malay

The new KFC Masak Merah Rice Wrap!

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KFC Masak Merah

I really love Mission style burritos – a large flour tortilla wrap with rice and a protein inside. I usually can’t finish it in one sitting so it’s good to have as a “backup” meal later in the day too. KFC has been selling wraps for a long time and it’s becoming more and more popular since it’s a wholesome and satisfying meal.

KFC Wrap

I tried the new KFC Masak Merah Rice Wrap the other day – it’s packaged in a convenient casing, you can just tear off the middle part and have a place for your hand to hold the Masak Merah Rice Wrap. I love it! This makes it easy to eat for busy people, you can even eat it and use your other hand use the mouse to read an article during lunch or work.

The new Masak Merah Rice Wrap is filled with Zinger strips, Colonel Rice, Vegetables (cucumber, onions and tomatoes) all packed into a warmly toasted tortilla wrap.

Open Wrap

The KFC Masak Merah Rice Wrap is quite spicy, and that’s a really good thing. I like the pedas factor of the masak merah sauce – it really whets my appetite. The flavor is really there, this wrap makes me think of ayam masak merah. I think it’s awesome for people who are craving for some local food – it’s a taste that reminds me of home and the wonderful Malaysian food scene.

New Masak Merah Wrap

There are a lot of nice Zinger crispy chicken fillet strips and flavored rice inside the new Masak Merah Rice Wrap – it’s basically a giant burrito for the Jumbo version! The serving size is very generous – you might think you won’t get full from this but there’s actually rice inside so it’s very filling and I’ll bet you’ll confirm kenyang!

KFC Masak Merah Wrap

My better half had the new KFC Masak Merah Rice Wrap for lunch and couldn’t finish it!

Handy KFC Wrap

I had it together with the Combo so I also had a drink and regular fries and it really got me so full that I nearly fell asleep in the afternoon. Food coma. Haha.

Masak Merah Wrap

Yup, the new Masak Merah Rice Wrap is available in Jumbo size which is absolute value for money. The Jumbo version features a 10.5 inch tortilla! The a la carte version goes for RM 6.90 while the Combo served with regular fries and soft drink goes for RM 8.90. It’s available at all KFC outlets for a limited time!

Eating KFC Ayam Masak Merah Wrap

Visit the KFC Masak Merah Rice Wrap page for more information.

Lontong kering @ Warong Saga

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hb hanis

How does breaking your fast with royalty sound? Warong Saga has been operating for decades near the old cemetery in JB. The proprietors running it are the second generation and contrary to popular belief, it’s named after pokok saga instead of Proton Saga. 😉

lontong kering

Anyway, Warong Saga’s main claim to fame is their lontong kering. JB makes the best lontong kering in the country, or so they’ll have you believe. Lotong kering is a breakfast meal of nasi impit (compressed rice), a potpourri of vegetables (long beans, leeks, potatoes) and a piece of chicken rendang.

pokok saga

The entire dish is then doused with a generous amount of peanut sauce. It’s a pleasure to use the nasi impit to wipe the gravy from the plate before devouring it. The multitude of textures and flavors in lontong kering makes it an ideal breakfast.

nasi impit

The walls of Warong Saga is adorned with sultans, prime ministers (both ours and Singapore’s) and other people of historical importance and it attracts a healthy local crowd for breakfast.

warong saga

This place is a bit hard to find for non-locals but if you follow the old royal cemetery and watch out for a small shop by the road you’ll see it. The lontong kering and the chill, relaxed atmosphere in Warong Saga makes it well worth the trip! 🙂

Mee rebus tulang gearbox

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mee rebus tulang gearbox

I just had the best mee rebus tulang gearbox at Restoran ZZ Sup Tulang in JB. This is one of those local foodie treasures that you need a local to bring you to.

zz sup tulang jb

The place is a rather chaotic assembly of huts and trees. The huts with the thatched roofs is meant to keep the sun and rain off your head and I found that dining in nature whets the appetite like nothing else.

