Shang Kei Wantan Mee @ Ampang

Located directly opposite the Balai Bomba (fire station) is this old-styled coffee shop, Kedai Makanan Sun Sun @ Ampang which houses Shang Kei Wantan Mee that first caught my attention when I saw a video of their food posted by KL Foodie last year.

The coffee shop can be accessed from the front or back...and the wantan mee stall is situated right at the back but since we came in through the back, the stall will be the first stall you'll see when you enter (and there are just two other stalls here, one selling pan mee and the other pork noodles).  As you walk through the coffee shop to the front where the tables are, you'll pass by the drinks making section in the middle.  This set-up alone tells you just how old-school this coffee shop is.

The first time we drove past we saw lots of people waiting for tables.  So, we braced ourselves for the wait but managed to secure a seat within 5 minutes (by sharing a table).  I was glad we didn't have to wait too long for our food to arrive (it was about a 15-minutes wait and not 30 or more minutes that I read about). I ordered the Dry Wantan Mee with Char Siew, Siu Yuk & Fried Wantan so that I can taste both proteins in one sitting to see which I prefer more.

My son had his with just char siew.  I appreciated that the char siew were thickly cut with sticky-sweet (but not overly sweet) and savoury flavours like those you'd find serve in a plate of char siew rice (unlike the usually thinly cut slices served by most wantan mee sellers).  Do note that this char siew is roasted in a small electric oven and not those typical big stainless steel ovens (over gas or, even better, over charcoal) used by most shops selling roasted meats.  Still with a fairly well caramelised exterior though the smoky flavour may have to take a back seat.  Not quite among some of the excellent char siew I've had but certainly satisfactory enough for a wantan mee stall and they make up for it with their generous portions.

I also got the same order for my husband (except his was medium with one and a half mee).  I munched happily on the siu yuk pieces (again, thick cuts) which had very crispy skin (that even some roasted meat stalls are not able to replicate that level of crunchiness).

My husband (who is a fan of siu yuk more than char siew) was of the opinion that the meat itself didn't have enough flavour...and I do agree.  But he wouldn't mind having the siu yuk again purely based on (once again) the overly generous portion given for the price paid.  Between the two though, I thought the char siew was a bit more successful than the siu yuk.

I also requested for fried wantans instead of soup ones and was surprised to get more than 3 pcs (I think there were 6)...and, mind you, the wantans weren't those teeny-weeny ones either.  Nicely crispy with a pork mince filling, there's nothing to complaint about really.  You should see the humongous pile of fried wantans they fry up at their stall! O_o

Char siew, siu yuk and wantans aside, the wantan mee arrived looking very different from a typical plate of wantan mee with the noodles well tossed in black sauce.  Here, the noodles somehow get tossed in some kind of clear sauce with a squirt of dark soy...so, those who like their wantan mee well mixed with a dark sauce is not going to like this (like my son, for instance).  He went on further to say the noodles tasted vinegary.  I think he meant the kansui taste in the noodles (and yes, this one had a bit more than usual...or it could also be due to them not changing the water used to blanch the noodles often enough).  The lack of a proper black sauce probably highlighted the kansui taste even more.

The other peculiarity about this plate of wantan mee (besides it looking rather "white/pale") is the tray that the noodles is served in.  It's similar to those metal plates used to serve roti canai coz they need the different compartments to separate the fish curry, dhal and sambal.  I guess it's very convenient in terms of serving (and collecting finished plates too) as everything is on one plate but yet each component is nicely separated (even the pickled chillies).  The stall owner himself has also reiterated that he prefers to serve it this way as he wants each individual ingredient separated for the best taste.

Coming to the price, our 3 plates of wantan mee came up to only RM34 (two of which were medium)...and that's one heck of a price for the amount of meat and wantans we got on each plate.  No wonder the place is always crowded.  Looking around, I realised many had come for their old-school bread (steamed or toasted) and coffees too.  I can certainly vouch that their kopi-o kosong was very good.  Sharing a table with others, the steamed bread looked incredibly fluffy and soft with a generous amount of chilled butter and homemade kaya.

My Personal Opinion

This old-school coffee shop have many regulars coming for their old-school bread and coffees.  If they're not having that, they're probably having the wantan mee.  There's also curry mee on offer which I've not tried.

