YARL - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Rating: 8 / 10

Hands up, I was not expecting to eat great Sri Lankan food in Brickfields. Sure there are hundreds of phenomenal South Indian banana leaf and roti places, but Sri Lankan doesn't have the biggest representation in this part of town.

A rather more hip affair than the regular steel table slop-shops nearby, Yarl offers a more convivial atmosphere with which to fill your stomach. Even tho there was artwork on the walls it didn't stop me using my hands to eat, because food just tastes better when you do.

I opted for the thali, with a cauliflower dish, a dhal, dry chicken fry, rice, poppadum and mystery dish. 

Sri Lankan definitely seems to fall behind Indian good in general, and to be honest most of the time I prefer Indian. Having spent plenty of time in both countries, the variety and extra oomph of Indian food usually wins me over. However, Yarl makes a solid claim for being one of the best options in Brickfields. The food is carefully prepared, lovingly cooked and plentiful in terms of flavour and spice.

Instead of heading to your usual banana leaf haunt, take a walk on the wild side and pay Yarl a visit next time you're in these parts.

These recommendations are just personal opinions based on my palate, things change, chefs get fired or replaced, places open-close, relocate, so take it all with a pinch of MSG  and discover your own gems too. But please do try a few of these, they have been researched exhaustively.