NASI DAGANG HOUSE

My son has his heart in the right place. He thinks of me now and then. Yesterday my son took me to a new place that sells nasi dagang. It is in a new block of shophouses about 5 minutes from Wangsa Melawati along the MRR2. The Nasi Dagang House is sandwiched between a cake shop and an Interior Decoration place. I can't offer you any more direction to the place because I am not familiar with the area. All I know is, if I go further up I will get to UIA and the exit to Karak. If it is any help, there is an apartment behind the shopping blocks and it looks just as new. The apartment and the shophouses are painted in the same yellow.

The tag for The Nasi Dagang House is "Secret Recipe from The East Coast". The place is trying to cater for both Terengganu and Kelantan food lover. There is nasi dagang and there is nasi kerabu. Even the nasi dagang comes with a choice of Terengganu curry (ikan tongkol) or chicken (usually served with Kelantan nasi dagang.) There is also nasi minyak on the menu as well as Laksa Kelantan, Terengganu sata and pais. They also offer sotong goreng, ikan goreng, udang goreng and baby crab goreng which neither state can claim. Terengganu people will be glad to find out that the place serves kerepok lekor goreng from Kuala Kemaman. For desserts, they offer cream caramel, jelly kelapa and a few bubur. You can also have ubi kayu rebus if you want.

The nasi dagang is served on a plate lined with banana leaf. The curry comes in a separate bowl.
The rice is about the same amount that you get from the nasi dagang sold in kelosong (banana leaf cone) in coffee shops in Terengganu. You usually have to eat two of these to be full. The nasi dagang in this new place is the Terengganu style rice. It has enough pulut (glutinous rice) inside to make it sticky enough and nice to eat. The rice passes the test. This place is a bit stingy with the curry. The two pieces of ikan tongkol were barely covered by the gravy. By KL standard, the gravy is ok. You have to try it yourself though. Be careful of the chili padi in the gravy. A number of this mini dynamites are in the curry in case you want the nasi dagang extra hot.

The nasi kerabu (only white is available) has the usual tumis, sambal nyo and ulam on it. The ulam consists of mainly sliced longbeans. The original nasi kerabu has more in the ulam. It is served with fish crackers (kerepok) and a quarter salted egg. The mandatory budu comes in a small sauce plate. The nasi kerabu comes also with either daging bakar or ayam bakar. Whether you pick the beef or the chicken, you will be disappointed at the small pieces. At least the rice is more than the nasi dagang.

We didnt get to try the sata or the pais. They were not available when we got there at around 2 pm. This place opens from 12 noon to 2 am. Forget about having nasi dagang for breakfast.

Prices are reasonable. RM3.90 for the nasi dagang, RM4.50 for nasi kerabu. The fried seafood is RM8.00 each while ubi kayu rebus is RM2.90.