Chennai Curry House 

141-143 Jalan Lagenda 5, Lagenda Heights, Sungai Petani, Kedah

 

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If you are in Sungai Petani and craving Indian food, Chennai Curry House will probably come to mind. I usually come here for lunch. It’s less crowded so the staff tend to be more attentive. 

See, even the cooks have time to grab a bite. Haha, actually, we were having a late lunch. He was probably slaving away in the kitchen till now, when the crowd has thinned out. 

When you have lived in a town for awhile, it may seem like you know everyone. Our neighbor's brother apparently owns the restaurant and his wife happens to be my mother's former student. Small world right?  

This restaurant is clean. The layout makes it seem spacious. We sat in the so-called ‘open air’ area. Malaysia is muggy like every day but you don’t feel like you have sweat pouring down your back while sampling the hot curry here. It’s actually comfortable. I think the ceiling fans and wide open entrance store front helps. Very welcoming too.   

The restaurant has a separate air-conditioned space, probably same seating capacity. I have never eaten in there. It is considered the fine dining section so the décor and furnishing are much more refine.

Dad decided on the banana leaf rice. For those not familiar, they give you a big piece of banana leaf, acting as the vessel for the delicious goodness that will be piled on soon enough. 

Then, one of the servers stops by with this very practical trio of steel containers, each containing a different vegetarian dish. I think I’ve only seen these at banana leaf restaurants, sometimes they have four containers but more shallow.

 

You get one big scoop of each. Here we have spinach with potatoes, scrambled eggs with melons, and a vegetarian sambal dish. The only one I tried was the egg dish and I really liked it. 

Next comes the papadum – a big one. Then, the curry on top of the rice. They start with one big scoop of curry. If you want more, they will oblige. If this was mine, it would be drenched in curry. 

Don’t this look so delicious? I almost wished I was eating this instead of waiting for the dishes we ordered.

So what did we order? First, the Spicy Bindi. Okra or bendi is one of my favorite vegetables so if it’s on the menu, it will usually land on my table. And spicy okra is just heavenly. This one is super spicy and I loved it. I think I ate two-third of the dish or was it three-quarter? 

Sotong or squid/calamari is a seafood I can’t seem to get enough of when I’m home in Malaysia. I hardly cook it in Hawaii. The prep time of having to clean it – removing the outer skin, eliminating the ink sac, gutting the insides – takes too long, not to mention cumbersome. So of course I ordered the Sotong Sambal. It had good flavor but I wished they didn’t cut the sotong into such small pieces.

Last dish – the chicken. Sorry, forgot which one we ordered. I think it was the Chicken Korma. I let my mum pick so was not paying attention. It was also my least favorite dish. I thought the curry was a little watered down – flavor not as bold as the bendi or sotong. 

We had a satisfying meal. I know my dad sure did – look at his ‘plate’. 

I would come back here over and over again. If I had a big enough stomach, I would order the banana leaf rice and a medley of dishes. A word of caution, the prices can add up pretty quickly here depending on what you order so if you are on a budget, the banana leaf rice may be the safest, tastiest bet.

Oops, almost forgot the Teh Tarik. It hit a spot. That’s all I got to say.

Food                            4.5

Customer Service     4.0

Ambiance                   3.5

Décor/Details            2.5
Parking                       3.0

Mabrown (Bee/Mei Ah Tong) Restaurant 

21 Jalan Petri, Sungai Petani, Kedah

 

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Yes, so this restaurant has two different names. And one has nothing to do with the other. The Chinese name '味也同' roughly translates to ‘Taste Together’. According to my mum, the name ‘Mabrown’ was given by the Caucasian customers who found ‘Mei Ah Tong’ a real mouthful. 

It’s been around since the 1960s. My parents had their wedding reception at this restaurant in 1971. Mum said it was the best restaurant in town then. Point is most folks in Sungai Petani know this place. 

I’ve been eating here since I was a child and the restaurant has been a family business since it first opened. The daughter-in-law and grandson runs the front of the house now.    

The atmosphere in the restaurant is like an old Chinese coffee shop – just look at the tables and chairs. And the tiled flooring. I love it.

The restaurant also has an air-conditioning section located to the left of the store. It holds about five tables. My dad always picks the air-conditioning room. He cannot stand the heat and mugginess. 

We’ve always had pretty good service here but today, it was like pulling teeth to get one of the bussers to clean a table for us. The boss had to tell them at least twice before it got cleaned. 

Who can have food in Malaysia without cili padi, chili sauce, chili powder or anything ‘chili’. This restaurant gives a generous portion - two plates of each for 3 adults and 1 child. 

The order came pretty quickly. First to arrive was the 'Kau Yuk' (pork with taro), supposedly one of its specialty. Today, they didn’t have Mui Choy. Thus, the Kau Yuk came with taro only. It was still yummy. 

Next came the Dou Miao or Pea Shoots fried with garlic and salted fish. I really like this one. There was just enough salted fish to keep the pea shoots as the star of the dish.

We ordered the steamed tofu for the little one but it turned out to be a superb choice. I think this was my second favorite dish today. The dried krills, fried shallots and green onion garnish added some crunch and flavor. And of course I love my tofu drenched in sauce since it normally is quite bland otherwise. 

