Friday 30 June 2017

Star Banana Leaf Restaurant @ Cyberjaya, Selangor

Star Banana Leaf Restaurant is probably the longest surviving South Indian restaurant in Cyberjaya. Previously, they were located in a different building and of late, they had relocated to the Glomac Cyberjaya area. 

The Restaurant In Glomac Cyberjaya Area

Iced Tea @ RM 1.70
During lunch hours, they serve full Banana Leaf Rice meals as well as on plate and in the evenings, it's solely on plates. They have always had a reputation for serving delicious meals and that is one of the reason why they are still going strong despite many new comers. I was here for dinner and now, they have made it into a self service restaurant. Right from taking the rice to the curries, it's all laid on the long counter and one is expected to help themselves. Only drinks are sent over to the customer. This evening, I had some Iced Tea to go with my meal and it was fixed perfectly. I shall rate this at 9/10. 

My Meal @ RM 7.50
I took some rice, Potato Perattal, Sardine Sambal, Mutton Varuval, Sambar and Cabbage Perattal and this cost me RM 7.50 . For the lot, I do feel that it's quite reasonable. 

Cabbage Perattal

Potato Peratttal
Cabbage Perattal was good and not overdone. The veggies were fresh as well and the blend of spices were perfect. Their Potato Perattal was equally good, slightly sweet and spicy. My rating for this shall be 7/10 for the cabbage and 8/10 for the potato. 

Sambar

Sardine Sambal
Their Sambar was thick and delicious and came with lots of potatoes and vegetables. Similarly, their Sardine Sambal was very tasty as well and reminded me of the one the I used to have at Akka's, Bandar Puteri. Based on my taste buds, I would rate both at 9/10. 

Mutton Varuval
Just like the rest of the dishes, the Mutton Varuval did not disappoint either. It came with lots of lean meat and some bones that were just perfect for chewing. The thick gravy was heavenly and I absolutely enjoyed this dish, My rating for this shall be 9/10. 

Star Banana Leaf Restaurant is one that would never let you down taste wise. It's one of the longest surviving Indian restaurants in Cyberjaya and the food is as good as ever. Every single item that I tried today was excellent and I am happy to see the consistency in quality over all these years. Definitely a place that I would recommend for good South Indian meals in Cyberjaya. 

Address: No. 2A Block D, Jalan GC 3, Cyberjaya, 63000 Cyberjaya, Selangor, Malaysia

Opening Hours: 0700 - 2300 Monday - Saturday
                             0700 - 1500 Sundays

Thursday 29 June 2017

Restoran Basil Leaves @ Kajang, Selangor

If I ask for one name that would come to most peoples mind when they think of Indian food in Kajang, that would be Basil Leaves. Over the years, this restaurant has brought itself to be in a prominent position. 

Restoran Basil Leaves along Jalan TKS 1

Clean and Air-Conditioned
Basil Leaves  occupies two shop units in Kajang Sentral and the entire restaurant is air-conditioned. Not only is the place comfortable, it looks very posh as well. I have posted their entire menu a number of times before and shall not do that again this time as there are so many pages to it. Please look into any one of my previous blogs on this place and you would be able to see it. 

Poori @ RM 1.90
Poori is something that we all love and I have tried this at a number of restaurants and in my opinion, these guy's do the best one in the Klang Valley. The bread is so soft and tasty, so much so it is even good to be eaten on it's own. Non greasy as well. The only setback would be the portion of Potato that they give which is quite stingy. If I were to rate this, I would definitely give it 9/10. 

Ghee Roast Thosai @ RM 3.10
Their Ghee Roast Thosai is definitely the best that I have tasted. It is huge and comes with a generous amounts of ghee. Crispy and it's so tasty. It also comes with two kinds of chutney and some Sambar. If you're one who loved Ghee Roast, do give it a try here and you'd definitely be impressed. My rating for this shall be 10/10. 

Bru Coffee @ RM 2.60
After a delicious meal, having a cup of Bru Coffee is a must and this again is a drink that is perfectly fixed at this restaurant. Again, this deserves a rating of 9/10. 

The Bill For The Evening
I have tried Ghee Roast and Poori at so many restaurants in the Klang Valley and I feel that Basil Leaves does it the best. Huge contrast with the rest and I always leave satisfied. If you happen to be in this part of town, please do give this place a try. Truly worth the money spent. 

Address: No. 85GG & 87GH, Jalan TKS 1, Taman Kajang Sentral, 43000 Kajang, Selangor.

Opening Hours: 0700 - 2230 Daily

Wednesday 28 June 2017

Mango Chutney @ Cyberjaya, Selangor

Mango Chutney has been one restaurant that I have wanted to visit for some time now. This restaurant is located at the Club House in Cyber Heights and they are only open on weekdays from 8 am to 9 pm. Fortunately, I managed to drop by one night after work. 


