Aliyaa Island Restaurant & Bar MIGF Menu

Growing up, I felt very lucky and privileged to be living next to neighbours of Sri Lankan descent as I could hop over to their house any time for a savoury and spicy home cooked meal. I think often of the spices in the food and the many curries I tasted over the years.

Since those neighbours moved out many years ago, I haven’t had much opportunity to taste Sri Lankan cuisine again but an invitation from Aliyaa Island Restaurant & Bar came my way and of course, I was so looking forward to my Sri Lankan experience.

Aliyaa means elephant and that is what you see on their entrance. The lighting in the restaurant is dim, the ambiance is cosy and intimate but that doesn’t mean there isn’t space for bigger groups of diners. This is a restaurant for anyone who loves great quality Sri Lankan cuisine.

As you dine in comfort, check out the framed photos on the walls which showcase many different local talents, from photographs of Malaysia’s captivating cultural icon, artistic director of the Sutra Dance Theatre and performer Dato’ Ramli Ibrahim to paintings from other home grown artists. Each piece is available for purchase and all proceeds go to the ‘Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage’ in Sri Lanka.

I joined a small group of food bloggers to dine on Aliyaa’s MIGF Menu. Aliyaa was one of the restaurants I made a beeline for at the Gala Launch of MIGF as I was so drawn by the appam and their giant crab décor. I have been a big fan of appam ever since I can’t remember when.

Chef Yogeshwaran Selladoreh at Aliyaa is a soft spoken and obviously an expert on spices and appam. All the spices used t Aliyaa have been imported from Sri Lanka, they create the distinctive curry powders which are beyond compare and give Aliyaa’s cuisine that edge over other restaurants.

Appetiser

Rocks & Rolls

Fish Cutlet and Lamb Roti Roll

The lamb roti roll is particularly memorable as it doesn’t have that heavy lamb smell, the spices used perfectly complement the meat.

Entrée

Treasures of the Sea String Hopper Kothu

Fried String Hoppers with Assorted Seafood, seasoned with Sri Lankan spices

Doesn’t look like the string hoppers we’re used to seeing, right? It’s very fine string hoppers and the sauce and condiments that go with it are just divine.

Main Course

Sri Lankan Crab Curry

This is Aliyaa’s specialty dish, the crab is about 1 kg and locally sourced. The curry isn’t very spicy but you can tell just by looking at it that the curry has all the best spices that make this one truly unforgettable dish. The flesh of the crab is so fresh.

Main Course

Mutton Paal Pariyal with Roti

Slow-cooked tender lamb in Devil Aromatic spices served with pan grilled bread 

I don’t know what exactly made up the Devil Aromatic Spices but the name suits the dish as it’s certainly extremely aromatic and I have rarely tasted such tender mutton. It’s not ultra spicy hot but the blend of spices is complex and you can taste different flavours because it’s obvious that many spices have been used here.

Main Course

Prawn Sothi

Sothi is a yellow coconut curry, this one tastes very light and the curry goes so well with rice.

Main Course

Fish Curry

This curry is quite creamy and thick but again it isn’t as spicy hot as it looks.

Main Course

Brinjal Moju

Normally I don’t wax lyrical about vegetarian dishes but oh my goodness, one mouthful of this incredible Brinjal Moju and I was ready to vote it the tastiest dish of the night. Yes, this is one superb vegetarian dish as it’s slightly sweet and the sauce that coats every slice of brinjal sends me to 7th heaven.

Main Course

Egg Appam

Just when I thought I couldn’t take more, there’s egg appam and it’s BIG. It could be because we ate everything else before starting on the egg appam which came out the same time as the rest of the main course that made the egg appam not so crispy.

Dessert

The Sweet Ending

Sweet Appam

Bowl-shaped thin Pancake made from Fermented Rice Flour Batter

My favourite MIGF dessert! The gula Melaka bits in the appam make this a dessert I want to have again and again. The appam is crisp and I liked it so much that I ate everything despite being full to the brim.

Menu Prices

Full Menu RM98++ per person without wine

Sharing Menu RM88++ per person without wine (for a minimum of four persons)

Aliyaa’s MIGF menu is still available till the end of November and every dish you see here is also on their a la carte menu.

Aliyaa has impeccable service provided by a team of attentive and dedicated waiters, headed by Sri Lankan Manager Sangeethan Sivagnanam. They recently won the Tatler Restaurant Awards 2014 for Best Restaurant 2014. Aliyaa is located at 48 G & M Plaza Damansara, Jalan Medan Setia 2 Bukit Damansara, 50490 Kuala Lumpur.

Reservations : 03-2092 5378

sangeeth@aliyaa.com

www.aliyaa.com