Om Shakti Chelo

If you're up for a little skiving off work in the heat of the afternoon or need a little pick-me-up after a tough day at the office, then putter down to Lucky Garden. Here you can indulge in some appams, sweet and satisfying with a bracing cup of teh tarik. And why not make a meal of it and order up an onion uttapam afterwards?

By Honey

Photography by FriedChillies

Posted on Mon, June 01, 2009 - 10:32:29 PM

3 Comments

Some evenings after work has slowed down and pre-dusk peckishness settles in, sweet appams are that perfect nibble you can get between tea and dinner, an aperitif of sorts. Om Shakti run by Auntie Chelo is purely vegetarian and is famous for their sweet appams. Made out of rice flour batter poured quickly onto mini curved pans, the 'sweet' comes from coconut milk poured on the appam while it's still cooking. This results in a milky-rich texture. Since the middle of the appams are porous, the milk just gets soaked in so its nice and moist.

Hence you have to eat sweet appams HOT or else its a little soggy when cold. Best thing about appams is the contrast between the soft, melting center and the crispy edges. A friend of ours who never had it before, licked his fingers happily and exclaimed, "it tastes like sake!" Well without the hangover the next morning. You can also get the coconut milk separate which is a plain appam and you can also opt for brown sugar sprinkled in the middle resulting in a wonderful caramelly taste.

"Go on... treat yourself with a sweet appam"

Om Shakti also does a lot of other vegetarian delights. One of our favourites is their karipap. Made almost non-stop throughout the afternoon the karipaps here are addictive. Again I like it hot from the oil, the skin a little crinkly and the filling made of spices and a mix of potatoes almost juicy. Other stuff here like the toseis, chapattis and uttapams are all winners. I especially like the onion uttapam, doughy and sourish.

Although Om Shakti now opens in the morning, I still think the best time to visit this modest stall is in the evening, when the day has cooled a little and you can enjoy a spot of people watching with a frothy glass of teh tarik. On some evenings Auntie Chelo herself will be there, relieving the usual Auntie who cooks and she's a wizard at making appams. It's mesmerising watching her turn out appam after appam without breaking a sweet, her bangles jangling and her saree rustling dangerously close to the flame. When asked how she manages not to set herself on fire, she answers eyes bright with pride at her thriving business, "I'm used to it."

Opening time: 7.30am- 11pm
An appam costs RM1.20

Pros: A cheap treat and consistent in quality

Cons: Does get sweltering hot in the afternoons

Address: Behind TMC, Lorong Ara Kiri 3, Lucky Garden, Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur

Telephone:

foodaddict2
June 03, 2009 11:29AM GMT

It's really the best appam i've ever tasted... especially the brown sugar appam.

Adly
June 03, 2009 4:12PM GMT

Yeah, v nice. The curry puff are good too. Anyway, there are a few places that I like. the other is grand city in pj. a nice aunty makes them Sunday mornings. One more near the KLpac just after the caltex. There is an indian stall that makes these lovely apams at night. They have eggs options as well. Good with curry.

TehBeng
June 04, 2009 12:33PM GMT

I can attest to these apams. I know they already sweet but I always ask for more santan to go with it. I like it wet!

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