Last night we found ourselves at Subang Empire Mall looking for a place for dinner, partly thanks to the rain. We walked around abit on the lower ground floor and came across Ole Ole Bali. Well, the interior looked nice, and there’s quite a healthy crowd, on top of that, a 10% discount for Public Bank credit/debit card, so we stepped in.
Ole Ole Bali at Subang Empire
Now I’ve walked past Ole Ole Bali plenty of times, and for some reasons, the (wrong) preconception that “Balinese food with no babi guling can’t be any good” always prevented me to give it a try. Well, I’m glad we finally did.
As it turned out, this is the same chain that ran Bumbu Bali, a restaurant in Puchong that was featured in this blog 10 years ago. I remembered that they offered pretty good food, but haven’t been back many times since thanks to Puchong being one of the least accessible places on the planet if you aren’t a fan of getting stuck in traffic.
nasi campur, with beef, prawns, squid, fish, and more
Well, anyway, the restaurant is certainly better than the one I went to 10 years ago. Decoration, comfort, and choices in menu are all superior.
I ordered the nasi campur while Haze had sup buntut.
The nasi campur (RM37) came with grilled lemongrass prawns, squid, fish, beef (you can also have chicken), and sate lilit. Then there’s lawar kacang (beans salad), rempeyek (anchovy crackers), sambel terasi & sambel matah (from raw lemongrass & shallots). It was certainly a huge offering and amazingly everything tasted rather awesome. The seafood grilled to perfection, and they also manage to have the beef soft & succulent. I really liked it. Sambel matah is a revelation and I think we’re going to try to make some at home.
avocado juice & sup buntut
The sop buntut (RM 17) is the authentic Indonesian style oxtail soup that comes with rice cakes (similar to ketupat) and vegetables, It was very flavorful too.
I had the avocado juice to complete my meal and was thoroughly satisfied.
Ole Ole Bali also serves steak, lamb chop, pasta, sandwich and burger in addition to traditional Balinese fair, will surely check them out more in the future.
Wherever there are office workers, there’ll be mixed rice stalls, and often time it is very difficult to tell them apart in terms of quality. This is especially challenging at places like Wisma Sentral with a number of different stalls catering to wage earners working at KLCC and surrounding area.
Nasi Campur at Wisma Sentral, KLCC
But after years of being here, I think I’ve found my favorite halal food stall in the building – the Kelantanese place at the far right corner on ground floor.
On the surface, this place doesn’t look very different from the other half a dozen different stalls, but on closer inspection, you’ll notice that there are subtle differences.
the selection of ulam is what brings me here
Firstly, the selection of ulam is excellent. There’s always at least about a dozen different raw vegetable to choose from that pairs well with some the few choices of sambal. This ranges from cucumber, tomato, long bean, lady’s finger, to petai, ulam raja, and more.
Furthermore, they also have a pretty big selection of ikan bakar freshly made just prior to lunch hours. With patin, kembung, keli, and a few other choices available.
However, my personal favorite from this stall has got to be their solok lada – this unique East Coast dish is basically a stuffed green chili with a mixture of fish & coconut insert. If you think yong tau foo is good, this one will blow your mind. I love it!
some of the typical “lauk” we usually go for
So if you’re around KLCC area (or happen to work here), do check out this stall, it may not be the cheapest option among the few, but it is definitely the one I enjoy most.
Address: Nasi Campur (Right far end corner) Ground Floor Wisma Central, Jalan Ampang Kuala Lumpur
GPS:3.158728, 101.714473 Hours: Weekday Lunch
A few days before bulan puasa, we had several rounds of short lunch excursions, one of which was the famous asam pedas place at Man’s Cafe in Kampung Baru. Since Ramadan has passed, I thought it’s appropriate to write about this place as it is back in business for lunch again.
