I’M always raring to go for banana leaf rice heaped with chutneys, sambal and vegetables, which make the meal colourful, tasty and complete.

We would add fish, mutton, chicken or squid curry dishes, and of course, the much-loved crispy fried bitter gourd.

The right place to have such a spread is Sri Ahthsyswary Curry House in Petaling Jaya.

We began with three chutneys, two kinds of sambal and four types of vegetables surrounding a mound of parboiled rice on a piece of banana leaf. This itself makes for a satisfying meal, and you can ask for extra helpings of the chutneys and vegetables.

The mango chutney is both sweet and tart. We also had the onion and lime chutneys, as well as a dark vegetable sambal and what tasted like pickled salted fish, but was actually ikan yu (shark) sambal.

The four vegetables are cucumber raita, spinach in dhal curry, bitter gourd in curry and fried cauliflower.

I had second helpings of the punchy mango chutney and yummy ikan yu sambal.

Tempting though it may be, you have to put the brakes on ordering everything you fancy from among the dishes on display, or you’ll end up having to pay more than you expected.

We had a large plate of crispy bitter gourd, as well as deep-fried spicy mushrooms.

We couldn’t resist the mutton varuval, while the chicken varuval came recommended by the persuasive restaurant owner.

We also opted for the fish head curry (tenggiri) instead of fried fish fillet. I asked for more curry on my rice.

All in all, it was a delicious meal, enjoyed with sweat running down my face.

Initially, I wanted to take less rice, but I just had to ask for more to go with the many things on my banana leaf!

The boneless cubes of tender meat, well-infused with spices, in the dry-style mutton varuval are scrumptious. The chicken varuval, though, is not as good.

The fish head we had was more bony than fleshy, but I liked the lightly tart curry it came in, as well as the accompanying ladies’ fingers.

The fried bitter gourd and spicy mushrooms, meanwhile, are delectable and addictive.

A cup of rasam is served with the meal.

Though we ate more rice than we should, I did not feel sleepy after the feast. Perhaps it was because we had parboiled rice, which has less starch.

A vegetarian banana leaf meal here costs RM6, while it’s RM8 for non-vegetarian, where you get ikan yu sambal and other side dishes.

The mutton varuval costs RM15 for a large serving, chicken varuval (RM12, large serving) and fish head curry (RM25). Our bill came up to RM88 – we thought we paid too much for the small, bony fish head.

You can get your fill of thosai, puttu, apam, roti canai and mee goreng here, too.

Sri Ahthsyswary has been in Petaling Garden for 28 years. It also does catering.

It is located at 2 & 3, Jalan 5/44, Petaling Garden, 46000, Petaling Jaya. A good landmark is Khunthai Thai Restaurant along the same road.

Sri Ahthsyswary can be reached at 012-280-5377 or 03-7784-4560. – September 14, 2019.

* Eu Hooi-Khaw has been writing about food for the longest time, covering all aspects, from restaurant reviews to cooking and recipes, as well as the healthy side of it. She has written for major newspapers and magazines, published the cookbook Fresh Ingredients, and also writes for her website hooikhawandsu.com.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.