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Flavours From The Sunda Strait
Review
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From wood carvings and the music to the smell of spices, there is no mistaking the exotic touch of Sundanese cuisine, writes TAN BEE HONG
JOSHUA Teoh laughs. “Yes, we’ve been described as an African restaurant,” admits the manager of The House Of Sundanese Food. “But we couldn’t be further from that. Sundanese food is from Sunda in West Java, Indonesia.”
This is despite the fact that restaurant opened at Suria KLCC 11 years ago.
But once you get to the restaurant, it’s unmistakably Indonesian, from the carved wooden signboard hanging on the wall outside to the tall, slim wood-framed French windows, wooden sculptures, potted plants and tinkling of Sundanese ethnic music that fills the air.
Any last traces of doubt vanish when you get a whiff of the aroma coming from the kitchen. Sambal spices and grilled meats quicken your pulse and your steps as you look for an empty table.
As you pore over the menu, a basket of emping (melinjo fruit crackers) and a saucer of volcanic rock filled with sambal is set on the table. The slightly bitter edge in emping is countered beautifully by the sambal.
Dining is a casual affair here. You can choose to have it western order with appetiser, main course and dessert or tell the waiters to bring all the dishes at the same time, just like how it’s done in a Sunda home.
Sayur Asam (RM5.50) is a soup that’s unique to the region. Vegetables like young jackfruit, corn, long beans, groundnuts and melinjo leaves are cooked in a soup with garlic and onions, chili. Asam keping gives it a sour edge.
Taupok Goreng Isi (RM15.90) makes a good snack. Through a small hole on the side, the cubes of deepfried tofu are stuffed to bursting point with waterchestnuts, prawns, carrots, sliced mushrooms and surprisingly, dried scallops. “Oh yes, there is an obvious Chinese influence in the Sunda Strait,” says Teoh.
Eat it hot, with the chili sauce provided but do be careful of the burst of heat from the centre.
Or try the Tahu Telur (RM16.90). This dish reminds me of the small, rocky islands in Pulau Langkawi’s Geopark. Standing tall and precariously wobbly in a plate of red, sweet and spicy sauce with chopped roasted peanuts, is the deepfried tofu and egg combination. Silken tofu, chopped and mixed with beaten egg, is poured into a mould and deepfried in oil. The extreme heat forces some of the egg to burst out from the top and cook instantly to form a lacey veil.
I love the Cumi Cumi Bakar (RM7.50 each). The big squids, marinated for a couple of hours, are basted with a sweet, sticky sauce and grilled over charcoal fire. Chew it slowly and let the flavours of the sauce dance on your tongue. Teoh says all grilling is done over charcoal fire in the kitchen.
Because they live near the Sunda Strait, the Sundanese diet revolves around the freshest of seafood and fish is served at every meal.
Ikan Nila Goreng or Sundanese Dancing Fish (RM43.90), deepfried to resemble a fish in flight, is always exciting. The flesh is amazingly juicy and yet, the bony parts are so crisp you can eat it all up. Great with a dip of dark sauce, chopped shallots, green chili and tomato. This is recommended to go with Sambal Terong (RM13). Long eggplant is halved and grilled before it’s topped with a thick sambal fragrant with chopped lemongrass, lenguas, chili and shallots.
If you don’t like it crunchy, have the Sedap Ikan Seabas Bakar (RM59.90). “We’re very particular about the fish and use only live seabass that we keep in tanks in the kitchen,” says Teoh.
The fish is basted with a special black sauce that keeps the fish sweet and juicy inside. Teoh recommends that we eat this with Kangkung Cha (RM12) which is fried with red chili and taucheo (fermented soya beans) -- again a sign of Chinese influence.
The restaurant offers a choice of white rice or an aromatic turmeric rice. While the latter is wonderful on its own, the white rice is still best to let the flavours of the various dishes shine through.
For dessert, there’s Mango Lolo (RM6.50), Es Campur (RM5.50) and Es Tambring (RM5.50). The latter tastes best when ordered in advance. Slices of young coconut come in coconut water cooked with pandan juice. A sprinkle of biji selasih gives it colour and a crunchy texture.
For those who must have meat, try Satay Sunda Sedap (RM16), grilled just right to leave the meat juicy. Well-marinated, the chunks of chicken thigh taste good on their own and the accompanying sweet Sunda peanut sauce seems superfluous. There’s also fried chicken, grilled chicken and beef rendang.
The House Of Sundanese Food is open from 11.30am to 2.30pm and 6pm to 9.30pm on weekdays and all day on weekends and public holidays.
[New Sunday Times]
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By : Tan Bee Hong
Date : 12 Apr 2009
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