#selangorlicious eat out is one of the events aimed to promote selangor as a food destination in malaysia and to have a website akin to yelp and urbanspoon for food mainly in the selangor region.

my first #selangorlicious eat out last weekend brought me to restoran jamal mohammed, which is located across from wisma FAM in kelana jaya. i used to frequent that mamak place with my sisters for a late night suppers and "catching up" (more like good gossip)  before i moved to the states. they've not only renovated the place but also revamped their menu with the addition of different stalls that offer variety of halal food be it malay, chinese or indian cuisine.

the focus of this entry is on one of the most popular must try which i have heard everything good about from this place:: the nasi lemak kangkung kukus. even my sisters vouched for its deliciousness albeit the price being a little steep. i was looking forward to the nasi lemak experience since it is what i crave the most when i am out of the country. 

i've decided to share a plate of the nasi lemak with one of the new foodie friends i met from this event. well, reason simply being that i wanted to try as much food as i can. the line at the stall is tremendously long and i've heard it sells out pretty quickly throughout the day.

there are so many different types of meat ranging from fried chicken, to beef rendang and squid sambal that it would be more of a problem trying to narrow down which of the few things you would want to eat. and of course, you have to go with the namesake -- the kangkung (a.k.a water convolvulus) itself. 

we decided to try their beef rendang and brown squid sambal with their basic nasi lemak with kangkung. (RM 9)

presentation is the last on their list when it comes to food stalls.. at least most of the time. i like that they added banana leaf at the bottom to add a fresh fragrance to the whole dish.

well, let's break it down, shall we? the rice. typically coconut milk rice is the highlight of nasi lemak. off the bat -- the coconut milk and pandan fragrance were too subtle and i was wishing for more. the rice itself felt like regular white rice. however, the kangkung was great, retaining its crunchiness and seasoned just right.


we opted to try something different with our main dishes - the beef rendang, for one was a tad dry and didn't have the balance spice and ginger balance. the brown squid, on the other hand was cooked really well with a good bite and the spiciness of the sambal was just right. the dish was alright and wasn't as great as i thought it was rumored to be, unfortunately. maybe it has something to do with my high expectations for this nasi lemak but i, honestly, don't get the hype.

i noticed that the other customers who ordered nasi lemak chose the fried chicken instead (RM6). in fact, a couple of the other #selangorlicious foodies had similar minds.


while i didn't try the dish itself, i could see the chicken was dry. i asked if it was, to which i got an affirmative nod. most of us at our table was a tad disappointed, perhaps due to awesome things we've heard about this nasi lemak stall. i guess, even good restaurants has their bad days...

there are several other stalls that has its own following such as the penang char kuey teow, a local favorite (RM4.50) fried by aunty gemuk (her nickname is fat lady, in the most respectable way). while i was planning to order this, we were so caught up with so many other options that we passed on it. however, a few other foodies at our table ordered a couple of plates.


just based on the look of the noodles, it doesn't have enough char on the noodles which is an important aspect of this dish itself. hence the name char kuey teow. the color is pale which is pretty much the representation of its bland flavors. even with the extra chilli in it, it was lacking in flavor. two out of two not so good so far which was a tad disappointing.

a few other things we managed to fit into our bellies were :



possibly our favorite of the day :: tauhu bakar (or translated as grilled/roasted tofu). it is tofu pockets grilled over a hot plate till crunchy and then filled with a mixture of strips of crisp and fresh cucumber, bean sprouts and chopped peanuts in sweet and savory shrimp paste sauce.   it was crunchy on the outside that encompassed all the sweet, savory, fresh and crisp goodness inside. i did wish there were more filling to balance the amount of tofu itself.


curry noodles -- which i didn't have a taste of but a fellow foodie confided that it was pretty delicious and the lime was a much needed accompaniment.


cantonese fried noodles -- rice noodles bathed in smooth eggy gravy. from the one small bite i had, it tasted pretty authentically delicious. the sauce was not too thick and seasoned well.


