The Kettingi Briyani Experience @ Jalan Serampang Taman Pelangi

Met Yap SC at a Johor Arts Festival event, and inevitably, we exchanged notes on new food finds in JB 😄 SC told me about this nasi briyani place in Taman Pelangi which he had been to 3 or 4 times recently. He said a few things but when he mentioned country goat and goat intestines, I went "OKOK I must go try this tomorrow" 😂



The Kettingi opened at Jalan Serampang in Taman Pelangi 1.5 years ago. The simple eatery is an offshoot from Chakra Restaurant, a well known Indian restaurant in Johor Bahru. The Kettingi owner, Venu Shanmugam used to work at Chakra where his brother N Shanmugam is the co-owner.



The Kettingi has a wide range of North and South Indian dishes, but I just focused on their nasi briyani today. There's country goat and goat intestines as Yap SC mentioned. I ordered the country goat (and kept in view the goat intestines and venison for future visits).

While waiting for my order, I can smell the aroma of spices from the kitchen. Nowadays, spice aroma which is a signature of Indian eateries can no longer be taken for granted.



The country goat briyani was served warm in a claypot. The country goat was buried in a mound of yellow, orange, red and white long grain basmati rice. There was a bit of slight spice aroma but its presence does not hang in the air like a perfume.

The rice and meat were cooked separately i.e. not dum briyani. The rice is pre-cooked and the meat cooked just before serving.



The basmati rice was cooked with ghee and spices. Though not overly greasy, it was well oiled. The long rice grains coated with slick were tender yet nutty, with chopped almonds adding a bit of crunch.

The spice flavour was mild but every mouthful was punctuated with bursts of perfume when we bite into a star anise, clove, cardamon spice etc.

The briyani is served with a cup of curry, if you like more spicy kick in your rice. I didn't use it at all as I like my briyani this way - just sufficiently flavoursome and punctuated with spice highlights here and there. This moderate form of briyani, I can eat everyday without feeling jelak (bored) quickly.



The local country goat was cut into small pinkie size pieces. They were generous with the amount of meat served as Yap SC said - there were up to 8 - 10 pieces of these. (Personally, I prefer the meat cut in bigger chunks to retain more natural juices and flavours but that would mean fewer pieces.)

The meat was tender and well infused with spice flavours. But, I was still able to taste the natural gamey taste of country goat. I like it this way - goat must have goat taste mah 😋



The country goat comes with bone, so there was no discount in flavour to cater for elegant eating or convenience.



There's a cup of curry, if you need more spicy kick and a cup of raita (cooked salad with yogurt), if you need a bit our sourish zest to cut through the grease. I needed neither - the briyani was just nice for me as it was.



I shall be back to try briyani with local raised country deer 😄



Gather a few kaki for briyani feast 😄



Restaurant name: The Kittengi. The Briyani Experience
Address: 10, Jalan Serampang, Taman Tebrau Jaya, Johor Bahru
GPS: 1°29'02.1"N 103°46'02.0"E 🌐 1.483912, 103.767210
Tel: 07-333 6789
Hours: 11:00am - 9:00pm (alternate Monday off)

Date visited: 18 Sept 2018


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