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The famous Rojak SS15 in Subang Jaya

September 7, 2012 by HB

rojak mamak ss15

I don’t usually like rojak, or pasembur as it’s referred to in the North. I don’t actively go seeking it but I’ll eat it if it’s good. This one is. It’s located at SS15 in Subang Jaya and it’s pretty well known. Heck, I’ve probably eaten it and forgotten. Heh.

ss15 rojak

Anyway, the queue for Rojak SS15 Subang Jaya is quite long. I was there in the afternoon and there were people queuing under the hot sun for a taste of this – it’s a perpetual line that never seems to end!

rojak ss15 subang jaya

It’s actually a roadside stall and you only have four (4) options according to the menu:

Kosong (Plain) – RM 3
Telur (with egg) – RM 4
Sotong (with squid) – RM 4
Sotong & Telur (with squid and egg) – RM 4.50

pasembur ss15

I went for the one with all the bells and whistles (or with all the trimmings in food parley) – I like egg and squid and I don’t relish the thought of eating it plain. Rojak can best be described as a type of salad, with a peanut based sauce for the “dressing”.

rojak ss15

This place is actually Fiona’s old stomping grounds – she was craving for the rojak and we headed there to eat this. She had the plain one and it actually tastes pretty good by itself.

hb fiona rojak

However, I preferred mine with the additional squid and egg – well worth the RM 1 extra if you consider you get an entire egg and generous amounts of squid. I can’t vouch for the freshness of the squid but it’s the entire package that makes it good.

ss15 rojak egg sotong

Rojak SS15 Subang Jaya has really good rojak sauce – it’s sweet and nutty. It’s also warm which adds to the overall appeal of this rojak. I liked it but I doubt I’ll be returning specifically to eat this. I’ll have it if I’m in the area though, it’s really good rojak and it’s served warm!

rojak ss15 queue

You can even eat it right beside the stall under the shade of the trees…and watch the never-ending queue in relative comfort. 😉

Nasi Kandar Line Clear

August 1, 2011 by HB

nasi kandar line clear

I’ve heard a lot about this extremely popular nasi kandar place in Penang. Nasi Kandar Line Clear is located at Lorong Line Clear (which is probably where it got it’s name) and it’s open 24 hours. I hear peak hours are crazy – long queues are to be expected.

nasi kandar line clear alley

It’s quite easy to find but there are a lot of nasi kandar places around the area so be sure you get the right one. The entrance is through a small and narrow alley and you’re apt to miss it if you get distracted by the other signages.

nasi kandar queue

We went just before 6 pm and even then, the tables are packed with people. It operates just like what you’ll expect – line up and you’ll be presented with a plate of steamed rice to which you can choose a variety of meat, vegetables and seafood to go with it.

huge fish head

There’s even curry fish head the size of your palm if you like that kind of thing.

line clear people

I was initially surprised by the popularity of Nasi Kandar Line Clear. There is only a very modest variety of dishes to choose from. I’ve seen much larger nasi kandar operations with triple the number of dishes. However, it soon became apparent that they specialize in dishes they are great at.

nasi kandar line clear offerings

I ordered nasi kandar with a fried chicken drumstick and beef cooked in a sticky sweet black sauce. The nasi kandar here gives you “kuah campur” (also called tsunami, an ironic name for the state) by default. This means that they will give you a bit of gravy from every single dish to create a gooey mass of delicious mixed gravy on top of the rice.

nasi kandar gravy

This is my nasi kandar for RM 8. It also comes with raw okra and cucumbers as a standard feature. The hot gravy warms up the raw lady fingers enough so by the time you eat it, it’s soft and juicy.

raw okra

The rice is also piping hot, which is a plus point. A lot of nasi kandar places serve semi warm or downright cold rice. The kuah campur (mixed gravy) does a lot to the dish – mixed in with the rice, you get notes of fish curry, beef rendang, squid curry, ayam masak merah (a sweet chicken dish) and lots more, so it’s very, very flavorful.

kuah campur

I think that’s what makes Nasi Kandar Line Clear so popular – the dishes might be limited, but what they have is delicious and the mixed gravy is simply orgasmic.

line clear gallery

…and it looks like I’m not the only one who thinks this place is the bomb. 😀

line clear

We thoroughly enjoyed it and the people who went after us in the wee hours of the morning agrees!

nasi kandar line clear rat

However, since Nasi Kandar Line Clear is located in an alley, you probably should be prepared to dine with unexpected companions of the furry kind.

