KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 16 — How does one eat like a local?
That's the question I am often asked by friends who visit our country. Essentially, they want an insight into our local food culture, especially what matters to the everyday man or woman.
Many years ago, I would have said, trawl the streets of Kampung Baru for authentic Malay eats but somehow, the place has lost its village vibe.
This has meant a deeper search to find places off the beaten path. One recent find is Pasar Sungai Besi that was built back in 1984.
Sandwiched inside a network of highways, Sungai Besi town is a mix of modern and older shophouses.
The place is bustling so parking spaces are limited. Either hop on the train to MRT Sungai Besi station or go early to find a space.
Right in the middle of the older section of town, you'll find the wet market.
Inside the building, you will find one part houses the dry goods and fruits stalls while another area is dedicated to those selling food. The floors are dry as the fish, meat and vegetable stalls are placed in the outer area.
On weekends, it's filled with locals savouring their favourite eats at very reasonable prices. It's also the best time to try almost all the stalls as some only cater to the weekend crowd.
With limited seating, you may find yourself sharing a table.
One Saturday morning, we ended up sharing a table with a Malay couple. It was a blessing to be able to chat with regulars who can share important know-how about the market.
It seems they frequent this place every weekend, having discovered the market many years ago when the husband was a Rapid Bus driver.
Even where you sit matters. As tables are arranged in a row, there's a few drinks stalls supporting the diners. Their tip is to sit at the end, where the tables are red in colour as the teh tarik is much nicer.
Let's start with nasi lemak. All around me, there was someone tucking into a plate of nasi lemak biasa. Many just opt for the most basic nasi lemak with rice, sambal and ikan bilis plus peanuts for their first meal of the day.
It's just RM2 or RM3 for nasi lemak biasa here, depending on which of the two stalls you select.
Everyone's got their own favourite. Even the couple was divided on what they like, as each one splits up to queue for their respective favourites.
I tried both. The newer stall sports a green tinged pandan rice. It feels superficial as I don't detect any pandan aroma. Prices here are also slightly higher where Nasi Lemak Ayam Goreng is RM8. It's the normal fried chicken too.
This stall right opposite Pak Chat Soto has many distractions. Even as you queue, there are temptations like bergedil and freshly fried cekodok.
I piled up my plate as much as I could. The excuse was I needed to try everything. It turned out to cost a whopping RM20.
What impressed me was the daging rendang, served with chunks of tender meat. The paru or cow's lungs weren't as tender as I liked and the sambal petai had more onions rather than stink beans.
Instead I prefer the Original Nasi Lemak Pekan Sungai Besi or Stall No. 9. As I queued, everyone in front of me was ordering the prawns, some with the rice or the fried beehoon.
It turned out to be a great choice as I was surprised by how generous they are with the prawns.. The sambal is also not too sweet with a spicy taste. It was the perfect pair with my rice which was lightly fragrant with coconut milk.
Even the ayam berempah goreng was decent and flavourful. For the Nasi Lemak Udang, it's RM7.50, while the Nasi Lemak Ayam Berempah Goreng is RM6.50.
It's easy to sniff out which are the good stalls just by looking at the queues, like the one selling Mee Kari (RM6) and Lontong (RM7). There's an option to add a bergedil for RM1 too.
It's hard to choose which item I liked better but I feel the lontong is slightly better. In fact, it's one of the better tasting lontong I have tried in the Klang Valley.
It's the sum of all parts that makes it a tasty bowl. Mix the serunding kelapa and peanut sauce in the bright yellow coconut milk broth dotted with vegetables. There's also chunky pieces of nasi impit or compressed rice cubes, which have a softer bite.
The bergedil is filled with creamy mashed potato that combines so well with the flavourful broth.
While I'm not a fan of the plastic utensils given out, I'll still go back for the lontong.
The Mee Kari is also a good rendition with fishball, sliced fish cake, fuchuk, bean sprouts, hard boiled egg and one piece of curry chicken. The fragrant curry broth is not too spicy with a lighter texture, making it easy to drink.
I'm a big fan of lempeng kelapa but this stall in the market eluded me many times. It seems the lady owner had taken a break as her child wasn't well.
One day, I finally got to try her coconut pancakes. It can be a long wait as everyone wants to take away many pieces.
As you wait, you can see how she expertly makes her pancakes, from spooning the batter on the hot griddle to flipping it so each side is cooked.
It's RM1 for the Lempeng Kelapa. There's a choice of sambal biasa and sambal sardin. I tried the sambal biasa, which wasn't too spicy with chopped onions. The texture of the lempeng is soft with a slight chewiness.
If you're craving for Kelate food, there's a stall opposite Original Nasi Lemak Pekan Sungai Besi that serves a pretty good nasi dagang with softer grains and an ultra creamy gulai ikan tongkol.
Sadly, some famous stalls have lost their sparkle, like the mee Jawa, as the younger generation has taken over the reins.
Even though Pak Chat Soto isn't run by the founder, I found the mee soto (RM5) to be a comforting bowl, purely because they use old hens to make the flavourful broth.
With its mix of spices and ginger, the broth has much depth and sweetness, as it's been boiling for more than three hours.
However, it may not be for everyone as they use the meat from the old chicken that has a harder, chewy texture, so go instead for the shredded chicken meat.
It's hard to not get greedy here as there is so much food on offer. There's also an appam balik stall, where you pay RM4 for a packet of four pieces of soft pancakes, some with corn and plain peanuts.
And the kuih stalls are always flooded with customers who want to take back something sweet. One of the shops also sells roti jala with curry or even durian sauce.
On weekends, there's also a putu mayam stall outside the market and pulut panggang stall.
Pasar Sungai Besi, Jalan Suasa, Pekan Sungai Besi, Kuala Lumpur.
* This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.
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