Top 5 delicious lunch options around KL Sentral

June-Tee

I want to preface this controversial listing by saying these are my personal favorites. I work in Menara 1 Sentrum beside nu sentral mall in Brickfields. I’ve been to most of the popular lunch options around here like Peter Pork, Money Corner, Sin Kee Restaurant. None of those made my top 5 list. I like the Western food stall at Money Corner and Peter Pork’s pork noodle are decent but I usually prefer eating rice during lunch.

#1 Husen Cafe

Husen-Cafe

I’ll eat here at least once a week. The dish I always order is onion chicken – a tomato sambal chicken with intense onion sauce. Husen Cafe serves chicken quarters, so you can either have a breast (white meat) portion or a thigh (dark meat) portion. I usually go for the breast as it’s easier to eat and the portions are a lot bigger. This is ¼ chicken and the chickens they use are huge! It’s more than enough for even the biggest eaters.

Onion-Chicken

It’s reasonably priced compared to other similar places. This whole shebang just cost me RM 10.

Husen-Chicken

Best paired with okra (ladies fingers) or onion raita (raw onions with yoghurt). Don’t forget their papadom! The owner will waive the RM 0.30 for iced water too if you’re a regular.

#2 Pu Xian Wei Restaurant

Pu-Xian-Wei

This is my go to lunch spot. We call it “China chap fan” coz it’s run by Mainland China Chinese. The food they serve are tweaked to PRC palates, so it has different flavors from what local Chinese are used to. It’s delicious! Google’s SEM (paid search) team is in the same building as my office and they have teams from all over the world based in Malaysia. I met a Vietnamese girl taking the LRT who’s on a 1 year contract and found out they have a free cafeteria inside their office. You always see people from Korea, Japan, Russia, and all other nations in the lifts.

China-Chap-Fan

The reason I shared that anecdote is coz you’ll often see the teams from Singapore, China and Taiwan wearing their distinctive Google plain blue/red lanyard in the China chap fan. They’ll come and eat here despite having free food at their workplace. That’s the best endorsement this chap fan place can hope for. It passes the taste test of Mainland Chinese people. It’s so good they’re willing to pay good money when they could have a free lunch.

Chap-Fan-China

I find them a little expensive at first but the Mainland Chinese lady calculating how much your plate costs will give you steep discounts once you’re a regular. Or maybe she just likes my face. Haha.

#3 Royale Nasi Lemak

Nasi-Lemak-Royale

My guilty pleasure. I’ve stopped going after getting explosive diarrhea twice in a row but you should be fine if you stick to the popular meats like their freshly fried chicken. The ayam masak hitam and ayam masak merah can be a bit dodgy at times. Those are made with fried chicken so it’s often cooked with the previous day’s fried chicken that’s been sitting unsold during off peak hours under a heat lamp in ideal bacteria breeding temperatures.

Royale-Nasi

Nasi lemak in the Northern states mean nasi kandar, so don’t be surprised when you don’t get santan flavored rice. The rice at Royale is scented with pandan though. It’s exactly like nasi kandar where you choose the dishes you want and finish it off with kuah campur. Their curries are delicious!

Royale-Pile

I always get their fish egg curry and sotong egg curry too. My dish usually comes up to RM 14-18 so it’s not a cheap place.

#4 Gu Zao Seafood Restaurant

Gu-Zao

This is the best fish restaurant I’ve been to. Their forte is seafood, although they also serve other proteins like chicken and pork. Most people go here for their Deep Fried Threadfin (RM 18) which is a whole ma yao served with delicious soy sauce. Their lunch sets come with rice and a side of vegetables for free. They’ve also recently started giving away free soup with sizable chunks of daikon radish inside. It’s noisy due to the acoustics but there’s air conditioning and the lady who owns the shop is very nice.

