"Just like how my grandpa ate back in the day..."
I can count with one hand nasi kandar sellers that still practices the old art form. Most of them are in Penang and one of the them is this nameless stall in Kedai Kopi Tai Min along Jelutong Road (just opposite the Jelutong Balai Polis). You can't miss this place. They have queues that start as early as 6.30am. Just look out for that and you're there. Nasi kandar that is made the old school way has a smooth taste, although (mind you) we are talking about curries here. And the mixing process of different curries personalises the plate to you. So, no two nasi kandar plates are ever the same. Also, due to the double boiling process perfected over the generations, the rice is not starchy so that you can eat more.
The nasi kandar stall at Tai Min is now run by Mohamad Ali bin Amier. A 3rd generation nasi kandar 'currista'. According to Ali, his grandad started selling from the Merdeka days and from the same spot. He was not a cook or chef. His recipes were a trial and error based from his memories eating back home at the Ramnad district, India. A successful obfustication of recipes resulted in a small stall way back when Malaysia just got its feet and starting to stand up tall.
Since day one, they have always served their nasi kandar wet. The currys are light, flavourful and forms a small pool on your plate. It is friggin drenched. Thin but not quite watery. The rice is what the malays call 'ceroi' (the rice does not stick) which for some reason carries the curry gravy quite well when mixed together. You must try their famous beef curry with the black gravy. Slow cooked over fire for hours, the beef is tender. The black gravy is a closely guarded secret but in general made from curry mixed with soya sauce. A good nasi kandar seller must have good black gravy and theirs are wonderfully delicious. The right amount of curry spice with the right balance of soya sweetness.
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"Slick and yummy noodles..."
The best Mee Goreng Mamak is more commonly found in Penang. Their Klang Valley counterparts don't seem to make the cut. That's why when someone told me about a place in Kota Damansara that has the unassuming Mee Goreng as a signature dish I was game to give it a go. I mean it saves me a long trip to Penang for a plate of fried noodles, right?
So I headed to Gulam Mee with great expectations. It's not often that Mee Goreng is given centre stage so I hope that my traffic-ridden trip to Kota Damansara was not in vain.
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"That smell of fresh chapati just hits you..."
With Christmas round the corner, I thought it apt to check out Santa Chapati House. So on a sunny Saturday, we venture to Lebuh Ampang for the best chapati in KL. This better be worth the train trip and 10min trek! It’s usually packed with office workers during the weekdays but on this Saturday, there is hardly a crowd and the workers are gathered at the back chattering among themselves before they spot our entrance. In an instant, a server comes to take our order as we peer at the food counter to check what’s on offer.
There is a huge pot of dhall curry bubbling away while another staff manned the counter. Our plates of chapati comes loaded with 2 sides of vegetables and a plate of curry. The dhall is thick and chunky, perfect to go with the light bread. The vegetables are wholesome and fresh. For that day, we enjoy the chickpea masala and spiced potato. Both are redolent with spices and a perfect accompaniment to the chapati. As for the signature chapati, I must admit it’s the best I’ve tasted and I’m an instant convert. Made from a balanced mix of atta flour and ghee, it’s crispy on the outside yet fluffy on the inside. Though it seemed huge, the delicious combo of vege, chicken and curry made eating it a breeze and it was gone in an instant. Patrons have been known to vacuum 3 pieces in one sitting!
Unfortunately, the famed mutton keema is unavailable today. With my appetite yet to be satiated, I wanted more. This time, it’s chicken varuval and protha. The bread chef proceeded to heat the griddle and we witnessed the action with bated breath. For protha, a ball of dough is kneaded then flattened and dipped into flour. It’s folded again and dipped another time in the flour then left on the hot griddle.
Once it is crisp, the chef adds a dash of ghee to the protha just before serving and it arrives piping hot and fragrant.
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"Honest good food!"
The massive chunk of duck thigh sits in a reddish brown gravy, absorbing the myriad of spices in the dish. A heady aroma hits you as you take a whiff. You try it, expecting something familiar but it's different. The gravy is slightly tangier than a normal curry and though it has an almost rendang-like consistency, it has a milder coconut taste.
