Firangi Superstar

I don’t usually head out for Indian cuisine as I can’t handle as much spice as I could in the past but when Firangi Superstar pictures pop up on my social media, I could not take my eyes off their beautiful interiors so I quickly went online and booked a dinner slot. You will be expected to pay a deposit for the booking to reduce the number of no shows

Located along Craig road, I nearly missed the entrance to the restaurant as the name of the restaurant is inconspicuously lined up with black stripes framing the windows of the restaurant. From a distance, the entire row of windows complete with the black frame and orange background is designed to resemble a double-storey train carriage

Poetically described as a love letter to India, Firangi Superstar aims to bring diners on a journey from Singapore to India. From the first step you take into the restaurant through the train-like entrance, you step into the first space named the Officer’s bar. Surrounding with lavish leather sofas and an immaculate bar, you immediately get transported into a British Indian atmosphere in the 1940s

The walls are artistically decked with carefully curated pieces of artwork and decorations to depict the ambience

Moving from the Officer’s club is a private room called the old railway room decorated to look like the dinner service carriage of a British luxury train complete with a fake window and local Indian scenery. The room sits up to 10 persons so if you wish to sit here, it would be wise to mention it during the booking

Adding on an official photo from the website, you can imagine the idea of the railway room much better than the ones I took

From the old railway room, you will be brought to a room with totally different vibes. Named the elephant palace, you can find the familiar dome arches in the wall which are commonly found in most Indian palaces

The last room is the jungle lodge which is sumptuously adorned with frames and fake animal head mounts and pictures of animal drawings

We got a table in the Jungle room right at the corner which was pretty dark but deeply immersed in the jungle and hunting mood the restaurant tried to build. The menu was disguised like a traditional newspaper print. Since my visit was at least 6 months back, some items were no longer on the menu

Everything looked interesting to us so we ordered at least 1 dish from every category and the first item was the chutney and raita served with papadams and crackers. We were asked to choose 2 chutney flavours among 4 available ones; we chose coriander and almond. As a starter sharing plate, the papadams and crackers were extraordinarily crispy and light and complemented the chutney very well. The coriander one has a light minty raw vegetable flavour and the almond one has a nutty earthy creamy taste. The pomegranate raita which had yoghurt and fruits was not something I was used to as it was sweet and savoury at the same time with a sour tinge from the yoghurt. My personal favourite was the almond one

This is a raw fish ceviche dish sitting on top of a light creamy chickpea broth which is also no longer on the menu. The fish has a nice acidity to it and is very refreshing. The dish is generally very light and palatable as an appetiser dish

We ordered a chickpea curry sitting on a light creamy chickpea foam which I realised is no longer on the menu. The chickpea is soft and the curry has a good spice kick without burning your tongue. The creamy foam also helps to balance out the curry giving it more depth

Served together with the chickpea curry was the puri which is these cute unleavened Indian flatbread that puffs up to these round balls once they are fried. They are crispy and so delicious that we wanted to order more but it was a pity that they did not sell the puri on its own

Their version of an aloo gobi is pretty interesting served with cauliflower couscous, masala and crispy potato. The dish is lightly flavoured with masala and the cauliflower has a nice smokey flavour to it from the charred sides. The potatoes were also crispy but non-oily adding on a textural crunch to the dish. The couscous itself was light fluffy

This item caught our eye on the menu, named Prata waffle with fried chicken, we decided to order it to try as the server said this is a very popular dish. When it came, there were 2 pieces of waffles and chicken complete with a bowl of makhani sauce on the side. Although fried chicken waffles are not a new thing, they are extremely clever in using Prata dough to make the waffles as the texture is crispy like Prata but not oily and with the shape of the waffles, the crispiness is enhanced. The chicken itself is also highly crispy and tasty although the star of the dish is definitely the waffles

For mains, we order the grilled Iberico pork with mash. The pork was succulent with a nice charred crust and pinkish inside. The pork was lightly seasoned and the natural taste of the pork was flavourful with no bad meaty aftertaste. The sauce provided an additional pepper-ish flavour which complement the pork well

We also order a side of gunpowder grilled asparagus which is no longer on the menu as well

We also ordered the grilled snapper with tamarind fish curry topped with eggplant. The fish was very fresh as the meat was soft but with a nice spring to the texture. The charred skin gave it a smokey flavour which paired well with the sour and spicy tamarind sauce. This dish went well with rice and we order a bowl of basmati rice just to go with the sauce

For our carbs, we had a side order of naans which came freshly made with the oil still glistening on the surface of the naan. Slightly burnt, the naan is done well with a nice crisp and soft inside for dipping the sauces of the main dishes

Overall, the experience has been pleasant at Firangi Superstar from the overwhelming decor to the friendly service staff and out-of-the-ordinary Indian dishes. Everything was great although the price tag was on the mid-high side, it would be a nice place to have that special dinner. Given the dress code for the restaurant is smart casual, it would be a place to splurge on if you like modern Indian cuisine

Address: 20 Craig Rd, #01-03, Singapore 089692

Operating hours: 12 to 3 pm and 5.30 pm to 12 am ( Closed on Sunday)