Shanta’s Spice Kitchen offers a wide selection of briyani and claypot rice dishes, rotis, and banana leaf meals, alongside local and Western favourites. Nestled in Bandar Bukit Puchong close to the post office, the restaurant is a popular spot with locals, judging from how packed it was when we visited during lunch hour on a weekend.

The space looks clean and bright, with smartly dressed waiters. It took some time for us to decide what to order, as the menu was so extensive.

Mutton can be difficult to prepare as it has a gamey taste, which is why we almost never cook it at home. Whenever I visit an Indian restaurant, though, I always try to get a mutton dish – this time it was Mutton Briyani. It came served on a banana leaf with a heaping of fragrant briyani rice and a whole boiled egg, as well as a generous portion of mutton curry.

As Malaysian, we love our gravy, and in most banana leaf establishments, you get a free flow of different curries – usually chicken, crab, fish, or mutton – to go with rice. Unfortunately, Shanta’s does not provide this. You do get a small bowl fo curry sauce with your meal, but that’s about it.

That aside, the briyani is quite tasty, and the mutton was tender and not too spicy, with no overwhelmingly gaminess to the meat. Whenever I needed to reduce the heat levels, there was always the refreshing side of cruchy cucumber raita.

The Moomins’ light meal of roti, accompanied by the usual dhaal and curry sauce.

The Bro also had Briyani, but with fried chicken instead. He was, however, unhappy with the chicken, as he said it had a tough and dry texture.

Pops had fried rice, topped with egg. Portions were again quite generous; the rice had good wok hei and was flavourful.

If you’re craving a spot of authentic Indian cuisine, I think Shanta’s is a decent choice, as there aren’t too many similar restaurants in the area.

SHANTA’S SPICE KITCHEN

 No 91G, Jln BP 7/2, Bandar Bukit Puchong 2, 47120 Puchong, Selangor

Opening hours: 8AM – 11pm (daily)

Phone: 016-226 1801

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