Day 2 in Malaysia: Restoran Rani

Saturday, June 15, 2013

After the tiring climb to Batu Caves at Selangor, Malaysia, we had to grab something to eat even if it was only past 10 a.m. At the bottom of the mountain were several vegetarian restaurants catered to Hindu pilgrims and tourists alike. We chose Restoran Rani, a pure vegetarian and Jain food restaurant. Jain, an Indian religion, is one of the oldest religions in the world. Its followers follow a spiritually motivated diet that excludes onions and garlic as well as potatoes and other root vegetables, in some cases.



They even have services for prepaid cards, calls, fuji films...memory cards. Awesome restaurant


The waiter was already waiting for us to place our order and seem to be in a hurry to take it. We originally wanted to order the lunch meal - the Banana Leaf meal - but the waiter told us it's still breakfast so we can only choose from the breakfast menu. We ordered cheese thosai, roti poratta, and samosas (for me). Since the restaurant seems to be serving authentic Indian food, I wanted to try their samosas, which I tried hard to copy twice in my lifetime. 

Restoran Rani's menu

When our meal arrived, it came in the partitioned metal plates. The roti poratta was paired with maybe potato dhal that tasted distinctly of curry. I was quite disappointed to not see the huge tub of spices that the waiters provide the other tables. I meant huge tub - a pitcher-sized metal tub that other customers get their sauces to pour on their metal plates.

Cheese thosai and samosas

Roti poratta and potato dhal

After a few moments of impatience and us following up the sauces from the waiter, finally, the tubs of spices arrived on our table. The waiter even unceremoniously placed it in the center of our table. There were three spices: coconut chutney, tomato chutney, and dhal. Dhal is a mixture of lentils and beans that are ground to form a thin, diluted sauce. The coconut chutney was not a thick sauce as well but what we loved best was the tomato chutney that my sister even described as cheese pimiento. It had the right consistency - not thick, not thin - and is not spicy compared to the dhal. I liked the dhal too but the tomato chutney was the best.


The coconut chutney was a bit bland and clearly it was not our favorite. 

The cheese thosai was a thin, crepe-like pancake that was folded with melted cheese in the middle. Meanwhile, the roti poratta seemed freshly cooked, the bread a bit flaky outside but not dry inside. It was chewy and tastes awesome when you dip it on the chutneys. 

Since we were dipping everything on the chutneys, I preferred the roti poratta over the cheese thosai, since the cheese seem to overpower the taste of the sauce. 

Going to the samosa, I was surprised at how simple it was. Instead of a slightly thick dough, the wrapper was a lumpia/spring roll wrapper. Same as the samosas I made, theirs were fried. The size was smaller and still shaped as a triangle. Inside, instead of the strong curry taste, it was mild and contained potatoes, green peas, and maybe a bit of chili. It was not spicy and can also be dipped on the chutneys. Yummy!

Yum!!!!!

Even though that time was only our second day in Malaysia, I could say that our meal in Restoran Rani was my favorite. I even gushed how yummy it was while eating and was all smiles at the waiter. From afar, I even caught the waiter smiling while we were eating. If given a second chance, I'd like to eat these again - in Malaysia or even in India! It would be awesome if I could taste it here in the Philippines but for now I'd relish the memory of eating these awesome meals from a simple Indian restaurant in Malaysia. 

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