Tag Archives: local food

Capital Nasi Dagang Kelantan

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Of late, Malay restaurants serving Chinese cuisine are getting popular in the Klang Valley. However,  the reverse is less common. Thus, I was pleasantly surprised to stumble upon a Chinese shop selling authentic Malay food.

Nasi Dagang Kelantan Capital is run by a Chinese family from Kota Bharu. They have been operating in Kelantan for 9 years and opened in Petaling Jaya a month ago. I conversed with the owner, a Mr Foo, in Kelantanese Hokkien (Fujian dialect). The other option was to speak with him in Kelantanese Malay which sounded like Double Dutch to me.

Served in waxed paper, this East Coast speciality originated from Southern Thailand. The rice is cooked with coconut milk, shallot, lemongrass and fenugreek. For the ‘lauk’, you have a choice of tasty beef rendang, curry chicken, prawn, squid or ikan tongkol (mackerel tuna).

I tried the chicken with rice soaked in gravy (photographed here) and found the combo very delicious. The condiments include a slice of boiled egg, a big piece of anchovy, salad and sambal. For buka puasa (breaking of fast), you need to takeaway before 7pm as the shop closes by that time.

Capital Restaurant is at 29 Jalan 21/1A, Damansara Utama (Uptown).

Olympus OM-D, ISO 200, f5, 1/60 sec.

Capital Nasi Dagang Kelantan

Maggi Goreng

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The Japanese instant noodles was invented more than fifty years ago. Its block packaging has since evolved into ramen cup noodles. For many students and workers staying away from home, it became a staple food.

As a testament of its success, Nestle’s Mi Maggi or Maggi Mee (from Chinese word ‘mein’) became synonymous with instant noodles in Malaysia.

Funnily, the humble hostel room meal is now offered as a mainstream item in coffee shops. Many restaurants also serve a stir-fried version generically named ‘Maggi Mi Goreng’ in which garnishes are added on top of the sachet of seasoning. Unlike fresh noodles, instant noodles break into characteristic short strips when stir-fried.

The quality of the cooking vary and thus I was happy to stumble upon a really tasty fried version at Kashmir Cafe in Kelana Jaya. The lady boss explained that she uses only the original Maggi brand. Nothing less.

Olympus OM-D, ISO 200, f5, 1/60 sec.

Maggi Mi Goreng

The Indian Donut

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What I affectionately call the Indian Donut is actually the tasty vadai. It is pronounced wahdey, although many Malaysians call it vadek.

Traditionally a festive and breakfast serving, the savoury vegetarian snack from South India is usually sold in two versions locally. The thosai vadai with the hole in the centre and the lentil or dal vadai with the crispy, beany taste.

I photographed this scene at a night market while chatting with the cook as he fried the vadai in a giant wok. In between scooping up the fritters, he proudly proclaimed his most famous customer to be national soccer coach K. Rajagopal.

Although the vadek and curry puffs are very good, the coach may have chosen it for a practical reason. This stall is at the pasar malam located next to his office in the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) headquarters.

Which is your favourite of the two types? I like both.

Olympus OM-D, ISO 200, f5.6, 1/80 sec.

The Indian Donut