Majestic Banana Leaf, Semenyih

We were in Semenyih recently and dropped by Majestic Banana Leaf located in Eco Majestic for lunch. Hubby and I had the banana leaf rice set (RM7 during Deepavali, normal price RM8.50) which comes with rice, 3 different types of vegetables, your choice of curries (mutton, chicken or dhal) as well as papadam and rasam. Banana leaf rice is available daily from 11.45 am onwards.

We also had the mutton varuval (RM8) and chicken 65 (RM6.50). We enjoyed the mutton, nice and tender, and quite a generous portion. 

Our kids had the roti canai (RM1.50) which are freshly made to order. Nice and crisp, with nice accompanying dhal and curry.

Service here is good and friendly too. Air-conditioned and clean restaurant. Overall, a good, positive experience.


Opening hours: 8am to 8pm.

Price: Total bill RM42.80 for 4 pax.

Location: Majestic Banana Leaf, 18, Jalan Eco Majestic 9/1B, 47300 Beranang, Semenyih, Selangor. (plenty of free parking)

Tel: 03-8724 3655

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Recipe: Beef Keema (Indian Ground Beef Curry)

When I was searching for some different ways for cooking minced beef, I came across this recipe for beef keema. Beef keema is a dry Indian ground beef curry, most popular in North India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. 

For my version, I used a hot curry powder such as Madras as well as spices such as garam masala. Other than beef, you will also find chopped onions, ginger, garlic, potato, carrot and peas in this dry curry - making this a perfect one-pot meal! 

Beef Keema

Recipe by Baby Sumo, adapted from BBC Good Food

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 40 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients
350g minced beef
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp grated ginger
1T cooking oil
2T hot curry powder, such as Madras
1 tsp garam masala
1 potato, cubed
1 carrot, cubed
1 cup frozen peas
500ml water or beef stock
1T tomato purée

Coriander, to garnish

1. Heat oil in pan over medium heat. Sauté onions, garlic and ginger for 4-5 mins, until onions are softened.
2. Brown beef, about 4-5 minutes.
3. Add curry powder, tomato purée, carrot, and potato and mix well. Add beef stock. Simmer for 15 mins, stirring occasionally.
4. Add peas and cook for further 10 mins. By now the stock should have been fully absorbed. Taste and season with salt if necessary.
5. Garnish with coriander and serve with rice.

*If using water, you will need to season with extra 1 tsp chicken stock granules / salt.

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Recipe: Chicken Kurma + Easy Cucumber Pickles (Acar Timun)

Chicken kurma (ayam masak kurma) is a lovely, mild and thick curry which can be enjoyed by the whole family. I used a ready made chicken kurma paste (we tried the brand, Lizar), which Hubby got from the supermarket. Super convenient, as all I needed to do was peel the potatoes and carrot and cut them up, and simmer along with chicken drumsticks, water and coconut milk.

You can serve chicken kurma with rice or flatbreads, as well as a pickle on the side. I am also sharing this easy 15-minute pickle recipe for acar timun (aka cucumber pickles, with carrots, shallots and red chilli).

Easy Chicken Kurma (Ayam masak kurma)
Recipe by Baby Sumo
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time:  50 minutes
Serves 6-8

Ingredients
1 pack (150g) Lizar chicken kurma paste
1 kg chicken drumsticks
4 potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1 carrot, peeled and cut into chunks
400ml water
150ml coconut milk

1. In a heavy based pot over medium high heat, place water and chicken kurma paste. Stir to blend the paste.

2. Add the chicken and simmer for 10 minutes over medium heat.

3. Add potatoes and cook for a further 30 minutes, then add carrots and coconut milk and simmer for a further 10 minutes. Season with salt, if necessary. Serve with rice or flatbread.

