BananaBro @ Cheras Leisure Mall

This chain of banana leaf rice (BLR) restaurant has been around for many years and is well-known for their all-you-can-eat BLR (and yes, they serve it on real banana leaves...lol).

With over 30 branches all over Klang Valley, I'm sure you won't have much difficulty finding one near you...and we have five near us! ;)  We chose to come to BananaBro @ Cheras Leisure Mall to indulge in a carb-loaded meal one evening.

You start with the all-you-can-eat Craving Set @ RM11.90 (almost everyone will order this) which gives you unlimited servings and refills of all items which include rice, 4 types of curries, 3 types of vegetables, rasam (a lightly tangy and spicy Indian soup) and papadum (a type of Indian crispy cracker).  And yes, it's served on a real banana leaf (none of those banana leaf look-alike crap that's fake!)...lol.

So, after you're seated and have put in your orders, a real banana leaf gets laid in front of you.  To have an awesome BLR experience, rice is at the centre of it all.....it's a must and it's the first thing that's scooped onto your banana leaf.

Next comes the vegetables and there are three types....two that's standard and one that will rotate and change.  The standard ones are the fried snake gourd and cucumber yogurt (or raita).  The third veggie for the day was stir-fried cabbage (with carrot, chillies and curry leaves).  We got this same veggie on our second visit as well.

I enjoy all three veggies but the fried snakegourd is my favourite...thinly fried snake gourd slices dipped in seasoned batter and fried to a crisp texture.  I've eaten this before but had always thought of them to be bitter gourd but turns out I was wrong...and now I've a newfound veggie that I really like.  This snake gourd slices even have a light sweetness to them.  The (diced) cucumber raita is crunchy and refreshing on the palate while the stir-fried cabbage is standard fare.

With the vegetables all in place, it's time for the rice to be flooded with curries...and you have four choices...chicken, fish, dhal and/or crab curry.  Who says you can't have all four....to banjir your rice!  So, don't ask me which curry is better...I wouldn't know after they're all mixed together...lol.  So good with the crisp papadum (which I asked for seconds).

If you're a vegetarian, you can make a meal out of just the craving set alone and be fully satiated and satisfied with as much refills as you want of rice, vegetables, papadum, rasam and curries although you may be limited to only the dhal curry which is meatless.

If the craving set alone is not enough to satisfy your cravings, you can also add-on side dishes like fried tenggiri, fried squid, chicken 65, gobi (cauliflower) 65, mutton varuval, masala prawns, butter chicken and sambal petai.  I picked the Fried Tenggiri (Fried Mackerel) @ RM11.90.

The fish (quite a big piece), flaky and fresh, was well seasoned and fried till crispy perfection.  I would recommend that you have it with a squeeze of lime which made it so much better as fried tenggiri is usually a bit on the dry side.

My son likes to add on Chicken 65 @ RM5.90 to his 1-Pax Single Set @ RM15.90 (for a total RM21.80 inclusive of a drink, lemon tea).  If you're wondering why it's called Chicken 65, apparently that was the year it was first made.

The Chicken 65 are marinated pieces of boneless chicken that's lightly crispy and spicy (with a spice level that even a kid can take).  Vegetarians can go for Gobi 65 which is essentially the same thing but made with cauliflower instead.

The Fried Squid Rings, probably with the same marination as the earlier Chicken 65, was also decent, lightly crispy and not too chewy.

Drinks of Lemon Tea (Cold) and my Teh Tarik Lawa (Cold) @ RM7.90.  Not sure what's the difference with this teh tarik lawa and the usual teh tarik as it tasted the same to me.

There's also the 2-Pax Family Combo @ RM49.90  where you'd get 2 x Craving Set, 1 Chicken 65, 1 Fried Squid Rings and 2 x Lemon Tea.  For bigger families, there's the option of a 4-Pax Family Combo (RM99.90).

My Personal Opinion

I think this BananaBro is probably one of the most economical meals you can have in a comfortable environment based on their basic craving set which cost only RM11.90 (but do note that the same set can cost RM13.90 at some other outlets).  The price difference depends on whether it's a mall outlet or a shoplot according to their FB (I think the rental plays a part since Cheras Leisure Mall is a mall after all...lol).

Either one, it's still a value-for-money meal/deal as you can fill to your heart's (or should I say stomach's) content with unlimited refills of rice, veggies, curries and papadum.  This makes for a great vegetarian meal and for those (like me) who love to eat vegetables more than proteins.

