Malaya Hainan @Petaling Street China Town Kuala Lumpur - Authentic Nyonya Peranakan Dishes Down Memory Lane Review

Feeling nostalgia of late, Best Restaurant To Eat was invited to review Malaya Hainan @ Petaling Street - a new yesteryear kopitiam style of the 1950's era located at Lot 16, Section 24, Jalan Panggong 50000 Kuala Lumpur, a stone throw away from the famous Petaling Street.

Upon entering this restaurant, it brings back many memories of the days that I used to hang and play around; as a kid of 5 to 6 years old. I used to loiter around the Petaling Street area during its hey days which was a trading hub for many Chinese businesses.

This site where the restaurant sits, is the post office of those days, where there are many bustling business around the area. It has since been abandoned for a while and recently the management of Malaya Hainan have taken over and refurbished it to the charm of this forgotten era.

Sipping a cup of hot Hainan Coffee by the marble table, sitting on a redesign kopitiam chair, marvelling the decor and memorabilia, one can easily be transported back to the period where life was much simpler and carefree.

We started the dinner review with the ROTI JALA WITH POTATO CURRY CHICKEN (RM6.90). A Malaysian favourite snack food.

The texture of the Roti Jala was soft and fluffy, which the chef uses pure pandan juice which are added to the batter and then made into the jala shape and serves with a bowl of Curry Chicken.

The potato chicken curries was cooked with a unique combination of spices and herbs, which was perfectly blended and cook till a strong aroma and fragrant and was perfect for the Roti Jala

Next, we had the SPECIAL KERABU MANGO (not on menu) - (RM7.00), which was infused with the finely shredded dried shrimp mix with chicken meat, shrimp and topped with freshly slice green mango was a delightful starter treat.

Taste wise, it was not overly sourish while the green mango still have the distinct crisp and fresh feel while the strong aroma of the Bunga Kantan leaves your taste-bud tingling.

This is then followed by the NYONYA FRIED RICE - (RM9.50) - It is a belacan infused fried rice. According to the chef, there are more than 15 condiments that are added into this special Fried Rice.

The strong aroma of the condiments and spices are very apparent in every spoonful that we have eaten. The additional spiciness of the sambal belacan and flavourful special fried dried shrimp enhances the whole Fried Rice dish.

Another special rice that was dished out by the Chef is the YAM FRIED RICE - (RM9.50). The YAM are first steamed to a soft texture and dice into little cube shapes before adding to the rice and fried.

You are able to taste the natural sweetness of the yam, which was totally blended with the chicken meat to extract out the flavours. It has this special distinct taste that you can't stop eating it. One of the thing that we noticed from the 2 Fried Rice, is that these rice are not overly coated with oil.

Malaya Hainan@ Petaling Street, is a Pork Free restaurant, so to improvise, the Chef has created ROTI AYAM (RM6.50), which is a rendition of Peranakan famous ROTI BABI.

The preparation is similar to that of ROTI BABI (but of course there are also some that deep fried the whole bread too), in that the bread are coated with a layer of battered eggs and then toasted on the pan and eaten with a dash of Lea Perrin sauce and coleslaw topping.

The last dish for the night is the ASSAM LAKSA (RM9.90). This is a real test as there are many restaurants and chefs that has claimed to be able to dish out the best ASSAM LAKSA.

So, when the noodle arrive, the first taste of the soup was the test; which has a strong aroma but not too overly sourish, the kembong fish which was used still retains a soft texture which we were a little surprise as most places the fish tends to be a little hard. Moreover the soup was not of the watery type and was very florally flavoured by the Bunga Kantan, Fresh Mint Leaves and the strong fish broth.

This has got to be one of the better ASSAM LAKSA that I have tasted and would definitely be one of the dishes that I will come back for. So, for those real fan of this noodle, give this a try and let me know your comment.

For those that would like to be mesmerised and to enjoy that tranquility of that bygone era, make a stopover at Malaya Hainan @ Petaling Street to reminiscent and savour the past while sipping your cup of Hot Hainan coffee and enjoy the delicious Peranakan and Malaysia local favourites here.