While there is certainly no shortage of options, Grand Neela’s in Puchong comes highly recommended. This five-year-old establishment serves traditional Kerala and Chettinad cuisine, and is often packed with hungry customers during lunchtime.
Its main attraction is the banana leaf rice set, served with an array of vegetable side dishes that changes with the hour. FMT was able to savour homemade acar, radish, and a ridiculously addictive fried bittergourd.
Why have plain old white rice when you can have fragrant mint rice instead, with a salty, crunchy piece of “mor milagai” – fried dried chilli – adorning it?
And of course, no banana leaf meal is complete without a bowl of spicy, sour rasam on the side – a mainstay on any southern Indian’s dining table.
Flood the rice with your favourite curry before mixing it with the vegetables for a wonderful gastronomical experience.
Forget spoons and forks; it is only customary to eat with your hands, which purportedly helps you connect better with your food – though do make sure your hands are clean beforehand.
While you can certainly stick to the banana leaf set on its own, it would be a shame not to try the many side dishes on display. The mutton varuval, for example, is juicy and tender, cooked Kerala-style with coconut milk granting it a distinctive “lemak” flavour.
Fun fact: the varuval was previously cooked using imported mutton, but now uses locally sourced meat in an effort to support Malaysian goat herders.
When it comes to “sambal udang”, it is common for the prawns to be overpowered by the chilli. Grand Neela’s does not make this mistake – theirs is rich with the distinctive taste of the seafood.
Fresh prawns caught off the shores of Pangkor are cooked to perfection: they are big and mildly sweet, infused with the piquant spiciness of the sambal. Use your fingers for a shell-picking good time!
Speaking of seafood, one simply has to try the pride and joy of Grand Neela’s: the crab masala. Aromatic and flavourful, diners have the option of choosing between mud and flower crabs, though their availability depends on the season.
Whichever you select, you will be treated to a fleshy specimen bursting with a complexity of flavour. Not surprisingly, customers have pre-booked orders of this dish for their Deepavali meals.
Grand Neela’s also offers a rare dish: turkey masala. While it does not taste all that different from chicken, the meat is comparatively thicker, which works wonderfully when paired with the spiced curry sauce.
The dark turkey meat has a rich taste, leaving you hankering for more with every bite.
The family legacy
Grand Neela’s owner and namesake, J Neelavanen, explains what makes the cuisine at his restaurant distinctive. “Kerala cuisine is largely coconut-based, with a lot of leaves used. Chettinad food, on the other hand, is all about the spices, masala, cinnamon, cardamom and the like,” he says.
He especially takes pride in the fact that Grand Neela’s does not use additives or MSG, allowing their blend of spices to do all the work.
Neelavanen tells FMT that the restaurant is his way of continuing his family’s legacy. “My dad had a catering business around Old Klang Road’s Fourth Mile. Even during my schooling days, I was picking up recipes from him.”
Growing up surrounded by food, it makes sense that he would follow in his father’s footsteps. This came to pass in 1999 when the family business expanded into a restaurant called Sri Neela’s, which lasted until 2016.
When the tenancy agreement expired, Neelavanen chose to start again, christening his new restaurant Grand Neela’s.
Grand Neela’s has since thrived in the food haven that is Puchong, with continued support from loyal customers.
It has been a difficult year for the business, which stayed closed throughout the movement control orders, but Neelavanen is delighted to welcome back customers this festive season.
“It’s been some time since everyone got together, so this Deepavali, I hope everyone can come over and enjoy the food and curry here,” he says.
Check out Grand Neela’s on Facebook. For reservations or takeaway, call 03-80822606 or 017-6574531.
Grand Neela’s
31, Jalan Kenari 17,
Bandar Puchong Jaya,
47100 Puchong, Selangor
Business hours: 8am-10pm daily (open on Deepavali)