mee tulang gearbox

What is mee rebus tulang gearbox? Well, it’s basically Malay style noodles with an interesting component – the tulang gearbox part. Tulang gearbox is basically the large bones from a cow, usually from the shank. There is still quite a lot of meat, cartilage and tendon on the bones but when you request for it “gearbox style” it comes with a straw.

bone marrow straw

The straw is for you to suck the marrow out of the huge bones.

hb tulang gearbox

The portion of the noodles in mee rebus tulang gearbox is a bit small for me but the gravy is sinfully rich and delicious. It leaves you hankering for more. It’s about RM 8.50 and comes with 4 good sized bones.

tulang

You’ll find at least one HUGE bone in there and you’re supposed to insert the straw deep inside it and suck in all the marrow and juices. It’s a visceral experience like no other. The bone marrow is sweet, warm and hearty. It’s simply the best mee rebus tulang gearbox I’ve had!

Nasi Lemak Naga Liar…it’s no Proboscis monkey!

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joyce yong

I headed down to check out this legendary Chinese style nasi lemak establishment with Joyce during my last day in Miri. Joyce is a regular dining companion of ours during my fortnight over there. We usually have breakfast or lunch together and on the last day I realized something…I’ve never actually taken a photo with her! I thought I have coz we’ve been eating together almost every day but I don’t have a picture of her.

naga liar

Thus, we went down to Nasi Lemak NagaLiar for their acclaimed…er, nasi lemak. smirk I have no idea what the tagline is supposed to convey. However, the history behind this super packed establishment is rather interesting – almost a rags to riches success story.

nasi lemak miri

Nasi Lemak Naga Liar only serves nasi lemak and it sells out really fast. I think we went there at around 1 pm and the nasi lemak special is gone – only the regular ones remain. 😡 I could see a lot of people ordering packets to go – it seems to serve mainly office workers but it wasn’t always so.

naga liar nasi lemak

According to Joyce, the humble beginnings of NagaLiar Nasi Lemak started with a husband and wife team delivering nasi lemak to schools using a motorcycle (!!!). The proprietor used to go around the schools and sell the nasi lemak to students during recess. It became very popular but they didn’t open a brick and mortar shop until recently.

naga liar interior

I ordered Nasi Lemak Regular (RM 4) – it’s a pretty basic Chinese style version of the dish. There’s sambal, peanuts, anchovies, cool cucumber slices, an egg, a piece of fried chicken and of course, the santan (coconut milk) infused rice.

nasi lemak regular

The nasi lemak from Naga Liar comes with fried chicken by default but you can also order…

naga liar curry drumstick

…a side of curry chicken drumstick (RM 3). I like the curry chicken, but it’s also cooked Chinese style – it’s not as rich and has a distinctive taste like the curry chicken you get from chap fan places. The fried chicken is pretty good though – it’s dipped into a flavorful savory batter and deep fried. Delicious!

nasi lemak naga liar

Naga Liar’s nasi lemak is practically an institution for the people my age in Miri, who grew up eating this during high school. However, I didn’t find it to be particularly outstanding. It’s good, but falls short of greatness. I’m comparing it to Village Park nasi lemak in Damansara Uptown though so that might not be a fair gauge.

joyce

I’ll say that it’s good nasi lemak by Miri standards. More importantly, it was great to have lunch with Joyce before leaving Miri again. 😀

Nasi Lalapan

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nasi lalapan

Nasi Lalapan is an Indonesian dish that’s very popular in Miri. I went to Muara Restaurant just now based on Jeanie’s recommendation to check out this unique incarnation of Indonesian cuisine. Muara Restaurant is self-dubbed “The Founder of Lalapan” – very lofty claims indeed. smirk

muara restauran nasi lalapan

This is the original restaurant at Miri Waterfront Commercial Centre. There’s another newer establishment in Miri but the first Muara Restaurant is located at a much more appealing location – it’s right beside the river!

nasi lalapan river

There is a very nice breeze and you can see the bustling activity of the river right from the vantage of your dining table.