Fried-Threadfin

I also recommend their Asam Tilapia and Taucu Tilapia (both RM 17). They’re both equally good, though the edge goes to the fermented soy beancurd one. I usually order tilapia instead of the threadfin coz there’s a lot more meat and its RM 1 cheaper. The tilapia here is more delicious than dedicated seafood restaurants who charge twice this price!

Fish-Shop

Their 3-egg steamed Chinese omelet with salted egg, century egg and normal egg is delicious too. The prices are higher than the surrounding F&B outlets but it’s air conditioned and the fish is amazing.

#5 Singh Chapati House

Singh-Chapati-House

I said I usually prefer rice but I also enjoy a good meal of chapati. The chapatis at Singh are freshly made and hot from the plate. It’s quite packed during lunch and the huge number of Indians eating here is a testament to their authenticity and taste. You serve yourself from the bain maries outside and tell your waiter how many chapatis you want. It’s kinda like a chap fan stall where you pick the curries you like and it’s calculated when you sit down.

Chapati

It’s quite expensive – each small piece of chicken is RM 3, but the taste is spot on. They use a lot of spices in their curries so there are wonderfully complex layers of flavors. Expect to pay around RM 16-18 per pax here for lunch.

Singh-Chapati

Did I miss out on your favorite? Let me know in the comments! I’ll try it if it’s within a 10 minute walk of KL Sentral.

Jombali @ Citta Mall

Jombali

We were at Citta Mall when we came across this relatively new restaurant. Jombali had taken out a large sign which advertised (of all things) a Michelin inspired dish. smirk

Michelin Inspired

Needless to say, this had nothing to do with Michelin and I have no idea where the whole “inspired by Michelin” bit came in.

Oreo Shake

I ordered an Oreo Shake (RM 8.90) and my better half had a Coconut Shake (RM 8.90). The latter was quite enjoyable, tasted a bit like the Thai counterpart it was meant to emulate but the former wasn’t anything to write home about.

Nasi Goreng 3 Rasa with Ayam Goreng

It was dinnertime so I had the Nasi Goreng 3 Rasa with Ayam Goreng (RM 13.90). This was from their Jomabli Top Sellers menu and the 3 Rasa part means “3 tastes”. It pulled that off quite well – the fried rice was salty, sour (from the tomatoes) and spicy. The portion was GIGANTIC though and I couldn’t finish it although it was good.

Nasi Lemak Ayam Goreng Berempah

My dear had the Nasi Lemak Ayam Goreng Berempah (RM 10.90) – the chicken is the same but hers is made with rice steamed with santan (coconut milk). It also came in a Supersized portion but the rice wasn’t very hot. I think part of it was due to them trying to serve us both at the same time, a very noble concept but maybe not so suitable for an eatery of their aspirations.

Jombali Citta Mall

Jombali serves up decently priced food and adds to the selection at Citta Mall but we probably won’t be going back again unless we were really hungry.

3 cooks from 3 stalls serving 3 types of food

This is my Top 3 favorite food from just one single coffee shop – D.U. Cafe in Kota Damansara…and it’s all done by locals, no foreigners. smirk

1. Penang Popiah

popiah

Popiah can best be described as a Chinese burrito. Instead of tortilla wraps, a thin wheat paper is used. Finely grated turnips is the main filling, this one has shredded omelet, small pieces of diced chicken with jicama (bengkuang) and chopped peanuts for a bit of crunch.

If he’s in a generous mood, he’ll add 2 cups of pai tee (which they call Singapore popiah – technically, it’s Nyonya cuisine) to your order free of charge. It’s quite filling and the secret home made chilli sauce is numbingly superb.

2. Nasi Lemak Panas

fried chicken

This stall can fry up a new batch of chickens in just 10 minutes. When there’s no cuts of chicken that I like, I’m prepared to wait that long for a new batch. Plus, you can’t beat the taste of fried chicken just out of bubbling hot oil.

