Grand Neelas Banana Leaf @ Puchong – Good Indian food. Burp!

It was Thaipusam three days ago and for some reason, we decided to commemorate the festival by eating Indian food, lol. It seemed liked we overlooked one important fact though – that most of the indian restaurants will be closed due to this very festival. We attempted one of our favorite eatery to another and still, none was opened.

There was a bunch of us, all looking forward to get our stomachs filled with yummy, spiced goodies and so, saying NO was not an option. There was only one thing left to do and that was to get onto Google and see what is available. What started as a drive all over Petaling Jaya somehow ended up in Puchong and Google’s top pick in this particular was Vila Neelas, it even said that they were open – YAY! I’ve not heard of them before, none of us did , this made the whole visit evern more exciting.

The first thing we all agreed on was the fact that this eatery was pretty similar to Asian Rice Pot – (https://thefoodbunny.com/2018/01/12/asian-rice-pot-ss-5kelana-jaya-pj-one-of-my-favorite-indian-restaurants/ ), a favorite of ours. It shared the similar modern setting, well air conditioned, well lit, comfortable. It was packed, filled with people for lunch, there were plenty of chatters, conversations – it had a rather loud but pleasant environment. I definitely see myself heading back here.

Did you see that? They serve TURKEY meat here? Wowza. I have not seen many Indian restaurants serving that. It piqued my interest but I did not attempt it as I was looking forward to some plain ol’ chicken. Perhaps during my next visit, I’d give it a try, eh? Oooo and I also learned that they serve DUCK briyani here…. awesome! Lots of dishes to look forward to.

Chicken Briyani + Banana Leaf rice + Chicken = 33 ringgit

Before I get into the food, I must say I am amazed when it comes to their presentation. All our dishes came served on a banana leaf but below it, they attached a tray. This particular tray enables the edges of the leaf to face upwards, this assist in preventing a whole lot of mess that usually occurs with having banana leaf meals – rice and other leftovers dropping onto the table, curries and graving overflowing and etc. Our tables were spotless after we’ve eaten, clean. That is a first for me, lol. I usually somehow end up with bits of rice scattered everywhere but this time, it was clean. This method works!

Okay, on to the food now. Food was really good. Their briyani came in a generous portion, as you’d be able to see in the image above, a lot of rice and a large, juicy chicken thigh. It was delicious. The rice had enough flavors and spice in it that having to have it with curry or gravy is not necessary. The chicken, there was a lot of meat on it, the kind of ‘a lot’ that was enough to last you till the last mouth – with is a rarity these days. I’d certainly give this dish a go again.

The Banana leaf rice was awesome too. It came accompanied with three vegetables and one acar. These vegetables are the same ones also served with the briyani. It consisted of 1 wet vegetable – spinach, 1 dry vegetable and 1 fried vegetable – bitter gourd. The fried bitter gourd was yummy, I liked the fact that it was thinly sliced, the taste of bitter was not as prominent and because it was sliced thinly and fried, it felt like I was eating chips. Yummm. We opted for the chicken curry for this dish and their curry was just how I liked it to be – thick and flavorful. A chicken dish was ordered as a side – chicken pieces with some chicken curry. They provided quite a bit of chicken, with generous meat on them. It liked this because it does not feel like they were ripping us off by serving us mostly bones – get what I mean? I was a happy kid. Burp!

Would I head back here?

Ooooo yes! I’d definitely would. I had an awesome experience here.

Address: No. 31, Jalan Kenari 17E, Puchong

Opening hours: Everyday. 8 am – 11 pm.

Signing out now, Ciao.

TheFoodBunny