WANT to spice up your next lunch break with a cultural experience? The Kuala Lumpur suburb of Bangsar is home to dozens of Indian eateries, making it a banana leaf rice paradise. And among all of these, a relatively new establishment known as Ricksha has made its name as one of the best. This self-described boutique banana leaf restaurant celebrates the culinary traditions of four South Indian states: Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Kerala. It delivers real banana leaf dishes made from fresh ingredients, with rich flavours in ample portions to fulfil your banana leaf cravings. Launched in 2020, Ricksha’s decor draws influence from India’s street scenes, featuring themed illustrations drawn on its walls and an unmissable colourful rickshaw hanging over the street below the first floor premises.
“I began this [restaurant] during the pandemic,” explained Ricksha’s owner, who wished to be known as Raj. Raj, who is enthusiastic about cooking, confessed that he had always wanted to start a banana leaf restaurant since it was his favourite food.
“I’ve eaten at a number of banana leaf restaurants, and there’s always something that could be improved or done better at every place,” he said.
“As a result, I made the initiative to ensure Ricksha has everything that delivers real cuisine that would make banana leaf rice tasty.”
When asked what differentiates Ricksha from other banana leaf restaurants, he stated that meals are cooked on the spot after an order is placed to keep the heat and crunchiness, and, of course, no MSG is used in any of its dishes.
“This isn’t your usual banana leaf restaurant, we do not serve cabbage, cucumber or bean sprouts. [Those are] overrated.”
Their banana leaf set comes with two choices of rice (white or parboiled), as well as four different types of vegetables, one fried vegetable and one curry of your choosing. Curries come in a variety of flavours, including chicken, mutton, fish, crab, salted fish, and prawn.
Homemade garlic pickle, papadam, moore mozhega, and thovayal are served together. They also provide sambar, vendhayam, thanni saaru, and rasam for vegetarians.
“Our seafood and meat meals are our best sellers,” Raj remarked. All of their seafood is fished fresh in Kuala Selangor, which explains why their prawn biryani is so popular, as well as fresh, thick, and juicy. Not to mention, their strong Bru coffee, freshly made from the coffee machine, is the ideal complement to your banana leaf rice dish. It’s pleasant on the tongue and not too sweet – just right!
Weekend specialties include Chetinad Hot Plate Mutton Masala, Nalli Ezhumbu Chukka/Perattal, Nall Ezhumbu Briyani (mutton), and Ernakulam Mixed Seafood Hot Plate. Ricksha also serves vegan side dishes including Vegan Briyani (mushroom), vegetarian chicken perattal, fish tokku, mushroom 65, mushroom masala, and plant-based chicken in three variations. In Ricksha, customers may also preorder crowd-pleasing side dishes including crab, lobster, and fish head.
Food was served quick, efficient, clean, and – most importantly – rich in satisfying flavours. According to Raj, Ricksha does not take reservations on weekends since they value their walk-in customers. You may, however, reserve a spot during weekdays.
He mentioned his desire to open a new branch, but is being cautious for the time being since he wants to maintain the food quality.
“It’s definitely my long-term goal ... so I’m being careful.”
Ricksha has perfected all of the basic elements. This is probably some of the best banana leaf rice I have tasted in a long time.
For more updates on Ricksha, check out their social media pages @ricksha.bangsar (Instagram) and @rickshabangsar (TikTok).
Address: 9A (First Floor), Jalan Telawi 5, Bangsar, 59100, Wilayah Perseketuan, Kuala Lumpur.
Hours: 11am to 9.30pm, open Tuesdays to Sundays (including public holidays)
Phone: 03-2202 0770, 03-2202 2580
Mobile: 018-2181 420
Note: Proceed upstairs to find Ricksha, which is located on the first floor. All prices are subject to 6% SST & 10% service charge.
