Kuala Lumpur - Banana Leaf Thali at Bakti Woodlands

One of the areas we stayed in while visiting Kuala Lumpur (near the Masjid Jamek metro stop) had a wealth of Indian food within a few blocks radius. We had never had a thali before, so one afternoon we stopped into Bakti Woodlands vegetarian restaurant to rectify this hole in our culinary experience.



A thali is a platter-for-one containing an assortment of foods - often served on a banana leaf, either spooned on directly, or presented in small containers.

We got a North Indian thali - pictured at the top of this post, and below:



And a "mini" thali:



Which wasn't particularly mini at all - it just came with less rice.



Both were delicious. Nicely seasoned rice, flatbreads, papadums with lime pickle, and an assortment of tasty dals and chutneys. The yellow cubes you see in the picture above were a sort of dessert - kind of like a sugary fudge. The single chili on the platter was really interesting - it was very salty, and crumbled easily so that you could use it as a condiment.

Definitely the kind of meal I could be happy having on a regular basis.

Singapore - Biryani, Dosa and Idli at Little India Tekka Hawker Centre

When we arrived at our hotel in Singapore and began to get our bearings, we were delighted to find out that the Little India neighborhood was within walking distance.

Setting out into the balmy night, the border of Little India was unmistakable:



Our primary destination was the Tekka Centre, one of Singapore's many hawker food courts. While other types of food are also represented, Indian food is the primary draw here.



We started out with an order of chicken biryani:



We couldn't have asked for a better first dish to eat in Singapore. This version came with a piece of chicken and an egg atop the richly flavored rice. Super satisfying to eat,

Because it was evening, many of the stalls were closed up, but there was still a lot of activity.



We ordered some dosa and idli from a vegetarian food stall and were not disappointed.



Idli and dosa are made from the same batter - a mixture of rice and lentils. The dosa is cooked somewhat like a crepe, while idlis are steamed. We make dosa at home, but this was our first idli experience and it was heavenly.



The sauce that came with our rice and lentil treats was delicious, as were the additional sauces that were provided on the table.



It is hard to describe just how much we enjoyed this - both the food and the atmosphere, which felt very culturally Indian.



We noticed signs on the table which said that alcohol was not allowed on Sundays after 6:00pm. Fortunately, it wasn't Sunday, so we had a beer. The vendor that served us told us the restriction was due to rowdy crowds of drinkers on Sundays getting violent.



After our meal, we wandered the the busy evening streets of little India - lots of people were still out doing their shopping. Given the heat of Singapore days, it seemed like a perfect time for it.



Overall, a great first evening in Singapore.