Some Good Ol' Kampung Style at Sambal Hijau

It was one of those days where the metabolic rate shot sky high causing the stomach to rumble more vigorously than usual and the constant growling sounded like a rainstorm was coming.

Super Hungry Mode ON!

Called my reliable 'makan' buddy, Chelle for an escapade to monster-eating paradise.

MISSION: A PLACE OF SCRUMPTIOUS, HEARTY FOOD

Ting! We've got a destination and it was to Sambal Hijau for some good ol' Malay kampung food. But of course, as is always the case when I'm with Chelle, we HAVE to get lost on the way there. And once again, it was the smell of good food that leaves its trail of clues and we managed to find our way. Hip hip hurray!

A party of ikan bakar

Mmmmm...the smell of grilled fish (ikan bakar) was promising to some awesome food ahead. Having this grill stand at the outside part of the restaurant is a good publicity stunt as the delicious, sweet smell of ikan bakar is a definite head-turner! Not hungry also become hungry lah!

Super packed to the max!

There were throngs of people there and we resorted to sharing tables with this nice lady and her young son. Because we both wanted to choose the dishes, Chelle asked the lady to 'chop' our seats for us and she was so nice and obliging to help us! See, we still have nice, friendly people in our country.

Ok, TIME TO FEAST!

A star-jump for variety! Glutton Spirit doing some whoop-whoop-whooping!

Well, I almost did one, star-jump I mean. Can you blame me? Look at the spread in front of our eyes! There were rows and rows of every meat, seafood, curry, vege, innards, plants, shrubs and sauces to choose from. BLOWS THE MIND!

Didn't know where to start. We actually stood still taking it all in for a minute or two until we realized we were blocking the pathway and hungry people were shooting glares at us. Whoops!

So finally after much resistance to just take EVERYTHING, we had:

Pucuk Paku with Coconut Shreddings & Chili

Pucuk Paku is a kind of fern which is edible and normally prepared in masak lemak style (with coconut milk/coconut shreddings or some form of coconut inside). This dish was very fragrant and not too spicy.

Fried Turmeric Chicken & Fried Egg accompanying the Pucuk Paku

Fried chicken was relatively quite good. Always liked how the Malays will use turmeric to season their chicken before deep-frying it. Adds some salty and gingery taste to the common fried chicken.

Can't say much about the egg; tastes like the one Mum/Dad/Ah Neh-at-the-mamak-stall made for us for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Good thing is, it was not soaking in oil.

Beef Tendon in Sweet Curry

Was excited to try this dish as I have this knack for all things innard and jelly-looking. Makes it like a challenge, no? A food conquest more like.

Unfortunately, this dish was......not something we would have gulped down in seconds. Tendon was too soft. You know how when you eat tendons, you'll like it to have that slight bit of crunch when you bite into it? This one felt like biting into konyaku jelly. And the curry was a tad bit too sweet and mild.

Jelak after awhile!

The fish with a gazillion bones.....

We ordered grilled ikan terubuk. The plus points- fresh and very sweet. The down points- SUPER A LOT OF TEENY WEENY TINY BONES! Which made eating it quite a chore and time-consuming. If you spoon out the flesh the size of a teaspoon, you'll probably fine 30 bones in between.

Yup....that's how bony it is. Very sweet though.

Sambal Cockles

Mmmm..this dish was good! Cockles were rather tender (not overcooked like those in char kuey teow) and the sambal was spicy, tangy and full of flavor!

Overall, Sambal Hijau was a nice experience because of its diverse variety of Malay food. The throngs of people, the rows of piping-hot food, the grilled fish stand, the aroma- they all just add to this ambiance of a hearty meal awaiting the one who seeks.

Sambal Hijau & Belacan

And of course, every spoonful and every bite was topped with a bit of extra spicy kick- their famous Sambal Hijau and Belacan. The sambal hijau was sooooooo good (think fragrant, spicy, tangy), I could actually just eat it with a plate of white rice!



Restoran Sambal Hijau
2990, Kampung Sungai Penchala,
Jalan Damamnsara, 60000,
Kuala Lumpur.

BAH-NA-NAH Leaf Rice.

Everytime when there are plans to eat banana leaf rice, my stomach starts to rumble and I can actually feel myself growing hungrier and hungrier.

And when I reach there and the smell of fried chicken, fried sotong (calamari), ikan goreng (fried fish) and all the different kinds of curry you can think of hits my nostrils, OHMYGUT, I tell you, the Glutton Spirit in me just seems so ready to put both hands together and start worshiping.

In this case, my hands are used to eat and worshiping means chomping down on the food like a composting machine.Don't know why, but the smell of curry seems to make a hungry person feel hungrier. Do you guys get that too or is it just me?


So, this trip was to the famous Kanna Curry House.




As soon as you sit down, a dozen waiters will be swarming all over you, dispensing the essential 'items' such as the banana leaf, white rice, the three different kinds of vegetables (curried long beans, stir-fry cabbage & raw cucumber in yoghurt milk), a selection of curries to choose from (chicken, mutton, beef, crab, fish etc.) and of course, the very important papadom- the cracker-like thing in the picture which is made of flour and spices deep-fried to a crunch!

One can't help but feel so overly pampered by all the fuss going on just so you can eat your lunch.

Going to Kanna Curry House with this bunch of regulars means ordering an awful lot on the table. Our usual extra dishes (besides the essentials) would be the fried sotong, mutton curry, sambal prawns, fried chicken and fried fish.





Yes. We tend to be very greedy when we're there. How can you help it when you're greeted by a BIG frying kuali (similar to a Chinese wok) smack in the front of the restaurant and knowing that everything is fried-on-the-spot upon ordering? Totally overwhelming.




Fried sotong


Besides our all-time favorite fried sotong, another dish simply tops it all. Though not many can come to terms with its grainy texture, it more than makes up for its amazing taste.

This is it.


Fried Fish Roe
*Picture not taken well cos Glutton Spirit was too overwhelming


The fried fish roe has a sort of a thin tight skin (like a sac) holding in all the little tiny granules. It's a granular explosion as soon as you take the first bite. It'll be in-between your teeth, stuck somewhere under your gums and basically, in every nook and cranny it can find its way through. Awesome experience.

Kanna Curry House is a really popular place. I even heard that tour buses will arrive with a throng of camera-holding, fisherman-cap-wearing tourists. The place must be really good or just another over-popularized destination.


But for now, I must say it's definitely worth a visit.


*p/s- If you plan to eat with your hands, do cut your nails first cos' it's totally unhygienic and the curry smell will stay on your fingers for at least 2 days!




Kanna Curry House Restaurant
No 29, Jalan 17/45, Section 17,
46400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Malaysia.
03-7958 4814
Opening Hours- 7am to 11pm daily