Dahmakan Enticed Me Back!

I've not ordered from dahmakan for a few months now but soon after the Movement Control Order (MCO) came into force in March, I received numerous emails from them with a promo code ORDER30 offering 30% off on my next order (discount capped at RM15).  In the end, I relented! ;)

I was tempted when I saw that they had some new Chef-Made Ramadhan Favourites (dishes under Bazaar at Home)...and I was really missing the yearly visits to the Ramadan bazaar in my neighbourhood this year.

I tried to get my fix from a mini (very mini) Ramadan bazaar inside a Malay mixed rice shop I frequent but it wasn't anywhere near satisfying.  The mixed rice was still good as usual but the other stuff weren't.  You see, they told me that they had to help their comrades who couldn't open their stalls this year due to the MCO by offering them a spot to sell in their shop...just that their kawan-kawan punya stalls (or those they selected) weren't very good. :'(

The curry puffs, fried popiah & samosas (made by the mixed rice shop themselves were satisfying), the otak-otak & goreng pisang stalls were ok but the stalls selling sweet kuihs & mee rebus weren't any good (heck, the mee rebus wasn't even a proper mee rebus).  There were a lot more stuff like mee kari, roti john, sweet desserts soups and other kuih-muih that I didn't try.

Luckily, I managed to satisfy some of those cravings from dahmakan...of all places! ;)  Well, it all started with the 30% discount offer...and the Bazaar at Home dishes....so, I went to check out their menu and found that a lot of the dishes have changed since I last ordered in December.  I was excited...once again.

First thing I noticed at checkout is that we're now given an option to say no to cutlery....yay, finally.  So, the packing has changed somewhat now that they don't have to include the pouch for the plastic cutlery.  The other change is that they now charge a delivery fee of RM0.99 for orders under RM100 (which is fine as it's very minimal).  My first order was the Tomato Infused Rice with Ayam Berempah @ RM17.99, a dish from their new Ramadan menu.

ayam berempah, zesty pickles, cucumber slices, tomato infused rice, sambal/curry gravy

The ayam berempah (or fried spiced chicken leg) was huge (nothing like the chicken legs from Nando's 1/4 chicken or more like chicken leg...kekeke!) but it was, unfortunately, rather dry.  I can excuse the non-crispy chicken skin since it wasn't the freshly fried kind but the storage and reheating of the chicken (that was fried ahead of time) probably contributed to its dryness.  It was a crying shame as the chicken had decent flavours going on.

This dish, at least, had more vegetables (compared to other dishes I've had) of acar (or zesty pickles) with cucumber, pineapple (found only one piece though), onions & chillies and slices of Japanese cucumber.

The gravy, not quite a sambal and not quite a curry, I didn't care much for.  It had an overpowering spice taste (of cardamom pods, I think).  The tomato infused rice was alright.

My next order was a dish from their Japanese menu, Grilled Salmon Steak Fillet with Japanese Rice @ RM24.99.  I remember they had only one Japanese option in their old menu (teriyaki chicken...which isn't my most favourite protein), but now they have grilled salmon, grilled beef bowl (RM19.99) and even unagi rice bowl (RM35.99) as options.

grilled Norwegian salmon, tamago, chuka wakame, pickled ginger & daikon, Japanese rice, teriyaki sauce

Expect the salmon to be cooked all the way through but it was still nicely soft and flavoured when you pour the teriyaki sauce over.  This also helped to reduce the slightly dry texture of the fish but still very edible and satisfying.

I was very happy with this dish probably because this was the only one I've tried that came with the most condiments.  There was the tamago (egg) and I especially enjoyed the pickled seaweed (chuka wakame), ginger and radish.

Just watch out for the teriyaki sauce which was more salty than sweet (in fact a tad too salty), so don't pour all of it in at once.  This will be a dish where no one will say that there's not enough sauce (I had some leftover)...haha! ;D

I've always enjoyed the beef dishes put out by dahmakan, so it's not a surprise to see me ordering the Beef Rendang with Steamed White Rice @ RM25.99.

ribeye rendang, Japanese cucumber slices, steamed white rice

The ribeye beef rendang was super tender and flavourful (I could taste the distinctive flavour of turmeric leaves in the rendang).  The portion was also very generous (there were at least 9 - 10 good-sized pieces of meat).  Would appreciate a few more slices of cucumber though.

There was more than sufficient rendang gravy for the amount of rice provided though it was a tad on the salty side (but that's just me, I'm sure it's fine to others), so I couldn't finish all the meat and sauce in one go.