This is the Itik Sammah, Dawood Restaurant's signature dish for the past 73 years. Sammah is actually what the thick and exotic gravy is called in Tamil. Syed Aliar, the current owner of Dawood says he uses duck because it has tons of flavour compared to chicken. The meat is also gamier and richer. Another firm favourite is the roast chicken. The chicken is tender, juicy and tongue-tingling hot, the result of hours of roasting with lots of chillies and onions. Other specialties available at Dawood are the quail curry and fried chicken.
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"Absolutely friggin' delicious!"
One of the best, or in fact the best tandoori in Malaysia is actually located in a small shop in Kota Laksamana, Melaka. So there, I have said it. You've read it. Can't take it back now. I now have to defend why after all these years of supporting Penang Tandoori (which is still very very good), I have to put my tail between my legs and say that Melaka trumps. Only for this one particular shop though. My Penang born mom will not be happy.
The shop that I am talking about is called Pak Putra in Melaka. In fact, it's just a couple of minutes drive off Jonker Street. It's run by a lovely man named Qamar who is a Pakistani and interestingly enough, he does not have any relations to a Pak Putra. In fact, 'putra' means son in Pakistani and 'pak' is short for Pakistan. So, the name of his tandoori joint is actually 'The Son of Pakistan'
You will go absolutely mad when you taste Qamar's chicken tandoori and garlic naan. This I guarantee you. The tandoori is full of spices, tasty and soft. Not like the ones you get in KL that can get dry sometimes. The chicken comes to you freshly baked from the tandoori urn, and its twelve herbs and spices (including cashew nuts, almonds and chilli powder) will definitely tantalise your smell senses. The aroma will just call you in. And once you bite in, the soft tender flesh, the balanced spice taste and the smell of barbequed curry spices will take you to a place that you've never been before.
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"More curry please!"
When I first heard of banana leaf rice (BLR) being served at a little café near the office on Friday afternoons I was a bit skeptical. The initial hesitation disappeared though the minute I tasted the curry. Bursting with flavour and spice the deep layers of yumminess shone through.
All the curries and veggies are cooked in house and since it’s a once a week treat, they go all out! The cooking starts from Thursday itself and it takes time to prepare which is why it is only served once a week. More care is put into the food and the veggie dishes are innovative with tasty delights such as the delectable pumpkin masala. The sweetness of the pumpkin goes well with the heat. The pumpkin chunks are cooked till tender and you are even able to chomp down on the skin. This is not something you see everyday in your typical BLR spots. The bitter gourd dish isn’t too bitter, complimenting the rice beautifully.
The one thing that really stands out here is the rasam. It is a gorgeous spicy sour peppery blend that is good enough to drink on its own (I would drink up a huge vat of this if I could). There is something comforting about the spicy burn as it tingles down your throat. I’d imagine that this would do well with clearing up sinuses, just be careful not to chomp down too eagerly on the green chillies as this can leave you with a burning tongue and watery eyes.
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"This drink has a certain je ne sais quoi"
The streets are hot. Blindingly hot. Your stomach is halfway distended from that enormous lunch of nasi beriyani ayam you just had at Hameediyah. But you’re determined, determined to walk through Georgetown just a little more, to walk off the food just a little more, so you can eat just a little bit more. It is Penang, after all. Utter sacrilege to just eat your three square meals a day here and be done.
Then you spy a wide alley. Lebuh Tamil is its name, you find out later. There are dark-skinned young men running stalls selling rojak, fried snacks. Too heavy for now, you sigh. The stall owners are all chatty with each other, like they grew up together. Then you think, this is Penang. They probably did, as with everywhere else on this island, they are most likely the grandchildren of the original owners.
“Ais Tingkap” says a sign, “Window Sherbet” written below it. An icy drink, perhaps? That sounds promising. You stop to observe the stall under the sign. There is a man working the shop in a space no bigger than your average storeroom. There is a hatch behind him piled with boxes, a window sized opening shielded by the man. This is apparently the window where his grandfather used to sell the drinks out of. They haven’t expanded by much since his grandfather brought his business over from Sri Lanka in 1928, or at least their workspace hasn’t. A few tables and benches are lined up next to the stall. You take refuge in the shade and take a seat and a sigh of relief.
