KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 21 — Lately, the words “hidden gem” have been used too liberally so I have decided not to use them at all. Ever.
So one wonders, how would I then describe Taste of McNab Kelate which actually qualifies to be described as such?
It definitely ticks all the boxes. Like, how it’s unknown to the general public.
Who would have thought one can find a foodie enclave opposite a cluster of district health offices, just next to Lake Gardens. I was in the dark that such a place existed.
What makes it even more amazing is how close it is to the famous Kompleks Makan Tanglin that many flock to for Nasi Lemak Tanglin.
I would know as I parked at Tanglin’s car park and walked to this small food court, which houses stalls that sell curry puffs, soto, nasi lemak, roti canai and Kelate food.
Known as the Pusat Penjaja Jalan Cenderasi, it caters to those who work nearby. That’s why the stalls here only operate on weekdays.
According to Utusan Malaysia, this food court has been spruced up by the city council for a more comfortable dining experience. Interviews with the stall owners reveal that they added tabletops, fans, sinks, seating, tiled flooring and a new roof.
I do feel this stall is rather special. While Kelate food is available in many places these days, it’s not often I find a good rendition of daging bakar.
It’s a legacy business with more than 40 years under its belt, where the second generation runs the show now.
There’s definitely a fan club for their food. You may think you’re going to get your food soon since you’re next in line but the man in front of you may surprise you with an order of like 10 packets of nasi daging.
I can imagine that he was probably the one assigned by colleagues to get it for their lunch since parking here isn’t the easiest. A motorcycle works best here.
When it is finally your turn, check out the hodge podge of containers of varying sizes filled with goodies like daging bakar, ikan tongkol and if you’re lucky, daging goreng.
There’s the all important gulai lemak, in its glorious orange yellow hue, and the nasi dagang with its white grains flecked with reddish brown ones.
The blue tinged rice for nasi kerabu is hidden in a portable rice container but you can see the all important chopped vegetables and herbs on the table.
As space is limited in the food court, cooking is done elsewhere, probably at home, and carefully carted here, every morning.
The menu is kept simple with a choice of plain rice, nasi dagang and nasi kerabu. Protein choices are limited to either beef or fish.
I was deliberating whether to go for plain rice or hit up the nasi dagang. Well the richer option one won the toss, hence my early morning reward was the Nasi Dagang Daging Bakar.
The glutinous rice is soft with a hint of coconut milk, making it a perfect vehicle to absorb all the flavours from the goodies that top it.
The meat may not look appetising as they resemble dark brown chunks. It is cut when you place your order and each piece is tender. While it’s cooked until it’s well done, the meat doesn’t have that dry, stringy texture.
The all-important air asam is scooped over the beef. While the tamarind flavours are faint, it’s more the texture of the chopped onions punctuated with the spicy chopped green cili padi that you are looking for.
A final flourish came in the form of a ladle of yellow gulai lemak which provided the magic touch. Like a blessing to the whole dish, it gave it creaminess and a slightly sweet flavour.
Spiciness seems to be on the milder side though. That fiery looking sambal was a meek one, while the green whole chilli gave texture instead.
Another morning, I reached for Nasi Kerabu Ikan.
It’s one where you must mix all the elements up to get the taste since it’s like a rice salad.
I added a half portion of salted egg too. Slowly combine all the elements like the herbs, vegetables, fish floss, sambal and gulai with the blue tinged rice.
My personal preference is to keep the crunchy fish crackers on the side so it doesn’t soften inside the rice.
As the ikan tongkol is one chunk, that is kept aside and slowly pinched to relish the fish with the mixture of rice.
Their version tends to be milder in flavours. Now I understand why many prefer the nasi daging or nasi dagang with daging bakar instead.
The meal is best paired with a cup of hot pulled milk tea from the stall opposite Taste of McNab. It would be nice if they used proper cups but I guess disposal cups make better sense since it saves cleaning up.
I also found out the hard way that occasionally the stall will close unexpectedly if the proprietor is unwell, as she suffers from high blood pressure.
If they’re not open, the nasi lemak is pretty decent with an unusual green tinged curry kerang. Or join the long queue for the other popular stall, which sells soto ayam with begedil.
The Nasi Kerabu Ikan is priced at RM8 while Nasi Dagang Daging Bakar is RM10. My add-on salted egg was RM1.50. The beef option, whether bakar or goreng, is priced at RM10, except the plain rice version is RM9.
Taste of McNab Kelate, Pusat Penjaja Jalan Cenderasari, Jalan Cenderasari, KL.
Open: 7am to 11am (Monday to Friday), closed on Saturday, Sunday and public holidays.
* This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.
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