Update: Place has since moved down the road next to Akar Homestay
updated pic of the new Man’s Cafe Asam Pedas
Asam Pedas Kampung Baru, or Man’s Cafe Selera Kampung
Located at the “entrance” to Kampung Baru from Jalan Tun Razak as you turn into Jalan Raja Muda Musa, the little eatery is yet another zinc roofed structure that has seen better days as a residence. Dining tables with plastic chairs are scattered about the former porch and living room of the house, with a couple rows of delicious looking dishes presented at around the entrance.
ulam, ikan bakar, sambal, tempoyak, and more
Like most Malay mixed rice places, there’s a pretty good variety of choices here – starting from over half a dozen choices of ulam, to kari ikan, ayam goreng, several types of sambal (including tempoyak aka fermented durian), telur dadar, sambal chili, terung chili, and good mix of ikan bakar.
the all important Asam Pedas (bottom right)
While those dishes we tried were all pretty good, the highlight of lunch was their signature dish – asam pedas. It is basically curry cooked with salted vegetable that’s not unlike the Chinese spicy vegetable (a good version can be found at Peng Heong Hakka Paikut Rice in Klang), but cooked with fish instead. It was sour, spicy, and absolutely intoxicating.
If you’re up for something that can jolt your senses, Man’s Asam Pedas cafe is one of those places to check out.
Address: Man’s Asam Pedas Cafe Intersection of Jalan Raja Muda Musa & Jalan Raja Uda Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur GPS: 3.165282,101.709029
Nasi campur, or Malay mixed rice, is usually a pretty uneventful type of meal. You pick a few dishes from a couple dozen precooked “lauk” to put on top of steamed rice, and go about filling up your stomach.
Unless of course, you head to Istana Budaya.
Istana Budaya, Kuala Lumpur
Most people associates Isatana Budaya as a place where you dress up to catch a fancy play such as Puteri Gunung Ledang, but did you know that they also serve perhaps one of the fanciest nasi campur over lunch?
Well, I was just as surprised when I got there the first time with a couple of my colleagues who are just as big a fan of good food as me – Razi & Amalia.
yes, this nasi campur spread looks like a luxurious buffet
The nasi campur spread here looks as good as any hotel grade buffet, complete with a huge selection of halal dishes, including appetizer, main course, dessert, and even selection of kuih and other tea time favorites.
The modus operandi though, is the same as any nasi campur places – fill up your plate, go about filling it up with your favorite dishes, head to the counter to pay, and makan!
laksa, sago gula melaka, and more
Other than rice dishes, there are also noodle dishes such as laksa. I also recommend ending the meal with a small container of those really sinful yet delicious sago gula Melaka.
Amalia sure looked happy
Prices are not out of the ordinary, a usual meal cost less than RM 10 in an air conditioned dining hall, and being located at a big function building, parking is not a problem either. Have a try!
While most people have a set group of lunch buddies at workplace, I tend to join different groups of colleagues and friends for lunch escapades, maximising the opportunity to try something different.
Today’s adventure brought us to the R&R Bukit Awan, somewhere near OUG & Bukit Jalil on the Shah Alam Highway. Our target was Restoran A. Hassan for some Ayam Kampung.
Hassan Ayam Kampung at R&R Awan Besar, Lebuhraya Shah Alam
I was a little bit skeptical on a place at a highway stopover, but when we were greeted with the huge lunch crowd at the place, any doubt I had instantly went away.
they have more than ayam goreng kampung
While the restaurant pride itself on Ayam Goreng Kampung (deep fried village chicken), there are plenty of other dishes to choose from. Much like most nasi kandar places, there’s a wide variety of curry with fish, chicken, beef, lamb, and vegetables. One thing for sure though, there isn’t many dishes that aren’t spicy.
we had chicken, beef curry, anchovies, ulam, and plenty of sambal
For the four of us, we took 6 pieces of ayam goreng kampung, a plate of beef curry, sambal anchovies, and a healthy serving of ulam (raw vegetable to be consumed with sambal).
The chicken, being their signature dish, was not a let down at all. The meat was firm yet tender and full of flavor, adding a bit of sambal and you’ve got yourself a winner. The beef and anchovies proved to be worthy companion dishes as well.
such a lovely lunch, thank you Lukman for bringing me there
The meal totalled up to be slightly over RM 10 per person including drinks. I’ve never had a highway stopover meal nearly as good, this is a place I’ll definitely go again.
Other than Awan Besar R&R, Restoran A. Hassan also has branches at Kampung Baru, Shah Alam, USJ Taipan, and Puchong.
Address: Restoran A. Hassan Ayam Kampung R &R Awan Besar (West Bound) Lebuhraya Shah Alam 47100 Kuala Lumpur GPS: 3.065503,101.662125 Hours: Lunch and Dinner
