Masakan Nogori

@ Kak Rose 911, Kg Pandan, KL

very delish daging salai masak lemak...Splashie Boy's favourite must-have

Last weekend, since both of us was free to do some exploring, we decided to visit Kampung Pandan to try and locate this infamous place, which serves Negeri Sembilan food or masakan Nogori. I accidentally found out about this place from this blog. With the vague directions, we set off to locate it and surprisingly, it was pretty simple to find the restaurant.

the very unique rendang pegaga

Although the place is quite simple, I was surprised to see they had an air-conditioned section. The restaurant is extremely popular with everyone including the rich and famous. We spied these bloggers there when we dined here (couldn't miss the camera action right next to us) and on Splashie Boy's second visit there, he spotted a Porsche Cayenne. According to Splashie Boy's colleague who lived around the area, the reference 911 in the restaurant's name is because when they first started out, there was a discarded police car parked outside the restaurant (911 was the old number to call police last time). However, after they expanded, they had to dispose it but the name 911 stuck. Usually people park around the restaurant but opposite the place is Kak Rose's residence, which also acts as a car park.

the "sunken hippos" or badak berendam is definitely a must-try

What's good here? Well, almost everything we ate was very good including the desserts. They do a really good daging salai masak lemak - tender beef pieces in a slightly spicy and coconut milk rich curry. Another famous Negeri Sembilan dish is the teluk itik masak lemak, duck eggs in the same kind of curry. Then, I spied the unusual rendang pegaga, a mix of pegaga leaves and stems with chicken feet, gizzard and liver. Takes a while to get used to this dish. The tofu and ayam goreng also seem to pretty popular

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Air Kelapa Bakar Utara (Northern Burnt Coconut Water)

@ Kampung Subang, Selangor 

dilapidated sign, black and black, stainless steel mugs

Taking the back roads of a highway one day, I discovered this interesting item rarely seen in the city - pitch black burnt coconuts that is said to yield water with healing properties. It's a bit disconcerning to see the usually green young coconuts turn into soot black coconuts with a flaky ash exterior but I was mighty curious to discover its taste.

chop chop for the sweet tasting water

The coconuts are burnt in a large metal container until the coconuts turn black. The lady wasn't very helpful in telling me how long they took but I guess it ranges from 1/2 hour to more, depending on the fire. One article on the Internet claims it should be burnt for 5 hours to get its healthy benefits. To ensure that there's still water within the coconut, the lady will shake each coconut before she carts them off to be cut.

air kelapa bakar utara in all its brown glory

Once chopped, you will find the water has a slight murky brown colour while the flesh is brown on one side but pristine white on the other side. Tastewise, it's still sweet (but then she did add syrup to it) with a hint of smokiness. However, it is a little weird to drink something of this colour though. One coconut is RM3, about 50 cents more than the normal coconut water.

scenes from the roadside stall that also sells fruits

From what I've read on the Internet, the Indonesians and the Malays believe drinking this coconut water will cure a number of ills especially if it is done on a long term basis. Even though I'm not too sure if this is proven, I do know drinking coconut water is great for chicken pox or as a great refresher especially in this crazy heat we're currently experiencing. One extra bonus - this stall seems to be on the flight path of the Firefly planes. Every minute of two, you get to see a visual of the plane flying across, hence it's literally a view to kill while you dine on the refreshing coconut.

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Nasi Lemak CT Garden (CT Roses)

@ Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur

Something closer to home this time round - the Petronas Twin Towers. This is the fantastic night time view you get when you dine at this nasi lemak place. Views around the Kampung Baru area are always fantastic since there's no high rise development with the Malay reserve land restriction to block it. This is where people usually flock to to watch the yearly fireworks show to celebrate New Year.

Right next to the Sultan Sulaiman Sports Club, this night time nasi lemak place is popular among local residents of Kampung Baru and those seeking for a quick dinner or a cheap supper. Here each packet wrapped in banana leaf and old newspaper is simply a mound of rice topped with hot sambal chock full of ikan bilis and a sliver of hard boiled egg.

Extremely reasonable at 60 sens a packet, this is ideal budget food to fill up your tummy. Although the rice isn't the perfect fluffy type but kinda wet, the sambal and it's cheap price makes up for the dissapointing rice. Usually one is never enough hence you see people piling a few on their trays. As and when the pile of nasi lemak packets dwindle, the people behind the counter will start making them.

Once you have picked your nasi lemak, choose from a variety of dishes (lauk) to accompany it. Although it's self service here, you need to advice the lady what you want and she will scoop it out in a plate for you. She will also give you a small piece of paper with the price of the food.

