The Prata Place - The Ultimate Murtabak & Murtaburger

You all remember the time we reported on The Prata Place participating in Ultimate Hawker Fest 2014 right? Remember that awesome Prata with Poached Egg and Indian Hollandaise Sauce?
Yeah! That's the one!

Well, while we were doing research on that dish, we found out that The Prata Place had also created 2 special dishes for the previous editions of Ultimate Hawker Fest in the past years. And the best news is that those dishes are still available when you visit their joint!!

Let's start with something that is as awesome as it sounds.
Let's start with... The Ultimate!!

The Ultimate Murtabak ($12.00)

That thing is so huge that it can barely fit onto the tray!! Whoa!
Well, when you call something Ultimate, it's gotta be something amazing am I right?

So what's in The Ultimate Murtabak anyways?

We've got specialty premium ingredients like Tandoori Chicken and Portobello Mushrooms in there! Top it all off with Mozzarella cheese!!

Quite surprising because these are not usually things you'd get in a murtabak. The murtabak was crispy on the outside but nice and steaming on the inside with all those yummy fillings.

And I know some of you might be saying that $12 seems like a lot to pay for a murtabak. But think about it, this price is not much different from what you'd be paying for an average mutton or chicken murtabak elsewhere but here you are getting super premium fillings!

Plus, it REALLY is a big as it looks in the picture!

Murtaburger ($7.00)

If you're looking for something a little smaller in size but still big on flavour then you might want to try taking on the Murtaburger! (Who comes up with these great names anyways LOL)

So is this what you get when you combine a burger and a murtabak? It would seem so!

ZOMG just look at that and tell me you're not drooling like us now!

Oh yeah our favourite friend Mozzarella Cheese makes a very important appearance here (guess it's a Cheeseburger after all) along with a special chilli/mayonnaise sauce concoction specially mixed up for this special dish.

The meat filling is actually a lamb patty that is made on-site which means it's not those ready-made meat fillings stuff. This is the real deal so you know that they are gonna make it extra tasty!

Adam's Verdict: The Ultimate Murtabak 2.5/5 -- Murtaburger 3.5/5

Call me biased but the more meat there is, that's probably gonna be what I'll lean towards. LOL
But hey, where there's cheese, I'm still okay!

Anyways check out the skills of the prata guy!



Anyways don't worry they still have your expected spread like all kinds of prata (OVER 40 TYPES in all kinds of combinations!!), Thosai, all the Mee Gorengs and the gang so you're gonna be spoiled for choice for sure.

But don't forget to wash it all down with a Teh Tarik okay!

GREAT NEWS! The 2nd outlet at Jalan Tua Kong (Siglap) is now open!! 7am til 11pm!

The Prata Place

1 Thong Soon Avenue

Tel: 6459 5670
www.theprataplace.com.sg

Operating Hours: 7.00am til Midnight Daily

Amani Weddings - Tulang Merah (Bone Steak)

That's an example of how I look when I eat Tulang Merah aka Bone Steak.
Yeah I like to get down and messy and really have a go at the dish even though it's actually just bones... And I know that you're just like that too!

And it's because that's the true way to enjoy Bone Steak, I always have an issue with having it outside in public! Because you've gotta get messy to enjoy it!! Bone Steak at Beach Road? I always end up buying bungkus instead so I can go home and eat it without the fear of looking like a lion who's just feasted on a gazelle on the great planes of Africa.

Well the good news it that now, can have sedap Tulang Merah in the comfort of my own home! No need to worry about the mess! No need to worry about going all the way to buy. Now can be delivered to home some more! Just need to THAW! > HEAT!! > SERVE!!!

That's right! The same people who brought us the sedap giler and super convenient Sambal Goreng Pengantin are back with a new easy-to-prepare dish which is already cooked and frozen for storage so you just need to thaw it when ready and re-heat it before serving!

I don't know how it can get any simpler than that okay. I know for a fact that this is quite a difficult dish to cook and even harder to cook it WELL. So we're super happy that Amani Weddings has decided to bring us such a great product!

So after already thawed and after already reheated then do what eh?
MAKAN LAH APA LAGI!!!

That's right. Tulang Merah FTW!!

And that was prepared all in the comfort of our own home and super simple too! It took us less than half an hour to get it done from freezer to table! I think it took us longer to go to the shop and buy the french loaf to enjoy the Bone Steak with!

