Kaliammans Restaurant @ Penang – Banana Leaf Biryani Rice
November 27, 2009 | 6,466 views
Wait, what’s up with J2Kfm and his obsession with Banana Leaf Rice meals all of a sudden?!!!! Influences from his peers? Or the awakening of the Indian blood in him? (Sounds kind of wrong though, whoops. Twilight 3 in the making?).
First there was Sri Asoka Corner @ Ipoh Stadium and Samy’s @ Chemor. Then came along NS Curry House, and Old Andersonian Cafeteria near to Hospital Raja Permaisuri Bainun (that’s Ipoh General Hospital, for the uninitiated). Last month we even went down to Kuala Lumpur in search of good restaurants serving banana leaf curry rice, and ended up at Kanna’s Curry House in Section 17, Petaling Jaya.
Backtrack a little, and let me introduce one of my better banana leaf meals experience recently. Not in Ipoh, not around Perak, nor even in the Klang Valley. But on the good old, quaint and charming Penang island.
When you patronize an outlet with more local Indians dining in than tourists/foreigners, you know it’s gotta be good!
Introduced by a friend who’s working in Penang; An avid food-hunter himself, we were on our way to Kaliammans on Penang Street (not Road, remember), at the Little India of Penang. He was waxing lyrical on the best banana leaf meal on the island, with unlimited servings of rice. Not mere white rice, but the tasty and aromatic Biryani Rice is served on the spot, and you can binge on the fragrant rice to the point of bursting at the seams! And best of all, the Biryani was served warm on our ‘platters’ made from banana leaf ,not stone cold grains of rice like in most banana leaf restaurants.
Not the most creative of side dishes, nor the most imaginative. But still, managed to fulfill their destinies …..
Pile them on, baby !!!
Clockwise from top left : Dry Chicken Curry (Varuval), Mutton Curry, Potato Masala, and the ‘Golden Elixir’
As they said, to fully enjoy your banana leaf experience, you’ve gotta go to where the locals go, and remember to wash your hands clean, and then dig in. Sans the cutleries. The fluffy and aromatic Basmati rice cooked with spices was a most welcoming change from the usual plain white rice, though personally, I found this a little too rich and filling. Bear in mind that you can ask for refills of the rice, the gravy and the side dishes so hold that gluttony thought and start slow.
The Dry Chicken Curry was of top notch quality. Marinated with lots of spices and cooked until dry, the meat was thankfully still moist and firm, and not tasteless/bland/dry like the bark of a tree. You’ll get the idea.
The Mutton Curry was luscious, creamy, and reeking of the most appreciated (by me, at least) gamey taste. I like my mutton to be strong and pungent in flavour, with bits of fats rather than tasteless, tender cubes of lean meat. But that’s just my preference.
The restaurant is fully air-conditioned, and the service was prompt, yet not intrusive. But the most astonishing of discovery was the price for the meal. Only RM7.90 / USD2.30 nett per person, inclusive of a meat of your choice, and unlimited servings of biryani rice and vegetables. Now tell me, where else can you find such good deals?!!
Location & Contact Number :
Kaliammans Restaurant
No 43, Penang Street,
10200 Penang, Malaysia
Tel No : 604-262 8953
Opens daily from 11am until 11pm.
Only closes for Deepavali celebration.
Here’s a GOOGLE MAP TO KALIAMMANS RESTAURANT @ PENANG STREET
Kaliammans Banana Leaf Biryani Rice @ Penang Street | Motormouth From Ipoh – A Malaysian Food Blog…
Banana Leaf Rice in Penang, optionally served with Nasi Biryani instead of white rice. Authentic, classic, and most delicious, Kaliammans is one of the top picks amongst the locals in Penang….
This place is new to me…definitely dropping by to try out the food!
.-= ck lam´s last blog ..An Evening with Dato’ Jimmy Choo at Shangri-La’s Rasa Sayang Resort and Spa, Penang =-.
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I don’t think I can bring myself to use my hands for this. I’ll probably end up making a big mess! >P
.-= Bangsar-bAbE´s last blog ..Joke of the day =-.
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been there b4, for banana leaf set meal……but it was years back…..i still prefer karaikudi’s food….
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J2Kfm Reply:
November 28th, 2009 at 12:55 am
Karaikudi is different, I feel. It’s of a higher class than Kaliammans, but good all the same.
I did not realize Karaikudi serves BLR though …
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Try Chennai in Sungai Petani. My missus had the banana leaf, I didn’t…but I had their lamb briyani claypot special and it was good. We enjoyed our dinner there and the price was reasonable enough. You may have seen my post on that.
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J2Kfm Reply:
November 28th, 2009 at 12:54 am
oh Sungai Petani. I’ve only been there once, but didnt get to try much good food there.
