Tasty cili sumbat

FOOD TRAIL
By SAM CHEONG

HELLO folks and welcome to this week’s edition of the Food Trail.

Firstly, I would like to take a mail-call from reader Azman Abdul Latif from Seremban who wanted to know how he can source for some older articles on the Food Trail published by The Star.

Okay Azman, we have an online library service where old articles are kept.

Successful: Hassan’s nasi campur outlet in USJ10/1, Subang Jaya is usually packed to the brim during lunch hour.

I understand that it’s a paid subscription and for more details, you can contact our library and resource centre in Menara Star, Petaling Jaya.

Moving on, James Cheah from Bandar Puteri Puchong wanted to know if we can feature some German pubs in Puchong.

“Dear Sam, I have been a regular customer at two German pubs around Puchong and they serve really good pork knuckles. I recommend you to try it out as it benefits your readers.”

I’ve been to all of them and had a great time eating there. Unfortunately, the Food Trail covers mainly street fare.

Restaurant reviews are conducted by my colleagues on the Eating Out column.

That said, this week’s topic is Kelantanese fast food; basically their nasi campur.

My wife Michelle had recommended Restoran Hassan in Jalan USJ 10/1 in the Taipan area, Subang Jaya.

Hearty lunch: A combination of east coast dishes and ayam kampung goreng at RM12 a helping.

According to her, the ayam kampung goreng there is worth the money.

To further verify this, I asked an old friend Zakaria Abdullah or Pak Zakaria who is an old timer who resides in USJ11.

“Eh Sam, the shop your wife has mentioned is actually a Kelantanese outlet. They serve a decent fare and prepare some really tasty east coast dishes.

“But don’t expect the offerings to be spicy, much of the cooking is sweet,” he said.

I took his cue and decided to check out this makan place which is located in one of the busiest parts of Subang Jaya. But parking in this part of the township is a nightmare.

I suggest car pooling and using the multi-level car park around this area.

When I arrived at the makan place, the first thing I noticed, was the word ‘Nasi Ayam Goreng Kampung’.

Lots of choice: Customers queueing up at the outlet’s selfservice counter.

So, without much hesitation, I asked one of the staff members there if they serve chicken rice.

“Eh, takdo la bang, kami cuma ado nasi panah,” he said in a Kelantanese-Malay accent (No, we only have plain white rice served hot).

And when I looked at the dishes, I immediately zoomed-in on a tray filled with cili sumbat. This is a typical east coast dish with a hollowed piece of chilli stuffed with fish meat and grated coconut.

I also noticed the kerabu ulam and wasted no time scooping it up.

And at the end of the counter, there was a spread of fried chicken.

My pickings were four dishes, three vegetables and a piece of fried chicken.

The vegetables were as tasty as they looked and I must say that the cili sumbat really lived up to expectations.

As for the fried chicken, it was cold and rather stale. For a man my size, I could easily gobble down a few pieces.

But eating in this shop is not cheap. For the four dishes with rice and a glass of iced lime tea, I was charged RM12.80.

The good cili sumbat made up for this expensive lunch fare and at the cash register, I was told that Restoran Hassan is open from lunch hour till late at night.

Now, one last juicy bit from this outing is the fact that the owner of this makan place is one of the most successful bumiputra entrepreneurs in Subang Jaya.

The businessman and his crew of workers actually live around my neighbourhood in USJ26 and with the large house and fancy cars that they own, I’d say that Hassan has done really well.

For you gearheads out there, the lat-long coordinates to this Kelantanese makan place are: N 03 02 876, E 101 35 088.