The tastiest Malaysian food Mel's had outside Georgetown

On Monday I received a fantastic telephone call. This call came from Jim who’s behind the popular NasiLemak which is the food element of The Friendship Inn in Fallowfield. Jim was telling me about his new lunchtime offer and asked whether I’d like to join him for lunch. Told you it was a fantastic call.

I’d heard quite a lot about the food at NasiLemak; primarily the quality of produce used and the authenticity of the cooking style and dishes. Yes everyone claims to be authentic when it comes to international cuisine, but naming your restaurant after the national dish of Malaysia? Now this HAD to be authentic!

Usually served for breakfast, the NasiLemak dish is on offer with their new lunchtime offer. Priced at just £4.95, this staple dish consisting of coconut jasmine rice, cucumber slices, crispy anchovies, dry roasted nuts, boiled egg and a homemade sambal paste (a spicy condiment made up of chillies). Jim mentioned that you can tell a lot about a Malaysian chef by their sambal, and this one was delicious; fruity, smoky, rich and above all else spicy.



The intense sambal cut through the creamy rice similar to a raita extinguishing a hot curry, only giving you a salty crunch of fish and nut. After a cleansing egg and cucumber finish, you were ready to go back in only you got more than just this within the £4.95 offer - you also had the option of a main course (click here for full list).

We had a mixture of a few of them including the Ikan Bakar (baked cod fillet on banana leaf smothered with sambal) and Beef Rendang (slow braised beef in an exquisite thick paste of coconut shavings and chilli). We also tried the Thai Fish Cakes from the street bites section of the main menu as well as the Mee Goreng Mamak (yellow noodles with shredded chicken in a tomato stock).

I delved straight into the cod and was really impressed. I was concerned at first that the fish might be overcooked and stick to the leaf along the caramelised edges. I was wrong. The flesh flaked away from the leaf with ease and was very well cooked indeed.



The noodles were very morish, clinging to the sauce for dear life which was enriched by an egg and tender onions. The chicken had a slight sweet taste from the burnt wok which worked well with the sour/spicy noodles. This was how noodles should be cooked.



My favourite though was the beef rendang. This dish seemed to have been cooking since I was born it was that tender. Unlike the usual braising steak or brisket we’d use for such a slow cooking process, this had top side and you could tell. Imagine eating a cloud, it was that soft and airy. Coconut shavings gave it that silky finish and plenty of kick from the chilli. LOVED IT.



To drive past, you’d never think that some of the best Malaysian cuisine is being cooked there, but I tell you what, go and try it. You will be genuinely amazed by the quality of food which costs a fraction of what you’d pay in other nearby places. You can even take away or have it delivered if you’re stuck at home (or lazy like me).

Seriously good, well done and thank you Jim!

---

Posted: Wednesday 2nd July 2014
ID: 10929 - 1182