There's fried chicken, fried quails, rendang, quail egg curry, chicken liver and cow's lungs on skewers, tempe, vegetables like fern shoots (paku pakis), french beans, unpeeled petai (stink beans) and etc to choose from. Our favourites are the tempe which is fried till crispy and the paku pakis. Once you have selected your food, grab your drink from the next counter before paying for your meal. There's also another drinks station outside which serves watered down fruit juices in tall glasses and coffee.

Jomm pekenaaaa!....

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Fruits : Cuti-cuti Malaysia

Local Fruits

Last weekend, Splashie Boy's company held a Fruits Festival in aid of charity. It was great fun as there were loads of fruits to choose from. It was quite obvious though which particular fruit was the most popular - the King of fruits aka the Durian. Everyone made a beeline for it and it finished quickly. Even a second reload of durians saw everyone scrambling to get their share.

What amazed me was the people who organised the fair had a special machine to open durians. Essentially a drilling machine, they had adapted it with a metal spike at the end of the drill which could be used to open the durian gently. It became the focal point of the festival as everyone crowded around the machine to get their durians opened since there were no parangs.

Although the opening for the durian has been made, some brute force is needed to pry the thorny skin to reveal the goodies within.

Well worth the wait - creamy and rich durian within.

The kids were also having fun as there was free flowing ice cream. Just help yourself at the cooler on what you wanted. There was also a dance performance by the children and lots of games and line dancing. Of course everyone did the usual dances - the Macarena, the Chicken Song and the ever famous YMCA with all the gestures.

Tables were filled with fruits of all varieties which you could help yourself. People were also around to cut your chosen fruit. These star fruits (carambola) are great for health. They also make pretty star shapes when cut.

My absolute favourite - Mata Kuching or Cat's Eyes, the local longan variety. Here's Splashie Boy holding a nice bunch which we ate that afternoon.

There were loads of mangosteens around to help cool down your body after taking the heaty effects of durian.

Apple green guavas, my mum's favourite fruit. They're not too sweet and some varieties are soft and seedless. I like taking them plain or sprinkled with that sourish powder made from Seen Mui (preserved sour plum).

There were loads of these Pink Dragonfruit all sliced up for us to enjoy. The pink version is so much sweeter than the white ones. Nowadays it's pretty easy to get these fruits in local farms who plant a lot of these. You can even make jam from this fruit, just pair it with pineapple to give it flavour.

Duku Langsat were also available. I like this fruit but find it quite messy to eat as the sap of the skin creates sticky fingers.

There was also lots of Pulasan, a fruit similar to rambutan except the flesh is thicker.

Lots of rambutan in a box. They taste really good cold. Usually when we get a bunch a home, we'll take the skin out and the seed inside and leave it covered in the fridge. Makes it easier to eat.

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Nasi Arab

@ D'Arab Cafe, Section 7, Shah Alam

1. Arabic tea made with mint leaves, cardamom pods and cloves, 2. the simple yet alluring chicken kabsah

One of the best things in being a foodie is people tend to share with you, great tips on where to eat all the time. Recently, Splashie Boy's family have been talking about this amazing find in Shah Alam - a place that sold Middle Eastern food right smack in Malay suburbia. Being a great fan of that type of cuisine, we enthusiastically tracked this place down after vague descriptions given by them. We're awfully glad we made the effort, as food was superb and best of all, very reasonably priced.

the aromatic lamb aukdah

The place may not look much in terms of the set up - just a simple lot in a food court. Nor did the food look impressive BUT taste the food and it will knock your tastebuds like hitting a jackpot in a slot machine. Ting! Ting! Ting! Our tastebuds went on overload with the food.

We absolutely loved the fragrant lamb aukdah (RM9 with bread) - shredded lamb fried with potatoes, tomatoes and onions. Even the simple looking chicken kabsah (RM10 for a set with briyani rice) - boiled chicken with spices comes with meat that is fork tender and so tasty, you'll have no trouble finishing the huge portions.

the sauce here is addictively good

What made the food even more special was this spicy and tangy sauce made with tomatoes, garlic and bird's eye chillies - an addictive concoction that I kept eating non-stop. Seems the stall owners also has another outlet in Bangi and they opened this place to cater to the huge Arabic student population in nearby UITM. I guess it must work as when we were eating a very late lunch there, a group of Arabic students were also eating there.

