There are dishes at TANI Bistro & Bar that would not be out of place at a top-rated tandoori restaurant in Little India.
Yes, you can roll up and order a beer as well, but referring to the venue – at Zhongshan Mall in Balestier Road – as a “bar’ doesn’t quite do it justice, given how good the food was.
It came as no surprise when I learnt later that the owner, Mr Chandradev Sharma, is an established restaurateur.
The small neighbourhood mall has seen several changes over the years. It started out in the early 2000s as a modest plaza with a food court and a 7-11 that served mostly the guests staying at the mid-range hotel attached to it.
Today, it houses a string of restaurants, a handful of salons and a FairPrice outlet. It is also perpetually busy with diners and shoppers from all over town. Not a bad place to run a cosy bar overlooking the mall’s courtyard.
“The mall is bigger and better now, with more shops and restaurants, so it’s getting more popular,” said Mr Chandradev, 47, who bought over TANI Bistro & Bar in 2022 after the commercial effects of the pandemic had eased.
“We are crowded almost every evening, and not just on weekends. We get a mixed crowd, not just Indians – all other races come here too,” he added.
At 6pm on a Saturday evening, the place, which can hold about 70 patrons both indoors and out, isn’t packed to the tilt, but there are a handful of regulars who greet and chat with Mr Chandradev as they walk in. Some of them didn’t even need to place an order – as if the waiters already knew what a nod indicating “I’ll have the usual” meant.
Mr Chandradev, who hails from Jharkhand, is also the co-owner of Tandoori Culture in Hillview Rise, which serves authentic and well-reviewed North Indian cuisine.
Though he elected not to change the name when he bought over TANI (which means “water” in Tamil, and colloquially refers to liquor), the establishment did see a change in the kitchen, in the form of a new head chef. As a result, the food quality at the bistro doesn’t stray too far from that of Tandoori Culture.
The Seafood Platter ($30), for instance, came with six pieces of fish so fresh you could hardly pick it up with a fork. The Adraki Lamb Chops ($28) was also well-roasted with the right amount of fat trimmings along the bone.
As far as “bar bites” go, on the menu are bhaji pav ($10) and vada pav ($6), along with various chaats and puris to go along with your pints of beer.
To perhaps complete the experience, especially for the Indians who frequent the bar, it would have been ideal to screen Indian Premier League cricket matches on the two giant TVs inside and outside the bar.
“Right now, we can’t show the cricket matches (because of licensing issues),” explained Mr Chandradev. “But maybe down the road, we’ll see.”
Good food, ice cold beer and live cricket. That would take the transformed Zhongshan Mall up yet another level.
