Lawanya food stall, Brickfields

Posted on by
18

plate
In one of my earlier posts, I mentioned that the allure of Brickfields is its people. Beaming, chipper faces. People who recognise you because you haunt the indian stall while pigging out on nasi lemak and tea with gusto. And if you don’t turn up to work for a week, they notice your absence. These are the newspaper vendors, the malay mixed rice stall owner, the parking meter attendant, the driver to the boss of the company two doors away……and they’re all friends. People with faces and lives. You can tell that I miss them a lot, and sometimes, I sneak away to be alone in Brickfields and in my solitude because I miss them and the environment so much, and despite having been away for so long, they still recognise me and chat with me and ask if my family’s okay.I have been procrastinating about writing this post for a very long time. Among all the indian food places I have been to, this little stall nestled in a lane off Scott Road in Brickfields serves, in my opinion, the best south indian food. When I used to be in Brickfields, I frequented this food stall at least twice a week over several years. My hesitation in writing about this place stems from the fact that I am somewhat unconfident that my writing may not do justice to the delectable food that can be found at this tiny little stall.

stall
Set up in 1984, Mrs Chellam has been running this stall for 24 years. Her husband pops by sometimes, but most of the time she singlehandedly manages this stall. Business must have certainly been good as she also operates a food catering business which was formed in 1992. Sometimes, on weekends, I see her and her assistants laboriously peeling onions and garlic and chopping up huge amounts of ingredients in kaleidoscopic hues in preparation for a wedding or a similarly grandiose event.

varuvel
Every stall has its speciality. At this place, it is the chicken varuval that makes people return in throngs. The chicken pieces are fried with an assortment of condiments and spices until the sauce is dry and thick. The secret to getting the lovely flavour is the use of evaporated milk instead of coconut milk to thicken the sauce. The sensation of eating these delectable pieces of chicken is like an explosion of flavours from the different ingredients, from the caramelised onions to the aromatic cumin to the fiery chilli.

mutton

Almost as good is the mutton curry with its thick sauce made of a blend of ginger, onions and garlic. The meat is tender and imbued with the flavour of all the spices.

fried fish

Fried fish is an option for those who don’t care much for mutton or chicken. In addition to the meats, there is also a good selection of vegetables, from stir-fried mixed vegetables to deep-fried crunchy bittergourd.

This place is open for breakfast and lunch on weekdays only.Lawanya
No. 4, Lorong Scott, Brickfields, 50470 KL.
Tel: 03-2274 9234
HP: 016-221 8074

Vintry, Damansara Heights

Posted on by
52

wine

Saturday night.8.00pm.

I had just come home.

Exhausted, after a long day, I threw my car keys on the table.

“There’s no dinner!”, I yelled from downstairs.

All I heard was the TV blasting at 150 decibels, way past the threshold of pain.

“I’m not cooking! I’m too tired!”, I yelled again to get his attention.

Still no response. He was definitely engrossed in the football game.

I crawled upstairs. “There’s no food”, I said. Then in a moment of weakness, a wave of compassion hit me. “I’ll take you out for dinner. My treat.”

That last remark got The Bald Eagle’s attention. “I’ll have to be back by 9.55pm. Liverpool’s playing”, he said.

“Sure!”, I replied. Dinner at the nearby mamak stall wouldn’t take long. “Let’s go now.”

As I was driving out of Bukit Jelutong, I casually asked The Bald Eagle to decide where to eat.

“Vintry”, he said.

“Vintry? In Damansara Heights??”, I asked incredulously. “But we’re not even properly dressed to eat anywhere other than at a mamak stall!”

I was dressed in the same rags that I was wearing the whole day, while he was in board shorts and T-shirt.

“It’s okay. It’s a neighbourhood restaurant anyway”, came his smug reply.

“Hmmph.”

I obliged because I was still feeling guilty about not providing food on the table.

cabernet sauvignon
Fifteen minutes later, we were parked in front of Vintry. We turned up with no reservations, and were shown to the only available table. I love the dark shadowy ambience at Vintry with a few lamps placed in strategic spots to enable people to see their food. It was so dark that no one could see how sorry looking we were.

I had been on a food crawl with a few bloggers (WMW, Precious Pea and Boo_licious) earlier in the day, and was stuffed after eating 1/4 duck with a plate of rice, ice cream and some fancy drink and char siew after that. And that was after eating curry chee cheong fun for breakfast. So understandably, I wanted something light for dinner.

pork burger 2
The spirit was willing but the flesh was certainly weak. Unlike The Bald Eagle, who exercised restraint by ordering a plate of Korean fried noodles, I gave in to my desires and ordered a pork burger with blue cheese. The burger was huge! The thick patty, sitting on a bed of lettuce, was made with ground pork meat that was really delicious, and it was topped with a piquant blue cheese dressing that enhanced the flavour of the pork. They went so well together. A solitary slice of overfried bacon was thrown in, almost like an afterthought, which I thought the burger could have done without. Raw sliced onions completed the picture. All these were sandwiched in between toasted buns scattered with sesame seeds.

korean noodles
The Bald Eagle’s Korean fried noodles with caramelised roasted pork looked very much like a plate of instant noodles (maggi goreng). The noodles were, nevertheless, springy, and the star attraction in that dish was the roast pork, fried with soy sauce until caramelised, and served on top of the noodles.

board games
It was a very satisfying meal and a nice end to a hectic day. We made it back on time to watch Liverpool play. And he footed the bill. Sweet.

Other reviews:-

Vintry
130, Jalan Kasah, Damansara Heights, KL.
Tel: 03-2094 8262

Wong Kee, Pudu – Siew Yoke

Posted on by
20

siu yoke
The object of my dreams.

The subject of my fantasies.

The reason for my constant ramblings in my drunken stupor.

Behold the siew yoke. With its crisp, thin, roasted, golden skin over layers of lean meat and fat, very much like a layer cake, it synergises into an explosion of salty porcine goodness as it instantly melts in your mouth and gets digested.

No other siew yoke (roasted pork) I’ve ever tasted comes close to the siew yoke at Wong Kee, and if you are willing to wait to be served and tolerate a little rudeness, you will be rewarded for your patience.

duck

Along with the siew yoke, we ordered a plate of roast duck for a complete carbon-infused meal. While the meat was tender, it was nevertheless rather fatty, dripping in oil and tasted a little salty. Its redeeming quality was the deliciously crispy skin, and for that, I forgave its minor deficiencies.

The meal for 3, together with drinks, cost us RM59.

Other reviews:

Restaurant Wong Kee

No. 30, Jalan Nyonya, Off Jalan Pudu, 55100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-2145 2512

Operating hours: 11.30am – 2.30pm (Closed on Sundays)

Note: If you want to be guaranteed of eating this delectable meal of siew yoke, do go there early as they run out of the meat way before closing time. In such cases, do check out the other foods in the area, namely Yap Hup Kee yong tau foo and Tong Kee egg tarts, all within walking distance from each other.