Chinese New Year - Muhibbah Nasi Lemak spirit!

Gong Hey Fatt Choy, 2012!

In our household, we practise a few CNY traditions year after year ...
1) Tuan Nien on the night before CNY,
2) Visiting my parents on CNY morning,
3) Having Nasi Lemak with all the family on CNY brunch-time, and ...


Delightful Kak Y sambal ... and perfectly and lightly fried ikan bilis and kacang-putih to go with the Nasi Lemak spread.


Achar from mum's neighbour and Kak Y's signature stir-fried tofu dish.


.... Tradition (4) ... As per the usual Si family custom, we headed over to Grand-aunt (SYP)'s family home, for .... more food :-)

Amcorp Mall, PJ, has some hidden makan gems!

Mall: Amcorp Mall
Located: Opposite Taman Jaya LRT station, along the Federal Highway (The exit straight after the PJ Hilton exit, as you drive from Shah Alam/Klang towards KL).

Aren't we a lucky lot, even in a "specialist" mall like Amcorp, one can find good food!

It is no secret that I am a big fan of J-One Camera (Tel: +603 7957 7778) in Amcorp Mall, which has over the years supplied most of my Nikkor lenses, as well as my present Nikon D7000. bbG also introduced me to BookXcess on the 3rd floor, which in my opinion has the most reasonably priced books in the country!

Cafe: Uncle Snacks Corner
Located: 3rd floor, Amcorp Mall - Just a walk down from Xcess books :-)
I ta-paued a sambal long beans with rice dish, which was damn spicy, but tasty ... and bbG had the yummy Kon Chau Ngau Hor (Recommended by video si-fu, Vc) - beef kuayteow.


Cafe: Sri Melaka
Located: Ground floor, diagonally opposite J-One
Vc recommended the Nasi Lemak, and boy was it good :-)

Nasi Lemak - Meena Cafe, Abu Dhabi

Located: Port Zayed area, next to the Iranian souk.

GPS:
N24 31' 03.6"
E054 22' 25.5"

Previous: Old review here

Daily specials: Monday - Nasi Lemak, Tuesday - Chicken Rice :-)

I had to rub my eyes in disbelief ... Nasi Lemak. Yes, nasi lemak here in Abu Dhabi :-) Bliss! We are so grateful for the Zelan team bringing their cafe with them to the desert!

Good sambal, nice fried chicken, real coconut rice ... Crispy kacang and ikan bilis. This is Malaysia's national dish :-)

Nasi Lemak ... Home cooked in Abu Dhabi!

One evening this week, MD invited us to her home as her mother was in town ... and whilst I knew I was gonna be in for a treat, nothing could prepare me for the 1st taste of home-made nasi lemak in over 100 days. Perfection!

Cucumbers were perfectly cut, hard boiled eggs were perfectly boiled ... The work of a maestro!

Ikan bilis and kacang were so good ... and the sambal, whist firey, was full of flavour, and perfect in texture. Divine!

And ... what would nasi lemak be without the ... rice ;-) I lost count how many bowls I had!!

The chicken prepared with cintan manis and kunyit and other secret ingredients was perfect with the nasi lemak too, all items beautifully balanced and complimented one another so well! What a meal ;-) Thanks, aunty! Thanks, MD!

Nasi Kandar Pelita - Supper time with the gang in Klang

Add: Pelita - Bukit Tinggi, Klang @ Lorong Batu Nilam 3C

Talk about creative! This is M's Roti Banjir ;-)


No Indomie goreng at this joint, you will have to make do with Maggi Mi Goreng!


Here's my Nasi Lemak. Surprisingly pedas, many vendors don't "dare" go spicy with their sambal these days... these guys at Pelita are old skool, and dare to! When the 2 lads saw my Nasi Lemak, they had a 2nd supper dish! Heh heh ...


Ah ... I always miss simple and GOOD teh ais back home ;-)


Miss BM had a kepala, oops kelapa ... fresh coconut. All in all, a great evening out ;-) Oops, was it 2am? Morning I mean!

Nasi Lemak Tanglin - Now in Bangsar!

Nasi Lemak Tanglin has now replaced Nasi Lemak Antarabangsa!
Add: 51 Jalan Telawi 3, Bangsar Baru, Kuala Lumpur


This outlet has a LOT to live up to, I had voted the original stall in Lake Gardens / Jalan Cendarasari, KL one of the FINEST Nasi Lemak in the country!

I was left extremely dissapointed, bland, flat, and hardly any "ooomph"! It was a poor representation of the original :-( And bloody expensive too, I think I paid over RM$15 for this nasi lemak - teh ais combo!



The teh ais (as in the original!) was also rather poor ... hardly any "kick" to it!

Malaysian Embassy of Abu Dhabi hosts a Pasar Malam

Living in Abu Dhabi ain't so bad when the Embassy of Malaysia along Al Saada Street 19 hosts events such as Pasar Malam's :-)


Sambal chicken


Nasi Ayam Melayu, 15 AED me thinks...


Meehoon Goreng, 10 AED


Nasi Lemak, 15 AED

Shot of Karipap's just before I devoured them! 4 for 10 AED.

Home made nasi lemak - Thanks!

One day, on the way home from work, KCL gave me a call ... and voila, this was waiting for me!


Mmmmh... delicious :-) I love home cooking!

I love home made Nasi Lemak!

Ah ... spoilt at home here :-) Home made nasi lemak!

A lot of effort ... but so worth it, thanks bbG!

Or have it with ... Beef rendang. Drooooool!

Noodle Bowl - Abu Dhabi

There aren't many authentic Malaysian makan places in Abu Dhabi, besides Reem Island and Meena Cafe . But those two favourite makan places of ours can only, in the kindest way possible, be described as "canteens at construction sites (albeit super duper canteens!)", thus we are only left with Noodle Bowl and Al Wahda Mall's Noodle House !


Fried rice or CKT .. the choice is yours ;-)


KCL shared some of her Wantan Noodle soup with her ...



I couldn't resist trying their Nasi Lemak ... Alas it was slightly dissapointing, as the "triangle of taste" just didn't gel:-
1) Nasi - Not lemak-y
2) Sambal - Flavour hardly had any "kick"
3) Chicken - Average, but hardly impressive


The real reason why we got here ... XO Sauce

Steamed cod fish (Good) and Chiu Yim Squid (Really good!) , and stir fried veges too (Pricey!) ...

Hmmm ... more XO sauce!

A nice cincau dessert ... Complimentary :-)

A parting shot as we walked out ... Decent food, hit-and-miss on some dishes (Good char kuay teow, nice wantan, some nice dishes, but stay away from the nasi lemak) but pricey by Malaysian standards (Average by AD standards!) at RM30-40 per dish.