Mak Jah Mee Udang @ Wangsa Maju

Mee Udang is another type of delicacy that can be found famous in certain states of Malaysia. Having tasted one of the best and famous ones in Penang, we craved to have more of this dish.  For us, the key to a good bowl of mee udang is the freshness and the size of the prawn used and most importantly the taste of the soup. 

The famous Mee Udang Mak Jah from Kuala Sepetang Perak has recently opened their first branch in Wangsa Maju, Kuala Lumpur. Longing for a bowl of Mee Udang goodness, we paid the restaurant a visit!

Entrance of the shop, with a unique signage of two giant prawns. Operational hours: 11.30am to 10pm. (But if there are many customers, they would wait till the last one leaves)  

The seating inside the shop. All the wall décor are in black and white pictures of their shop in Kampung Menteri, Kuala Sepetang Perak. There are plenty of tables in place to cater to the mass crowd. It was pretty pack during the time of our visit and each table was close to one another.

The outside (covered) seatings. Customers of the shop are mostly from the Malay demographic.

Mee Udang Special Mak Jah. RM 12. With 6 medium size prawns. There is a big different in term of taste of the gravy for mee udang Mak Jah than the one tasted in Penang. (Though it had a little bit too much celery in it) This version of mee udang is a little bit spicy with a tinge of sweetness (Mrs Foodpacker, being a fan of spicy food, simply favored this one better) However, the size of the prawns are only medium here. Mr Foodpacker slurped to the last drop despite the overwhelming heat!

This is how the prawns look like after being skilfully peeled off by Mr Foodpacker ;) His face was literally dripping with sweat after he was done with this one!

Nasi Goreng Udang Special. RM 12. With 7 medium size prawns. The fried rice consists of fried anchovies and celery served with a puddle of mee udang soup (right at the back in the picture). The fried rice taste just fine. The let down of this dish was that, the prawns were tasteless, and we suspected that they had precook the prawns and then mixed it with the fried rice after. This could have been a nice dish if only they cook the prawns together with the rice, so that the sweet taste of the prawn can be embedded into the rice, which is what was missing in this one.

All the prawns we dug out from down under the land of fried rice XD

Udang Goreng Kunyit. RM 13. With 7 medium size prawns. This was the highlight of our visit. The prawns were well marinated with turmeric and salt, then fried with celery. Try taking of the shell and mixing it with the ingredients in the bowl for a tasty explosion of flavours! Rather salty if consume on its own, it is best to be eaten with plain rice to soften down the taste of the salt and turmeric.

Telur Dadar. RM 1.50. You might need this additional dish to go with your plain rice and Udang Goreng Kunyit. Simply fluffy.

Dishing it out: For a fan of mee udang around KL/Klang valley area, you should definitely give this one a try. You don't have to go all the way North to find a good plate of Mee Udang anymore! (Thought the taste differs in a way that it tastes more spicy down South, but a little sweet up North. Different states in Malaysia prefer different taste perhaps) Also we love the fact that they set a fixed price for their prawn dishes instead of using the price per gram pricing like the ones in Penang. This way one does not have to worry about how much a bowl of mee udang might cost them when the bill hits! =P

Coming back for more value: ABSOLUTELY YES for the mee udang and udang goreng kunyit.
Crowd: YES
Cleanliness: MODERATE (chairs and table are slightly dirty and not well wiped)
Service: GOOD
Category: HALAL/PORK-FREE

GPS Coordinates: N03.197008, E101.740576


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Tel: 012 2931 101

..and that's our "DISH" of the day!!!!!

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Bubur Berlauk Kampung Baru / KB Tomyam & Seafood @ Kampung Baru

Nobody wants to get in the mess of Kg Baru. The roads are small, there are many one way streets, simply too many cars and the parking is OMG unbelievably hard to find! But one can do so much to avoid all the tasty treats this infamous location has to offer. From all the tomyam restaurants available in Kg Baru, this particular one is known for their Bubur Berlauk aka Porridge with condiments. (if you tried to search for one, you'll know how hard it is to find for a shop which sells this item)

Note: Price is mention as an overall from the visit

The easiest place you could find a parking is a RM5 pay park located nearby at the same side of the road as this shop. Find for the "Parking RM5" sign. Operational hours: 12pm - 1am

The easiest way to identify the shop is to find a blue signboard above and array of "lauk" that is facing the street. The staffs were very humble and friendly when we asked if we could take pictures of the shop. Can I say Southern hospitality? ;)

Click picture to enlarge. Choose choose choose! Anything is up for grabs! Some required to be cooked and fried in the kitchen while others are just cut and served the way they are. Cooking only takes a little while around 5 minutes or so.

Bubur. Unlike bubur from other shops (Suraya Seafood etc) this one has texture and not too watery. It is a little thick and tastes good. Safe to say you won't feel like eating rice with water.

