We were all going to head to Asian Rice Pot as planned, to have some hearthy, yummy Indian meal. It was one of those days whereby all 5 of us were in the same area, at the same time and so, we decided to use that opportunity to catch up. Long story short, someone brought a newbie, ‘plus one’ and that guy suggested Aunty T’s. It is apparently just about 7,8 minutes away from where we initially intended to eat.

We were a lil skeptical when we first arrived. From the outside, Aunty T’s kindda looked like a pub – especially so with the presence of a rather large logo of Guinness at the front but the newbie assured us that Aunty T’s serves good banana leaf rice. Well then, off we went.

It did look like a pub and it is one. They even have a mini stage/podium at the front for band performances which happens every Fridays and weekends from 9 pm to midnight. From the reviews I’ve read online, the band seems good. I think I might drop by one of these days simply to check them out.

If I am not mistaken, the banana leaf offering only started about 6 months ago? Yea, somewhat new. There is an indoor and outdoor seating option and parking was easy. There were plenty available right outside the restaurant. Customer service was good. They attended to us as soon as we sat down and food was served rather quickly.

Banana Leaf Rice, 10 ringgit + Chicken Parathal, 7 ringgit + Fried Fish, 16 ringgit

The standard banana leaf rice set comes with rice + 3 vegetables + curry + acar + papadum at a cost of 10 ringgit. The sides/add on options here are rather limited but where they lack in variety, they make up is superb taste. They offer fried chicken, chicken and mutton parathal and fried fish. At the moment, there are no other seafood options.

The first thing we took note were the 3 vegetables. We liked it and this particular combination rarely comes by. It usually is cucumber, cabbage, brinjal and long beans and everything else, you’d need to purchase separately. Here, you’d get thick and gooey brinjal sambal + spinach + kale with grated coconut. It was tasty, we requested for a refill 3 times. Yum! For the curry/gravy, I opted for Sambar, which was awesome. It was just how I like it in terms of texture and consistency – not too watery and was flavorful. My friend went for the ‘Venggayam Kulambu’ (I am sorry if I am spelling it wrong, it is solely based on how my friend pronounced it), which basically is onion curry?? I’ve never really tasted this particulr curry before. Most Indian shops offer the basics – sambar, rasam, chicken curry, fish curry, mutton curry, crab curry, sothi … right? or am I the oblivious one? Hmmmmmm. Anyways, three of the guys tried it and they all mutually agreed – ” Macha, this is one of the best Venggayam Kulambu I’ve had in a loooooong time”. These guys are generally fussy and if they liked it, it must be good then.

The Chicken Perathal was awesome. The ones I’d usually come by are deep brown in color, here, it is red. I don’t know if that makes a difference? Either was seems delicious. The portion size here is bigger that usual. Where many other eateries usually serve you less meaty and ‘mostly filled with bones’ pieces of chicken, the pieces here were big, chunky and meaty. Yay! We also ordered fried fish – a Tenggiri, which cost us 16 ringgit. It was a large piece and cooked to perfection.

We all had a jolly good time here. The food was da’ bomb. It is hard to pin point the exact difference but I am sure we all can agree that there is a difference between a homecooked meal and something eaten in a restaurant. Well here, although it is in an eatery, it sure did taste homecooked. Lovely. Ambiance was good too. I’ve got no complaints and most definitely will be back for more.