Williams Mamak @ Taman Mayang

January 14, 2009 by HB

mamak

Williams Mamak is a rodent infested roadside stall with seating arrangements precariously set in a hazardous manner beside, nay, on the roadside. It’s also pretty expensive even for restaurant standards. Why do people still throng to this place like flies to…er, butter?

williams mamak

Well, Williams claim to fame is its unique concept of Italian food in a mamak stall. Nowhere else can you find a mamak serving Italian food – it’s exotic. It’s also located near the old LimKokWing building and you just can’t beat the ambience of having cute little rats scurrying about while you eat.

ribena lychee

The penultimate drink in William’s Mamak is undisputedly the Ribena Lychee (RM 6). It’s a huge concoction of purple goodness that you can see on almost every table. Patrons are indulging in this 1 liter monstrosity with a fervor previously unseen to my eyes. It also sets a precedence for the rest of Williams meals – the portions of the dishes are huge!

tuna rice

It should be noted that Williams is a firm believer in The First Baptist Church of No Menu but the waiters possess the admirable ability to rattle off the dishes they serve in a very well rehearsed spiel. I can only hear bits and pieces – risotto, spaghetti etc. I asked for a recommendation and was given the Tuna Rice.

fried rice tuna

The Tuna Rice came in a huge portion with a hidden gem which I nearly missed due to the poor lighting conditions. Williams is also a member of the Dim Lighting Appreciation Society. The tuna fried rice is served with tuna pieces swimming in gravy on the side. I was complaining about the canned tuna to my dining companion…until I saw a HUGE fillet of grilled tuna underneath all the gravy. Delicious! The waiter overheard me and told me that’s the best part.

chicken pasta

Huei Juin went for the Pasta with Chicken. It was repeated as “Pasta Ayam” by the waiter – I just love the fusion of our national language with Italian food. It sounds so wrong, yet so right. Heh!

pasta ayam

It’s quite good though, it’s made with Bolognese sauce instead of Carbonara, which I usually prefer. Williams is generous with the chicken pieces and the entire dish was practically drowned in the sauce, which I’m told is how it’s done over here. I ended up eating more of this than my own. The portions were huge though and we didn’t manage to finish either one of the orders.

williams us

The bill came up to about RM 64 for two – not exactly cheap for a mamak. This is my second visit – the first time was with Yee Hou and I went again last night with Huei Juin.

huei juin

The litmus test: Would I go again? Definitely! Despite of the dodgy hygiene standards, I am intrigued by the constantly updated menu items and the concept of an Italian mamak in Malaysia. There are a lot of interesting dishes I have yet to try and I can’t wait to go again.

Jom, mamak!

Williams Mamak is located at Jalan SS 26/9, Taman Mayang.

Roti Pisang Cheese Strawberry

May 22, 2006 by HB

roti pisang cheese strawberry

Roti Pisang Cheese Strawberry is a user customized version of roti canai (the base) which uses unorthodox but delicious ingredients. I was at the 24 hour ScH mamak (just downstairs) for supper just now and asked for Roti Pisang…with cheese…and strawberry ice cream. 😉 The owner hid his astonishment well and double confirmed the order. I said Roti Pisang Cheese Strawberry – and a new roti variant is born! =D

roti pisang cheese strawberry slices

This is what it looks like – it came out shaped like a subway sandwich instead of the flat variable shaped roti canai. The Roti Pisang Cheese Strawberry is sliced into manageable but rather large bite sized pieces and it contains pisang (banana), cheese (er…cheese), and strawberry (ice cream).

