Restoran Al Haji Bistro @ Bandar Saujana Putra, Selangor

Yesterday I was at Bandar Saujana Putra to meet up with a client. This small township which used to be known as Jenjarom all these years has been rebranded to Bandar Saujana Putra to give it an upmarket development feel. There has been so much of development going on here, both in terms of commercial and residential developments, not forgetting MAHSA University Campus and MAHSA International School. Once upon a time, this used to be a quaint little town and now the houses are fetching almost half a million ringgit. Infrastructure wise, we have NKVE, SKVE and Elite Highways merging into this town and I would not be surprised if in another 10 years, this place would boom like another Petaling Jaya. 

The Restaurant Along Jalan SP 1/1

Stylish and Modern Decoration

Teh Tarik @ RM 1.50

When it comes to food options, there still is so much lacking. Of late, there has been so many Indian Muslim and Malay shops that have come up here and yes, one Chinese restaurant that serves mixed rice for lunch but based on my friends feedback, none that is really good. I sensed that myself as I drove along the shops. The place still needs lots of time to settle in and absorb the sudden surge of development before it can adopt to all the change that has been happening here. Also the surge of student community brought in by MAHSA University would be a plus point for the economy around this area to further develop. Enough about the local developments, let me get back to this restaurant. Restoran Al Haji Bistro is one of the largest Indian Muslim restaurant's in this area. They have spent quite a lot in terms of renovation and have air-conditioned the entire restaurant. We were here slightly after two and the usual lunch crowd had just left. Still, there was an encouraging number of customers and that was the factor that drew me to this restaurant instead of the rest. Before checking out what they had in terms of the lunch spread, I had ordered myself a glass of tea and this was priced at RM 1.50 . Very fair pricing as I was expecting something close to RM 2 looking at all the renovation that had been done. Taste wise, it was good and I would rate it at 8/10. 

My Lunch @ RM 8.00

Point Of Sale System Utilised In This Restaurant

They had a good spread but it didn't look that great. Now I knew what my friend was talking about. Nevertheless, still good to satisfy the hungry tummy. I had some Rice, Crab Curry, Curried Fish Roe, Mutton, Long Beans and Fried Bitter Gourd and this lot was priced at RM 8.00 . Again, very reasonable pricing. Actually, it is quite cheap. The same lot, especially with Mutton and Fish Roe would have cost me a bomb in Kuala Lumpur. 

Crab Curry

Curried Fish Roe

In general, all the curries were watery and they all looked quite similar. Their Crab Curry was no different. It too was on the watery side and I couldn't get the usual flavours that you get from Crab Curry but it did taste like curry. I was happy in a way because it didn't taste as bad as it looked. Taste wise, I would give this 6/10. Their Fish Roe Curry was a tad too watery as well and I am sure you are thinking the same by looking at the above photograph. The Fish Roe itself was just okay and I could not get the usual satisfaction that I would derive from this delicacy. If I were to rate this, I would give it 5/10. 

Mutton Curry

Long Beans & Fried Bitter Gourd

Their Curried Mutton was better. I liked the slightly thicker gravy though nowhere near what I would have desired it to be but it was sufficiently flavourful. I would perhaps give this 7/10. Their Long Beans was quite bland, in Tamil we would say that the 'Thalippu' had gone wrong as it could not emanate the right flavours. The Fried Bitter Gourd was better though I would have preferred it to be crispy. I would rate the Long Beans at 5/10 and the Bitter Gourd at 7/10. 

The Bill For The Day

In terms of pricing, this restaurant is definitely quite cheap. For a meal consisting of two vegetables, Mutton and Fish Roe, RM 8.00 is a good deal but sad to say that it just wasn't there in terms of taste. Above average food that is good to feed the hungry tummy. A little bit more effort on the food quality and they should do very well. 

Address: No. 75, Jalan SP 1/1, Bandar Saujana Putra, 42610 Jenjarom, Selangor, Malaysia.

Open 24 Hours Daily