Thursday, January 11, 2007

Bijan Bar & Restaurant, Kuala Lumpur

Ikan Percik

I'm normally not a huge fan of all the spices used in Malay food, but this place (3 Jalan Ceylon, 2031-3575) surprised me with a few dishes that I did enjoy a bit. The first of which was the ikan percik, which were "dory fillets marinated with turmeric & crushed ginger, chargrilled & drizzled with spiced coconut." I guess I liked this one because it was simple without any overhwhelming spices (plus I'm a sucker for anything cooked on a fire). Another highlight was the rusuk panggang, which is a "chargrilled marinated beef short rib served with spicy tamarind dip & sambal belachan," which was tender and tasty with all the fat weaved into it, all the while being only mildly sweet and spicy. A closer of pandan pudding drizzled with palm sugar syrup was a nice light closer too.

Pandan PuddingWe actually had quite a number of other items at our table, includeing some chicken curry, king prawn curry, and baby squid, but those were so heavy on those usual spices that I didn't eat too much of them. It was interesting to eat some local greens called pacuk paku, but in the end, this won't be the first place I'll come to when I'm in town. I suppose if it were my first time to Malaysia and I wanted a nice upscale (but still humble) place to come to try local food, then this wouldn't be a bad spot. But for me, I'd be headed straight to Jalan Alor for that ikan bakar again.

2 comments:

Sung Sook said...

I actually found your blog googling a recipe for dan dan mien and it looks like I hit the jackpot! WOW! I'm envious of all of your culinary travels! I'm living vicariously through your stomach.

Anonymous said...

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