KUALA LUMPUR, April 24 -- 'Tis the season for Malay food with Ramadan starting today.
And what better way to kick it off than with nasi dagang and nasi kerabu from Che Nah Nasi Dagang.
For those who live in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, you will be familiar with their food truck parked opposite McDonalds. They also have another food truck at Plaza Damansara, Damansara Heights.
During the Movement Control Order (MCO), these are closed. Instead, they have taken to cooking from home, where regulars can order their favourites for delivery.
A friend who lives in Taman Tun Dr Ismail connected me to them after they posted their takeaway business in the community Facebook group.
As they cook limited quantities of food every day, you need to book your meal at least one day ahead.
Just look up the menus posted on their Instagram and order through WhatsApp. You can pay via online transfer and it will be delivered to your doorstep.
You need to foot the bill for the delivery charge which will depend on how far away you are from Taman Tun Dr Ismail.
The Ramadan menu for today and Saturday is pretty extensive compared to their usual daily menu as it offers more choices with your nasi dagang or nasi kerabu. Choose between solok lada (fat light green chillies stuffed with a fluffy mixture of fish and grated coconut), daging bakar (grilled beef) or daging goreng (stir fried beef) with your blue-tinged nasi kerabu tossed with ulam and fish crackers.
The nasi dagang can be paired with the classic ikan tongkol curry or chicken curry. There is also the distinctively Kelantanese ayam percik where grilled chicken is served with a creamy sauce.
They also serve a fish version using ikan kembung. There are also a few cooked dishes and ayam goreng which you can order.
If you're looking for a sweet item to break fast with, they have a small selection of kuih that is popular in Kelantan. Expect such goodies like puteri mandi, where flattened glutinous rice balls are topped with grated fresh coconut. There is also nekbat which is a must-eat for Ramadan in the East Coast. These little yellow coloured cakes are made from ground rice and eggs, and drenched in a pandan-flavoured syrup. They are also serving tauhu sumbat to satisfy your cravings.
Do note that the Ramadan menu changes so view the menus on their Instagram account to order.
Instead of breakfast, your order during Ramadan will be delivered to you after 3pm for you to enjoy after you break fast. As I ordered before Ramadan, my food delivery arrived just in time for breakfast. All the elements are packed separately which made it easier for me to add more or less of what I liked.
Their nasi dagang has distinct reddish grains with an al dente texture. This soaks up the ikan tongkol curry beautifully. You also get a big chunk of the fish to enjoy with the rice. Accompanying the rice is a piquant vegetable acar, sambal belacan and crunchy fishy crackers. It's RM7.50 for the ikan tongkol while the chicken version is RM8.50
For the nasi kerabu, the vegetables are chopped and you can toss them together with the rice and the daging bakar cut into thin slices. A thin gulai or curry is paired with the rice.
I had ordered their solok lada as a side and it was a nice combination of slightly tangy with a generous stuffing of fish paste with grated coconut. The nasi kerabu with daging bakar is RM7.50. The solok lada is RM3.50 per piece. For the Ramadan menu, the solok lada is offered as an accompaniment to the nasi kerabu.
Both orders were so incredibly satisfying that I even skipped lunch.
To order from Che Nah Nasi Dagang, you can WhatsApp 017-3607916 and view their menu on Instagram @sitikay_16 Orders do fill up fast so be quick once they post up their menu to avoid disappointment.
