I heard of Sam’s Kitchen from a couple of my friends actually. The bunch of them live in The ARA Bangsar and since Bayu Angkasa is located barely 5 minutes away, it was no surprise that they discovered this eatery before I did. While they raved about how yummy the Indian rice was and that it exuded the ‘homecooked’ feel, they also complained about the fact that service was really slow. They said it was obvious that they lack staff and haven’t got their stuff in order yet.

I decided to do what I usually would – check reviews/ratings online. Based on the ratings alone, it was obvious that most of the reviewers/ customers also agreed with the issue my friends brought up – service was apparently very slow.

With this information on hand, I intentionally visited Sam’s Kitchen towards the end of lunch hours, around 1.30 pm. As expected, it was quiet and mostly empty. My experience here in terms of customer service was good. I was served food within 5 minutes after I arrived and sat down.

All together, they had 3 staffs but only 2 of them deals with the customers directly. So, I can imagine why this would be an issue during lunch time or whenever it gets crowded. It would be difficult to handle all the people with just 2 people.

Anyways, Sam’s Kitchen is located in Bayu Angkasa, at the clubhouse. It is easy to get to the clubhouse as it is located near the entrance. If you have any difficulties, simply drop by the guard house at the front and they will guide you to it. Parking was easy, I simply parked by the roadside, just as many others did and headed in.

I did not know how it worked and so, I simply sat at my table and waited to be served. Lets just say that the serving of the vegetables were little compared to the other Indian restaurants I’ve visited. They do not have those mini containers that they could bring to your table to serve, where you can request for more immediately. Nope. They literally bring the plate over to the food spread that resembles a buffet, scoop up the necessary items and then head to your table. I most definitely needed a refill but due to the fact that they were short staffed, by the time they were done dealing with other customers and finally headed to my table – lets just say that I was already done.

What I noticed other customers doing was that rather than opting for the banana leaf option, they all went for the Indian mix rice/chap fun concept instead. By doing so, they can eat whatever they wanted and at an amount they fancied because they are serving themselves. So, do take note. For now, this option is perhaps the better, fulfilling one.

2 Sets of Banana Leaf + Chicken Varuval + Mutton = 30 ringgit

PSX_20190820_191456 — *Chicken Varuval (left), Mutton (right)*

Food was good. The element of ‘homecooked’ sure was evident here. I do not know how to explain it but it’s distinctive – perhaps in its simplicity and taste that make a home cooked meal different from the regular restaurant served meal. So yea, it was simple yet tasty. The standard serving for banana leaf rice here besides the rice was 3 vegetables – 2 dry ones and one wet. If I am not mistaken, I think it was long beans, ‘sawi’ and bitter gourd? I was told that the vegetables options changes everyday or rather “I can cook the same vegetables in 6 different ways” – yup, that was what I was told. I especially loved the chicken varuval. It was not hot and spicy and neither was it packed with spice but it tasted awesome. The chicken texture was on point – soft, chewy and tender. The mutton too was good. I usually stay away from mutton because it almost always ends up being over -the-top chewy, the kind that has you spending more time chewing the mutton rather than tasting everything else?? Good thing that was not the case here. It was tasty and was a nice addition to the banana leaf meal.

Would I head back here?

Yes because it is conveniently located close to me and I like how the food tasted like a home cooked meal. When I do visit, I would not visit during peak hours. My experience was more pleasant that what my friends and most of the reviewers online went through simply because I visited after lunch hours. The fact that there were only 2 staffs did not seem like a big deal as I was served on time.

Would I tell my friends who lives beyond Bangsar, Brickfields and certain parts of PJ to go out of their way to head here to eat banana leaf meal/ Indian food?? Nope, I will not. To those who are nearby, if you feel like something different? Having an Indian meal in an old school club house – you guys can drop by if you want to.