Kailan ikan masin with oyster mushroom. My favourite lauk to go with bubur! Think it looks good? Wait till  you taste it. The mushroom definitely gives a good touch to the dish.

A mixture of 2 types of sotong kering, daging salai and ikan masin. The sotong kering was not that good and we were unable to finish it. The rest tasted great.

Mixture of ikan bilis cili api, lobak manis, daging manis and paru berlada. Love the daging manis the most! IMHO the best lauk to go with the bubur! Sweet tender awesomness. The lobak was nice too.

All the condiments in one bowl. Time to feast!

Dishing it out: So far the best restaurant to find bubur berlauk. Everything blends well as a dish and it was simply tasty. The total damage for all the items above (2 bubur) plus 1 juice and 1 ice lemon tea = RM19.50 I think it a small sum to pay for what you are going to eat. This is Malay cooking to the roots, "kampung" style =)

Coming back for more value: YES
Crowd: NO
Cleanliness: MODERATE
Service: VERY GOOD
Category: HALAL/PORK-FREE

GPS Coordinates: N3.16220,E101.70392


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..and that's our "DISH" of the day!!!!!

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Mali's Corner@ Danau Kota

Credit to Kucai Kuaci for the introduction.

After hearing so much about this place through the tv and friends, (also because we are Char Kuey Teow and Nasi Lemak lovers) we decided to give this one a try. Mali's Corner at Danau Kota, Setapak. Located in one of the happening area of Kuala Lumpur, this shop never seems to stop welcoming their customers even till late in the morning. Mali's corner also benefit from its strategic locations of being just across the street of the mid-night bazaar in this area (Uptown Danau Kota).

Always full. Operational hours: 6pm- till late

Ridiculous and inconvenient self service system. You order food at 1 counter and drinks at the other. They have a total of 3 counters. Talk about a messed up system, or maybe they are just too lazy to care about the long queue. Some people are even blocking the queue as they have to wait for their order. This also creates confusion as to which is the waiting line and which is the ordering line. *stress*

Char kuey teow special (extra prawns). RM7. Large RM5.50. Small RM4.50. Having tasted the tasty and authentic Penang CKT from Ismal Char Kuey Teow , we set our expectation a little lower for Mali's Corner. However, the taste did not fail us at all! Infact it exceeds our expectations of finding the same quality as Ismal's CKT. This CKT is perhaps the best we have tried and to some extent it is better than Ismal's due to it slightly subtle taste of cockles. The gravy is very addictive, a balanced taste of sweet and spicy.

A more focused view with flash. 8 prawns spotted in CKT special. Large only has 3 prawns. The only let down was they were not generous on the quantity of the kuey teow. You would expect more for the price you pay.

Nasi lemak ayam. RM 5.50. Nasi lemak telur RM3. Biasa RM2. We have so far tasted two of the best nasi lemak from Nasi Lemak Ampangan and Darussalam SS15. Expecting this to be the same, however was frankly a let down. The chicken is overcooked, the sambal tasted like chilli sauce mixture, very sweet i might add and the rice portion is so small (I do not think this shop is known for their generousity)

Dishing it out: If you are going to make it worth your trouble, paying for the parking (if you park in its taipan-like compound) and the utterly inconvenient and confusing queuing system.. be sure to order a lot of their CKT. It is a must try and simply one of the tastiest in KL. Do not waste your time on the nasi lemak. As we were also upset to have to queue again to order the drinks, we ended 'outsourcing' our drinks from Ani Sup Utara (another shop nearby).

Coming back for more value: YES definitely for the CKT
Crowd: YES
Cleanliness: CLEAN
Service: QUITE BAD
Category: HALAL/PORK-FREE 

GPS Coordinates: N3.20714,E101.71897


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 ..and that's our "DISH" of the day!!!!!

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Yati Ayam Percik @ Prima Saujana Kajang

It is rare to find good quality Nasi kerabu in Klang Valley area (as the good ones can only be found in the morning, sold by Kelantanese makcik/pakcik by the sidewalks). Yati ayam percik is a franchised nasi kerabu seller which originates from Kota Bharu, Kelantan. There are now a few branches scattered around Selangor and KL area (Note: the one in MYDIN USJ has now closed down, they are still selling nasi kerabu, but under the shop name of Kelantan Village) For nasi kerabu lovers such as ourselves, this happen to be a VERY good news.

The front view of their Kajang branch. Operational hours: 11am- 11pm from Sat- Thu. 10am- 11pm (Friday prayer break 1pm-2.30pm) on Fri.

The necessary ingredients of a well formed Nasi kerabu. We prefer extra sambal merah and budu as it makes the rice more flavorful. Otherwise it would be dry.



