To quote my best friend Jan: "Eating banana leaf when I was visiting Malaysia was one of my top 10 favourite food experiences ever".I have to agree that there's something about it that makes it a meal that every once in a while I get such strong urges for that I think it must be laced with some kind of drug! Sometimes my tummy churns and grumbles in a way that only banana leaf can satisfy...and yet it's such a simple meal served on a large banana leaf instead of a plate...
All it is is rice topped with a curry of your choice (Chicken, Fish, or Dal)...I always go for the fish curry without fail...three different veggies of the day...for the one pictured above it was the battered deep fried bitter gourd, spinach cooked with some spices, and chopped cucumbers with yogurt... as well as a side of papadam (this is to indian food as what fries are to American food). This is the basic banana leaf meal and then you can choose to add on whatever meat of your choice...a variety of fried fish...chicken cooked in many different styles...rich mutton curries...squid or prawns in sambal...the choices are endless! I however enjoy banana leaf rice in all it's simplicity...I always opt for the basic.
You can choose to eat this with a fork and spoon...but to get the most out of the experience eat it with your hands like it is meant to be...it somehow tastes much better when eaten with your hands...it's difficult to describe what it is about this meal that makes it so wonderful...maybe it's the intermingling of all the different flavours and textures...the crispy battered bitter gourd with the spicy curry soaked rice and a cooling crunch from the cucumber...maybe it's the fact that you're eating with your hands bringing back that feeling of being a child picking up your food and just enjoying it without thinking of etiquette and grace...whatever it is...banana leaf is one of those meals I have to have at least once a month...
My two favourite spots are Kanna's Curry House(No 29, Jalan 17/45, PJ) and Nirvana's(Bangsar right across Bangsar Village II).
Gosh...after writing this I think I know where I need to go for lunch...
Warning: Do not consume if you have to work or stay alert at a meeting after eating...this meal has the tendency to put you in a delicious food coma. It really must be a drug!
It is a blistering hot afternoon...not even the large multiple buzzing fans and copious amounts of ice cold water can do anything to cool down the atmosphere and the worst thing is that I have chosen to wear a long sleeved top of all days! The two large grills that are ablaze and warming up for the cooking demo by Robert Rainford do not help...
All this discomfort disappears though the moment he makes his appearance...he is able to distract all of the media from the sweltering heat by joking around and teasing us. Soon enough we're laughing along and interacting with him and before you know it he has cooked up one of his specialty dishes that we get to sample(It was really good...could have done with a bit more spiciness but Robert wasn't sure how spicy everyone would want it...hehe...we are Malaysian after all)...Cajun Shrimp with Love Sauce (Recipe Below).
I'm sure you're wondering why it's called a Love Sauce? And no it's not like a love potion that you can conjure up and serve to someone you have a crush on and *presto* he/she is head over heels in love with you...it's actually called a love sauce because Robert believes that any dish with more than 6 ingredients is a labor of love... 
Robert’s energetic and warm unpretentious personality translates from on camera to off. This probably has much to do with his mindset while filming. “When I’m on my show I am talking to my daughters…I am teaching them how to barbecue.” Awww...How can you not love a man who keeps his daughters at the centre of all that he does? 
Whilst visiting KL, Robert has thoroughly enjoyed taking trips to Little India and checking out all of the spices. “We can’t get green and black cardamom back home, and over here I’ve been trying out the spices, taking them back to my hotel room and figuring out how I can work with them.” I bet we can look forward to some Asian inspired barbecue dishes on his show!
Oh and I also learned a little something from him...apparently when you marinate any meat with a lemon based marinade be sure not to marinate it for more than 30minutes. The acid in the lemon starts to cook the protein otherwise making the meat rubbery. If you want a lemony hint to your marinade use the zest instead...and then you can use the actual lemon in the basting sauce.
This whole mixed rice platter consists of Tempeh cooked 3 ways...fried crisp like a fritter...boiled in a yellow coconut curry....and chopped up and sauteed with chillies and spices...Green beans cooked in a coconut curry as well...Stewed eggplant...Chopped cucumber...Sambal (chili paste)...and Toasted coconut...