These are no low quality ingredients either okay. Check out the meat on those bones!
Some places we have bought from in the past have little or no meat at all on the bones so it's really nice to have something to bite into besides the roti perancis!

The gravy is really tasty too! Not too spicy in case you were worried but it definitely has a very strong and distinct flavour. Perfect for mopping up with the bread.

I classify Tulang Merah into 2 categories. The type you get at the shops (like Beach Road) and the type you cook at home. Normally the ones you buy in the shop tend to be more watery, pretty standard, quite a bit of food colouring and even though it's tasty, you know there's a little something that's lacking. But the ones that you cook at home have that little extra something... The meat is a little more tender, the gravy is a little more tasty. You know what I mean right?

And even though the Tulang Merah from Amani Weddings is technically a dish we bought (as opposed to cooking from scratch at home), it is still closer to the version you would cook at home. You can see the gravy is not so watery and you can tell they went through a lot of trouble to make sure quality ingredients go into making this dish power to the max.

I guess the best way to put it is that this is the closest you'll get to a home-cooked Tulang Merah without going through all trouble of making it from scratch.

And we almost forgot the best part... The SOM-SOM (aka marrow)!! :P

In each packet, there are 4x ketul (pieces) of tulang for your enjoyment and they sell them in sets of 2 packets. That means you get 8x ketul of tulang for $15! Believe it or not but that's still cheaper than some of the stalls you might buy from outside!! Ready to makan some more!!

There's no minimum order but don't forget that a $10 delivery charge (islandwide).
So make sure you order plenty-plenty one time! Ask your family and friends tumpang at once!!

SPECIAL OFFER FOR

THE HALAL FOOD BLOG READERS!!

You can order a combo set at a very special price!!!
Remember the Sambal Goreng Pengantin we featured awhile back?
(If cannot remember, you can refresh your memory and tastebuds HERE)

Well, you can have 1kg of Sambal Goreng Pengantin + 1 set of Tulang Merah at $38!!
Normal price is $30 for the Sambal Goreng Pengantin and $15 for the Tulang Merah so you're automatically already saving $7!! MEMANG BERBALOI!!!

Place your orders via the Amani Weddings FB page, email them at sales@amaniweddings.com or just SMS/WhatsApp to +65 9836 4164! Remember to tell them that you read about it on The Halal Food Blog so you can enjoy the special promo bundle price!!

Can't wait to see what other genius dishes they will come up with at Amani Weddings!
Watch this space!!!

Amani Weddings

https://www.facebook.com/amaniweddings
Email: sales@amaniweddings.com

Tel: 98364164

KL Sedap 2014 Part 3: Mohd Yaseen Nasi Kandar Pulau Pinang

So my family has actually been visiting this same Nasi Kandar joint since Mein Bruder and I were just kids. We used to drive up to KL a lot for holiday and this was always the first stop. It's either we'd drive there straight after arriving in KL which would normally be close to lunchtime and we'd park and makan there or at most we'd pack a few and eat at the hotel.

Yeah we know there're so many Nasi Kandar places in KL right? Guess there's just something special about this one...

They've got quite an array of dishes for you to choose from. Granted that most of them are variants of the same thing (e.g. chicken or prawns cooked in 3 different ways) but you're still going to be hard pressed for choice let me tell you that.

And this place is old school so the rundown is really simple.
You join the queue and when you reach the counter, there'll be a guy ready with a plate of rice. You then proceed to tell him what you'd like piled on your plate and he obliges.

And when you're done, that's when the magic begins!
The guy will then proceed to finish off your plate with a little bit of every type of gravy there is there.
A little bit of this and little bit of that. What you end up with is a plate of yum!

Not sure what I mean? Check this out!


And that's considered not much okay! I've seen guys literally scoop out a little gravy from as many as 10 dishes onto a plate!! Well, suffice it to say that you'll have a very flavourful meal!

But what exactly can you choose from?

So you'll see this giant price list on the wall but not all the items will be available at one time of course. But rest assured you'll have quite a few to choose from. Let me give you a better idea of what you might consider getting.

I know this is not the best picture I could have snapped but hey I was impeded by the glass!
Anyways, this is a chicken dish. In fact, this is the #1 chicken dish here! I'm guessing this is listed as Ayam Kicap on that pricelist but it's far from just being your average Ayam Kicap trust me.

