Ewe Paik Leong
It takes Ewe Paik Leong two subsequent visits to try out the extensive offerings at Restoran Nasi Lemak Ayam Kampung
FROM afar, its neon sign glows with Sup Belut, Ketam Serbuk Kari, Ikan Stim Limau in carrot-red and blue, and above it, another sign says Restoran Nasi Lemak Ayam Kampung.
I weave between rows of tables placed on the roadside, step onto the five-foot way and traipse past plastic tubs brimming with fishes displayed on a bed of crushed ice. A sign besidethe restaurant’s entrance announces that a surau and another dining hall are housed upstairs.
Inside the restaurant, past the cashier’s counter, a tank of wriggling eels and a counter upon which sits a row of cling-plastic wrapped mango pulut, the split-level dining room is rectangular and furnished with marbled-topped tables and high-backed upholstered chairs. There is also a private room.
Immediately after I sit at a table, a waitress places a thick menu in front of me and walks away.
The menu is filled with colour pictures.
The first page highlights four types of nasi lemak: country chicken, ayam merah, cuttlefish, grilled fish and cockles.
Subsequent listings are grouped into kerabu, tomyam, seafood, eel, soup, noodles, egg and Western (chicken chop, lamb chop and sirloin steak). Eel can be cooked as soup, spicy fried or turmeric fried, while fish steamed in tamarind & lemon, steamed with ginger, done in sweet-sour style or in three flavours.
Desserts choices include pulut hitam, pengat durian, bubur jagung, badak berendam, pengat pisang madu, kacang hijau and bubur sagu.
TASTEBUDTEST #
Since nasi lemak is the restaurant’s signature dish, it is a must-try. I order the country chicken nasi lemak. The dish consists of a
piece of chicken, half an egg, nuts, anchovies and sambal. The ayam kampung’s skin is crispy while the meatis tender and moist.
The sambal is a blast as its chilli heat and funky fragrance are in equal measure. This nasi lemak could rank among the best in the country, if not for the rice, which is rather claggy.
My eel soup comes with slivers of tomatoes, sprinkled with fried onions and scallions, and is delectable. The soup prickles with ginger-heat but it is enticingly subtle.
The sharpness of the tomatoes overwhelms whatever aroma there is of the eel whose meat is dense and crumbly.
TASTEBUDTEST #2
I return the next evening to try out the restaurant’s other dishes.
Ayam permaisuri turns out to be sweet and sour chicken with green peas, baby corn, diced carrots and slivers ofthe bird.
As it is served in a container wrapped in silver foil, I assume that it must have been prepared en papillotte (cooked and served in a paper wrapper). However, the magic is missing. Though there is nothing wrong with this dish, it lacks character and does not engrave itself on my memory.
Mixed seafood tomyam has lala, squids and prawns wading in a rust-coloured soup that is punchy with lemongrass and coriander. A scatter of parsley adds brightness to the dish, and the seafood does what it says by bringing me to the ocean shore. This moreish dish works my appetite which results in my rice being depleted quickly.
I end my meal with mango pulut. Though the mango slices look greenish, they are sweet.
Alamak! The pandan-flavoured pulut is a disappoinment as it’s hard and results in a coarse mouth feel. Drenching it with coconut milk salvages this dessert from being a flop.
Though many kinds of fruit juices are available, my choice of pandan turns out to be the perfect finish to the zippy sweet sourish tomyam.
FAST FACTS
RESTORAN NASI LEMAK AYAM KAMPUNG
WHERE No. 43, Jalan Ali Pitchay, Ipoh, Perak
TEL 05-254 4318
HOURS 4.30pm to 2.30am daily
FOOD Malay and Western food
PICK Country chicken nasi lemak, eel soup and seafood tomyam
PAY From RM10 to RM15 per small dish
MOOD Buzzy and casual
SERVICE Fast and efficient
I SAY Go give it a try