Singapore Zam Zam - Mutton Briyani @ 697 North Bridge Road

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My visit to Zam Zam was entirely accidental and unplanned. No prior homework was done for my visit to this century-old business specializing in briyani and murtabaks.

I actually ended up here after I took a wrong turn while on my way to Blanco Court Prawn Noodle. I did not even know that Zam Zam was located in this area!

Nevertheless, I carried on my way to have my prawn noodle as that was the main purpose of my trip. After having my noodles, I figured there is still room for a murtabak so I made my way back to Zam Zam which is a two-storey shop house.

The upper floor is air-conditioned with long tables while the lower floor is the kitchen where all the action took place and with a relatively smaller seating capacity.

As it was my first time here, I stood there feeling a little lost like a school boy on his first day of school.

Do I have to be shown to my seat? Do I place my order at the counter by the entrance?

I caught hold of one passing staff to ask. I was told to take a seat and he promptly took my order. I ordered a small mutton murtabak and a teh tarik.

Their mutton murtabak are available in several sizes at $6, $7, $8 and $12. A choice of other meats (chicken, beef, sardine, deer) are available.

As I waited for my order, I thought something feels odd. Then, it dawned upon me the mistake that I have made when I browsed through my bill.

For the life of me, I had ordered a mutton briyani instead of mutton murtabak! It was already too late when I realized my folly.

So, here is my mutton briyani in all its glory, with a sizeable piece of mutton buried under all that mountain of long grain rice. I was not prepared at all to have so much rice especially just after having a bowl of noodles!

But finished the meal I did.

The rice perfumed by the spices felt light and fluffy on my palate. However, the several cardamom and star anise that I have bitten into left a bitter taste in my mouth. I do not understand how does something that smells so fragrant could taste so bitter?

On the other hand, the piece of boneless mutton was fork tender and takes little effort to tear apart. It also does not have the gamey smell that turns many people off. However, I wish the meat comes with a bit of fat though as it was a tad too lean.

My only disappointment in this meal has to be the cucumbers covered in ketchup. Why not pickle them into achar? It will definitely whet diners' appetite into eating more.

I did not expect that my visit to Blanco Court Prawn Noodle sprang me two surprises: Zam Zam and Sultan Mosque.

I have seen photos of both Zam Zam and Sultan Mosque (Masjid Sultan) on several media platforms (tourist guides, TV, internet, etc) and they are on my to-visit list but running into them is totally unexpected. Heck, I do not even know that they are right next to each other!

I am looking forward to my next trip back to Zam Zam to try their Murtabak and I am keeping my fingers crossed that I will not make the wrong order again.