Songket
After trying some spicy and flavorful Indian cuisine during the festive (October) month of Deepavali, our lovely group was ready to savor some Malay delicacies in November.
Historically, Malaysia was part of an incredible spice trade, and that has contributed to Malay food being strong, spicy and aromatic, combining the rich tastes of many herbs and spices commonly found in Southeast Asia. At restaurant Songket, our enakkers had gathered to taste these authentic Malay flavors.
At the restaurant, like its name, even the tables were adorned with songket like table runners. Songket is a hand-woven fabric in silk or cotton, and intricately patterned with gold or silver threads that stand out against the background cloth to create a shimmering effect. Given the rich tradition and luxury associated with songket, the restaurant focuses to bring outstanding Malay food with only the freshest ingredients.
The place has a lovely ambiance and warm atmosphere and a comfortable outdoor garden patio. Songket Restaurant and Bar is strategically located at No. 29, Jalan Yap Kwan Seng, Kuala Lumpur – a short stroll from the iconic Kuala Lumpur City Centre with the magnificent Petronas Twin Towers.
It was amazing to have the attendance of a large group of 32 enakkers and guests for this Nov Enak. We were warmly welcomed by one of the directors of the restaurant, Philip, who gave a brief intro about the restaurant and its cuisine.
We started with a cordial fruit punch, followed by a serving of the appetizer Tauhu Sumbat which is basically a pocket of fried bean curd stuffed with fresh mixed vegetable. This was accompanied by a refreshing traditional salad called Kerabu Pucuk Paku, a salad of wild fern shoots tossed in homemade dressing.
As we were getting ready to be served the main course, the director introduced us to the Chef who explained us about each of the four main courses as they were served one after the other. The first dish of the main course was a Chef recommendation – Ayam Goreng Songket. These are golden crispy fried spiced chicken with onion and curry leaf. One could tell it was well marinated as the flavors of the spices was just right in every bite of the chicken. The next dish was a rich curry of fish simmered in chilies, turmeric, coconut milk and young mango. It was called Ikan Masak Lemak dengan Mangga Muda and it was delightfully delectable! We were then served a Malaysian favorite, Rendang Daging. This spicy dry beef curry infused with an aromatic fusion of spices cooked over slow fire tasted great with steamed rice. The fourth main course was a vegetarian dish called Bayam Goreng Bawang Putih, which is fresh stir fried spinach with garlic. The freshly stir fried greens complimented the rich flavorful spicy dishes.
For dessert, we were each served with Sum Sum Pandan Gula Melaka, a creamy pudding infused with fragrant pandan leaf and topped with palm syrup sugar. It looked beautiful and tasted amazing!
There was also an optional vegetarian menu which was served to one of our ennakers. This menu consisted of the following items:
– Popiah Goreng (crispy deep fried spring roll wrapped with vegetables
– Tauhu Sumbat
– Dhalca Sayur (yellow lentil with mixed vegetables)
– Kari Sayur Campur (Vegetables with curry gravy)
– Tauhu Goreng Berlada (stir fried bean curd with Chili and onion)
– Kacang Bendi Bertumis (stir fried lady finger with onion and tomato)
– Sum Sum Pandan Gula Melaka for dessert
Overall, everyone had a fabulous time enjoying the flavorful Malay lunch at Songket.
Submitted by Nazia Yusuf Hussain