New food trucks have roared into KL & Selangor in recent weeks, revving up a key trend for the F&B entrepreneurial boom. Expect to see more mobile vendors-on-wheels pop up in the months ahead, but for now, this is the Klang Valley's essential guide to getting Italian & Japanese street eats at cheaper-than-restaurant prices.
Little Fat Duck, which surfaces on most nights at Subang's SS15, bears the most intriguing name of these trucks _ it could be an allusion to its founders' culinary ambitions, since the truck serves no duck. The men here nonetheless supply a makeshift eating space by the street for patrons _ helpful, since the wait for Little Fat Duck's food can exceed 15 minutes at peak hours.
Little Fat Duck is scarcely two weeks old, but it's already amassing a significant fan base for its pastas; choose from bolognese, carbonara or aglio alio _ with chicken or beef _ or pesto with fish, each for RM5. One serving probably suffices for a light dinner, though some customers might require two or three.
It's frills-free food, capably executed under the limitations of budget & circumstances, but rudimentary in preparation & flavour. The word 'Gourmet' emblazoned on the truck is a shrewd tagline, but it might not necessarily fit. Note that the truck can be swamped sometimes, so customers who take away their orders should check to confirm everything's in the bag; we ended up missing the pesto fish pasta that we had paid for, but that was equally our fault, since we could see that the men in the truck were struggling to keep track of multiple orders.
Little Fat Duck also offers chicken confit & grilled fish with Hollandaise sauce (RM12 each, both with mashed potatoes) ...
... mushroom soup (RM4) & omelette with shredded cheese & choice of chicken ham or beef salami (RM3) ...
... & house-made milk pudding (RM3). Soft drinks & iced lemon tea cost RM2, so it's possible to eat & drink here for RM10. The caveat is that while it's likely a fair bargain, it's not an exhilarating steal. That's OK though.
Another truck that might be worth chasing: the cheerfully coloured SpagMe, which operates in different places on weekdays for lunch. It's more often at Jalan Dungun, sometimes outside Ampang's Wisma MCA & occasionally at Pusat Bandar Damansara.
Fried spaghetti is Spagme's forte; prices start at RM6.50 for spaghetti with egg, chicken sausage & ham (no pork here), RM9.50 with tempura fish, RM11.50 with chicken fillet & RM17 with spicy lamb.
We like Spagme's prices; there's more meat than expected in their substantial servings, surely enough for a heavy lunch. Not the healthiest meal around, but hungry patrons shouldn't mind much. Spagme often teams up with a pink-coloured juice truck named OMFJ Oh My Fruit Juice, so you might see them side-by-side at their locations.
Next up, back to black: La Famiglia, the only truck that runs both for lunch & dinner. It's mainly at Dungun in the daytime & heads to Subang (SS15 too) after sunset..
La Famiglia's pastas range between RM6.50 & RM8. The priciest option, 'The Boss,' is pretty worthwhile, with plenty of spaghetti in a sweet-savoury combo of carbonara & bolognese sauce, topped with tender chicken slices, onions & garlic. We slurped up each strand & every bit of the sauce.
Finally, some Japanese: We caught Oishi Bento at Dungun as well, though it tends to travel to other office enclaves throughout the week. Fortunately, there's a phone number on the truck for folks hunting for them.
Forgot how much this cost, but it proved the most satisfying of our food-truck finds: Japanese rice, warm & flavoursome, with creamy Japanese curry (comprising chicken, carrots & potatoes), hot & even more flavourful, plus a side salad & a selection of tasty maki slices.
Restaurant-level fare; Oishi Bento provides us with optimism that KL's kerbside enterprises will continue to raise the bar for themselves, serving menus that prove not merely wallet-friendly but palate-worthy too.
Note: Everyone's doing their job, but what makes it tough for these trucks is that they're often chased away by city hall officers. All of them were forced to leave Dungun on a recent weekday, only minutes before the lunch crowd flowed out of the offices here.
Little Fat Duck. SS15 Subang (usually outside Public Bank). 8:30pm-midnight, Tues-Sun.
Spagme Food Truck. Daytime, Mon-Sat, Jalan Dungun, Wisma MCA or Pusat Bandar Damansara.
La Famiglia. Lunch at Jalan Dungun, dinner at SS15 Subang.
Oishi Bento. Whereabouts a constant mystery, but call Alan at 012-663-8733 to check.
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