Curries Served In Claypots
I was here at around 8 pm one evening and many of their dishes had already been sold out. What was left was a little bit here and there but I still decided to proceed. This restaurant has a lovely view since it is in the Club House and there's even a swimming pool quite near to the entrance. The setting makes it a perfect place for small parties. In terms of customers, besides us, there was just another customer in the restaurant at that time. One thing that I didn't like here was the music being played pretty loud. Not sure if the staff did that since he assumed that no one would be coming by at that hour but I did inform him and he immediately obliged to lower the volume. 

My Meal @ RM 15.50
I had taken some rice, Chicken Kulambu, Fried Veggies, Cuttlefish Sambal, Anchovies Sambal, Sardine Perattal, some Chicken and a Fried Fish and this lot had cost me RM 15.50 . Well, I would say that this is a very reasonable pricing looking at the number of items that I had taken. 

Cuttlefish Sambal

Fried Anchovies with Potato
Their Cuttlefish Sambal was definitely one that I enjoyed. Quality ingredients were used and the only setback with this was that it was a little salty. Their Fried Anchovies with potatoes was again quite similar. Anchovies naturally have a salty taste and I wonder why they had added more salt to it. The latter was quite bad as it turned out to be too salty. My rating for these shall be 7/10 and 4/10 respectively. 

Sardine Perattal

Fried Vegetable
Their Sardine Sambal was made using quality sardines and this was evident from the taste of the fish. But just like the earlier dishes, this too was slightly salty. I would rate this 7/10. Their Fried Vegetable was good. It was crispy and loved the flavours. This I shall rate it at 8/10. 

Fish Sambal

Chicken
Fish Sambal was a little too soggy for me, probably since it is one that was cooked way earlier in the day. Spicy it was and I believe it would have tasted much better if I had come for lunch. I shall be rating this at 6/10. Their Chicken was good as well. I only took a small piece since I wanted to taste as many items as possible. Taste wise, it was up to my expectations and I shall give it 7/10. 

Chicken Kulambu

Rasam
Their Chicken Kulambu was nothing to shout about. I felt that it was quite watery and would have preferred if it was a little more thick and my rating for this shall be 6/10. Their Rasam however was too salty. Way too salty and being a Rasam lover, I was quite disappointed. I would only give this 3/10. 

Overall, I loved the atmosphere at this restaurant and the fact that they use claypots to cook. Overall ambiance is one that I can't complain since they are located inside a club house. Taste wise, I can see that they do put in a lot of effort in using quality ingredients but sadly, many of the dishes that I had tasted this evening was a tad too salty. That was the only setback and I hope that they do look into that. Prices are definitely very reasonable. 

Address: No.1, Cyber Height Clubhouse,, Jalan Cyber Height, 63000 Cyberjaya, Selangor

Opening Hours: Mon - Fri 0800 - 2100 (Closed on weekends)

Tuesday 27 June 2017

Rice & Noodles House @ Tanjung Malim, Perak

Rice & Noodles House is the newest restaurant to open in Tanjung Malim and they are located in Taman Anggerik Desa, just a few doors away from the famous Restoran Srri Tanjung Curry House. 

The Restaurant Along Jalan Cahaya

Daily Specialty Dishes Listed On The Board
This restaurant is open from 11 am till 2.30 pm and then again from 5 pm till 10 pm. We were here for an early dinner around 5.30 pm and the place was buzzing with customers. This could also be due to the fact that they are new and most people would be eager to try the food here. One strange thing that I observed here is that all the workers were Indonesians and even those in the kitchen were non Chinese. Only one Chinese lady was seen to be in the restaurant and it seemed like she was the lady boss and she too, didn't look Malaysian. I sensed that she was an Indonesian Chinese. I may be wrong but that was the feel that I got. 










Above is their full menu. Seems like they have a huge variety of dishes and the prices don't seem so cheap to me. Anyway, after going through the menu, we placed our orders with one of the Indonesian waitresses. It has been about an hour and non of the dishes came. I started observing those that came after us and they had gotten their dishes. I went back to check why my orders had not come and was surprised to find that they had skipped my orders and served the other customers first. That was something that got me fuming. Was it deliberate, I do not know. When I asked the girl that took the orders, she kept saying that she had sent the orders to the kitchen and is not responsible for what happens there. Similarly, the lady boss refused to even entertain me when I kept asking her. I had thoughts of leaving the restaurant but did not want to create a scene since it's my hometown. I believe the lady boss went into the kitchen and got the staffs to prepare our orders then. What happened in between, nobody knows and no one wanted to even open their mouth and give an explanation. Finally, at 7.00 pm, our dishes started arriving. 