Claypot Lamb sounds good, much like what a friend recommended in KL, the Krishna Curry House serves them.
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what a deal Rm7.90 for unlimited refill of basmathi rice which retail at Rm6/kg.
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J2Kfm Reply:
November 30th, 2009 at 2:05 pm
They’re that expensive? I heard, and they’re supposedly healthier right?
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[…] Originally posted here: Kaliammans Banana Leaf Biryani Rice @ Penang Street | Motormouth … […]
the cury mutton is definitely tempting me :).
.-= ladyviral´s last blog ..Backdated : Walk through Chinatown =-.
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it’s tastier eating with hand hor……..
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J, we went to the old town indian shop that u recommended here last week.. 4 of us went.. only spent 7.60 altogether.. hahaha.. so so cheap la… i will post the pics one of these days… good recommendation.. we want to go back again!
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J2Kfm Reply:
November 28th, 2009 at 12:42 am
haha, so cheap?!! didn’t order drinks ah? 🙂
go for the evening menu ok? try then give feedback.
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aiyoyo… you veli bad la… me have to avoid banana leaf rice la cos my pants are already threatening to burst at the seams!!!
.-= lingzie´s last blog ..Happy Birthday Batman =-.
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J2Kfm Reply:
November 30th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
Hehehe, go for smaller portions, then skip dinner! 🙂
nvm lah, sometimes a little indulgence is acceptable.
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Ooh Basmathi rice! Love them! Ahh do you really have to tempt us with the golden elixir? 😛
.-= iamthewitch´s last blog ..My FML experience =-.
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J2Kfm Reply:
November 30th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
cz I love those curries, drenching my serving of rice.
though for banana leaf rice, I’d prefer white rice to be served instead.
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I miss the briyani here ….. Must go Brickfield tonite to get my fix ….. XD
.-= email2me´s last blog ..Japin Ramen at Sungai Wang =-.
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Yups, where else but Ipoh and Pg for such tasty and cheap deal ;p
will be in Pg nex w-end..hhmm.. my list is gettin too long….
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J2Kfm Reply:
November 30th, 2009 at 2:11 pm
Penang? Aiks… you also from there ma, your list can’t get any longer than mine! 🙂
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Is this what I get for visiting your blog? Gastronomical finger lickin’ heavenly FOOD? aiyooo stomach krr krr already.
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Got to take Sri Maju bus to Penang and ask my friend to bring me there to taste such delicious Indian food !
.-= Bakeling´s last blog ..??????? – Low Fat Chewy Raisin Oatmeal Bar =-.
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oh heaven!
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The nasi briyani looks so yummy. This reminds me that it’s been a while that I didn’t eat banana leaf rice.
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The nasi bryani really looks good. I love to read recommendation of food from Penang nowadays cos I always go there now. Sigh.. good but sinful food. 😛
.-= eunice´s last blog ..Island Hopping in K.K =-.
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J2Kfm Reply:
November 30th, 2009 at 2:13 pm
Sinful is good.
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Love Indian food! Looks delicious, as usual. 🙂
.-= kyh´s last blog ..Red is sexy =-.
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Wow, very good price Indian food. Gems like this are hard to come by. But some Nasi Kandar joints can be outrageously expensive?!
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Wow, that’s a really traditional way of serving the biryani 🙂
I learned to appreciate the food quite a lot, but never have eaten it from a banana leaf…
Cheers
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Tried the Mutton Briyani last sunday for lunch! The briyani was awesome.. very tasty rice! large chunks of mutton thrown in in huge amounts and the meat was so soft and tender. It was so much that I was so full i barely finished it. and its only RM10.90 a plate.. i have to say.. i skipped dinner afterwards… because it was so filling!
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J2Kfm Reply:
December 14th, 2010 at 9:19 am
Good …. that sounds like a good deal. Mutton Biryani sounds fabulous for a heavy, heavy lunch.
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Kaliammans seems closed down. I been there twice.. LOVELY mutton briyani…. has been closed since october 2011… sad but true.. last i checked was on Feb 9 2011…. sad sad…
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J2Kfm Reply:
April 1st, 2012 at 10:47 pm
Oh no …. really? I passed by 2-3 weeks ago but I did not see whether they were opened or not. What a waste.
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sorry i mean Feb 2012…. still was closed…
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aslee Reply:
April 16th, 2012 at 6:17 pm
So sad!
I thought of having my meal there on my next visit 2 Penang.
I was equally sad when Dawood @ Queen Street closed down in 2001!
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Biryani is a dish where the rice is cooked togather with the meat. The rice is usually small sized grains or long basmathi rice. This is flavoured rice with your preferred choice of meat and sides. There are so many variations of Biryani but this is not even close.
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No matter if some one searches for his required thing, thus he/she wishes
to be available that in detail, thus that thing is maintained over here.
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