A couple weeks ago I found myself at the South of KL for some work related assignment near lunch time. Naturally, after our appointment, we went to the most famous nari briyani restaurant for some well deserved lunch.
Our destination was none other than Kafe Beriani Gam Putrajaya.
Nasi Beriani Gam Putrajaya
Getting there can be a bit tricky as the restaurant is located right beside SKVE, you can only get onto SKVE from the restaurant but not the other way around. However, Waze/Google Map is your friend, so do use the link below for your convenience.
It is a bit of a road side set up with upgraded roof and rather proper table and chairs, there’s also some ceiling fans, though one should still prepare to sweat it out a bit on a hot afternoon.
lamb or chicken, which would be your choice?
Ordering is simple, get your nasi beriyani, then pick the type of meat you want to go with. There’s normal ayam (chicken), ayam kampung (village chicken), daging (beef), kambing (lamb), and our favorite – kambing kuzi – all of us ended up ordering the same, with an additional ayam kampung as center plate.
kambing kuzi, hands down
The briyani rice itself were perfectly cooked, fragrant and delicious enough you can have this even just with some sauce. As for the kambing kuzi, we love the tenderness and the rather heavy tasting marinate that makes it a little sweetish, compliments the rice perfectly. The accompanying sambal was on point too.
Expect to pay some RM 20 or more per pax, but if you love briyani rice, this is definitely worth checking out.
Address: Nasi Beriani Gam Putrajaya Lot Sub 4, Jalan Kajang – Puchong, 43000 Kajang, Selangor GPS: 2.976269, 101.725893 Tel: 017-288 4876
Several weeks ago I found myself at Desa Park City at Yee Hou’s place, with the boy promising that he’d bring me to one of the better wantan mee stalls around the area – Ming Kee Wan Tan Mee at Taman Bukit Maluri.
Ming Kee Wan Tan Mee, Taman Bukit Maluri
The restaurant is located at the heart of the small township, basically surrounded by the busy morning market. If you go on a weekends, expect to spend some time in getting your car parked, but you’d also be rewarded by the energy and joy of the market, with fresh produce and freshly slaughtered meat for your picking, all at rather reasonable prices too.
The restaurant itself has a single stall set up straight out of the 80s, with the operators probably still wearing the same cloths and enthusiasm from a few decades ago, when TV had a dial, and you’re interrupted by Berita Malam Ini in the middle of your favorite CNY movies.
chicken feet, or curry chicken? Take your pick
Anyway, the stall offers wantan mee in a few different options – the classic chasiu & wantan, curry chicken, or chicken feet. The latter two being the recommended options, so that’s what I tried.
Curry broth was thick and flavorful, with a healthy portion of chicken drumstick too, but if you eat chicken feet at all, the version here is definitely one of the better ones I had this part of Klang Valley, they’re soft, tender, and almost melt in your mouth, no teeth required!
the “sui kao”, or dumpling, is proper delicious too
Sui Kaw here is proper delicious as well, and I’d definitely asked for more pork cracklings the next time I’m there, and yeap I’d wan to go there again.
Address: Ming Kee Wan Tan Mee 33, Jalan Burung Tiong, Taman Bukit Maluri, 52100 Kuala Lumpur GPS: 3.200758, 101.631882 Tel: 03-6251 0032
We’re definitely blessed with a great selection of street food in Malaysia, from your typical char kuih teow stalls to burger tepi jalan, to nasi lemak shacks.. but if you look harder, you can also find authentic street food originated from neighboring countries, case in point – Little Rara with its authentic Thai fare.
Little Rara Thai Noodle House, Kia Peng
The restaurant is located at the carpark next to Menara HLA by Jalan Kia Peng, a stone’s throw away from Pavilion KL. The set up is as “authentic” as they get, seemingly putting up together by someone who happened to have a set of table saw, hammer, and nails. There’s no such thing as air conditioning or tinted windows, but you are somewhat shielded from rain should it starts pouring.
The place starts operating by 5:30 pm and does work up a crowd pretty soon. While the set up is old school, they do have a proper digital queuing system, color me impressed.
tomyam talay meggi
Like most proper “street food” stalls, the kitchen is pretty much open. There’s a BBQ grill where they prepare beef/chicken/corn, a stall for noodle (wet & dry), plus a drinks’ kitchen.
We started out with their famous tomyam talay meggi (RM 19 for small), it was basically tomyam maggi on steroid. Packed with prawns, mussels, squid, egg, and ultra strong tomyam flavor. Love it.
bbq beef, pad thai
BBQ Beef (RM 13, Australian beef apparently) goes well with the accompanying sauce, and it wasn’t over cooked either. Portion though was a bit small I thought.
However, the must-order from the grill turns out to be their BBQ Corn (RM 7 for 2). They were ultra sweet and almost half caramelized, I need this for movie night!
mango sticky rice & the excellent bbq corn
We also had seafood pad thai (RM 12) which I thought was quite competent, and a dessert in mango sticky rice (RM 8) which turned out to be just average.
Over all thought I really liked the place and the intense flavor of their tomyam & those corns. Will definitely order those two again when I revisit, and perhaps try some of their other dishes.
Address: Little Rara Thai Noodle House Menara HLA, 3, Jalan Kia Peng, 50450 Kuala Lumpur GPS: 3.151342, 101.713584 Tel: 012-372 2706 Hours: 5:30 pm to 12 am, Closed on Sunday
While Klang Valley is one of the best places for those of us who eats out, one has to admit that it is not usually easy to find something that’s genuinely healthy.
