Thursday 28 May 2009

A good makan spot in Setapak, KL

I was first introduced to Penang char kuetiaw when I was handling a project in Butterworth some years back. I had asked my secretary of a good place to have dinner one evening and she recommended that I try this popular char kuetiaw stall in Bukit Mertajam. I have never been to Bukit Mertajam before but I'm the sort of guy who's game enough to go exploring wherever there is good food to be found.

So armed with simple directions on how to get there, I took a drive to BM in search of the place. After a few tawafs of BM town, I found the stall. And yes, the char kuetiaw tasted good. When I got back to Kuala Lumpur, I found a few stalls around the Melawati area that sold similar tasting char kuetiaw but not as delicious as the one I had in Bukit Mertajam.

Recently, on Astro's Warung Kita programme, they showed a makan place at Taman Bunga Raya near TAR College that sells Penang char kuetiaw. It is called Mali's Corner. On one of my trips to KL last month, I tried to look for this place. I found it... but good lord, the queue to get your plate of the dish was so long! I was terribly hungry and could not afford to wait, so I had something else at another stall.

When we were in KL again last Sunday, my sister-in-law informed us that Mali's Corner has opened a new branch in Setapak Indah. We decided to give it a try.


The new Mali's Corner is a decent-looking restaurant within a row of newly-built shops at an area called Platinum Walk. There are a number of other restaurants on the same row, so you actually have a good choice if you fancy eating something else.

This new restaurant is more upmarket than the original establishment, which is really just a roadside stall. But they still practice the same system of self-service. You go up to the counter to place your order, wait for a few minutes for the kitchen to sizzle-up your char kuetiaw, collect and it bring it to your table. The price of a plate is understandably a bit higher now but not by much. A small plate costs RM4, the large plate costs RM5 while the special plate is priced at RM6.50.

We had the large plate. It tasted not bad at all... on par with what I had at Bukit Mertajam. Certainly worth the RM5.

Mali's Corner also sells nasi lemak with ayam goreng panas. I am told this dish tastes delicious too. I'll be certainly trying this out on our next trip to Setapak.

17 comments:

mamasita said...

Rajinnya you cari the restaurant Oldstock. Kitaorang gi 1-utama and Curve Area and Taman Tun and habis2 kuat sampai Damansara Heights and Bangsar..Section 14 pun not bad jugak!
You memang boleh host programme Round2 cari Restaurant! hehe

zafi said...

Mali's? hahahahah i still remember when i returned back from London in 2007, the next day(still in jet lagingg mode) went to Mali's...Yup.. Nice food! Also enjoy the nasi lemak!
auch!

Oimira said...

oh that place in BM mcm dekat back alley kan? i go there everytime after karaoke haha

Fadhil said...

mamasita,

Kalau pasal makan, memang rajin! I always keep my ears open for mention of good makan places. Kalau ada kelapangan, mesti try cari.

Progrem JJCM kat TV3 dulu one of my favorites. Sekarang ni ada Warung Kita.

Fadhil said...

zafi,

On your next trip home, try out the new Mali's at Setapak Indah. Next door ada Boraque Cafe. A few lots down, Nasi Lemak Antarabangsa pun ada buka branch.

Fadhil said...

Moira,

Apasal korang gi karaoke tak pernah ajak aku?

Jarod said...

bro,

Mali's at setapak Tar Coll is always crowded. Unless you go early when they open around 6pm, then you might have the opportunity. I have tried the Ayam goreng panas. Best! :)

Kueh teow tu haven't try.. :)

lol... i always hang out around the area when I studied there. :)

Oimira said...

sebab masa itu oldstock adalah project manager. hehe

Anonymous said...

Interesting. I've driven past Platinum Walk before but never bother to check that place out. Will make it a point to turn in the next time.

BTW, have you tried the Trengganu/Kelantanese cuisine at this row of shops on the way to IIU (just before turnoff)? If I'm not mistaken, the restaurant is called Ulik Mayang or sth like that. I went there once. Very crowded. Yummy food but my husband said that it's too rich for his liking.

Nin said...

Char kuey teow is my favorite. The best for me is kuetiow doli in taiping, where i grew up. We used to buy tapau and eat it from the bungkus, tak transfer masuk pinggan pun cause we didn't want to waste all the juicy soya sauce! but recently i tasted the one at subak restaurant in sg. penchala... mak aii... gile sedap! you should try that one!

hanitha said...

bro..kat mapang point ader gak nasi lemak antarabangsa n linda onn's chicken rice..tk nk cuber ke?? tp klu nk karaoke..jom g red box sogo...test vocal ehehhee

Snakebite said...

kena gi try ni. thanks for the info woodstock eh silap, oldstock.

Fadhil said...

Jarod,

Mali's at TAR college memang ramai sangat customer. I couldn't believe the length of the queue when I first went there. Actually someone recommended me to go there and try the nasi lemak ayam goreng, not the kuetiaw.

I'll try the ayam goreng at the new place on my next trip. But the new place pun ada parking problem because many customers too.

Fadhil said...

Andrea,

I've been to the place that you mention. It's at Tmn Melati just off the MRR2 before the Balai Bomba.

There are two shops selling Kelantanese food. Apart from Ulik Mayang, the other one is called Leha Kelfood. I prefer Leha than Ulik Mayang because of the variety. Price is a bit on the high side but I don't mind because the food taste good.

Fadhil said...

Madam,

I've never been to Taiping before but would dearly love to make a stopover one of these days.

Thanks for the info about Subak Restaurant at Sg. Penchala. Will check it out if I'm in the area. Would help if you can give me precise directions.

Fadhil said...

Hanitha,

I don't think I'll be going to Nasi Lemak Antarabangsa anymore. Dulu someone ada bawak gi makan kat NLA Kg Baru tapi I rasa takde yg special sangat.

Kedai Linda Onn tu dulu selalu jugak kami pergi kalau nak merasa meee rebus tulang. Memang tak sama macam yg kat JB tapi boleh la... setakat nak melepaskan ngidam.

Nak gi kotak merah? Boleh... kalau ada masa sesuai.

Fadhil said...

Tok snake,

Kawasan Setapak Indah tu ada pasar malam uptown. Boleh pegi lepas pekena kuetiaw.