I thought it was a so-so wantan mee...purely for their price and large portions of char siew, siu yuk and fried wantans which make up for the lack of a dark sauce that's typical of a plate of wantan mee.  If you're fine with their non-saucy version, do make your way here if you're in the vicinity.

Having said that, I'm not sure if I'll be back seeing both my husband and son weren't thrilled with the taste. My husband is probably a bit more complaisant if I wish to eat this again...but not my son! :D

Shang Kei Wantan Mee

@ Kedai Makanan Sun Sun

96 Jalan Besar Ampang

Pekan Ampang

68000 Ampang

Selangor

Ampang Charcoal Fried Hokkien Mee @ Pandan Indah/Ampang

I was first introduced to this place, simply called Ampang Charcoal Fried Hokkien Mee @ Pandan Indah/Ampang, through ShopeeFood.  The words "charcoal fried" was what attracted me in the first place.

This is a stall located in Tin Ha Kopitiam and it's situated in an industrial area known as the Pandan Indah Industrial Park that's a bit further away from the main Pandan Indah residential area and on its way to Ampang (so it's like in between Pandan Indah and Ampang).

So, the Fried Hokkien Mee + Meehoon @ RM13.30 was my first order obviously.  The plate of noodles was filled with prawns, pork liver, lean pork and cabbage as the vegetable of choice (instead of choy sum).

The medium-sized prawns (actually two only lah, recently down to only one) were fresh and sweet-tasting, nothing like those overly crunchy, translucent and crappy frozen kind.  The pork liver (also only two pieces) were meaty and thickly cut as they should be with lean pork slices (ah, this one definitely more than two pieces...lol).  Of course, the most important ingredient would be the crispy pork lard without which it's not really Hokkien mee, is it?  I loved that they was a copious amount of it...certainly more generous than many other places.

As much as I like the pork lard to stay super crispy when they're spooned over the noodles after they've finished cooking the noodles (like how it's done here), I do like mine tossed in the noodles for just a while to coat it with sauce to take away a bit of that greasiness when biting into a cube of fat (so the tapau kind of takes care of that)! ;D  Here, they're very generous with those crispy bits of awesomeness that's absolutely vital in any fried Hokkien mee.

Besides pork lard, getting a good charred flavour into the noodles is what matters most.  It's like getting a good sear on a piece of steak.  If you like your Hokkien noodle to be dry, then this one is sure to please you. The wok hei in the noodles can be a bit inconsistent but the flavours are good.  Somehow, almost everyone would say that noodles fried over charcoal fire have an edge over those fried with gas as it imparts wok hei and an added fragrance...not sure if the mere mention of charcoal was already playing in our minds as we may be swayed by that fact but it did taste really good.  These days, it's getting more and more difficult to find stalls using charcoal to fry their Hokkien mee as most would have switched to gas as it's so much more convenient (and less work to get the coals going, not to mention the danger of burns from the flying sparks).

Besides a good wok hei and fresh and crispy pork lard being important, so is the choice of thick, dark soy. Some thick dark soy don't taste as good while some can even have a hint of bitterness depending on the quality of soy used.  And, of course, a delicious sambal with a bit of kick completes the dish.

Seeing that I was really impressed with the flavours and realising that the place was very near to us, my husband offered to tapau (pack) when I wanted it again.  He ended up liking it too.  I told him perhaps next time we can dine-in to see if it tastes even better when served to us piping hot and freshly fried out of the wok.  But he says the place is not that conducive for dine in...and when he says that, he usually means the coffee shop looks a bit dodgy and not properly lit with a cleanliness standard you'd expect from an old kopitiam (he did take a photo of the stall to show me though).  So, I guess it'll be tapau or delivery if we want to continue enjoying this charcoal fried Hokkien. mee.....and we did.

 

On one occasion, my son wanted the Charcoal Fried Hokkien Meehun @ RM13.30 coz he has always liked meehun.  I found the meehun too dry for my liking (even my son taught so and he really likes his noodles dry) though I've to say that the meehun was well cooked without being stucked together but nicely separated.

