If you are familiar with the Indian food scene in Singapore there is a very good chance you know the name Komala Vilas. This extremely popular vegetarian restaurant has a branch in an old shophouse on the lower Serangoon Road in Little India as well as several others around town.

Well, here’s the good news: Komala’s has opened in Jakarta. April 30 saw the soft opening of this Indian fast food emporium on the Jalan Wahid Hasyim side of the Sarinah building. The bad news is that it is right next door to McDonald’s, which means that if you loath the American outfit, as I do, you will have to avert your eyes as you cross the Sarinah car park.

As luck or judgment would have it, Jakarta24’s man on the ground was the first customer through the door, if you’ll excuse the mixed imagery.

What did I find? A warm welcome, certainly, and prompt service, naturally. The menus are nicely laminated with rather small pictures of the items on offer. Playing safe for the first dabble at the fare, I ordered a Mysore masala dosa, which for those unfamiliar with dosa is a light, crisp pancake stuffed with curried potatoes. This came with a selection of chutneys, and was very tasty, the piquancy remaining on the palate long after I had left the restaurant. The meal set me back Rp19,500.

I then returned again in the evening and ordered the ‘Chapati plate’, which consists of three chapattis, and two vegetable curries. The chapattis were certainly fresh and the curries outstanding, especially the dark chickpea offering, which had a real “kick” to it; Rp 16,000.

Vadai are doughnut-shaped lentil cakes and the vadai plate gives you two along with a coconut chutney, an onion chutney and a truly fierce red sambal sauce. Again, this is good value.

So far, so good. A cavil, however, is in order, I feel. The plates and cutlery are all plastic and, as in the McTrash outfit next door, drinks are served in plastic cups with the company logo on them. Not only is this aesthetically displeasing, it is hugely wasteful, and I hope that Komala’s friendly management will reconsider the use of this non-bio-degradable material. Already within the first few days, Komala’s cups had been discarded on the steps of Sarinah: not a pretty sight.

Parking is, of course, relatively easy to find but in mid-evenings less so due to the Gadarene rush to the trough next door as well as to ‘Chili’s’ upstairs.

Three months or more down the line and how are things going? The restaurant, which is upstairs and overlooks the car park, seats forty in a very tight fit, which makes it a little uncomfortable some evenings. Quality in the form of taste remains good and service prompt enough. As a good sign, the Jakarta Indian community seems to have registered its approval with many sub-continent folk in there in the evenings. It remains to be seen whether the early enthusiasm is borne out but Komala’s is a welcome addition to the Indian food scene in the Big Durian.