Enjoy lime rice
Mestika and two of her colleagues seemed busy taking pictures in front of one of the restaurants that specifically served Minang cuisine on Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, Chow Kit, Kuala Lumpur. Some bags full of items are placed near them.
The woman from Nias, North Sumatra, had just finished enjoying the special cuisine of Minang at the Napau Rice Restaurant in Chow Kit because she happened to be in the heart of Kuala Lumpur City.
On the first weekend of January 2024, according to him, for the second time eating lime rice at the restaurant.
“ Because he has cuisine according to Indonesian tastes. With my tongue right, ” said Mestika giving reasons why she was eating again at the restaurant.
If the distance from the restaurant was close to its current location and place of residence, maybe it was every day that he enjoyed glare rice.
Although still clump, for matters of taste he admitted there remained a favorite difference between WNI and Malaysians.
Therefore he more often cooks his own daily food which he consumes, and strongly chooses the food menu when jajan is outside.
Mestika, who has the nickname Tika and is an Indonesian migrant worker, claims to have worked for about 5 years in Malaysia.
Before returning to Batu Caves, Selangor, where he worked now, he was with two of his colleagues, one was an Indonesian citizen (WNI) and the other came from Sabah, take time to enjoy lunch at the restaurant.
Desy Aryanti, Tika’s colleague from High Cliff, North Sumatra, who has worked for about 4 years in Malaysia, first just eat lime rice there and claim to be able to enjoy the taste of the Minang served in the restaurant.
When asked about his favorite menu there, curry sujang became a choice not to be missed by them. And their facial expressions support their answers.
That afternoon, Tika enjoyed the glare rice with succinct curry, plus avocado ice. “Best!” said Tika.
Similarly, Sultia Mardini from Padang City was on vacation in Kuala Lumpur. Together with his children and grandchildren that afternoon enjoyed Minang’s cooking at the Napkin Rice Restaurant.
Chicken Pop became one of the menus they ordered. But did not forget Sultia ordered a tuft curry to take home.
“ For dinner, ” test him. Because on that weekend they don’t plan on cooking alone.
Bloody Sultia Minang can certainly easily feel the difference in the taste of lime rice that is usually enjoyed in its original place, namely Bukit Tinggi, with the one in Kuala Lumpur.
However, for the size of the lime rice that he enjoys abroad, the cuisine served at the Napau Rice Restaurant in downtown Kuala Lumpur already represents the delicacy of the typical Minang cuisine.
As a complement, he also ordered a shingle ice that had a different and distinctive syrup flavor.
If Sultia had only tried lime rice in the restaurant, this would not have been her daughter who had been an expatriate working in one of the companies in Kuala Lumpur. He had stopped by several times to enjoy glare rice there.
Usually he would choose to explore Malay cuisine considering it was in Malaysia.
The menu of Malay cuisine that he used to look for such as fish shady or spicy acid, including fish tempoyak made from durian fermentation.
Various menus
The time shows around 11:30 Malaysian time (MYT) or 10:30 West Indonesia Time (WIB), and already appears in line in front of the restaurant. On average all faced and Malay, but there are also foreigners who stop by for lunch earlier that day.
From outside the restaurant storefront that seemed so awake, it could be seen by various dishes of Minang cuisine that were still piled high, considering that the restaurant had not been open for so long.
A number of cuisine names are adjusted using Malaysian. Like a potato perkedel banged, then fried catfish written jelly fried, tripe curry written abdominal curry, cassava leaf curry written vegetable yam, while squid curry is usually called sutang curry.
As for the balado menu all are written with sambal, such as balado eggs commonly called puffed sambal, sambal eel, sambal sardine, sambal tengiri. The Minang restaurant also provides neglect or what is commonly called cupping in Malaysia, and certainly the skin crackers that characterize the Minang restaurant-dining house.
Other mainstay menus such as pop chicken, slow jerky, chopped, brain curry, succan curry, intestinal curry or on the High Hill are known for translucent curry, Macao vegetables consisting of young jackfruit and cabbage, fish head curry, to egg tea or in West Sumatra famous for the designation of talua tea are on the list that is worth a try.
Waiters at the restaurant are friendly, and understand the difficulty of language adjustment especially if the buyer is from Indonesia. They patiently serve one by one their customers who are not all good at Malay.
At exactly 12:00 MYT, there were only a few empty seats in the restaurant. Most of them come in peace with one family or with friends so that they rarely look empty seats during the “turping” stomach-prone hours.
In terms of price, simply “ is bankrupt ” or reasonable. As ala carte complete pop chicken with chili, succan curry, intestinal curry, and shrimp chili are valued at RM9 per piece at an exchange rate of RM1.
The price of jerky is slow, brain curry, salai curry fish is listed as RM8. As for the curry of the fish head listed at the price of RM10 per serving.
The waiter at the restaurant did not appear to be holding a vegetable spoon with a long handle like the one used on Bukit Tinggi. Because indeed the dish containing various side dishes was not arranged too far from reach.
But one thing that is unique, from all the authentications of the presentation of lime rice in the restaurant, one thing that has been mixed with the way Malaysians eat a career cuisine, i.e. request “ flood quah ” like while enjoying kandar rice.
“ Flood fruit, ” said one of the Malay-tailed customers, who was then repeated by the restaurant waiter coupled with a nod, which shows he understands that he must add coconut milk from various menus there to flood the rice and side dishes that the customer has ordered.
The Nasi Kapau restaurant, which is open daily from around 11:00 MYT and closes around 19:00, is one of several restaurants serving typical Minang cuisine in the area around Chow Kit. Some of the many known there are Rose Restaurants, Simple Restaurants, New Garuda Restaurants, New Campung Rice Restaurants.
So for those who happen to be in the heart center of Kuala Lumpur City and longing for Indonesian cuisine especially typical of Minang, there is no need to be upset, just choose one of the restaurants there. Simply opening the online map application for restaurant locations can be easily found.
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