muara restaurant

Muara Restaurant is supposed to serve the best nasi lalapan in Miri and coming from Jeanie (who doesn’t like spicy food) it was intriguing enough for me to check it out.

nasi lalapan crowd

We went there well past lunch hour (it was around 3 pm) and there were still heaps of diners eating nasi lalapan – a great testament to its popularity.

nasi lalapan tofu

Nasi Lalapan is basically a dish of vegetables, tofu and meat arranged around a unique sambal based sauce. You can choose the meat that goes with your nasi lalapan – there’s everything from chicken to prawn. The rice is served separately on a plate and there’s also a bowl of soup to go with your meal.

nasi lalapan stuff

Jeanie had the Nasi Lalapan Empal (beef) which costs RM 8. Here’s a top view of what nasi lalapan is all about – starting from the 12′ o clock position, there’s tempeh (a soy product which tastes like nuts), a piece of deep fried tofu, the meat (in this case, beef), some greens (spinach if I’m not mistaken), cucumber slices, uncooked long beans (called ulam in Malay), a lime, and some cabbage.

lime

You start eating nasi lalapan by squeezing the lime into the sambal based sauce and mixing it up. The sauce is the cornerstone of lalapan and it tastes great – spicy, with visible flakes of chilli and a tangy finish.

dip vegetables

The vegetables can be picked apart using your fingers and dipped into the sauce. I saw people eating it this way so I emulated them.

eat veggies

It tastes much better when you use your hands to eat. Primal. 😀

nasi lalapan beef

I really liked the beef in Jeanie’s Nasi Lalapan Empal – it’s smoked beef and tastes delicious, with a lingering sweet aftertaste.

huge catfish

I chose Nasi Lalapan Keli (RM 10) for my late lunch. Ikan keli is catfish and I was surprised when the plate of nasi lalapan came out – the fish is humongous! I forgot to use something as a reference point so you can’t appreciate the sheer size of it, but trust me, it’s gigantic!

nasi lalapan catfish head

It’s deep fried to perfection. The skin is crunchy and the flesh is tasty – delectable! The presentation is awesome too! They must have a really huge wok to be able to fry that mutant catfish wholesale. I particularly liked the precision in which they sliced the fish so that you can easily use a fork to spear a segment of the fish.

nasi lalapan chicken

We also ordered a chicken drumstick – you can order the meat in the nasi lalapan variants separately. I saw a lot of people eating the chicken nasi lalapan and wanted to try it. Unfortunately, it’s nothing to write home about – I preferred my catfish and Jeanie’s smoked beef tastes much better.

nasi lalapan meal

Muara Restaurant has really good nasi lalapan. You can determine the authenticity of the food based on how many Indonesians visit the joint and the spicy tang of the sambal goes very well with the vegetables and meat. The dishes range from RM 8 – RM 15 depending on what you choose as your meat and the entire meal just set us back RM 21.80.

nasi lalapan us

I only realized that they forgot to charge us for the chicken when I looked at the receipt. 😡

6 Corner, Senibong Seafood

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senibong

Senibong is a seafood haven located at Permas Jaya in Johor. I was very keen to try out this place since it has a reputation for having the freshest seafood in town. The restaurant we went to has been featured in Jalan Jalan Cari Makan, a local food TV feature. It turned out to be a truly extraordinary dinner!

jetty

Kampung Senibong is situated right by the sea and and boasts a long row of restaurants serving a wide range of various aquatic creatures.

catch

Senibong itself is a village of seafood restaurants and all of them display the catch of the day – everything ranging from the relatively mundane fish to exotic stingrays.

dining

I could be mistaken but I believe most, if not all, of the restaurants are halal. This is also another attraction since my experiences with halal seafood is limited, to say the least. The seafood I’ve eaten is usually cooked Chinese style and I thought it’ll be awesome to sample Malay style seafood. 😀

sea

Senibong seafood is really just a long alley inter-spaced with private jetties owned by the restaurants. I imagine that’s where the fishermen unload their catch to be sold to the eateries. It manages to balance the fine line between commercialism and a quaint village like ambiance. I found the place very warm and inviting.

senibong seafood

The lot of us descended to 6 Corner, one of the restaurants in Senibong. Dusk was just setting in and you can see the sea stretching out from the dining area.

