The banana leaf.

Please note : I have edited this blog with grateful feedback from... a READER!! swowzer

Today, like most days, I ate some food.

Dr. Dion's wife, Mel is having their sister's over so I decided to go for a walk, get some fresh and and some nice quiet time to myself. I was intrigued by an Indian restaurant that was serving some milk concoction and I had to try. Its called Padam Milk I believe.. very nice.. with cardamum and lots of sugar.

I was hungry too and it started to pour outside so I said what the heck.. might as well make it a dosa on top. These Indian restauranteers are very persuasive. Their grim smile beckoning me to come in always gets me or at least leaves me feeling quite guilty for just passing by.

Dosa on a banana leaf. Delicious as always. Banana leaves are excellent plates. You don't have to wash them like porcelain plates and they don't waste the environment like paper plates. After I finished my meal I wiped my messy face up with a tissue, deposited the tissue onto the banana leaf, and folded the leaf over. A normal act one might think. Normal if you fold it the right way! After seeing this the restauranteer, looking stunned, quickly wrote my bill and motioned me to the door. All of a sudden no grim smile. I felt like I was being slapped asian style (through silence). When I first came here I didn't pick up on the anger through silence method but after being in KL for a little over three months I've started to pick up on such things.

So what was wrong with what I did? Luckily a friendly patron, as always, was there to witness the event of my foreigner faux pas and all to eager to point out my mistakes. I didn't fold the banana leaf over in the right direction. Supposedly if you fold it away from you it means you were happy with the meal and if you fold it away you are very angry because you feel you were ripped off.

Perhaps Asians should try tipping in their restaurants. Money speaks much more than folding banana leafs.

Nota Bene (Edit) : M. Riley was so kind to point out that I said you fold the banana leaf away from you in both cases whether you are angry or happy with the meal. This is obviously wrong. To be honest I can't remember which way is the correct so I suggest you do what I will do if I find myself in the situation that I am eating from a banana leaf in a kind man's restaurant... wait until someone else folds their banana leaf over and replicate what they do. (p.s. if you follow my advice you will never have to read a book on etiquette again)