PETALING JAYA, Nov 16 — If you're hankering for the taste of Kristang food — especially the highly sought after pang susi — head for Sabrozu Cafe.
Started by Lydia de Souza and her family about a year ago, they operate from a stall at Kota Damansara's Neighbourhood Food Court where they offer nasi lemak paired with Kristang food items for dinner. She also takes orders for her pang susi. The word "sabrozu" means "delicious" in Kristang.
Pang susi are essentially buns with a pork filling, usually served during special occasions since it's quite tedious to make.
The word "pang" is bun and "susi" refers to sister in Kristang. Back in the early 1900s, the nuns (or sisters) would make unleavened bread for communion service.
As they had extra bread, they would give it to a church helper — who converted it to a bun with a savoury filling.
The bun may look simple but the dough is made from mashed sweet potatoes, eggs, butter, flour and milk.
In an interview with The Star, Lydia explained that her version uses a mixture of yellow Japanese and local sweet potatoes.The tedious work involves peeling, cooking and mashing the sweet potatoes to make the dough.
She offers three types of fillings: Chicken, pork or sardines. Traditionally it's a pork filling with various spices like ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg and clove powder.
Lydia also offers minced chicken for those who prefer an alternative. The sardine filling has a hint of chillies, making it an appetising and flavourful version.
Different cooks make the pang susi in various sizes and shapes. In Lydia's case, her pang susi are oval shaped.
If you wish to order them, you need to place an order at least two days in advance. A minimum order of RM20 is required. It's RM2.50 per piece for the chicken one while the price for the pork or sardine version is RM3.
You can either collect it from their cafe at Kota Damansara or they can send it to you via delivery provided the charges are borne by you.
I had ordered a mixed variety and was incredibly impressed with the pang susi when I opened my box. The baked buns looked so enticing with their golden brown glistening tops from the egg wash.
Break them apart and you get a soft pastry that is not too thick and generously stuffed with the fillings.
When you chomp down on the pang susi, you get a combination of sweet and savoury flavours paired with flaky pastry that can be quite addictive.
I definitely couldn't stop eating just one bun and ended up polishing a few more than what I had planned. The fillings here are not overly spiced too which makes it a milder tasting bite.
I also sampled their nasi lemak. You get a variety of Kristang specialties such as kapitan chicken, chicken curry and pork rendang. There's also rempah ayam which is their version of fried chicken. From Friday to Sunday, they serve their special devil's curry or debal curry.
The rice served with the nasi lemak is light, fluffy with a distinct coconut fragrance especially when eaten hot from the steamer. This is served with the usual accompaniments like peanuts, ikan bilis, cucumber and sambal.
On its own, the sambal is not as thick as I like but what makes the nasi lemak a delicious one are the thick flavourful curries served with it. They have a homestyle air about them that sometimes you end up ordering more than you intend.
For the first round, I sampled pork rendang and kapitan chicken together. As the kapitan chicken was served with potatoes and a thick curry, I enjoyed this a lot.
The pork rendang is also tasty with tender chunks of meat in a fragrant curry. As they offered vegetables that day, I also ordered the brinjal served with a mild chilli sauce.
The second time I visited, I ordered the devil's curry that is creamy and has a distinctive spicier taste. It won't burn your tongue but it's a pleasant spicy hum that goes well with the silky smooth chicken and potatoes. Usually cooked for special occasions, the curry is unusual as it has a touch of vinegar even though you cannot really taste its presence.
This time round, I sampled their rempah ayam. Even though the size of the chicken is slightly smaller than at other stalls, they made it up with a much tastier bite with the herbs used to marinate and fry the chicken with.
For the nasi lemak with rempah ayam and the accompanying sambal, ikan bilis and peanuts, it is priced at RM12. For the nasi lemak with two choices of dishes, it's priced at RM17.
To spot the cafe, look for the "Nasi Lemak" sign at the bustling food court.
Sabrozu Cafe
Neighbourhood Food Court, East Wing, Central Park, Jalan PJU 5/7, Dataran Sunway, Kota Damansara, Petaling Jaya.
Open: 6pm to 11pm.
WhatsApp: +6012-3140436
Instagram @sabrozu_cafe
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