is tender and juicy inside. The curried
seasoning on the batter gave a distinct touch to the dish. The salad
on the sides is fresh with a nice mango dressing. The yoghurt mint
dipping sauce is unique, kind of Greek style, but if it is not that
watery, the yoghurt sauce will complement it better.
Charisma Calamari |
While the
above two dishes are a winner, the two other dishes that we tried can
be improve. Pan Fried Seabass ($16.80) – served with baked potato,
mango chutney in mango puree sauce. Firstly they did a good job with
the skin, it is crispy, however when they put the mango chutney on
top, it just messed up the whole thing. Some part of the skin became
soggy, the onion in the chutney is too overpowering for a fish dish.
It will be better to substitute the chutney with other vegetables,
use more subtle sauce and don't put anything on top of that beautiful
crispy fish skin.
Pan Fried Seabass |
Charisma Grilled Chicken Wing
($7.90) – served with peanut sauce. Good concept, however failed in
execution. Although the chicken wings are well seasoned, The wings
and peanut sauce were burnt. When we gave feedback to the management,
they made a new one for us to bring back. I applaud their service
orientated commitment. During our dinner, the service has been good
and efficient.
Charisma Grilled Chicken Wing |
While the food can have its up and
down, the mocktails here is a must tried. With the price ranging from
$3 to $8.50 depending on ingredients, it sure is refreshing and
flavourful. We tried Sunrise, Nojito (non alcoholic version of
Mojito) and avocado smoothie. All get our thumbs up. Kudos to the
mixologist.
Mixologist At Work |
Sunrise Mocktails |
Avocado Smoothie |
Overall, Charisma D'Venue
delivered on their promise on affordable price fusion food. With the
combination of some winner dish and mocktails, this is a destination
for everybody, especially our Muslim friends.
Voucher Give Away:
Our dinner
here is partly subsidised by using the voucher provided to us.
Chubbybotakkoala.com is giving away 4 vouchers to 4 readers, each
value at $25 (to be used by 31st October 2013). If you
want this voucher, just leave a simple comment below this review.
Winner will be announced on Saturday, 14 September 2013. Organiser's decision is final.
Food
& Drink: 7/10 (Biryani & Mocktails 8.5/10)
Value:
7.5/10
Service:
7/10
Ambiance:
7/10
Yup, Just leave your comment down here :) Cheers!!!
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately not many people keen on the vouchers. So I'll be giving away the vouchers to the nurses at National Skin Centre.
ReplyDeleteHi, just happened to read your blog. Not sure you still have spare vouchers?. Hehe
DeleteHi Jaffar,
DeleteThank you for the comment. Unfortunately, I gave away all the vouchers to the nurses at National Skin Center. However if I have some more in the future, I'll get in touch with you. Cheers!!
Looks amazing!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment :)
Deletethis place looks very romantic to dine in!
ReplyDeleteHi Wen,
DeleteThe setting of the place is really romantic.
The lighting not very Camera Friendly though :)
They are very popular for Malay wedding nowadays.
This is very much great and hope fully nice blog. Every body can easily found her need able information. I am visit first time but I fond many use full article. I will back again when get time.
ReplyDeleteHi Boulevardsg,
DeleteThanks for the comment. Glad you find the blog useful. Cheers!!