Because of the abundant sauce and generous portions of beef, this will probably be enough for two small eaters to share if you cook your own additional rice and add in an egg and more cucumber slices.

Over the years, dahmakan had collaborated with many suppliers to offer desserts to their customers (some are even famous brands like Krispy Kreme, Subway, Komuji, Tealive, Amos Cookies, just to name a few) although none have piqued my interest.....until now.

If you've been following my blog long enough, you'd know I don't eat much sweet stuff like cakes and desserts but the something sweet I've a weakness for is Nyonya kuih...and dahmakan's recent Ramadhan menu offers just that.

In a partnership with HSBC, dahmakan embarked on a celebration of giving campaign to help small local businesses where 100% of the earnings from the sale of these Ramadhan kueh/desserts will go directly to the vendors...and that's just great.

These Nyonya kuihs by Mariam in partnership with HSBC are sold at RM1.80 each. The Talam Lapis has that unmistakable rose flavour.  Nice...and pretty at the same time.

The Talam Pisang is a well-made 3-layer kuih with a distinct banana taste in the bottom layer (I'm assuming the middle yellow layer is also banana?) and a pandan-flavoured top layer.  Absolutely delicious.

The Talam Pandan has a fragrant pandan layer at the top with a lightly salted, tasty santan layer at the bottom.  Just a pinch of salt brings out the aroma of the coconut milk even more (something similar to ice cream).  Simply amazing. ^.^

The Nona Manis Pandan comes with a soft, creamy santan centre (this one is a littler sweeter than the rest).

The Homemade Onde-Onde @ RM3.60 is by Kuih & Kookies in partnership with HSBC.  This was the only Nyonya kuih that didn't impress succeed as the texture of the onde-onde was too dense (it felt almost like it wasn't cooked through) and the filling of gula melaka was not of a good quality.  It went into the bin as I couldn't bring myself to finish it...coz someone once said, "Never waste your calories on yucky food."

But the Nyonya kuihs were awesome.  I've not eaten kuih as soft and luscious as these, nothing like those dense texture-types I've bought from many kuih stalls.  They also tasted like they were freshly made.  Best to eat them at room temperature coz once they've been stored in the fridge, they become a little denser but still no where near as dense as those I've eaten before.

The Homemade Rainbow Sago Gula Melaka @ RM3 by Wan in partnership with HSBC was the best of the lot (and this one you can let it chill in the fridge coz it's even nicer when it's cold).  Although the gula melaka is already pre-mixed (so, it's a little sweet for me but should be perfect for other tastebuds), I'm willing to tolerate the sweetness as it's one of my most favourite desserts to indulge in...and this one was incredible.

I wasn't expecting it to arrive fully loaded with (what I think were medium-sized) sago pearls (which I absolutely adore, I don't like the small & large ones..so fussy, right?) but thought it'd be something similar to bubur cha cha where there'll only be a handful of sago swimming in a pool of coconut milk.  Well, I'm certainly not going to say No to more sago!  And since they mentioned rainbow, I dug my spoon in to reveal coloured sago pearls (yellow, pink & green ones, there were probably some blue ones at the bottom). Imagine how pretty this dessert would look if it was served to you (instead of delivered). ^.^

I once thought this would be a very easy dessert to make.  After all, you need only 3 ingredients...sago, santan and gula melaka.  Well, I tried it once...and failed!  The sago came out all stuck together in a lump and it had a very starchy texture...it's a good thing I can't make desserts. >_<

In conclusion, the dish I enjoyed the most this round was the Beef Rendang (again, no surprises there!) although it still can't beat the taste of the excellent Tenderloin Rendang Tok from my very first experience with dahmakan.

But what I enjoyed even more this time (surprise, surprise) were the Nyonya kuihs and dessert.  Top of the list is the Rainbow Sago Gula Melaka followed by the Talam Pandan and Talam Pandan Pisang (in that order, haha)! ^o^  Although the price of these kuihs are at least double the norm, it's so worth it for the premium taste and (I believe) quality ingredients used.

I've seen the sweet stuff menu changed periodically by dahmakan but I seriously hope they keep these small-time Nyonya kuih/desserts vendors on board (even after Ramadan is over) coz their desserts are da bomb (even better than some reputed brands...and, for now, you can trust those made by Mariam & Wan)! ^_~  Heck, it may even tempt me to order more meals from dahmakan just because of them (of course bearing in mind that the kuihs will be on the sweet side, otherwise they're not kuihs).  You have gotta try.....before they disappear from the menu! :)

Note: Dahmakan has since been rebranded to Pop Meals (in late 2020)