Restaurant D Maduras @ Batu Caves, Selangor

This restaurant has been open in the recent months here in Taman Sunway Batu Caves. Previously it was a family venture for many years, going by the name Restaurant Maduras in Sri Gombak. I heard that the brother's have split and that restaurant closed. With that, the youngest of them all, opened this restaurant here. If you drive along the middle ring road heading towards Sri Gombak, just after the Batu Caves Temple and the Ayyappa Temple, you would notice this restaurant on your left. This is directly opposite the Giant Hypermarket in Batu Caves. 

Restaurant D Maduras in Taman Sunway Batu Caves

Restaurant D Maduras in Taman Sunway Batu Caves

Interior of the Restaurant

Interior of the Restaurant

My friend has been telling me about this restaurant for some time now and today, since I had some work near Batu Caves, decided to drop by. The restaurant has a very nice setting, dim lights and air conditioned. For lunch, the specialty here is their Tali Sets. 

A Variety of Non Vegetarian Items

A Variety of Non Vegetarian Items

Good Variety of Vegetarian Dishes

The staffs here were very efficient in attending to customers. The moment we took our seats, they attended to us. We ordered two Tali sets and then I went over to check out the other dishes that they had. They have split their vegetarian and non vegetarian section which is a good practice. There was a good spread on both sides. The Chicken itself was cooked in five different ways and that is definitely good as it gives customers wide choice to choose from. Besides these, they also had Briyani. The Briyani was only cooked in small portion, guess that is not a hot selling item here and I was here for lunch and did not see anyone go for that. Almost all went for their Tali sets. 

Tali Set @ RM 6.00

For RM 6.00, I must admit that the spread was good.  This came with three different vegetables, Sambar, Venthayam Kuzhambu, Sothi, Rasam, Mooru, Moor Milagai and Kesari. The rice portion too was huge.

Cabbage

The cabbage was fresh and mildly cooked with spices, ensuring that it was still crunchy when served. Most places would overcook this dish and turns out to be nothing but fiber. I would say that this was a good preparation and shall rate this at 8/10 .

Kirai Kadaiyal

This Kirai Kadaiyal was very tasty, in fact one of the best that I have tried in restaurants. Made with ghee and dhall, it was simply perfect. Thoroughly enjoyed it. I shall rate this at 9.5/10 .

Vendikkai & Mochakottai Gravy

It is hard to see this dish these days. Not many restaurants prepare them. Once again, it was wonderfully prepared and made slightly spicy. I would rate this at 9.3/10 .

Sambar

The Sambar was literally thick and delicious, not the watery type that you get most places, if not all. This was fantastic! I would rate their Sambar at 9.8/10 .

Venthaya Kuzhambu

This Venthaya Kuzhambu was just above average. It lacked venthayam and would have been better if more garlic was used. On the other hand, it was also slightly on the watery side. I would rate this at 5.5/10 .

Sothi

Sothi is again another curry that we do not get often these days in restaurants. The preparation here was good, almost like the homemade one. I would rate this at 9.5/10 .

Rasam

The Rasam was wonderfully flavoured and it was nice though I would not say that this was outstanding or anywhere near the best Rasam's in town that I have tried. Nevertheless, it was still a good preparation and I would rate this at 8.7/10 .

Mooru

Their Mooru was above average too, slightly watery and lacked critical ingredients which make a good glass of Mooru like diced onions and chilies. I would only rate this at 5.5/10 .

Kesari

The Kesari was very good. They were definitely lavish with the use of ghee when preparing this. Definitely good stuff and I would rate this at 9.4/10 .

Chicken Perattal @ RM 5.00

Chicken Perattal @ RM 5.00

Besides the Tali sets, we also added some sides as I wanted to have a taste of their non vegetarian items. The above Chicken Perattal was one of them. This was one of the best Chicken Perattal's that I have tried in restaurants. The taste was just awesome and the portion was decent. I would rate this at 9.8/10 .

Tenggiri Fish Slice in Thick Gravy @ RM 3.50

Tenggiri Fish Slice in Thick Gravy @ RM 5.00

This again was just heavenly and even better than the earlier Chicken Perattal. The fish slice was huge and thick and was served in a thick, aromatic gravy. Absolutely heavenly! I would rate this at nothing less than a perfect 10/10 . For the price, it was definitely cheap.

Mutton Curry @ RM 5.00

Mutton Curry @ RM 5.00

When compared to the earlier Chicken Perattal and Fish in Gravy, this was not up to that mark but it was still nice. Prepared with lots of potato and spices, has made the gravy thicker than usual which is good. I would rate this at 8.5/10 .