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"Extremely affordable banana leaf rice"
I used to label the banana leaf rice meal (BLR) as a once-in-a-blue-moon treat. Though I’m a huge fan, this sumptuous affair usually left me feeling overly bloated and my wallet a whole lot lighter. Unfortunately, many BLR joints put a premium price tag on their fare, especially when meat or seafood is involved. Some even have the audacity to charge for extra orders of vegetables!
Although Brickfields remains my economical pick when the BLR craving hits, I recently found a yummy alternative closer to home. Located within a residential enclave in PJ, this nondescript food court holds a local secret which is popular with the lunch crowd, comprising mostly of residents and office workers.
Upon entering the food court, I noticed only a few stalls are open, but the burgeoning crowd occupies more than half of the food court tables. Following the trail, my eyes focus on this one stall buzzing with activity. The kitchen is constantly churning out dishes, while staff hurry back and forth to feed the hungry hoards. The meat and fish dishes are displayed within the stall. However due to space constraint, the trays of vegetables are laid out on the food court tables fronting the stall. The turnover of the vegetable dishes is fast, as workers replace empty trays with piping hot dishes fresh from the kitchen.
Go to the stall and a staff will hand you a metal plate filled with rice. Then walk around to survey the full offering. The system here is Do It Yourself (DIY) ie you take as much as you like, chap fan style. Fret not if you notice some trays almost emptied. The kitchen replenishes it soon enough with a fresh batch, ensuring there are 5-6 vegetable dishes on the table for customers all the time. With the piping hot curries and fresh vegetables before me, I had a hard time deciding what to put on my plate.
Peak lunch hour (1-1.30pm) can be rather daunting, as I competed with the hungry masses while balancing my plate filled to the brim with steaming hot veges and aromatic curries. Noticing the nearest tables were filled, a helpful staff ushered me to share a table with a customer who was almost done. Once seated, he filled my already heaving plate with crispy pappadums and promptly brought a stainless steel cup filled with water. I love water served this way, it tastes so refreshing.
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"Freshly cooked capatis everytime!"
Unlike some other places, Gowry makes 'made-to-order' capati instead of making a stock and reheating it when there is an order. This keeps her capati fresh. Not only that, you can actually have a planta or ghee version as well. Gowry knows her customers. Capati is best eaten with curries. For an extra price, you can choose from chicken, lamb and even sardine curry. Vegetable Masala is also available. There's nothing like the aroma of a fresh torn ghee laden capati dipped in some vegetable masala and almost dry lamb curry.
There aren't many ingredients for capati. Wheat flour, salt, some water and ghee. But she knows how to make them. Her capati dough is soft and when rolled, she makes sure that her dough is uniformly thin. This is important so that when it hits the pan, it gets consistent heat.
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"The taste is superb!"
I dropped by recently after handing in a paper to reward myself with a curry fix. I grabbed a seat at one of the outer tables in chilly after-morning-rain weather and placed my usual order: two roti canai (garing, of course) and a glass of iced Milo. One of my favourite things about Melur is that they serve roti canai throughout the day, instead of just mornings and evenings like many mamak restaurants do.
Glistening, my rotis arrived. The healthy crunch I heard when I tore into it is addictive. It’s like dried leaves on your driveway; you just cannot resist stepping on them to hear the sound. The taste is superb. I can honestly eat just their roti canai without gravy and it’s still good, like a stretchy flaky pie crust. I dipped it into the curry nonetheless and sighed a little. Life cannot get better than this. That is, until I dipped some into the dhal. Now, there are precious few things I don’t particularly enjoy. Dhal is one of them (it’s a texture thing). But the dhal here is thick and almost creamy, with a not-too-subtle hint of spice. I lapped it up hungrily. In no time, only crumbs are left on my tray, which I continue picking at.
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