Savory Serendipity....

Sometimes, it's the simplest things that give us the biggest smiles. And for a foodie that often means a surprise meal. So imagine the joy when I received a box of home made  Malaysian nasi tomato with chicken and achar. Sweet serendipity.... thanks to my friends at the Malaysian Consulate in Karachi - Mr & Mrs Abu Bakar Mamat. How's that for diplomacy?

Tomato rice is usually reserved for festive occasions like Hari Raya (Eid) or weddings. The rice is flavored with tomatoe puree and spices and usually served with a chicken curry - Ayam Masak Merah (red chicken). 

There's public diplomacy. There's culinary diplomacy. And then there's Malaysian diplomacy. The Malaysians in Karachi seem to be have culinary diplomacy down to an art. The average Malaysian's passion for food is represented in the way they engage with Pakistanis with generosity and respect. And Ramzan is the perfect season to experience this passion for food in Malaysia. However, this year, we will get to experience some of that distinctly Malaysian flair for food at a weekly Ramzan Bazar filled with Malaysian delicacies. What, where, when and how? Stay tuned!

Kuala Lumpur Eats: Kembali Kitchen

I think very few countries in the world can boast the kind of culinary variety that Malaysia enjoys - not just in it's home grown cuisine but also the influences it enjoys from China, India, Middle East and  South-East Asian neighbours. Authentic Malay cuisine might be a little bit jarring to Pakistani tastebuds - with extensive use of shrimps and anchovies both as ingredients and condiments. One needs at least 2 weeks in Malaysia    (3 meals or more per day) to begin to understand Malaysian food. However, hotel food is usually considered a no-go area for me, for anything other than breakfast. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the traditional Malay dinner served at a hotel restaurant ....

This time round in Kuala Lumpur, I stayed at a very new hotel (just 2 months since it opened) - the Best Western Premier at Dua Sentral.  Located about 10 minutes from Sentral station - the transport hub of the city - it's close enough to the central district but still quiet enough to get some down time. They have big spacious rooms with big windows and great views - my standard double room was actually good for four people! 

The view from Best Western Premier 

The Kembali Kitchen is the hotel's signature restaurant and do they know how to give your a crash course in Malay cuisine! Great place to begin your 'jalan jalan cari makan' (let's go look for food) trail in Malaysia. We had a special 4 course traditional Malay dinner served - starters, soup, mains and dessert.

Starters included kerabu (coconut chilli picked fish salad), fried tofu with chilli sauce and rojak (vegetable and egg salad with peanut sauce). The tangy kerabu meets the spicy tofu meets the sweet rojak for a circus of flavors in your mouth.

Fewer things feel better than a big, steaming bowl of 'sup ekor' on a cold rainy day. Ox tail soup is a staple and a delicacy. The ingredients are oxtail (obviously) cumin seeds, anise seeds, corriander seeds, onions and potatoes - simple, hearty flavors. The soup is usually served with thick pieces of bread and garnished with spring onions.

That's me getting up close and personal with some rich 'nasi tomato' or tomato rice. That's rice cooked in a tomato broth and garnished with cashew nuts. This is not a daily dish, mostly reserved for Eid or wedding celebrations at home. 

And that is the main event - the full rainbow of Malaysian curries! From the top that's ayam masak merah (red chicken).  Mutton korma on the right (not be confused with Pakistani korma) is a stew of meat and vegetables including potatoes and green beans. The dark, deep brown curry is beef rendang - one of my all time favorite Malaysian food - a rich, heavily spiced, coconut based curry. Between the beef rendang is the ever popular shrimp curry. To offset the rich, spicy curries there's some steamed vegetables in the center - cauliflower, broccoli and carrots. So rich and colorful, such a pleasure to just look at even!

Red beans and black glutinous rice come together to make one of the most comforting desserts you could indulge in. A sticky, sweet warm soup that you are sure to finish, no matter how much you are served. And with a healthy yet filling dessert like this who needs a main course?

The Kembali Kitchen at Best Western Premier Dua Sentral is not your average hotel-breakfast-serving-room. It is a restaurant and destination in its own right. Do check it out if you happen to be in KL.