The soup is very light, the meat is melt in your mouth tender, and the garlic chips and fried onions sprinkled on top gives it a wonderful fragrance. Garlic lovers like me can delight in scooping up as many garlic chips as possible...when combined with the clean tasting soup it's worthy of the campbell's motto...mmm mmm good! Out of the different types of satay I would say that the fish one was my favourite...the lightness of the fish allowed the marinade to shine and it was lovely dipped in the accompanying fiery chili padi coconut sambal. The fried tofu was nice dipped in the chili padi sauce as well as the peanut sauce.
The fish was once again my favourite in this lineup...topped with red onions and chopped chillies and spices it made for a wonderful taste sensation. I could eat grilled fish anytime...there is just something so wonderful about it! The stewed chicken was a little dry...so I didn't particularly enjoy the texture...but it tasted good...the lamb stew was tasty and the meat was extremely tender...if you like lamb I'm sure this dish would win you over!
It was tender and cooked medium...just the way I like it! I enjoyed mopping up the sauce with my crispy fries...
He finished every last bit of it...I got a tiny bit to taste and I must say this was sublime! The fish was tender and flaky with a slight crispy fried exterior...and the sambal topped it off with a great bite!
On the side we went crazy with a bunch of porky dishes…a combination platter with barbecue pork slices and crispy deep fried pork slices...
The barbecue pork slices are thin and not too fatty and go well with the noodles. The skin on the crispy fried pork is uber crunchy and tasty revealing a tender fatty meat beneath. 
I especially enjoy the stewed pork ribs as the meat is fall-off-the-bone tender and covered in a thick fragrant sauce.
The fried fish paste prawn dumplings are a little tasteless in comparison to the other dishes and so I focus most of my energy on the meat.
Nippy Noodles
Spicy Noodle Soup
A regular fried fish fillet is topped off with a mango cream sauce and a thin slice of mango and then sandwiched in between a burger bun. This is almost like a Mc Donald's Fillet O Fish...but with a juicy sweet mango and a cream sauce...Who would have ever thought to pair fish and mango? Oh but it works! I am thinking of trying this at home one day...
This is done with mango juice, banana, blueberries, and mango yoghurt. Very filling and refreshing!
The soup was rich and creamy...filling enough that I could have probably been happy with just that and the bread. The bread had a strong garlic aroma and was crisp and buttery. I enjoyed taking alternate slurps of soup and bites of the bread.
This was a chicken breast stuffed with mushrooms and chives with a side of chips and salad...The chicken was pan seared and had a lovely crisp golden exterior while the middle stayed very moist. I believe the mushrooms helped to give the chicken more tenderness. I was happy to see fries as I've been staying away from them for a while now and so I figured I could indulge just a little. Good thing it was balanced out by the salad!
This set lunch was definitely worth it...but since I'm not used to having such heavy lunches I was sleepy the rest of the day...haha...so I guess it's not a menu that is conducive to a desk job.
A very crispy fried nest of bihun(rice vermicelli) is placed on a plate then topped with wide slices of charred kway teow (flat noodle) and then finished off with a thick eggy sauce ladled on top. This dish can be found in almost any Chinese shop, but it is not always done right. Sometimes the sauce can be too thick with hardly any flavour, or the bihun has been sitting in the sauce for too long and has turned soggy…the list of how many ways this dish can go wrong can go on and on. Here however they get it right every time…the sauce is so tasty on its own that I slurp it up like a soup with some of their special sambal (chilli paste) mixed in…the bihun maintains its crispness on the inside as the outside softens and the kway teow has just the right amount of smoky wok hei (essence of the wok). Ordering this is a must!
The pork has a lovely fried batter exterior to give it that crunch upon first bite and then it reveals a tender juicy piece of pork. This play on texture coupled with the sweet tanginess of the sauce is lip smackingly good!
The ginger fish fillet dish is light with a gingery sauce and the spring onions give it a nice crunch and sweetness. The fillet pieces are very fresh and so soft that they fall apart the minute they’re in your mouth. This is perfect for people who don’t want to order a whole fish but would still like to have a fish dish. 
The last thing that comes highly recommended here is the pot of sambal that sits on every table. This is so tasty that I could be happy just having that and plain rice. It adds additional flavour and a nice heat to all the dishes served here. Absolutely delicious!
