Banana Leaf Rice and Tandoori Naan at Sri Ananda Bahwan

From Little India, many of you might be wondering, why come up with such a name? To be honest, I think indian food has an authenticity that is truly unique. I believe not many of us penangites actually know more than a handful of indian food, wait, you're thinking about - roti canai aren't you? No, roti canai is not an authentic indian food. Most of the spices we have in the world today actually originates from India, and not to mention the unexplored world of diversities of indian cuisine just makes indian food more mysterious than it seems.

And so, I was back to this place for the second time to have a revenge on something I didn't get my hands on during my last trip, which is the Banana Leaf Rice. This may be one of the food that started inspiring me for this blog's name, reminiscing to the time when I was just a little kid, being introduced to a spectacular experience with banana leaf rice in my life for the very first time. Ever since then, I was diagnosed with a nostalgia in search of the best authentic indian cuisine.

Lassi is a traditional Punjabi yogurt-based drink which originates from the Subcontinent of India. Having assortments of fruit lassi before, this was still my first experience with Banana Lassi. This drink was probably top of the league, and every sip just seemed so impeccable with the blend of sweetness and aroma from the banana yogurt. The yogurt drink had a smooth and thick texture, wasn't really good in thirst-quenching but still very much remarkable.  -  9.0

Tandoori Naan, another popular indian cuisine among penangites. As the name suggests, Naan is actually a flat-bread cooked in tandoor (clay oven). Tandoori Chicken on the other hand, is an intensively reddish-hot roasted chicken seasoned with tandoori masala and sprinkled with fresh slices of onions and green peppers. The chicken meat wasn't only tender with minimal spiciness, but also aromatic at the same time with the fresh-from-the-clay-oven flavour (something I simply couldn't describe).   - 7.5

This is the Banana Leaf Rice with Briyani Rice. Now, if this is your first time going through this dish, let me share something new with you. After placing your order of banana leaf rice, you'll be served a piece of big banana leaf, followed by three different traditional indian vegetables (comprising potatoes, salad and pumpkin) which varies from place to place. Lastly the rice would be placed in the middle of the leaf, with pappadam (or papadum) which is a crispy indian cracker as a sideline. One thing you ought to know is that ordering banana leaf rice at any indian restaurants is a known privilege for people with big tummy and appetite, and why? Simply because you're given unlimited refills of the rice (white rice), vegetables with curry, and best of all, the pappadam. Nevertheless, you can order a plate of add-ons, well for me, the tandoori chicken to stir the whole banana leaf rice even better.   - 7.0

As a last useful tip, the indians practise a tradition whereby after finishing their banana leaf rice (meal), a proper manners would be to fold the banana leaf towards you (inwards) indicating satisfaction of the meal while folding it outwards indicating that the meal isn't satisfying.

As usual, the service was bad as most of the staffs could not communicate well in English and a host of other reasons. But food wise, it's still a good place to chill and dine.

Prices .

Mango Lassi - RM 3.00

Tandoori Naan Set - RM 7.50

Banana Leaf Rice - RM 5.00

Bonus .

Located opposite of Paradise Sandy Beach Hotel.

No.14, Jalan Tanjung Bungah, 11200 Pulau Pinang
                                    TEL  : 04-8909771
                                    HP    : 012-4735981 

For the site map, please click here.

Posted in: Banan Leaf Rice,Indian Food,Lassi,Nasi Briyani,Papadum,Restaurant,Roti Canai,Sri Ananda Bahwan,Tandoori Chicken,Tandoori Naan,Tanjung Bungah