Meena cafe - Indian food /Banana leave
by ~ July 18th, 2005. Filed under: Eating places.We stumbled into Little India enclave during the weekend searching for banana leave rice.
There used to be one very authentic place but I had forgotten the name of the restaurant. It has moved elsewhere. So, we headed to Meena cafe. You know it is very much an Indian restaurant when you see the whole family helping out. Like this granny sitting at the cashier looking very stern.
To those who do not know what is banana leave rice, it simply means that banana leaves replace plates as the serving medium. Usually, at Indian weddings, they will have these long tables. Then, they will place a clean banana leaves on each place and serve the rice on it. Eco friendly, no?
I opted for a vegetarian version as they have sold out their mutton curries. BTW, Indians who are Hindu do not take beef. So, I chose vegetarian food rather than boring ole fish or chicken.
Like the photo above, it is all vegetables. They have some potatoes, tofu, cabbage, radish and spinach. The funny thing about eating banana leave rice is you can really eat a lot. The above does not look very appetitising but tasted great. I finished off something like 2 servings of rice (I mean my usual quantity of rice X2).
My son ordered poori which is two puffed-up pratha-type of bread served with more potatoes.
The mango lassi is smooth and yummy. A nice complement to the spicy food.
And this is the paper thosai which is like 3 feet in length. My hands were dirty at that time (from eating banana leave rice with my fingers) so I wasn’t able to take the photo myself. Otherwise, I could use a better angle to project how long the paper thosai is.
Thosai is usually served with at least 4 types of curries which include one sambal coconut.
All the above food costs only about RM3-RM4 per servings. A nice experience indeed.
July 18th, 2005 at 2:52 pm
(Posted on previous blog,but as usual with me, a day late.Ha Ha)
Lilian
Thank you very much for some beautiful pictures that remind me of the sights and tastes of my many visits to Penang.
Your success with the Z3 has enabled me to make a decision about which new camera to buy.
It was going to be either a Fuji S5500 or the Z3 but after following your blog the Z3 is it.
I will be able to duplicate some of your shots when we return for a visit in November.
Again, thank you for the memories.
Tom (Perth Western Australia)
July 18th, 2005 at 6:41 pm
mmmm bestnya BLR!!! i like too but only take it like once in a blue moon :p
July 18th, 2005 at 8:23 pm
ur son is soooooo cuuutteeeeeee !!!!
July 19th, 2005 at 1:18 am
Hmmm. Delicious!! Banana leaf rice is good! We love the vegetarian dishes as well. Its a nice change from eating meat all the time. In KL, there’s this indian restaurant called Estana Curry house that serves a good vegetarian set for lunch. Its along Jalan Sultan Ismail behind Istana Hotel. Along the same street as HSBC.
Cheers,
-Makan Kings-
July 19th, 2005 at 5:33 am
Hey, it’s BLR week. I also had some recently. Yeah, once in a while treat as eat it too often also not good.
July 19th, 2005 at 3:53 pm
boo - National BLR week! Hahaha. It is fattening too ‘cos you forget the amount of rice you eat.
MK - Thanks for that tip.
bubbles - Thank you.
babe - I like eating once in a while and dreaded the smell of spice stuck to my fingers.
Tom - Replied you in another thread.