My ex-housemate, Kerol, came over last weekend to pick myself and Horng up for lunch again last Saturday. As usual, we were not able to come up with any suggestion that could satisfy the girl. At the end, she decided to drive us to one of her favorite lunch places at PJ when she used to work.
The little hidden food court at PJ state located right opposite the big police station (if you have an accident anywhere in PJ, you usually end up there).
old school food court ala Medan Selera style
The place is a municipal built public food court that reminds me of those at PJ old town (with chicken rice), Seksyen 14 (with popiah), and the nasi lemak Tanglin. With plastic tables and chairs affixed on the floor that was as trendy as it was unpractical, especially if you have a larger group of people visiting at the same time.
We located stall number 4 that says Mee Bandung Muar (no I didn’t manage to try their mee bandung, perhaps next time) without much trouble and ordered lunch.
asam ikan pari and telur dadar
They serve three different types of asam fish: kembung (hard tail), pari (stingray), and tengiri (mackerel). But for some reasons, everyone asked for the stingray that day, most probably due to the fact that we’re a bit lazy to have to deal with any bones. We also ordered telur dadar (Malay style omelet) and rice.
the food court is located right opposite PJ State police station
The asam fish itself was pretty nice but I thought it could be slightly more spicy and more sour. I think this suits the KL taste a bit more as compared to the northern version that tends to be a bit stronger tasting. Adding their kicap (slightly sweet version of soya sauce) made it taste quite a bit better though.
Overall, it was still a pretty satisfying lunch for only RM 6 each per person, including rice and egg. Maybe it’s time to try a bit more from the same food court.
Address:
Store 4, Mee Bandung Muar
Medan Selera, PJ State
Jalan Lampan 8/3,
Petaling Jaya, Selangor
GPS: 3.099046, 101.640412
The news on the tragic end of the Croc Hunter Steve Irwin came pretty shocking to many of us. To pay tribute to the fun and whacky celebrity conservationist, I’ve decided to head to Chow Yang for a meal of Stingray ikan bakar. I think I’m not the only one who did this.
are you hungry for some ikan bakar?
I went over to the stall and picked up a slab of stingray and top it with some okra (ladies finger). Other types of vege you can choose to accompany your fish are long bean, petai, onion, and kacang botol (winged bean). You can also choose to have all of those veges as the side as well.
Although it’s called ikan bakar, the fish is not exactly grilled over fire. Instead, the guy pan fry the fish with a piece of banana leaf in between while applying the sambal paste on top. About half way through, a wok cover is used to blanket the fish while some water is squirted on just next to the fish, creating a steam. I believe this is how the fish is kept from being too dry while getting it cooked thoroughly. This cooking method is different from the Malay style ikan bakar I had near KLCC.
so tender you can just chew down the cartilage with the meat
The result was a fully cooked and very tender stingray meat with plenty of flavor from the sambal paste. The okra on top has a different texture and taste to serve as a very great compliment to the fish. Some sourish and spicey sauce with onion accompany the dish as well. The stuff is so delicious even the mat salleh loves it.
Chow Yang at SS2, just behind KAYU
The dish costs me RM 13, pretty fair price. While Chow Yang opens 24 hours daily, this stall operates at night only.
Address:
Jalan SS 2/6
Petaling Jaya, Selangor
GPS: 3.116862, 101.617377
