Peace of Mind

Last week when I decided to bukak puasa with my former collage mate in Bandar Puteri Puchong, little that I know that I would encounter a very good nasi briyani chicken along the way.

I decided to bukak puasa near my friend’s home in Bandar Puteri in Puchong, which is a hell of a drive from Bangsar, using Federal Highway & LDP on rush hour! I am not sure if the name of the restaurant is Nasi Kandar Sri Bayu or Sri Bayu only, but whatever it is, it’s called Sri Bayu.

The seller of the nasi briyani is not the owner of the restaurant, but he merely rent a spot in that place to ply his trade on this honorable month. We talked quite a few things, and one I quite remember is that he said he only sell at this place during Ramadhan. On other month he sells at other places. For the food itself, he stores the rice, chicken and eggs together in a wooden basket old skool style, which I think enhances the aroma of the food brilliantly. Then it’s also served with dalca, typical gravy for nasi briyani.

Since I was trapped in the rush hour traffic, I arrived at the place at around 7.50pm, and my friends were finished with their meals. One of my friends did eat the briyani, and the plate was clear without a piece of rise, so it makes me interested to try. People may say it’s delicious because we were damn hungry because of the fasting, but fasting never affected my consciousness especially in decision making process. I was well aware of reality, so my judgment was made with a straight head, not exaggerating.

The rice was well cooked, not too dry, and not too sticky, with a little bit of oil to it, typical nasi briyani. The colors are nice yellowish with a mix of white and dark brown here and there. I can say that if you eat the rice with only dalca, that wouldn’t be a problem at all. Then the chicken was the best part. Since the chicken and the rice were cooked in the same kuali, the tastes and aromas of both compliment each other perfectly. The tenderness of the chicken, only God knows how to describe it. It’s so tender you want to swallow the bones altogether, but that might get you in some trouble later, haha. If you want to feel the juicy part of the chicken, make sure you ask for the drumstick or thigh part. That’s the best part of the whole chicken in my opinion. Then, the telur rebus comes together with the meal, and completed with the dalca gravy, which in my opinion, simply taste great! It’s a simple meal, but honestly it caught me by surprise to find out that in this corner of the world, I would find a very good, respectable nasi briyani, never ever mentioned in any blog by anyone. So, where’s credit due, I am taking this opportunity to inform you guys about this great discovery and I personally encourage you to give it a try.

My kind friend decided to pay for my meal because I had to endure quite a massive traffic jam to reach their place, so if you ask me how much it cost, I can’t answer that. But I believe it’s in the region of RM5 – 8. Since then, I’ve been ‘googling’ around for nasi briyani in KL that’s been recommended by bloggers, and so far I think http://www.photomalaysia.com/forums/showthread.php?t=73121 this one is currently the most talked about, as far as blogging is concerned. But, since the Zainul Nasi Kandar debacle, I decided not to trust any of these blog until I try it myself, and you guys should do the same. By saying that, I am not asking you guys to believe what I write here, but as an encouragement for you to try out yourself.

To give a rough direction on how you can go there, let’s start with the IOI mall. If you’re coming from Sunway toll and heading to Puchong, you’ll see IOI mall on your left, and Tesco on your right. Drive straight until you see a small signboard indicating Bandar Puteri or Giant. Keep on your left until you’ll reach the junction, and make the turn. After the turn, you’ll see Giant on your left straight away, keep right and head on the ramp. The road is an uphill road, so drive until you see a big building with a HOSPITAL sign in blue. Make the left turn at the hospital and you’ll see shop lots on your right. The restaurant is in that shop lot area. Look for Sri Bayu, it’s a corner lot restaurant with bright lights, so I’m confident you’ll notice it in no time. The place also has free wifi, so make sure to bring your laptops or your expensive Macbook while enjoying the nasi briyani. Below are the maps to make it clearer on where the place is exactly.

I give it a surprise 8.5 out 10 for the food, and it easily beat the Ismail nasi briyani in TTDI by a good margin. If you’re driving from Bangsar to Puchong like me, I’ll say it is worth the journey.

for full size, click here

for full size, click here

P/S: One more thing, please don’t compare this food with the expensive, air conditioned ‘original’ nasi briyani eatery anywhere in KL, because I’m not a fan of expensive restaurant and I believe most of us appreciates rare or low-profile kind of eatery as their favorite destination for food hunting.

First of all I would like to thanks everyone who wrote numerous blogs regarding where to get good food in Klang Valley and what type of food for what kind of price and so forth. Because some of their blogs was used as a reference for me to go out and try myself what they have been writing about (and compliment), especially nasi kandar.

As a Penangite, we were born and bred with nasi kandar around. Every road, every short cuts and every corner of a building, there’s a big chance that you might pass by a nasi kandar stall. Before we go on, let me get the fact straight, bar Hameediyah, most of the best and original nasi kandar are sold at stalls, not restaurant. This is fact that everyone should be aware of. In the exception of Hamediyah, which is located in a shop lot, it’s been there for 100 years, so the authenticity cannot be questioned at all.

Most outsiders think that the best nasi kandar Pulau Pinang is Pelita, Kayu or Kassim Mustafa. That is the only thing they know because those names are the most commercial of all. But if you come to Penang and ask the people here where you can find original nasi kandar, I can guarantee you guys that none of the above names will be mentioned. Not even a whisper of it, hehe.

So, as I’ve been staying in KL for a good 9 years now, the search for good nasi kandar goes on. One of the most mentioned nasi kandar outlet that I found on the internet was this Zainul Nasi Kandar in PJ. Numerous blogs heaps praise about their food and some even claim to drive all he way from port Klang to PJ just to get a taste of this original nasi kandar because it tastes so good. I think that it must be something special then. So we went there.

To be honest, I was very very disappointed with the overall taste of the food. It was well below my expectation, considering most of the blogs wrote positive reviews and some claims the food as authentic. Sorry to say, it was all wrong. You may argue that every person has different taste, but in this case, even nasi kandar Pelita seems great if you compare them side by side. In the gravy, there was nothing that reminds me of Penang. There was no bendi, no cabbage and telur rebus for that matter. And then the workers are all white!! Where are those fast-hands mamaks that we all know that’s been their hallmark? How in the world it can called itself Zainul Nasi Kandar Pulau Pinang is beyond me. The only positive thing that can be said about this place is that the long 10- 20 meters of queue does resembles a bit of Nasi Beratoq. But if those in line thinks that this is the original nasi kandar, they have been duped badly. Pity them..

Even Raihan Nasi ‘Ganja’ Kandar at Glenmarie is 10 times better than Zainul, and Mohd Yassin Jalan TAR is 3 times better than Raihan. This is my opinion, but this is a very detailed account of my opinion, after much consideration and choice of words. If you are excited about trying this food, forget it! If you want to try because you want to know how bad it is, then go ahead. But please keep in mind to NEVER think it as nasi kandar Pulau Pinang, because you may want to turn the table over in disbelief later.

I can only describe this food as a good nasi campur melayu, nothing more. If he thinks that his food is original nasi kandar Pulau Pinang, then it certainly is a very bad nasi kandar Pulau Pinang. For my fellow Penangites out there in KL, I advice you better to go to Raihan in Glenmarie or Mohd Yassin in Jalan TAR for far more better nasi kandar. At least if they claim that their’s is nasi kandar Pulau Pinang, I can smile and say “nice try”…

Ridhuan Abu Bakar 2009