On the whole, most of the items that we tried today were good, if not excellent. Their Tali sets are definitely value for money and the non vegetarian items that we tried too were delicious. Definitely a place that I would recommend. Hope the maintain the standards and not let them drop after some time. The prices also seem very reasonable and hope that too stays for a long time to come.

Address: No. 2, Jalan SM 1, Taman Sunway Batu Caves, 

                68100 Batu Caves, Selangor, Malaysia.

Opening Hours: 0700 - 2300 Daily

Restoran Hainam Chicken Rice @ Sungai Buloh, Selangor

Kampung Baru Sungai Buloh indeed has a great array of food to offer. In the past, I have blogged about a number of food outlets here ranging from simple daily Chinese food to high end seafood restaurants. In my quest to search for new food outlets to try within the New Village area, I drove around and sighted this restaurant that is located along Jalan Welfare, the main trunk road in the New Village area and this restaurant is located directly opposite the market. I have previously blogged about another Chicken Rice restaurant here which specialises in the steamed variety. This one however, specialises in the Roasted variety. 

Restaurant Hainam Chicken Rice in Sungai Buloh New Village

Variety of Roasted Meat

Siblings Preparing The Food

Simple Restaurant

This restaurant has been around for more than 30 years now, started by the mother and now the legacy is continued by the sons. The restaurant has a simple layout and has both indoor and outdoor seating. Today, the mother handles taking the orders and cash related matters while the sons handle the food preparation. They also have some foreign helpers to help with the drinks and serving. As mentioned earlier, they specialise in the roasted variety. They also have the steamed chicken but that is prepared just as a contingency if anyone comes and asks for that and only a few birds are available daily. The other restaurant which specialises in the steamed variety is only a hundred meters away from this restaurant and they in no way can compete with them when it comes to this steamed variety. The roasted ones however sells in huge volumes daily. Not only chicken, they also have roasted pork and Char Siew.

Cutlery

Herbal Tea

I like the fact that the cover the cutlery with tissue papers ensuring the cleanliness of the utensils. We both ordered the Herbal Tea and it was pretty good. I must say that it was pure and concentrated with very little rock sugar used. Enjoyed the drink and it was very refreshing. I would rate this drink at 8.8/10 . I did not check the individual pricing of the food items and hence am not able to give the breakdown. However shall provide the total cost of the meal towards the end.

Butter + Ginger Rice

Once seated, we placed the orders with the mother and then the sons got down to prepare our meal. Within five minutes, the orders were served despite the restaurant being packed with customers. I observed that most of their orders were take away's and only a handful of customers dined here. Coming back to the rice, it was not the usual variety of white rice. This is the special rice made at restaurants specialising in Chicken Rice. This rice is prepared using lots of butter and ginger. The rice itself was so delicious that you could eat it on its own. Creamy and delicious. I would rate their rice at 9.3/10 .

Our Extra Large Portion

Roasted Chicken & Roasted Pork

Char Siew

Though it was just the two of us for lunch today, we were both heavy eaters and ordered an extra large helping of the mixed meats with a special mention to add more roasted chicken. The meat that we took were the Roasted Chicken, Roasted Pork (Siew Yok) and Char Siew. The Roasted Chicken was extra soft and tasty. Even while having being roasted, the juices were intact and it was very good. I would rate their Roasted Chicken at 8.9/10 . The Roasted Pork too was very good. Crispy at the skin and supple and soft at the rest of the meat. Perfect roasting I would say. I would rate their Roasted Pork at 9/10 . The Char Siew was very good too. Reminded me of the Char Siew that we used to get in my hometown some 15 years back. Not like the ones that you get these days at most of the restaurants. This is definitely still made using traditional ways. The Char Siew, I would rate it at 9.3/10 . Extremely happy with their meat.

Clear Soup

Soups were provided complimentary. Even their soups, which was a very simple preparation boiled with waste chicken bones and feet, was extremely delicious. I must give them the credit for this simple yet wonderfully tasting dish. I would rate this at 9/10 .

Chili Paste

When here, you must never miss to try their homemade Chili Paste. This was a super spicy preparation with a tinge of lemony taste at the end. Very good preparation and goes extremely well with the Chicken and rice. I would rate this at 9.5/10 .

Our total bill for this afternoon including the drinks came to RM 22.50 which is a very reasonable price. This place definitely has some great food to offer. The food is great, prices very reasonable and the owners are so friendly. Even after our meal, despite the restaurant being quite crowded, we sat for a while having a discussion and the owners did not say a word about having us to leave as they lacked tables. Excellent hospitality! Definitely a highly recommended restaurant for Chicken Rice lovers. I would not mind travelling the distance to taste their Roasted Meats which are excellent.

