Ana Ikan Bakar Petai ~ terlampau menawan selera

Sheemz's stamp of approval. GO!

I am blogging on a Friday night because the ikan bakar was too good to be true.  I know for a fact that Izham sped at approx. 150 km/hour all the way from Puchong to Bangi secure in the thought that nothing in the ikan bakar category can beat his precious Ala Kassim. After the meal, however, he gracefully conceded and agreed Ana was delicious. True, Ala Kassim was great and still is, but Ana Ikan Bakar was absolutely marvelous. 5 star quality. Pure genius. Einsten. M Nasir. You get the idea.

We went there for moreh so we didn't order a lot: just one medium size kerapu ala bakar petai style. The waiter served  the drinks as we anxiously (Izham) and excitedly (me) waited for the big dish to arrive. It came wrapped in banana leaves with two sauces in little bowls on top. 

We unwrapped the dish carefully like it contained some precious metal*. This is what it looked like inside: (drum roll...)

Ta daaaa~~ (the camera got blurry out of excitement and failed to focus)

My carrot-apple kosong. And somebody's
teh tarik.

The rest is history. You have got to try it to believe it. I personally am marking my calendar right now to bring my entire army of a family for dinner here in the near future. If my sister hadn't already married, I would have booked the place for her reception. To think that the restaurant is only like 500 m away from where I live and I never even cared to review it. Thank you Ala Kassim.

I have yet to try out the other items on the menu, but for now, am just definitely pleased to order the petai dish again. Izham did casually mention one important fact though. We had sotong, prawns, a good-sized siakap and drinks at Ala Kassim for RM65. We just had fish and drinks here and the bill came out to be RM41. Which means....Ala Kassim wins in the monetary department (if we drove from Melaka that is, *cough*).. But then again, consider the fact that Bangi is this future metropolitan city with restaurants conveniently located right next to the fire station. Plus petai is expensive. So RM41 ain't bad. At all.

Believe it or not, this is the menu.

So, if you are looking for healthy, delicious food at possibly the safest location in Bangi, please go straight past Warta and make a left turn after the police station, and you, my friend, will find it. Before ending this review, I leave you with 8 final words of advice: pack a good toothbrush with extra-strength colgate. 

My kind of restaurant.

Ana Ikan Bakar

Bandar Baru Bangi, 
(exit Tol Bangi from Lebuhraya KL-Seremban. Take first left at roundabout, do first possible u-turn. Turn left after bomba)


Cleanliness: B+
Food: A++ the budu sauce was the king of all sauces.
Price: RM41 for kerapu bakar petai, 2 white rice and drinks. Thank you Izham :D
Satisfaction Level: A
Service: A
Atmosphere: A

p/s Surau and playground facilities available. Its like a little Kampung Ana Petai village.

*gold lah. Apa lagi..

Eating Etiquette of the Muslim

After the briyani excursion, we stopped by Masjid Negara for prayers and terawih.  The mosque was lovely.
My first terawih ever here. Alhamdullillah~~ 

Since the author of this blog is a muslim girl who is always on the path to self-improvement, she would like to stick in a special entry here as a reminder to herself and her little group of readers, with the hopes that some great benefit would come out of it. After all, the path to success is already well-defined. It is through the example of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w). And may it be that the small effort that we put in through these small practices, will enable the Prophet (s.a.w) to recognize us as his loyal followers on the Day when we need every single help we can get.

From Salman, Allah's Messenger (s.a.w) said: The blessing of food is (received) by washing the hands before and after taking it. (Tirmidhi, Dawud).

Cleanliness is very important in Islam.

Umar b Abu Salalama said: "I was under the care of Allah's Messenger and my hand used to pick at random in the dish, so Allah's Messenger said to me: Invoke the name of Allah, and eat with your right hand, and eat what is near you". (Muslim)

Be grateful with what is presented to you.

From Abu Huraira: "Allah's Messenger never found fault with food. If he liked something he ate it, but if he disliked it, he (just) abstained from it". (Muslim) 

So you'll probably see from now on, me only recommending good food. But I will still fire the restaurant if I feel like it :P

Anas said that the Allah's Messenger (s.a.w) said: Allah is indeed pleased with His servant who, when he eats a morsel, praises Him for it, or drinks a sip and then praises Him for it". (Muslim)

Be a grateful servant of Allah-- always.

From Umar: Allah's  Messenger (s.a.w) said: "Eat together and do not separate, for the blessing is in the company". (Ibn Maja)

A family that eats together, sticks together. 

