Yup, it is that time again. Every once weekly, we try to ‘hantam’ some banana leaf rice. Sure, we do attempt to try new eateries but the thing with this specific sort of cuisine – you’d have to have a positive relationship with it, which is why we most often tend to visit the same restaurants in order to indulge, the ones we like and deem fit for revisits, right?

Except, this time, we wanted to try some place new … but where? Most of the suggestions online are a repeat of the same eateries. Ugh. This is where our mutual friends come in. We asked around and one of our Puchong ‘macha’ suggested GV Nair. This specific guy has a knack for suggesting restaurants we’ve never heard of, the kind that is under the radar but serves good food. We took his word for it but of course before heading there, we logged on to Google to check the rating – 237 votes, with an average score of 4.3/5. Not bad at all and so, off we went.

Location: The restaurant is located in Bandar Puteri Puchong, specifically in Taman Perindustrian Puchong Utama. There are basically a few row of shops, almost all businesses there are industrial related – hence the name Taman Perindustrian. There were scrap metal junkyards, car workshops and other metal related business. Right smack in the middle of it is GV Nair. If you are not familiar with the area, it is easy to assume that the restaurant is not where it actual is and dismiss it. In that sense, I suppose this eatery can be considered ‘hidden’?

We used Waze and it led us right to it. Parking was super easy, there were plenty around.

We arrived around 11 ish am, the crowd was just getting started. There were plenty of vacant spots and space to move about. As soon as it hit 12 pm though, it seemed like everyone started coming out of the woodwork. The place was full within minutes and there was already a waiting line. The environment was boisterous and lively, loud too with plenty of chatters and conversation going off in every direction. It was chaos but I liked every minute of it.

Banana Leaf rice set for 2 + Sambal Chicken + Chicken Varuval , 27 ringgit

I must say, food here is affordable, it definitely is cheaper than what we pay at most other Indian restaurants. Serving size was generous as well. The bowls they served the chicken in, was full and despite both of us sharing it, there was enough to last us till the end – which honestly, is a rarity.

Food was finger lickin’ good, yawwwww ! The first word to cross our minds as soon as we tasted the food was – Authentic. I don’t know how you guys gage it but to us, the first ‘tell’ is the curry and then the rest of the items. Everything combined was simply da’ bomb.

That Sambal Chicken, as they call it, is a must try … although to us, Chilli Chicken would be a more accurate name. Whatever it is , if you see a chicken dish that is red-ish in color – please do give it a go. It may look like it is super spicy but it is not. It was a perfect equilibrium between spicyness and sweetness. A dish that would otherwise have been packed with heat was taken down a notch with some of those sweetness. It was an awesome addition to the banana leaf. Sooo good.

The Chicken Varuval was yummy. It has plenty of flavor and as always, was a perfect dish to have with the rice. The vegetables were yummy too, especially the brinjal and bittergourd. Yummmmm. I was truly satisfied with the banana leaf meal I had here. It was delicious and mouthwatering. Burp!