Sunday, March 15, 2009

ARAB STREET FOOD IN PETALING JAYA

Most friends know I go crazy over Singapore food. No, no, most Singapore food is not better than food in Malaysia, but some of the dishes are those that I grew up with. So maybe I am not objective when it comes to things like Singapore nasi lemak, kacang phool, mee rebus, murtabak, sup tulang or sumsum and nasi beriyani.
If and when I go down to Singapore, I really don't care who I am with or what my schedule is, nothing can stop me from making a beeline to Arab Street to get my dose of Singapore murtabak at either Zamzam or Victory restaurant.
So imagine when I found out that Victory Restaurant actually has an outlet in Subang all these months without me knowing it.
I was a llittle bit ambivalent as the last time a Singapore restaurant opened an outlet in Kuala Lumpur it failed miserably - this was of course the Islamic Restaurant which opened and closed down in Mid Valley some years ago.
So, this morning, I decided to go a seek out this Victory restaurant with my wife. I found it easily in USJ as a friend told me that it was adjacent to the Ayam Penyet restaurant and Pizza vs Satay restaurant and near the USJ Mosque.

It was empty. Not a good sign for a restaurant.
But the menu was tempting - all that I liked about Singapore food was there - Lontong, Kacang Phool, Soto Ayam, Sup Tulang Merah, Murtabak and Beriyani was there. Surprisingly, it also served Nasi Padang (accept on Sundays and Mondays).
I ordered the murtabak daging and the nasi beriyani ayam. Puteh, my wife, ordered Murtabak Sardin.

The murtabak looked good. But unlike the Singapore style which the cook 'destroys' the murtabak into innumerable pieces, here they served it flat and sliced. Like in Singapore, the murtabak comes with the cucumber slices dipped in sourish tomota sauce. Curry and dhal were also served - but true Singaporeans or ex-Singaporeans only eat the murtabaks with the cucumber and tomota sauce and not with the curry.
My take on this murtabak? It is 70-80 percent as good as the Singapore murtabak. The flour is not as tender or moist as the ones in Singapore - maybe a mite too thin and too crispy, but it gets my seal of approval anyway I would go again without much persuasion as I just love this kind of murtabak.

The beriyani ayam is also quite good. Eaten with the acar timun, it can be a great and simple lunch for most. Oh yes, don't forget to try the Air Bandung Ice Cream Soda....sweet and heavenly.
I would recommend this restaurant to all those who crave Arab street food. Slightly pricey but at least it is in Ringgit and not Singdollars.

5 comments:

Ajami Hashim said...

Salaam tuan rumah,

fyi, terbaru dari ajami hashim! hahaha klik sini >> ..kera di hutan disusukan?

zubin said...

wow, ini mesti kena pegi, saya dulu banyak spend time dengan untie kat Busseroh Street, belakang Arab Street, maklumlah Pak Cik dulu mufti Singapura semasa hidupnya. Skrang ada lagi Masjid Sultan dan Istana Kampong Glam, tapi dah jadi kelam. Suka makan martabat dan roti prata kat Arab Street.......

Sandy said...

thanks for sharing the info... would want to try it 1 day. by the way, if u ever know of any spot that has mee siam (i.e. 100% sama mcm spore) pls let me know. TQ

anwardi said...

Shad, 100% tu takde lah, tapi yang paling dekat mungkin mee siam singapore yang Killiney's Kopitiam jual...tapi kalau tambah lagi sikit tauchu dalam kuahnya, ngam habis.

Unknown said...

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