Daging percik. RM 3.50.(left) Ayam percik. RM3.70.(bottom) Keli percik.(right) Choose the main you want and they will pour the percik gravy afterwards. Nice~




Choices of dish available to suite your plate of nasi kerabu. More than you could ever wish for!



Nasi kerabu with ayam percik and solok lada. (Solok lada is chilli stuffed with fish meat and coconut)



This dish compliments the taste of nasi kerabu well, and this is one of the best ayam percik we have ever tasted. Perfect mixture of everything in their light gravy and is one of its selling point. Very tasty and creamy indeed. Despite being franchised, you can still taste  the charcoal like scent. It taste as authentic as the ones grilled right infront of your eyes. A-W-E-S-O-M-E



Nasi kerabu with solok lada, kepak ayam berempah and jeruk bawang putih.

Dishing it out: Yati Ayam Percik definitely lives up to our expectations of a good quality and tasty Nasi kerabu. Their ayam percik is a must try when you visit their restaurant and safe to say the best dish to go with your nasi kerabu. The only thing they could do to improve is perhaps to use the natural coloring from Bunga Telang (Clitoria which colors the rice blue) as it gives a more natural look to the rice while keeping the authenticity of the original Kelantanese recipe. Total bill amounted to RM23 for the two plates of Nasi kerabu above + apple juice and sirap bandung for drinks.


Coming back for more value: YES for the whole thing, especially the tasty gravy!
Crowd: YES
Cleanliness: CLEAN
Service: MODERATE
Category: HALAL/PORK-FREE 

GPS Coordinates: N3.00845,E101.80386


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..and that's our "DISH" of the day!!!!!

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Popia Kuala Kangsar @ Stadium Paroi

This is one of the most famous shop for selling popia in Seremban. It normally operates in low compound area of Stadium Paroi. But during the fasting month, they will participate in the bazaar situated at the parking lot of the stadium instead. To get your hands on theses popias during the bazaar is probably not a good idea as the queue is remarkably long. But one can't help as these popias look extra delicious especially when you are fasting.

The popia basah is generally more favoured by the local crowd. RM1 for each type of popia.

This is their popia basah. The plus point I could see from this shop is the amount of sauce they give. Highly generous. They don't give it in small packs like others do. The sauce taste nice and not too spicy too. Definitely the shop's comperative advantage.

The popia has some bitter salty taste in it which I don't quite like. After identifying the source, it could come from udang geragau.

Dishing it out: How good can a popia get? A popia will still be a popia no matter how you twist it. It will never taste like steak. This is as good as it gets if you can put aside the taste of the udang geragau and indulge yourself in the taste of its sweet and spicy sauce.

Coming back for more value: YES
Crowd: YES during fasting month
Cleanliness: CLEAN
Service: GOOD
Category: HALAL/PORK-FREE

GPS Coordinates: N2.726348,E101.983659


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..and that's our "DISH" of the day!!!!!

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Ikan Bakar Parameswara @ Pangkalan Pernu, Umbai

Looking for the freshest fish right out of sea? Look no further. Ikan Bakar Parameswara is the solution to your problem. Being the most famous shop in the Perkampungan Ikan Bakar Umbai, it has yet to fail in serving us the best ikan bakar we've ever tasted. Aside from the many fresh and big fish to choose from, they also serve prawns, squids, crabs and other sea creatures that I have yet to learn their names.

Situated deep inside Melaka, this is one not to be missed by seafood fans. Operational hours: Around 5pm onwards. Closed on Mondays.

Stacks of big fish from Siakap, Kerapu to Jenahak. If the place is packed, get a table first, then proceed to the fish counter to order and pay only after eating.

Ikan Jenahak as big as this most cost a ton in KL. You can get one big fish and as them to cut it into half to cook two different meals. But sometimes during peak hours, they do not allow half and half fish order as it will take a longer time to prepare. In that case one fish is limited to one style of cooking. How "selfish". 

The prices for each menu approximately. But don't entirely rely on them, instead as them to weigh your fish and ask how much it would cost (they have a calculator, no worries).

Condiments to go with your ikan bakar. A must have if you order plain ikan bakar.

Nasi lemak. RM0.80. Another thing this place is famous for. Small in size but packs a punch! You'll get a whole body effect after you eat this one.

Note: For the Ikan jenahak we ordered one big fish (1.4 kg) which costs us RM63. Then we told them to cook half of the fish grilled (bakar) and the other half deep fried (3 rasa)

Ikan bakar jenahak with sambal. The texture on this one is amazingly softer than the deep fried 3 rasa, but taste wise it's lacking.

Ikan jenahak masa 3 rasa. Deep fried (not bakar).The fish is really soft that it literally puffs everytime you pull out its meat. White, tender and most importantly COOKED meat.

Thick white meat and crispy skin. Very flavourful to its deepest core. *Puff* *Puff *



Lala masak halia. RM12. Just and ok dish. Compared to the fish, this has little to offer.

