A Stall under a Highway Bridge in Downtown Kuala Lumpur

It has been nearly a week since I arrived back in Malaysia and I am slowly ticking off my “to eat” list . Even though I am as Aussie as they come, ‘til this day, the comfort food I yearned for when I am having a bad day is still predominantly Malaysian food.

My days in Malaysia so far have revolved around satisfying the nostalgia I feel for the food from my childhood. The day will start with mum asking me as soon as I open my eyes “What do you want to eat today?” This will usually lead to mum bringing me back to the hawker stalls from my childhood following by the owners of these hawker stalls going “Wow, you are so big now, cannot recognize you.”(yes, English is spoken slightly differently here, it is known as Singlish).

In addition to the places from my childhood, mum also brought me to new places and the one we went this morning for Nasi Lemak (rice cooked with coconut milk usually accompanied by fried chicken or a curry) has just been added to my “to eat” list on future trips back to KL.

As Malaysian as they come, this is a stall set up under a highway bridge with just some chairs in downtown KL. By the time we got there, there was already a queue waiting for the macik (Malay lady) to serve her customers, though grumpily. Given that it was hot, we decided to “ta bao” (take away).

The stall is famous for its fried chicken which was fried to perfection with its golden hue and produces a satisfying crunch as soon as you bite into it. The fried chicken is also highlighted with its accompanying sambal (Malaysian chili paste) which has a unique smoky taste.

Fried chicken

I also tried the other specialty of this stall, which shall I say is part of the cow which I don’t think we eat in Australia. I do actually like this dish and the balance of sweet and spicy flavour as well as the chewiness of the main ingredient reminded me of American Beef Jerky.

Nasi lemak with the fried chicken and squid (no, is not the part of the cow that we don’t eat in Australia).

Given that I will probably be having the leftover from this morning for lunch and Mum & I are off to the Night Market tonight to tick off another item on my “to eat” list, I should now get off my butt, put on my runners and head off to the gym.

p/s The gym I go to here offers free soft drinks (no, not diet) and has skinny personal trainers who eat doughnuts. Hmmm….. I guess it is as contradictory as me going to the gym after indulging on all these food. As one of my colleague told me, you can always work it off when you get back.