Jom Otak (Gerai 16) Jalan 223 @ Petaling Jaya, Selangor

If you a visiting the Medan Selera that is located along Jalan 223 where the famous Nasi Lemak Suri and Nasi Lemak Yanti is, another good stall to try would be Stall 16 which specialises in Otak Otak. 

Stall 16

They Only Specialise In Otak Otak

There are two stalls here that specialises in Otak Otak and this is one of them. Somehow, I prefer this over the other one. For a stall to solely survive on a single food item, the demand must be very good and true enough, they were very busy attending to the orders and they were selling by the hundreds each hour. 

Once ready, a basket filled with Otak Otak is sent over to the table and the minimum order quantity would be five. They were freshly grilled and served hot. Certainly, one that stood out in terms of taste and authenticity. Truly a very good Otak Otak it was and I would certainly recommend this stall. 

Address: Medan Selera Jalan 223, No. 2, Jalan 223, Seksyen 51A, 46100 Petaling Jaya, 

                Selangor.

Business Hours: 24 Hours Daily

Restoran Hajjah Aisyah Nasi Beriyani Kambing @ Kalumpang, Selangor

Restoran Hajjah Aishyah Nasi Briyani Kambing is a place that has been around for many years. They are located in Kampung Keliang part of Kalumpang, Selangor. Despite being so close to Tanjung Malim, I had not visited them in the past as I just had not gotten the time to explore Kalumpang. This afternoon, since I had some spare time, I decided to drop by for lunch.

The Home Concept Restaurant Located In Kampung Keliang

Ample Of Parking Spaces

Very Clean Too

Huge Dining Space As Well

It's hard to miss this place since they are located along the main trunk road itself. If you're coming from Tanjung Malim, keep going straight after the Tanjung Malim toll plaza. Within 5 minutes, you'd come to Kampung Keliang and this restaurant would be on your right. There's a huge signage at the entrance too. It's actually a home with a restaurant in front and they have a huge compound, so parking is not a problem. The place was very clean and they always greet you with a smile. 

The Menu

The Menu

Variety Of Meat Types Available

Briyani And Nasi Mandy Arab Are Available

One could either order at the counter itself where all the meat types are kept in pots or take a seat, browse through the menu and place your orders. Typically, they have Nasi Briyani and Nasi Mandy Arab here and the meat types that they have are chicken, mutton and venison.

Teh O Ais @ RM 1.80

I ordered the above Teh O Ais and it was priced at RM 1.80 . It came is a huge glass and was nicely fixed. My rating for this shall be 8/10. 

Nasi Beriani Kambing @ RM 13.50

The Briyani variety that you get here is the Nasi Beriani Gam which is the Muar / Johorean version of this dish. I was glad to see that they use Basmathi rice too and they were quite generous with the acar. It isn't like the Indian style Briyani which uses a lot of spices and so if you're expecting that, this would not be for you. This is typically rice cooked with ghee and served with meat in a sweet gravy. For me, I would say that they rice was nicely done and so was the acar. My rating for this shall be 8/10. 

Mutton In Sweet Gravy

The main taste to this dish comes from this meat plus gravy and I enjoyed the preparation here. The gravy was mildly sweet and it had retained the taste of the lamb. The mutton cuts came with a mix of lean meat and fat. The meat was tender and you could easily peel it off the bone. Taste wise, I would give this 8/10 as well. 

If you happen to pass Kalumpang, then I would recommend giving this Mutton Briyani Gam a try. They are open daily from 10 am till 4 pm. Besides Mutton, they also serve chicken and venison as well. For those who fancy the Arabic Nasi Mandy, that too is available. Good food and prices are reasonable.

Address: Jalan Kampung Keliang, 44100 Kalumpang, Selangor, Malaysia.

