Mallar Bistro at Desa Sri Hartamas - Banana leaf rice 👌👌 (Pork free)

A bunch of us are August babies and every now and then, we get fed for freeeeee. Whenever we have a catch up session among friends, they ‘belanja us makan’. This time, it was a meet up at Mallar Bistro. Despite regularly visiting the area, I’ve somehow missed the existence of this Indian restaurant. Hmmmm 🤔 most likely because I rarely venture into this side of the area.

The restaurant occupies a corner lot, it’s spacious. Both indoor and outdoor area available.

I liked the open concept, the spread out spacious feel the restaurant exudes. We dropped by during lunch hour and it was full house indoor. The outdoor area had plenty of spots available but if you intend to indulge in banana leaf rice like we did, they would prefer that you sit indoors. Due to the shortage of manpower, to serve banana leaf rice, having to go up and down the stairs several times, walking the extra distance, would take up a lot more time than they can provide during peak hours. So, unless you are ordering roti, the fried stuff or the usual rice + vege + meat on a plate that you choose yourself from the food display area, it is advisable that you sit indoors.

Banana Leaf Set, RM 12.90 + Chicken Dun Biryani, RM 18.90 + Chicken Varuval, RM 8.90 + Banana Leaf add on, RM5.90

Food was good. I enjoyed it. It had plenty of flavor and tasted awesome.

For the Banana Leaf Set, you’d get 3 servings of vegetables (ladies finger/ okra, taugeh, bittergourd) + 2 types of acar + papadum + rasam + curry of your choice + rice. Here, if you want another serving of vegetables, it will cost you an additional RM 5.90. Given the amount they would give you, I think it was worth it. It would not be just a small spoonfull of it but instead, they would give you a proper serving, served in a small serving bowl. You’d get a proper amount. Whatever additional servings requested for one particular banana leaf set amounts to RM 5.90. Regardless of wether you ask for a top up of only one vegetable or all three, it still amounts to a fixed total of RM 5.90.

The Chicken Varuval was tasty. When it first arrived at my table, its coloring made it seemed like it was Chicken Tikka 😄. The chicken varuval I am used to usually is brown-ish in color and comes with thick gravy. Here, the meat was red in color and looked like a dryer version, also comes with plenty of fried onions scattered all over. Tastewise, it certainly had plenty of flavor. Despite looking like what could potentially be dry meat, it was surprisingly moist and dense. A good addition to a banana leaf set.

For the Chicken Biryani, you’d get a serving of fragrant, flavorful long grain rice with a piece of chicken + an egg + 3 servings of vegetables ( taugeh, bittergourd, melon) + 2 acar + kesari + papadum + curry of your choice. The dish as a whole was tasty and enjoyable.

Would I head back here? Yes, I would. If I am in the area again and fancy having some Indian food, I’d drop by Mallar Bistro again … and a special shout out to Din, our server. Despite the many orders given, he managed to get it all right. On top of that, we had several special request with the food and drinks – less sugar, extra kaw and etc… he managed to deliver. Despite the full house, customer service was good. No complaints.