When it comes to food that represent Malaysia around different embassies all over the world, satay is probably right on top of the list. Not only it is delicious, these meat on stick is also portable, easy to store, simple to cook, and super convenient to eat.
Satay Sri Melaka, Lembah Keramat
For most of us, satay usually means chunks of chicken or beef served on skewer that’s not unlike Japanese yakitori, but if you spend some time looking around, there are other varieties available that may surprise some of us – and for those who likes it a little different, take a look at Satay Melaka.
Satay Sri Melaka is located at Lembah Keramat, some 20 mins away from KLCC, closer to Zoo Negara area (makes for a great after-zoo early dinner spot if you ask me). This is a “lesser developed” area of KL, parking is a breeze, and prices aren’t overwhelming.
plenty of peanut sauce with sambal to go around
The selection of satay here should satisfy even the most picky of eaters, there’s beef, chicken, mutton, as well as various different innards – chicken heart, liver, gizzards, and even beef tripe.
I thought the chicken was perhaps a bit dry (would be great to have some chicken skin), but those innards were really lovely, with beef tripe being my favorite. For chicken satay my favorite would be Satay Ampang.
The peanut sauce and sambal was quite top notch and adds to the overall flavor in ways that every satay place should. Spicy, flavorful, and with just enough spice.
meat, chicken, liver, stomach, they’ve got it all
If satay is what you long for, this is a worthy place to check out for sure.
Address: Satay Sri Melaka 74, 64, Jalan AU 4/6, 54200 Kuala Lumpur, Selangor GPS: 3.201103, 101.756342 Tel:011-1157 7115 Hours: 4pm to midnight
A little over a week ago I had the chance to eat at Nikko hotel for the second time. The first one was a Guinness St. Patrick’s day event about 2 months ago with the awesome lamb shank, this time it was hi-tea at their Cafe Serena Brasserie, arranged by foodstreet. I was again greeted by the friendly host Azira for this occasion.
Update 18/8/2013: Nikko Hotel is now Intercontinental Hotel
choices of pastries
To be honest, this was the first time I had hi-tea anywhere. I initially thought that hi-tea would actually involve some sort of really high class tea, but apparently it is just a buffet style late afternoon meal that can be quite substantial. Oh well, learn something new everyday – never to simply assume.
may I have a bowl of that please?
The hi-tea at Cafe Serena Brasserie serves quite a lot of dishes, from a huge selection of pastries, raw oysters, mussels, clams, wantan soup, mee goreng, cheese cakes, ice kacang, to mini potato, mee hun soup, satey, and even chocolate fondue. Definitely more than enough for anyone’s stomach. I was spoiled for choices.
raw oysters, mini wantan soup, baked mussels and more
I started off my meal with a serving from the raw bar, a few fresh raw oysters, mussels, prawns, and clams. As with any buffet, you should always start with things that aren’t very strong tasting and work your way from there. If you started off with satey and plenty of peanut sauce with extra chili, the taste buds will be desensitized to dishes with subtler tastes.
Between chatting with Azira and taking some photos, I had a mini wantan soup, salad, some pastries, pancake, and moved on to satey, fried chicken, and the very very good meehun soup (my favorite). Then of course it was chocolate fondue and some fruits for dessert. But I did sneaked in another serving of oysters as I simply cannot resist.
a bit of noodle, chocolate, raw stuff, fruits, healthy meal ya.
In all, it was a very satisfying and hearty meal. While the food was very good, the hospitality from Azira was even better. We throughly enjoyed the session. Thanks!
Sammy enjoying her meehun soup, and the friendly Azira
Other than Hi-tea on weekends and public holidays, Cafe Serena Brasserie also serves buffet breakfast daily, as well as lunch and dinner on Mondays to Fridays. Buffet dinner has an even wider selection of food, including sashimi from their Japanese kitchen as well.
Address: 165, Jalan Ampang,
50450 Kuala Lumpur GPS:3.159767, 101.718045 Tel:603-2782 6228
I found myself at Plaza Damas last weekend. After several hours of attending to certain business, it was suddenly dinner time. We decided that perhaps it would be a good idea to explore something at this comfortably small but elegant mall instead of heading elsewhere to quiet down the little growling sound from my stomach that is starting to get annoying.
“Fish Satay” in lemon grass
We past several restaurants before deciding upon Penang Village. Being from Penang island, I am always skeptical towards restaurants that claim to serve Penang food. However, I was feeling a little adventurous that day, and whatever food I could see from those customers that are already eating certainly looks inviting.
nice ambiance and surprisingly good food
The menu is simple and illustrated with enough photos of the dishes to guide those who can’t read English or Malay. We ended up ordering 5 items for the two of us, nasi lemak with beef, nasi tomato with lamb, kailan (vegetable) with salted fish, fish satay, and otak-otak.
beef nasi lemak and lamb nasi tomato
Even though it was a weekend evening, the food didn’t take more than 10 minutes to come. The nasi tomato and nasi lemak came with pretty good meat curry (rendang and kurma), the rice tasted very authentic and even the presentation was rather high class. A small glass of acar accompanied the rice.
