Birmingham Eats: Malaysian Delight & Cafe Chino

Birmingham is reputed to have the second largest population of Malaysians after London or so I've heard. So when I headed there for a weekend trip, I was looking forward to a particular Malaysian restaurant that I've heard good things about. Most importantly, they serve marmite chicken. I mean marmite chicken, I absolutely love this dish since it was invented less than 10 years ago.

So I arrived into Birmingham and it was straight onto dinner even though it was way past what is considered to be the usual dinner time. Over the course of the next few days, I've been coming back to savour on other Malaysian dishes as well.

The restaurant that I've been talking about is called Malaysian Delight. This looks like one of your typical local rustic place and is definitely not posh or the like. I wasn't bothered as most importantly, it is always the food right?

Below are some of the dishes that I've tried.

Kangkong belacan

Crunchy stems and silky leaves that have picked up the belacan sauce so that each and every mouthful is a tingling fiery sensation. I can never get enough of kangkong belacan.

Now to the one dish that I have been salivating and looking longingly forward for days, the Marmite chicken. It was delicious and I can't describe how happy I was. Marmite chicken does not taste anything like what you taste straight out of the jar. This is more akin to pork spare ribs where you get this sticky caramelised coating with a sweet tanginess due to the marmite. My only chafe was the sesame seeds sprinkles. Marmite chicken does not have sesame seeds sprinkles and I always forget to mention to them to not add this.

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Going on the Malaysian trail in London (Part 2) with C&R, Kopitiam and Uncle Lim's Kitchen

With the second largest ethnic population in Malaysia being Chinese, I found my way to a few Chinese Malaysian restaurants as well.

Malaysia Kopitiam

I ate at Kopitiam very soon after I first arrived in London as it was the only place that I knew that made 'pan mee' 板面. I wasn't too impressed but I absolutely loved the sambal carrot cake. The extra touch of sambal gave it that more-ish kick!

I came back another time when a friend of mine, Ms Chocoholic wanted to eat there and I ordered something else that I've never tried before which is the Hokkien Noodles. They were tasty but did not leave a lasting impression.

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Going on the Malaysian trail in London (Part 1) with Satay House, Delima, Jom Makan and Awana

I recently met up with a friend that I haven't seen in 11 years. It's amazing how much things can change in a decade and how some stay the same. Needless to say, we caught up over some alcohol and food for hours on end and waking up with sore heads the day after. 

My friend and I share something similar. We both didn't have to cook the Malaysian food that we crave until we went overseas where tasty versions could not be found easily and cheaply. All that talk got us naming the places we've tried in London. I then realised that I haven't blog about a number of them so some of these are from the archives.

One of the first places I was told about when I first arrived was of course C&R in Chinatown which dishes up Chinese Malaysian cuisine. You can read about it in Part 2. 

I was later brought to a few places serving malay cuisine with the first being Satay House. 

Satay House

I find Satay House to be consistent and serves food that would quell the malaysian cravings. 

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C&R, Chinatown

When you usually ask a Malaysian where to go for some Malaysian food in London Chinatown, the name C&R does pop up a few times.

With that, I find myself heading there with friends. As it was a small group, we only tried a few dishes.

Wan Tan Hor

Carrot cake

Hokkien Noodles

The food was tasty and while not able to replicate all the flavours and balance of its original sisters and brothers in Malaysia, is still acceptable.

Will I recommend: Yes

Will I come back: Yes

Have I had better: Yes

C&R Cafe, 4 Rupert Court London W1D 6DY

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Malaysian Banquet Dec 2010

Malaysia Kitchen ran their second Malaysian Banquet in December this year as part of promoting Malaysia and its cuisine.

It involves 4 Malaysian restaurant presenting their signature dishes for you to sample and rate! Best of all, it's free!

Having grown up in Malaysia, I couldn't wait to check out what the 4 restaurants have to offer. The 4 restaurants this time round is 54 Pinang, Awana, Delima and Melati.

Top (Left to right) - Delima: Ayam Masak Merah, 54 Pinang: Beef Masak Kicap "Mamak Style"

Bottom (Left to right) - Awana: Beef Rendang, Melati: Kari Kerisik Ayam

For some strange reason, the top 2 are my favourites with the Ayam Masak Merah from Delima being the winner and the favourite for me. This is quite spicy but with each mouthful, it just makes you want to eat more.

The Beef Masak Kicap is a sweet based dish with a heat kick at the end. My second favourite dish. You definitely need to eat this with rice or the sweet sauce might be an overkill.

The Beef Rendang for me was too creamy, I like my rendang slightly dry and rustic.

The Kari Kerisik Ayam is a cream based curry that was tasty, nothing more nothing less.

This was a good way and experience to try the signature dishes of some Malaysian restaurants. I know which one I will definitely be going back to.

You can find out more at Malaysia Kitchen.

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Penang cuisine trip

If you go to Penang without savouring on their delicious food, you haven’t been to Penang!

A group of us planned a food trip and I was lucky that one of my good friends happened to be around who is a fantastic cook as well as a foodie! With her as our local foodie guide, we were taken straight to the good ones amidst all the mass of food stalls that is just everywhere!

Our taste buds was definitely looking forward to the ride, not sure if our tummies were…here we go!!

Nasi Lemak

Choice of sotong or chicken. This is more of the sweet version and is good. Fragrant rice coupled with the sweet and spicy sambal. There was definitely sighs of approvals and minutes of silence as we all take it in.

Location – On the way to Batu Gantung. Its near the entrance of the race course. Opposite the entrance, you will see a small temple, turn into the small road.