 



Butter prawn. RM22.50 for 300 grams. Prawns are medium in size. When it first came, we were confused if it was cereal prawn or butter prawn. After tasting, it surely is butter prawn but the cooking is not to perfection. We've tasted much better butter prawn before from chinese restaurants, guess for Malay cooking this is alright. =)

 

Ikan pari bakar. Not recommended. Burnt and overcooked. Doesn't taste good and not much meat to offer.

Kangkung masak belacan. One of the best vegetarian dish of the house. Must order. Crunchy, fresh and compliments the fish really well.

Dishing it out: The only major problem we've discovered so far is that, in our many visits to Umbai, we've ordered the ikan masak 3 rasa for at least 3 times. And everytime we did, the dish came to us with a different presentation and taste. Sometimes it tasted like chilli sauce, sometimes more to black pepper.. making the taste inconsistent. Rest assured that the softness and juiciness of the fish is always guaranteed but if you are looking for the same flavour of fish from you last visit, it is most unlikely. Price wise it is slightly overpriced but worth every single penny. RM30 per person would suffice but if you were to be really full and satisfied, RM50 per person would be the optimal amount.

Coming back for more value: YES
Crowd: YES but there are many seatings. If you come early, you'd even get a chance to dine on a boat.
Cleanliness: CLEAN
Service: MODERATE hard to get their attention but friendly staff
Category: HALAL/PORK-FREE

GPS Coordinates: N2.15608,E102.33625


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If you'd like to know the COMPLETE ADDRESS of the restaurant, please click on the "Location" tab below. (After Facebook comments and right before Blogger comments, its in between!)

Tel: 012 3152 301 / 06 2617 943

..and that's our "DISH" of the day!!!!!

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Nasi Lemak Antarabangsa @ Dataran Pahlawan

Once crowned as Malaysia's best nasi lemak, Nasi Lemak Antarabangsa has grown into an estabilished brand opening new franchises throughout the country. We have already tried the nasi lemak from Nasi Lemak Antarabangsa's original branch in Kampung Baru and many said that the quality of their nasi lemak has gone down over the years. Here we are to test the quality of the nasi lemak from one of their franchise in Melaka instead to determine if it is on par with the main branch.

Located on the roof section of Dataran Pahlawan, this is one hard to find shop.

Nasi lemak with bergedil and ayam goreng.

Nasi lemak with bergedil, ayam goreng and sambal sotong.

Dishing it out: As compared to its main counterpart, this franchise does not maintain the same standard. The dish was dry, chicken was not fresh and hard to chew. Doesn't really resemble what Nasi Lemak Antarabangsa is truly about. The one at Kampung Baru is 10x better. "Stick to the roots" if you want the real nasi lemak experience.

Coming back for more value: NO
Crowd: NO
Cleanliness: CLEAN
Service: MODERATE
Category: HALAL/PORK-FREE

GPS Coordinates: N2.190209,E102.2507


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..and that's our "DISH" of the day!!!!!

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Ismal Char Koay Teow @ Lorong Alka Ria

After a long travel to Penang (Malaysia's food paradise) the journey would not be complete if one do not have a taste of their most famous local delicacy, Char koay  teow. Ismal Char Koay Teow is a dime in a dozen under the Halal category as it is quite tough to find for a tasty CKT that does not contain pork or lard.
 



Located in the main land of Penang in the humble town of Bukit Mertajam, this shop does have something worthy to offer distant travellers. Operational hours: 7pm onwards (make it 8pm.. 7pm is when they actually start to open the shop and set all the tables)

  



That's Ismal right there, with the choices of items available at his shop. CKT: Small RM3. Big RM4. Special RM5 (with egg, extra prawns and cockles).

 


CKT special. RM5. The Malay version of CKT is of the wet type (basah). What makes their kuey teow a hit is its tasty sauce. "Finger licking good" as they put it, and may I add "till the last drop" ;) Just don't expect big prawns on your plate like those you can find on the island. Despite that, the sauce and the softness of the noodle is enough to make it an irresistible dish!





The jar of cili padi for those with a spicy taste bud :)

 
Dishing it out: Until now, we still consider it to be the best CKT we've ever tasted for Malay style of cooking. Very soupyyy and soft!

Coming back for more value: NO at first, but YES after a while. can't stop thinking about the soup..
Crowd: YES
Cleanliness: CLEAN but wear long pants, a lot of mosquitoes are also as hungry as you
Service: GOOD
Category: HALAL/PORK-FREE


GPS Coordinates: N5.36485,E100.45956


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If you'd like to know the COMPLETE ADDRESS of the restaurant, please click on the "Location" tab below. (After Facebook comments and right before Blogger comments, its in between!)

..and that's our "DISH" of the day!!!!!

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