Malaysia food tour with Adam Liaw: Nasi lemak, roti and char kway teow

Oh Malaysia. It was like I never left you.

Last Sunday night I landed in Kuala Lumpur with a contingent of fellow journalists, invited on a week-long media famil of Malaysia. The trip was a follow-up to the phenomenally successful Malaysia Kitchen Food Market, and the invitation to attend was definitely a rhetorical question. Adam Liaw, MasterChef season two winner and official ambassador for Malaysia Kitchen, would accompany us as our host.

Eight hours doesn't seem like a particularly long flight, but by the journey's end I was happy to escape my middle-row seat in cattle class. The airport smelled like pandan leaves, and we stepped out into the familiar humidity of Kuala Lumpur, its damp and muggy embrace clinging to your every pore.


I'd like more pillows please

Usually when I travel, I stick to budget accommodation, preferring to save all my dollars for food. Staying at the JW Marriott was a huge novelty, a marble and gold-laden tribute to decadence with a spectacular four-storey atrium in the lobby.


Bedside supper

The bed was covered in pillows, the room with lit with more lamps than I could find switches for, and the bathroom had double doors that opened out like a walk-in wardrobe. Admittedly I was most excited by the complimentary snacks on the side table - I was peckish after the flight and it saved me a trip downstairs in search of food!


Congee station at the breakfast buffet

We met for breakfast the next morning at the hotel restaurant Shook, a glutton's delight with buffet stations that included Western, Chinese, Malay, Indian and Lebanese options. There were waffles and pancakes, Bircher muesli and crossiants, but I was more interested in the congee section and the kuih.


Malaysian kuih desserts


Roti tisu

As soon as I saw the roti tisu, I knew what I was having for breakfast.


Stretching the dough for roti tisu


Adding kaya to the roti tisu

"Kaya?" the roti man asked, and I could only nod with glee as he dabbed on the caramelised kaya coconut jam.


Congee and roti tisu

The roti tisu was folded into a flattened triangle -- not the pyramid I was hoping for -- but it broke apart with an audible snap, the buttery shards of roti sweet with sugar crystals and surprise finds of kaya.

After breakfast we were met by the crew from Fried Chillies, keen to take us on a day tour of food at some of the city's best street food.

Heritage Village

Heritage Village

Heritage Village is one of their favourites for nasi lemak. One of the reasons behind their popularity is their sambal, the all-important accompanying chilli sauce, which is made in-house. 

Nasi lemak RM1.50 (AU$0.45) with beef rendang and fried chicken, each RM5 (AU$1.55)

We try some of everything: the tender beef rendang, crunchy ayam goreng fried chicken, crunchy sambal sotong cuttlefish, spicy assam prawns and fried acar fish. Central to every mouthful is the fluffy rice cooked in coconut milk and generous spoonfuls of sambal, sweet and spicy with notes of tamarind and a hint of ginger.


Diners inside Heritage Village

Heritage Village began as a small coffee shop serving Penang Nyonya food but has recently undergone a modern renovation. As we eat, there is talk of the changing face of street food, of children no longer wishing to continue the family business but seeking higher education instead. The Fried Chillies team talk about the new influx of migrants from Indonesian and Bangladesh, and how street food may continue through these workers, albeit with a slight cultural twist. And there is eventual agreement that street food will not die out, but is likely to be preserved in new businesses that will serve traditional food in modern surrounds.

Toast & Roast

Toast & Roast

I can tell I will love Toast & Roast just by the name. The street is nondescript and the decor is non-existent, but that just allows everyone to focus on the important stuff: the food.


Maltose heaven


Roast pork with crackling


Char siu barbecue pork


Inside Toast & Roast


Chopping up the char siu barbecue pork

Plating up customer orders


Char siu rice RM5 (AU$1.55) with medium char siu RM14(AU$4.40)

The char siu barbecue pork is the recommendation here. The pork is sticky with maltose, roasted to a fatty tenderness so each mouthful offers layers of unctuous flesh, sweet marinade and a crisp tile of crunchy skin.


Plain Hakka noodle RM2.50 (AU$0.75)

We eat our pork with Hakka noodles, slippery ribbons dotted with nuggets of fish crackling, and doused with lashings of sweetened soy.


Crispy fish roll

The char siu is as addictive as crack. Even as we feel our arteries clogging, we're still reaching for more. And as we loosen our belts, the staff load our table with more food, the crispy fish roll best dipped in sweet chilli sauce and the pork green curry vivid from the use of kaffir lime leaves and basil.


Pork green curry


Char siu roast pork

Auntie Gemuk

We move onto Aunty Gemuk, a char kway teow stall inside Restoran Jamal Mohamed hawker food court, tucked behind the Football Association Malaysia (FAM) building.


Adding egg to the noodles and bean sprouts

Aunty Gemuk (Fat Aunty) isn't here today but business is brisk and non-stop. The fire is huge beneath the wok, the flames licking greedily at the edges to create the wok hei, or breath of wok, that is so crucial with this dish.