wanton noodles with roasted chicken -- so we had this dish sitting at our table for the longest time and we looked at one another asking who actually ordered it. since no one claimed it, one of the guys decided to eat it up anyway since it was gonna go to waste and when i asked him what he thought about it, he said he preferred the regular chinese wanton noodles.

finally, we can't be at a mamak restaurant without ordering the usual suspects:

the drinks ::

teh tarik (a.k.a. pulled tea). i've decided that it's kinda pointless at most places whenever i ordered it to be less sweet (kurang manis) because it ends up being too sweet. this place was no different.


teh o' ais limau (a.k.a. iced lime tea) was a refreshing drink after a whole morning of food tasting. not too sweet, thank goodness and just the right amount of lime juice in it.

the food::


roti telur otherwise better known in english as prata bread with egg. i thought it was decent and wished for a sprinkle of salt to bring out the flavor more. there wasn't much of a crunch on the skin which i have yet to find someone who can make it that way. another counterpart which is roti telur bawang that has the additional chopped shallots. the shallots were raw which i feel is not a good combination with the rest of the prata bread.


roti planta is actually regular prata bread, only difference is it is cooked in margarine and typically with sugar as well. planta is a common brand of margarine used here. this was slightly crispy and just a good amount of sweetness that it reminded me of a thicker version of roti tisu.



murtabak daging or translated as meat curry parcel. it is usually served with pink pickled onions and dahl which are made of yellow lentils. this one had a punch of spices that i didn't mind but it was too strong for others around the table.

regardless, there are quite a few selections of halal cuisine if you are looking for a morning brunch spot. am i inclined to go back? not really but i don't mind giving the nasi lemak another shot. speaking to the #selangorlicious organizers, i found out that they were here the weekend before to do an initial test run and could only think of good things to say about it. as i said, even good cooks/chefs have their bad days.

even so, it was a great tasting session (sponsored by selangorlicious) with good company whilst meeting new friends who is as passionate about food as i am. thanks #selangorlicious for such a delicious and fun eat out event! :)

restoran jamal mohammed, kelana jaya | location

24, jalan ss5a/9, kelana jaya,
47301, selangor 

well.. despite me promising a quick follow up post, something unexpected came up and i had to postpone writing the second part of this installment... i had to deal with some huge personal life issues. but.. yeah.

anyway, here it is! part two of day two in tokyo.

after our visit to asakusa, we discovered a beautiful lane branching out of the nakamise street where each petite shop displayed their personality of its own.


walking down the street, i found another snack that i wanted to try! dango! {だんご}




dango is a japanese rice dumpling and it comes in various flavors. i think i may have gone for one that was sweet and savory at the same time, the sauce was sticky and the texture was a bit chewy which made it an interesting snack. they offer seats outside the store so you could rest and enjoy your little rice dumplings before heading off to your next spot.


soon, it was time to look for our lunch spot. on the way, we found the sign to our next attraction after lunch which we are very excited about.



info! there is an information kiosk with english speakers (a rarity) near nakamise street located in a big brown building (i can't remember the name...sorry!) where you can ask the guide how to get to your next destination near the area. there is also a money exchanger in the building which we had difficulty finding on the streets of tokyo. so if you find a money exchanger and you need yen, use it instead of going in search for others! 

armed with my trusty map and also help from the information kiosk, we found our restaurant, sometaro. and for what? okonomiyaki!

it is such an authentic japanese restaurant with a vintage feel that i was drawn to it. however, since it was  in the mid-summer, we were uber sweaty cos it was so hot and it didn't help that each low table on tatami has a hot plate. the additional standing fans were somewhat helpful but not really in cooling the place down.

a painting of the front of sometaro!

note no shoes in the restaurant! before entering the restaurant, remove your shoes and deposit them in a proffered plastic sacks by the door. 

one of the reason why i wanted to try this was that our lunch would be prepared by ourselves! even if you have no clue how to do it... have no worries, there are instructions in english to accommodate tourists such as us!

we ordered two dishes to share: one was gomokuten (¥680) which consist of steamed cuttlefish, steamed shrimp, egg, cabbage and minced meat. 

