Restoran Subham - new place for banana leaf rice

Inside the Little India enclave in Georgetown , more and more of these banana leaf places are slowly being taken over by Chinese and Thai owners .

Which sadly leads to a real screw up in terms of taste , till I've begun shunning one outlet which used to be frequented by those in the law profession  .

Then , I came across Subham when I scoured the area for a new place , one which served a decent banana leaf meal , so familiar to our tastebuds .

Restoran Ratha

There is no way , that you can ever miss this bright sunset orange building .

Restoran Ratha is not only the most prominent landmark that tells you've reached Raub , it is also a chow spot that's been serving up one of the most uniquely flavourful curries you will ever come across in your life . 

Lemme show you just how many people are eating in here. 

This is the lower floor .

And the upper storey .

Full house ok ?

Anyway , this counter shows the varieties of dishes offered .

If you're new and clueless , you might not know what's the one thing you absolutely must try without leaving .

Their chicken curry called

Kari Ayam Raub which I used to presume was called Kari Ayam Sempalit as they did ( as far as I can recall ) have an outlet in Sempalit Village itself too , just a few doors away from that original operator , the one who came up with Kari Ayam Sempalit .

I don't have to tell you how absolutely mouthwatering this sinfully lemak, deliciously salty curry is .

 Not really here for the chicken but more for the curry sauce itself. Ladled over steaming hot rice is pure ecstasy .

Though diehard fans will swear that Kari Ayam Sempalit is superior to Kari Ayam Raub , 

try convincing the townsfolk and they'll give you a brief account of how they kicked their asses so hard , today , Ratha reigns supreme  .

The story goes like this .

At first , the townsfolk held the original in high esteem because the chef was rumoured to be employed by the Sultan before as a cook and everyone naturally wanted to taste what dishes a Sultan would feast on daily .

That was the rumour back then . 

Disclaimer : before I continue further , please know that whatever I'm putting in here , is based on local gossip , as I wasn't even born when that shop opened for business .

So.... what happened was this .

Apparently some of the staff ( some say, one particular family member ) treated the villagers so very rudely , that by the time Ratha opened for business , the local Chinese decided to turn the tables on them . Even though they had grown quite dependant on this very addictive curry fix by then , they decided to take their hard earned money elsewhere and enrich the newcomer instead . 

A similar thing happened to at least 3 famous hawkers in Penang , so yes , there is a lesson to be learnt here for all of us , as well as this current operator .

Tip : You do not eat this outside of Raub , you have to drive here ( even though they have a branch in Damansara Uptown ) if you're serious about giving this dish a try

Location : Raub , Pahang 

Discovering Payasam at Indies

For the first time in my life I tried some payasam.

And although I was a bit wary initially , I completely fell head over heels in love with this unassuming cup of dessert . 

Tiny little balls of sago , vermicelli , is that a hint of ginger on the tip of my tongue ? Definitely contains a fair amount of condensed milk and ghee for it to taste this heavenly. 

Did not order this intentionally.

Had asked for a Banana Leaf Rice with Chicken set and omg.....will you look at how it is served here ? 

Banana leaf rice now with GST - Veloo Villas

This hearty wholesome fragrant rice meal below, accompanied by 3 vegies,  2 types of chicken in saucers , mutton curry in a saucer, plus one deep fried fish .....it is best eaten with fingers. Without forks and spoons . Not to say we did not want them, we did try to request for them but those very aloof servers were up to their tricks again and we were forced to use our hands.

Anyway, last time, our overall set meals did not cost THAT much. 

Veloo Villas - no fork and spoon

Update January 2015 : today, they do provide forks and spoons. Only the nonchalant couldn't care damn rude service remains.

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The Veloo Villas of today, is far flung from days of yore. 

The premise has undergone a revamp minus the dothi wearing waiters and cooks. Foodwise, they too have succumbed to the easy , addictive fix of monosodium glutamate and soy sauce for almost all of their dishes. 

Indies Restaurant

 

 

" But it's an Indian drive through, worse still, it's under a fast food concept "

Guilty as charged. Yup, I have to admit, I was being biased without even stepping in first. Anyway, we're here already and looking at the menu, again I have my doubts.

So many things, sure or not you can cook ?

 

 

 

 

Hariyali Kebab.

Thick , big chunks of chicken breast, marinated in green paste combo with a minty dip on the side. I'm impressed as the chunks are much larger than another operator opposite Flamingo Hotel albeit a bit on the dry side.

Nice.

Capati Stall - Kedai Kopi Bee San (PF)

Stumbled upon this Capati Stall when I came here looking for pau. The steady stream of customers, got the better of me , thus I ended up ordering one set.

Guess what ? I've been coming back here ever since.

Ammu's Corner - Brickfields

You can't imagine how pleased I was to see that this little shack was still up and running, since massive development has swallowed the old haunts I loved to visit.

 

This is the owner of the humble corner stall where I had so many (countless ! ) wholesome mouthwatering lunches, and beehoon breakfastses, he still remembers me till today. His wife is the chef, who whips up some of the most delicious recipes on planet earth. 

Passions of Kerala ( PF )

This restaurant combines the best of both worlds....

a nice banana leaf meal, in clean, air conditioned comfort .

One vegetarian set costs just $5.50

Restoran Jaya 24 Jam , Penang Road ( U )

*am giving this a U rating ( umum ) based on the fact that it has a lot of Malay customers who are staff from the nearby hotels

It's wonderful, how this non halal restaurant manages to attract a multiracial mix of clientele.

Not only that, it draws a constant stream of white foreigners, who seem to break no sweat over Jaya's hot as hell,spice laden offerings.

What acts as a magnet, is the large array of vegan and non vegan dishes,

that are constantly replenished round the clock, to keep up with demand.

Sri Ananda Bahwan- Tanjung Bungah ( PF )

Nobody else is as successful on this row.

Many restaurants have come and gone but Sri Ananda remains the one, that draws a wonderful mix of local and international customers,both day and night,to enjoy a cheap Indian meal in a tropical beach hut garden like atmosphere.

I really like their ghee tosai.

No doubt it's a little oily,but it's kueh kapek crispy,fragrant, comes with 4 different dips and is large enough to be shared by two.