Nyonya Cuisine In The City
A Nostalgic Dining Experience In A Stunning Ambience
Old Colonial buildings serve as a historical reminder of colonialism and these are visible especially in Taiping, Ipoh, Malacca, Penang and right here in Kuala Lumpur. A yesteryear Post Office on Jalan Panggong, which was built in 1920's is one such notable landmark.
Malaya Hainan Restaurant is one such restaurant that was refurnished from its original structure of a post office. With the stunning ambience, reliving a significant era through its food and decor, Malaya Hainan Restaurant aims to bring back a sense of nostalgia and sweet memories with each dining experience at their restaurant.
A Display of An 80 cents Stamp of the Post Office in 1911
Hainan Coffee served on thick-rimmed cup and saucer.
Marble top dining tables with old school kopitiam chairs complete the decor for this charming place
A Taste Of Tradition with Hainan Coffee
Nice and soothing environment to dine in any time of the day
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Stepping into Malaya Hainan Restaurant feels like being transported back to good old days of the 1960s. Dining at this place brings back lots of nice memories for me as I grew up in this part of Chinatown.
Reminiscing my childhood days where I used to drink coffee from a saucer while savouring kaya butter on toast at these coffee shops. I remember the strong scent of roasted coffee beans, the warm aromas of baked bread, the perfect half-boiled eggs and the characteristic thick-rimmed cups and saucers.
Reminiscing my childhood days where I used to drink coffee from a saucer while savouring kaya butter on toast at these coffee shops. I remember the strong scent of roasted coffee beans, the warm aromas of baked bread, the perfect half-boiled eggs and the characteristic thick-rimmed cups and saucers.
Keeping to a minimalist design with cool shades of brown, beige and khaki-green, the furniture exudes a starkly Malayan vibe with rounded wooden coffee shop chairs and marble tables.
Beautifully Decorated with Antique Stained Glass Windows
Pleasant with Cosy Old School Charm to Dine and Relax
You can travel back in time and find yourself in the bygone days while dining at Malayan Hainan Restaurant. The interior is designed to reflect items from the bygone era. The wall is adorned with memorabilia like black and white posters of bygones Chinatown, 1971 KL major flash flood disaster and historical pictures of Tunku Abdul Rahman declaration of Malayan Independence - Hari Merdeka.
KL Chinatown in the 50's to '70s
Memorabilia of Old Pictures Adorned The Wall
Malaya Hainan Weekly Special
RM 11.90 ~ Value fo Money Daily Set Lunch
Serve from 11am to 2pm
Hainan Coffee
RM 3.80
Having a cuppa of Hainan Coffee makes my dining experience more special as I slowly sip my coffee to soak in the atmosphere and reminisce the good old days of growing up in old Chinatown.
Roti Jala
RM 6.50
Paying homage to Malaysia's mouthwatering local favourites, Chef Ng serves us his Signature dish of Roti Jala. Served with rich and creamy curry chicken, these little bites will prove to be a real crowd pleaser as we just simply love the Pandan flavoured Roti Jala.
Unassuming looking curry chicken with potatoes really packs a punch. You can taste the fresh spice and herbs in the aromatic curry sauce. Wonderful accompaniment with the roti jala or even some warm white rice!
Pandan flavoured Roti Jala
You will not find artificial colourings in his kitchen as fresh pandan leaves extracts are used and blended to make these delicious pandan roti jala. Well made with love and passion, this fragrant roti jala is so fine and light in taste and texture, unlike the usual ones I tasted which are thick and lumpy and can be quite 'jelak' if you have too much.
Kerabu Mango (Not in Menu)
RM 7
A Baba himself, Chef Ng's great-grandparents hails from Penang. Driven by passion, he learnt to cook the cuisine from his own interest, tweaking the family's heritage recipes through trials and errors. For appetizers, we are treated to his family dish of Kerabu Mango.
The Nyonya style Kerabu Mango prepared with a variety of fresh herbs and ingredients like ginger flower bud (bunga kantan), shallots,red chillies, dried shrimp, pounded toasted coconut (kerisik), calamansi juice and not forgetting the main ingredient of pale green mango.
Generous sprinkling of toasted sesame seeds is added for taste and fragrant. Shrimp and chicken meat are also included in this special kerabu mango which makes it a very unique and different from the rest I have tasted so far. Each bite has its own distinctive flavours. An excellent starter you should not miss put if you are dining here, a Must-try dish in Malaya Hainan.
