I have heard of this restaurant offering classic Sri Lankan food from various sources, and all of the people I have spoken to have had good things to say.
These comments came from the Govindasamys, the Nairs, some De Souza’s and some from the Leongs and Tans so it does seem to be of universal appeal.
So I found myself deep in Brickfields where the restaurant was located one fine afternoon.
The restaurant is very centrally located in the middle of Brickfields, on the same lane as YMCA and smack opposite this building which, I was told, is a community centre offering yoga and fitness facilities.
Yarl restaurant is a modern looking restaurant with stylish Black and White Hues more reminiscent of a hip bar or cafe rather than a Sri Lankan food joint.
The interior was fairly minimalist with black and white photos adorned on the walls. Stylish and pleasing.
I ordered a coconut drink while I was studying the menu.
I must say I was glad the restaurant was extremely cool and comfortable, as it was air conditioned and aided by numerous, and I mean numerous, ceiling fans.
I was shown the spread by the affable service staff and was told the vegetarian buffet was costed at just an amazing RM7 for 3 vegetables.
The other meat and seafood dishes were all costed according to the menus at the table but plated and displayed at the rack for you to choose.
So you could literally see what appealed to you before you ordered the dishes.
I believe the enjoyment of food is how it appeals to your various senses, and I always take time to look at my food before I dig in .
So I enjoyed this aspect of Yarl – and I did some serious eyeballing before deciding what I would order on the menu.
The pricing was extremely reasonable by any standards.
I looked at the Appam and Dosai section in the menu with great interest, but decided that I would try the buffet today and come back another day for those delicacies.
I could see that the vegetarian section was extensive. There were about 9 options to choose from.
White rice or a mixed grain looking rice were offered.
The colours of the dishes from the meat and seafood section looked amazing.
We chose our vegetarian dishes and also ordered crab curry, mutton, prawns and a grated coconut dish.
The crab curry was amazing. Flower crabs were used which rendered the masala gravy intense and very sweet.
I drained the crab curry of its juices but decided reluctantly to leave the crab alone because I was at a business lunch.
Similarly, the mutton was delicious and the prawn dish was equally tasty.
The servers were kind enough to offer us rasam which again was extremely tasty and well balanced.
The delicious meal ended with a round of masala tea which was done to perfection on our instructions to make it with less sugar and milk.
I was suitably impressed with Yarl and would definitely be back for its other delicacies like Appam, Dosai and Kothu one day, hopefully not too far away.
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