Friday, July 16, 2010

Brekkie with Friends


You know certain things connect you to a place /thing when there's a special request. That was the case when our guests from Australia came visiting en route from their European holiday. Having spent a good number of years in the Far East, it was time to retire and settle in Melbourne.

We had a late breekie at Raju's. Few locals will not know of this place. In fact, it is synonymous with a banana leaf meal 'al fresco.

Sit yourself under spready trees and canopies. Enjoy the open air. Watch the world pass by - morning joggers dying for that meal, happy hordes of school children laughing and chatting , office workers meeting for a quick catch up, family members having family moments and happily tucking in with their fingers to lick it all up! Just beyond the fence, in the wide open field of La Salle school, activities of the Boy Scouts etc make up the scenario as one indulges in a banana leaf meal.

The waiters were at the ready, almost! Eagerly we waited for the banana leaf to be placed - that signals the start of a meal. That morning, we wanted a straightforward thosai/ roti canai with sambar and chutney. Too much eating had taken place over the past few days. That morning all we wanted was some no frills food.

Smartly-attired to serve customers

G. enjoyed the thosai and specially wanted 'roti telur'. It's hard to forget those days in Brunei where the stalls beckon and the food is delicious, if you know where to go. With the food, we ordered our drinks - teh halia , teh tarik and limau - all 'kurang manis'. That important request to keep it almost sugarless!

I was too busy stuffing myself and didn't get round to clicking any pictures of thosai. As for thosai (many variations of spelling - dhosai, tosai ) it is a thin pancake made of rice and gram dhall which has been lightly fermented. Raju's is a South Indian outlet and thosai is definitely it. We were served dhall and coconut sambar as accompaniments. The four of us were pretty adept with our fingers tackling the thosai and roti canai. For the second round, we ordered paper thosai - extra thin . It came rolled like a important document! I would have loved to see it sitting high like a tent on a the plate, as some outlets do.

Well, G and M, Ravi and I wish you happy days in Melbourne. AirAsia has shrunk the fares for us to visit you and vice versa!



Flattening the balls of dough

Flip flops with dough and you get roti canai! I was asked to click the 'swing' of the roti canai.

Hot off the griddle

Help yourselves !Food comes in stainless steel containers

Wash your food down - with teh tarik/ teh halia

Hey! where are the pyjamas for this banana??

38 comments:

  1. Hey! That looks like a really neat place to eat! Yummy!

    ~JD

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  2. I guess your visitors must be very enjoyed the local foods.

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  3. Thosai is also my favorite because of non oily food.

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  4. Hi
    Justine Dell,yay! a banana leaf eatery is a no- fuss place to hang out.the locals like the atmosphere and the food.

    Sonia(Nasi Lemak Lover), there's so much variety in our local cuisine to offer.

    Wan Hashim, great! I can make thosai but it is not nearly as good as the outlets. That's why they are in business!!!

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  5. How interesting. We always spell dosai with a d.
    The pictures are very good, too.

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  6. Looks like a great place to eat and meet. :)
    Great mouthwatering shots too.

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  7. Keats, you are a great host. I'm sure your guest are well looked after. Great outing with great friends, how nice!

    I like thosai too. I'm sorry for this silly question but where is the exact location of Raju's?

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  8. The thosai looks like Indian naan. Is it similar to naan? What's in the teh drinks? Looks good.

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  9. Hi
    RAJI MUTHUKRISHNAN, thanks for letting us know.

    Mary Aalgaard,yay, after that we adjourned to the National Art gallery to view a special exhibition of art collection by Malaysian art collectors.

    Indrani, Raju's is a great meeting place indeed.

    Autumn Belle,thanks! Raju's is located next to La Salle School PJ. The address: 5/13, Jalan Chantek, Off Jalan Gasing, PJ.

    RoseBelle,thosai is a South Indian food while naan is North Indian.Thosai is made of fermented rice and gram dhall.It is folded like a really flat pancake when cooked. Naan is leavened,oven- baked bread. Both can be eaten with curries. The teh drinks are ginger - based. Somehow, they look so different. I think because they weren't stirred properly!

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  10. Looks and sounds delicious! and lots of fun!

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  11. It looks like a great place to eat. I love Indian food. Too bad it's rare to find in our living area. Have a wonderful weekend, my dear.

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  12. I cannot ever get enough Naan when we eat at our favorite Indian rest. It goes well with the Byriani ( correct spelling?)

    Those looks delicious!

