Motormouth From Ipoh – Malaysian Food & Travel

Sri Neelas serves a delicious mutton varuval (dry curry mutton); lip-smacking stuff.

It has been awhile since I wrote about banana leaf curry rice. Wondering what’s the big deal with eating rice + curry + dishes served on a piece of banana leaf?

Beats me. Supposedly, the leaf imparts a certain aroma to the rice. Or so we have always thought, or led into thinking. But seriously, with a variety of side dishes (usually vegetables and potatoes), delectably robust curries, crispy flavourful papadom crackers and chicken/fish/mutton of your choice, can you even taste the faint nuance of fragrance from the leaf?

My lurve for BLR runs deep.

That being said, I’m still a huge fan of banana leaf rice. Haha …. Goes to show how old gimmicks still work, and the novelty never runs out.

There are many good options in Klang Valley. There’s the one in Bangsar, the authentic ones in Brickfield (pardon the ignorance, as I have always wanted to pay Vishal a visit, yet this place escaped my radar more often than not), the commercialized ones, the poor imitators of the real deal, and of course … the in-betweens.

Like Sri Neelas in Taman Desa, a worthy choice in my opinion, yet with a niche crowd of their own …..

He was in his elements that late afternoon; tossing the “roti’s” (Indian flatbread) in a trance

I came to the knowledge of Sri Neelas’ existence when we were having lunch at the Thai restaurant adjacent to this. That was when someone commented on their fantastic rendition of cucumber shake.

Although I am not a fan of fruit/vegetable shakes as much as a good old, soothing cup of teh tarik, I decide to give Sri Neelas’ cucumber shake a shot.

Try this. Seriously.

And was I impressed. The word ‘refreshing’ would be ideal to describe the first sip, though remember to request for less syrup if you’re not fond of sweet beverages. A no-brainer really, but cucumber shake SHOULD be the perfect foil to a tongue-numbing, spicy banana leaf curry rice fest.

Still a favourite of mine; Teh Tarik (Malaysian style of pulled milk tea)

Not that the curries and dishes at Sri Neelas were terrifyingly spicy. In fact, the heat was more than tolerable …. I would have preferred if they upped the ante slightly. But a good choice if you do not like extremely spicy Indian food, yet craving for an enjoyable banana leaf rice experience.

More than enough for lunch, the portion was enough to satiate a glutton’s wildest dream.

The mutton varuval (dry curry mutton) was brilliant, tender cubes of mutton with a tampered gamey taste, yet very robust with chillies and spices. Try the chicken or mutton briyani, though if you want the ensemble to be served on a piece of banana leaf with the usual side dishes and condiments, you have to fork out considerably more.

Not bitter, very crunchy and addictive.

The crunchy deep fried bitter gourd was good too, and very addictive that you’d find yourself snacking on them more than the other vegetables served. The only gripe was that we were served with an already fixed pile of rice in the initial stage (though you still can request for top-up later); a little too much to start with. By the time I finished the chopped blanched kangkung (water convolvulus), the potato masala and of course, the delightful fried bitter gourd, I found myself struggling to finish the rest of the rice.

The 24 Hour Curry House

All in all, this was an above average experience, and Sri Neelas is a place that I will return in the near future for the other Northern and Southern Indian fares. Naan (Indian flatbread) and tandoori chicken are only served in the evenings, presumably.

However, the prices lean towards the heftier side; with the chicken briyani on banana leaf rice at RM13, the banana leaf rice set with mutton varuval also at RM13. Cucumber shake goes for RM3.50.

“Feels like sharing YOUR banana leaf rice experience with us?”

SRI NEELAS RESTAURANT
5A, Jalan Desa Jaya,
Taman Desa,
Tel No : 603-7983 0995
Opens 24 hours a day
Google Map to Sri Neelas Restaurant
*Same row as Public Bank in Taman Desa