chEAT SHEET Kuala Lumpur: Village Park Restaurant

Village Park Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur's Petaling Jaya area is not to be missed when in search for authentic Malaysian food.  Known for several dishes such as Nasi Dagang, Nasi Lemak, as well as it's Ayam Rendang, it's fair enough to make the assumption that there will always be a queue during meal times.  

Village Park always finds itself on my list whenever I reminisce my favorite spots in KL replete with sentimentality.  It's comfort food at it's best and by no means is it pretentious; I need not state the obvious that the chef or cook behind this zestful place is a master at his craft.

Village Park Restaurant

5, Jalan SS21/37, Damansara Utama

Petaling Jaya, Selangor

chEAT SHEET KL: Foong Foong Restaurant (The Original Yong Tau Foo)

Ampang has always been associated with Yong Tau Foo and we have Restoran Foong Foong to thank for this light, yet filling, tofu-stuffed with minced pork wonder.  It also comes with okra, bitter gourd, and eggplants all swimming in this flavorful broth, which by the way, can be ordered and taken like soup.  Okay, I might have just invented the last part, but it seemed like my friends and I enjoyed doing so.  


Competition is stiff for the best Yong Tau Foo, depending on how you look at things, since almost everyone I know in KL, attest to Foong Foong being on top of the game.  After all, this family-run shop has kept their original recipes intact.  Others have tried to mimic their dishes and have upped the ante by trying to have better ambience, but for the most part, have failed on the taste department, and as for the ambience section, well, you sort of don't look for that when in dining in authentic Malaysian restaurants anyway.  If you're looking for an air-conditioned restaurant with an impeccably clean kitchen, Foong Foong is not the place for you.  If you are, however, looking for really good food, head over Ampang.  If you get lost, don't worry.  Everyone knows where this place is.

Ordering food is quite easy-going here but can get a little bit of getting used to.  Don't be foolish enough to expect waiters asking for your order.  Instead, head over to the counter on the left side and ask the gentleman with the microphone for your Yong Tau Foo.  And like most well-oiled family restaurants, I believe the two men behind the counter are part of the family.  Microphone you might ask?  Well, business can get really busy here, they actually have speakers in the kitchen, and bark orders that way.  Another family member sits in the kitchen, with a microphone (why am I not surprised), who accepts the order by way of speakers, and whispers the order right back at the cashier.  Why they haven't thought of another way of getting orders across at this day and age of technology baffled me, but I quickly forgot about this as soon as the food was brought to the table.

Take a look at the photo above.  This is also the same counter you have to walk up to for the bill.  It might be good to note, that everyone seems to order only two dishes here, so don't be surprised.  They actually only sell two items.  Aside from Yong Tau Foo, they're also known for Siu Kow, otherwise known as steamed dumplings.  However, my friends and I opted for the deep-fried counterpart.

At first bite, you would imagine that it had lacked something to balance the flavors - it already had enough umami, with the skin crisp and light, but it seemed to miss another flavor dimension.  And I have myself to blame, as I had forgotten to dip it in a combination of chili and hoisin, of which, the proportions are left with the diner's discretion.  When in doubt, go with a 50:50 combination.

See, now here's the good part.  Take another bite and you'll get to the yam beans, carrots, coriander, and wood ear fungus.  

Here's some intel for you.  They're so addicting, order as much as you can before the kitchen gets very busy!  Thank me later.

 All of it are hand-made in their no-fuss, let's-get-straight-to-business open-air kitchen.

And as you can tell, everything is cooked in big batches here.  After all, this restaurant gets packed easily, and getting a table here during lunch hour can be quite the battle.  I suggest you head out here before or after lunch hours.  They're open from 9am-4pm, although most attest that by 3pm, they've practically run out of things to serve.  

Restoran Foong Foong

621-A Jalan Ampang

6800 Ampang, Kuala Lumpur

(closed on Tuesdays)

chEAT SHEET: Kuala Lumpur's Roti Canai, Dosa Masala, and Char Kway Teow in Petaling Jaya

I recently paid Kuala Lumpur a visit, on business, but had decided to arrive two days early to revisit my favorite food joints.  I consider KL as one of my hometowns, as I was based there for 2 years when I worked for the biggest manufacturer of salad dressings, bouillons, and ice cream in the world.  Back then, I used to help formulate, create concepts, and standardize products for Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.  It would be safe to say that I enjoyed my job, no matter how much people thought I'd sold out.  It's not that easy to actually mass-produce a product millions of people would like - it involved heavy research, a good marketing strategy, and a great product.  Take ice cream for example, there are so many flavors to choose from - how do you decide or pin down one flavor (gambling your name in the process) and guaranteeing that producing it will generate business?  Sell out or not, what most modernist chefs do these days is to some extent, what we've been doing in our labs -- they play with raw materials like xanthan gums and oleoresins, use items from flavor houses, understand the chemical reactions of each and every single ingredient when cooked together, and use fancy food science -- you get my drift.


Now back to Malaysia.  Kuala Lumpur is such a diverse city of flavors and trying to pen it all down in one post won't do it justice.  I do intend to share a few of my favorite places because I realized earlier on that I wasn't diligent enough to actually keep a list of the good finds.  I used to rely heavily on Benny Tan, a colleague, who piqued my interest in all the food KL had to offer.  He's since moved on to the after life, may his soul rest in peace.


As a tribute to Benny, let me begin with breakfast.  We used to work in Menara TM, which is a short drive to Petaling Jaya.  The photo above captured 2 of my favorite places in PJ known for Rotis, Canais, and Char Kway Teow.  The first two, I usually eat for breakfast and the latter for lunch.  

