This humble no frills Indian restaurant in JB's Taman Mount Austin has been steadily building up a loyal following over the last three years with its authentic Indian dishes at reasonable prices. I am now one of their fans too after trying some of their dishes yesterday (and last year).
The decor and furnishings are simple but the air conditioned restaurant is clean and comfortable. I observed that the staff at the restaurant are earnest and sincere in serving their customers.
The menu is extensive and prices are reasonable. Food was delicious.
Taj Banana Leaf's curry fish head is large enough for 3-4 people to share - good value for money at RM50. The fish was fresh and the mildly spicy curry flavoursome.
Taj Banana Leaf is particular about the freshness of their fish - you must have heard, a fish rots from the head. At TBL, they take only a small number of fresh fish heads everyday from the supplier, so customers taste only fresh fish ๐๐๐
Taj Banana Leaf's curry fish head clears the eye test ๐ The spongy soft membrane, cartilage and soft tissue inside the eye socket were fresh. It follows that the fresh fish meat was also tender and sweet.
Prawn Manchurian which is a Chindian dish i.e. Chinese Indian fusion dish (price RM21.99.)
I like this dish - it's actually battered har lok ่พ็ข with Indian spices.
The batter was softened by the smothering heavy sauce but still had a bit of residual crispness. The encased prawn was fresh so it had crunch, juice and natural sweetness. The spicy sauce was like Chinese savoury sweet har lok sauce but with an additional slightly spicy layer.
This dish inspired me to want to come back and taste all the Chindian dishes at Taj Banana Leaf.
Sesame Tandoori Chicken (price RM22 for half bird).
I love tandoori chicken but it is often a hit or miss thing as some restaurants make them too stiff and dry for my liking. Taj Banana Leaf's version was tender and moist which I like. I also appreciate it that the masala spices were flavoursome yet gentle enough to allow us to taste the fresh chicken's natural sweetness.
Kulfi Tangdi Kebab.
I like this dish of tender juicy chicken thigh well marinated with mild spices, packed with fried scrambled egg, onion etc and then grilled. Delicious.
Egg Bhurji or Indian style fried scramble eggs (price RM7.99). Fried scrambled eggs with mild spices like turmeric, chili pepper, curry leaves etc. Taj Banana Leaf's version has pieces of fried chicken among the scrambled eggs.
Butter Chicken Masala. Pieces of grilled chicken with carrot and onion inside a thick sweet tangy buttery spicy sauce made with butter and masala spices.
Chicken Hyderabadi Dum Biryani (price RM14.99).
The long grain basmati rice was flavoursome yet light and fluffy without too much grease.
The chicken was tender and moist with mild spice and subtle natural chicky flavour.
In the Hyderabadi Dum Biryani style, the meat is cooked embedded in the rice inside a sealed pot so the rice and meat are mutually infused with each other's flavours. (As a mutton lover, I want to try their lamb biryani next time).
Taj Tirange Rice (price ). Combi platter of three types of rice ideal for sharing - there's lemon rice, coconut rice and basmati rice which go well with the mains. Taj Banana Leaf serves rice cooked in 7 different ways.
Taj Veg Thali Banana Leaf set. There's a choice of rice - it's white rice and lemon rice on this plate. Comes with various vegetables and sweets.
Taj Special Dessert Kesari. Taj Banana Leaf is proud of their traditional Indian sweets which are saturated with natural perfume fragrance. I love them but had not enough stomach space during the visit. Shall be back next time just to try all of TBL's sweets.
Even though I had way too much food, I finished the whole bowl of Dahi Vada. It's a tangy yogurt saturated sweet idli (spongy rice cake) spiked with delightful bits of aromatic and flavoursome spices.
Of course, come to an Indian restaurant must have their masala tea.
Information for you ๐ Wide range of Indian cuisine prepared by experienced chefs from India. I enjoyed all the dishes I tried today as they are flavoursome, aromatic, have the textures and moistness I like, and ingredients are fresh. I would come back to taste these and also more of their Chindian dishes, and sweets. (I believe TBL is the only Indian restaurant in JB that serves Chindian dishes - I shall find out more.)
Disclosure: Please note that this was an invited tasting.
Restaurant name: Taj Banana Leaf
Address: 127, Jalan Austin Heights 3, Taman Mount Austin, Johor Bahru (beside Hong Leong Bank branch)
GPS: 1°33'30.3"N 103°46'53.8"E ๐ 1.558418, 103.78160
Waze: Taj Banana Leaf
Tel: 014-907 0838
Hours: 10:00am - 11:00pm
No pork, no lard, no Halal cert
Date visited: 6 Apr 2019
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