Kak Ani Nasi Kukus Ayam Berempah @ Kampong Pandan

The Movement Control Order (MCO), be it during the conditional or (now) recovery phase, has made many of us order food via delivery probably more often than we used to do.

In fact, I hardly order food delivery prior to the MCO, preferring to dine out as I like to eat my food piping hot when it is served (in fact, one of my neighbours insists that his wife reheats the soup noodles even right after he returns from tapau-ing...haha, that's a bit extreme, don't you think?).  But the recent pandemic has changed all that and food delivery is here to stay...and will get even more popular under the new normal.

A recent one I tried was Kak Ani Nasi Kukus Ayam Berempah after reading good reviews on foodpanda (an average rating of 4.6/5).  During my first order, the packaging came in a simple paper packet and plastic bag but our later orders came in plastic boxes.  I prefer the simple paper packaging (with banana leaves) which made eating out of it directly more convenient.

My first taste test was the Nasi Kukus Ayam Berempah Kak Ani @ RM9.50, of course, as their name suggests. It comes with nasi kukus, ayam goreng berempah, kuah kari and sambal belacan.

The ayam goreng berempah (spiced fried chicken) had decent flavours but (unfortunately) I didn't get my favourite part but got the more bony section of the wing instead which was also attached to the chicken breast, so the meat was a little on the dry side.  I believe my experience would probably have been different if I had gotten the leg portion (or eaten onsite when it's freshly fried).

I read some of the comments left behind by their customers and some said they always get the wing part.  So I guess that part was true as I got that too (and no, there was no prompt to select the part you want during the order process).  Now I wonder if they ever give out the drumstick portion...lol!  I guess I will know the answer to that when I order ayam a few more times.  Why, delivery orders don't get the best parts, is it? >_<

Of course, no ayam goreng berempah dish is complete without a scoop of the fried rempah (spices, especially the fragrant smell and taste of lemongrass predominantly) that have detached itself from the marinated chicken into the bottom of the wok during the frying process.  Ahh, those savoury remnants, leave none behind...that's where all the flavour is! ;)

The kuah kari (curry sauce) was a standout amongst the nasi kukus I've tried so far.  The flavour was good + it also came with a few pieces of adequately soft potato cubes which most of the other curries (with nasi kukus) do not. Actually, when I first poured out the curry, I didn't realise that there were potato cubes underneath.  The fresh sambal belacan (chilli paste), spicy as usual, was pretty similar in taste to all the ones that come with nasi kukus that I've had before.

The nasi kukus (steamed rice) was, of course, on the mushy side as most, if not all, nasi kukus is as the cooked rice needs to be compacted into a metal mould and left in a steamer (to keep warm)...and you can only do that with fairly mushy rice which facilitates compressing into a mould.  Mix all that fried rempah, kuah kari and sambal belacan into the rice for a flavourful mouthful.

Next, I tried their Keli Cili Tumbuk Kak Ani @ RM9.50 which is basically a whole ikan keli with their special cili tumbuk, kuah kari and nasi kukus.  You can also savour the cili tumbuk with chicken if fish is not your thing.

The fried ikan keli (catfish) had flavour as it was not plain fried but marinated first (probably with turmeric due to its orange tinge) before frying.  I actually like to eat this fish coz I find the flesh sweet tasting although it isn't a highly popular fish (usually offered in Malay shops only) due to its perceived muddy taste.

That's why this fish is usually cooked with a sambal though I've never encountered muddy taste in all the ikan keli I've eaten so far.  This one was no different.

But it was the cili tumbuk, a cooked chilli paste, that elevated the taste of this ikan keli.  They call this cili tumbuk (literally translated as pounded chillies because of its coarser texture which is unlike a finer, chilli paste that has been blended).  Not sure if it's really pounded by hand though since they would have a lot to pound...lol!

This cili tumbuk was quite spicy but also very good (just look at that awesome darkly-coloured chilli that have been tumis sampai kering (well sauteed until dry).  There were comments on foodpanda that the cili tumbuk wasn't quite enough but it was more than enough for me (incidentally, what's shown here wasn't all of it).  You can also get this awesome cili tumbuk (if you can't get enough of it) at RM10 for a 110g portion.

There were also comments that the kuah kari wasn't enough.  This I have to agree as I finished the curry even though I didn't finish the rice.  I was tempted to as the rice tasted really good when I mixed the curry (this time there weren't any potato cubes) together with the cili tumbuk (but there was simply not enough curry to go round).

My last sampling from this eatery was their Masak Lemak Daging Salai Kak Ani @ RM15.50 that included daging salai masak lemak, ikan masin, ulam timun, sambal belacan and nasi kukus.

The daging salai (smoked/grilled beef) slices were just tender enough (there were bits of chewy sinew in some pieces though) in a gravy of creamy santan, bird's eye chillies and turmeric that was delicious but a little salty.

What I enjoyed even more than the good portion of grilled beef slices were the two chunky pieces of potato that was cooked perfectly, adequately soft without being mushy....I wanted more.

The generous tub of gravy was more than sufficient for the portion of rice.  The masak lemak cili api was only slightly spicy but a fresh sambal belacan is included to add more spiciness to the dish.

This rice dish came with a piece of very poor quality ikan masin (salted fish) which was overly salty and fishy in taste + I got the less sought-after upper body the part, so I discarded it.  Actually, the ikan masin is unnecessary as the masak lemak is already quite salty.

The description of ulam timun in the dish made me think I would be getting a mixture of fresh vegetables with timun (cucumber) but it ended up to be false advertising.  It turned out to be just a piece of ordinary cucumber. >.<

My Personal Opinion

All in all, memang sedap-lah (delicious indeed) this nasi kukus with different choices of lauk (chicken, fish or beef) available.  Besides the three dishes showcased above, the chicken also comes in the form of Ayam Cili Tumbuk Kak Ani or Ayam Sambal Serai Kak Ani.  Prices are reasonable starting from RM9.50 (for a choice of ayam and ikan) while the daging clocks in at RM15.50.

I enjoyed all three but the keli cili tumbuk is just ahead for its seriously addictive cili tumbuk.  I wouldn't mind ordering the masak lemak daging salai for its delicious masak lemak cili api gravy again either (my only wish is for the sauce to be a tad less salty).

If you're looking for a decent nasi kukus with various lauk, this is a worthy delivery option (dine-in prices will be cheaper, of course, RM7 for any of the ayam variants or ikan and RM10 for daging salai as per their Facebook page).  Nak cuba (want to try)? ^_~

Kak Ani Nasi Kukus Ayam Berempah

No 11 Jalan Hilir 2

Taman Sri Angsana Hilir

Kampong Pandan

55100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 011-1631 3615