For more on my KL experience - go here. 

A Very Malaysian Eid...

Sometimes I wonder why we need an extended feast like Eid after the thirty days of Ramzan. Ramzan in Pakistan and pretty much every other place in the world is about food! However, there is no reason not to celebrate with friends and family over a good meal!

During my college years, I only spent one Eid at home in Karachi. The rest were all spent in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. with friends as good as family. I would get decked up in my Eid 'jora' that my mother would send from Karachi and head out to meet my land-lady, eat some food, collect my 'duit raya' or Eidee and began my rounds of visting homes of neighbours - eating and collecting money. Post lunch time, my friend Mutiara would pick me up and we would visit our friends. Every house we went to had oodles and oodles of food - beef rendang (a kind of caramelized beef curry) , ketupat (rice packets cooked in coconut leaves), laksa, ayam masak merah (literally, red chicken) , kuih (sweet cakes) and so much more! Needless to say, I miss my friends in Malaysia. But I also miss the joy with which Malaysians celebrate Eid .... 

This year, my friend Abu Bakar, the Malaysian Consul General invited me to an Eid open house at Rumah Malaysia. And it wasn't the usual stuffy, diplo dinner, it was like being back in Johor Bahru with my friends - gorging on the food, children running around, karaoke and great conversations. 

When we got there, Raya celebrations were in full swing - lots of families, lots of food, karaoke! As I started 'investigating' the food - it turned out that the Malaysian ladies of Karachi had been preparing for the feast for days before the event! Teams were assigned to each of the dishes. However, it turned out that the men had saved the best for themselves....

Prep-prep-prepping

Team Beef Rendang

Satay is a boys club delicacy

Following all this hard work, the guests were served up a feast of delectable Malay treats!

What a rainbow of  flavors and colors!

How do I love beef rendang? Let me count the ways - beef, coconut milk, ginger, galangal, turmeric,  lemon grass, garlic, shallots and various secret spices. Rendang is basically slow cooked beef in a spicy  coconut milk then the beef comes so tender it melts in your mouth. Rendang is reserved for festivals and weddings mostly.

Notice how the rendang has been demolished since the last picture

Serunding always takes me back to Johor Bahru where it was a staple at my friend Rahimah's house. 9 times of the 10 when I went to her house for a meal, there was a bowl of serunding. Serunding is basically curried beef that is then fried into a floss type texture. Abu Bakar tells me this batch of serunding was flown down from Johor - like a culinary postcard from my 'kampung.'

Beef Serunding

Up next, we step away from the beef for some healthier option - lodeh. Pick your vegetables and add some tofu to a lighter than usual coconut milk curry. I love the vibrant colors in this version and the crunch of the greens with the smooth tofu! Get a bowl full, add some nasi impit or steamed white rice and you have a new kind of comfort food!

While all this looks fantastic - it's all just a lead up to the fairest food of them all - the satay. A lot of restaurants in Karachi have satay on the menu - but please don't let them fool you. A satay is not a pre-cooked piece of meat on a skewer with a peanut puree. It is beautifully marinated pieces of meat on a skewer cooked over an open fire; served hot with a crunchy peanut sauce .....

Above is a perfectly crafted plate of satay by Abu Bakar Mamat of course! There was a time during the occasion when I was actually spacing out thinking about the satay I was eating, oblivious of the conversations around me....

Food is always fun. But it's better when served with love, new people and most importantly - karaoke! What a fun Eid evening this was - terima kasih Rumah Malaysia and all the teams behind the fantastic food. .... especially the handsome satay specialists....

And a special shout out to the super-cute, color coordinated families of Abu Bakar and Azmir (Malaysian Vice Consul) - how gorgeous are these families!

 Azmir and gang

Abubakar and gang

Karachi Chicken Rice

The best things in the life are often the simplest - ones that are comforting and familiar. Chicken Rice is my favorite comfort food. No contest there. There was a chicken rice stall called 'Warong Saga' in Johor Bahru, Malaysia where I lived for some 5 years that started this love affair of mine with chicken rice. Chicken rice and myself are currently in a long distance relationship. But some mutual friends of ours, helped us get together earlier this week.