Cendol

Rojak

Assam Laksa

It has been so long since I last had good old cendol. Love the rojak sauce. Unfortunately, the days that we were there, the laksa stall to go to was not open, had to settle for this one.

Location - Jalan Kheng Khee Street, Penang Road

Traditional nonya food seems to be a must try being in Penang and we decided on this one. The food is good but does not leave a lasting impression.

Location - Nyonya Breeze Restaurant

Our final last stop of the day (with stomachs nearly bursting) is for porridge. Having heard that the chef does not care about how long you wait and that waiting time can easily be 90 minutes, we thought that there was plenty of time to just sit around, chat, and letting our tummies digest the dinner before the porridge.

Not sure if it was unfortunately or fortunately for us, the porridge arrived in 40 minutes. This is good. Clear and not heavily laden with the starchiness of the rice, you can taste the broth and the flavours of the meat or the other parts of the pork if that is your fancy!

Location - TBC

Next morning, it was up for some ‘Bak kut teh’. Have not had this in ages and was looking forward to this. We started off with some frog legs swirled in chicken essence. The meat was really tender and you could taste the freshness of the meat. The taste is similar to chicken.

Our pot finally came steaming away and releasing a delicious aroma, Fried tofu topped with aubergines was the accompaniment.

Location - Song River Restaurant

Fried Radish Cake

Check out the fire power being used by the chef in cooking this fried radish cake. This was so good that we ordered take away! The husband and wife team also makes pineapple tarts which they sell. We got to taste them and these are quite good if you like you ratio of pastry to be more than the pineapple.

Location - In front of Union School [192 Jalan Burma] (travel along Jalan Jelutong, you will come into intersection to turn right into Perak Lane. The stall is on the left).

Pan Mee

This appears to be a little different to the pan mee that I am used to. Apparently this is known as Sabah pan mee.

The noodles itself is a lot thinner hence the lightness. Other than that, it taste quite similar.

Location - Sungai Nibong

This is one store that we came quite a few times but always just missed out (either we were too late or they were not open). Finally managed to come here on my last night in Penang.

Glutinuous rice balls in soup ‘汤圆’

I am used to the soup being ginger and pandan based but they have an option of a brown sugar based. It actually goes really well with the glutinuous rice balls. Not too sweet.

The stall sells a variety of plan, and those with fillings (sesame and peanut). The ones with the fillings was not the best I’ve had. The flour bit was a tad too hard and not chewy enough. The small plain ones however are amazing!

Location - Magazine Road (opposite Trader's hotel )

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Alice Kuih

Always curious about how authentic Malaysian food is in Sydney? One of the places to try is Alice Kuih in Thornleigh. A gathering of close friends was a good reason to travel to the suburbs for a good meal. It’s actually really close to Thornleigh train station but the journey took nearly an hour from the city. We were all starving by the time we got there for lunch and couldn’t wait to fill our ravenous appetites.

Har Mee
Noodle soup in lightly spiced prawn soup with prawns, pork, kangkong (type of vegetable) and egg.

The soup was slightly watered down and not as thick and spicy as what I had back home. However, the flavour and taste was still there and we happily tucked in.

Yong Tau Fu with Chee Cheong Fan

Assorted vegetables stuffed with fishpaste on top of steamed rice rolls in sweet bean sauce & dash of chilli sauce.

We were excited that there was ‘Yong Tau Fu with Chee Cheong Fan’ on the menu. I used to love eating them when my grandma made them. Happy memories. This was equally good, there was plenty of “oohs” & “aahs” when we saw the familiar stuffed ladyfinger, fishcakes, tofu and bitter gourd. Who can ever forget the bitter gourd.

Char Kway Teow

Rice noodles in thick soy sauce with chinese sausage, seafood & chives.

KL Hokkien Char

Along came a long lost friend that seems hard to find here known as the “Hokkien Char”. The version that I am talking about is with the noodles all covered and drizzled with black sauce cooked and served with tiny chunks of fried pork fat. How decadent!

Assam Curry Prawns

Assam curry prawns was next. The prawns were not as fresh as it could be which dampened into the enjoyment of this dish.

Marmite Chicken

Something different. Marmite chicken. For those vegemite lovers, marmite is another cousin which is made of yeast extract as well but the taste is definitely different. Most Malaysian kids would have grown up eating marmite. Malaysians started experimenting with this humble ingredient which borne the ‘marmite chicken” dish. I totally forgotten about this dish till I saw it on the menu again. It’s definitely not something that can be obtained from any restaurant. This is definitely one of my favourite dishes.

Finally for some dessert.

Pulut Hitam

Sweet black glutinous rice dessert with a dash of coconut cream.

Cendol – a national favourite. Homemade pandan strands, red bean and jelly in Malacca sugar and coconut milk.

Alice was at the cashier counter when we were paying and there was a few minutes of chatting on the recognition of “kaki-lang” @ own people. She was nice to offer us a box of free ‘kuih @ asian desserts’ upon hearing that we didn’t quite enjoy the ‘assam prawns’. She is definitely well known for her kuih. Even on full stomachs, we couldn’t help munching on the ‘kuihs’ that we bought to bring home.


Total Score ~ 20/25
[Taste - 8(10) , Presentation - 4 (5), Service - 4 (5), Value for Money - 4(5)]

Location:
Makan@Alice's

262-264 Pennant Hills Road

Cnr & Entry via Bellevue St
Thornleigh NSW 2120

Tel: 9484 8288

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