Madam Kwan’s

Yes we know that it's not the most authentic but fact is Madame Kwan's serves them good and keep the quality. Great for first timers to the Nyonya cuisine

By The Foodster

Photography by FriedChillies

Posted on Sat, November 08, 2003 - 2:13:11 PM

Where could you find really great Nasi Bojari and Assam Fish Head in a modern looking 'kopitiam like restaurant' with air conditioning and really nice decor? We've found one in Bangsar. It's called Madam Kwan's and by half past eight every night it's jam packed with patrons.

Madam Kwan's has going from strength to strength with the immensely popular KLCC branch and another branch in Mid Valley. The formula has always been to keep local favourites good like nasi lemak, nasi bojari and assam prawns. They have the typical local favourites and over the years, Madam Kwan has personally refined her recipes to appeal not only to local palates but international ones as well. And yes! there is a Madam Kwan. Quite a nice madam too. One of the reason why the food is consistently good is that she personally mixes the spicy paste before passing it to her assistants to cook. Word around town is that she's such a good cook that if a dish is missing a particular ingredient, she does not say that "there's something missing, lah!". She will identify what is the missing ingredient and repair the dish by adding the right amount of it! That's what I call experience.

Nasi Bojari is a type of Indonesian coloured rice that comes with assam prawns, beef rendang and deep fried chicken drumsticks. It's quite good and may have been known to get addicted to this. The nasi has a nice aromatic taste that goes especially well with the deep fried chicken. It's also worth mentioning that Madam Kwan has perfected a very good frying technique for their chicken thighs. Its crispy on the outside but on the inside.... mmmmmm ... still has the nice clear juice flowing out from it when the thigh is cut open. You need a very special equipment to fry chicken this good and I think they've got it.

"Don't burn your tongue on the hot thighs"

If you like plenty of santan, Madam Kwan's have plenty of Curry Laksa for you. This one is yellow noodles in curry gravy with chicken, fresh prawns, bean sprouts and tauhu. This dish is very santan (coconut milk) heavy which I think is Madam Kwan's very own creation but nevertheless worth a try if you are into curry laksas.

If you like fish head dishes, why not have a try at their Assam Fish Head which packs quite a strong punch to the tastebuds. This one comes with ikan merah fish head in a delicious combination of madam's secret recipe of okra, tomatoes, onions, long beans, brinjals and beancurd. This dish is best served with some warm white rice, otak-otak and sambal petai. This dish is a bit sour which goes great with the fish head. All you need is to pour some gravy on the warm rice, add in some otak-otak and sambal... then scoop it all up to tantalise your tastebuds. Surprisingly nice.

For desserts, there's the typical ice campur, cendol, bubur cha-cha or sago gula melaka to complete your Nyonya dinner experience. Although they have continental selections like fish and chips or fillet steak, I think their winning dishes must be the madam specialties. Of all the dishes we tried, the Nasi Bojari and Indonesian Assam Fish Head are the clear winners that will haunt us to come back for more.

Pros: A great place to start off your foreign friends on

Cons: A bit on the pricey side for local food

Address: Madam Kwan's 65, Jalan Telawi Tiga, Bangsar Baru 59100 Kuala Lumpur

Telephone: Madam Kwan's 65, Jalan Telawi Tiga, Bangsar Baru 59100 Kuala Lumpur

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