Before, we get into the 'date' - for those of you who are not familiar with Chicken Rice, here's a quick introduction. It's actually Hainanese Chicken Rice - originating from China and popular in Malaysia and Singapore. The chicken is poached with a few simple ingredients. And served with fragrant rice cooked in chicken stock. Sounds simple but the preparation must be meticulous, when dealing with such delicate flavors. The chicken may be then steamed, roasted or barbecued. The entire dish consists of chicken, rice, chicken soup, chilli sauce, pounded ginger and dark soya sauce.

This is what it usually looks like:

Chicken Rice @ The Chicken Rice Shop in Vivo City Singapore

Roasted Chicken sprinkled with cucumbers, scallions and soya sauce

So back to my encounter with an old flame in Karachi. My friend Abu Bakar at the Malaysian Consulate in Karachi was kind enough to have me over for some authentic chicken rice. And home made too! Special thanks to our friend Azmir and his wife of course for cooking up a storm. But this was by far, the fanciest, classiest chicken rice I have ever had! Beautiful glassware, silverware and gorgeous blue and white plates and bowls monogrammed with Jata Negara (Coat of Arms of Malaysia). I could not have asked for a more gratifying meeting! Ah, to be reunited with an old fried, lover and care-taker is one of the greatest gifts ever!

What we have above is the best food money can never buy. Rice cooked and flavored to perfection; the chicken chewy and crispy. Ah and the authentic chilli sauce to go with that! The soup was packed with flavors and yet so light. Mix it all up in a spoonful and that's a warm hug right here. I think I closed my eyes on the first bite - rush of memories taking me to Johor Bahru and of course the joy of being reunited with a loved one!

And to just completely render me useless for the rest of the day, there was agar-agar for dessert! Agar-agar is basically a kind of light, sweet jelly.  Agar-agar is derived from sea-weed and sold in powder form for cooking (not in Pakistan, of course). The one we had some lychees and sago worked in to it. The perfect dessert for a hot Karachi day. Light, refreshing, cool and sweet!

Here's hoping that the Malaysian community in Karachi brings more of their culinary heritage to Karachi! Thank you Abu Bakar and Azmir - keep inviting me over! Terima Kashi!

Kuala Lumpur Eats: Jalan Alor

Kuala Lumpur is a popular holiday destination for Pakistanis. And pretty much my favorite city in the whole world, followed closely by New Orleans and Cairo. Malaysia, in general, and Kuala Lumpur particularly is a food lover's paradise. Few cities can replicate the variety, verve and the very culture of eating out the way Kuala Lumpur can. Food is cheap, delicious and aplenty! Name the food and you'll get it....

If you've been to KL, you've been to Jalan Bukit Bintang - the main artery of the tourist hotspot of the city. Bukit Bintang is lined with hotels, malls, restaurants and cafes. But right behind the BB road is the glorious Jalan Alor.

But this post is dedicated to the famous/infamous dried chilli chicken on Jalan Alor. It is a bit hard to name stalls on Jalan Alor, unless you can read Chinese - but surely you can ask around. Here's what it looks like:

Can you find the the bits of crisp, tender boneless chicken in the blazing red of the fried chilli? This chicken is unbelievably hot - like fire in your mouth. Perhaps, this is what created the fire breathing dragons of the Orient. The chicken is deep fried in some kind of batter and then re-fried with the chilli. The chicken retains its juiciness and surpisingly you can still taste the chicken with all the chilli! We ordered a side of slivered potatoes cooked in the same style. The potatoes are served with less chilli but it really doesn't help put out the fire in your mouth. Order some greens and tofu and plain rice to put out the fire.

My mother would not touch this dish with a ten-foot pole but as a true desi I loved it! However, you MUST visit Jalan Alor if you're in KL - try the dried chilli chicken at your own risk. It is advised to follow up the fiery meal with ice-cream to avoid unpleasantness morning after. This could be a walk of shame for those with a weak palate and stomach.