Opening Hours: 1000 - 1600 Daily

Asam Pedas Claypot Ulu Bernam @ Hulu Bernam, Selangor

I was checking with some of my friends where I could have some good Asam Pedas and they suggested this place that is located in the Ulu Bernam R&R Rest Area that is just off Tanjung Malim town. I have tried quite a number of places in town itself and was very unsatisfied with the quality of the dish. Being a fan, I decided to head there this afternoon for lunch.

Driving Through An Estate Road

Driving Through An Estate Road

The Service Entrance

The Rear Side

Of course, I did not have to get onto the highway to get here. We locals would usually use the service road via an Oil Palm Estate. The roads aren't too good and one would have to drive cautiously and it's quite a bumpy ride. I would only dare to do this in daylight and would never do it at night as the entire journey is through dense darkness. Not too far actually. It's accessible through Jalan Changkat Asa and it's a 15 minute drive via the estate road before one reaches the service entrance. There are limited bays on this side but it is acceptable to park by the side of the road, as long as you do not block the passage. 

Not Too Busy An Evening

Stall Number 8

Menu and Prices

Made Upon Order

A Must Try Dish At This R&R

Branch Outlet In Mutiara Damansara

It was quite a quiet evening as I arrived here at a non peak hour, moreover it is a weekday. It would have surely been very much different yesterday with many motorists driving back after the long weekend. This famous stall is located at unit 8. They have  an option of going for Ikan Kembung, Ikan Pari and Ikan Merah and they were priced at RM 6.00, RM 6.50 and RM 7.00 respectively. Very competitive pricing. I paid RM 13.00 for the same in town. Being a fan of stingray, I went for that dish.  The gravy seems to be ready but they cook the fish upon ordering. That's an excellent practice as customer's are ensured of a freshly cooked meal. It wasn't too long a wait, perhaps around 10 minutes only and my dish was ready. While waiting, I was chatting with the waiter and he was quite a chatty chap. He informed me that they have four outlets in total and the other three are located in the Klang Valley, one of which is in Mutiara Damansara. 

Meal Set @ RM 6.50

Once my meal was ready, it was served on a tray for customers convenience. The entire set was RM 6.50 and this came with a plate of White Rice and some sides.

Rice, Vegetables, Salted Egg and Papadam

Salted Egg

Papadam

Cabbage

It is common practice at any Asam Pedas restaurants that this dish be served with a plate of White Rice, some vegetable and Salted Egg and in this case, the Papadam was a bonus. The portion of rice was good. In fact, it was a little too much for me. The Salted Egg was fresh as well. The Cabbage was nice, obviously not to be compared with the preparation at Indian restaurants as the latter would be using more spices. This was plainly cabbage and carrots, some turmeric and some salt and it tasted good. I would rate this cabbage preparation at 7/10 .

A Good Claypot of Asam Pedas

Thick Delicious Gravy

Two Humongous Cuts of Stingray 

Okra

Thick and Tasty

The Asam Pedas dish came in a medium sized claypot and was filled with two huge cuts of stingray, one Okra cut into two and some boiling hot and delicious Asam Pedas gravy. I never expected the cuts to be so huge. I think when it comes to the portion size, this is the largest that I have come across in Malaysia for the price. The gravy was slightly oily but it was within bearable levels. Taste was good too but there is room for improvement. Would have been better if it was a little more 'Asam' and 'Pedas', nevertheless still a very good preparation. Not anywhere near the best ones that I have tried but it was above average. Perhaps the best in Tanjung Malim. I would rate this at 7/10 .

Price wise, this is an amazing deal and definitely a good one to have if you are in Ulu Bernam R&R. But honestly, I wound't recommend making a trip just to try this. It was just not up to that level. Overall, a decent preparation.

