Two Hungry Girls Present Action against Hunger Supper Club

I don’t know if before I was a fan of Supper Clubs or not, or whether I just hadn’t given them a try to say. But after a night with the Two Hungry Girls, I am definitely a fan now.

Rasa Sayang Express

There are not too many good options to have a quick snack down Oxford Street. There are some dodgy Chinese buffet noodle joints, and the normal sandwich shops that sell the same same plastic sarnies. So when Rasa Sayang opened a small outlet to feed those tired weary and hungry shoppers it could only equal success.

Well the shop always seems to be very busy whenever I have passed it, although I am rarely in Oxford Street, as I class that street as hell on earth. The weeks before Xmas for me, it is hell itself. As you can see I am not much of a shopper.

On this day, I was tired of the options in and around Soho, and only wanted a quick snack, but everywhere I wanted to eat at was too damn busy. I was hungry and I didn’t want to queue.

This is where Rasa Sayang Express fit the bill. Everything is pre-cooked, and just ready to be warmed and plated up, so service is pretty quick.

The menu at this smaller version of its China Town daddy is a smaller version of the China Town one. There are 17 items on the menu, all priced at £5.99p. Doesn’t that make life easy, although if you only have a fiver, you’re buggered really.

I opted straight away for the Nasi Lemak, although I was tempted by the Curry Laksa, but the thought of a good Nasi Lemak won through. Maybe next time.

It was served in a few minutes and looked the part. It actually tasted the part as well. The chicken curry was really good, nice spicy gravy, the boiled eggs had that truly authentic greyness around the yolk that you only seem to get in Malaysia. The accompaniments were all there. The only downside was the rice. It was too stodgy, under seasoned and not very good at all. Disappointing.

All in all it was an ok meal, ir serves its purpose very well. It’s cheap, spicy and quick, but no where near as good as its China Town sibling.

Cook The Books : Rasa Malaysia - Beef Rendang

I brought this book many years ago in a small bookstore somewhere in Singapore. I know I don’t cook out of it as much as I should, but it’s one of the best cookbooks I own.

The wonderful Betty Saw seems to be the Delia Smith of the Malay/Singapore world, and has written about as many books as Delia herself. Whether she has a lucrative supermarket deal is anyones guess.

The chapters of the book are the States of Malaysia and Borneo, which makes cooking really interesting. But you therefore have so many choices for the same dish. I’m amazed there are so many different versions of the mighty laksa.

My favourite Malaysian dish is Rendang Daging or Beef Rendang. By far the best recipe I have found not only from the book, but on the interweb as well, is the recipe from Pahang. This state has the delights of the Cameron Highlands, plus the bizarre city of Kuanton and my favourite town of Cherating. All these places are within its borders.

If you are only going to cook one recipe from Malaysia, then it should be this one.

Ingredients

600g Beef, cut into 2 ½ cm cubes

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground black peppercorns

1 ¼ litre of coconut milk

1 piece of dried sour fruit (asam gelugur)

2 Lemon grass stalks, lightly bruised

2 turmeric leaves

Salt to taste

Ground Ingredients

15 Dried chillis – soaked

15 birds eye chillis

2½ cms piece of galangal

2½ cms piece of Turmeric

2½ cms piece of Ginger

15 Thai shallots, peeled

5 garlic cloves

1. Season the beef with the salt and ground black pepper. Leave for 30 minutes.
2. Heat a pan and add a tad of oil. Add the ground ingredients and fry until it becomes fragrant. Add the coconut milk and bring to a simmer.
3. Add the meat, sour fruit, lemon grass and the turmeric leaves. Simmer for about an hour and a half or until the meat is tender and the gravy thick and oily.
4. If the meat is tender but the gravy is still a tad too loose, then remove the meat and boil the sauce hard until the gravy is nice and thick.
5. Remove the lemon grass and turmeric leaves. Season with the salt and serve with rice.

It’s that easy. It’s thick, coconuty, spicy and totally bloody unxious. I’d advise you all to give this a try. You can of course reduce the amount of chillis but the coconut milk will reduce the kick of them. But each to his own. Enjoy.

A Malaysian Pasam Malam

 For me the best foodie places in the world especially for street food are Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia. Penang however ranks as the number one street food destination in the world. There is something about the hawker stands that just makes eating out so good. They take pride in their work. For them this is their little restaurant, it’s not about earning a quick buck or scamming their customers, like some street food stalls I have seen in other countries, including my own.

So I was dead excited to hear there was going to be a Malaysia Pasam Malam or night market in Trafalgar Square on Friday night. Memories came flooding back of all those hawker stalls in Penang selling top quality food to eager and happy people.

When Friday came, I even left the new girls birthday drinks at the pub early so I could go. Rude I know. But hey, I have priorities.

So when we arrived to Trafalgar Square, I was amazed, but not surprised by the quantity of people who had turned up before me. All I could see was a sea of people. Damn we were late. Very.

The stalls, which from what I could make out, were mainly from restaurants serving up their signature dishes. Not like a proper pasam malar, but it’s a start

The stalls were all ringed around the outside of the square, and the left hand side had at least 50 deep of people queuing. We were very late. Very.

