IPOH, March 20 — Inspired by the cuisine of Bali, Warung Makan here serves a variety of deep-fried dishes that come with two special sambal.
From seafood to meat, every dish in the restaurant is fried to a golden crisp.
Every order is accompanied by hot rice and a fresh salad made with cabbage, cucumber, long beans and winged beans.
After just a month, the restaurant is already a favourite of many.
Restaurant owner Razdee Izzat Razak, 28, said he learned how to do this style of fried food from his friends in Bali.
“As far as I know, there are not many affordable Balinese restaurants in Ipoh. So I decided to invest in this simple version of Balinese food and it turned out to be a hit among the locals,” he told Malay Mail.
“I have been cooking for about six years, but only recently learned to cook Balinese food,” he added.
Among the dishes that can be found in the restaurant are fried red tilapia, pomfret, catfish, squid, prawns, chicken and even beef.
However, the star dish is of course the fried red tilapia; every part of the fish is crunchy and totally edible from bones to fins.
Razdee said the seafood and the meats are marinated in eight types of spices and then deep fried.
He also said that each sambal has four different types of chilies and takes about five hours to cook.
“For the red sambal, we use four different types of red chilies and for the green sambal, we use four different types of green chilies.
“The sambal is actually made from my family recipe. I decided to maintain it as it goes well with fried dishes. If you’re looking for spicy food, then this is the place,” he said.
Going by the encouraging response of customers, Razdee is already planning to open branches in Seri Iskandar and Lumut.
Every meal is priced at RM10 except for the fried red tilapia, which is priced slightly higher at RM13.
Customers can add extra rice and have their drinks for free during lunch which is from 11am to 2pm.
Warung Makan is at Komplek Mutiara Pernama Ipoh and is open from 11am to 2pm and 6pm to midnight daily.
