Feeling peckish and in the mood for comfort foods that bring us all the way back home? There is one restaurant near the Sunshine train station that you may want to visit.

Name: Panjali Malaysian and Indian Restaurant

Location: 10 Sun Crescent, Sunshine, VIC 3020.

Website: http://panjali-indian.edan.io/

The restaurant has a wide menu range consisting of various styles of thosai, soups, steamed fish, various rice based dishes including their pretty famous Banana Leaf Special (more about this later), biryanis, different kinds of rotis and a range of noodle based dishes (think Mee Goreng, Beehoon Goreng, Hokkien Mee etc).

We visited the place for the first time before COVID-19 struck and were impressed by the authenticity of the food and genuine warmth of the owners. The restaurant is not in a swanky neighbourhood by any stretch of the imagination. What mattered to us was the quality of the dishes served. In this respect, the owners have done well.

With lockdown over in Nov 2020, we just had to head down there again for our fix. We ordered the Banana Leaf Special and the Chicken Murtabak.

First on the table was the Banana Leaf Special. It consisted of a serving of steamed rice on a banana leaf, together with sides of vegetables and 2 different curry sauces.  

I topped up the combination with a side serving of chicken in gravy.

The experience was one of bliss as we imagined ourselves back in Race Course Road (Singapore), eating in the well known Banana Leaf Restaurant.

Next came the Chicken Murtabak. It was a generous serving on the traditional round metal tray with 3 different curries.

With each bite of the crisply fried roti, we could taste the chicken mince and onion pieces … Heavenly!

Panjali Malaysian and Indian Restaurant is indeed our go to place for Indian foods done in Malaysian style. With its non pretentious décor and down to earth owners, it easily won us over.