The Gulai (curry) Assam Fish was the best thing we ordered today. The ‘pari’ or ray is cooked well and the spicy sauce had the right tanginess. Okra is a usual accompaniment in assam fish curries but I was surprised to see cucumbers too. I thought it might get mushy unlike the okra which is quite hardy but it held up nicely and actually adds to the dish. I don’t think we would normally order ‘pari’ for this dish but it worked fine. For future reference, I would recommend a different fish.

See the fresh ingredients that were ground and used in the curry? Chili, shallots, okra…fresh ingredients – that’s what makes food taste even better. 

I had no idea how big the kitchen was until we went to the back of the restaurant. There is a huge extension and numerous cooks were prepping and cooking there. No wonder the food came quickly. 

Food                           4.5
Customer Service    3.5
Ambiance                  3
Decor/Details           1.5
Parking                       5 (if you know where to park or else it's a 3.5)

By the way, apparently, they are open for business from 10am to 3pm only. (Yes, don't let that sign in the first picture fool you. I found it propped against the wall in the air-conditioned room, presumably an outdated sign).

Durian 

The King of Fruits

 

 

Foodelicious 

No fruit has seen as much controversy or has garnered as much differing opinions as the durian. Durian is derived from the Malay word ‘duri’ or thorn, likely due to the sharp thorns on the outside of this fruit.

The fruit grows along the trunk and branches of a usually very tall tree. Sorry, the pictures are not clearer. I was trying to get a shot of all the fruits but there were too many – about 100 of them. This is the durian tree in the backyard of my dad’s house. 
 

My dad LOVES durian so he grew a number of durian trees in the yard. At one point, I think we had seven durian trees. Some more fruitful than others. This back tree always gave us abundant fruits. 

Speaking of my dad’s love for durians – side story: When we were growing up, every year during school holiday, we would take a trip to Kuala Lumpur to visit my aunts and uncles. One year, when I was about 10 or 11 (my brothers were 3 and 4 years younger), we were driving home from Kuala Lumpur. My grandmother was with us children in the backseat. About an hour and a half from home, my dad spotted a man selling durians on the roadside. You know what happens next – he had to buy the durians. Not two or three but almost 20 little ones!! 

The trunk of the car was full of luggage but that did not stop him. He unloaded some of the luggage and moved them to the front passenger seat and to the backseat. He fit his durians into every nook and cranny he can find in the trunk and one or two made it into the car with us. It was an uncomfortable rest of the journey. But thankfully, we all got to enjoy some very delicious durian for dinner. 

The controversy with this fruit stems from the smell, not the taste. Most people who have tasted the fruit likes the taste (if they could get past the smell). It does have an exceptionally strong smell that can quickly permeate and overpower a space. For that reason, you will often see signs at hotels that prohibit the fruit in their premises. 

Most will say the fruit stinks. I don’t agree. I just like to say it has a powerful smell. 

Now, with all those thorns, how do you get into the fruit? My dad use the same sharp stick he has used for over 10 years. He got the stick from the inside of a broom handle. It’s perfect for opening durians because of it has a pointy end and is long enough for a good grip.

My dad is going to demonstrate how to open a durian.

First, find the end where all the lines meet – opposite end of the stem. [This picture shows one with the fruit already splitting along one of the lines].

 

Us the stick to pry open the fruit at that point. Be careful with the thorns. I know my dad makes it look easy but he has open thousands of durians in his lifetime. Trust me, it’s no easy feat. It’s a combination of strength and precision. If you are an amateur, it’s best to have a cloth between your hand and the thorns. Or else you will likely hurt yourself.

Once you think you have a good enough opening, you can slowly split it open with both hands.

Look at those durian! Such a golden yellow. This is from the tree in the front yard. It’s a shorter tree. The fruit is smaller but the fruit packs a punch - super sweet. And each seed is also bigger than average.

Keep opening the durian until all the fruits are gone.  And when you have ferocious durian eaters that does not take long.

 

The one on the left (paler skin) is from the back tree. It has a slightly bitter undertone. Believe it or not, those that have a bitter taste are much more priced. When I was growing up, I preferred the sweet ones. As I got older, I started to acquire a taste for the ones with the slightly bitter taste.

This was a feast for (4) people.

 

 Of course we finished it all.

What do you do with the husk? Well, you throw it out but we also normally pick one or two with deep cradles to rinse our mouth with. I’m not sure what the logic is, maybe it helps get rid of the durian taste? We also rinse or drink salt water after since it’s considered a ‘heaty’ fruit – too much of it can give you a sore throat. 

The first day home, I had durian for dinner. And for many breakfast, lunch and dinner later. I didn’t mind it. I haven’t had fresh durians for a while, having always missed the season the last few years home. And the ones in Hawaii are not fresh so I’ve never bought them here. Plus they were expensive. 
 

 

Remember the 100+ durians on the tree? Well, after eating during every day for about a week….I decided I needed a break. No matter how much I love durian, there is a saturation point. Besides, I can’t afford the calories intake especially since my workout program seems to have come to a screeching halt while on vacation…

Once a durian fall off the tree, you have to eat it within a day. Or else it will start to get mushy and lose its texture and yumminess. So what do you do with extra durians? You freeze them. They taste like ice-cream later – very creamy. For those of you who have only tried fresh durians, you should try the frozen ones too.

I give durians a 5 out of 5. As far as I’m concern, it’s truly the king of the fruits. Who seconds this? Tell me your durian stories. Or tell me why you love this fruit.