Thursday 15 December 2011

A Good Makan Spot in JB (4)

With the missus lodged in the 1st Class Ward of Hospital Sultanah Aminah, it has been consecutive dining out experience for my youngest son and me for the past three nights. Not that I don't know how to cook... but with the rush back from work, battling the evening traffic and trying to reach the hospital before end of visiting hours, I can't be bothered to spend time in the kitchen.

What I've been doing is to get home as early as I can, pick up my son and then head off to the hospital to visit his mother. On the way back, we stop by any convenient makan place to grab a bite to eat.

For our dinner tonight, I decided to re-visit a classy restaurant located at Jalan Abdullah Tahir, not far from JB city centre. Actually, the main reason for dinner at this place is because I wanted to wash my car. Jalan Abdullah Tahir is the carwash centre of JB.... there are maybe 7 or 8 places (I've lost count) where you can have your car cleaned.

Banafee Village Restaurant is located next to such a carwash and so it's terribly convenient to let your car have a shower while you have some chow. We first tried out this restaurant when it opened for business around two years ago. It was a Ramadhan buffet spread and I wasn't very much impressed at that time because the food wasn't that tasty. As such, it never crossed my mind to give the place another try.... until tonight.

This time around, I am happy to note that there have been improvements. The menu now is quite extensive. They offer Chinese, Western and even Arabic cuisine. I decided to try out the Lamb Hanith, a traditional Yemeni dish while my young man went  for the Baked Lamb Leg. I believe I've mentioned this before... father and son are both lamb enthusiasts.

The leg arrived first and my son quickly tucked into it. I asked him if it tasted good and he simply nodded. I always trust his judgement when it comes to the taste of lamb dishes. I cut off a piece of the meat from his plate and tried it myself and sure enough, the dish was cooked by a pro.

My order of lamb and rice arrived. When I opened the foil package containing the lamb, my first impression was that it looked a bit dry. Upon the actual eating of it, I decided that the taste was not too bad. Maybe slightly below my favourite lamb hanith dish at Saba Restaurant in KL, but I'll give Banafee the thumbs up. My plate of rice and the accompanying salad was wiped clean.

I believe Banafee Village also offer live music entertainment but we didn't stay to watch. My car is already washed and it was time to head home and blog about it.

Baked lamb leg

Hot and cold. Teh halia in the mug and choco milkshake for the young man

Lamb hanith... delicious.

12 comments:

mamasita said...

Hope your missus get well quickly..

Talk about lamb, now my mind is fleeting back to the nasik ambar served to us during Ramadan..oily but what the heck..lanyak jer!:)

Pak Zawi said...

Fathil, I wish your wife a quick recovery from her ailment.
Sultan Aminah Hospital was home for us for 20 days when my son was operated on for a blood clot in his brain after a freak motorbike accident.
Would love to revisit JB one day.
I am a lamb lover too after abstaining from it for most of my life. Just discovered it's goodness since about 2 yrs ago.

Wan Sharif said...

Mmmmmmm,
Delicious lamb.. got infatuated with lamb in Khartoum where they call Kharoof..
Semuga Allah memberi kesihatan yang baik kepada isteri anda sekeluarga

Anonymous said...

I've been trying out a couple of Middle Eastern restos around KL over the last two months and my No.1 fave is the lamb + rice. I particularly love the rice. It's so good that you can eat it on its own.

Fadhil said...

Nasi ambar tu macamana rupanya mamasita? First time dengar.

Fadhil said...

Pak Zawi,

I'm now eating lamb with a bit more moderation, not more than once a week, as best as I can. There was a time when I was working in UAE... it was lamb almost every other day. Pak Arab kat sana tak makan beef sangat. Takde pulak dengar cerita org2 Arab ni ada masalah kolesterol.

Thank you for the kind wish for my wife's recovery.

Fadhil said...

Ayoh Wang,

I googled kharoof and got results for stuffed lamb. Bila baca one of the recipes, nampak macam sedap sangat. Nak cuba masak, tapi nak kena cari anak kambing se ekor... susah jugak tu.

Fadhil said...

Cara, the mid-east restos in KL use real basmati rice, the ones from Paki or India. I've always wondered how they get their supply because rice imports are controlled by Bernas. For the general public like you or I, basmati is available only as the version sold by Faizah under the Mogul brand. I can assure you that basmati come in varying grades and there are quite a few that are far better than that sold locally.

Anonymous said...

Salam Oldstock,

Heard so much abt this place from my food kakis..
wasn't convinced though, till I saw this pic..
Looks so delish..!!
Would like to try it when we go up there, one day. Insya Allah..

Hope your wife will be up on her feet soon.

Take care
Miezarra

mamasita said...

Oldstock..I wonder whether I said it correctly..yang kita makan kat Tanah Suci tu..lamb they bakar, then they mixed dengan nasi minyak with salad on the side..also adalah their cilli sauce..Ambeng ke? Mandy? Tahlaah..meleleh airliur dah..hehehe

Fadhil said...

Salam Zara,

Lama tak dengar cerita. How are you and your other half? Mudah-mudahan sihat semuanya.

As I mentioned, Banafee serves quite a large selection of cuisine. Setakat apa yg kami makan pada mlm tu, memang boleh rekomen. Next visit we will try other dishes pulak.

Fadhil said...

Mamasita, probably it's mendi (or mandey) rice. Memang sedap.

Nasi ambeng tu masakan org jawa, hehe... itu pun sedap juga :-)