This is the home of The Original Penang Kayu Nasi Kandar.  They painstakingly do everything by hand, use massive amounts of Planta Margerine (if you know who produces this, then you know which company I used to work for), and serve everything in a no-fuss manner.  Business for them just kept getting better, since they've renovated several times, now with air-conditioning and new tiles.  I was apprehensive at first, since most of the time, success or fame gets in the way of consistency, but they've remained to stay true with the flavors they've been known for.  Prices have gone up a modest 2 Malaysian Ringgit in 5 years, and I'm not complaining, since everyone in the city seems to have gone the same direction.

Roti Canai is an Indian-inspired flat bread, served with curry or lentils, and best with Teh Tarik, a Malaysian concoction of black tea and condensed milk. 

Dosa Masala is another one of my favorite breakfast items.  It's a fermented, crepe-like pancake folded into a flat cone, cooked in clarified butter or ghee (but usually cooked in margerine in Indonesia and Malaysia), then stuffed with vegetables.  It is served with several curries and is usually eaten for breakfast.

The cooks actually allowed me to stand and join their line, allowing me to flip a few rotis, during their peak hour!  Quite an oily yet gratifying experience.  

Full from having both items for breakfast, I had to pay next door a visit.

You'll find James Bond, the name the cook goes by, on the second stall from the left of the facade.  He's responsible for one of the best Char Kway Teows in town.  I know, everything is almost rice-based here.  The rotis are made of rice flour, and the noodles for the char kway teow are also made of this humble ingredient.  Take my word for it, diets and KL food don't make a good marriage.  You just have to live with all the carbs, which in my opinion, is worth it!

He's been doing this since he was young.  His char kway teow is an amalgamation of soya sauces (both light and dark varieties), belachan, rice noodles, cockles, shrimps, eggs, bean sprouts, and chives.  Consume this humble perfection as soon as it's served.

If you stare long enough, you'll see his name plate.  And in all honesty, I forgot to take a photo of one of the tastiest noodles in town.  


The Original Kayu Nasi Kandar
64, Jalan SS2/10
47300 Petaling Jaya, Selangor


James Bond Char Kway Teow
Ho Ho Sek Food Court, right beside Kayu Nasi Kandar

Laksa Lemak

 

I left the country in 2003 because the ambassador of the British High Commission in Singapore gave me an offer I couldn't resist.  I was offered a post (chef) in charge of diplomatic receptions and functions for the embassy, along with a newly-built swanky new home in Nassim Road, and the opportunity of cooking for dignitaries (i.e. Lee Kuan Yew) and The Queen Mother (for her birthday) to name a few.  I enjoyed working there having the luxury of cooking anything that I thought might fancy the ambassador and his official guests.  One of the dishes I dearly loved while living in Singapore was Laksa.  

Fast forward to 2006 when I was expatriated to Malaysia by an FMCG company, and I was once more, reunited with the creamy goodness of coconut flavors infused with curries and chillies. Laksa Lemak was how the Malays called it for there are several versions.  What distinguishes it as a lemak is the use of coconut cream and seafood.  Remembering all the hawker stalls visited with my two good friends and mentors with all things corporate (politics considered), Najam (a Pakistani) and Benny (+) (a local) -- I dedicate this post for the weekday lunches we shared over good makan and company!  

So here's my "you'll-only-spend-less-than-twenty-minutes-in-the-kitchen" spiel:

Place your noodle of choice in boiling water.  I like to use vermicelli to keep things light as I find coconut cream very filling.

 

Once the vermicelli is cooked, set it aside.

Make some laksa paste.  

I learned this paste from one of my dear colleagues named Chan Kok Kin - one of the best and humble formulation chefs I've ever met.  Chef Chan says to just combine your own mixture of:  chillies, lemongrass, galangal or ginger, candlenuts or peanuts, shallots, garlic, sambal belachan (known as shrimp paste but our local version isn't quite the same, flavor-wise), coriander, and dried shrimp in a mortar and pestle.  If you want to use a food processor, you can add a drizzle or two of oil to get it going.  I like to make this in big batches and keep it in the fridge, packed individually by cooking portions and dated (because I practice First in, First out at home) -- you never know when you have last-minute guests to feed!

If you're lazy, there are several ready-made laksa pastes available locally.  There's no shame in using ready-made when you don't have the luxury of time.  But the logic changes when you do have the time, for in my opinion, it's always fun to learn something new in the kitchen and freshly-made really tastes better.  

Drizzle your pan with vegetable oil.

Add a quarter of a cup of laksa paste, or as desired.  Stir for a good minute or so under gentle heat.  

Notice that I'm using a le creuset pan?  If you are going to use one too, please remember that you can only use it up to a maximum of gas mark 5 (medium heat) or you'll end up destroying the pan.

 

Add some coconut cream.  Stir then bring to a boil along with some chicken or seafood stock (woops, forgot to take a photo!).  Once it boils, quickly lower the heat to a gentle simmer so that it doesn't curdle (oil will separate too).

Season with salt and pepper.

Then add your seafood of choice.  I was a bit lazy so I used some Kani sticks (the beauty of this particular ingredient is that it can be easily thawed).  You can use any fish or seafood you like.  I highly recommend prawns, cod, squid, squid/prawn balls, or a combination.  Allow your seafood a few minutes to cook in a gentle simmer.  If your seafood tastes a bit funky/fishy, add some freshly-squeezed lime.

Add your cooked vermicelli or rice noodles.

Add bean sprouts.

Add fresh herbs.  I used basil because of the sudden abundance in our garden.

Place in a soup bowl and serve hot!

Makan! Makan!
Terimah Kasih Singapore and Malaysia for teaching me how to like spicy food!