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  13. Hi
    Gran,with fingers, it's always finger-licking good!!

    Rosidah Abidin, remember when you visit KL, I'll take you to the Indian eateries.

    Rosey, wow,glad to know you love naan. There are so many varieties to choose from - be it garlic, tandoori etc.The most common spelling is Biryani.

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  14. As soon as I saw the first pic, I squealed "Raju's!!!' We love Raju's! My football team and I would go there for breakfast after footie practice! Such wonderful memories! Roti canai on banana leaf! Oh I must bring That Special Someone there this week. Thanks for the heads up!

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  15. Oh yeah! That's a rolled-up thosai, not a banana! My friend Mei once thought it was a carrot! My friend Priya and I asked the manager and were informed it's a Welcome Thosai!

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  16. That Special Someone will surely enjoy the atmosphere. He can give his verdict on the food!
    Hey!looks like my eyes deceived me!! Sorry folks, it's a thosai then!! But let me call it a Golden Banana Welcome. Just for this post. LOL

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  17. Nothing like having a good time with friends. enjoy the week ahead :)

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  18. Looks SCRUMMY!!! I need to add it to the places where I must eat!

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  19. Hi Keats

    cool place for brekkie with friends. i heard about something's coming up from OG :). I've got something special for you already :)

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  20. Hi
    M.Kate, friends = good company :)hear from you soon.

    Eternally Distracted, yay! one thing Malaysians enjoy is eating!!Visitors find out soon enough:)

    babY pose, oh yes! Hope I can see you and OG. make it a special evening when siblings do something different. Keep in touch.

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  21. Sounds like you were having a wonderful time.

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  22. Ahhh...there's nothing abt Indian food that I don't like, esp banana leaf rice! My favorite haunt in S'pore is Apollo Banana Leaf Rice. Amazing! Raju's wo well known but still so good. Yummy!

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  23. It has been quite a while since I last ate banana leaf rice! Love to flood my rice with all the savoury curry!

    PS: Please vote for my blogger friend Bananaz, Blog Idol Finalist. Just type "I vote You're the Voice" at the comment box in http://bluedreamer27.blogspot.com/2010/07/blog-idol-finale.html
    Thank you!

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  24. PS : Thnks for voting! Cheers!

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  25. Namaste! hahaha that's a cute 'banana' statue..love thosai & chapati..thankz so much for your support appreciate the one vote means a whole bunch to Bananaz oso thankz to Pete too for his hard work. tQ

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  26. I love roti. I make them sometimes. The way you described this made me want to be there and eat some of those delicious food.

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  27. Hi
    Lucy, G and M are seasoned travellers and wherever the journey takes them, they make the most of the adventure:)

    petite nyonya, have to check the outlet and try the Indian fare in Singapore.

    Pete, so you're one of those who loves it all wet!! You're a curry man! No problem in voting for Bananaz. She's a great blogger and one of my favourites too:))

    Bananaz,wish you all the best! your friends are behind you. Do the banana shake and let's be happy:))

    Anne Lyken-Garner, you should team up with Rosey. She loves it too.You 're doing well , making your own. Us, we're spoilt - we buy!!

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  28. Where is Raju's? Sounds like a nice place to stop by for a munch.

    Happy Wednesday, Keats.

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  29. Looks like a wonderful place to enjoy a good meal with friends !

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  30. Hi
    Veronica Lee, Raju's at: 27,Jalan Cantek, 5/13 PJ, Off Jalan Gasing. It is next to La Salle Sec.School. Do hop over there and try it .

    FoodFun&FarmLife, food is reasonably priced especially vegetarian.the bill creeps up when one orders meat. It's also the location that helps the place to be a popular ating place.

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  31. You made me feeling as if I was there, enjoying all these scrumptious foods!

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  32. wonderful - all started with a humble banana leaf - love it!

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  33. How to do the banana shake haha..sorry Bananaz lost..

    tQ for voting

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  34. Hi
    Icy BC, yummy! scrumptious food is for sharing:)

    magicdarts, banana leaf is a ready supply here. There's also the plastic version. So, one can wash, store it and bring it out of the cupboards the next round!

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  35. Hi
    Bananaz, I still say, both of us and a whole bunch of your friends can do the banana shake! Your effort was excellent. Come on - hippy, hippy shake:))

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  36. yay....promoting roti canai.. great choice!

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  37. Hi
    lechua, roti canai with dhall - that's a meal to enjoy!

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Great to have you popping in!