Restoran Jalal @ Tanjung Malim, Perak

I am sure that everyone from Tanjung Malim would be familiar with Restoran Jalal. Once known as Restoran Ghani (which is still around and is being run on a yearly rotation among the brother's) which had been serving customers for more than 80 years in Tanjung Malim until the brothers' ended up splitting to start up their own restaurants, now scattered at various locations in Tanjung Malim. Today Restaurant Jalal is located at No. 40A, Jalan Besar where once Kassim Restaurant had been for more than 50 years since the 1940's. If Kassim Restaurant had still been around, that would then be the oldest restaurant in town.

Restoran Jalal located along the main road in town

All The Restaurants Have The Very Same Design

Simple Design

One thing that is common among the restaurants owned by the brothers is the design. Each restaurant looks exactly same as Ghani Restaurant, probably something that belongs to the family and they have preferred to keep it that way. The place is simple and reasonably clean. Business is usually peak during breakfast, lunch and tea. Dinner would be a little slow as there would be more takeaways than dine ins. We were here for dinner and that is why the restaurant may seem a little quiet. My brother and I drop by at least once a week to get our Mee Goreng fix here and so, we are well known to the owner and staffs. Moreover, the owner's son was my brother's classmate in school. Prices are relatively cheap when comparing with Kuala Lumpur but after the recent GST introduction, they have hiked it up a little. Not too much and still within acceptable limits.

Teh O @ RM 1.20

Teh Tarik @ RM 1.30

Usually, the Teh Tarik here is very good but recently, they had gotten a new staff to handle the drinks preparation as the previous one had returned to India. This new guy is still on the learning curve as the drinks today was seriously bad. The Teh O was still acceptable but the Teh Tarik was horrible. This is something that we almost would never experience here and I am surprised that the owner had not identified this problem. For today's drinks, I would rate their Teh O at 7/10 and the Teh Tarik at 4/10 .

Roti Canai and Fish Curry

Roti Canai @ RM 1.00

Roti Canai @ RM 1.00

Their Roti Canai is one of the best one's in town and the taste has been consistent over the years. Reasonable priced at RM 1.00 (and this is after the recent hike), the bread is soft and tasty. I would rate their Roti Canai at 9/10 .

Fish Curry

Fish Curry

Their Fish Curry is excellent. This is one of the best Indian Muslim style Fish Curries in town and is one of my favourties at this restaurant. Of course, when you buy any bread or rice dishes, curries are complimentary. I find this curry to just be amazing, one that is rich with spices and tamarind. Perfect taste! Of course, the Tamil style of preparation would clearly differ. As for this, I would rate it at 9.7/10 .

Nasi Lemak @ RM 1.20

Nasi Lemak @ RM 1.20

Creamy Rice

Mildly Spicy Sambal

Not many are aware that Restaurant Jalal does have Nasi Lemak. This is not their own preparation as I believe, they have a local Malay supplier who sends this over to them on a daily basis, Mondays to Fridays only. This is available from tea time onwards. Previously, it used to be priced at RM 1.00 and now, RM 1.20 .The preparation is excellent. Just a small packet but it is mega tasty. Creamy rice served with some medium spicy anchovy sambal along with quarter of an egg. This with a good cup of tea would be just perfect to keep you going. If I am here in the afternoons post lunch hour, this Nasi Lemak would be my very first choice. I would rate this at 9/10 .

Maggi Curry @ RM 3.00

Prepared With Some Vegetables

You Get An Egg Too

Nicely Prepared

This is the first time that I am trying the Maggi Curry at this restaurant. I found that their preparation was nothing great. It lacked vegetables, though there were some that were added. The curry too ended up being slightly diluted and would have been better if it was a little more concentrated. In short, nothing great and I would rate this at 6.5/10 .

Roti Arab @ RM 2.90

Roti Arab @ RM 2.90

This and the food items below were takeaways. The cutlery you see used in the pictures were our own and not from the restaurant. Best to keep that clear as to avoid any confusion. Roti Arab is a kind of flat bread that has been becoming more and more famous in the recent years. It is a typical soft flat bread (not hard like Pita) that's lightly toasted with butter and served with curries. We had this with the very same Fish Curry. This would not be suitable to be eaten on it's own as it is very much tasteless. Their preparation was just okay as it should have been toasted a little more to give it a slightly hard crust on one side. I would rate this at 6/10 only. Just an average preparation.

Capati @ RM 1.30

Capati @ RM 1.30

The Capati here is good. Some may not agree with me as it may seem a little hard but bearing in mind that this is made solely out of Atta Flour (without adding any Wheat Floor), I think that they have perfected it to a certain extent. It is not easy to achieve this level of softness using solely Atta Flour which is the authentic way of preparation. A lovely bread it was and I would rate this at 8.5/10 .

Vegetable Kurma

Vegetable Kurma

Vegetable Kurma was provided as one of the complimentary curries. To me, this was a flop. It had too much cinnamon and that killed the dish. Generally a very bland tasting dish and I would rate this at 4/10 .

Mee Hoon Goreng Ayam @ RM 6.90

Mee Goreng and Mee Hoon Goreng are my all time favourites here. They are priced at RM 4.00 for Mee Goreng and RM 4.20 for Mee Hoon Goreng. This is the revised pricing as prior to that, they were RM 3.50 and RM 3.80 respectively. For a change, today I decided to add some Fried Chicken to this and hence the price of RM 6.90 . Still cheap and very much cheaper than similar restaurants in Kuala Lumpur. The fried noodles were fantastic as always. Definitely one of the Top 5 Mee Goreng's in town and I would rate this at 9.5/10 . Do note that unlike other Indian Muslim restaurants, the Mee Goreng and Mee Hoon Goreng here do not taste alike although it is prepared almost quite similarly. Both have distinct tastes and are equally good. The Mee Hoon somehow has a more eggy taste to it, despite both being made using the same number of eggs.

If you happen to be in town and would love to try some old school Indian Muslim noodles which is almost impossible to get anymore in Kuala Lumpur, then this place would be highly recommended. Definitely a place that would satisfy your taste buds as far as the above two dishes are concerned and the prices too are wallet friendly. Besides these, the Nasi Lemak, Roti Canai, Capati and Fish Curry are also highly recommended!

Address: 40A, Jalan Besar, 35900 Tanjung Malim, Perak.

Opening Hours: 0600 - 2000 Daily