From Abu Huraira: Allah's Messenger (s.a.w) said: "Food for two is sufficient for three and food for three is sufficient for four".

Avoid waste. Share. 

From Ja'far b Muhammad, from his father: Allah's Messenger (s.a.w) when he ate with other people, was usually the last to finish eating. (Baihaqi)

Put others first when eating.

Aisha said that Allah's Messenger (s.a.w) said: When any one of you eats, he should invoke the name of Allah the Exalted. If he forgets to invoke the name of Allah the Exalted at the beginning, he should say (when he remembers): In the name of Allah, in its beginning and it's end (Bismillahi Awalahu wa Akhiru). (Abu Dawud, Tarmidhi)

And that is the whole purpose of our creation-- worship Allah.

May our small efforts please Allah. Selamat berpuasa!

Insaf: ordinary place, outstanding briyani!

My nasi briyani and chicken ayam madu.
So gorgeous.. A++

When Izham told me he wanted to take me to the best briyani place in the whole of Malaysia, I was pretty skeptical. Best briyani place? In Malaysia, really? Briyani tastes the same everywhere, and FCM has briyani that is good enough already. For me at least. And for Miza too, my personal consultant on mamak food and mamak food expert.

We arrived around 6:45 pm, the time we were told to arrive before they confiscated our table and handed it over to someone else. The restaurant was quaint, sweet and squeeky clean, and reminded me of those small cafe's in Portugal that had a big Hola signboard outside only the locals knew about. There were few people seated already looking starved. Two bored looking couples who didn't look like they knew each sat together at the next table, and it eventually dawned on me that the restauranteurs seated them randomly to save on space. Thank goodness we had our own table -- I thought, before an odd couple from Bangsar were seated beside us few minutes later. 

Apples that rock~~

Mango juice and veggie acar. A++

When the azan finally came on, the restaurant was in full-blown bustling mode. We both ordered the nasi beriyani with ayam madu, and, in the anticipation, I forgot to ask for chicken thigh and got a big chunk of chicken breast plopped onto my rice. The meal also included veggie acar, dal sauce, dates, an apple each, mineral water and mango juice. And though I was enjoying the evening I still was a bit skeptical about the whole Best-Briyani-in-Malaysia-business Izham was selling me. So I took my time munching on my apple and watched everyone dig into their food wholeheartedly. Even the couples at the next table seem to be friendlier to each other after buka. It's called briyani-breaking.

By the way, the apple was so crunchy and sweet, I would have gone to eat there if only for the apple. 

Finally, in deliberate slo-mo, I started on my briyani. And from the first mouthful, I was literally blown away~. It was so gorgeous. Better than Bangi's briyani house 3 times over, and better than FCM's by more than 7 on the Richter scale. The chicken, although breast-meat, was incredibly tender for some incomprehensible reason. I wonder what the chefs put in it. I guessed ginger, but I couldn't even taste a hint. I guess we'll never know unless I work there.

There you have it, I concur, hands in the air, you were right, the best briyani I have ever tasted, and trust me, I have tried briyani all over the united nations including Saudi, Dubai, London and New York. The uncle slipped the bill under my plate, so I knew how much our meal cost, as if he subtlety wanted me to know how grateful I should be! Alhamdulillah! And thank you Izham, for the apple.

jazakallahukhairan kasiran!

Restoran Insaf
Jalan TAR, Kuala Lumpur
(address and phone number on left)

Cleanliness: A
Food: A++
Price: RM40 complete meal for 2 people. Add RM5 for parking at the back.
Satisfaction Level: B+ I wished we didn't share tables. It was a squish and a squeeze.
Service: A - fast and friendly
Atmosphere: A. Friendly Malaysian hospitality. Like MAS. Except the waiters dressed appropriately.

Rasa Utara (ala Tun Mahathir~)

From left: Sheemz, Nadiaz, Ninaz, and Mizaz (the birthday girl)

This is a back-dated entry from the last Wednesday before Ramadhan Kareem, which we visited to celebrate Miza's birthday. We were checking out Shaftsbury Avenue in Cyberjaya and Rasa Utara seemed to be the most dependable place there compared to the other newly opened restaurants that looked like western bistro's awaiting their sijil halal certification.

Laksa. Sedap. Go for it.

The place is right by the escalator on the first floor and the deco was nice and simple. We managed to get a table right smack in the center of activity and ordered immediately--seeing as I had a 2pm class that afternoon and didn't want to maintain my reputation of always being late to class; a new Ramadhan resolution.