Pretty much everyone gets it because this is the bomb and they wheel this dish out by the bucket (literally) because it's such a sell-out item that goes really fast! It's got a very distinct taste which is really something that makes you wanna have more and more.

They've also got other types of chicken such as Honey Chicken and Masala Chicken but trust me and try this first okay.

Other big ticket items are the seafood dishes and it's not a guarantee they'll be out because I guess it depends on what they can get at the market too.

Crabs are a rarity and the prawns are always a big draw. But the Fish Roe is always the bomb am I right? But don't have too much okay leave some for the others LOL

So this is what our plates looked like.

The plate on top is mine and costs about RM13 somehow. Well, I wasn't counting because this was really a great plate of makan. I always have a little extra Salted Egg on there!!

They also have a few vegetable dishes for you to choose from but I always garnish with a simple serving of ladyfingers and also they have this cucumber/pineapple pickle thing.
Sometimes, simple is best!

My Darling Wife's plate costs a bit more because of the prawns and the fish roe so it;s about RM20. She opted for the Masala Chicken by the way which had a bit of a spicy kick.

And you can wash everything down with some Ais Limau!! Refreshing!

Adam's Verdict:
Nasi Kandar 4.5/5

Maryah's Verdict:
Nasi Kandar 4/5

The only other Nasi Kandar joint we've tried was Nasi Kandar Pelita.
Yeah it was not bad but I guess maybe because we've been going for so long so it's might be a habit. But there's no doubting the Nasi Kandar here is power.

My Dad has been to Penang and tried the 'original' Nasi Kandar there and he tells me it's really quite different from the Nasi Kandar we get in KL. Well, the original may be different but I think I might still prefer this version instead. :)

PS the newly renovated sign outside the shop reads MOHD YASEEM for some reason...
Maybe a typo?? LOL well look for the old school sign in the shop or just look for the queue.

Mohd Yaseen Nasi Kandar Pulau Pinang

351 Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Operating Hours: 24hrs Daily
Closed between 1-2pm on Fridays

Khan Saab Restaurant - Mee Goreng

You guys remember our post on Khan Saab right? The Quest for Briyani remember?
Well, as promised, decided to try something different this time.

Mee Goreng ($3.00)

The best Mee Goreng I've ever had is the one from KS Seeni all the way at Ayer Rajah and Saffron is a very close second place (because it's so much closer). So I do tend to try and order Mee Goreng when I run out of ideas in the hopes that I'll stumble upon the next great plate.

The Mee Goreng at Khan Saab is not bad but unfortunately not great either. I mean, it's a decent plate of Mee Goreng but tends to be a little heavy on the MSG sometimes. Maybe it's a different frying up the noodles whenever I visit because it's never consistent. I've also tried the Maggi Mee Goreng version and it seems to come up similar for me.

I always order up the 'Goreng Basah' style because that's the way I like it. Squeeze the provided lime over the noodles and you're good to go. And I keep going until the MSG overwhelms me. Oh well.

Adam's Verdict:
Mee Goreng 2/5

Hopefully the luck is good and you get the guy who fries it up nicely instead of the guy who probably has some stock in the Ajinomoto company. LOL

Khan Saab Restaurant

Blk 55 Chai Chee Drive
#01-186

Tel: 6244 4430

Operating Hours:
24 hours Daily

Mohamed Arafat Indian Rojak

So we found ourselves in the Harbourfront area again and looking for something good to eat.
We had the Chicken Rice from Aspirasi already and also the power Mee Rebus from Haji Daliman so how about something else...

Indian Rojak

We chanced upon a stall selling Indian Rojak and suddenly we found ourselves being led (by our stomachs) towards it... They had other typical Mamak fare like Mee Goreng, Sop Kambing and Roti Prata but we decided to go for the Indian Rojak instead.

Quite a big selection to choose from actually and several different pricing levels of course.
Things like Egg Dough fritters, Plain dough fritters, hotdogs and Coconut fritters cost $0.80 each.
Fish cake, Potatoes, Ngoh Hiang, Fish Fillet and Wadeh go for between $1.00-$1.30.

Like I said... lots to choose from!
And we were lucky because they'd just opened and a lot of it was fresh out of the fryer!!
There's also Sotong too! But didn't fit it into the picture... Hehehehe

As always, the kuah plays a major part for Indian Rojak and luckily the kuah at Mohamed Arafat does not fall short. It would have been such a waste since their rojak items were nice and fresh!

