What’s the similarities between currency exchange and nasi briyani? Well, for one, visiting one of these outlets is always a good idea before heading overseas for any amount of time, and of course, they’re also associated with the Indian Muslim communities in the country.
Nasi Briyani Taste & See, Klang
Briyani rice is often cooked in a big pot and served on a plate, but at Taman Andalas, you’ll find the appropriately named Bamboo Briyani Taste & See doing things a little bit unconventionally, and yep, you guessed it right, the nasi briyani here is cooked in bamboo container.
While lemang is cooked by placing the rice in bamboo over fire, this briyani is prepared by having the rice in bamboo, covered with a piece of banana leave, and then steamed. It is also during this time that the taste of meat and fragrance of briyani rice come together.
bamboo briyani with lamb
The ingredients available includes lamb, chicken, fish, vegetarian, and so forth.
Well, my go-to when it comes to briyani is always lamb, and I’m happy to report that over here they certainly did it right. The lamb was tender, flavorful, and definitely went well with the briyani rice and the curry added to the mix.
bamboo briyani getting ready to be steamed
You do also get a bit of salad and some lady’s fingers on the side, which was welcoming, though I was hoping they come with the full compliment of a banana leaf sort of condiments instead.
A portion of lamb briyani is priced at RM 12, while other varieties go for a bit cheaper. Personally, I think it is definitely worth a try for any briyani or even banana leaf rice fan.
simple yet satisfying meal
P/S: even the drinks are served in bamboo tubes!
Address: Nasi Briyani Taste & See 16, Jalan Sri Damak 18, Taman Sri Andalas, 41200 Klang, Selangor GPS: 3.022304, 101.451550 Hours: Noon to 7pm, closed on Monday
At work, I am lucky enough to be working with a pretty tight knit group who also happens to enjoy good food. Every now and then, we have little lunch trips to various places that offers something out of the ordinary office lunches, which we really enjoy.
Several weeks ago, when it was our “Datuk K’s” turn to belanja, he introduced Nasi Beriani Asif to us, which has since fast becoming one of our favorite venues.
Nasi Briyani Asif is located behind Fahrenheit 88 in Bukit Bintang
Nasi Beriani Asif is located at the ground floor the less than glamorous 5-storey residential flat behind Fahrenheit 88 shopping mall in Bukit Bintang, facing the DBKL medan selera. Parking can be a bit challenging at the area, but not a huge issue if you are capable of side-parking your car in tight areas.
The restaurant is rather well set up and nicely decorated for where it is, it is also air conditioned and rather clean.
the lamb shank masala is a must-eat
Asif serves traditional Pakistani cuisine, and while nasi briyani is their main offering, the menu is actually quite extensive.
Lamb shank masala (RM 22) is a definite must order when you’re here. You get a whole big shank perfectly prepared and so tender the meat falls off when you scrap it with a spoon. It goes absolutely awesome with their long grained nasi briyani or naan.
Chicken masala (RM 10) here is pretty good as well, and as with their naan (RM 3-10) that tastes almost like a superior version of middle eastern style pizza of sort. Traditional North indian dishes is found here too, we tried their palak paneer (RM 15) and really liked it, cottage cheese in mashed spinach, I can have that all day!
Then there’s their grilled lamb chops (RM 20), slightly charred on the outside yet juicy within, perfectly executed.
a bunch of happy customers who’d be having food coma back at office after
While Nasi Beriani Asif may be priced a little bit on the higher side for the location, food quality is top notch and service is more than decent. We liked it, and have gone back there again several times since. If you’re into these sort of food, you’ll enjoy this place.
Address: Nasi Beriani Asif Jalan Padang Walter Grenier, Off Jalan Imbi, 55100, Kuala Lumpur GPS: 3.145463, 101.713254 Tel: 012-249 8764 URL: berianiasif.com
On normal days, the walkway in front of Lembaga Tabung Haji building on Jalan Tun Razak might see a few office workers walking about, but on every Friday afternoon, the place transforms into a unique food bazaar thanks to the crowd drawn by the Friday prayers conducted within the mosque of Tabung Haji building.
the stalls operate on Friday afternoon only
There are stalls selling burger, kebab, and of course, nasi kandar & nasi briyani. My first experience with the food here started after one of my swimming sessions at G-Tower’s Element Gym on the long Friday lunch break.
This stall is one that is stationed closest to the right side if you’re facing the building, and one that is usually the busiest as well.
great selection of dishes, including beef, chicken, lamb, veges, fish, etc
There are usually at least some two dozen dishes to choose from, with most of them spicy (just the way I like it!). There’s lamb, beef curry, rendang, brinjal, honey chicken, fried chicken, curry chicken, fried kembung fish, fried egg, hard boiled egg, various types of sambal, bitter gourd, and even bergedil.