roti pisang cheese strawberry contents

It tastes amazing, trust me. The taste is dominated by the strawberry ice cream and banana, but the melted cheese shines through, distributing that sweet, squishy, and salty umami (three posts in a row!) cheese flavor and texture combination all at once.

roti pisang cheese strawberry hot

You have to eat it really fast though coz it’s hot so the strawberry ice cream melts real fast. Check it out at your local mamak next time – any reputable mamak will allow customers to order quirky combinations of this Malaysian staple. 😉

P/S – I’ll reply all the comments tomorrow. I just got back and we have a big meeting early tomorrow morning so I’m going to turn in now. Good night!

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Tandoori Chicken @ Ali Maju

January 6, 2004 by HB

Tandoori Chicken at Ali Maju, Pusat Bandar Damansara. It goes well
with garlic naan and I always ask for the drumstick – it comes with the
upper part of the thigh too at Ali Maju. A tasty and filling dinner
would be one tandoori chicken (shared between two people), garlic naan
(a must have, one serving each) and maggi mee goreng (one serve each).
I don’t know why but that combination tastes really good. The best way
to enjoy it is to alternate between naan + tandoori and maggi +
tandoori i.e. one bite of the first, then one of the second, repeat
till plate==empty or person==full. One ABC special with ice cream (they
make huge ones here) after that and you’ll be sorted. 🙂

On a more serious (well, perhaps personal would be a better word)
note, I’m about to decide on a very, very big issue which may have long
lasting and severe consequences that will affect me on a personal
level. Of course, I can’t talk about it here due to my readership, and
if you know about it (yeah, both of you), you shouldn’t comment here
coz it’ll jeopardize me. I’ll think it through, discuss it with several
people and then we’ll see how it goes okay? I’ll post about that when
it’s set.

Oh yeah, would someone please come over and run a needle and thread through my lips? I just did a very stupid thing today. I’m famous for that, you know…

Thosai Rawa (Rava Thosai)

October 20, 2003 by HB

Rava Thosai

This was what I had for supper just now at Restoran Ali Maju at
Pusat Bandar Damansara. I saw this sign advertising the availability of
Thosai Rawa (also known as Rava Thosai) when we walked in, so I ordered
that one since I haven’t had it before. The people there were kind, and
welcomed me into the kitchen to take photos.

This is how Rava Thosai is made. The flour mix was poured over the
hot plate and then some onions and other stuff I can’t identify was
sprinkled on top.

The cook with the finished Rava Thosai.

This is what it looks like on the plate. The size of the thing is
quite impressive! It needed a larger rectangle shaped plate to
accommodate it.

The contents of the Rava Thosai – there are two types of onions and
other stuff. It also has a hint of egg when eaten, even though I didn’t
see the cook crack an egg into the thosai at any point. The dish came
with three dips.

Dip #1
This is my favorite one. I’m not sure what it’s called but the taste reminded me of yoghurt.

Dip#2
This is the second dip – dhal with veggies.

Dip #3
The third one is curry.

Here’s a photo of Restoran Ali Maju:

Bangsar mamak @ Jalan Telawi

August 26, 2003 by HB

This is the mamak center at Jalan Telawi 2 in Bangsar. We ate there last night.

Here’s a scene of the place – Medan Selera.

We ate at Yacob Tom Yam. Great variety of fried rice.

The large perforated thing is roti tisu (tissue). The guy said it
unfortunately deflated while walking down from the front stalls (we
were at the back). minishorts
[urban-flirt.net] has a better photo. Did I get the permalink right? I
can’t tell with IE 5. I don’t know what the other roti is, but it came
with beef liver. Note the giant watermelon juice in front of Alice.

I had Nasi Goreng Pataya (fried rice with stuff, wrapped in fried egg).

and went for a Giant mango juice which I couldn’t finish. Damn thing must be close to 1 liter.

Anyway, I just got back from work, I might update again later if I’m
not too tired, only had 4 hours of fitful sleep last night and woke up
at 6:15 am. Otherwise, I’ll update tomorrow during my lunch break.