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Acar timun (Cucumber pickle)
Ingredients
1 Japanese cucumber, peeled at intervals
1/2 carrot, peeled and cut into matchsticks
1/2 red chilli, thinly sliced
1 shallot, thinly sliced

For pickling
Juice of 1 lime
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp caster sugar
1 tsp white balsamic vinegar


1. Place all ingredients for pickling in a small bowl and mix well until sugar and salt is dissolved.

2. Slice the cucumber to 2 inch lengths, then quarter. Place in a bowl along with carrot, chilli and shallot and add the pickling solution.  Mix well and leave for at least 15 minutes.

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Shobana's Kerala Kitchen, PJ: Banana Leaf Rice

Earlier last month, the BLR gang gathered at Shobana's Kerala Kitchen in PJ for our monthly banana leaf rice outing. Shobana's used to house May and Mike's and one of our founding members had dined there once before and approved of their food.

Shobana's still serve authentic Malayalee cuisine and the signature dishes from the previous establishment and apparently the cook never left, so the taste of the food should still be the same.

As soon as you're seated, the servers will place banana leaves in front of you. You can choose between white rice, Indian rice or chapati and the rest of the dishes are on display at the side of the restaurant as well as written on the blackboard. We had three banana leaf rice sets (RM8 each), which comes with three types of vegetables, mango chutney, rice and a choice from two curries (chicken or fish) or dhal. If you want the pickled fried chilli, you will need to request for it. Papadam is chargeable at RM1 per basket, which I found rather unusual as other BLR places give it for free as part of the BLR meal. In comparison to other BLR places, the variety for the set meal seem a little meagre for the price.

The vegetable of the day were spinach, brinjal and cucumber raita, which were thankfully delicious and refillable. The curry sauces were well-spiced and spicier than a lot of other BLR places we've tried.

The kids had the chapati only (RM2.50), which wasn't very enjoyable as it is not made to order, so it was slightly cold and hard.

For sides, we ordered the fish puttu (one of their signatures and must-try dishes - a traditional Keralan dish) (RM7.50), fried chicken (RM7.50) and mutton varuval (RM10.50). I haven't tried fish puttu before.. and I really liked it! At Shobana's, they use mackarel in lieu of shark's meat, which is shredded and mixed with spices, chilli and freshly grated coconut. The kids enjoyed the boneless fried chicken and the mutton varuval were very tasty too, with generous chunks of tender meat.

We were asked to post our experience on FB or Instagram, and our friend did, and we got complimentary masala tea. :)

The restaurant is air-conditioned and the crowd wasn't too overwhelming during our visit, so it's a  pretty nice place to enjoy a leisurely lunch.



Opening times: 11am to 3.30pm. Closed on Mondays.

Price: Total bill RM66.

Location: Shobana's Kerala Kitchen, 357C Jalan 5/57, Petaling Garden, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. (Street parking available)

Tel: 03-7773 0409


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JP teres, Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur

JP teres, located on the ground floor of Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur features the best of Malaysian cuisine and highlights a variety of authentic Malay, Chinese and Indian flavours complemented by warm and friendly service.

Guests can choose to dine in the cosy indoor dining area or there is also an outdoor terrace with three 55-inch LED televisions. Watch the action in one of many show kitchens here, as the chefs work on the satay grills, tandoor ovens, roti hot plate or wok stations.

Available for both lunch and dinner, the a la carte menu comprises of Malaysian appetizers, soups, toasties, noodles, rice, snacks, grill, curries, mains and desserts.

One of the signature (and popular) dishes here is the Nasi Ayam (RM55), aka chicken rice. Guests can opt for either roasted or poached chicken. We went for the roasted chicken and I was impressed by the generous portion that arrived. Tastewise, the chicken was tender and comes with three different dipping sauce - chilli, ginger and sweet soy sauce. The rice was pretty good too, as it was fragrant and flavorful. Overall, a pretty authentic rendition of a Malaysian favourite.

Baby C is a big fan of Curry Laksa (RM53) and JP Teres' version certainly ticked all the right boxes. It comes with yellow noodles, tofu, shrimp, fish cake, fish balls, fried wantan, cockles, beansprouts, mint, chicken pieces, boiled egg and a kickass curry chicken broth. The broth was thick, robust, full of flavour and spicy.

