For all food lovers around Mumbai’s Mulund area, here’s some very good news. Banana Leaf has newly opened its eatery there and we – Sumita Chakraborty, Editor-in-chief and Rajeev Mokashi, Chief Strategy Officer, TheGlitz, decided to drop in and do a review of it. And our verdict?
Where:
The Mulund Banana Leaf restaurant is situated on Devidayal Road, behind the fire station, near P & T staff colony, so it was easy to find the restaurant as well as travel there. As we stepped into the restaurant, we were met by the affable manager Mr Nithyanand who insisted we needed to sit where the light was brighter so that we could take good pictures. Nice!
Ambiance:
As we sat down, we couldn’t help but marvel at the rich ambiance of the eatery which was peppered with paintings, pictures and artifacts resonating with the cultural legacy of the South. The restaurant itself was spacious with comfortable seating arrangements and had a great vibe to it.
The Food:
We were already impressed by the setting but of course, the proof of the pudding of every eatery is the food. So we sat down to critically analyze the food. Banana Leaf is known for its authentic South Indian fare. So would the Mulund Banana Leaf live up to our expectations?
We were served by our enthusiastic steward Bunty who insisted on us trying out a plate of truly delicious rasam vada. The vadas were soft ‘n’ fluffy and melt-in-the-mouth and the rasam was beautifully tangy without it being too spicy. Since we started on such a high note, our expectations raised the bar. Will the second starter live up to it? It did and more. It was a plate of mouth-watering milgai idli that was made with coriander, mint and a hint of green chillies. It was super yum and so was the imli soda that was an amazing palate cleanser.
The food quality was excellent and the quantity, sumptous. The third dish on our menu was the Rajni dosas obviously inspired by the great Thalaiva of the South, Rajinikanth. This was a crisp dosa stuffed with potatoes, paneer, tomato and sprinkled with grated cheese. Super delicious.
Main Course
We then navigated to the main course which was again an amazing South Indian fare of veg Chettinad and mushroom sukha accompanied by crispy Kerala paratha and pristine white neer dosa. The veg chettinad was flavourful but the mushroom sukha was truly out-of-the-world. We recommend it!
Stuffed to the gills, we were ready to call it a day but Bunty insisted that we should try the dakshin biryani. So try we did and it turned out to be very enjoyable.
After which, we opted for the signature Banana Leaf sweet dish, the Elaneer Payasam which was made of tender coconut mixed with milk with slivers of almond, rose and cardamoms. It was truly heavenly.
Our verdict:
The South Indian food at Mulund’s Banana Leaf was truly outstanding. It was authentic, flavourful and truly appetizing. The service was attentive and Bunty was truly an encyclopedia of information. The manager Mr Nithyanand was very helpful. All in all, we loved the vibe of the place. So what are you waiting for? Go ahead, head for Mulund’s Banana Leaf for some amazing South Indian food.
