Category Archives: LOCATION: SELANGOR

Om Burger and the FriedChillies Annual Foodsters’ Award 2009

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om

How did we end up beside a longkang, one fine Saturday night, relatively well dressed, and chomping on sloppy burgers?

Answer #1:

Riz's namecard

A business card.

Who in their right mind puts a picture of a delicious burger on their namecard without being answerable to repercussions? (In this case, being obliged to accompany some newbies on the search for the Holy Grail.)

Answer #2:

friedchillies AFA

An awards ceremony.

How can I not be influenced at a dinner organised by one of my favourite food sites culminating with the announcement of the top makan places (mostly street food/kopitiam style food) in the Klang Valley?  Check out the winners (lifted from the FriedChillies website…thanks, Adly!):

For Best Roti Canai :Raju Restaurant
No. 27, Jalan Cantik, Petaling Jaya
N 03.10159 E101.65385

For Best Assam Laksa : O & S Laksa
39, Jalan 20/14, Paramount Gardens Petaling Jaya
N 3.10783 E101.62499

For Best Banana Leaf Rice : Kanna Curry House
No. 29 Jalan 17/45, Petaling Jaya
N 3.11974 E101.62978

For Best Chicken Rice :Hainanese Chicken Rice
73, Jln. SS22/23, Damansara Jaya, Petaling Jaya
N 3.12595 E101.61618

For Best Crabs : Fatty Crab
No 2, Jln SS 24/13 , Taman Megah, Petaling Jaya
N 3.11482 E101.61254

For Best Char Koay Teow : Aunty Gemok
Restoran Jamal Mohamed No. 24, Jalan SS5A/9 Petaling Jaya
N 3.09526 E101.60546

For Best Satay : Satay Samuri Taman Melawati
Jalan Melati Utama 4, Melati Utama, Setapak
N 3.13505 E101.62370

For Best Nasi Lemak : Village Park
5, Jalan SS21/37, Damansara Utama, Petaling Jaya
N 3.13774 E101.62318

For Best Street Burger : Burger OM
In Front of 7-11, Off Lorong Kolam Air Lama, Ampang
N 3.16063 E101.78560

For Best Kopitiam : Yut Kee Coffeeshop
35, Jalan Dang Wangi, Kuala Lumpur
N 3.15705 E101.70001

Those numbers at the bottom are not phone numbers ar.  (Note:  I’m still trying to figure out my GPS unit which didn’t come with instructions arrrghhhh.)

So there we were, enjoying our dinner at Pannaz Restaurant (Damansara Perdana), which was a pretty nice dinner too (the lamb that everyone else ordered was juicy and tender and served with a wedge of lemon and a mint salad) when the videos came on, and I was confronted face to face with a picture of a hugeass, SLOPPY burger that made me yearn for one in my hand (even though I was pretty satisfied with the meal at Pannaz (a robust mushroom soup, a grilled red snapper and a dessert combo consisting of a bread and butter stack (as opposed to a pudding), a chocolate cake and ice cream).

Thankfully, FriedChillies came with their resident Burger Dude aka Creative Director aka My HSS who, upon hearing of our proposed Burger Crawl, didn’t need much persuasion in leading the expedition.

And that’s how we ended up at midnight, at a longkang in front of a 7-11 in a location at co-ordinates N 3.16063 E101.78560 in Ampang.  Presenting, the winner for the Best Street Burger, Burger OM:

om burger

Timing is crucial.   Coordination is crucial.   The egg is broken onto the pan, and within seconds, a slice of cheese is added, the burger patty is thrown in and the entire bundle is wrapped up.  Shredded cabbage, lots of mayonnaise and chilli sauce form a bed on which the patty rests, and voila, a sloppy all-Malaysian burger is created.  Origination of meat – unknown, but I’m willing to overlook that.  So what makes this burger special?   The secret lies in the egg, the yolk still a little runny which adds to the overall slush that oozes out of the burger.   Oh, we suspect there’s ganja too.

In conclusion (coz I’ve been going off-topic quite a bit today):

1.  Congratulations to FriedChillies for a successful AFA 2009.  They’ve done a great job in promoting Malaysian food, and their enthusiasm in making Malaysian food recognisable worldwide is just so infectious.  I want to jump up and say hallelujah, come on over and try our street food.  And now, you have a list to depend on, so book that plane ticket and visit Malaysia!

2.  Burger OM is deserving of its win.  Checked, and authenticated.

3.  Why is there always a burger stall in front of a 7-11?  Or why is there always a 7-11 behind a burger stall?

4.  Why does my GPS unit not listen to my instructions?  Should I give it a few smacks?

5.  Hello, NomadGourmand and Chefspiration whom I met for the first time at the Awards.  Hello, Adly, Honey and Riz from FriedChillies whom I was meeting again after some months of absence.  Hello, Nic, Ciki, Boo_licious, Splashie Boy and Kenny Mah whom I see more often than I see my husband.