the other was tonten with a plum taste that includes pork, cabbage and shiso plum (¥630). 

the way to cook it is to mix the dough then pour it onto the hot plate. then play the waiting game.

once it is done, all you have to do is brush the sauce and top it with mayo. i'd recommend using the mayo and sauce cos it makes these japanese pancakes taste better. overall, i'd say the cooking and eating experience was a lot better than the taste itself. i was done after a few bites and the flavors were a little bland - somewhat one note. it could be that there was too much batter that it made me wish that {rmc} and i should have shared one.

as planned, we wanted to visit the latest attraction added to the tokyo must do list : the tokyo sky tree tower! we decided to walk there instead of taking the train just as a way to experience and appreciate the streets of tokyo. 

there are many entrances/exits here at this the tokyo sky tower town that it could get overwhelming just trying to find the main entrance to get tickets to go up the observatory deck. but fear not, there is an information counter that will direct you to the right direction. when we got in line, the sign displayed that there would be a 30 minute wait which we agreed to anyway since we were already here.  

while waiting, i was entertained by the informative animated feature on the long screen - sharing snippets of japanese culture which i thought was a really neat idea.

much to our disappointment, the weather was a little hazy that day and could barely see the tall buildings in the distance which only meant that we could not even spot where mount fuji was. :( but it was still interesting view as i noticed how close the buildings are to each other and the lanes were really narrow.

info! 

currently the tallest building in japan, as of time this was written

purchase your ticket from the 4th floor for the 1st observation deck (tembo deck) at 350m for ¥2000 and the ticket for the 2nd observatory tower (tempo galleria) at 450m for an additional ¥1000 is purchased on the tembo deck itself. 

closest access: oshiage station

after such a long walk that i guessed we may have burned most of our calories from lunch, i wanted a snack to cool me off on such a hot day and we opted for a sweet treat. i don't remember why i didn't take a picture of the tower cafe menu and worse, i forgot what the name of the snack was. 

as we we walked up towards the white machine, i was amused by the fact that we had to order and pay for the ramen here at this vending machine. 

everything was in japanese and there were no english translation so i wouldn't have been able to tell what to order if it wasn't for yuiko. well i suppose, you could just look at the pictures, try your luck and hope for the best. i asked her what i should try and she recommended the soup noodles that had everything on it - pork belly and marinated egg for (¥980). in fact, when we returned here for a second time without yuiko, {rmc} wanted to order a drink and we both had to compare the characters to a poster of a drink posted by the side of the machine and managed to order the right thing! haha

the chefs were hard at work making delicious ramen that it got to our table in no time at all which was perfect because i was starving. plus, i really wanted to try japanese ramen in all its glory.


i think it's official - my favorite japanese ramen is shoyu tonkotsu. the broth is rich, silky and full of savory deliciousness and the noodles were cooked to perfection. the marinated soft boiled egg were a perfect addition to richness. i have to admit it was a tad rich and preferred to have had some vegetables to cut through the heavy-ness but we loved it that we returned the next night for an encore.

so basically the concept is simple : 

o1 purchase your meal ticket from the vending machine. i'd recommend taking the shoyu tonkotsu with the marinated egg and pork belly slices. 

o2 queue up in line and wait till seats are available. 

o3 once you've found your seats, (sometimes they ask for your ticket before you get a seat) pass your ticket to the staff and wait for your food to be served.

o4 enjoy your meal and slurp up! :)

i'm ecstatic to meet up with yuiko again plus she recommended such a fantastic meal to both of us. double plus for sure :) i would really love to see her again in tokyo, if possible!

it has been such a long day that as soon as i got back to the hotel, i fell asleep almost immediately. also, it was in preparation for another wonderful day in tokyo! well, third day entry will be up but not before another entry that i have planned!

so please anticipate for it! i'll try not to take three weeks next time to put up new entries k? hehe.

disclaimer this is written based on personal experiences and opinion. experiences and taste buds may vary for others.