Restoran Yarl

Sri Lankan restaurants are few and far between in the Klang Valley, but this three-year-old restaurant in Brickfields is one step closer towards changing that. Run by a Sri Lankan Tamil, the food at Yarl is unique in that it specialises in cuisine from the northern province of Sri Lanka, aka Jaffna Tamil cuisine.

The space itself is generic – there’s nothing that suggests it to be greatly different from the Chettinad operations in the area, save for its cleaner, newer walls. Food is displayed in large clay pots and metal trays filled with curry, vegetables and meats. As the sothi (mild curry with coconut milk) pot was almost completely dry, I skip it and go for the vengaya kuzhambu (onion curry), generous in shallots and watery in consistency. The sides of mutton peratal and dry chicken varuval are agreeable, but it’s the sora meen puttu that shines. Made of shredded shark meat, chilli and a few spices, it’s dry, slightly sweet and deeply aromatic. Paired with okra sambal and papadum topped with crispy dried chilli, it’s the stuff of perfect Saturday lunches.

But I’m not nearly done yet. For a second helping of rice, I ask for the crab curry, for what’s a lavish Sri Lankan lunch without it? The curry is thick, gloopy and pungent, with strong notes of sweet crab. The crabs are left in pieces, all the better for you to get your fingers in the nooks of every leg. And just as you would suck a prawn head, you must slurp up the juices of the crab’s carcass when you’re done picking on the larger pieces of meat. Any day, creamy crab residue is worth looking unattractive for. Some advice: Bring a friend. And ditch all manner of cutlery.

I wash everything down with rasam, fully sour and strong in tomato. And just as I’m about ready to curl up into a foetal position for a nap, the owner tells us that Sri Lankan breakfast items are available. Alas, I must decline. But that same afternoon, I sink into a deep sleep dreaming about the prospect of paal appam and brown sugar puttu paired with sweet banana. And for a while, there is hope.