The kuah was really tasty and not too watery at all. In fact, it's got quite a spicy kick to it!!

The plate of Rojak you see above cost us about $6.50 and was more than enough to share between 2 people. We took Fish Fillet, Fish Cake, Potato, Hot dog, Sotong, Wadeh and Egg Dough fritter. Nice and fresh and crispy. A great plate of Indian Rojak!

Adam's Verdict:
Indian Rojak 3.5/5

Maryah's Verdict:
Indian Rojak 4/5

The signage at the stall says 'Waterlook Street Indian Rojak'.
I'm not sure because I've never heard of Indian Rojak from Waterloo Street being the bomb but I can tell you that the Indian Rojak at Seah Im also quite power!!

Mohamed Arafat Muslim Food

Seah Im Food Centre
2 Seah Im Road
#01-48

Operating Hours: 5am til 9pm Tuesdays to Sundays
Closed on Mondays

Meera Mohaideen Mee Stall - Mee Kuah

So we happened to find ourselves at Bedok Corner one evening in search of something to have for dinner. We were originally supposed to go somewhere else but somehow ended up there. And as always, we were torn between having food that we were familiar with or ordering from a new stall.

In the end, we decided to be a bit more adventurous :)
This is what I ended up ordering.

Mee Kuah (5.00)

I'd noticed Mee Mohaideen before but never ordered from it. It seemed like it was popular for its Sop Kambing even though there was another stall just beside it selling the same thing. But I didnt really feel like having just Sop Kambing so I ordered some Mee Kuah.

Okay you guys are probably going to laugh at me now because I think I might be the only person who was not aware of this stunning revelation about Mee Kuah...

Did you know - the 'kuah' in Mee Kuah is actually made up of the Sop Kambing???
As in the base of the kuah is made up of the Sop Kambing plus some additional spices (and maybe some colouring??) to give us the end product we know and love?

I must be a real jakun or really stupid/ignorant because I literally had NO idea until I ate here.
If I had not seen the guy take a few giant ladlefuls of the Sop Kambing stock, I would probably not know this fact to this day. And after I tasted the Mee Kuah, suddenly it hit me - "Eh ya... it DOES taste like Sop Kambing a bit ah!!" LOL

Oh well, I guess you learn something new everyday. Lifelong learning!!!

Anyways, back to the Mee Kuah.
Despite being made up of Sop Kambing, somehow the kuah here was kinda bland. I think I realized it was not going to be tasty when I saw how watery the kuah was. I'm talking about REALLY watery.
In fact, I don't think I've had Mee Kuah as watery as that...

In the end, lack of flavour really puts a downer on your meal because after awhile you just give up.
But I did enjoy one part though...

Thankfully I at least got to enjoy a nice runny egg yolk which I think a lot of people look forward to when they have a nice bowl of Mee Kuah. Especially when you have a nice spoonful with the kuah.
After all, I am The Yolk Guy.

Adam's Verdict:
Mee Kuah - 1.5/5

A pity about this dish. It looked really appetizing too but somehow it's really lacking in flavour which is surprising because it's made up of Sop Kambing which should already be packed with flavour. Maybe it was my bad luck?

Oh well, maybe I'll try something else from the stall next time. Maybe Sop Kambing? :)

Bedok Corner Food Centre

Bedok Food Centre (Near Bedok Camp)
Stall 786

Operating Hours:
12.00pm til 10.00pm Daily

Saffrons Cafeteria - Appam

Appam ($2.00)

The first time I visited Saffron in the morning (AGES AGO!!), I saw people eating this. I didn't know what it is because I'm actually quite a jakun sometimes but it did look quite appealing albeit not-so-filling. I found out it was called Appam but I didn't order it.

Over the years, I never really got around to ordering it for 2 reasons...
#1 - I seldom went to Saffron in the mornings and when I did, it was already sold out.
#2 - Even if I did go in the mornings, I would probably have the Roti Prata.

And finally, one fine day when we went down to Saffron for breakfast, my darling wife ordered it!

The Appam itself is actually made from rice flour (which been mixed in with some yeast so it ferments a little bit) and also coconut milk to give it that yummy rich coconut-y flavour. This is similar to the batter they use to make Kuih Makokeh!

The Appam batter is then cooked in a tiny bowl-shaped pan til the sides are crispy. I've read some recipes where they will add an extra dollop of coconut milk in the middle just before they get the Appam out of the pan. I'm not sure if they do this at Saffron but I suspect that they do!! The guy cooks the Appam outside of their normal kitchen so I must be sure to watch him closely the next time....

