Bangsar is home to maybe a dozen banana leaf rice restaurants. We’ll not engage in debate over the best (don’t @ us!), but we’ll certainly say we’ve often looked forward to a finger lickin’, waistband breakin’ meal of banana leaf rice at Bala’s Banana Leaf.
A queue is common, but it moves along fairly quickly. Go for the signature BBL special: briyani rice or ‘special’ rice served with two vegetable varieties (think cabbage stir-fried with turmeric or patta gobi, diced cucumbers and pineapples, fried bitter gourd or pavakkai, spinach, and more), accompanied with a thovayal chutney, papadam and salted chili, plus several types of curries and dhal, will set you back RM14. On its own, the meal is more than enough for just one, but don’t let that stop you from ordering a side of butter chicken, fried squid, mutton varuval, or if you’re lucky and it’s on the daily specials, the slow-cooked lamb shank featuring fall-off-the-bone tender meat. Also good: nasi lemak (RM5.50), thosai (order the Instagram-viral pink beetroot thosai, RM5), and appam (from RM3). Round out the meal with masala tea or mango lassi. Bala’s also has the advantage of an air-conditioned second floor; this is especially key when it’s not just the curries that’ll make you break a sweat, but also the worsening heatwave.