PETALING JAYA, Feb 14 — Good honest food made by people who care about quality... that is getting to be harder to find but through a word-of-mouth recommendation, I found this stall at PJ SS3’s Selera Wawasan that serves home-cooked Malay fare run by two good friends, Kadri bin Sarimin and Ong Seng Thean, who are both 53.
Opened since last year, the stall was two years in the planning. It took them two rounds of application before they were successful in renting this space from the local authorities.
Ong gave up his job of 20 years in the FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) industry to take on this F&B challenge when Kadri returned from overseas.
Johorean Kadri is the whiz behind the dishes served here: a repertoire of classic Johor dishes like Johor laksa, mee bandung and Kelantan staples like nasi kerabu and laksam.
He had cut his teeth in hotels like Pan Pacific in Johor Bahru and Hilton Petaling Jaya. The amiable man also did overseas stints in Sweden and Frankfurt where he served diplomats in the Malaysian embassy.
In Sweden where he was based for three years, he was taught how to cook Kelantanese food by Datin Normah, the wife of Datuk Badaruddin Ab. Rahman who was the Malaysian ambassador to Sweden at that time.
Popular must-eats here are the lontong, Johor laksa and nasi kerabu with its light blue-tinged rice. The lontong served with compressed rice cubes makes a satisfying breakfast with the turmeric-tinged sayur lodeh with cabbage, carrots and black eyed beans.
A dollop of their homemade sambal and sprinkling of toasted grated coconut or kerisik complete the dish. It feels very much like what Mak would whip up at home; comforting creamy flavours with a mild yet delicious taste.
It doesn’t stop there as the Johor laksa is equally satisfying with its thick broth filled with fish and served with spaghetti, herbs and preserved radish or choy poh. It’s best to drop by as early as you can... popular dishes tend to run out quickly as only a small batch is prepared each day to keep everything fresh.
Throughout the day, the stall attracts a crowd of faithful regulars... foodies who appreciate their home-cooked flavours. Ong told us about one customer who even made his way here from Cheras — all on the power of a word-of-mouth recommendation.
There is a sense of easy camaraderie here as some faithful customers even lend a helping hand to the busy duo by washing their dishes or help chop ingredients!
You will also find that the food here is easy on the wallet. Most of the dishes are currently priced at RM5, which the duo is trying hard to maintain despite the rising cost of ingredients.
Aside from their permanent favourites, regulars know to look at their whiteboard specials. It’s filled with items that Kadri cooks up on a whim. Occasionally, it’s an item that a person may have requested in bulk, like tomyam with rice.
For lunch, expect a different rice dish every day. Sometimes it is a culinary adventure... taking you as far away as Senegal! Kadri sometimes serves a Senegal dish known as chicken yassa with nasi jagung or rice with corn.
The chicken marinated in lemon and onion was a recipe he picked up from the Senegal housekeeper he befriended during his stint in Sweden. Other unusual dishes include Moroccan rice, chicken pilaf, nasi tomato and nasi Arab. It doesn’t stop there, as Kadri also makes pandan rice — tinged green and with raisins — served with a divine chicken kuzi.
With his Jawi Peranakan heritage from his mother’s side, Kadri also can cook up dishes like nasi lemuni and Jawi laksa. Sadly, the nasi lemuni is difficult to make here since the herb essential to that dish is only available on occasion.
Plans are also underway to streamline the current menu items into daily specials. For instance, they are re-introducing their well-loved mee bandung every Friday, as they have perfected a way to ensure it’s served in a timely fashion.
For Mondays, it’s laksam — creamy fish curry with handmade rice rolls topped with freshly chopped herbs, another winner of a dish. Another daily special is mee Jawa that they will introduce every Monday or Tuesday.
If you are scratching your head wondering about the name of the stall... Cik Mek Molek (Kelantanese slang for a pretty girl), Kadri was the one who came up with it since it’s synomynous with Kelantan food. And nope, there’s no pretty lass here at all... just good food cooked with a lot of heart.
Cik Mek Molek, Stall No. 9, Selera Wawasan, Jalan SS3/33, Petaling Jaya. Open: 7.30am to 2pm. Closed on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.