RM 5 is a total steal for this – there’s also a fried sunny side up egg included in your order, in addition to the usual accoutrements of nasi lemak. The sambal is awesome too, and if you’re hungry just add RM 0.50 for an extra serving of rice.

3. Pork Rind CKT

pork crackling CKT

Not many places serves char kueh tiaw with pork crackling e.g. the crispy skin of a deep fried pig. This one does. They also load your CKT with heaps of finely diced garlic and chilli, making it taste so *intense* that it’s the most seasoned CKT I’ve ever had.

They’re generous with their clams and lap cheong (Chinese sausage) too. Too bad they don’t have prawns but the pleasant surprise of crunching into the melt-in-you-mouth pork rind more than makes up for it!

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

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. 😀

The soya bean nasi lemak truck @ Pusat Bandar Damansara

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

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!

The KL breakfast

kl nasi lemak

You know, back where I come from, very few people could claim they had nasi lemak for breakfast. Sibu is a cultural abnormality – it looks predominantly Chinese (although the population census will tell you it’s predominantly Iban) so the usual breakfast is noodles or something to that effect.

kl nasi lemak van

Well, over here in KL, I’ve been eating a lot of nasi lemak. I’ve actually grown quite fond of this stuff, craving it even. I look anxiously out my condo window at 7 am sharp every morning to spot the nasi lemak vendor pulling up in his trusty old van and rush down to buy some while it’s still warm.

I still remember a snippet of conversation that occurred the first time I went:
Nasi lemak man: Ada apa lagi?
HB: Ketam. (Crabs)
Nasi lemak man’s wife: Ketam tak ada, tapi kerang ada. Si ham. (We don’t have crabs but we have clams)
HB: Oh ya, kerang. Brain not functioning today.

I love the couple, they’re very friendly people with a great sense of humor. I’ve seen a lot of people from the neighborhood offices purchasing his warez too. Nasi lemak for breakfast is pretty common over here in KL. I’ve grown to love the stuff – I like it with clams (kerang, not ketam), lots of sambal, a fried egg and a piece of chicken drumstick.

kl nasi lemak macro

It’s pure artery clogging goodness! 😉

(which I’m sure I’ll regret when I’m 50 and my cholesterol level starts to soar)

Snack Attack Pak Nasser's Nasi Lemak

jb snack attack

Snack Attack is the Air Asia in flight menu system and it has changed since the last time I reviewed the Snack Attack line [sixthseal.com].

jb snack attack menu

There is a flagship dish called Pak Nasser’s Nasi Lemak (RM 8) available for consumption and I opted for that on my flight to JB. Described as “Traditional Malay favorite. Tender chicken rendang with fragrant coconut milk and pandan rice. Served warm with accompaniments and Snack Attack’s special sambal sauce.”

jb snack attack food

I was quite excited about this considering the superlative “…word has it that one of the best nasi lemak to be had is on Air Asia’s morning flights” on The New Straits Times.

pak nasser nasi lemak

Product may not be illustrative of the photo depicted in the menu.

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Nasi lemak with quail eggs

nasi_lemak_quail_eggs.jpg

Nasi lemak with quail eggs. Makes for a good dinner, especially with ayam goreng panas:

ayam_goreng_panas.jpg

Must be a drumstick though…gotta be that.

I have a feeling I’m starting to move away from my happy happy joy
joy blog posts to appeal to the masses with the obligatory “Thank you
please come again” polite reply for every comment into a somewhat
sarcastic and generally less palatable online personality. This may be
a permanent transfiguration or just a temporary phase, in the case of
the former, I shall join the ranks of jaded and old skool bloggers, in
the case of the latter, just bear with me. 😉 I could manage that
emoticon so fear not, I think it’s the latter, so yeah, I shall be less
than my usual cheery (to you anyway) self for a while and sixthseal.com
would be back in force (or something to that effect) in due time!
Regardless, nasi lemak with quail eggs and steamy hot fried chicken
still makes good dinner.

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