6.  Hello, Bald Eagle.  I MISS YOU.  I know you’re reading this across the miles.

Restoran Chaat Masala, Klang

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Garlic and plain naan

After finding the most amazingly gorgeous saree (which I wore to my brother’s wedding last week) in Klang, mum agreed to take a break from her usual wantan mee/curry laksa preference to sample some authentic punjabi cuisine in Klang’s Little India.

chapati
Chapati

Aside from chapatis and naans, and despite growing up on a healthy dose of indian food, mum and I are pretty clueless about punjabi food.  It helps that we both don’t look Indian (thus preventing the potential barrage of questions ranging from “Aiyoh, what kind of Indian are you?” [insert look of disgust] to “Are you sure your name is Tangechi?”), so we happily asked them a million questions and even managed to taste some of their amazing masalas (spices) from their kitchen.  I must say that the proprietors were extremely accommodating, offering us a taste of some of their specialties like the mutton curry which was quite unlike the southern Indian version, carrying a certain richness that wasn’t overly…uhmmm….pedas? (spicy).

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Yoghurt flavoured with masala and coriander leaves

The naan at Chaat Masala has a beautiful fluffy texture.  Mum loved her chapati too which was perfectly cooked, light and dry.  Incidentally, chapati, an unleavened flat bread, is only fattening if one eats it with ghee; otherwise, these thin breads eaten with dhal and vegetables are healthy options to our usual rice and noodle staples.

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Pakora, samosa and other savoury tea-time goodies

We tried several different curries and vegetables, and the most obvious thing that struck us was the multitude of spices (garam masala and chaat masala) that made these dishes really special.  Chaat masala, a pungent and salty spice mix, is used in a number of the punjabi dishes.  The proprietors proudly told us they bring in the spices from India.  Incidentally, there seems to be a certain pride in getting ingredients from India.  I noticed that last Monday when we dined at our friends’ place, and they had cooked a yummy north Indian dish called Rogan Josh which contained spices from India.  Just curious, Malaysia don’t have meh?

IMG_7759
Ladhoo

Despite their sweetness, I am always partial to Indian sweets.  After all, what better antidote to spicy curries than a dose of sugary milky sweetness?  All the sweets are made in-house by their secretly-stashed away Indian cook.   Also available is kulfi (indian ice-cream?) which I found a little too crystallised, unlike the usual creamy kulfi I am accustomed to.  The palkova (milk sweetmeats) are lovely, though.

Not to be confused with the vegetarian restaurant by the same name in Brickfields (sans an ‘a’), Chaat Masala serves both vegetarian and non-vegetarian and is in no way related to that restaurant in Brickfields.  The restaurant opens daily and serves breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Restoran Chaat Masala
No. A35, Jalan Dato Hamzah (Off Jln Tengku Kelana),
41000 Klang, Selangor.

Tel: Mr Sarjit – 016 617 9613 / Mr Sonu – 016 350 2248

Extra Super Tanker Restaurant, Damansara Kim

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yue sang

Is it just me or is time flying by really fast?   Work’s piling, I’m barely able to breath, and in another week, it’s Chinese New Year already.  I must be slacking; last year at this time, I was already on my fourth or fifth yue sang.  Thankfully, Paprika initiated a makan session (together with Boolicious and Precious Pea) and pre-ordered a couple of special dishes at Extra Super Tanker Restaurant.  It seemed like a rather old place, but after checking the website, I discovered that it opened its doors in 2004, which makes it a relative newbie.

Roasted duck in chinese sandwich style

For a restaurant that is located in the suburbs, we were surprised to see how crowded it was on a week night.  I suggest making reservations if you intend to dine at this restaurant.  The two items featured here have to be pre-ordered, and best of all, a menu is available online for you to make your selection before arriving.  Despite that, service can still be a bit slow, so if you’re rushing to deliver a baby, I suggest not dropping in first.

The roasted duck in chinese sandwich style (RM78) sounds pretty kinky (I’d like a French sandwich next, thank you, coz I hear the French are pretty hot), and the flavours do not disappoint. Crispy duck skin is sandwiched between a fluffy pau-like bread together with a slice of fried pancake containing an assortment of ingredients including mushrooms and dried shrimps. In short, it’s a peking duck and more. Such brilliance, considering how they have successfully matched fluffy with crisp with crunchy with dense, all in one item. The texture is almost like biting into butter.  

Stewed pork ribs

The stewed pork ribs (RM30) is cooked in a broth made of fermented beancurd (foo yue), and as gross as it sounds (for those who don’t like fermented beancurd), it is delicious!  On my first whiff, I thought it smelt creamy, like milk, but upon tasting it, it was obvious that no milk was added and the texture and flavour had been derived entirely from the beancurd.  The pork literally falls off the bones – really tender – and very tasty.  A fragrant dip made of foo yue is provided on the side for extra zing.

The yue sang (RM45, with salmon) (a raw fish salad served only during Chinese New Year in these parts of the world) was not too wet and tasted decent, but other than that, there was nothing exceptional about it.  I wish I had started eating yue sang sooner, coz based on my calculations, I won’t have that many more opportunities to eat this wonderful dish, what with Chinese New Year being only a 15-day celebration.  Drats.

Extra Super Tanker Restaurant
48, SS20/10
Damansara Kim
47400 Petaling Jaya.

Tel: 03-77267768 / 03-77267769