6 corner

I was told you can even glimpse Singapore from that vantage point.

bulb

Regardless, there’s just something about the sea breeze that whets your appetite like nothing else. 🙂

mussels

The first dish that came out was mussels cooked in a sweet and spicy sauce. The gravy was delectable! I nearly finished my plate of rice just from eating the mussels and the gravy inside.

fish

I thought nothing could surpass that but then came the fish. It’s deep fried and cooked with Thai chilli sauce and pineapples. I’m not sure what type of fish they used but it didn’t come with a lot of bones, which is always a good thing. I sat on a table that has the fewest people, just so I could eat more of the food. smirk

fish sauce

It turns out that the fish wasn’t sufficient so I was thick skinned enough to “borrow” the adjoining table’s dish. Heh! It really is that good. Who would have thought Thai chilli sauce and pineapples would make such a mouth-watering gravy?

vegetable

This is the obligatory vegetable dish. I’m not keen on vegetables, especially when there are other more delicious fare on the table so I can’t comment on this. I ate some anyway.

egg

This is just a plain egg omelet but 6 Corner somehow manages to elevate this simple dish into something extraordinary. The seasoning goes very well with the egg and the omelet neutralizes the stronger taste of the seafood dishes.

prawns

The deep fried whole prawns with chilli dipping sauce is awesome. I don’t know what they put into the batter but it tastes great and it’s crunchy enough to eat the entire thing whole – head and all. I also like the boat dish that it was served in.

calamari

I’m more blasé about the deep fried calamari. There’s nothing wrong with it per se, but the other dishes were so divine that this feels bland in comparison.

tomyam

The tom yam soup is one of 6 Corner’s specialties as well. It’s very appetizing and spicy but it came rather late in the game so everyone was pretty full by then.

crabs

Just as we though the parade of dishes was ending, there was one last encore – black pepper crabs. I loved the sauce but I was too stuffed to eat more than a token claw.

dinner

It feels like I’m heaping lavish praises on the seafood here but I can honestly say that this is one of the best seafood dinners I’ve ever had in ages. It was truly an extraordinary feast. I ate so much I think my companions were taken aback. smirk

Familiar Faces Nyonya Food & Noodle House

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Familiar Faces Nyonya

I had dinner at Familiar Faces Nyonya Food & Noodle House with Janet last night. She’s also from Sibu and came over to work in KL about a month ago. I picked her up from Cheras and was about to head down to either PJ or KL when the massive Friday night traffic congestion made me decide against it.

Familiar Faces Nyonya restaurant

It was about 8:30 pm and we were still stuck in practically gridlocked conditions so I consulted the GPS for an alternate place for dinner. We were in Sri Petaling at that time and we chose this place due to the proximity to our current location. I’ve never been here before and Janet is new to Nyonya food so I (slowly) inched towards the restaurant.

Familiar Faces Nyonya rice

Familiar Faces Nyonya Food & Noodle House serves a wide range of Nyonya food, which you can order a-la-carte or in a single serving with rice. I asked the waitress for recommendations and she suggested some of their flagship dishes. The place has a healthy portfolio of seafood, meat and vegetable dishes but does not serve pork.

Familiar Faces Nyonya tea

One of their specialties is the home made Chrysanthemum tea with bits of nata de coco at the bottom. It’s surprisingly refreshing and I didn’t even notice the cubes at the bottom until Janet pointed it out to me.

Familiar Faces Nyonya petai

The first dish that came out is the Nyonya Shredded Petai (RM 12). Petai is something you either love or hate. It’s also called “smelly bean” and has a slightly bitter aftertaste. I found this incarnation pretty good though – there are bits of meat and chilli in the sauce, which offsets the less palatable qualities while maintaining the signature crunch of this vegetable.

Familiar Faces Nyonya squid

The squid cooked in Nyonya sauce (RM 13) was a bit of a disappointment. I found it rather bland but the squid was prepared well – it’s tender and moist, with none of the chewiness associated with overcooking.

