What: Pelita Nasi Kandar
Where: Pondy Bazaar
What You Get: Authentic Malaysian cuisine
 I remember the first time I stepped into Pelita Nasi Kandar. This was when it had newly opened. I was a fan of the Malaysian Maggi noodles which the restaurant promised to serve. But being a staunch vegetarian that I am, the various smells wafting through were more of the non-vegetarian kind. As you enter the hotel, you can see open kitchens or maybe cooking areas, which explains it. At that time, I had to return hungry.
 I returned again a couple of weeks ago with a friend. The kitchens have not changed but this time round I felt more comfortable. And, thankfully, my friend was a regular there. No prizes for guessing that I had ordered the Malaysian Maggi
noodles (Rs 40) which was served to me in a huge bowl and I had '100 Plus' (Rs 50), which is an isotonic energy drink, the taste of which I had acquired during my stay in Malaysia.
During that time, I had started drinking colas by the litre. I was taking part in a dance ballet and there were rigorous sessions. So, some concerned friends asked me to down this drink instead of the colas. Though I didn’t immediately like the taste, I was soon a fan. My friend ordered fried rice and decided to drink '100 Plus' on my insistence.
My noodles arrived in a bowl much, much bigger than I had imagined and my friend's fried rice was very good too.
On another occasion, I went there to see whether they served
Nasi Lemak (Rs 40) which is another typical Malay dish with plain rice and has raw cucumber, roasted peanuts and a special chutney to go with it. But make sure you ask for the vegetarian option. The dish was excellent.
 Meat-eaters can look forward to a great spread too. A note here, that half of their menu is in Malay. But that’s no big deal. You can get the general idea?
The best thing about our meal was the dessert which was Ais Kacang (Rs 40) (pronounced Kachang). This has crushed ice, tinned corn, raspberry syrup, rice or aval (beaten rice) I am still not sure, tender palm, topped with vanilla ice cream and cherry. Ok, now the description might make it sound like a horror for the digestive system or the palate itself. But it is heavenly and this can be very filling also. So, light eaters will have to make sure their main course is more a nibble to down this huge one. Most of what they serve looks very huge. Of course, I couldn’t finish mine but went back on another day just for this one.
 Pelita has enough parking space. There aren’t too many chances that you will have to wait to be seated as they make arrangements in the open air, inside and at the first level.
The chefs will be dressed in traditional Malay ensembles, so you could get a dekho on that one. You can also get north India rotis and other delicacies and our usual idiyappam and kal
dosais.
I must add here that though Pelita caters well to the veggie masses, the mixed aromas can sometimes disturb some sensitive noses. Now, would they consider my request? It remains to be seen.
Chinmayi
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Pelita Nasi Kandar