The food is very delicious, and best of all, prices are rather reasonable as well.
egg, chicken drumstick, bitter gourd, and eggplant with nasi briyani
For example, this packet of nasi briyani with a hard boiled egg, fried chicken drum stick, bitter gourd, and a huge chunk of egg plant with sambal costs RM 9, with a papadem thrown in as well. I particularly love the egg plant, very juicy, spicy, and full of flavor.
long bean, fish eggs, beef tripe, with nasi briyani
I also suspect that if you get there really late, like say around 3pm, sometimes the owner will throw in really great deal as well. This example above includes some beef tripe, fried fish egg, and long beans with nasi briyani, and I was charged less than RM 5.
If your’e up for some delicious no frill nasi briyani on a Friday afternoon, this is definitely a place to check out. They offer “dine in” options as well, though there won’t be any chairs or tables by the stall. You’ll merely just be served with a plate instead of the container.
Address: In front of Lembaga Tabung Haji Jalan Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur GPS: 3.158465, 101.720338 Hours: every Friday afternoon
For nasi briyani lovers who don’t feel like paying an arm and a leg to get a plate of these yummy rice from mamak chains, here’s definitely a place you should check out.
Located right within the heart of financial district at Lorong Bandar 13 just off Lebuh Pasar Besar is Warong Nasi Briyani Tajudin where you can still get a plate of nasi briyani for as low as RM 5. (that’s about the 2 teh ais at those “high class” mamak these days right?)
Nasi Briyani at Lorong Bandar 13
Since parking is a bitch at the area, we decided that take away was the best option. Luckily, even though the stall was plenty busy, they are well prepared for big number of tapao orders and we got our 5 packets of nasi briyani in less than 10 minutes.
There are some cozy tables at the lorong where this stall operates, so it is an option to dine in, though not a particularly great idea to do so during peak lunch hours.
chicken briyani and lamb briyani, yum yum
Chicken briyani is RM 5, lamb at RM 6. I had mine with lamb, and while the size of that one piece of lamb wasn’t exactly big (barely sufficient), it was rather tasty, and certainly worth the price we paid.
The rice was fragrant, and I love the extra couple packets of curry that comes with it, one being the normal curry and the other tasted almost like satey sauce, kinda interesting but it worked. There’s also a tiny portion of cucumber and onion, I guess you can call those vege?
Other than lamb & chicken, they also serve briyani burung puyuh (RM 7), briyani fish/sotong (RM 6), and plain rice with those ingredients.
Happy eating!
Address: Nasi Briyani Lorong Bandar 13 Off Lebuh Pasar Besar Kuala Lumpur GPS: 3.146794, 101.696255 Tel: 012-265 3653 / 016-602 3737 Hours: 10am – 4pm
Quietly tucked in a row of shop houses at SS18 is the JM Bariani House that serves traditional Johor nasi briyani. My colleague and I went there on a particularly warm afternoon for lunch as this place is actually air conditioned. It was a wise decision, not only did we not have to sweat in a kopitiam, the food was so good it reminded me of the awesome Indian nasi briyani I had at Myanmar.
illustrated menu and a comfortable interior
JM Bariani House serves all but one item (mee bandung) that isn’t nasi briyani as main dish. There’s lamb, beef, chicken, fried chicken, and even just pure nasi briyani without any meat. They also serve nasi briyani gam ayam (chicken) every Wednesday and nasi briyani gam kambing (lamb) every Saturday.
I ordered a lamb briyani and my colleague had the chicken briyani, we also ordered a tauhu bakar (fried bean curd skin stuffed with mengkuang, cucumber, and sauce) to share.
chicken and lamb briyani, tauhu bakar
The rice used is the finer and smaller grain than usual, very soft and fragrant. The meat was so tender you can cut it with your spoon, they must be cooked for many hours. The taste was just right, not overly spicy, salty, nor sweet, but just a perfect harmony that was very satisfying. My colleague was very satisfied with the chicken briyani as well.
As for the tauhu bakar, I could say that I’ve had better. You would probably want to skip this item when you’re there.
The lamb briyani was RM 10.50 and chicken at RM 9.50. Not exactly economical but wouldn’t break your bank either. Some might justify it with air conditioning provided, but I’d say the awesome nasi briyani more than make up for the slightly higher price.
Address: 21 & 21A Jalan SS18/6,
Subang Jaya, Selangor GPS:3.064812, 101.585866 Tel:03-5634 4660