Ladling up the char kway teow

A jumble of rice noodles, egg noodles, garlic chives, bean sprouts, garlic and eggs are tossed together with deliberate fury. This Penang version includes cockles and a generous douse of chill sauce.


Ready to deliver a serve of char kway teow


Aunty Gemuk's char kway teow with cockles

The char kway teow is a little wetter and soggier than most versions you'll find in Sydney, but the cockles make an interesting addition.


Trip host Adam Liaw


Happy diners


Yong tau fu stall serving bean curd skins and fish paste stuffed into everything you can think of


Mamak stall


It's a roast chicken conga line!


Raju's


The giant dosai welcomes you

Our final stop is at Kedai Makanan Raju, known by locals as Raju's. This banana leaf curry house was first opened by Raju in 1967 and has since been taken over by his nephew K Kannan.


Kedai Makanan Raju

The place is usually packed, we're told, with seating inside near the kitchen, or outside under the shade of umbrellas and leafy trees. There almost seem to be as many staff as people, manning the deep-fryer, serving up rice, or spruiking freshly made curries which they walk around on trays.


Curries


Self-serve curry sauce on banana leaf plates


Fresh coconut juice


Fresh fried chicken


Banana leaf plates

Raju's is one of the few remaining places to still serve rice and curries on real banana leaves. These are cut to size and placed so the stem faces the diner, creating a safety ledge that prevents curries from spilling on your lap.


Curry puffs

Everything is chucked in the deep-fryer here, from chicken to marinated fish and golden curry puffs.


Fried fish


Fluffy roti


Ladling curry over roti


Iced chai tea with roti and curry sauce

The roti are particularly good, flaky rounds of flat bread that is both soft and crispy, which we use to greedily mop up pools of gravy.


Deep fried fritters

I love all the cooking action, and the staff are more than happy to pose for a photo.


Freshly fried fish


Marinated seafood


Pouring teh tarik "pulled tea"


Making chapatis


Making roti


Flipping roti


Manning the seafood display


Service with a smile

Cooking demonstration with Adam Liaw

Char kway teow ingredients

Later that evening Adam Liaw demonstrates his version of char kway teow. It's a drier variation than the Penang dish we'd tried earlier, and one we're more used to seeing in Sydney.


Cooking char kway teow

A smoking hot wok is vital, Adam explains. He recommends that no more than 1-2 serves are ever cooked at one time, otherwise the wok will lose heat and the noodles will become soggy rather than smoky and caramelised.

Adam's recipe uses prawns, squid, garlic, garlic chives, egg, tofu, flat rice noodles, bean sprouts, soy and Cheong Chan cooking caramel.


Adam's char kway teow

S
Sky Bar at Traders Hotel


The rooftop Sky Bar at Traders Hotel

We conclude our first full day in Kuala Lumpur in style - sipping drinks at the Sky Bar at Traders Hotel. Drinks are steep by local standards (my tom yum tini of Bacardi rum, kaffir lime, lemongrass and spices was RM32 / AU$10) but with views like this, who's complaining?


Window lounges with a view at Sky Bar


Petronas Twin Towers


>> Read the next Malaysia 2011 post (Imbi Market and Yut Kee kopitiam)
<< Go back to the first Malaysia 2011 post (food tour with Fried Chillies)


JW Marriott Hotel Kuala Lumpur

183 Jalan Bukit Bintang, 55100, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Tel: +60 (03) 2715 9000

Heritage Village

D-G-31, Jalan PJU 1/45 Aman Suria, 47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

Tel: +60 (03) 7880 8891

Opening hours: Open daily 8am-10pm

Toast & Roast

No.20, Jalan SS2/72 47300 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia

Phone: +60 (01) 6682 2249

Web:

Opening hours: Wednesday to Monday 8.30am-4.30pm, char siu available from 10.30am

Closed on Tuesdays

Aunty Gemuk FAM

Restoran Jamal Mohamad, 24, Jalan SS5A/9, Kelana Jaya, Malaysia

Tel: +61 (0)12 614 9191

Opening hours: Monday to Saturday 7.30am-9pm, Sunday 7.30am-4pm

Kedai Makanan Raju Restaurant (Raju's)

27 Jalan Chantek 5/13, off Jalan Gasing, 46000 Petaling Jaya, Malaysia

Tel: +60 (03) 7956 1361

Opening hours: Open daily 6.30am-10pm

Sky Bar at Traders Hotel

Level 33, Traders Hotel

Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC), 50088 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Tel: +60 (03) 2332 9888

Opening hours: Daily 10am-1am (til 3am on Friday and Saturday)

Grab Your Fork visited Malaysia as a guest of Malaysia Kitchen Australia and Tourism Malaysia.
>> Read the next Malaysia 2011 post (Imbi Market and Yut Kee kopitiam)
<< Go back to the first Malaysia 2011 post (food tour with Fried Chillies)

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