PETALING JAYA, May 18 — I'm feeling nostalgic. This weekend, Hari Raya celebrations will kick off. It'll be a subdued affair with the CMCO but in spirit, I'm celebrating albeit a little earlier with lontong.
I've got no choice as most eateries have started to close orders already. Lucky for me, Lontong & Such is still open till May 21.
Located in the food court at SS3, Lontong & Such run by Azlan Aziz and his wife, Nor Azizah Abdul Karim (Azie) and their friend, Shahniza Shamsuddin, has been my special place for that comforting bowl of lontong.
The flavours are reminiscent of what you'll get if you visited a friend's house for Hari Raya celebrations. They do other food items like big breakfast, nasi Ambeng, soto but for me, the star of the show here is their lontong.
You have their sayur lodeh, an orange broth laced with coconut milk. It's not your usual light yellow hue tinged with turmeric but the flavours are deeper as it marries Azlan's Johor heritage and Azie's Selangor one.
The colour may not be what I'm used to but I love the deeper flavours as Azlan is said to use a special rempah for it. You also get cubes of tempeh, long beans, fuchok, serunding kelapa, sambal and kuah kacang inside your bowl of lontong.
There are different varieties of lontong from the basic version for RM6 but I often go for the one with everything since I don't eat it often. My Lontong Power (RM10.50) packs a delicious punch with sambal sotong, ayam goreng and paru goreng. The textures are beautiful together as their toppings aren't as hard as that found in other stalls. For instance, usually paru goreng can be very chewy but here they have a nice, soft bite to them.
Last but not least, hidden under the mountain of toppings, there's their softer nasi impit or compressed rice. Mix it all up and slowly relish your lontong.
If you wish, you can even order the lontong for your Hari Raya celebrations. For the first time, they are offering a special package for 20 persons for RM200 with all the items ready for your celebrations.
There is also a soto, nasi ambeng and rendang sets available. You can pick up the food before 7am on the first day of Hari Raya to enjoy at home.
Lontong & Such, Lot No. 21, Wawasan Selera SS3, Jalan SS3/33, Petaling Jaya. Open: 11am to 6pm. Tel: 017-6237813. You can pick up the food or get the food sent to you via Grab or Foodpanda too. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lontongnsuch/ They will be closed for Hari Raya from May 22 to May 26. From May 27 to June 9, their operating hours will be 8am to 1pm.