Nyonya Fried Rice
RM 9.50
Colourful and detectable Nyonya Fried Rice
Colourful and detectable, Chef Ng's Nyonya Fried Rice servings comes with their special home made sambal belacan, acar together with condiments of cucumber slices, pounded dried shrimp and keropok. A light and flavourful dish cooked with more than 10 ingredients, it's practically bursting with aroma and flavour with each spoonful. Not oily at all ~ just like nasi ulam, this is a good choice for weight watchers.
Yam Fried Rice
RM 9.50
Moving on to the next mains, there is the Yam Fried Rice, classic comfort rice dish. Cooked with chicken, spring onions, shallot and pre-cooked yam, it's not oily and serves topped with fried baby anchovies or dried whitebaits as some called it.
This fried rice dish with yam is acceptable especially for yam-lovers as you can taste of the tasty and soft yam in between bites. But for those that it's not so crazy about yam, I suggest you better not choose this as you may find it quite bland and different from the usual 'wok-hei' fried rice you have tasted.
Roti Ayam
RM 6.50
Roti Ayam is an impoverished dish from the original Penang Peranakan Roti Babi. As Malaya Hainan is a pork-free establishment, so Chef Ng served the Roti Ayam instead.
Roti Ayam of Malaya Hainan is a bread dish stuffed with minced chicken and onions. Stuffed bread slices are drenched generously with egg batter and then pan-fried. Reminds me much of traditional French toast, a childhood delight my mum made for my sisters and I.
Roti Ayam is much thicker and stuffed with fillings of minced chicken and onion, served with Worcestershire sauce, chilli sauce and coleslaw.
Savoury Roti Ayam
~ Local Penang Chinese dish with Nyonya or Hainanese Origin ~
~ Local Penang Chinese dish with Nyonya or Hainanese Origin ~
Asam Laksa
RM 9.90
Lovers of Asam Laksa can rejoice over this ~ Chef Ng's authentic peranakan Asam Laksa. I love the tangy and spicy asam laksa noodles served in a mackerel-based tamarind paste broth with mint leaves, shredded chillies, cucumber, ginger flower, onion, and prawn paste (haeko) for added flavour.
An Appetising Robust, Rich & Fragrant Asam Laksa
The sourish broth is positively thick and richly flavoured with herbs and spices. Bursting with delicious spiciness, this robust and fragrant broth really gives you the kick from every spoonful that you take. Good to the last drop, all four of us finish it up within minutes!
Everyone's at the dinner table especially my hubby is wowed over by the mouthwatering Asam Laksa. If you want a full flavoured Nyonya-style Asam Laksa, this is the place to go.
Officiated By The Mayor of Kuala Lumpur - 28 November 2014
Thumbs Up for Malaya Hainan Dishes
Chef cum Restaurant Manager Ng Huang Keong posing with Me
Chef's love and passion for good food drives him to run Malaya Hainan Restaurant serving his family time-honoured recipes that has spanned over 3 generations. With this restaurant, now his family's legacy lives on in the dishes he served to his customers every day.
I have to say that the food they serve is really good quality. Fresh ingredients are used in all their cooking, from making their own curry paste to the spicy sambal belacan that are all made from scratch. The dishes are original and unique, completely different from the commercialised or franchise outlets.
As the saying goes like this "The best recipe comes from our heart" is no lie!
Lot 16 Section 24
Jalan Panggong
50000 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03 - 2632 3898
Opening Hours: 10am to 10pm (Daily)
Website: www.malayahainan.com
FaceBook: www.facebook.com/MalayaHainanCuisines
Email: malayahainan@gmail.com
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Stepping into Malaya Hainan Restaurant feels like being transported back to good old days of 1960's. Dining at this place brings back lots of nice memories for me as I grew up in this part of Chinatown.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteI have to say that the food they serve is really good quality. Fresh ingredients are used in all their cooking, from making their own curry paste to the spicy sambal belacan that are all made from scratch. The dishes are original and unique, completely different from the commercialised or franchise outlets.
As the saying goes like this "The best recipe comes from our heart" is no lie!
Latest update. I visited this place for the 2nd time for my Sporean frens during CNY celebration and found out that their prices have been increased to around 30%. Personally speaking, it's too much to bear for me :-(
ReplyDelete