KUALA LUMPUR, June 29 — For this instalment of Secret Eats, it was a case of trusting my instincts. In the midst of checking out a particular recommendation from one of our readers, I stumbled upon this surprise — a humble no-name roadside stall that sold nasi lemak.
Even though I had visited the area before, I had not completely explored its side roads leading to different housing areas.
The long row of shophouses that were parallel to the main road was obviously the heart of the neighbourhood. Behind the shophouses, I found terrace houses, a few occupied wooden shacks and even a bus depot.
There is a village feel about the place, as I spotted people riding their motorcycles without helmets and old uncles hanging out in the corner coffeeshop. Just before the start of the row of shophouses, there’s a large primary school and across it a mosque. Petrol stations flank the main road and further down, there’s a large Chinese temple.
I had driven down the row of shophouses a few times in search of a parking spot when I saw a strange scene: a queue of people at a stall that had not even started business. It was just after 6pm but there was already a line of patient faces eagerly awaiting the owners of this stall to commence trade. Curiosity got me. I joined the queue.
From where I was standing, I saw a woman busy spooning food into takeaway boxes. It was nasi lemak as I could smell the fragrant pandan aroma of the rice.
Each box already had the requisite peanuts, ikan bilis, cucumber slices, and a piece of hard-boiled egg. In front of her was a newspaper-covered table laden with aluminium containers. The customers would point out their choices and she’d scoop the food into the boxes. Most of the patrons in the early evening pack the food for their family dinner at home. There are a few plastic tables and chairs placed on the five foot way near the stall where customers can enjoy their nasi lemak with a glass of fresh fruit juice.
The rice is fragrant as it’s cooked with a large bunch of pandan leaves. She uses less coconut milk when cooking the rice, as per her customers’ request. Most of the old women who are their regulars are health-conscious. Their best seller is the tender pork rib with potatoes cooked in a fragrant dry curry. You get two chicken dishes; a thick curry with different parts of the chicken including gizzards and ayam masak merah, a drier version with lemongrass and galangal aromas. Other choices include sambal sotong and prawns. Usually customers will order one of the cooked vegetables, either the white cabbage or kangkung. She also offers a dish that mixes petai beans, ikan bilis and sliced onions. You also have a range of fried items like sausages, luncheon meat, beancurd and eggs to supplement your meal. Ask for more of the spicy sambal that is cooked with onions.
The woman’s husband runs the juice stall where you get choices like orange, watermelon and carrot juice. We sampled an interesting combination of evaporated milk and passionfruit pulp. The refreshing drink was inspired by his recent trip to Vietnam’s Halong Bay.
I found out he used to work in sales before he started this business in 1987 on a part-time basis. His wife was a waitress at the Chinese restaurant at Federal Hotel. He had taken over his aunt’s fruit juice stall after she moved to the nearby coffeeshop. Business came from the coffeeshop next to the stall that once sold noodles but has now closed down.
After taking over, he wanted to expand and serve food to his customers. In the early days, he partnered with two Malay female colleagues to sell nasi lemak. Unfortunately, that venture lasted only two weeks. Since the couple had to take over the business on a full-time basis, they both rolled up their sleeves and learned from scratch how to cook nasi lemak.
The key to their delicious fare is fresh ingredients and cooking skills. Most of the dishes are the result of many rounds of testing. Every day from 10am, they will start preparing and cooking the food. The dried chillies are freshly ground every day and the onions are tediously sliced for the sambal and curries. Each is responsible for different dishes. The husband is in charge of the pork ribs and prawns, while the wife does the remaining food items. On Saturdays, they sell a special sambal with fresh white squid that is cooked by the husband. As the price for white squid has gone up the past few years, this dish is only limited to one day as a request from their regulars.
Most of their customers are a mix of Chinese and Indians. The spicy fare have an Indian slant to suit their customers’ tastebuds. For instance, the prawn dish uses spices like cumin and fenugreek, commonly found in Indian curries.
By 8.30pm onwards, the stall starts to wind down as most of their popular items are sold out. People still come by, sometimes on their bicycles, to select whatever is available for their dinner. As my photographer May and I sat around to chat to the owner, he told us stories about the surrounding hawkers. Most importantly, he told us of another secret eat well hidden within his hometown that he promises to show us on his day off — Sunday.
That’s what I call fate. We had wandered here and discovered the stall by chance. In addition, we’re going to be taken on another secret eat adventure.
If you like this secret eat, let’s do an exchange. If you reveal to us the location of your secret place for good food, we’ll let you know ours. You can email me at [email protected] to start the exchange.
