Sometimes you just want satay. Maybe it's a the meat fix that draws you to them or the peanut gravy that calls you. Or maybe because it's just a perfect meal. Whatever it is, when the satay siren calls, you'd better answer it or risk staying awake thinking about it when you go to bed.

“Oh please… satay Malaysia? Cannot beat Indonesia,” My Indonesian friends wave their hands disdainfully. What is it about Indonesians and their satay? They are insanely proud of it. According to one of them, they grill their satays with sweet soy sauce marinade so you can just eat it on its own. The peanut sauce is optional and it’s the same peanut sauce as the gado-gado gravy. Personally, I believe that one of the best satays in town is not the usual franchises that everyone raves about. It’s actually near my house in Medan Selera Taman Melawati. Why do I like the satay here? Let me explain.

First the satay here is not that sweet and it has a very satisfying chicken taste. This means that the chicken is good quality, clean and they use a lot of turmeric in the marinade. In between the chunks are nice bits of fat (this is delicious) so in a mouthful you get both the richness of fat and the crunch of meat. Uncle Yunus who fans the satay has his timing down. The satays come out nicely charred and it’s nice and juicy. He’s also a kind man, who doesn’t mind having a chat with you while fanning the flames.

His wife makes the nasi empit and the peanut sauce. So let’s get to the kuah kacang now. It’s thick and brown and chunky. I don’t like places that serve yellow coloured kuah kacang, pale and looks very sad (yes you know who you are). I like my kuah kacang to be a rich reddish-brown colour which tells you that they’ve put time and love into, stirring it for a long enough time so that the nuts truly meld with the spices. Then there’s enough nut chunks in the gravy so that when you dip in the satay, it folds nicely on the meat.

"Satay rocks my socks!"

Best of all, they are not stingy on the sauce and are more than happy to give you extra upon request without the usual look of annoyance some sellers have. The Medan Selera itself is a nice place to hang-out, old school if you know what I mean. So what if the chairs are ancient green plastic and the place is a little run down, the area is clean and cosy. Next to it there’s also great sotong kangkung.

As for my Indonesian friends? 50 sticks of chicken satay later, they leaned back in their chairs with a satisfied look on their faces. There was no conversation at the table during the entire meal just the rustling of satay being picked up, dipped and smacking of lips.

“So?” I asked with a grin. “The best I’ve had here so far,” said one of them. The other not willing to admit defeat was just silent.

Enough said.

Satay costs 60 cents a stick.
Opens 7pm onwards

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