PETALING JAYA, Aug 9 – That saying, "when one door closes, another one opens" seems appropriate for Taman Megah.

When Kadei by Manchula shuttered, I thought that's the end of Indian food in that area.

But, lo and behold, Uncle Mani's Banana Leaf Restaurant opened recently, having taken over Nasi Dalca Salsabila's vacated space.

When I spied the modern shop front, I was skeptical, dismissing it as just another ordinary place.

It took a friend's recommendation to get me to step into the place.

The restaurant traces its origins to Bukit Rimau, Shah Alam. This is their second outpost.

Their banana leaf rice set (RM9.90) is served with your choice of rice, four types of vegetables, curries of your choice, pappadum, chutney and dried chillies.

My choice of rice is usually parboiled. It's not the fluffiest but at least I don't fall into a stupor after eating my lunch.

Most places tend to serve pretty generic vegetables. The vegetable dishes here are simple and wholesome, making it different from the usual places.

The shredded cabbage still had a slight crunch with the distinct flavour of cumin seeds, making it a refreshing bite.

You also get a soft gourd vegetable and the requisite cucumber dish. Here the cucumbers are softened in the yoghurt, giving you a nice refreshing taste.

I was excited to see deep fried bitter gourd but that was the weakest link here. The greens were overshadowed by the thick coating of batter, which wasn't totally crunchy either.

If you want to "banjir" your rice, select from the fish curry, chicken curry and dhal. For the indecisive, go for all three for your own unique blend.

My pick has to be the thick dhal laden with vegetables like chunks of pumpkin and brinjal. From what I understand from my friend, they also serve dhal with sweet potato leaves, which is a homestyle dish.

On its own, the set is great to feed you well with the generous portions of vegetables.

Since there were four of us, we shared a couple of side dishes. You can either order from the menu or walk to the counter to check out the cooked dishes available for the day.

You do have fried chicken at the counter but since that was pre-fried, I opted for their Chicken 65 (RM8.50) which is prepped only when it is ordered.

It was the right move as the chunks of chicken were juicy and tasty with a little calamansi juice squeezed over it.

There's other fried items like fish, squid, prawns and vegetables too.

We couldn't decide which mutton dish so we went for both.

The Mutton Curry (RM12) was tender pieces but served with very little curry though so one couldn't add it to the rice. I preferred the Mutton Varuval (RM12) as it had a much deeper taste from the spices and cooked onions used.

There's also Pepper Chicken (RM8) where you get chunks of chicken drenched in a mild peppery sauce. What I liked was how the meat still retained its juicy texture.

Lastly, I chose the Beetroot Poriyal (RM2.80) or stir fried beetroot with coconut and spices. The vegetable isn't too earthy and nice to eat on its own.

Overall, the dishes are for those who prefer milder heat with their Indian food. You can ask for dried chillies if you want a bit more kick.

The menu here also has nasi lemak, biryani rice, From 12pm to 3pm, you can also order thosai,various roti and chapati. I'm eyeing the appam for my next visit since it's a favourite of mine. You also have murtabak, kothu parotta and various fried noodles and rice.

In the evening, starting from 3pm, there's the flavourful claypot rice or satti sorru; there are six types from chicken, fish, squid and even a vegetarian one.

Uncle Mani's Banana Leaf Rice, No. 90, Jalan SS24/2, Taman Megah, Petaling Jaya. Open daily: 8am to 10pm. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/unclemani

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