BananaBro

Unit L1-60A Level 1

Cheras Leisure Mall

8 Jalan Manis 2

Taman Segar Cheras

56100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 012-205 4237

Penang Road Famous Teochew Cendul @ Cheras Leisure Mall

I came to Cheras Leisure Mall for dinner (with my family) only to find that Vietnam Kitchen is no longer here, a place we'd go for its affordable set meals and convenient location near where we stay.  Not sure if it's permanently closed or under renovation since the place has been barricaded (and there's no signage whatsoever).  My guess is it has closed shop (permanently) and I can't say I'm surprised.

Eateries in Cheras Leisure Mall seem to have short life spans...many have come and gone!  I'd consider people traffic in this mall to be low coz the shops here aren't very exciting (luckily for Golden Screen Cinemas, otherwise the traffic will be even lower).  Even Chicago Ribs (that have closed down for a while now is still vacant).  With few choices here, we decided to have dinner at Penang Road Famous Teochew Cendul @ Cheras Leisure Mall in the end.

The menu is pretty limited, so you won't take long to order what you want at the counter.  Since it was Ramadan month, they were offering Buka Puasa set meals (available until 15 July), the first of which was the Pandan Nasi Lemak + Lime Juice @ RM14.90.  It came with pandan-flavoured rice (that tasted like normal rice other than it being greenish), a piece of kunyit fried chicken (no complaints here as it was freshly fried, fragrant and crispy) and the usual condiments of hard-boiled egg, ikan bilis, kacang, cucumber and sambal (that's meh!).

We actually wanted two sets of the nasi lemak (boys will be boys, they like rice) but were told that they had only one last plate left...yikes...and it wasn't even 7pm yet!  I didn't see any crowd at the place so I'm not sure why they ran out so soon (maybe a lot of people already "tapau" for buka puasa?).  So, my husband had no choice but to order the other set, their Penang Prawn Mee + Lime Juice @ RM12.90.

The bowl of prawn mee had the usual suspects of prawns (two miserable ones), some fish cake slices, shredded chicken, hard-boiled eggs, kangkung and fried onions (that didn't taste like the freshly fried kind).  The prawn mee broth did nothing for me! :(

I had their Penang Curry Mee @ RM10.90 which was laden with prawns (just two), cockles (note that I didn't say blood cockles!), bean curd puffs, strips of cuttlefish, long beans, bean sprouts and sambal.  At first glance, it certainly looked like how a bowl of authentic Penang curry should look like with its white broth and almost blackish sambal.

Even after stirring in all the sambal, the curry wasn't spicy at all (great for those who like it this way, I suppose).  The broth is lighter and more watery than those thick and creamy versions that I'd rather have but still respectable since this is the style of Penang curry mee after all.  At least this was still better tasting than the Penang prawn mee.  Probably the most disappointing thing was that I didn't get them 'bloody' cockles (pun intended) but 'shrivelled up' cockles that looked like they were blanched beforehand! >:(

For the meal sets, you can add on an additional item of either Dragon Roll (don't know that is), Pandan Chicken or Durian Chendul.  Our first add-on was the Pandan Chicken @ RM5 which my son seemed to enjoy but failed to give me the aroma and taste I seek in a pandan chicken.

Our second add-on was the Durian Chendul but, luckily, they ran out of durian (phew!) and substituted it with the Original Teochew Chendul @ RM5 which I'd much rather have.

When I stirred everything together, my first thought was that it would be very sweet looking at the rather dark coloured gula melaka but (surprisingly) it didn't turn out as sweet as I expected (the difference could be the gula melaka from Penang?).  Overall, it was a pretty decent chendul with not overly sweet kidney beans, fragrant gula melaka and coconut milk (need more santan though).  I particularly liked that the shaved ice was very fine (almost like ice blended texture) and the overall chendul's sweetness was still tolerable even when I didn't ask for the sweetness to be reduced (since I was sharing with my husband).

Of course this legendary Penang Road Famous Chendul started as a pushcart stall in 1936 in Penang that is still in existence until today although they have many branches (or franchises) now all over Malaysia.  I've not tasted the original one at Lebuh Keng Kwee, so I wouldn't know how this compares (though my husband who had it before says it's almost similar, so I'll take his word for it).  Of course, if you ask Penangites, they'll tell you that there are better cendols than this in Penang (hey, there are better cendols in KL too).  But, I'm not in Penang, so I'm glad to be able to partake in Penang Road's famous chendul here if and when I want to.