Familiar Faces Nyonya fish

We also ordered the Nyonya Sambal Fish (RM 12). There was an initial concern over whether it would be too dry, considering it’s fried fish but that dissipated as soon as we dug in.

Familiar Faces Nyonya sambal fish filling

The fish is stuffed with sambal and other assorted fillings and it goes very well with a squeeze of lime. There isn’t too many bones to contend with too, which is always a good thing. Most of the dishes at Familiar Faces Nyonya Food & Noodle House is served on a piece of banana leaf, which is a nice touch.

Familiar Faces Nyonya chicken

However, the best dish that we had was the Nyonya style Sweet Potato Chicken (RM 12). It’s cooked in a savory sauce that seeps all the way into the bed of thinly sliced potatoes under the dish. The gravy saturated potatoes tastes even better than the chicken itself!

Familiar Faces Nyonya us

The total bill came up to RM 56.40 which is very reasonable. The service is friendly and there’s a warm and homely ambiance to the place. I have my doubts about the authenticity of some of the dishes but it’s still a good find. There’s also a very popular steamboat restaurant in the same row which is worth checking out.

Familiar Faces Nyonya food

Familiar Faces Nyonya Food & Noodle House is located at Jalan Radin Anum 1, Taman Sri Petaling with the GPS coordinates N 03°04.031′ E 101°41.423′.

The soya bean nasi lemak truck @ Pusat Bandar Damansara

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soya station nasi lemak

One of my coworkers told me (or at least I thought she told me) that there’s a truck that serves nasi lemak cooked with soya bean instead of santan (coconut milk) opposite our office. I trust Lee Fen a lot when it comes to nasi lemak coz of an act of kindness that she did – when I first started working here, she asked me if I would like nasi lemak for breakfast and went down and got a packet for me. *touched

soya station nasi lemak truck

She wouldn’t accept payment either so I somehow associate Lee Fen with nasi lemak. Of all things. Anyway, I had wanted to try the elusive soy bean nasi lemak since she told me about it – the truck comes every day around 12 pm and parks smack dab right in front of Watsons opposite our office during lunch. It’ll be gone by 1 pm or so when they sell out.

soya station nasi lemak lauk

It doesn’t have a name, or at least I didn’t see one (except Soya Station), so let’s just call it the soy bean nasi lemak truck. Anyway, I was rushing work today so it was perfect to go down and finally taste this elusive soy bean based nasi lemak. My expectations were high coz it’s such a different way to go about this Malaysian classic. Nasi lemak cooked without santan but with soya bean!

soya station nasi lemak aud

This nasi lemak mobile truck sells out INSANELY fast – you have to be quick since they have a very limited supply of packets. I’m not sure what their business model is since the food is really popular. This woman started grabbing drumsticks when I was taking my order and I glared her.

Wait your turn, woman!

soya station nasi lemak soy drinks

Anyway, it turns out that I either misheard Lee Fen or she was joking coz its regular nasi lemak with santan. However, don’t let that detract from the food. They have fried chicken, rendang chicken and ayam masak merah as add-ons in addition to the regular peanuts, sambal and fried egg which are staples of nasi lemak.

soya station nasi lemak eat

I went for the regular nasi lemak with peanuts, veggies, a fried egg and extra sambal (their sambal is awesome) and added a piece of ayam masak merah (chicken cooked in red sauce) as well as a drumstick from the rendang chicken. It cost me RM 9.

soya station nasi lemak chop

Regular ones would cost RM 5 (with your choice of meat). Their forte is the homemade soya bean drink (RM 1.50) so don’t forget to grab one of those while you’re there as well.

soya station tau fu fah

Oh, and one other interesting thing – their soy bean turns into tau fu fah when you leave it for too long. smirk

soya station nasi lemak macro

The nasi lemak is pretty good but I wouldn’t compare it to Village Park nasi lemak. The strength of Soya Station nasi lemak is in their awesome sambal.