It’s easy to find food that’s delicious (that’s what this site mostly concentrates on), and also cafes that offers cool concepts and beautiful dining environment/experience (those “instagrammable” spots, anyone?), so when I was contacted by MEDIFOODS to check out their unique proposition, I was pretty eager to take a look.
MEDIFOODS Lifestyle Cafe, Damansara Kim
The founder of MEDIFOODS is actually a licensed pharmacist, you wouldn’t have guessed it, but it is not a surprised when you really look at the name of the restaurant, right?
What the founder aim to do is to provide delicious food that is also healthy in nature – by the way of preparation and carefully crafted ingredients. For example: non-GMO, MSG free, vegetables from own farm, etc.
FIT meal – 2 protein 1 vege, or 2 vege 1 protein
In addition to these food, they also offer consultation on food selection and choices if healthy lifestyle is what you seek. Like I mentioned above, founder is a pharmacist, and often there’re also nutritionists in house.
I was there a couple weekends ago to check out their FIT Menu – where you can choose from either 1 protein + 2 vege (RM 16.90), or 2 protein + 1 vege combo (RM 18.90). The set is also served with a base of Medifoods rice (parboiled basmati), multigrain brown rice, or quinoa + millet (extra RM 2.00)
fish, steamed egg, and chicken dishes
So, what are you choices of these protein and vege? And most importantly, are they any good?
There are four different fish dishes (farmed raised organic tilapia) – ginger steamed fish, deep fried with ginger, steamed with soya sauce and fried ginger, steamed with assam sauce. Three chicken dishes – steamed with minced ginger, green curry, and with herbs. A couple egg dishes in Chinese style omelet and steamed egg, as well as a four different tofu and mushroom dominated dishes.
I found that the tastes aren’t overwhelming and generally a little bit more subtle in nature, while retaining natural sweetness of ingredients, very.. comforting.
tofu and egg dishes, basmati rice, multigrain brown rice, or quinoa
There’s also over half a dozen different vegetable dishes to pick from as well. I particularly love my bitter gourd with egg, but there’s also bok choi, choi sam, mixed vege, brinjal, and so forth. If paired it with tofu or egg as your protein choice(s), you can easily have a rather delicious set of vegetarian meal without resorting to those “fake meat” dishes, something I find rather contradicting at times.
which one is your favorite vegetable?
As for the base, I’d suggest trying out quinoa and millet, both of which offers higher fiber, magnesium, and antioxidants. But if you are a true Asian who can’t live without rice, there’s they are also available.
The FIT Menu is available daily, if a healthier hot meal is what you look for, this is a place to check out.
salad bar and noodle soup station
On weekends, MEDIFOODS also offer their signature Healthy Breakfast Buffet in the morning. Essentially a buffet spread specifically curated to contain healthier options in the all you can eat format.
At RM 21.80 per person, here’s what you get:
A salad bar with over 20 different ingredients from green peas, cherry tomato, roast pumpkins, cons, to eggs, spinach, and salad greens.
meehun, pizza, fried rice
A noodle station, as well as fried meehun, pizza, and fried rice.
angku, chai kuih, pumpkin cakes, radish cakes, fried fuchuk spring roll
A variety of traditional kuih, pumpkin cakes, radish cakes, fried spring roll, as well as santan free nasi lemak with their home-made sweet/spicy sambal.
oat embryo milk, bread, onde-onde
Bread, onde-onde- oat embryo milk, and free flow coffee and tea. There’s also porridge and two different types of tongsui to choose from.
The buffet is really the option to go if you have a good appetite, not willing to scarify healthy eating, and want a good value all at the same time.
spoiled for choices
Other than Damansara Kim (address below), MEDIFOODS is also presence at the following locations:
Bangsar South – Ground Floor, Tower 1, Avenue 3, The Horizon
Subang Jaya – 61, Jalan SS 18/6, Ss 18, 47500 Subang Jaya, Selangor
SS2 – 11A, Jalan SS 2/30, SS 2, 47300 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
When it comes to Indonesian food, none is more famous than Ayam Penyet, essentially a flattened deep fried chicken served with tempeh (made from fermented soya bean), tofu, and those oh-so-addictive sambal.
Ayam Penyet Mak Maya, Kampung Baru
My first ayam penyet was at Waroeng Penyet just over a decade ago, and it was love at first taste. I’ve been on a look out for ayam penyet stalls in its most “pure” form ever since, for a lack of a better word.
A hunt that led me to Ayam Penyet Mak Maya at Kampung Baru, my current favorite.
Mak Maya is located at Kampung Baru, directly opposite to one of my favorite Nasi Padang restaurant. The restaurant itself is a bit of a time capsule from the 80s, with plastic chairs and laminated table.
I always order mine with extra sambal
What sets Ayam Penyet Mak Maya apart from other such stalls is their sambal. The sambal is prepared “fresh” on the spot by grinding fresh ingredients to the paste form we’re familiar with.
The result was expectedly excellent, spicy, aromatic, and pure. I love it.
ayam or ikan for you?
Other than ayam penyet (chicken), they also have ikan kembung (Indian Mackerel), and ikan keli (catfish) deep fried in the same style.
These are served with deep fried tauhu, tempeh, and a slice of raw cucumber, cabbage to go with plain rice. The sambal of course ties everything together to make a plate of super satisfying lunch.
if you love it spicy, you’d love it here
If you want a good meal of ayam penyet in the heart of KL city, this is one to check out.. before Kampung Baru is eventually being redeveloped.
Address: Ayam Penyet Mak Maya 58, Jalan Raja Muda Mus Kampung Baru, 50300 Kuala Lumpur GPS: 3.164533, 101.708807
