PETALING JAYA, June 4 — If you’re on a quest for the perfect cheese naan, may we suggest you visit Chacha Naan & Biryani?
Tucked away in the often-forgotten Medan Selera Section 14 in Petaling Jaya, this stall without a signboard is only open during lunch time. It draws an appreciative crowd for its fluffy naan, tandoori chicken and value-for-money biryani.
The man behind this five-year-old stall is Pakistani native Abdul Latif, 73. The name of the stall is a nod to his heritage as “chacha” means uncle in Pakistani.
He embarked on a career in the kitchen back in Karachi from the age of 15. For five years he picked up his skills by working his way up to five-star restaurants in Pakistan.
From his days in Pakistan, he picked up the skills to make cheese naan which he tells us was labelled as “pizza” by the locals.
About 27 years ago, he migrated to Malaysia. Throughout his time here, he has worked at many restaurants all over the country from Kelana Jaya, Masjid India, Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, Melaka and even Kulim.
For some time, he also relocated to Kelantan where he got married. As he is semi-retired, running this stall that is only open for lunch is perfect for him since it means shorter working hours.
Even though he has workers helping him out, Abdul Latif is the main man in the kitchen. You can watch him preparing each flatbread as the orders roll in.
A bowl of the naan dough is prepared ahead and rolled into balls. He’ll flatten the ball of dough and generously sprinkle grated mozzarella cheese over it. It is shaped into a ball again and flattened. A final sprinkle of grated cheese is added on top before it is baked.
The flatbread is made the traditional way here; the dough is slapped onto the hot walls of a tandoor oven. This is preferred for its very high heat and intense temperatures.
Once it is ready, he will use the two metal rods to pick up the flatbread and flick it out from the hot oven. Just before it is served, they add a smear of margarine over the hot naan. The cheese naan (RM5) will be served with dhal, chickpeas and potatoes for extra flavour.
You also have the option to pair it with tandoori chicken for RM12. Another popular variant of the cheese naan is the cheese chicken naan (RM7) where shredded chicken is also added to the flatbread to make it more substantial.
Once you taste the cheese naan with its fluffy texture and melted cheese, you will appreciate the experienced hands that make this truly superb.
We also noticed that the naan didn’t turn hard when it was cold; no wonder so many people were packing back their naan orders.
The tandoori chicken (RM7 per piece) is also pretty good with a more natural look minus that scary red colouring. We found it juicy and flavourful and a delicious pairing with the fluffy naan.
The chicken is marinated with a spice yoghurt base and cooked in the tandoor oven prior to lunch time. Just before you eat it, just squeeze the cut lime over the chicken to give it a slight tangy taste.
Their biryani offers you the best bang for your buck. It is cooked daily in a huge aluminium pot to ensure everything is fresh. Usually by 11.15am to 11.30am, it is ready to be served.
For just RM8, you get a mountain of long, soft, fluffy rice grains paired with tender chicken pieces that are lightly seasoned. The stall only uses high-grade Basmati rice to cook their biryani the Pakistani way.
As the spices for the biryani tend to be rather muted, we recommend you pair it with the more flavourful dhal that has a nice creamy consistency. Equally good are the tender chickpeas and soft sliced potatoes served with a thick flavourful curry that come with the biryani.
For RM12, you can opt for either the mutton biryani that is served with chunks of tender mutton or their biryani special where plain biryani rice is paired with a piece of their tandoori chicken. The stall also offers biryani bukhara. Even though Abdul Latif’s cooking repertoire is quite wide, he prefers to just stick to a few staples for the stall.
Work at the stall starts from as early as 7am as they need to prepare the ingredients ahead. The cooking starts about 10.30am onwards to ensure everything is piping hot and ready for customers by the time they are open for business.
Unfortunately none of Abdul Latif’s children are interested in continuing their father’s legacy. He is currently trying to teach one of his relatives how to make tandoori chicken.
For the Ramadan period, the stall will extend their opening hours until it is time to break fast. Dine-in customers can order their food and break fast at the food court.
Chacha Naan & Biryani
Stall No. MR19
Medan Selera Section 14, Jalan 14/24, Section 14, Petaling Jaya
Tel:016-3147160
Open daily: 11am to 3pm