Address: Stall No.8, Hentian Sebelah Ulu Bernam, North - South Expressway,

                35900 Hulu Bernam, Selangor, Malaysia.

Opening Hours: 24 Hours Daily

Tg. Malim Char Kuey Teow & Claypot Asam Pedas @ Tanjung Malim, Perak

This restaurant called Tg. Malim Char Kuey Teow & Claypot Asam Pedas is one extremely famous restaurant that is located in Taman Wangsa Jaya, Tanjung Malim. Many from out of town come searching for this place mainly for their Malay style Char Kuey Teow whereby these guys have quite a range including Char Kuey Teow Ketam and Char Kueh Teow Udang Galah. I have been here before, sometime in January this year and that was about the time that they had first started and I was very impressed with their Char Kuey Teow and Nasi Lemak. Should you like to read more about my last visit, please click on this link: http://venoth.blogspot.com/2015/01/tg-malim-char-kuey-teow-tanjung-malim.html . This time around, I decided to try their Asam Pedas instead. These guys have been boasting that their Asam Pedas is the best in town and being a fan of Asam Pedas, it's a must try for me.

The Restaurant Located In Taman Wangsa Jaya

Mainly Outdoor Seating

Tables On The Road

Goes On Till A Few Doors Away

I was here quite early and that was around 6.45 pm. It was the time that they too had just opened and were preparing the dishes. Having had no crowd, I managed to take quite a number of photographs of this place. There is no indoor seating here, just a few tables and I hardly see anyone sitting there. Most people prefer the outdoor seats and as such, the tables are lined up till a few doors away on both sides. Being the first to arrive for the day, I received immediate attention. I then asked what kind of fish they had for their Asam Pedas and to which the girl mentioned Ikan Pari, Ikan Kembung and Ikan Bawal. Pari was the cheapest in that range and that was priced at RM 13.00 per set. Coincidentally, stingray is my favourite too. I asked her if the portion would be big as I felt that the price was on the high side but she mentioned that it's just two small cuts of stingray. Having been convinced, I went ahead with the orders.

Asam Pedas Ikan Pari @ RM 13.00

Asam Pedas Ikan Pari @ RM 13.00

Two Very Small Cuts Of Stingray

One Lady's Finger

Claypot Of Oil

As they were still preparing most of the dishes, it took them approximately 20 minutes to get the dish ready. Once it was sent over, I was in a complete shock. It was a large claypot with a portion of gravy that was good for two or even three. In it, there was two very small cuts of stingray ( which would not be even sufficient for me), half a tomato, one Lady's Finger and a pot full of oil. It wouldn't be an overstatement if I said that this was the worst Asam Pedas that I had ever tasted and how dare these guys claim this to be the best in town. It was horrible! There was neither 'Asam' nor 'Pedas' in the dish. All there was was some boiling oil that was tasteless. And the best part was when the girl asked me if I wanted some rice. That was my second shock. How do you expect me to eat this pot of oil without rice. At least do me a favour and get me some rice to at least eat with the stingray. This was the worst RM 13.00 spent and I truly regretted that. I would only rate this at 1/10 .

Rice Set

Having seen the reaction on my face, she immediately ran over and brought me this rice set. Fortunately, this came with half a Salted Egg, some sauteed cabbage and some spicy Sambal.

Sauteed Cabbage

Sauteed Cabbage

Though simple looking, this tasted pretty good and it tasted way better than the wasted Asam Pedas. Fortunately, they had provided these and I would rate this at 8/10 .

Salted Egg

Salted Egg

Thank God that this was provided. It made my day! I just love Salted Eggs and having a gravy that's so bland tasting, this was indeed a savior that added some taste to every scoop of rice that I had.

Sambal Belacan

Sambal Belacan

Another excellent one! A tiny drop of this and it was a blast of chili. Loved this and I would rate this at 9.5/10 . This along with the Salted Eggs were what made dinner even possible.

In summary, this Asam Pedas is a big time failure and I wonder how they have the guts to claim this as the best in town. I would never ever recommend this to anyone. However, I would strongly recommend their Nasi Lemak and Char Kuey Teow as I have tasted them myself in the past and have found them to be very good. 

Address: No. 25, Jalan Wangsa Jaya, Taman Wangsa Jaya, 35900 Tanjung Malim,

                Perak, Malaysia.

Opening Hours: 1800 - 0200 Daily