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Malay Food Kampung Style

@ Restoran A. Hassan, Section 13, Shah Alam

cooling pegaga salad

Working in Shah Alam can be a real pain sometimes as good food is not easy to come by. One day, when I was exploring Section 13's shophouses, I discovered they had my favourite Malay stall - Restoran A. Hassan. Ever since then, it has been my regular lunch time place.

local vegetables pucuk paku

Restoran A. Hassan made its name with the famous ayam kampung goreng. You can find a stall or a restaurant open at quite a few places - USJ Taipan, Puchong, Cheras, Taman Desa, Kampung Baru and etc. I've blogged about the Kampung Baru outlet before, which still remains my favourite outlet as the dendeng with the percik sauce is to die for!

sinful but oh so good! tempoyak with rice

If you plan to eat here, do come early as this place gets super packed with people after 12.30pm. Since the shop is quite small (just a single lot), tables and chairs are laid out at the walkways. You will find students from the nearby university, office workers and even high ranking police officers dining here for lunch.

yummy ayam kampung goreng

Just select what you wish to have for lunch from a spread, which consists of ayam kampung goreng, clams, ayam percik, fried fish, various ulam and etc. I often go for the clams, which is my favourite.

kelantan style ayam percik

They also have all types of sauces including the smelly but oh so yummy tempoyak. Made from durian, the smell can be pungent but when mixed with chillies, it is a spicy treat great with white rice.

my fav dish - the clams

The place mainly caters for the lunch crowd but for breakfast, they do sell nasi lemak. If you crave for good Malay food, this is definitely the place to be during lunchtime.

Sedaapppp weehhh!!!

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Char Kuey Teow and Nasi Lemak FAM

@ Restoran Jamal Mohamed, Kelana Jaya, Petaling Jaya

The famous char kuey teow

There has been a lot of write up with regards to this famous Char Kuey Teow. A recent one at the NST prompted me to go search for it and I discovered all the stalls, which were at Restoran Subang Ria has shifted to Restoran Jamal Mohamed, the corner shop right at the other end. Rumours are flitting the reason why they moved is because the owner wanted to open his own stores. I guess you can't fool the locals as this place is now packed while the other restaurant is basically "catching flies".

Nasi Lemak stall

Being a first timer, I was skeptical when the plate of char kuey teow arrived on my table. It looked pale and a bit unappetizing. A bite of a strand of the fried flat noodles and I went WOW! Looks are definitely deceiving as it had lots of wok hei aka breath of the wok and most importantly, it tasted good. It doesn't look much but it definitely packs a punch.

Nasi Lemak Kukus FAM

My next visit to this restaurant during the weekend, I saw lots of people having this nasi lemak hence I ordered it. I can understand why it was so popular - the steamed coconut rice was fragrant and came in fluffy seperate grains. A selection of items are available as accompaniements to your basic nasi lemak - chicken rendang, sambal kerang (like mine above), sambal sotong, paru and etc. You have a choice between half a hard boiled egg or fried egg. I really liked the kangkung - water spinach since I am not a fan of cucumbers.

Although the food is pretty good overall, I felt the sambal didn't have the spicy kick. However, it is perfect for those with milder taste buds. Give a try during the morning, I kinda prefer this to Nasi Lemak Cikgu in terms of sambal and the rice. However, Nasi Lemak Cikgu does have one plus point - their yummy fried chicken, which they are uber famous for.

Sedappp woooo.....

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Pizza - Yellow Cab Pizza

@Jalan Raja Abdullah, KL

the frontage and yellow motorbikes that grabbed our attention and the tourists 

There's a new bright yellow place in town!! For those who know Splashie Boy well, you will all remember he loves the colour bright yellow. Hence, yesterday when we were driving past Jalan Raja Abdullah, we spied this sunshine yellow frontage. It definitely grabbed his attention, that he even made an illegal u-turn (something he never does!) to check this out.

twice-baked potato halves (RM12.80) for 6 pieces with sour cream and chives

Previously a fishball stall used to occupy this corner shoplot but the owner decided to take the place back and renovate it. The place has been unoccupied for quite sometime, but now it houses this Phillipines franchise - Yellow Cab Pizza Co, where their tagline is "when you want great pizza, call a cab". In the Phillipines where they have 54 outlets, they use Vespas for their delivery bikes and a Chrysler PT Cruiser, all painted bright yellow. Wonder, if they'll get a Chrysler PT Cruiser here too? Seen only 1 or 2 around town so far, hence that will be cool.

the NY classic side of the Four Seasons Pizza (RM28.60 for a 10 inch pizza)

For those who have been to New York, you will notice the references to the infamous yellow cabs. The delivery bikes have been given a sunshine yellow transformation, that they now look like those iconic yellow cabs or taxis, as we label them here. The frontage with the distinctive bikes parked in front got a lot of reactions especially from the tourists who walk past the road. We spied at least 2 groups of tourists who walked past and started snapping pictures.

