KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 18 — For many, the simple lontong is guaranteed to fill your belly especially for breakfast, when it is usually served. 

For some families, it’s a Hari Raya tradition to serve lontong for the festivities. In Indonesia where it originates from, lontong actually refers to the compressed rice cakes, which are rolled up in banana leaf and boiled for many hours to soften. The banana leaf often imparts a slight green tinge to the outside of the rice cakes. 

In Malaysia, these rice cakes are known as nasi impit, while lontong refers to the whole dish, where the rice cakes are cut into slices and served with a piece of hard boiled egg, sambal and sayur lodeh, a yellow coloured coconut milk curry with turmeric, prawns and vegetables like cabbage, yam bean and carrots. 

Depending on the cook’s preference, you can also find pieces of bean curd, tempeh, bean curd skin or clear mung bean threads, which are called soo hoon, served with the sayur lodeh.  

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Lontong is also topped with a variety of condiments to amp up the flavours, like serunding kelapa (roasted coconut) and peanut sauce. Different stalls offer various items that you can pair your lontong with like bergedil or potato cutlets, fried tempeh, beef rendang, sambal sotong or even fried cow’s lungs or paru

Mix it all together and you have a comforting bowl that is mildly spicy and fragrant with the peanut sauce and the coconut shreds. In Johor, there is a version known as lontong kering where the gravy from the sayur lodeh is omitted. 

Instead the rice cakes are tossed in a mixture of sambal, peanut sauce, vegetables, tempeh and your choice of beef rendang, chicken or even fried bean curd. 

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Anjung Selera Lontong Jawa, No. 28, Lorong Keramat 20, Kg Datuk Keramat, KL.
Open:7.30am to 12pm (Tuesday to Friday), 7.30am to 12.30pm (Saturday and Sunday). Closed on Mondays.

Located in a house within walking distance from the Damai train station, this 15-year-old stall is currently run by the second generation. It is worth your time to drop by to sample their delicious lontong. Here, the rice cakes are soft and fragrant as they are wrapped in banana leaf and steamed for eight hours. What makes their lontong special is their aromatic peanut sauce, topped with the serunding kelapa. The sayur lodeh is also kept simple with long beans, tempeh and tofu pieces. On Saturday, you can score their weekly special of kuih lopes. Aside from lontong, they also offer nasi lemak and nasi ambeng served with a choice of kicap ayam or beef rendang.

Lontong Klang, Emporium Makan, 1A, Jalan Harper, Klang.
Open:7am to 11am (or until food finishes). Closed on the third Monday of the month.

Find this 30-year-old stall at the food court right opposite the Pasar Jawa in the heart of Klang. Queue up for your plate of lontong, as this place is self service. Each plate is served with a small piece of bergedil or potato cutlet and crispy fried tempeh. Crowning the soft rice cakes, there’s a dollop of serunding kelapa and sambal. On the side, you have half a hard-boiled egg and sambal sotong. Unlike other places, their sayur lodeh is mainly pieces of yam bean. It’s a comforting bowl with those sweet and spicy flavours. They also have branches at Section 7, Shah Alam, and Bukit Tinggi, Klang.

Gerai Mak Yah, Lot P24, Pusat Penjaja Petaling Jaya, Section 14, Petaling Jaya.
Open: 7am to 10am. Closed on Monday and Tuesday.

Boasting a 40-year legacy, this stall remains the place to go for your lontong fix. Join the long queue to pick up a plate of lontong where rice cakes are piled high and liberally doused with a delicious combination of creamy sayur lodeh with chopped cabbage and long beans, thick peanut sauce, serunding kelapa, sambal, a piece of tempeh, fried bean curd and a halved hard boiled egg, which has been fried. You can also add sambal sotong, beef rendang or paru to your lontong, making it one hefty breakfast to fill you up till lunch. The stall also serves nasi lemak but the star attraction is their delicious lontong

Gerai Cek Nor Citra Rasa, Lot P20, Pusat Penjaja Petaling Jaya, Section 14, Petaling Jaya.
Open: 7.30am to 12pm. Closed on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday

The folks who live around Section 14, Petaling Jaya are lucky as aside from Gerai Mak Yah, there is another popular eatery here which also serves lontong. This stall is run by the second generation; the family is said to be originally from Klang. Order their lontong special that is served with a heap of goodies, like their thick aromatic peanut sauce, serunding kelapa, tempeh, tender beef rendang, paru and sambal sotong. The stall also serves Malay kuih.

Gerai Pak Samad, Lot 21, Pusat Penjaja Selera Muda, Jalan Haji Hashim, Kg Baru, KL.
Open daily: 6am to 6pm. 

Previously near the Kampung Baru LRT station, these stalls have been relocated to this new food court located right opposite Setia Sky Residences due to development. In the morning, you will find this stall is frequented by many for its nasi lemak and lontong. It’s a simple version with soft rice cakes topped with spicy sambal, hard boiled egg, fried tofu and your choice of sambal sotong or paru

Kafe Bawang Merah, Lot 12A, Jalan SS12/1B, Subang Jaya, Petaling Jaya.
Open: 9am to 10.30pm. Closed on Sunday.

This popular Malay eatery located opposite the hospital pulls in the crowd with its Malay fare like nasi lemak and nasi campur. The lontong is a simple vegetarian bowl of sayur lodeh topped with a dollop of fiery red sambal. If you wish, add the sambal sotong to your bowl of lontong. From 3pm onwards, patrons flock here for their homemade kuih. The cafe is self service, so pick your own food, pay for it and look for a place to sit.