In fact, the Hokkien mee here is on the drier side, so if you choose meehun only, it feels even drier (I prefer a mixture of mee + meehun).  There's a debate on whether a good Hokkien mee should by dry or (slightly) wet...or shall I call it a preference, as some of us love it dry while others prefer it slightly wetter (personally, I like mine just a tiny bit wetter but my family likes it dry).

Seeing that they specialise in fried Hokkien mee, I would think the ever popular Cantonese style fried noodles would be among them too, so he tapau-ed Kong Fu Chow Yee Mee @ RM10 for me once.  The sauce is packed separately from the noodles.  Unfortunately this was no where near as good as their Hokkien Mee as the sauce was watery and lacking flavour + no wok hei was detected in the yee mee either.

For dine-in, they also offer other types of noodles (which aren't available on ShopeeFood) according to my husband who snapped a pic of the menu (except no fried rice, he was told)...but, alas, it's written in Chinese, so we've no idea what are the choices.  All we can read is that each plate of noodles (small or for 1 pax) would be RM10 as opposed to RM13.30 via ShopeeFood.  Recently, I found out what some of the other noodle choices were as they've added them into the ShopeeFood menu...braised yee mee, taro loh mee (RM17.30) and fried chee cheong fun with shrimp & chilli (RM13.50, I think they meant shrimp paste and not shrimps).  I spotted the words bakao and I'm wondering if that's fried pak ko?  Similarly cooked like Hokkien noodles except it's done with those very thick rice noodles (or rice cakes).

With the recent Braised Yee Mee @ RM13.30 being added onto their menu, I decided to try that as well and the outcome surprised us as it turned out better than we expected.  The braised yee mee also had almost similar ingredients as the fried Hokkien mee such as lean pork slices, prawns, cabbage, pork lard and fish cake slices (in replacement of pork liver).

It was the taste of the delicious sauce coating the yee mee that made us all agree that this braised yee mee was a good rendition as well.  We now never fail to order this each time we have our fried Hokkien mee. We'll probably try the chee cheong fun with shrimp paste & chilli too in due time.

My Personal Opinion

Previously, all I could do was lick my lips and ogle at photos online of the many charcoal fried Hokkien mee places that are far away from me not knowing I have one just a stone's throw away from me.  Well, now I know....thanks to ShopeeFood...and we've had it countless times since.

There's nothing better than a plate of thick noodles laden with dark soy goodness together with a generous serving of heart-stopping crispy pork lard bits (and they aren't stingy with it + it's given with no extra cost unlike some places who charges if you want extras).

What is it about this old-school method of cooking using charcoal fire that makes fried noodles cooked this way taste that much better?  It must be the high heat (with sparks flying) that char the noodles and impart an added flavour.  Just the theatrics of sparks flying everywhere when it's cooked this way is quite a show already (that spurs cameras to start clicking away).  But it's a dying art as more and more places resort to the convenience of gas these days.

I'm glad to have found a good charcoal-fried Hokkien mee near me and the place is now a staple for us and the first on our list whenever we want to eat fried Hokkien noodles.  It's safe to say that there had been many repeat orders. ^_~

Ampang Charcoal Fried Hokkien Mee

(@ Tin Ha Kopitiam)

1 Jalan 3/1 Pandan Indah Industrial Park

Pandan Indah

55100 Kuala Lumpur

Vadai Stall @ Ampang

I don't each much Indian snacks other than Bombay mix or muruku campuran (a lovely medley of spiced, dried nuts, peas, lentils, chickpeas, flour crisps, curry leaves, etc.), murukku and pakora.

And I know very little about Indian food (except for their various roti and banana leaf rice).....and even less about Indian snacks but what I do know is that I absolutely love vadai! ;)

I only recently found out what they're called actually.  They're Medhu Vadai and Vadai Kacang Dhal.  I call the former vadai with a hole (much like a doughnut lah) and the latter vadai without a hole! LOL

I found out their names when I found this Vadai Stall @ Ampang on ShopeeFood.  Medhu vadai also have a lot of alternative names (it's astonishing just how many, you can Google it).  Medhu (wiki says) is the Tamil word for "soft", so medhu vadai literally means soft fritter....and indeed it is.

The medhu vadai from here tastes really good, tasting of being fried in fresh oil, not too greasy and always arrives piping hot (since I'm only about 10 minutes away).  Before this, my favourite were the ones from Kanna Curry House but that's just too far away for me to be able to enjoy them when I want.

