Eating Indian Thali Set at Selvam restaurant for lunch in Malacca, Malaysia

One our one year travel anniversary together, we decided to celebrate by having a meal at one of our favorite Indian Malaysian restaurants (Selvam) in Malacca, Malaysia by indulging in a Thali set consisting of rice, curries, dal, papad and pickles.

This 22 Ringgit ($7 USD) feast is one of the reasons we love traveling in Malaysia. Although accommodations tend to be a bit more expensive than other SE Asian countries such as Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, the price, diversity and quality of food more than makes up for it.

The combination of Malay, Chinese, Indian and fusion options are enough to satisfy my every craving. There have been days when I've literally had Dim Sum (Chinese) for breakfast, Thali (Indian) for lunch and Nasi Goreng (Malaysian) for dinner.

I may not have my own private bathroom/shower (many budget accommodations in Malaysia offer shared facilities); however, I know for certain my stomach will be satisfied and that - to be perfectly honest - is more important than anything else ;)

Being back in UNESCO Heritage city Malacca, Malaysia on our one year travel anniversary was the perfect chance for us to eat Thali, an Indian meal made up of various dishes typically including rice, dal, vegetables, roti, papad, chutney and pickle.

It is lunchtime here in Melaka and today we're eating at the Selvam Banana Leaf restaurant, which is an Indian restaurant. We've been here several times during the week. It is one of our favorite places so far. It is really popular with locals, so we're going to show you what a Thali set meal looks like.

When I was backpacking in India three and a half years ago I subsisted off of Thali, so I'm thrilled to be having the opportunity to eat it again here in Malacca, Malaysia.

Thali is an Indian meal that consists of various kinds of dishes. It can be served on a platter or - in this case- we're having it on a banana leaf if you take a look at it down here. It comes with different vegetables, curries and rice.

Typically you would eat this using your hand; however, someone has to hold the camera, so I'm going to be using cutlery and Sam will demonstrate how it is done the proper way.

Alright boy, dig in. Get them fingers dirty. You mix it around here. There we go. That's awesome stuff.

Sam and I ordered two different Thali sets. He is having the vegetarian one and I am having the chicken but the only difference is that I get a little plate with a chicken curry on the side. Everything else we got was the same. We have the same dhal, the same rice and the same chips. Take a bite of that chicken to see how it tastes. I already have a chunk here. It is very tender and you can tell it has been cooked slowly for a long time. It is really good. Is it spicy? Of course, a bit of Indian spice in there.

One thing I absolutely love about Thali is the concept of the bottomless refills. You eat until you're fully satisfied. That means if you go through your rice - and you finished your rice and you want more - you call them over and they load you up. It is perfect for a hungry boy.

Our Thali lunch came to 22 Ringgit which is roughly $7 USD and that included three drinks, two different Thali sets (including a chicken and a vegetarian) and a roti pisang banana flat bread for dessert.

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Sebagai kembali UNESCO Warisan bandar Melaka, Malaysia pada ulang tahun perjalanan satu tahun kita telah peluang yang sempurna untuk kita makan Thali, makan India terdiri daripada pelbagai hidangan biasanya termasuk beras, dal, sayur-sayuran, roti, papad, chutney dan jeruk.

Ia adalah waktu makan tengahari di sini di Melaka dan hari ini kita makan di restoran Selvam pelepah pisang, yang merupakan sebuah restoran India. Kami telah di sini beberapa kali dalam seminggu. Ia adalah salah satu tempat kegemaran kami setakat ini. Ia adalah benar-benar popular dengan penduduk tempatan, jadi kami akan menunjukkan kepada anda apa yang makan set Thali kelihatan seperti.

Thali adalah hidangan India yang terdiri daripada pelbagai jenis masakan. Ia boleh disampaikan kepada pinggan atau - dalam kes ini-kita menikmatinya di atas daun pisang jika anda lihat ke bawah sini. Ia datang dengan sayur-sayuran yang berbeza, kari dan beras.

This is part of our Travel in Malaysia series. We're making a series of videos showcasing Malaysian culture, Malaysian arts, Malaysian foods, Malaysian religion and Malaysian people.

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All photos and video taken by Samuel Jeffery (Nomadic Samuel) and Audrey Bergner (That Backpacker).

This video features a song from Jewel Beat available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Commercial license.