Alipapa Briyani (Maxwell)

Whilst Maxwell Food Centre has seen quite a number of empty stalls especially located in the middle of the food centre since about a year ago, the food centre has seen a number of new tenants moving into the empty stalls recently — strangely enough, there also seems to be an influx of stalls focused on serving up Briyani with this wave of tenants moving into the food centre. Alipapa Briyani is a new stall that had moved into Maxwell Food Centre rather recently; the stall itself being neighbours with yet another equally new Briyani specialty store named Let’s Briyani — both of which can be found in the row of stalls located opposite of the outlet of Ho Kee Pau at Maxwell Food Centre. Unlike the third Briyani stall (named Pakistani Dum Briyani SG, which also has been featured on some media platforms) as well as Let’s Briyani, one thing that stands out about Alipapa Briyani is how the establishment is seemingly run by folks whom are not of South Asian origin — we suspect that the folks whom operate the stall have Vietnamese roots due to the some of the items which they are serving on their menu. Alipapa Briyani (not to be confused with another stall in Maxwell Food Centre named Alimama, which specialises in Green Chilli Chicken Rice & Prawn Noodle) sports a brightly-lit light green signage; rather easy to identify even from afar — the menu at Alipapa Briyani comprises of briyani with various meat / seafood options as well as stews (i.e. Tulang Soup and Curry Chicken) that are interestingly paired with Banh Mi. Sides are available to be paired along with the various main courses at $1.50 per side dish.

With quite a number of meat / seafood options available for their Briyani-based dishes, it is needless to say that we found ourselves opting for the safest option of the lot — the Rendang Chicken Briyani. Alipapa Briyani serve their Rendang Chicken Briyani with the option of going for whatever would be the default here, as well as also allowing patrons to go for the lower parts of the chicken if one specifies it to be so — this is not specifically mentioned in the menu board displayed prominently at the stall front, but can be found in the printed menu that is placed at the counter itself. Alipapa Briyani does not indicate the elements that would accompany each order of the Briyani, though it is noted that all Briyani items do seemingly come with curry splashed atop of the Briyani, as well as a whole half-boiled egg and garlic crackers on the side. Excitedly digging into the Briyani rice which comes with long grains in shades of yellow, light brown and red, the Briyani rice comes with sufficient flavour — nicely spiced and perfumes of turmeric, cinnamon, cardamom etc.; the curry that drenches the rice also being fairly rich with a prominent note of spices almost akin to that of Indian-style curry. It is also noted that the curry was not particularly spicy; more tuned towards being focused on the flavour of spices rather than to tickle the tastebuds. Despite us going for the default cut of the Rendang Chicken for our Rendang Chicken Briyani, order (which also meant our order most likely came with the upper part of the chicken), the meat was absolutely tender — quite easy to pull apart using the disposable plastic utensils that was provided by the stall. It is also noted that the chicken itself wasn’t marinated with turmeric — it was rather evidently so especially given the white flesh within, though it has been cooked with the curry for long enough to carry ample flavour throughout. The garlic crackers provided a good crunch — liked how they had retained texture and not having turned limp, while the whole hard-boiled egg was nothing particularly outstanding but something that is good to have.

During our visit to Alipapa Briyani, we were also asked if we would like for a side at no extra charge (not sure why so since it is listed at $1.50 per side on the menu) — between the four sides that they have to offer which includes Achar, Tomato Chili, Vegetables and Curry Potatoes, we found ourselves going for the Vegetables. On first look, these looked like curried cabbages with the cabbage being sliced into strips — taking our first bite into the Vegetables, we found ourselves being especially impressed with the item. It does seem rather evident by how it tasted that the strips of cabbage had been stir-fried here; there is a slight hint of wok hei that the cabbage carried — this is all accompanied by a strong hint of garlic from the garlic chips that was added to the Vegetables as well. The notes of the curry lightly lingers around the tastebuds, especially considering how this is an item that features dry curry in the form of a wok-fried dish. Prices of the main courses at Alipapa Briyani can be said to be on the higher side of things — the regular main courses starts from $9.50; the lowest-priced regular item be in the Rendang Chicken Briyani, and goes all the way up to $15.00 for the Lamb Shank Briyani. That being said, Alipapa Briyani has not forgotten their about those whom are unable to afford a meal at such prices in a hawker centre setting; they do offer at $3.80 Budget Meal Briyani that comes with a chicken wing instead that one can also go for. While it can be indeed said that the food at Alipapa Briyani is priced slightly on the steeper side even considering where they are located, Alipapa Briyani does serve up quite a unique form of Briyani which we found to be well-executed at least to our tastebuds; quite a flavoursome one, whilst coming with rather generous portions. It is needless to say that Alipapa Briyani is one stall that is worth giving a go considering the effort placed in the food that they serve!