All I know is that they're made from dhal (some mention whole urad dal or split black lentils but don't ask me why they're called black lentils when they look white while some say it's made with white lentils...very confusing!).  Never mind, I just need to eat them...not make them.  They're then grounded together with a mix of onions, green chillies and curry leaves (these I tasted) and some spices.

I also detected a perfume-y fragrance, almost anise-like flavour, I think they were fennel seeds (they could also be cumin seeds since they look almost the same).  The medhu vadai was fragrant with a nice crispy exterior and soft on the inside.  It was a very tasty vadai unlike some that went a bit overboard with the spices that it became overpowering.

The vadai kacang dal on the other hand has a much coarser texture compared to the medhu vadai.  The dal is grounded but some are kept whole to give a nice chunky texture to the vadai for a denser bite but just as good. ^.^

 

But, between the two, I like the medhu vadai a lot more.  So good.....I can even eat five of these in one go...and would like to indulge more regularly if I could! ^o^

The delicious-looking photo of the kacang hijau (green lentils) on their menu tempted me to get one to try. The fritter tasted full-on with 100% kacang hijau in the mix.  The one in the photo had a bit more batter around it while this one was very soft and mushy.  I guess you have to fully love green lentils if you're to love this.....I guess I didn't love it enough! ;)

Finally, I also got a karipap (curry puff) to try...and it wasn't anywhere near good (quite obvious from the photo, isn't it?), so you can safely skip this.  I should have known better that Indian vendors (I'm assuming it is lah) wouldn't be very good at making curry puffs which I feel the Malay vendors are better at.

Everything shown here is priced at RM1 a piece (via ShopeeFood) and they also offer cekodok pisang (banana fritters), cucur bawang (onion fritters), kuih ubi kayu (cassava/tapioca kuih) and putu mayam (idiyappam/string hoppers) though those are usually unavailable...not that I'd want to try anyway after the failure of the karipap since all of them (other than the putu mayam) are what I'd usually associate being made by Malay vendors.

My Personal Opinion

The medhu vadai is the real scene-stealer here.  I'm overwhelmingly happy that I've found a stall (I believe it's just a roadside stall) that churns out a good vadai just a short distance away from where I live.  I can now allow myself to enjoy the pleasure of eating this beloved snack when I want to.

Perhaps I shouldn't be so enthusiastic after all as it isn't the healthiest thing to chow down but I can't help it coz it's so addictively good.  Eat first. Think later.....I say! :D

Vadai Stall

Jalan Wawasan 2/10

Bandar Baru Ampang

68000 Ampang

Selangor

Loke Yun Chicken Rice @ Ampang

I would occasionally receive discount vouchers from FoodPanda and this normally happens (I notice) after a break in orders from them for a period of time.  The value of the discount vouchers given usually varies from RM5 - RM15 with differing minimum order amounts...and I've been on the receiving end of a few of them in the past.

So, when I was presented with a Welcome Back voucher of RM15 value to be used with a minimum order of RM40, I decided to redeem it for food from Loke Yun Chicken Rice in Ampang.

Loke Yun Chicken Rice is a long established name (since 1971)...winning the accolade of "Best Hainanese Chicken Rice" as I read in the Star papers (but that was way back in 2008 lah!).  I've passed by the place numerous times but have never eaten there coz my family is not into poached chicken + my sister-in-law (who's from the area) didn't quite sing its praises either.

I got myself a Poached Chicken Thigh Rice @ RM12.90.  They did justice to the poached chicken thigh which turned out tender and tasty seeing that this was just the regular farmed chicken, not even choi yin kai or kampung chicken.  Shop prices for half (regular) chicken is RM28 while quarter chicken is RM18 (FoodPanda's price is RM28 for quarter chicken).  

The chicken rice came with both a soy sauce and a freshly blended chilli sauce, separately packed.  The soy sauce was of a decent quality though slightly salty for my taste buds but alright when eaten together with the rice.  The chilli dip was quite different from the usual ones I've had as this one had a tad more blended ginger paste taste in it.  This fresh chilli paste was coarse and spicy (spicier than usual ones)...but I detected a light bitter aftertaste.  Not among the best chicken rice chilli dips I've had but it was still relished just because there was so little of it.

