Vegetarian In Malaysia

It’s been a while since I’ve been to the Punjab Sweets Restaurant. I love Punjabi food, and this was a restaurant I visited several times during my father’s stay at Sentosa Hospital earlier this year.

I don’t actually go to the restaurant to buy the sweets, but just to have a yummy meal of chapati, although I have tried the gulab jamun (yummy). I usually order chapati and eat it with dhal and other vegetarian dishes … such as aloo gobi (potato & cauliflower), chickpeas with gravy….

The restaurant is not a vegetarian restaurant, but they do have quite a few vegetarian dishes to go along with the chapati. You can also ask for aloo purota instead of chapati. I would describe purota as chapati’s older, oilier brother (made with ghee). Aloo means potato, so an aloo purota is a purota made with potato filling.

And of course, I always order a plate of plain yoghurt, known as dahi.

The vegetarian food here is cheap, and the food is tasty. Unfortunately, my father is currently in the hospital again. My mother and I went to the restaurant for a late lunch yesterday… this is what my mother had:

Like my mother, I had a chapati along with dhal and the chickpeas with gravy, but I did not select the ladies finger (bendi) curry. Instead, I had aloo gobi. The total bill, which comprised: two sets of chapati (with dhall + 2 dishes each) + two cups of teh tarik + one plate of yoghurt =  RM 7.40.

Yup, you read it right. Only RM 7.40. Where else can you get such a satisfying meal, at such a low price?

I suggest going there at lunch time, at perhaps around 12 noon. If you go late, some of the dishes would most likely be finished.

Address & contact number of the restaurant are:

Punjab Sweets Restaurant

No. 55, Jalan Dato Hj Eusoff, Komplex Damai, Off Jalan Ipoh, 50400, Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03 – 4044 0735

The restaurant is located within walking distance from Sentosa Hospital / Vistana. If this is of any help, it’s across Roopi clinic.

Regards,

The Vegetarian Writer

As a full-time vegetarian, it can get quite frustrating when you go to a restaurant and they have only one or two vegetarian dishes. I once went to this Indonesian restaurant in Mont’Kiara (not out of choice, mind you – it was an office lunch), and out of the 50-plus dishes, there was only one vegetarian option, which was some tomato pasta.

Likewise, at most of the well known pizza chains in Malaysia, there is at the most two vegetarian pizzas available: Vegetarian and Margherita. That’s why a place like Sarpino’s Pizzeria is a great find for my pizza-loving family and I.

At the Sarpino’s in Lucky Garden, Bangsar, there are nine (that’s right, nine!) types of vegetarian pizzas available:

• Pizza Margarita
• Kalamata Delight
• Sorento Delight
• Zucchini Primevera
• The Pesto Veggie
• Greek Pizza
• Tuscany
• Vegetarian
• The Villagio

I’ve tried Vegetarian, Zucchini Primevera, The Pesto Veggie and Tuscany. The Tuscany pizza was on the salty side, but nonetheless tasty. I didn’t quite like the Pesto pizza, but that’s because I don’t like pesto sauce as it reminds me of medicine.

The brochure I picked up listed three outlets; in Bangsar, Puchong and Subang. I’ve ordered pizza from the Sarpino’s at Plaza Mont’Kiara, but I’m not sure if it’s under the same management. I say this because (1) Mont’Kiara was not listed in the brochure, and (2) it has fewer vegetarian pizza options. I would just like to add that the Bangsar outlet is on the mezzanine floor, so it’s not disabled-friendly if you want to go there and pick up the pizzas yourself.

From what I can see on the brochure, you can also order baked lasagna and baked spaghetti, as the description for these two dishes reads “With meat or tomato vegetable sauce”.  I did try the baked lasagna at the Mont’Kiara branch, but didn’t like it. There was some herb or spice that made me not like it.

For the Pizza Margarita, Kalamata Delight and Sorento Delight pizzas, it’s a buy-one-free-one deal. For the others, it’s buy-one-get-2nd-for-half-price.

Happy eating!

Cheers,

The Vegetarian Writer

Hello!

At the Food Junction food court in Mid Valley Megamall, KL, there is a vegetarian stall, aptly named, Vegetarian. FYI this food court is on the 3rd floor, which is the same floor as the cinema.

I didn’t want to classify this vegetarian stall under the “Vegetarian Restaurants” category because (1) it’s part of the food court and not a restaurant in the strictest sense, and (2) all the stalls in the food court share cutlery and plates, meaning they’re interchangeable, and some strict vegetarians would only go to a place where vegetarian food is served.

This stall sells a variety of dishes, mostly cooked Chinese-style, with some Malay dishes as well. FYI again, it has a “Halal” certification.

Here’s the thing I’ve got to tell you about my visits to this stall; every single time I’ve been there, I’ve ordered the same dish.

That’s right. The (vegetarian) nasi lemak, fake ikan bilis (anchovies) and all. The portion is generous. I especially love the gravy with potatoes and what-i-think-is fake mutton. Or is it chicken? I really wouldn’t know. But it’s yummy. Once I went to the stall at 2pm, you know, after the lunch hour, and this gravy potato dish was finished, much to my disappointment.

Now here comes the part where most non-vegetarians would stare incredulously. The price of the dish above is almost RM 8.00 (RM 7.95 or something). RM 8.00 for nasi lemak?!! One that isn’t even real, that’s vegetarian?!!

If you don’t already know, nasi lemak is an extremely popular dish in Malaysia, often eaten at breakfast. Heck, I’m not even doing justice to the country by calling it extremely popular…… it’s a dish that Malaysians are proud of…. our pride and joy …. our heritage… I’m pretty sure every single (non-vegetarian) Malaysian has eaten nasi lemak at least once in his/her lifetime. There are loads of blogs out there that will tell you where to get the best nasi lemak.There are also loads of people who will claim that their nasi lemak is the best, most authentic, original version (ditto with laksa, kuay teow, and all those other Malaysian dishes).

Anyway, the dishes at this stall don’t come cheap. I’m saying this in comparison to other “vegetarian economy rice” stalls at Chinese coffee shops. The one that comes to mind is the popular one in PJ New Town (State PJ), that’s next to Unicare Pharmacy / Tong Woh. But we’ve got to bear in mind that dishes at this stall will naturally be higher than stalls outside because it’s in a shopping complex, and we all know that shopping complex food stalls generally charge higher prices (due to higher rental, blah blah blah).

As to whether or not this nasi lemak tastes anything like the real deal, I have no clue, having been a vegetarian my entire life.  All I know is that when I do go to the Food Junction next, I will order it again!

Cheers,

The Vegetarian Writer