This entry makes me frustrated. Yeah, frustrated. First, Ron and I returned to Bukit Bintang from Batu Caves and the blasted heat of the sun-baked my skin five pigmentations higher than my normal. Thana led us into this side street where we had the most amazing lunch. Amazing because it was a south Indian Meal and was NOT all spicy, and I like the fact that it is authentic (we were the only tourists inside. I am at times blind, but I noticed everyone, and I mean everyone, was Indian). But we were so dead tired and burned that we did not remember to take pictures! We didn’t remember the name of the wonderful restaurant! We didn’t even know what the Indians call the banana leaf rice in their language! There is just this… (and two videos sitting in the pc waiting to be edited…)

We are terribly sorry that we cannot share where we had this… But I guess the preparation for the Banana Leaf Rice is ultimately the same everywhere they serve this. Everything starts with the positioning of the banana leaf. The tail end should be at the left end of the person then you wait for the assorted viands and rice to be served. Sautéd, curried and pickled vegetables and papadum (thin crispy Indian wafers) are lined on top to make room for the rice topped with gravy. I especially liked the deep fried-to-crisp sweet potato and left out the curried string beans because it was a bit too spicy for my taste buds. Of course there’s no other way to enjoy the meal but to eat with our bare hands.

After finishing the meal, we folded the banana leaf halfway towards us as we enjoyed the meal so much. Folding it the other way around means otherwise. I’d say it was the most interesting meal I’ve ever had to date since I travelled and would have another one when I get the chance to go back to Malaysia.

And because we needed coffee to replenish our dehydrated caffeinated veins, we were on a roll to find a Starbucks. Unfortunately, there was none in a strategically positioned area where we can watch the Petronas Tower explode its night lights. We had to go to Coffeebean and Tea Leaf to get our fix. I bought the ever coveted Sampoerna for RM5.00 (10 sticks). Yes, it is the best cretek cigarette in the world. The last time I had it before the trip was 3 years ago when it was introduced to me by my friend Paolo who used to work in Malaysia. He aptly described it as cigarettes for kids. Gudang Garam and Black Bat taste like blah! compared to Sampoerna. Oh, and this was when I got Ron back to smoking. So sue me…