Oman Dining: Eating down the streets of Malaysia

In the heart of the city of Kuala Lumpur, as you walk on the busy streets, you see numerous food stalls lined up in a row. The array of dishes are a real treat to the eyes. Known to be truly a hawker’s haven, if you are in Malaysia you are spoilt for choices when it comes to street food. Heavily influenced by Malay, Chinese, Indonesian, and Indian cuisine, the streets of Malaysia brightens up as soon as the sun goes down. I remember walking down one such food street which had these stalls on both sides of the road. Friends who had visited this place before that told me that if I really wanted to eat some thing freshly made and equally delicious in Malaysia I should avoid the swanky overpriced restaurants and instead try the street food. And so I did. After meticulously scanning through the menu list I chose Ayam Percik. I wasn’t too keen on being experimental that day and fried chicken with percik sauce seemed safe. Quite a popular dish in Malaysia, this is barbecued chicken slathered in chilli, garlic, and ginger sauce, and mixed with coconut milk. The marination was done well and the mildly spiced chicken was grilled to perfection. I also tried Nasi Lemak with Rendang Ayam, a very famous dish in Malaysia. Nasi Lemak is rice cooked in coconut milk. This mildly sweet rice dish is served in pandan leaves with fried dried anchovies, roasted peanuts, and sambal tumis, a fiery chutney made of shrimp paste, chillies, lime, sugar, and salt. Sometimes there is a boiled or fried egg or cucumber on the side. Sambal is very essential while serving Nasi Lemak. It is a popular condiment made of onions, chillies, garlic, lemongrass, turmeric, ginger, cooking oil, tamarind paste, palm sugar, and fish sauce. Rendang Ayam is chicken cooked in a rich and spicy coconut sauce is thick with a hint of citrus.
Here in Muscat, walk into this not so old Malaysian eatery in town and get spoilt for choice. Café Malaysia in Al Khuwair has lots on offer. Try the Nasi Lemak Rendang Ayam, a specialty dish of Malaysia. While Nasi Lemak Rendang Ayam is the hot favourite amongst all other specialties include Ubur Lambok Kampung Baru that is rice porridge with minced beef, Sup Tulang Pantai Timur that is beef bone soup, Daging Masak Merah or beef in red sauce, and Udang Goreng Tepung Berempah that is marinated prawn fritters. And one that is not to miss is Ayam Percik. The taste of Malaysian street food is not far away. —[email protected]

Café Malaysia
Al Khuwair
Contact: +968 9445 3050