Nasi Ambeng

the small stall trading in front of the house

I never tire from exploring Kampung Baru - it is like every nook and cranny there has good food, if I look hard enough. For me, the contrast between the old kampung houses and the modern skyscrapers always reminds me of how far we have come in development. Parts of the village has gone through some sprucing up with new pavements but to me, it is still a great place to search for Malay food.

delicious ayam masak merah using ayam kampung

We wandered there last weekend, to search for this Nasi Ambeng stall. A Javanese dish, Nasi Ambeng or Ambang is usually served during weddings and parties (aka kenduri). Traditionally, you place 4 portions of rice, fried noodles, chicken, serunding, tempe and etc on a tray lined with banana leaves. Everyone is encouraged to share this platter. Nowadays, the stall owners serve a different variety - single portions that you eat like Nasi Campur (mixed rice). Some varieties also see them packed like nasi lemak bungkus except the packets are larger. Here, the rice is packed tightly with all the accompaniements in a banana leaf, which infuses the rice with a fragrant aroma.

splashie boy's selection of ayam kicap and of course, his favourite bergedil

Located along the quieter stretch of the main thoroughway of Kampung Baru i.e. Jalan Raja Muda Musa, it is not hard to spot this stall within a house as they have a banner proclaiming they sell Nasi Ambeng. Only available from Friday to Sunday during lunchtime, you get a lovely view of the Petronas towers, if you sit there and dine.

the view to kill

We had a choice of fried tempe (cut in chunks versus thin slices), fried tofu, serunding kelapa, ayam kicap, ayam masak merah, green beans fried with tempe and tofu - a kind of sayur lodeh, ikan keli, bergedil and etc. This place also serves lontong every morning using most of the same ingredients - sayur lodeh, tempe and serunding kelapa.

I loved the chicken here as they use the tougher ayam kampung for their dishes. A little tough but still much better than the mushy and soft type of meat you get from antibiotic injected chickens. The meal was very satisfying and pretty reasonable - two portions with drinks cost us less than RM11. While the food was not totally genuine, it was still a very good meal.