South Indian Aiyer Restaurant - indian vegetarian

The rain poured in torrents as I pulled up near Palm Court in Brickfields. School buses lined up both sides of the road preventing me from finding a suitable parking lot.

I was desperate. I spied a parking lot reserved for school buses on the opposite side of the road. In one sweep that would have made Lewis Hamilton proud of me, I was safely parked in that lot with another car following close behind me thinking that I had found a way out of the hellhole. After much cursing, both on her part as well as mine, I managed to turn off my engine only to find that my umbrella refused to open.

The rain made my precious Hogan handbag look like a drenched puppy. Ah well, all in the pursuit of food...

It wasn't just any food. Located within the apartment premises with a rather dingy exterior was an indian vegetarian restaurant. I absolutely love indian vegetarian food. It is not so much for health reasons that I eat vegetarian food (because it is easy enough to pile on the carbohydrates with the unlimited serving of white rice), but more for the variety of vegetarian dishes that are offered. I am not an avid fan of mock meat (although the occasional serving is acceptable) simply because I am not a vegetarian and when I do eat vegetarian food, it is not because I am looking for a meat replacement. What I do look for are the creatively prepared vegetarian dishes and the use of a multitude of spices to flavour the dishes.

My lunch, served on a banana leaf, comprised white rice, pepper rice, six different types of vegetables, pickled lime, fried chilli, papadum, several types of curries, dhal and rasam, moru (yoghurt drink) and desert. I loved the deep fried bittergourd (above, bottom left) which was crispy and had the right amount of spiciness. The mashed pumpkin was rather interesting; it was naturally sweet and was spiced with something that tasted of cardamoms. However, it would have tasted better as a dessert (and maybe it was!) rather than as a condiment to be eaten with the rice.

The pepper rice (second picture from the top of the post) was fluffy and the taste of pepper was rather distinct. It was flavourful enough to be eaten on its own. My favourite for the day was, without a doubt, the yoghurt curry. When I first saw it, I thought it was another popular curry known as "sothi", essentially a thin curry made of coconut milk, tomatoes and turmeric. However, after tasting it, I found that it clearly tasted of yoghurt. The yoghurt made the curry extremely creamy while providing it with a naturally sour taste which went so well with the white rice. I must qualify this by saying that it may be an acquired taste for those who are not used to the tart taste of homemade yoghurt.

I washed down the food with a tumbler full of moru, a drink made by diluting yoghurt with water and adding a pinch of salt. It is refreshing and doesn't have the cloying feeling that fresh milk sometimes gives. At home, I would sometimes chop raw onions and chillies and throw them into the moru for some added crunchiness and flavour. The complimentary dessert was payasam, a drink with a thick, soupy consistency made of milk, cardamoms, cashewnuts and vermicelli.

All these, with unlimited servings of rice and vegetables, for just RM5 (US$1.50) per person!

Other sweetmeats are also available for sale, including ladoo (picture above) and pal kova.

South Indian Aiyer Restaurant
B1 Block B, Palm Courts Condo
Jalan Sultan Abdul Samad, Brickfields, 50470 Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03-2272 1009

Opens 6.30am to 12.30am daily.

Note: This restaurant uses alliums in the preparation of food.