There's an option to add on soup (RM2.50), chilli sauce (RM0.80) and ginger sauce (RM0.80).  Well, this is a first for me, a chicken rice shop that charges for soup (RM2.50)? O_o  That's not right, if you ask me! Furthermore, no ginger sauce came with my chicken rice (not sure if it was left out accidentally or I had to add that on as an extra!), so I didn't get to taste it. >_<

I got an extra serving of rice @ RM3.90 (rather pricey for just rice) since I ordered a few side dishes to go with my meal (with the intention of keeping some for dinner).  The had nicely separated grains with a fragrant enough dose of chicken flavour going through it.

Of course, Loke Yun is more popular for its offering of Corn Fed Chicken (choi yin kai or kampung chicken) but that is only offered in half (RM39, FoodPanda's price is RM60...omg!!) which is probably sufficient for 2 - 4 pax.  There's no single portion orders, so unless you're a big eater, you need to come here with more poached chicken fans to be able to try.  There's even Crystal Chicken (RM96 for a whole chicken) on offer (booking required) but not sure what crystal chicken is though.  Is it anything like crystal char siew with a supposedly melt in the mouth texture? @_@

The first side dish of Braised Tofu + Egg @ RM8.80, the sauce had nice flavours and was not salty though it had a slightly more watery consistency than the ones I've eaten.  The tofu was soft as it should be.

Usually when braised eggs are left steeping (and cooking) in a braising liquid for a long time, they tend to have a slightly firmer consistency but these ones were much softer than usual.  Would I have liked the egg and tofu to take on a deeper colour from the braising broth?  Sure.  

For the next side dish of Braised Chicken Feet @ RM6.90, there were at least 2 pairs of chicken feet (making a total of 8 pcs).  The chicken feet were very tender and soft though some may find it lacking that collagen stickiness they crave.  I don't mind a less gelatinous texture.  Certainly a more than decent rendition of braised chicken feet in my opinion.

This sauce had a thicker consistency as well as being slightly sweeter than the sauce that came with the braised egg and tofu.  I preferred this braise as it was the better tasting of the two soy-based sauces.  With the extra side dishes I ordered, they should have been a little less kedekut (stingy) and gave me more of their fresh chilli sauce. :P

But the surprise dish of the day turned out to be the Siam Chilled Okra @ RM10.30 with its young and tender okra (nothing like those old, stringy okra), served with a sauce that had notes of sourness and sweetness which was very refreshing to eat.  The sauce had this sticky glaze effect and was probably made with tamarind, ginger, bird's eye chillies, lime juice and sugar (I'm guessing here).

The dish is rather appropriately called Siam Okra....and it might as well be since the sauce carried very appetising and well-balanced flavours of salty, spicy, sweet and tangy all-in-one which is the hallmark of any Thai dish.  Since this was served chilled, you can certainly keep it in the fridge for eating later without compromising on the taste.

Other side dishes on the menu include bean sprouts, hot & sour mustard greens, iceberg lettuce, shallot beancurd and fuzhou fish ball.  You'll also find chicken innards (liver, gizzards & intestines) being offered here.

The total price of this meal was actually RM42.80 (not including delivery fees of RM6.35) but I had a RM15 discount voucher to offset, so I paid RM34.15 in the end for the meal.  This meal could easily feed two persons or, in my case, one person for two meals.  I left the majority of the side dishes for my dinner later that day since my 'boys' won't be caught dead eating chicken feet (eww to them) nor slimy okra (as they term it) for that matter! >.<

I was a bit shell-shocked (when I was writing this post) as I had compared FoodPanda's prices with a photo of their menu (which I found on Google reviews with a May 2021 date stamp).  I was simply aghast at the price difference!! >_<  Doing a quick mental calculation, if I had the same meal at the shop, it would have cost me a little over RM25 only (just so you know, the dine-in prices for the chicken rice - RM8, okra - RM6.50, the tofu + egg - RM5.50, chicken feet - RM3.50, rice - RM2 and rice - RM1).  I don't think I've ever encountered as high as 60% mark-up over dine-in prices for restaurants I've patronised through FoodPanda (on the average, it's usually around 30%).  Oh-em-gee.....60% higher?!  Why such a high mark-up? O_O  

My Personal Opinion

Expensive and overrated are two words constantly associated with reviews of Loke Yun.  Expensive...I'd agree if one orders food delivery but dine-in prices seem reasonable (except maybe the corn fed chicken) though some may find the portions on the small side.  Overrated....I can't comment (everyone has their personal preference and taste + I wouldn't know how it compares to their earlier quality) but I did come away liking what I had and wouldn't mind having it again.