Ulu Yam Fish Cake @ RM 5.80

Soft and Delicious
Their Ulu Yam Fish Cake was one that impressed me. It may not be as good as the one that we get in Ulu Yam, but it was still a fairly good one. Fried to perfection, the Fish Cake was soft, tender and juicy. One that I would recommend here. My rating for this shall be 9/10. 

Wild Boar Curry @ RM 8.50
Their Wild Boar Curry was horrible. The meat wasn't fresh and the curry was too salty. The kind of salty that you can't even put in your mouth. Horrible it was and I would only give this 3/10. A dish to skip here. 

Sliced Fish with Ginger & Onions @ RM 18.00
Honestly, this preparation was just okay. Firstly, the overall flavours weren't impressive. Secondly, the sliced fish itself was old stock and it didn't taste good. Definitely one that I would not order again at this restaurant and my rating for this shall be 5/10. 

Salted Eggs Tofu @ RM 8.80
Their Salted Eggs Tofu was impressive. The Tofu had been fried to a crisp and topped with melted salted eggs. Crunchy it was and at the same time, it gave a very delicious aftertaste. This would be a good one to have here. I would rate this at 9/10. 

Bacon Rolls @ RM 10.80
Their Bacon Rolls was not good. It was overdone and that's clearly visible. As a result, it had totally lost it's intended flavours. Not one that I would recommend here. My rating for this shall only be 3/10.  

The Bill For The Evening
Besides the Salted Egg Tofu and Ulu Yam Fish Cake, the rest of the dishes that we tried were horrible. Not only did it fail taste wise, prices too were steep. Besides this, the fact that we had been made to wait for 90 minutes for their mistake which no one even apologised when I asked for a clarification was another thing that totally put me off. Although these guy's are new in town, I would not be a returning customer. 

Address: No. 23, Jalan Cahaya, Taman Anggerik Desa, 35900 Tanjung Malim, Perak, Malaysia.

Opening Hours: 1100 - 1430 & 1700 - 2200 Daily

Monday 26 June 2017

Old Buddha Vegetarian Restaurant @ Kajang, Selangor

In the last few months, I have been visiting the vegetarian restaurants in Kajang and sharing my review on those places. The last one that I had not visited would be Old Buddha Vegetarian Restaurant and I am glad that I am finally able to visit them this afternoon.

The Restaurant Along Jalan Raja Haroun, Kajang

Very Simple Set Up
One of the reasons why I had not been able to visit them any sooner was because they open only during the day and that is when I am out at work. Their location would also be another reason I would say. They are located in the heart of Kajang town which is where all the traffic and congestion is centered and being one who hates traffic jams, I would most often avoid such places. Parking is another problem in this area. You would have to go around driving in circles until such time where you can find a bay which has just been vacated. The restaurant itself is quite humble in appearance. Their main offering would be the lunch hour Chinese Mixed Rice and they do have some other dishes for breakfast and tea time. 

Vegetarian Lunch @ RM 6.00
They had close to around 30 dishes and that's good variety bearing in mind that they are a vegetarian restaurant. The dishes range from vegetables to mock meats and everything looks good. I choose to have rice with the above four sides and this came to RM 6.00 . Fairly reasonable I would say since three out of those four are mock meat items which aren't cheap. 

Mock Char Siew

Stir Fried Long Beans
Their Mock Char Siew is one of the top sellers here and I would definitely recommend giving that a try. Lovely texture and the flavours were amazing. Stir Fried Long Beans was good too. I enjoyed the mixture of ingredients and they weren't overcooked. I shall rate the previous at 9/10 and the latter at 8/10. 

Mock Meat With Potatoes

Mock Duck
Mock Meat with Potatoes was very good. The mock chicken added to that dish definitely enhanced the taste. Their Mock Duck is another top seller here and again, one that I would recommend. It tasted so close to the original and the style of cooking definitely contributed to the taste. Both dishes were delicious and I shall rate them both at 9/10. 

Business Hours & Other Available Dishes
If you're looking for a no frills Chinese Vegetarian restaurant in Kajang for a quick lunch, then Old Buddha Vegetarian Restaurant shall be an ideal place. Close to 30 dishes are prepared daily for their mixed rice variety and they do taste good. Prices are very reasonable too. Besides their vegetarian mixed rice variety, they do have one or two noodle dishes as well.

Address: Jalan Raja Haroun, Bandar Kajang, 43000 Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia.

Opening Hours: Mon - Fri: 0700 - 1730 
                             Sat, Sun & Public Holidays : 0700 - 1700