Wednesday 1 February 2017

Indian Food Stall in Chinatown Food Court @ Tanjung Malim, Perak

Chinatown Food Court is a place that I have blacklisted some time back solely for the quality of food that we get there. Initially when they had first started, business was good and that was mainly from those 'curious' customers who wanted to check the place out. Just like me, the majority of them were frustrated with the food that we got there and eventually it went on a decline forcing most of the stalls to close. A few months back, another set of stalls have opened up and among them, is a Indian food stall. This stall opens for business from 6.30 pm till 10.00 pm, Mondays to Saturdays. Variety is limited but I guess for the volume of customers that they have on a daily basis, this should be just fine. They do Nasi Lemak, White Rice, some curries which are rotated on a daily basis and Tosai. Pretty much that's it as far as variety is concerned. 

Rice, Chicken Curry, Chicken Perattal, Sardine Sambal and Petai Sambal @ RM 6.50
This entry is a compilation of two visits. On the first visit, I tasted their rice and curries and on the second visit, I went for their Nasi Lemak just to get a grasp of the taste. Cooking style is very much home style cooking.No MSG is used and it did look very good. Being the greedy me, I took a little of everything on the first day.As you could see from the above photograph, I went for their Chicken Curry, Chicken Perattal, Sardine Perattal and Petai & Anchovies Sambal and all this for just RM 6.50 which I felt was very reasonable. I am very confident that we cannot get the same variety for this price in any restaurant in Tanjung Malim. 

Chicken Curry

Comes with lots of potatoes
Their Chicken Curry was on the lighter side. Not to say that it was diluted, it wasn't just the thick type that you get in most South Indian restaurants. Oh yes, I forgot to mention that these people are Punjabi & Tamil mix and so it's not surprising to see a strong resemblance of North Indian style of cooking here as well. Coming back to the Chicken Curry, despite being on the lighter side, it did taste good. Another thing that I loved is the generous usage of potatoes in all their curries. Being one who loves potatoes, this was a pleasant surprise to me. Good it was and I would give this a 7/10.  

Chicken Perattal
Their Chicken Perattal was again not the yellowish looking Chicken Perattal that we commonly get. This was red in colour and looks pretty similar to Ayam Masak Merah. Slightly sweet and spicy. The meat too was a little stiff. Not sure if they fry it first and then add the chicken to the spices. But, despite the differences, it did taste uniquely good and I loved it. As far as rating is concerned, I would give this a 8/10. 

Petai & Anchovies Sambal
This was a super spicy preparation. The good thing here was that they were generous with the anchovies. The setback however was the fact that they had sliced the petai into two. If they had used whole beans instead of halves, then it would have been much better. Nevertheless, it was still good and I would give this a 8/10 as well. 

Sardine Sambal
Oh goodness, this was heavenly! It has been years since I had a sardine sambal that tasted this good. Everything was perfect. Right from the sourness till the level of spiciness, everything was just right. One that I would highly recommend to try here. This deserves nothing less that a perfect 10/10. 

Nasi Lemak @ RM 2.00 + Mutton @ RM 2.00
The next day, I tried their Nasi Lemak and since they had Mutton, I added that as well. Their Nasi Lemak set was priced at RM 2.00 and the extra mutton that I took was priced at another RM 2.00 . The rice was good, creamy as it should be and the sambal was excellent. As for this basic set, I would give it a 8/10.  

Mutton
Even for the mutton, it came with lot's of potatoes and the price of RM 2.00 seemed very reasonable to me. This would easily be more than a small plate of mutton and some restaurants even charge RM 5.00 onwards for this. Taste wise, it wasn't too spicy, the spices were perfect, the cuts were lean and overall, it was a very satisfying dish. I would give this 9/10. 

Having tried both their core dishes, I am definitely very happy with this place. The food never tasted like restaurant food. Very much home cooked style, very reasonable prices and I always get a very warm reception from them. Honestly, I won't mind having my meals here daily. That's how satisfied I am. Definitely a place that I would recommend. 

Address: Jalan Setia 1, Taman Wangsa Setia, 35900 Tanjung Malim, Perak, Malaysia.

Opening Hours: 1830 - 2200 Monday - Saturday

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