Nadia gives the Mee Rebus an A++

Everyone was pretty excited that day as I recall. It was--after all--Miza's 2046/52.46153 birthday, although she barely looks over 25. Miza's birthday celebration comes in 2 parts: this is Part I. Part II will have some sort of cake dish and will be held sometime during raya insya'Allah. The reason for the 2-part celebration is because Cyber is highly lacking in awesome restaurants, so to compensate we replace one big lunch at an awesome restaurant with lunch at 2 great restaurants instead. Yes, she's very special and we take good care of her.

Nadia ordered mee rebus and me and Miza both ordered asam laksa Utara (apparently Tun Mahathir's favourite dish--it said so on the menu). Asam laksa is healthy for you because it is entirely fish boiled in water with bits of veggies and herbs. My laksa had two big pieces of succulant fish in it (I think it's ikan kembong, I am not so good with fish names), which surprised me (with delight) somewhat.

Ramadhan buffet for buffet lovers.
Jangan membazir ok. Satu pertiga je perut untuk
makanan. Sepertiga lagi untuk air.
And yang lebihnya untuk angin. ;D

Nina didn't order anything. She already had her lunch with her Perbandaran Sepang office-mates and besides, there wasn't anything else in the menu that Tun Mahathir liked. I suspect she's on a diet.

Nadia's mee rebus tasted really good, and she was all over it with enthusiasm, a very rare scene to  behold. She usually has quite mild reactions to good food, something about people from Melaka which I noticed. She must have been either very hungry that day or northern food must really be her thing.

Await for Miza's birthday celebration Part II. We might come back here again and order the big fried fish entree in the wild bamboo tray like the table behind us. Those men were really packing themselves in for Ramadhan.

Rasa Utara
Shaftesbury Avenue, Cyberjaya, MALAYSIA 
not London or some other Western country

Cleanliness: A
Price: ~RM70 food for 3 people, drinks for 4. 
Satisfaction Level: A. Nadia gives it an A+
Service: A waiter was too good to be true
Atmosphere: A. Malay-style.

Ala Kassim!! (best ikan bakar in Malaysia--for now)

There's the ikan, and the squid and the udang, and the nasi lemak :)

I guess I have extended my hunting territory beyond Cyberjaya, Kajang and Bangi because in this post I am going to cover Melaka. To warm up for the big review, you know how in the movies, the deliriously sensitive guy sweeps the middle-class girl of her feet and takes her for a day trip to another city for dinner--in a private jet--to some high-rise restaurant with a view of the entire city on a starlit night? Well this is a supremely washed-and-ironed-down version of that movie. It was a trip to the state next door for ikan bakar, who according to my business partner is the best ikan bakar in the whole of Malaysia (that's bold and italic right there for emphasis)... and worth the 2 hour-commute one-way in a road vehicle, in the rain. Yes, that's how special the ikan bakar is.

Sotong goreng.  My favourite! A+

Udang panggang. Nice and fresh.

We arrived right before maghrib to this row of open-air restaurants, somewhere in the middle of Melaka, supposedly by the sea or river (though I couldn't see it). The raw seafood is on display on a table near the front, fish-market style and you get to pick which one you wanted. We got a fish, some squid and a basket of prawns.

Nasi lemak paling sedap di Malaysia, kalah
nasi lemak Antarabangsa..

So here's how the grilled fish is eaten. They load a basket of small nasi lemaks onto the table in front of you and you can eat however much you want with your seafood. The rice, I must say was simply delicious. The sambal in the rice was awesome too, though you can barely taste it, it was so sikit. The sauce for the fish was kicap with cili's and onions. And the fish was simply cooked but heavenly ---I forgot all about the rice when I had it and ate it on its own. But it could also be that I was really hungry from the very long jet ride.

For now, I will say this is the best ikan bakar in the whole of Malaysia, until I try that glamorous Ana Ikan Bakar one in Bangi first for comparison purposes. The place did crowed up a bit after dark and the atmosphere was friendly and Melaka-ish, possibly because the main topic of our conversation was mostly Hang Jebat and Hang Tuah and who was guilty of treason. Will possibly come back again, try the restaurant next door  insya'Allah, and perhaps discuss a more interesting subject matter during dinner. :P 

Ala Kassim

Medan Ikan Bakar Alai, Melaka

Cleanliness: C (forget the surau in the compound, use the masjid)

Price:  I wouldn't know. Around ~RM60 I guess. Thank you Izham :)

Satisfaction Level: A++ (the fish was just right with the nasi lemak)

Service: A (fast and friendly) 

Atmosphere: B+