Other than nasi lemak and bak kut teh, one of my favorite local food of all time must be banana leaf rice. My usual fix for this Southern Indian dish is at Kanna Curry House, since it is rather good and pretty close to where I stay. Mell, however, insist that the best banana leaf rice is this particular Restaurant Nirwana Maju at Bangsar.

Restaurant Nirwana Maju Banan Leaf Rice

Nirwana, as the restaurant is commonly referred to, is located at the heart of the most happening area at Bangsar, just right across Bangsar Village on Jalan Telawi 3. Street parking can be a bit challenging most of the time, but parking at Bangsar Village shouldn’t cost more than a couple ringgit for a meal.

fried brinjal, potato, cucumber, with 2 curries and dal

For those who are not familiar with banana leaf rice:

• a clean and preferably fresh sheet of banana leaf
• rice with usually 3 types of vegetables
• choices of curry and/or dal
• condiments such as deep fried salted chili
• usually also serve with papadum

As you can guessed, the standard banana leaf rice is basically a vegetarian dish. However, you can always add fish, mutton, chicken, fried fish roe and squid, and a host of other side dishes for a meal worthy of any glutton.

Mell and KY, deep fried brinjal & papadem at Nirwana

The rice and curry at Nirwana is as good as any that I’ve had, but the really special item here is one of their standard vegetable served that I haven’t come across anywhere else – deep fried eggplant (the green and white type). The crispy yet savory batter and the sweetness of eggplant is a combination that proved to be very addictive, I love it!

Sri Nirwana Maju banana leaf rice is located next to Bangsar Village

Two sets of banana leaf rice with an order of fish or fried chicken and drinks usually come to some RM 15 for two person. Still pretty reasonably priced despite being located at Bangsar. If you love banana leaf rice, give this one a try!

Address:
Sri Nirwana Maju 43 Jalan Telawi Tiga,
Bangsar Baru, 59100 Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.131014,101.670892
Tel: 03-2287 8445

Tags:  banana leaf,  Bangsar,  Malaysia,  mamak,  mellissa

Posted by KY | 43 Comments »

When it comes to sinful meals, banana leaf rice can’t escape to be in the list that also includes bak kut teh and nasi lemak. Good food are usually not very good for the body, and I guess that is what made us we enjoy it so much. If it is something you can have every day, you would get bored of it very fast isn’t it?

Anyway, one of the more famous banana leaf rice in PJ would be Raju’s that is situated next to La Saelle Secondary School just off Jalan Gasing.

they can deep fry everything

Much like most Banana leaf rice places, Raju’s serve all sorts of freshly deep fried stuff to go with the rice on banana leaf accompanying the typical three vegetables and papadum. You can choose from various types of fish, squid (which I love), chicken, fish roe, prawn, and so forth.

There are also other curry dishes, we ordered a plate of curry prawns for the day. Other choices include mutton curry, chicken, and curry squid.

prawn, squid, chicken, and the curry
The condiments i absolutely love when having banana leaf rice is the deep fried bitter gourd and chili padi. After deep fried, the bitter gourd is crunchy and only retain a very subtle bitter taste, goes very well with curry. The chili padi is salty and spicy, acts more like a substitute for a spicy and solid version of soya sauce than anything else, to me at least.

love the deep fried chili and bitter gourd

As for price, the standard banana leaf rice with just vegetables, papadum, and meatless curry would be around 4 or 5 ringgit. However, the bill can really add up when you add in many other side dishes like what we had that day. Few ringgit a piece of chicken, more than 10 for the squid, the prawns, and drinks. It can easily come up to over 20 ringgit per person. I’d say the price at this place is on par with other banana leaf places.

Raju’s is next to La Salle High School

Besides banana leaf rice, you can find many types of traditional indian snacks like vadai here. The tosai and roti canai (also served on banana leaf) are very good here as well.. I also love the outside under-the-tree seatings they have.

If you haven’t been there before, give it a try.

Address:
27, Jalan Cantek 5/13
Off Jalan Gasing
Petaling Jaya
GPS: 3.101703, 101.653769

Masak-Masak’s entry
Daily Ranting

Tags:  banana leaf,  curry,  delicious,  indian,  PJ,  sinful

Posted by KY | 32 Comments »

One of my favorite Indian food is the banana leaf rice at Kannan’s. They have one of the better set-ups there is; tables under the shade of trees with fresh air and ample of space of the outdoor. There are tables in the restaurant itself too, if you prefer to get inside or when the weather isn’t cooperating.

this place has both indoor and outdoor tables

For the uninformed, banana leaf rice is served, well, on a sheet of banana leaf instead of plates. Three to four types of vegetables is then served on the leaf, with rice and some papadum. There are usually a few types of curry to choose from, and a few other items to alter the taste, such as dried salted chili padi and chutney.

For the dinner, I ordered a piece of fried chicken and a small plate of deep fried fish egg as compliments to the main dish. The vegetables served were fresh cucumber, cabbage, and okra. There were some fried bitter gourd as well. Fish curry, chicken curry, and dal. Overall it was a very satisfying dinner.

the proper way to eat is by using your fingers

The bill came up to less than RM 20.00 for two pax. The banana leaf rice itself was only RM 4.00 per serving, while the other two dishes and drinks made up the rest of the bill. A pretty fair price considering a single piece of fried chicken at KAYU nasi kandar costs RM 6.00.

Here’s the fun part — did you know that there are certain hidden codes you could do with the banana leaf upon completion of your meal? If the food was good, fold the leaf from top down. If bad, fold the leaf from bottom up. And if you fold one corner of the leaf, you are telling the server to charge everything on you and not to bother your guests.

Kannan Curry house is situated near SS2’s Rothman Roundabout

this entry was originally posted on Monsterblog
a tale of two superheroes posted about this place too.

Address:
Jalan 17/45
Petaling Jaya
GPS: 3.119819, 101.629887

Tags:  banana leaf,  indian,  outdoor,  Petaling-Jaya,  PJ

Posted by KY | 11 Comments »