KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 1 — Happy New Year! I don’t have a crystal ball to predict what will be the next food trend. Going by past experience, I have noticed that local diners are a fickle lot.
They are always chasing the next new thing, whether it’s a cafe with aesthetics or some never-seen-before food offering.
This feeds their social media accounts and their stomachs.
It’s not a bad thing. In fact, if you approach things with an open mind and when the right chef works his or her magic, you can unearth some worthy gems.
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But some days, especially on the first day of the year, it’s good to remember our roots and what the man on the street is eating to keep going.
My pick is a plate of very good nasi lemak. Where one polishes off the mountain of rice with sambal and the accompanying lauk.
No, it’s not those dominated by ayam berempah goreng. While I do enjoy well-cooked juicy renditions of the fried chicken with the distinct fragrance of herbs and spices, I prefer the more basic items.
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Like this gerai located at this hidden food court, opposite Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.
The spread for ‘nasi lemak’ is kept simple so each of the “‘auk’ can shine… there’s also fried beehoon and fried rice.
I can see the blue zinc roof of this place whenever I wait for my turn at the traffic lights across the road. That push to explore that part of the city came when I spied someone posting a plate of the nasi lemak from there.
The place may be a little rundown but in the morning, you see many diners just grabbing their meals to go in order to start their day. Only one stall has a queue and that is Gerai No. 6.
The signboard does not hint at the presence of nasi lemak. Instead, it’s a list of dishes, as they serve a lunch spread.
Walk past the queue and you’ll see pots filled with various temptations on the counter. Some items are covered by gravy, requiring you to ask what’s inside.
If I could, I would have taken the whole pot of this divine ‘rendang daging’ home (left). You can get ‘bergedil’ here, a nod towards the stall owner’s Minang heritage (right).
The focus here is clear and defined. Just push out a few items that are good versus offering a plethora of dishes where it’s like a tikam game to figure out which dish is the star.
On the table, there’s paru goreng or cow’s lungs, cut into strips making it easier to eat. That pitch black one is limpa or spleen, that looks dangerously deep in flavour. You also have sardines swimming inside a pot of gravy. There’s of course, everyone’s favourite sambal sotong.
But what I wanted was their rendang daging. It’s glorious. The meat has a lovely pull apart texture, hence you don’t need to wrestle with it.
Behind the counter, you find the family who have been operating this stall for 40 years.
What made it better was the tender chunks were liberally coated with slow cooked spiced and herbed coconut milk gravy. Each spoonful was savoured till the last bite.
What I noticed was they do serve fried chicken. However in this case, it is the simple golden fried version without any potent spices.
It’s not a bad thing since the other lauk offerings would have overpowered the rest of the items on the plate. You also can get fried gizzards too, as I spied some in the glass cabinet.
A nod towards their Minang heritage is bergedil, those potato cakes coated with an egg batter and deep fried till they form a crispy golden layer.
The small food court is patronised by those who work nearby or stay around the area.
Here the rice is lightly fragrant with coconut milk and boasts distinct grains. You have a sambal that spoons easily over the rice which, for once, has a more balanced taste of spiciness and sweetness, rather than a diabetes induced version.
You also get fried peanuts, ikan bilis and cucumber. Don’t forget to add a fried egg. It’s worth it since these ones come with runny yolks, coating your plate of goodies with even more decadence.
There’s also fried beehoon and fried rice too.
Look for the stall with the red signboard and the long queue that moves quite fast.
A quick chat with the owners revealed that they have been here for 40 years, a milestone based on their daughter’s age. No wonder, the cooking shows its years of being perfected through time and repetition.
The basic nasi lemak with sambal, ikan bilis, peanuts and cucumber is RM3.50.
Since I was greedy to try everything I could in one sitting, my whopping selection of fried chicken, rendang daging, sambal sotong and paru goreng came up to RM20.
The food court with its distinct blue roof is just next to Jalan Choo Cheng Khay so park around the area.
I packed nasi lemak for a friend with rendang daging and paru goreng which was RM12. Both nasi lemak selections came with a fried egg.
From 11am onwards, they serve lunch with a spread of dishes to be selected with rice.
As their main clientele are those who work nearby, they follow office hours and close during the weekend.
Gerai No. 6, Medan Selera DBP, Jalan Choo Cheng Khay (opposite Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka), Kuala Lumpur. Open: 7am to 3pm. Closed on public holidays, Saturday and Sunday.
*This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.
*Follow us on Instagram @eatdrinkmm for more food gems.
