Food Blog | Sri Nirwana Maju Banana Leaf Restaurant | Bangsar & Subang Jaya

I’ll be honest and say I’m not particularly an expert in the field of banana leaf rice. I’m the type that kinda needs to be guided by the waiter and be like “oh, yeah sure. I’ll have that and that and that since you are offering”.

That being said, I think that this is a banana leaf rice that is definitely worth sharing because despite my limited experience with banana leaf rice, this is DEFINITELY my favourite experience so far. So here’s my thoughts on Sri Nirwana Maju Restaurant (I tried the Bangsar branch).

Context: I came here after a movie night with a friend. Not too many options past 10pm, so we decided to try for this banana leaf rice!

Is it Halal?

I believe that they aren’t certified (I mean, most of the time it is really too expensive to get the certification), but the ingredients and the preparation that you find here are Muslim friendly (I kinda just took this off of the information from another popular halal food blog - Have Halal Will Travel - it’s a pretty cool blog for halal foodies, so do they a look if that’s what you like!)

Where it Is?

I only really know the details of Sri Nirwana Maju Bangsar - so I would just say that if you really want to be safe and time efficient, I would suggest you just bite the bullet and park at Bangsar Village 2 (seriously it is in the row opposite).

I say this because there is a lot of double parking and hectic driving in this area (you gonna get your car scratched, blocked and what not). Not to mention that it is pretty impossible to find a parking in the open spaces in the first place, so I recommend just parking in the shopping mall.

You can exit the mall through the one beside Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. It is in the row right opposite and it is pretty much impossible to miss. Loads of people and a pink sign in a row full of pubs (including The Social) are what you are looking for.

Address | Bangsar Outlet: 43, Jalan Telawi 3, Bangsar, 59100 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur (Open 11am to 1pm daily - no rest days)

Address | Subang Jaya Outlet: No.1 Jalan USJ 9/5M, 47610 Subang Jaya, Selangor, 47620 (Open 10am to 11pm daily - no rest days)

What it Costs

The two of us ate RM58.75 worth of food, but keep in mind that we were really hungry and we’re talking about combining dinner + supper worth of hungriness because we were eating at 10pm.

There are a few ways that you can go about it. If you aren’t well versed with banana leaf rice, then read this part, whilst if you are someone who knows what you are doing, just skip ahead to the how it tastes portion (this is kinda a banana leaf rice for dummies portion because I myself am a bit blur about it).

They’ll start with your basic order of what rice you want. You’ll have the option of the vegetable meal of a chicken/lamb briyani rice. When my friend started with the vegetable one I looked at him in a “surely that’s not enough for you” kinda manner.

But basically how it works is that you can top up with other dishes like sotong and fried fish (which is what he ended up doing). So the difference between my order of Chicken Briyani (RM15) and the Vegetable Meal (RM9.50) is the chicken drumstick and the briyani rice in mine (rather than white rice).

What you get as part of the chicken briyani/vegetable rice is the poppadam (as you always do), the big assortment of vegetables and chillis (you get them as part of either option) and your choice of curry (fish, chicken curry or a dhall).

My receipt is below just in case you want a rough estimate of how much a potential meal of yours will cost if you make a visit.

How it Tastes

I LOVE IT. Probably my favourite banana leaf restaurant I’ve tried by a long shot. You have lots of side dishes (I believe you have to pay to top up for any extra side dishes that you would like) that taste really yum, their curry is really nice and rich and the briyani rice itself, whilst not the most fragrant I’ve tasted, it gets a pass from me.

The side dishes are their rasam, pickle and dried chilli (which I am strangely addicted to). Their rasam is a pretty nice palette cleanser as well, so I had a lot of that (to the point where I was probably stealing onto my friend’s side of banana leaf).

For the two extra side dishes we ordered, I would say they don’t blow me away but they achieve a passing grade from me.

Everything being said, I still think it is slightly more budget conscious to order a vegetable meal with a top up fried chicken in order to get the best value out of a meal here. But ultimately a meal that I enjoyed really much!

Star Rating

8.5/10. Probably one of the best places (if not the best) to get banana leaf rice in Kuala Lumpur. A perfect place to bring friends from abroad (and I guess maybe even getting into the Malaysian culture of eating with our hands XD) to appreciate our delicious food. A lovely eatery!