Banana Leaf Rice in Bangsar

I had a banana leaf rice dinner yesterday at Restoran Sri Nirwana Maju (or 'Nirwana' in short), on Jalan Telawi 3 in Bangsar. It is located in a row of shophouses opposite the back entrance of Bangsar Village.

This restaurant sells one of the best banana leaf rice around. The fact that the place is always pack during dinner speaks for itself.

What I like about this restaurant is its fried bittergourd. All restaurants selling banana leaf rice will have this dish, but what makes it different at Nirwana is the batter that is used to fry the bittergourd with. The end product is crunchy and tasty, absolutely no bitter taste at all and very different from other fried bittergourd I've tasted before.

I will always ask the waiter to put more of it. But if you finish your helping and want more you'll have to pay for it. I think it's RM2.00 per portion, if I remember correctly.

As a creature of habit, I like to have my banana leaf rice with chicken varuval and banjir the rice with dhall and fish curry.

Chicken varuval in the background. The fried bittergourd are red in colour on the right hand side.

The food is tasty and value for money. Two banana leaf rice set with chicken varuval and a teh tarik costs RM15.20.

Service at Nirwana is fast and waiters take orders accurately.

My only complain about Nirwana is that if you want to chat with your friend after eating, the waiters will stand beside you to give you the hint to leave. Or they might even put a 'Reserve' signage on the table while you're still sitting there. I can understand if the place is pack and they need to clear the tables quickly but they also pull this antic when the place is not full. This can get annoying and I usually retreat to another mamak shop to continue the conversation over a cup of teh tarik.