the roasted garlic and shrimp side of the Four Seasons Pizza

While the old shophouse was given a new lick of paint, glass covered windows as it is now air-conditioned inside, a steel and glass extension that covers a staircase on the side, some of the old elements have been retained like the wooden windows. Inside, there are unpainted concrete walls, bright yellow accents all over, pictures of New York and names of famous places in New York that decorate the place. There's even a cute dustbin (in yellow of course) with metal shelves on top for pizza boxes. I reckon the outlet is recycle friendly, as I saw the worker stacking the boxes on the shelves. You will note the different lengths of the shelves correlate to the 3 sizes the pizzas come in. Thumbs up for this green initiative.

the anchovy lovers side of the 4 seasons pizza

Two types of pizza available - classic and specialty. Our menu is similar to the Phillipines one shown on their website with the exception of ice cream and chicken wings. The pizzas come in 3 sizes - 10, 14 and 18 inches. Since we wanted to sample the most from one visit, we ordered the 4 Seasons - with 4 types on one pizza i.e. NY Classic, #4 cheese, Anchovy Lovers and Roasted Garlic and Shrimp. Our absolute favourite out of the 4 types we tried - the NY Classic with beef pepperoni slices. A simple pizza but very tasty probably because they use tasty beef pepperoni.

Next favourite was the roasted garlic and shrimp with a subtle taste of garlic and prawns scattered on top. The #4 cheese with romano, mozzarella, cheddar and feta was not bad also but it had a slight sourish taste. For those who love capers and black olives, the anchovy lovers is a good choice. I found it a bit salty though.

the eye-catching Vespa lookalikes

Vespamaniaaaaaaa.....

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Tandoori Chicken & Naans

@ Stall opposite Ampang Point, Off Jalan Ampang, KL

juicy and succulent tandoori chicken

It amazes me that I took so long to discover this place, which I reckon serves the most amazing tandoori chicken and fluffy soft naans. A little bird gave me a hint of this place last week and after watching Sherlock Holmes on a Saturday night, we headed there on a quest to search for this stall. With vague directions like "near Ampang Point" and "next to guitar shop", we set off in a wild goose chase. Splashie Boy was good humoured enough to drive around Ampang looking for it but after a while, we almost gave up hence the next best thing was to google for directions. Hallelujah for 3G services!!! I stumbled on Fried Chillies' directions and after a driving through a dark curvy road, it was tandoori and naan nirvana at the end!

1. Tandoori chicken skewers on the oven, 2. mutton kebabs. 3. The grill master at work

Nicknamed Uncle Arumugam by the Fried Chillies team, this stall seems to be working non-stop fulfilling orders. To spot the main man, zoom in on a tall fella with the cap. He's the person you need to place your orders with as most of the others tend to ignore you. (I suspect they can't speak the language) Seems he used to work in a Northern Indian restaurant where he picked up his skills. He doesn't do the grunt work anymore, leaving it to his workers to handle the making of the naans and the grilling.

1. dainty fingers flatten naan dough. 2. balls of naan dough waiting to be flattened

The grill master - this stoic looking fella looks after two tandoor ovens fueled by a charcoal fire, moving metal skewers from each oven until they're cooked to juicy perfection. I love the way they make the naans here, transforming from the balls of dough into fluffy soft naans with crispy edges. Once the dough is stretched, it's placed on the side of the tandoor oven. Such dexterity to place it quickly at the sides without burning any of their extremities.

The making of a naan from flattening, placing it on the napkin and tandoor oven before being taken out

The wait is a little long but we're rewarded with juicy and succulent tandoori chicken that we tear with our fingers. As it was late, they weren't serving any keema (my favourite with peas) hence we went for the mixed vegetables. Simply gorgeous stuff - diced carrots, potatoes, mixed vegetables in a creamy sauce that had me scraping the stainless steel dish to get everything down my rumbling tummy.

peek inside for what is going on

The tandoori fish - a piece of tenggiri fish cutlet wasn't as juicy as the chicken but nevertheless it was still enjoyable especially after a dash of lime juice from the halved calamansi lime on the side. The mutton kebab was also fantastic especially eaten hot from the oven.

fluffy soft heavenly naans

However our favourite were the fluffy naans - not rubbery but so pillowy soft, I could eat them the whole night long. We had two types - the butter and garlic but we preferred the sinful melting butter version that screamed "cholestrol!". Other varieties available are cheese naan and keshimiri naan. Not being satisfied with just one each, we ordered another one to share and slowly waited for the additional naan, since it takes a while to get one made.

the simple yet finger licking mixed vegetables

yummmyyyy!!

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