Babuna has a dream for a long time: to travel outside. This simpleton from Burdwan in West Bengal who hadn’t had the opportunity to taste anything other than fish curry and rice now had a chance to try out some authentic Malaysian food. But as he does before any major event in his life, Babuna sits down with books on restaurant management to learn and have a fair idea about the new cuisine he’s about to try, with his interests primary lying in the eating part of the trip. What he discovers is that his beloved fish features in quite a few of the dishes.
In search of Authentic Malaysian Food
One of the meals that Babuna tried out was at Cinnamon Coffee House which is the coffee shop of the One World Hotel in Petaling Jaya Selangor. The coffee shop has always bewildered him as you get to eat everything other than coffee. Well the 5 stars in its entirety have bewildered him. Its one place he has to be at his best behaviour, a habit which rankles among the middle class of India. But still this is where he was going to find some authentic Malaysian food.
Leave all this aside for now as he traverses over to the huge buffet laid out for him and he pretty much forgets all the mannerisms that he had thought of employing. The vast spread of seafood had his mouth drooling already and he dived straight into the plates. Despite his mom warning him not to devour all the Kacha Manchch(raw fish), his newfound freedom meant that he wasn’t going to listen to any of his mother’s threats of destroying their Calchaar(the Bengali pronounciation of Culture).
One of the first things he discovered while filling up his plate full of Sushi was the Nitsume sauce, a sweet Japanese sauce made out of eel, octopus and shrimp . As his love for all things sweet truly transcends his love for all other things, this discovery of having a sweet sauce with his Sushi was something that he wasn’t going to forget easily.
But while coming back from the Sushi counter, he noticed a familiar one, Chicken Rice. Now if you know the Bengali tribe, you’ll be know that they love their Mangsho Bhaat(Meat and Rice) as much as their afternoon siesta. But this Chicken Rice had quite a twist to it. The roasted chicken was laid on the side along with the small grained rice. The flavour was provided by a Chili and Garlic sauce that is very typical of the Ipoh region of Malaysia and Singapore.
Another dish that quite drew his attention was Chef Zahid’s Curry Mee. A single bowl meal that was packed with the goodness of seafood, the proteins from chicken and huge chunk of flavours from South East Asia along with some Noodles for the Carbohydrates. The Curry Mee typefies the multicultural hues of Malaysia where flavours from every part of the world has been left to stew creating a marvel.
Enough of spicy food, Babuna had already turned his attention to the huge display of desserts. The traditional Malaysian Kuih reminds him of the Narkel Naadu(Coconut Balls) he used to roll out at his home with his whole family. He use of jaggery, coconut and sticky rice altogether had him polishing of quite a large serving of them. His friend Sharmila then introduced him to another dessert, a modification of which he has enjoyed since his school days. The ABC consists of crushed ice ladled in a bowl and layered up with whatever syrups and toppings you can lay your hands on. The ABC reminded him of the Ice Gola he used to eat quite often while coming from school suckling on the tangy flavours of Kala Khatta.
If you’re searching for authentic Malaysian food in Selangor, Cinnamon Coffee House at One World Hotel is one place you should definitely try out. In addition to all that, you can also try out some of the international food on offer.
Cost for 2: RM 150 (INR 2400)
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