January 2009
If you are a regular to the Hartamas area, chances are you will have passed this place a thousand times and won’t have given it a second look. This hidden treasure is situated at a corner of a junction but while that is the case, you will easily forget the fact once you have taken your seat. The 50s and 60s music by Malaysian artists lures you into an ambience that might usually be found in hotel restaurants or more upmarket restaurants. Coupled with black and white photographs of iconic actors, actresses and artists from the past, you might just forgive the slightly worn out tables and chairs of this 13-year-old warung.
The Johor style dishes by chef Zainal are displayed buffet style in ceramic pots and metal plates, giving a rather hotel-esque feel but the warung scent (mainly from the longkang) will quickly bring you back to reality. What do you expect? It’s a warung. Be that as it may, its famous nasi lemak will easily ease your hesitations. The warm fragrant coconut milk rice topped with its sambal, anchovies, peanuts, egg and cucumber slices is all you need to start adding on the other dishes that are available. You can pick from the staple curry chicken or fish, beef rendang, pegedil and vegetables to go with your meal. If you are feeling a little more adventurous, you can try out a Johor speciality that’s a pretty rare find in KL. Botok botok. It’s a banana leaf parcel with a fish cutlet dabbed with sambal and is covered with young sweet potato shoots, wild pepper leaf and salam leaf. The parcel is then steamed. The taste, I must say, takes a little getting used to but it is quite an interesting and healthy dish.
If that doesn’t do it for you, you can always order from their a la carte menu. You should give their murtabak Johor a gander or their dishes that are named after famous Malaysians such as mee goreng P Ramlee or nasi goreng Saloma. Both are good alternatives if you want something other than what’s on the buffet line. The downside to this almost perfect warung is the dishes tend to get cold as the night progresses. And I mean by 8pm. So if you don’t want lukewarm food, get there early. Kay Brown