Feast on great gerai food at Plaza Damansara

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 28 — You won’t go hungry if you find yourself at Plaza Damansara. There’s plenty of dining choices from Italian pasta, English pub food or even Sri Lankan crab curry.

And if you crave for Malay food, head to the gerai or food stalls that dot the area. These stalls pop up during the daytime to cater to the office crowd and residents around the Damansara Heights area.

In the morning, if your kryptonite is Kelantanese food, hit up Che Nah Nasi Dagang. Originally from Taman Tun Dr Ismail, she runs the food van with her daughter. Another daughter still operates the original food van in Taman Tun Dr Ismail.

At Che Nah Nasi Dagang, you can get Kelantan specialties like nasi kerabu with solok lada (left). Enjoy nasi dagang with ikan tongkol at Che Nah Nasi Dagang (right).

She picked this location as many of her customers come from Bangsar and this area. If you wish to dine there, Che Nah has two tables set up on the side of the road.

Share the table with others and who knows... you may end up making a new friend! Most of her customers are regulars. Some even help her clear her plates and cups since space is limited.

The dishes are cooked according to her family’s recipes and she uses rice grains brought in from Kelantan. You have nasi dagang where the slightly reddish grains have a nice but not overly chewy texture. Pair it with the ikan tongkol curry, cucumber acar for a tangy taste and half a hard boiled egg.

If you prefer a healthier start to the morning, we suggest the nasi kerabu or light blue tinged rice that is served with chopped fresh herbs and crunchy beansprouts. Mix in a dollop of sambal to give it a spicier edge. Crunchy fish crackers also give you a nice crunch.

You can order anything with your plate of rice but I usually opt for the solok lada and salted egg yolk. The solok lada or stuffed green chillies come with a soft, fluffy filling of fish paste and grated coconut.

Their nasi lemak is also popular and if you want something sweet to end the meal, pick from a selection of kuih available.

Be patient and join the queue of people who are eager to grab their breakfast at this stall that is located in front of CIMB (left). Zoom in on the delicious kuih keria served at this stall next to CIMB (right).

If you love kuih keria, try the stall in front of the CIMB building. It’s run by Kampung Baru resident, Hazlina Abu Bakar.

The friendly woman is assisted by her daughter, Azalina. Before she ran this stall, Hazlina prepared kuih at home since her children were too young to be left alone.

She took over this stall about 10 years ago, when her brother gave up the spot to her.

At this stall fronting CIMB, their savoury offerings like nasi lemak, fried noodles with different lauk are also popular.

Zoom in on the kuih keria. It may not look like much but bite into one and you’ll forgive its appearance. You’ll discover it’s got more mashed sweet potato inside rather than flour, making each bite yummy and delicious.

Look out also for the sweet tasting kuih cek mek molek, a Kelantanese delicacy. Here the soft sweet potato kuih is filled with a sweet syrup.

If you prefer a more savoury taste, go for the cucur badak with its serunding filling. There are also fried snacks like popiah, sardine rolls and epok-epok with a curried potato filling.

Popiah can be bought for a morning snack at the stall in front of CIMB (left). Occasionally, you get unusual kuih such as this rarely seen kuih getas at the stall in front of CIMB (right).

Occasionally, you get unusual kuih never seen before, like the kuih getas. Each bite of this sugar coated delicacy is slightly chewy as it’s made from pulut or glutinous rice.

The stall is also popular for its savoury offerings like nasi lemak, fried beehoon and fried kway teow. There’s various lauk like ayam masak merah, fried paru, ayam goreng kunyit and daging kunyit. As there are no seats available, everyone will just pack the food home or to their office.

Get your nasi lemak fix from the Nasi Lemak Tanglin mobile van where there’s choices like ayam goreng, ayam masak merah and sambal sotong (left). Husin from Nasi Lemak Tanglin will be at hand to assemble your nasi lemak packet with whatever you want (right).

Another delicious choice in the morning is the famous Nasi Lemak Tanglin. You get coconut milk scented rice with a thick, not overly spicy sambal. There are a lot of choices depending on how early you are.

We tend to be greedy and overladen our brown packets with sambal sotong, ayam goreng, ayam masak merah or deep fried paru or cow’s lungs.

If you want freshly grilled fish, head to Warung JF D’Bukit for their ikan bakar.


Warung JF D'Bukit can be found right next to the mosque.

When the tummy rumbles for lunch, head to Warung JF D’Bukit for ikan bakar. Unlike places where they tend to douse the fish with sambal, here the fish is pan fried on a hot griddle.

Just ladle their spicy sauce with chopped onions and chillies for an extra kick. Occasionally, they do a grilled aubergine or terung bakar that is also delicious. There’s various lauk to pick from but opt for their popular items like curry fish or chicken to go with your plate of rice.

For lunch, try Nasi Kukus Farni for steamed rice, gulai daging, spicy sambal and ayam goreng (left). Select from a choice of ayam goreng or ayam kampung goreng at Nasi Kukus Farni (right).


Get here before noon to beat the queue at Nasi Kukus Farni.

There’s a row of stalls next to the mosque but the most famous one is Nasi Kukus Farni, right at the end. For RM7, you can score steamed rice doused with super spicy sambal and gulai daging with tender pieces of beef. Pick from freshly fried chicken from the wok or the smaller ayam kampung goreng.

If you’re feeling peckish in the afternoon, try the Putu Piring Zakiah Gula Melaka stall. Best eaten hot from the steamer, these soft, dainty rice flour cakes are nice as they aren’t overly sweet. You will forgive its unattractive, broken up appearance since the texture is much softer than other places.

At Putu Piring Gula Melaka Zakiah, you can get freshly made putu piring in the afternoon (left). Goreng Pisang Crispy serves smaller fried bananas using pisang abu (right).

There’s also a Goreng Pisang Crispy stall next to the mosque. Using the smaller pisang abu, you get filligree-like fried bananas. They may be tiny but each one shatters into crispy bits when you bite into it.

Pair it with their unusual sambal kicap Johor. It’s not overly spicy but that slight savoury edge makes it a different tasting snack from the sweeter fried snacks. You also can grab keropok lekor, keropok nipis and kuih udang topped with a piece of prawn.

Kuih udang is also served at Goreng Pisang Crispy, if you want a prawn flavoured snack.

Che Nah Nasi Dagang
Jalan Setiamurni
Open: 7am to 10am
During the weekdays, the mobile stall is parked near Meesha Sukira batik shop on the main road. It shifts to the front of Masjid Umar Al-Khattab, during the weekends

Kuih and nasi lemak stall in front of CIMB
Jalan Setiamurni
Open:8.30am to 10am (Monday to Friday)
Note: Sometimes the stall owner is late as they prepare the food fresh everyday

Nasi Lemak Tanglin
Mobile stall parked in front of Masjid Umar Al-Khattab
Open:6.30am to 10am (Monday to Friday)

Warung JF D’Bukit
Wooden shack next to Masjid Umar Al-Khattab
Open:6.30am to 3pm (Monday to Friday)

Nasi Kukus Farni
Stalls next to Masjid Umar Al-Khattab
Open: 11am to 2pm (Monday to Friday)

Putu Piring Gula Melaka Zakiah
Stall in front of Warung JF D’Bukit
Open: 2pm to 5.30pm (Monday to Saturday)

Goreng Pisang Crispy
Stall in front of Masjid Umar Al-Khattab
Open:10am to 5pm (Monday to Friday)