More eating at Hajah Maimunah @ Jalan Pisang

Was looking forward to this lunch back at the flagship of Hajah Maimunah. Will just be pointing out a few of the notables.

Rice with rawon gravy and serunding. Gravy was a lot less intense than I imagined for something that has buah keluak as part of the ingredients but the serunding compensated with its spicy sweetness. One thing that's definitely not lacking from the food here is flavour.

The stingray here was not as good eating as the one we had at their branch at Clementi. It's not bad by any stretch. Meat's stiffer than what I had expected.

Paru belado was outstanding. Believe it or not, the first thought that came to mind was tenderloin.

Pacuk paku masak lemak - fiddlehead ferns in a coconut rich spicy gravy.

The gravy for their tahu telur seemed different...unless I remembered wrongly. I was anticipating something like kecap manis but this was more like rojak sauce with the belanchan in it. Love it though. Tofu was crispy on the outside and wobbly tender on the inside.

Our first pengat pisang....a sweet coconut soup with sweet potatoes and bananas that were on the verge on disintegrating in it. The tanginess from the bananas had seeped into the soup. Damn this was good.

I'm not sure if these were kueh salat or if there's another name for them. The one with the white bottom layer is made with sago and coconut and the other was pulut hitam. Nice.

Saayang Sayang Indonesian Nasi Padang, Kopitiam @ Changi Airport Terminal 3

Nasi padang at the food court (B2-03 Terminal 3 Singapore Changi Airport, 65 Airport Boulevard) in T3. Got me some sayur lodeh, sambal goreng and paru belado. Paru was chunky and meaty while the gravy from the sayur lodeh had the pre-requisite lemak-ness. Kicked ass with the sambal. I enjoyed this.

Hjh Maimunah Mini, Boleh Boleh! @ Clementi Mall

Another branch of Hjh Maimunah Mini we came across at Clementi Mall (Boleh Boleh! food court, #04-20 to 22 Clementi Mall, 3155 Commonwealth Avenue West). Food's pretty good though I'm not sure if they have same spread as the one at City Square Mall or the flagship at Jalan Pisang.

Not that it's bad but I thought the paru belado didn't seem to taste like I recall. Tried a few items which we haven't before like the ikan pari (stingray) which was thick cut and satisfying. There was also sotong hitam that was both spicy and rich. I thought they did pretty decent fried chicken too. Pretty glad they're more accessible these days.

Two Sons Bistro, Pavilion, Kuala Lumpur

Lunch at Two Sons Bistro (Lot 6.44.00 & 6.45.00, Level 6 Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, 168, Jln Bukit Bintang, Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur, tel : +60 10-222 8282) while waiting for our tea from Chagee next door. Restaurant exuded a vibe that seemed to convey that it was once popular but they're no longer so much. Like a fading star. Or maybe I'm just over-imagining.

Nasi lemak sambal paru petai.

Rice was decent. A little dry, some lemongrass and adequate salt. Sambal's sweet from the onions and infused with flavour from ikan bilis as was expected; just like how the textbooks would have described. Just like the textbooks as well, it felt uninspired. 😂

We were mostly intrigued by the paru goreng petai dish on the side with the nasi lemak. Flavour was sweet and salty but the lungs weren't marinated much. Not tasting any of the spices I normally taste in paru goreng nor did they taste beefy. Also noticeably more chewy than I think is appropriately done like.

Laksam Kelantan.

Broth had plenty of coconut and fish flavour. What bothered me was the raw tau gay. 😅 Rice rolls had the texture of a composite with more rice flour than other flour but the flavour didn't taste particularly rice-y. Not a bad tasting dish but the tau gay was almost overpowering everything else and the sambal belachan on the side definitely helped us get through the plate.

Hjh Maimunah Mini, Food Republic @ City Square Mall

Food Republic has shifted to the basement at City Square Mall (B3-04 City Square Mall, 180 Kitchener Road). I just realized Hajah Maimunah's stall over there has been called Hjh Maimunah Mini and it's been so since the last time I was there in their previous location. 