We also shared the Lamb Rojan Josh Thali set (RM72), which came with a serving of tender, chunks of braised lamb leg with spices, lentil dhal tadka, aloo gobi, cucumber raita, mint chutney, mango chutney, briyani rice and papadum. A wholesome, delicious platter.

For dessert, we had the Pulut Mangga (RM25), thick slices of sweet mango and sticky rice topped with a rich coconut sauce as well as the Soft serve ice cream (RM22) with Milo, Kit Kat and chocolate sauce. What a delectable end to our meal. :)

Click here to view JP Teres a la carte menu. Lunch buffet is served from 12pm - 3pm from Mon to Thurs.

Click here to read our review of the Grand Executive Suite.



Opening times: 7:30 am - 1:00 am (Weekdays); 9:00 am - 1:00 am (Weekends & Public Holidays)


Location: JP teres, Ground Floor, Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur, 12 Jalan Pinang, 50450 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.(Parking via Touch n Go only)

Tel: 03- 2182 1234

Website: https://www.hyatt.com/en-US/hotel/malaysia/grand-hyatt-kuala-lumpur/kuagh/dining


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MyBanana, Taman Megah, PJ: Banana Leaf Rice with a Porky Twist

The hunt for the best banana leaf rice continues! Last weekend, the BLR gang gathered at MyBanana in Taman Megah, PJ to try out their unique banana leaf rice offerings. The restaurant which takes up a corner unit is semi air-conditioned and is pretty well-ventilated, and service is good too.

What's unique about them, you ask? Well, MyBanana is one of few banana leaf restaurants that serve pork dishes to go with your rice, such as Chinese-style roast pork (siew yuk), wild boar curry and pork curry on top of the more common side dishes such as fried chicken, mutton dishes, crab curry, fried sotong and fried fish.

The basic banana leaf rice set (RM7.50) comes with rice, 3 types of vegetables, curry, rasam, pickled chilli, acar and papadum and is refillable. I was delighted to see two of my favorite vegetables here - the cabbage as well as deep fried crispy snake gourd. Two types of curry sauce was available during our visit - fish and chicken, which were thick and well-spiced. The rasam was appetizing too. Overall, this ticked all the right boxes for us.

As we walked through the door, we couldn't help but notice the glorious siew yuk hanging in the glass compartment. They do only two slabs everyday, and they sell out pretty quickly, we've been told. I have to say they did a very good job, tender, flavorful meat with melting layers of fat and  crispy crackling.

Chef Prakash chopping up some siew yuk for the customers

We also loved the wild boar peratal (RM10) and mutton peratal (RM8) which came with tender chunks of meat. The pork peratal (RM10) is made using both pork ribs and shoulder. We also sampled three types of chicken dishes - chicken varuval, chicken peratal and chicken kurma (all RM5.50 each).

For those who prefer briyani rice, they also do chicken and lamb briyani, and during our visit, they had a special CNY lap cheong briyani.

BabySumoKids joined us on our BLR expedition this time, though they stuck with what they were familiar with (ie roti canai). MyBanana also does roti with a porky twist, ie their new Roti bacon cheese. Highly recommended - the roti was crisp with melting, oozy cheese and bacon bits in the centre. Simply awesome, I think I've found my new favorite roti!

They also do a fantastic pork murtabak (RM10), generously stuffed with egg, onions, and minced pork.

And why not enjoy your seriously tak halal meal with a cold beer?

Food & Drinks Menu

Verdict: Everything was well-prepared and delicious, from their banana leaf rice to their wonderful side dishes and rotis. Definitely one of the best banana leaf rice we've tried in PJ/KL! 



Banana leaf rice is available 11.30am onwards. Roti/thosai is available from 8am -12pm, and 3pm onwards.


Serves pork/Non-halal.



Opening times: 7.30am - 11pm daily.

Price: approx. RM20 per pax.

Location: MyBanana, 28 & 30, Jalan SS24/13, Taman Megah, 47301 Petaling Jaya, Malaysia (Street parking available).



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