We wandered over to the other side, where the queues were less, but only slightly. Thoughts were running through my mind of beef randang, roti canai and nasi lemak. These were wetting my appetite for a good night of feasting.

Unfortunately something went wrong. Of all the queues we joined by the time we got to the front we were confronted by “No Food”. They had run out. How cold this have happened. Damn how late were we. Oh so very late. 

It was a bit of a shambles really. I guess they had not thought that Londoners would flock there in droves on a Friday night for good Malaysian food.

For starters to do an event like this on only one day was a bit of a stupid idea. This should have been a weekend event showcasing the wonders of Malaysian food. Instead we were left with a mad scramble once everyone left work to get something to eat.

I was very disappointed but still kinda happy that it was a success in a way. If a little chaotic. So with everyone else we decided to goto China Town for some nosh.

As we were leaving we saw a girl popping some chicken drumsticks into warm oil to fry. I would have loved to have eaten that. I don’t want to think how they would have tasted.

A disappointing night, but it did have its upside. We discovered Leong’s Legends Continue…… More on that soon….. 

Rasa Sayang – My New Favourite Malay Joint

I think I have found my favourite Malay eatery now. Since we have been back, I think I have eaten at Rasa Sayang on at least 5 occasions. All with different groups of friends, who all have loved the place. I’m sure, I am due a free meal there now.

Even when it opened last year, Rasa Sayang was serving good food. Good Malay/Singaporean food. Which in this part of London was badly needed, as most China Town eateries only serve swill to the masses. But as Chinese food has been relegated to cheap take aways, not many people will pay a premium for good Chinese cooking. It has now become a cuisine that is cooked so badly it is a wonder that people still eat it. But that rant is for another blog.

Back to the Rasa Sayang. It reminds me of many a coffee shop in Malaysia or a simple eatery in a housing estate in Singapore. One to which our favourite and best food guide is more than happy to show us every good place to eat in his country.

There are the obligatory pictures on the wall to get you into the mood of being in that part of the world. Table and chairs are also fitting of being in Asia. They are plain and basic and do the job.

The menu is split into different sectors, having been in Colombia for what seemed like an eternity. I only ever look at the hot section. I come here for one thing and one thing only. Heat and spice in my food. It must be withdrawal symptoms or something. I want spice. I want heat. I get it here.

I even took Linas' Aunt and Uncle and cousins there recently. Apart form Alonso, everyone else had noodles. I am not a big fan of fried noodle dishes. It screams blandness to me and I get no enjoyment from eating them. But they all loved them. 

So far I’ve eaten the Nasi Lemak, Laksa, Satays (the peanut dipping sauce is to die for), Roti Canai, Ayam (Chicken) Curry and the Beef Randang. They have all been fantastic. Lot’s of spice to perk my lips and tongue up.

In the battle between the Nasi Lemaks of this small part of London. Over all, the one at the Rasa Sayang wins over the one at the C & R Café, but the chicken curry is slightly better at the latter. But everything else is better at the former. They still over boil the eggs, but less than anywhere else. They are getting there.

The service is good, people are friendly and they serve Tiger beer. What more could you ask from in life.

I think I am going back to the Rasa Sayang now to have their Fish Curry. See you there.  

C & R Cafe

C & R was never my favourite Malaysian eatery in London, which used to be on Wardour Street. But for some bizarre reason, the owners closed it down, moved to central Soho and poshed up.

We ate there once. It was the same food I used to eat but 3 times as much. Location, location, location. Justice was served when it closed and a Korean buffet joint opened in its place. That closed not long after also. No idea what is there now, maybe a Chinese place. Who knows.

So after long searching we found C&R. Quite by accident, as it’s down a small side street quite near where my old favourite Malaysian place used to be.

The décor is as I am used to finding in Malaysia. Plastic tabletops, cheap metal chairs. Nice picture of the Pretronas Towers. Nice big private restaurant downstairs for some quality karaoke on a Friday night. God forbid.

The menu is not high end, as most mains are about £7.50. But what they do produce is pretty good. Well except for the two Nasi Gorengs. No idea why but they do not cut it, and no idea why I keep ordering them. One day I will learn.

Our favourite dishes are the roti Canaai, Nasi Lemak and some quality Laksa. All are made as well as you would find in K.L.

The Nasi Lemak is almost perfect. The rice is nice and coconutty, the sambal has a tad of heat that sets the lips a tingling. The dried whitebait are fishy and crunchy, these and the peanuts add good texture to the dish. The chicken curry has lots of thick curry sauce to eat with the rice. The only down point are as always the over boiled eggs. Why can’t people boil eggs for 7 minutes. It’s not that difficult. Set the timer, pop eggs in. Take them out when timer goes off. Hey ho.

The laksa I last had was wonderfully spicy. After nearly a year of not eating anything with a breath of heat, it really set my tongue on fire. Missed it and loved it.

As I said it’s the best place that is still around that reminds me of eating in Malaysia. It’s good, filling and pretty cheap. Unlike some up market places I could mention. But why pay more for similar food but with white table cloths.