When I saw "Kuang Jiang" @ RM7.90 on the menu, I had no idea what it was, so I asked the worker at the cashier counter.  He told me it's yam @_@  I've also seen it referred to as radish cake with peanuts but the website says it's fried glutinous cake made with rice flour, dried shrimps and peanuts.  I won't know what it was actually since they ran out of that as well and we substituted it with Fried Popiah also @ RM7.90.  The funny thing about this fried popiah was that it came with a weird dip that looked like tamarind juice.  On tasting, it was like assam laksa broth and I couldn't stop dunking the very plain tasting popiah into the now-not-so-weird dip anymore....hehe! ;)

The White Coffee (Cold) @ RM5.50 wasn't half bad either.

My Personal Opinion

It's a place you can go to for a cheap and no-fuss meal but keep your expectations in check although the chendul is worth trying if you like very fine shaved ice.

If I do come back it would to try their Assam Laksa (since I had a small sampling with the fried popiah dip) and to have their chendul again....but next time I'll have my own bowl and ask for less sweet (or ask for the gula melaka to be served separately) to make it as perfect as possible (for my personal taste bud)! ^_*

Penang Road Famous Teochew Chendul
L1-43 & 44 Level 1
Cheras Leisure Mall
Taman Segar Cheras
56100 Kuala Lumpur

Revisit: Vietnam Kitchen @ Cheras Leisure Mall

We frequent Vietnam Kitchen @ Cheras Leisure Mall quite a bit because of its location (not too far from where we live) and the affordably priced set menus.

They have a few choices (can't remember how many) of value sets (that cater to the no. of pax).  The last time we were here, we opted for Set C (4 - 5 pax).  This time round, we selected Value Set A @ RM34.90 (for 2 - 3 pax) featuring 3 dishes so that we could add on some other dishes that we wanted.  Actually, the value set should be quite sufficient for a family-of-3 if you're small-eaters (but, we're not....plus my mother-in-law was with us).

The first dish in Value Set A was the Sweet & Sour Chicken and you'd be surprised that a Vietnamese restaurant does justice to this common dish (though more common with pork) found in most Chinese "tai chow" places.  The chicken pieces were well seasoned and crisp in a sauce that's more tangy than sweet which I liked.  I especially loved the way the vegetables of pineapple and tomatoes were cut into more chunky pieces. Many sweet and sour pork dishes in "tai chow" places don't even come with pineapples which I think is so important to lend a tangy, subtle sweetness to the dish.   I'd usually rank a sweet and sour dish with pork no. 1, followed by fish and chicken last....but, I must say, I'm quite a fan of this sweet and sour chicken! :)

The next dish in our set featured Stewed Ribs with Caramel Sauce.  Whenever I see the words "caramel sauce", I'm on the defence straightaway for fear it might be too sweet...but this wasn't.  My spouse liked the sauce so much he lapped it all up with his rice....plus the ribs were downright tender.

Our final dish from the set was the simple Stir-Fried Yau Mak (Romaine Lettuce) with Garlic.  Quickly stir-fried to retain its crunchiness and topped with garlic...certainly one of our favourite vegetables.  Now, would you consider these 3 dishes real value for RM34.90 in a comfortable, air-conditioned environment?  I would.

Unfortunately, the set menu does not come with rice, so you'll need to pay RM2.35 for a bowl.

Since there were four of us and we aren't exactly petite eaters, I added on an extra dish of Fish Fillet with Pineapple Sauce @ RM23.30 which ended up to be my favourite dish of the night.  What can I say....the soft, battered pieces of fish coupled with the zesty pineapple sauce and fresh pineapples opened up my appetite like no other.

The other dish we ordered was one we had before, the Peppered Prawns @ RM23.85, coz it's my son's favourite.  This time, the battered prawns were even better, nicely crisp and those little bits of crunchy batter (that have fallen off the prawns) were the best parts...hehe! :D  The dish came with a fair amount of decently sized prawns and the taste wasn't as salty as the last time....bravo!

Drinks of Mango Milk Shake @ RM10.50, Watermelon Juice @ RM8.35 & Fresh Lemon Honey @ RM8.35

My Personal Opinion

It's a place my family frequents because of its location, good value sets and affordably priced meals with decent enough flavours....especially so when we're looking for a rice meal with dishes.

Vietnam Kitchen

L2-26-01 Cheras Leisure Mall

Jalan Manis 6 Taman Segar

56100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-9130 9530

Vietnam Kitchen @ Cheras Leisure Mall

There aren't a lot of (decent) food options in this mall other than the ones we'd usually go to like Chicago Rib House, Sakae Sushi and this....Vietnam Kitchen @ Cheras Leisure Mall.