The otak-otak served is of the Penang variety, for the uninitiated, it is a type of steamed fish paste with mixture of traditional spices. The otak-otak was not oily and nor over powering, just nice and a good companion to the rice dishes.
I especially like the interesting “fish satay” served on a lemon grass stick. It reminded me of the same thing I had at Bumbubali (a Balinese restaurant at Puchong), very succulent and delicious. The taste of fish cake and the core infused with lemon grass aroma was simply brilliant. This would be my must-order at Penang Village.
Penang otak-otak, kailan with salted fish, fish satay
The rice dishes were around RM 12+ each with the other dishes slightly cheaper. The dinner costs RM 60+ for the two of us, 5 dishes and 1 drink. A pretty decent price for the quality of food and location. I am not too sure about their other classic dishes like Char Kueh Teow, but if they can have similar quality it wouldn’t be disappointing.
Plaza Damas is located at Sri Hartamas
Other than Plaza Damas, Penang Village has branches at USJ 9, TTDI, Alamanda Putrajaya Mall, and a couple other locations at Indonesia too.
Address: Hartamas Shopping Centre (Plaza Damas)
Lot G8B&9, Sri Hartamas, KL GPS:3.163548, 101.656076 Tel:03-6201 9816
After getting to know about this from the ever popular Ho Chak series on 8TV, Kelvin suggested that we give Gopala Indian vegetarian restaurant at Brickfield a try. I didn’t have to drive there, so why not? Although I’m not a huge fan of vegetarian food, I’m always willing to try just about anything. 🙂
the restaurant is fairly clean and comfortable, other than the tiny ceiling fans
Located at Brickfield, KL, the restaurant is actually just a stone’s throw away from the Sentral Monorail station and the YMCA building. Gopala is a lot cleaner than most banana leaf or mamak places, which is always a good thing.
excellent satay and the unique Indian style yong tau fu
After looking through the rather extensive menu, we ordered a set of satay, a clay pot yong tau fu, sambal petai, mee goreng, nasi goreng, and a plate of mixed vegetable pakora . The list of items would be very ordinary in any food court, but do keep in mind that we were in an Indian vegetarian restaurant instead.
Of the six dishes that we ordered, 4 of them were rather ordinary, and with the mixed vegetable pakora somewhat disappointing as they actually deep fried the mixed (chopped) vegetable and dahl instead of having many different types of pakora instead. A different interpretation I suppose.
The two other items, however, were surprisingly good. The yong tau foo is not any less tasty than the real thing, and the soup carries a very unique peppery taste (in a good way) that is very different from the non-halal version.
The vegetarian satay too is surprisingly delicious. The peanut sauce has a stronger curry taste to it, and the best part is that you don’t have to deal with the tendons or fats that comes with eating meat. The texture is much more consistent and the taste is similar to very tender meat. It was a revelation. This is definitely the place to go if you were to introduce any of your vegetarian friends to this famous local dish.
The dinner came to be about RM 30+, not exactly cheap, but vegetarian food are never cheaper than the non-vegetarian counterparts anyway. The 5 sticks of satay did costs RM 5, but I think this is still a decent place to go for vegetarians to get a different taste.
Address: 59 Jalan Thambipillay
50470 Kuala Lumpur GPS:3.131999, 101.687683 Tel:012-351 3713
Everyone who knows anything about Satay (or sate) knows that Kajang serves them best, just like Klang has the best bak kut teh. However, Kajang is not exactly located at the heart of Klang Valley, and fuel prices being at this level, it make sense to find closer alternatives. Luckily, some of the famous Kajang satay houses have expanded their operations to friendlier locations, and one of the most prominent and successful satay restaurants, Haji Samuri, can be found at Damansara Uptown, among other places (see the wiki link for more locations).
satay in peanut sauce with sambal
Unlike the traditional satay places that are often associated with shacks and less than hygienic dining condition with plenty of flies and weather unfriendly location, Sate Haji Samuri is a mid standard restaurant with clean and comfortable interior. A place worthy of bringing your in-laws, perhaps.
For dinner, instead of the more common chicken, beef, and mutton satays, I also ordered a couple sticks of the rarer rabbit and deer meat variety. There are also tripe, liver, and fish satay, but my stomach is only so big. We also ordered a couple ketupats to go along with the meat.
9 different sateys to choose from
It did take a while before the food came, mostly because the meat is BBQed on demand, especially for the less popular rabbit and deer varieties. However, it was definitely worth the short wait, the satays came steaming hot and tasted very good. I like the fact that they give you unlimited very thick peanut sauce and have the sambal (chili paste) separate so you can cater for your own level of spiciness. The ketupat complimented the satay’s meaty and spicy peanut sauce with a more blunt taste very well, and there’s the standard fresh shallots and cucumber to complete the dish. It was very delicious.
After sampling 5 different types of meat, my favorite is still chicken and beef. The rabbit meat tends to be a little dry due to the lack of fats (see rabbit starvation for more info). Mutton and deer meat were just average, in my opinion.
ketupat is usually the side dish that goes well with satey
The price per stick ranges from RM 0.60 (chicken, beef) to RM 1.60 (rabbit), and RM 0.80 for one ketupat. Pretty reasonably priced, considering the generous portion of meat on each stick.
