The taste and smells of Kedah are the draw at Saloma for buka puasa, writes TAN BEE HONG.

THE 50th Merdeka celebrations may be over but chefs Kamaruzzaman Halim and Rogayah Sharif of Saloma Restaurant may be forgiven for feeling just a little nostalgic still.
For Ramadan, they are showcasing cuisine from Tunku Abdul Rahman’s home State, bringing the smells and flavours of Kedah to Kuala Lumpur.
“It seems appropriate to feature Kedah dishes this year since the Tunku is from there,” says restaurant manager Mohd Yazid.
The Citarasa Utara buka puasa buffet will see a different variety of Kedah specialties served daily alongside local favourites and some western dishes.
Stalls will be set up where chefs will cook a la minute, items like ikan bakar with air asam (grilled fish with tamarind dip), satay, roti canai, murtabak, shawarma, laksa Kedah, lemang, pasembor, cucur udang, ais kacang and cendol.
“Kedah dishes are not so pedas (hot) and tend to be more subtle in flavour compared with Malay food from other States,” says Kamaruzzaman (or Man, as he is better known). “This is good too as we have many foreign tourists coming in here to dine.”
Saloma Theatre Restaurant is popular with tourists who come in for a complete experience of Malaysian cuisine and culture  as there is an hour of colourful cultural dances every evening.
“The basic ingredients are the same,” chips in the chirpy Rogayah whose interest in cooking was fuelled by watching and helping her mother in the kitchen. “It’s only the combination of spices that makes a difference.”
Actually, it would seem that the more restrained use of spices and chilies allows the flavour of the ingredients to shine better. One can taste the sweetness of the tenggiri fish in the Pindang Ikan Utara, for instance. This dish, a little like Ikan Asam Pedas, is lighter and mild enough to interest even western tourists.
Diners start with Malay-style salads as well as garden greens with western dressings and condiments. Take your pick of appetisers like Kerabu Ayam Nonya, Urap Jantung Pisang, Paru Goreng Berlada, Ikan Masin Berbawang, ulam-ulam and keropok. Follow this with a delicious, hot, steaming bowl of Sup Ekor (oxtail soup), Sup Ayam Mamak (chicken soup) or Bubur Lambuk (spicy congee).
Then move on to hot items like Daging Kuah Cabai, a mild beef dish and Opor Ayam, braised chicken in mild coconut gravy, and Dalca Kambing (mutton dalca). None of these are hot and even young children will find no problems. The chicken is tender as are the slices of beef and mutton. To go with the dishes, there’s white rice as well as choices of nasi biryani, nasi dhal and nasi tomato. Or one can choose to have breads like roti canai, roti jala or lemang.
Action stations feature noodles too like Laksa Kedah. This is thick rice noodles in a fish gravy that’s reminiscent of Laksa Penang. But it is not as piquant and definitely not as fiery hot.
There’s hard boiled egg added and the usual condiments of shredded cucumber and onions as well as herbs like daun kesom. “We use kembung fish for the gravy, just like how the Kedahans do it,” says Man.
Seafood plays a big role in Kedah cuisine, says Man, especially in the coastal areas.
Apart from Sotong Masak Kuning and Pindang Ikan Utara, there is a tangy fish head curry, crabs in creamy yellow gravy, pineapple fish curry and a delicious Udang Masam Manis. For the latter, fresh water udang galah is the main ingredient, each looking ferociously red and huge. The sauce is mildly hot, with sweet and sour flavours coming together beautifully.
For dessert, there’s a variety of Malay kuih, including Kedah-style Pulut Kaya, which I thought was serimuka until I had a bite.  The green layer on top of the compacted glutinous rice is softer in consistency, more like a spread of pandan kaya rather than the more solid stuff in serimuka.
There are also assorted French pastries, cakes and fruit.
The Citarasa Utara buka puasa buffet from 6.30pm, is priced at RM75 for indoor dining (inclusive of cultural show from 8.30pm to 9.30pm) and RM60 (dining only). Parking is easy as there are open spaces on both side of the colonial-style restaurant.

SALOMA BISTRO & THEATRE RESTAURANT
Pusat Pelancongan Malaysia, 139 Jalan Ampang, KL
Tel: 03-2161-0122

(published: 09/09/2007)