Actually, I've eaten here many times but don't have any photos to show for it coz that was before I started blogging.  So, the food showcased here are the ones from my recent 2 trips to this place.

We decided to have rice with dishes for our dinner and went with Set C (that was meant for 4 - 5 pax) @ RM79.90 coz the dishes in the other sets didn't 'attract' us as much...but, wait....before *you roll your eyes*...my family said they were super hungry, so I wasn't worried about ordering this 'big' set.

The first dish to arrive was the Peppered Prawns.  This had quite a bit of heat to it from the de-shelled prawns being fried with lots of black pepper, bits of chillies and spring onions. 

Although the flavour was nice, it was too salty for me but it was my son's favourite dish as he has a very high salt tolerance level + he actually loves salty food.

The Vietnamese Sesame Chicken was ok (a bit like sweet and sour)...it was my least favourite of all the dishes.

The Seafood Beancurd that came next was pretty good as I enjoyed the smooth, soft silken house made tofu.  It came sitting in a sauce topped with bits of minced chicken, mushroom, fried shallots and spring onions. 

I really liked the Lemongrass Fish Fillet as the fish was tender, with a distinct lemongrass flavour, and came with a dipping sauce.

The shreds of fried lemongrass on top added fragrance and freshness to the dish but, if you're not a fan of this herb (like my son), you might find its lemongrass flavour overpowering.  I didn't...coz I love lemongrass!

The final dish to round up this set was the Stir-fried Eggplant with Belacan & Dried Shrimps.  The eggplant was fried with onions, spring onions and red chillies with the dried shrimps and "belacan" (dried shrimp paste) lending flavour and saltiness that the dish needed.  We liked this one too.

You would think that they would at least include rice with the set...but, no, we had to pay RM2.20 for each bowl of rice :(

On a separate visit, we opted for individual orders but soon realised that the individual sets (that used to come with an appetiser, soup and vegetables) were no longer on the menu.  My son had the Seafood Fried Rice @ RM15.90 with bits of egg, tofu, fish cakes, vegetables and some good-sized prawns.  No complaints here as fried rice is always a crowd-pleaser kind of dish.

My spouse ordered the Lemongrass Chicken Vermicelli with Fried Spring Rolls @ RM14.90.  If you're one who likes a lot of fresh vegetables on your plate, then you'll surely enjoy this.  It had bean sprouts, carrot, cucumber, iceberg lettuce and mint leaves, topped with sprinkled chopped nuts and an accompaniment of a sweetish-sourish sauce dip.  It was light and refreshing on the taste buds.

The dish came topped with 2 Vietnamese Fried Spring Rolls filled with ground meat (tasted like pork to me), wood ear fungus and carrot.  These Fried Spring Rolls (and the Sugarcane Prawns) are always my favourites when dining at Vietnamese eateries...and the ones here are pretty decent, just not as good as the ones from Royale Vietnam.

For me, I've always enjoyed a good bowl of pho and couldn't resist ordering their Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup @ RM17.90.  It had thick slices of beef, beef balls and a generous amount of chopped spring onions.

It was served with condiments of bean sprouts, fresh red chillies, Vietnamese mint leaves, a wedge of lime and an accompanying sauce.

I would throw everything into my bowl of pho except the mint leaves, of course...hate those :(  It was a decent bowl of pho...the flat rice noodles were thin and smooth, the beef slices tender, but the broth was slightly lacking for me.

I had Watermelon Juice @ RM7.90 on my first visit.  This was exactly how it looked like...not filled to the brim....when it arrived at the table (and, no, I didn't take a sip before taking the pic).  This didn't impress me at all...if you don't want to give your customers a large serving or look "kedekut" (stingy), for god's sake, use a smaller glass!!

On my next visit, I ordered this Orange Juice @ RM7.90...and it was filled to the top (looks like they have wised up)....they used a smaller glass this time! :D

Although I'm a coffee drinker, Vietnamese coffee is one I would never order at a Vietnamese restaurant.  I was once gifted with some Vietnamese coffee that my sister-in-law bought from Vietnam (when she holidayed there)...and I disliked it immensely! :'(

My Personal Opinion

If you're looking for a fuss-free, fairly authentic Vietnamese meal, this could well serve that purpose.

Flavour-wise, the food is just good enough to be acceptable but price-wise, it's very affordable!

Vietnam Kitchen

L2-26-01 Cheras Leisure Mall
Jalan Manis 6 Taman Segar
Cheras
56100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-9130 9530