Satay Padang

@ Kampung Baru, KL

the contrast - pasar malam and shiny KLCC Twin Towers

Stunted from development, Kampung Baru seems to be caught up in a time warp amid shiny bright skyscrapers. Rumblings about redeveloping the land seem to be heard from a distance, which I admit I'm not welcoming as I love the old world charm the rickety wooden kampung houses hold even in the shadow of the tall modern buildings.

the delectable Satay Padang with the lick-me-up sauce

For me, Kampung Baru is where I gravitate for great Malay food and nowadays Indonesian food. It's at these narrow streets where people still move around without any helmets on motorbikes like there's no law, and you find a string of contrasts - Westerners getting a haircut in a small wooden shack, a pretty Indonesian gal on a motorbike in full make-up waiting for her date or even Chinese tourists pounding the streets to search for good food.

grilling those satay sticks

Ignore all those tomyam signs (till now it still baffles me why is the Tomyam sign more predominant in Malay communities then nasi lemak or did Thailand conquer us one day without us knowing??) and head for this small makeshift stall for the best ever Satay Padang. It's not hard to spot this stall as loads of people crowd around this couple who are busy fanning the flames to grill up delectable sticks of chicken and the rarely seen beef tongue.

all gone! tongue me up, kitties rule in this village, smoky fire

While this fella also sells his satay sticks with our familiar looking peanut sauce, it is the thick yellow sauce you should be asking for. We were lucky that night as we got there for the last scrappings of his large metal pot. Made from rice flour, a little bit of spices and curry powder - the sauce was incredibly good that you couldn't help going....mmmmm!!