KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 5 — For the past few months, I've not had much success with Malay food places. Each one I tried was not up to the mark until I almost gave up looking.
Then I stumbled upon this eatery from a Facebook friend's posting about his neighbourhood place. What grabbed my attention was the unusual kerutuk itik serati.
Apparently they use Muscovy ducks that are bred in Malaysia. These ducks are sought after as they're bigger in size, giving you more meat.
Find this place at the popular standalone food court at Taman Lembah Keramat. In the morning, there are numerous stalls selling the same items like nasi dagang, nasi kerabu and more.
They have been in business for about 30 years but it was only about 12 years ago they started selling duck. They use 2 kilogram sized ducks to cook their signature dish.
The kerutuk itik serati is stellar. You get a creamy gulai, rich with spices brought in from Kelantan, making each spoonful of it incredibly enjoyable.
The duck is grilled to give it a slight smoky taste. They also steam it to soften the meat.
Once the duck is the right texture, they add cinnamon, star anise, cardamom and a blended mixture of onions, ginger, galangal and garlic.
It's slowly cooked to release the flavours before adding the coconut milk. The kerutuk is flavoured with two types of sugar namely caster sugar and gula Melaka. You also have asam keping to temper out its richness.
The rich gulai complements the meat well. It's not fork tender but still soft enough to bite or pry away from the bone. You get a whiff of smoke when you sniff it. Enjoy the kerutuk itik with nasi kerabu, nasi dagang or just plain rice.
I paired my duck with nasi kerabu for RM12. The blue tinged rice is tossed with vegetables and grated coconut.
For the nasi dagang (RM8), the rice is soft and delicious with the gulai ikan tongkol. You get a thick slice of the fish that is served with a creamy gulai that is not overly sweet.
I also sampled the chicken version (RM4) which has a lighter taste compared to the duck. What made it nice was the texture of the chicken which wasn't mushy even when it was cooked till the meat was tender.
The laksam (RM5) is also a show stealer. The thickened broth has a lovely sweetness on its own. If you prefer a more savoury taste, mix in the fiery red chillies and the dish can blow your head off.
The steamed rice rolls have a thick, smooth texture that makes you reach for seconds. If you prefer, they also offer laksa with thin noodles.
You can select gulai ikan, daging gulai kawah, ayam masak merah, daging bakar, daging goreng and ayam goreng from their counter.
On the surface, the tepung apam (One piece is RM2) looks quite similar to pancakes but the texture is different as they use rice flour. It is spongy yet heavier, all thanks to the use of tapai ubi in the mixture.
I couldn't taste it but apparently there's also savoury elements in the mix such as fenugreek, pepper, shallots and ginger. What I got was the distinct taste of bananas.
I found these incredibly addictive eaten with a huge serving of freshly grated coconut. These are the perfect breakfast with a cup of hot coffee. Move over pancakes!
If you're within the delivery radius, you can get the food on Grab and Food Panda.
Kedai Che Yah Kerutuk Itik Serati, No. 9, Medan Selera AU5, Taman Lembah Keramat, Ampang, Kuala Lumpur. Open daily: 7am to 2pm. Tel:+6019-2435312.