Address: AL 211, Jalan Welfare, Kampung Baru Sungai Buloh,

                47000 Sungai Buloh, Selangor, Malaysia.

Opening Hours: 1100 - 1500 Daily (Or Till The Meats Get Sold Out)

Kepong Food Court @ Kepong, Kuala Lumpur

After having been in India for about two weeks, we returned yearning for the local food. Tonight, we decided to head to Kepong to try out this food court which is located along Jalan Metro Perdana Barat 14, right opposite AEON and Carrefour Kepong. 

Huge Number of Stalls

Huge Number of Stalls

Huge Number of Stalls

This place has been around for a few years now. This place is famous as you get more than 60 different stalls here selling a variety of food. You get Chinese, Taiwanese, Hong Kong, Portuguese, Malay food and Western grilled items here. Definitely a variety that is not easily found under one roof. The place as I know it is mostly packed, especially on weekends where it may take a while for you to even get a table. We were lucky that we managed to get a table almost immediately. Having taken our seats, each of us did a long walk checking out the stalls before finally placing our orders. Ordering here is quite simple, just walk up to your desired stall, mention the table number and the dish that you would like to have, and then it is sent over to your table.

Mutton Satay

Mutton Satay

Peanut Gravy

There is a Satay stall right at the corner where we were sitting and he had Chicken, Mutton and Beef Satay. We decided to go for the Mutton Satay. The Satay's were good, meaty and no fat. The taste too was quite nice but not as good as perhaps Sate Kajang. For just a normal stall, it was quite nice. The peanut sauce too was not watery nor thick, it was just about the right texture and mildly spiced. I would rate this satay at 8/10 .

Prawn Mee

Prawn Mee

The Prawn Mee was just above average. Though it had all the ingredients as you can see from the photograph above, the soup was quite bland and that killed the overall taste. The number of ingredients is important but the key item, is the flavour of the soup which was lacking here. Definitely not recommended. I would only rate this dish at 6/10 .

Fried Chicken

Fried Chicken

The Fried Chicken Stall is located on the other end from the Satay stall. This stall specialises in only fried chicken selling fried chicken, fried chicken pop corns and fried chicken skin. The Fried Chicken was really nice, well marinated and deep fried to a golden brown colour, just the way it should be. I would rate this at 8.7/10 .

Chee Cheong Fun

Chee Cheong Fun

This Chee Cheong Fun stall is somewhere in the center of the food court. This guy sells the above standard Chee Cheong Fun, Curry Chee Cheong Fun and Yong Tau Fu items. He also has the flat and rolled variety of the dough to choose from. Basically, here one would add as many extra items that you would need. The Chee Cheong Fun was nice and indeed the items were fresh. Definitely a good preparation and I shall rate this at 8.2/10 .

Char Kuey Teow

Char Kuey Teow

The Char Kuey Teow stall is located on the far end, quite close to the Satay stall. The portion and taste were good. It also came with lots of bean sprouts, eggs and cockles. Not something outstanding but it was good. I would rate this at 8.4/10 .

Deep Fried Fish with Chili Paste @ RM 18.00

Deep Fried Fish with Chili Paste @ RM 18.00

This stall is a very large stall specialising in seafood items and is located right next to the satay stall. It is difficult to miss this stall as if I am not mistaken, this is the largest stall occupying three units. They have seafood like fish, cuttlefish, cockles, clams, crabs, prawns, giant prawns, squid and many more. A variety of preparation is done here and all have been photographed and displayed at the stall for ordering convenience. We went for the above Talapia fish and requested him to prepare in the above method. Pricing is standard too. Small is RM 18.00 and Big is RM 22.00 .The fish was wonderfully deep fried to the extent that even the head was crispy. The spicy sauce was a tad too spicy so just be cautious when ordering this style of cooking if you are not able to take very spicy food. I would rate this dish at 8.9/10 . 

Us Having Dinner

Us Having Dinner

This was definitely a very satisfying dinner and a huge change from the last two weeks. I would recommend this place as it has a huge variety of food to choose from, the prices are reasonable and the food court itself is quite clean. Good to go in large groups as you get to try more food items like the seafood which are ideal for sharing. 

Address: Jalan Metro Perdana Barat 14, Kepong Utara, 

                Kepong, 52100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Opening Hours: 1700 - 0200 Daily