Village Park nasi lemak

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village park nasi lemak

Village Park Restaurant is reputed to have one of the best nasi lemak in Damansara Uptown. The first time I went was a couple of months ago with some coworkers after a meeting and I was amazed by the fresh-from-the-deep-fryer chicken and the piping hot rice.

village park restaurant

I was determined to go again during my second meeting there. There is a no photography sign but no one was bothered when I took by Sony Cyber-shot TX-5 out and started snapping away.

village park entrance

In fact the proprietor asked me what I’m writing for and was very eager to please when I went to pay the bill, smiling and asking if the food was good. I think the sign is a remant of the past when social media wasn’t quite there yet.

village park awards

I had the Village Park Nasi Lemak Set (RM 15) which offers you beef, sotong, shrimp and a chicken drumstick cooked rendang style along with all the works that good nasi lemak should have – anchovies, peanuts and half a boiled egg. I neglect to mention the cucumbers coz I’m really not a big fan of vegetables.

village park nasi lemak fried chicken

I also couldn’t resist ordering a fried chicken drumstick (RM 4.70) since I had that during my first trip there and it was pure gold.

It seriously doesn’t make any sense to order this amount of food. The chicken drum (rendang version) is huge and there are plenty of side condiments.

village park offerings

I really liked the prawns sambal – it contains un-deshelled prawns (which I eat wholesale anyway FML) and has a sweet finish.

The beef was a bit too tough for my tastes but some portions was very tender with lots of…er, tendons, so to speak. I love tendons. I have a weird taste for bone marrow and other stuff that has that elusive umami factor.

The sotong sambal was very good as well, spicy with the chewiness of fresh squid.

village park milo dinosaur

Wash it down with their signature Our Special Iced Milo Dinosaur (which is ice blended and comes in a more-than-generous, and dare I say it wasteful concoction full of heaped Milo powder that makes this local Frappuccino a great energy boost) for RM 5.20.

village park fried chicken

The best thing about Village Park nasi lemak is more than the sum of its parts – is it the piping hot santan infused rice? The crispy anchovies and crunchy peanuts? The oh-so-delicious-but-sinful fried chicken? It’s more than that – it’s the entire package.

Needless to say, it comes highly recommended from me. I’ve only had it twice and I’m craving for it already. A lot of places serve cold or semi-warm rice in nasi lemak (a pet peeve of mine) but this one serves it piping hot – just the way it should be. Do ask for extra sambal – it’s their forte.

village park nasi lemak set

It’s guaranteed to induce a post lunch coma. My stomach nearly exploded from the sheer amount of pure win!

Laksa Utara @ The Middle of Nowhere

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shah alam laksa stall

I was driving yesterday afternoon when I realized I haven’t had breakfast or lunch and I was really early so I decided to stop by this roadside stall.

shah alam stall

Now, when I say roadside stall, I mean the REAL kind – the ones that can pack up and leave without a trace…

shah alam chairs

…with plastic chairs for you to sit on, arranged nicely in clusters under the shade of trees.

shah alam laksa

I only had RM 4 in my wallet and I ordered their Laksa Utara (RM 3). It tasted pretty good, probably coz I was very hungry. It had all the right stuff inside – boiled egg, fish pieces and shallots. Laksa Utara (Northern Laksa) is asam laksa, sorta, kinda.

shah alam chendol

This was washed down by a bowl of nice cold chendol (RM 1). The patrons of this place seem to be predominantly blue collar workers and truckers as can be seen here:

shah alam people

You’re supposed to throw the bowl and spoon in one place and there’s a bucket of water for you to wash your hands in.

shah alam rubbish

Now tell me this isn’t authentic street food!

shah alam wash

Alas, I think I used my right hand to wash though. smirk

All photos taken using the Sony Cyber-shot TX-5. You know the best thing about these outlets? I only had RM 4 and pulled it out (all of the cash in the wallet) and the dude said, it’s okay, we’ll just make it RM 3 (so to not leave my wallet empty). *touched*

Location:

N 03° 03′ 14.8″

E 101° 32′ 49.2″

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