The standouts were the poached chicken (and I only had regular chicken) and chilled okra (this dish alone is enough to get me to return).  I can imagine the choi yin kai tasting even better with its firmer flesh and stronger 'chicken' flavour.

Perhaps when dining-in is allowed again (no more delivery, that's for sure...especially after finding out the exorbitant price difference!), I can drop by for a visit....but if I want to try the choi yin kai, I'd have to rope in some poached chicken lovers to come with me! ^_~

Loke Yun Chicken Rice

158 Jalan Besar Ampang

Pekan Ampang

68000 Ampang

Selangor

Tel: 03-4291 9884

Nasi Lemak Saleha @ Ampang

I've heard about Nasi Lemak Saleha for quite a while now but have never tried until now....via delivery...and that's because we went to their branch in Dataran Pandan Prima (near Tesco Ampang) once and found the place really crowded.  It seems they started as a small warung in Kampong Pandan before relocating here (they also have another branch in Taman Sri Rampai).

The Ampang branch was full of delivery riders (waiting to pick-up orders) and dine-in customers with tables spilling onto the sidewalks and street (and that was before the Movement Control Order, of course).  Not only was it crowded but it didn't look in tip-top shape (their other branch looks a lot more cleaner and spacious from photos), at least not enough for me to want to dine-in.

So, fast forward a couple of months and a check on their Facebook revealed they have their own ordering platform via www.nasilemaksaleha.com.  The menu prices seem slightly lower than those charged by other delivery partners if you order directly from them (minimum order value is RM30) with a RM10 delivery fee...but the delivery charges will be waived for a first time order.

I wasted no time in putting my fingers to work....click, click, click...and wa-la, my order came delivered by LalaMove and on schedule.  Even though there's a branch in Ampang nearer to me, I noticed that my order came from their Taman Sri Rampai branch (well, that's what the ordering website said...perhaps, that's their main branch for delivery).

I ensured that I put in an order amount that would qualify me for free first-time delivery.  My order total came to RM34.50 and I keyed in the code WELCOME10 for free delivery.

They say you can judge a good nasi lemak by having it in its most humble form...and that is a packet of nasi lemak bungkus.  So, the Nasi Lemak Daun Pisang @ RM2.35 was what I was most eager to try + I really like it this way....in all its simplicity without any special add-on lauk.

For a simple packet of nasi lemak biasa to work, the two most important components have to deliver....the rice...and the sambal! ;)  You can smell and taste that the rice had a fairly good dose of santan (coconut milk) in it except that the texture of the coconut milk-infused rice was a bit soft.  And because of the slightly mushy rice, you actually get a bigger portion of rice as it tends to clump together when compacted, so you'll need a bit of force to press down (separate) the rice.  I would have preferred firmer rice with nicely separated grains but I'd still give them props for the fragrant, santan-y rice.

The spicy-sweet sambal was good too, slightly spicy for my taste buds but tolerable and also very addictive...you just want to keep eating more.  It had a good hint of sweetness from the onions cooked with the ikan bilis (dried anchovies) in the sambal.

Our next order was the Nasi Lemak Rendang Ayam @ RM11.19 (don't ask me why their prices have weird numbers like this but those are the prices stated in their website).  First thing I noticed was that the sambal and lauk were packed separately.  I like (and prefer) that coz, for people like me who may not be able to take the spiciness of their sambal/lauk, we can then eat the amount we're comfortable with.

The chicken rendang nasi lemak came with rendang ayam, santan-infused rice, sambal, hard-boiled egg, cucumber and fried ikan bilis but no kacang (peanuts)....ran out of kacang so early in the day? :P

As for the rendang ayam, I got a drumstick because I left a special remark on my order to make sure I got my preferred chicken part...hee..hee (don't think that would have been possible if it was via FoodPanda or GrabFood).  The rendang gravy had good flavours and was especially nice (wished there was more of it) while the chicken meat was tender too, not super tender but tender enough.