Food's great as usual. Paru belado, sayur lodeh, begedil, quail eggs and a generous helping of serunding - which came with their ever reliable melange of savoury, sweet, tangy and warm spiciness. Today's begedil seemed to be more creamy than I remember them.

Got an ikan bakar on the side. Dry-ish meat and I think too much bones for me to deal with so I'm not getting it the next time.

More food from Al Tasneem

Back at Al Tasneem. Could I be just trying to stay away from Zam Zam and Victory for the current time while exploring the food here? 🤔 Perhaps. Then again, there were some things that I've been meaning to get as well.

Love their chicken dum briyani which has a deliciously savoury spice infusion in the rice that belied its mundane appearance. Great flavouring in there. It's not apparent in the photo but there's raisins and cashew nuts in the rice. The chicken we got today was breast meat, arguably tender for such a part but a little dry-ish. Nothing that their spicy assam curry couldn't fix or improve on.

There's a bunch of Turkish noodle gorengs on Al Tasneem's menu. The proprietor explained that they contain meat from the doner kebab stalls. Specifically A-Mor down at the junction which they also own. So here's a Turkish beef kuey teow goreng. Rice noodles were a little greasier than I like but these usually are. Meat was unexpectedly beefy with a nice chew to the texture. Not bad. 

An order of fried chicken liver which also happened to contain many pieces of gizzards which I don't care so much about.

Paru goreng was delicious and actually pretty tender except for the parts with bronchioles of the lungs.

The mediocrity that was the masala tea from the last time echoed still. In spite of that, we tried our luck with the teh tarik and we're glad we did. This was not the run of the mill sweet milky tea. The flavour from this one had character. Pleasantly surprised here.

Queenstown Lontong, Margaret Drive Hawker Centre

Haven't had Queenstown Lontong since they moved to their current location at Margaret Drive Hawker Centre (#01-27 Margaret Drive Hawker Centre, 38A Margaret Drive). While I was tempted to fall back onto their lontong, nasi lemak and soto ayam which I've enjoyed in the past, I was also curious about the mee rebus which I've heard about. Gravy was creamy sweet, spicy and nutty with viscosity that gave way a bit after a while. I like that gravy but I'm not smitten by the mee rebus as a whole.

No paru at the stall today so chicken wings - these wings were cold and generally not as nice as I remember them.

Farhana West Coast, Tekka Food Centre

Pretty decent Indian rojak from Farhana West Coast (#01-262 Tekka Market & Food Centre, 665 Buffalo Road). The breads were freshly refried on order and that dip was filled with crushed peanuts. What got my attention though were the thick slices of paru goreng. Check out the lattices on them. They were tender like fish cakes. Can you believe it?

Lontong with hot dog from Nusa & Tara

Breakfast at Nusa & Tara. First time getting lontong with hotdogs and I've gotta admit this was good. A salty meatiness added on that's almost as satisfying as their spiced paru. Everytime I'm here, I tell myself that I don't come back here often enough.

Lontong from Istimewa Nasi Padang

Sadly this was a very average tasting bowl of lontong. The fried bean curd (tau kwa) had a hard and chewy exterior, vegetables weren't tender (or well stewed) like we were hoping for and that gravy just didn't pack the punch like the usual suspects of our yardstick list from the recent years - Queenstown Lontong, Lontong Sedap and Nusa & Tara. One could also tell by how it didn't feel heart clogging even with the serunding. Maybe that's how they roll.

The paru goreng was great though. 

Paru Power! cow lungs chips

Paru chips? Why not?! 😋

Never realized such a thing even existed. They're spiced, crispy like fish crackers and has a beefy flavour like paru. Not bad at all if you like paru.

Found them at this shop (#01-42 Golden Landmark Shopping Complex, 390 Victoria Street).

Lontong with paru and begedil for breakfast at Nusa & Tara

This lontong from Nusa & Tara was so satisfying. Savoury lemak from the coconut-y gravy, saltiness from the paru goreng and some spiced sweetness from the serunding.

Surprise update 5/5/2024...

No begedil or extra serunding today. Just paru goreng. Another satisfying lontong breakfast.