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Halal food
Sate Zainah Ismail Best Satay In Town @ Jalan Keramat, KL
Aug 14th
As you might already know I am desperately looking for a satay in Klang Valley that could rival, and perhaps even better than those that I had in Singapore which I hate to admit is still the best I ever had to date. So when two of my fellow readers recommended Sate Zainah Ismail at Kampung Datuk Keramat, I immediately went looking for it.
For a first time visitor, Dato Keramat could be confusing to navigate but thanks to my GPS device we found the restaurant with relative ease. Zainah Ismail could be easily identified by the smoke and satay fragrance constantly oozing out of one of the wooden restaurant.
Five satay grills are used here and the satays are actually grilled by stages. The satays do not stay on one grill from raw to cooked. Instead, they are transferred to the next grill once a particular ‘doneness’ is achieved.
The innermost grill you see manned by an elderly uncle is where the raw, marinated skewers are barbecued first then made sure fully cooked at the foremost grill. There are only two types of satay here: beef and chicken priced at RM0.70 each.
Nyonya Restaurant @ SS2, Petaling Jaya
Aug 9th
Located at the heart of PJ, SS2 is Nyonya Restaurant – a three decades old and pork free restaurant serving authentic baba nyonya cuisine since 1974. Although the current owner is the fourth, changes have been minimal and the dishes are still faithfully prepared according to the original chef’s recipes.
I like to start off my Nyonya meal with spicy seafood hence Sambal Udang Petai @ RM15.50 is always a must-order-dish. What I liked the most about this dish of the day is the sea-caught prawns, which were really fresh and also decently sized. The sambal has a paste like consistency so the flavor and spiciness are nicely concentrated. Simply the perfect dish to be had with rice.
The Beef Rendang @ RM15 does not look too appealing on photo but that’s really my fault actually. Being my second favorite dish of the entire meal, it was cooked slowly to ensure the tender beef slices could fully absorb the spicy condiments. I highly recommend this dish, as you will certainly not be disappointed by its fragrant and flavorful taste.
Ikan Bakar Gerai No.3 @ Medan Ikan Bakar Jalan Bellamy
Aug 6th
Hidden behind Istana Negara along Jalan Bellamy is an array of ikan bakar stalls next to each other forming a medan ikan bakar. Despite its secluded location it gets extremely crowded especially during lunch hour. Not knowing which stall to go for, we chose Gerai No.3 that was the busiest among all.
Three huge frying pans were used to pan fry (instead of grill/bakar like the name actually implies) a wide array of seafood like fish, prawns, squids and kerangs. The sight of the ikan bakar here is simply delightful. With so many choices, you are sure to have a difficult time to decide which items to take. Just for fish alone there are a few types like ikan keli (catfish), ikan pari (stringray), siakap and ikan terubok.
What attracted me immediately when I stepped into Gerai No.3 are the larger than life sotongs, which some even as big as six inches. Coated in an orangish-red colored marinating, they looked absolutely delicious and I just got to try them. So I got one sotong for each of us along with some prawns and the smallest slice of ikan pari I could find in the pile.
Sri Bistari Famous Nasi Ayam Penyet @ Changi Village
Jul 20th
To be honest, I haven’t tried a lot of Indonesian food but I can vouch my love for Ayam Penyet, this wonderful traditional dish that originates from Subaraya. Smashed fried chicken served with rice and spicy hot sambal, so simple yet so additively delicious.
Not too far away from Tampines at Changi Village is Sri Bistari Famous Nasi Ayam Penyet. Conveniently there was a direct bus to the food court where this stall was located at, so I decided to try it one weekend after surveying for good food around my area. Traveling too far for food does take its toll on you in the long run, especially when you are taking the public transport.
For $4.50 the serving is pretty standard consisting of a piece of smashed fried chicken, a generous dollop of sambal and the usual Indonesian salad of lettuce, cabbage, cucumber and cherry tomato. Tempe (deep fried fermented bean paste) was not to be found though.
I liked that a whole chicken leg was given because the typical portion of Ayam Penyet usually comes with very small piece of chicken, leaving you with plenty of rice in the end.