The Nasi Lemak Sambal Sotong @ RM10.25 came with the same condiments of a standard packet of nasi lemak with a separately packed and very generous portion of sambal sotong.

Let me show you how generous a portion...there were at least 8 good-sized pieces of sotong which was cooked till sufficiently tender.

Not only were they generous with the sotong pieces, they were generous with the sotong gravy too which was a little less spicy and also not as thick as the sambal.  The sambal sotong was terrific as well.

I also got an extra order of Rendang Daging @ RM6.38 just to see how it tastes but was a bit disappointed that the serving size was rather small for the price paid (ok-lah, I get it, beef is expensive).  Maybe next time I should just order this with the nasi lemak and not as an add-on.

The serving of the beef rendang shown here compared to the squid sambal side by side will give you a better indication of its quantity.

I was extremely happy with the flavours of the rendang though as it was really good (not overpowered by too much lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves or tumeric leaves like some can be) and the beef was adequately tender (again not super tender but tender enough).  I would have loved if there was more of that lovely kerisik (toasted grated coconut) rendang gravy.

The rendang daging ended up as something extra to eat with the remaining packets of nasi lemak bungkus just that the smallish amount wasn't quite enough. :(

There was even enough sambal sotong to go with the other packet of nasi lemak bungkus.

You can also order extra sides of ayam rendang, sotong sambal, ayam masak merah and paru berempah (all at RM6.38 a portion) and ayam goreng berempah (at RM5.16 a piece) or order them as an add-on to your nasi lemak proper.  Besides nasi lemak, they also offer Mee Rebus Johor, Mee Kari Nyonya, Bihun Sup Utara, Penang Assam Laksa, Char Kuey Teow Udang and Mee Goreng Ayam.

If there was something I'm not thrilled about (other than the slightly mushy rice), it would probably be the standard condiments (other than the half hard-boiled egg which, incidentally, was beautifully cooked...with no black ring around the yolk).  Their meagre portion of fried ikan bilis (you can see from the photos I added my own), no kacang and 1 - 2 slices of cucumber seems rather kedekut (stingy) to me (I'm sure they can give more)...after all, this is a RM10 packet of nasi lemak! ;P

Overall, the above order should be sufficient to feed a family of two (even three) as the rice portions are generous enough to satiate an average eater.  Even their nasi lemak daun pandan, great as breakfast, can satisfy as a light lunch too (or satisfy someone with a better appetite as an add-on to their nasi lemak meal).

Since one can order direct from their website (with their deliveries handled by LalaMove), anyone can order it as it's not location bound.  If you have an iron stomach, you can even order extra nasi lemak bungkus/lauk for eating later.  I've kept the nasi lemak bungkus for breakfast the next day and it still tasted good (just remove the newspaper wrapping and re-steam the rice still wrapped in pandan leaves).

My Personal Opinion

I finally got to try Nasi Lemak Saleha and was happy with the outcome.  The plain nasi lemak turned out well with its addictive sambal and I've no complaints on the three types of lauk accompaniments either.

All three (rendang ayam, rendang daging & sotong sambal) I had were equally satisfying, so it depends on what you really fancy.  For me, I prefer the beef rendang (first) and sotong sambal (second) and that's only because I've had a truly awesome nasi lemak sotong (from a street vendor near where I stay) that is unrivalled by anything better.

As you'd expect, the prices are shop prices which means it won't be half as cheap as those you'd get from those gerai nasi lemak di tepi jalan (street stalls).  I like to think of it as a reasonably-priced nasi lemak that I can enjoy anytime of the day, not just in the mornings.

From my positive experience, you bet I'll be ordering this for delivery again but may have to choose to go with FoodPanda or GrabFood now that I've used up my first-time free delivery offer already.  P/S: Probably best to order delivery as there are so many unhappy reviews on their atrocious service during dine-in.

Nasi Lemak Saleha (Ampang)

No. 3 Jalan Pandan Prima 3

Pandan Prima Square

68000 Ampang

Selangor

or

Nasi Lemak Saleha (Taman Sri Rampai)

No. 2 Jalan Seri Rejang 4

Taman Sri Rampai

53300 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 017-747 0100