A taste of Terengganu (with a touch of Kelantan) has come to Puchong, thanks to Mek T, a family-run cafe that serves East Coast specialties.
Rojak betik. This tangy salad of pickled papaya, pineapples & cucumber, smothered in a thick, fishy puree, might prove an acquired taste.
Nasi dagang _ addictively aromatic, with long-grain & glutinous rice cooked with coconut milk for a pleasurable stickiness. Paired with a rather oily tuna curry.
Nasi ulam. Kampung cooking at its tastiest; even reading the menu's description for this is mouthwatering _ rice colored blue with "bunga telang" (clitoria flowers) & accompanied by grilled fish flakes, herbs, crackers, chicken, ulam, gulai & sambal.
Something sinful: Nasi Sedapp Sokmo _ basmati rice with chicken-&-egg curry & pineapple sambal. Delicious, but carbs are the customer's worst enemy at Mek T.
Pulut lepa. Fish-stuffed glutinous rice grilled in banana leaves, best eaten warm.
Laksam. Always a pleasure _ handmade, thick-cut noodles, generously coated in a creamy gravy of fish puree, coconut milk & ulam.
The local version of spaghetti marinara, this laksa comprises noodles in fish paste. Not as terrific as laksam, but tasty nevertheless.
Keropok lekor. Made with more fish than flour (ikan parang & tenggiri).
Kar pek hu sah. The healthy version of keropok lekor, steamed instead of fried.
Mek Pau Goreng. Pan-fried paus, filled with coconut. Fairly fluffy & fragrant.
Lompat tikam. Glutinous rice flour & coconut cream with Gula Melaka syrup. Possibly the quintessential Malay dessert, considering that list of ingredients.
Mek T,
127, Jalan Kenari 23A, Bandar Puchong Jaya.
Tel: 03-8071-5707.
Closed Mondays.
Oh yes, owned by Cindy Tey and family. teycindy.com
ReplyDeleteRebecca: they seem to be doing a good job attracting the crowd. It was pretty packed on a weekend for lunch =)
ReplyDeleteIt's good to see this cos I've been craving for some dishes from the east coast for quite some time!
ReplyDeleteD nasi ulam, laksam n laksa looks like good bets for me :)
ReplyDeleteNeed to bring my mum here...she shud like it :D
i still need to get my ass there, darn!
ReplyDeletewow....all serving T'ganu food. I must take down the address la..Ya..I thought of bringing my mom there too...since she's from T'ganu. Bet she may love the place =)
ReplyDeleteAiya it's in Puchong - one of the places I rarely venture to. :P
ReplyDeletemichelle: oh ya, recipes like nasi kerabu seem relatively easy to find in KL, but there aren't too many restaurants that specialize exclusively in east coast fare :D
ReplyDeleteulric: yep, there seem to be lots of families eating here. and the food seems reasonably priced, so a meal here won't cost more than RM20 per person...
ky: the opening hours seem quite convenient! especially since they don't close in between lunch and dinner :D
ReplyDeletemelissa: oh, the family that runs this place is also from terengganu, i think (or at least the matriarch is). your mom and her might have something to chat about =)
baby sumo: heheh, yeah, it's not one of my usual areas either, even though it's only a 20-minute drive from where i live :D
yeah it's by Cindy Tey's family.I'm drooling at the keropok lekor.
ReplyDeleteeiling: heh, i don't actually know cindy. not sure if she was at the outlet that day =)
ReplyDeleteOh you gotta love them clitoria flowers... they give anything remotely grain-ish the loveliest blue colours... :D
ReplyDeleteI have to admit many of these dishes are new to me! I should have ventured out more, makan-wise, back when I was travelling in the East Coast!
kenny: yeah, and since the blue dye is all-natural, we don't have to worry about nasty artificial coloring! :D but anyways, if you're done with your cuti-cuti antarabangsa for now, maybe kelantan or terengganu could be a diverting cuti malaysia sometime in the next year. if the beaches there don't delight ya, the nasi ulam might! =)
ReplyDeleteLompat tikam! Yeah ... very quintessentially Malay. Read this from NST some time ago, though was kind of turned off by the fast food outlet-like interior, and serving presentation.
ReplyDeleteBut anything for some good nasi dagang and laksam.
j2kfm: heheh, this was the first time i'd ever tried 'lompat tikam,' i think! it'd be interesting to hear the opinions of anybody from kelantan or terengganu if they visited this outlet :D
ReplyDeleteAhhh next time when hubby got appointment there, I'm so gonna tag along :p Must also go to RT Bakery for Hokkaido cake
ReplyDeletebabe_kl: ooo, i haven't tried RT Bakery either! hokkaido cakes sound yummy :D
ReplyDelete