Madini Food Stall – Nasi Briyani Near Woodlands Checkpoint So Sedap!

Located almost beside Woodlands checkpoint lies this hidden gem, Madini Food Stall, serving Indian-Muslim food. It was ranked as one of the top 10 Briyani stalls under City Hawker Food Hunt 2012. Madini food stall’s friendly uncle explained that the stalls at Woodlands Centre opens for business around 11pm and closed their stalls around 6am as they focus on catering to the crowd that crosses the Woodlands checkpoint.

Back to Madini Food Stall, we tried the Chicken Briyani ($5.50), since it was rumoured to be so good. Oh boy, were we in for a surprise! The meat was fork-tender and had a good amount of spicy kick while each grain of basmati rice was cooked so well with a good consistency. The rice boasted a really savoury flavour, enhanced by the spices used in cooking it. Its aroma has also been enhanced by the spices used.

We usually are very skeptical about having Mutton Curry ($3.50) because of the strong mutton smell. However, the mutton at Madini’s was very well-prepared. Every customer gets a really generous portion for the pricing. The meat was flavoursome and we did not detect even a hint of gaminess. Mutton was cooked till perfection as the meat falls off its bones very easily and it was neither too chewy nor too soft. One of our dining partners finished the entire mutton and she described it to be one of the better ones in Singapore.

We also had Chapati with Keema ($5). The Chapati was really good as it helped neutralize all the spiciness from the other dishes we had and it goes perfectly well with Keema, a kind of minced mutton curry with peas and potatoes.

Seemed like a really heavy meal with so much carbs and protein but we decided to have some mixed vegetables ($1) consisting of cabbage and long beans just to feel a little healthier and less guilty for indulging but you know it doesn’t work that way.