PETALING JAYA, March 23 — It's that annual rush again... just before Ramadan starts, I often get into a frenzy to satisfy my cravings for Malay food.
I only discovered this place’s existence when a friend posted it on social media. It's often hard to determine what makes a stall stand out from the crowd via pictures as one needs to taste it first. And strangely enough, I never get tired of Kelate food as I feel each stall has its own unique recipe.
This particular stall which started in February this year cooks up their Kelatanese dishes based on family recipes that are 100 years old. The stall is even named after their grandfather Tok Wan.
They offer five types of rice dishes for you to pair with their assortment of gulai and cooked dishes. There's nasi dagang, nasi minyak, nasi kerabu, nasi kukus and nasi berlauk.
From what I understand, their best sellers are nasi dagang and nasi minyak. In fact, by 9am, the pot of nasi dagang was almost finished already. As they are open till 4pm, I am sure there will be a new batch made to cater for the lunch crowd.
You can select from an assortment of dishes to pair with your choice of rice. Stand outs include the daging kerutuk, gulai kuning ikan tongkol and their solok lada. There's also daging bakar, ayam percik and ayam masak merah.
For other eats, you can try their ayam masak kicap, gulai ayam, ikan celup tepung, daging goreng, paru berlada, fried chicken and more. Overall, the dishes' level of sweetness is more restrained hence they're enjoyable for me.
The nasi dagang is truly superb. Each grain of the chewy glutinous rice is so fragrant that I would be happy just eating it on its own. You get a distinct flavour of coconut milk, ginger and halba or fenugreek seeds. It's served with acar timun and toasted grated coconut.
The lightly pickled vegetables help cut through the richness while the grated coconut adds a nice fragrance to the whole ensemble. I like to pair my nasi dagang with gulai kuning ikan tongkol. The gravy is not too thick with a slight sweetness to enjoy with the fish and the whole hard boiled egg. This is priced at RM10 for the meal.
The other item that is a crowd favourite is their nasi minyak with flecks of yellow colour. I decided to try their highly recommended daging kerutuk. This was a good pairing as the beef is tender and delicious with the spices. The portion is also generous too.
They give you a spicy sambal belacan and acar timun with your rice too. Expect to fork out RM10 for this combination. If you don't take beef, opt for the ayam masak merah (RM5) which is also a good choice. It's rich in tomato taste and the chicken is not overcooked.
The bright blue hue for their nasi kerabu tumis may be a turn off for some but if you look beyond the colour, it's a decent version with the mix of vegetables, a creamy gulai and salted egg.
I enjoyed the accompaniments tremendously as the solok lada (RM3) was excellent. The jade green chillies were soft and plump with a fluffy filling of fish and grated coconut.
The daging bakar and ayam percik (RM5) were pretty good too. The sliced beef was tender to the bite. For the chicken, it was grilled and basted in a creamy, mildly spicy sauce that I enjoyed. The nasi kerabu tumis with daging bakar is priced at RM9.
For the upcoming Ramadan, they will be open from 2pm onwards until it is time to break fast. In addition to their current menu, there will be an assortment of dishes offered.
You can get various fish items like ikan tilapia bakar, ikan keli cooked percik style and cencaru sumbat. They will also offer kerabu perut, pajeri nenas and dalca too. If you prefer noodles, there will be laksa Kelantan and laksam.
For those looking for a sweet treat to break fast, there will be an assortment of Kelantan style kuih during the whole month.
If you're looking for delivery, they are listed on Food Panda and Shopee Food.
Tok Wan Nasi Dagang, Laman Nuri, Jalan Nuri 7, Section 7, Kota Damansara, Petaling Jaya. Open daily: 7am to 4pm. Tel:+6017-3004213. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Tok-Wan-Nasi-Dagang-107696408459667