Well, whether he does this or not, the Appam is delicious.
It has a nice rich flavour and I absolutely love the crispy edges which make this a great breakfast item. I'm not sure if this is how they do it everywhere but Saffron's is a winner.

The 'Orange' Sugar

I know I know there's gonna be some debate about what this is actually called.
My Mother-In-Law (whom I go to when I need to check on Malay stuff most of the time) says it's called Gula Tanjung. Online, I've read online that it is called Gula Merah but who knows. I guess everyone calls it something. I'm gonna refer to it as The 'Orange Sugar'.

This is one of the preferred condiments when eating Appam because it gives a nice sweet contrast to the coconut-y flavour of the Appam. But you can always have it with some curry or Dhal instead and it will be just as delicious.

Adam's Verdict:
Appam 3.5/5

Maryah's Verdict:
Appam 4/5

This is a breakfast item you should try at least once so you know if you like it or not. And please don't wait like years upon years like me!! Prata anytime also can have... try the Appam!!

PS you can add on additional Appam at $1.00 each for all you fellow gluttons out there :D
Snd be sure to go early because it sells out fast!

Saffrons Cafeteria

Blk 201D Tampines Street 21
#01-1163

Tel: 6787 6010
www.facebook.com/SaffronsCafeteria

Operating Hours: 24 hours Daily

Prata Scholar Workshop @ Casuarina Curry

Advertorial

Hey everyone! Looking for something fun and unique to do AND get stuffed with prata at the same time? Well, we have just the thing for you!!!

Casuarina Curry is an icon when the topic of Prata is brought up. It's been around for ages and is one of the most popular prata places in Singapore. In fact, it's my mum's favourite!!

Well besides offering dozens of Prata variations, Thosai, Mee Goreng and Briyani, Casuarina is now also offering the chance to learn first-hand how to make Prata like the pros and then reward yourself with as much prata as you can eat afterwards! Perfect for family outings or gatherings with friends. And the kids are sure to love it!!

Mr Baboo - The Prata Professional

A real Prata Professional is on hand to show you the ropes and teach you the tricks on how to flip the perfect prata. Mr Baboo has been flipping pratas for a long time so he surely knows what he's doing right? And he's the real deal too... How can we be so sure?

If he can do this, he's a professional

Anyways don't worry he's got most of the stuff ready for you when you arrive.
So all you'll need to bring are your hands and a sporting attitude and you'll be flipping prata in no time! Let me show you how it's done *ahem ahem*

Step 1 - Flatten it out

Step 2 - Flip it (Flip it good!)

Step 3 - Stretch it out

Step 4 - Realize you need a bit more practice

My first try EVER at making prata and it was actually really fun. I initially thought it was sure to be a cinch and "confirmed no problem one lah!!" and the I realized it's a lot harder than it looks! But it was really fun!

I actually ruined my first one before I even had a chance to flip it because I pressed to hard when I flattened it out. But once you try it a few times you start to get the hang of it.

Let's see how Mein Brudder fared...

Looks like not bad right... Even Mr Baboo looks impressed..
And then suddenly...

Check out Mr Baboo! Totally LOL-ing.
Okay never mind... Maybe we should try it together...

Ready to flip (check out my face of concentration)

FLIP!!

SUCCESS!!!

Mr Baboo gives us the thumbs up!

Okay so maybe we both need more practice but this Prata Workshop is actually something really unique. I'm not aware of anywhere else that you can go and learn the ropes to making prata like this.
And like we said it's great fun especially for the kids!!

Great activity with the family on a weekend out or even with a bunch of friends who want to try something new just for fun and laughs. Got some friends or guests from out of town? Perfect chance to show them some of our local food culture!!

Anyways, the good news is that the price you pay is not just flip pratas.
You also get ALL THE PRATA YOU CAN EAT plus one drink! Is that a great deal or what!!!

YEAAHHHH!!!

So for $15, you not only great a great session of prata-making but you also get to wolf down all the prata you can stomach too! I can think of a few people who would definitely jump at such an offer!
We are talking about Casuarina Prata! one of the pioneers of Crispy Prata in Singapore and you get an unlimited supply of prata til you are filled to the max!

Pssssttt here's a tip for you all... The $15 price applies to unlimited Plain Prata (aka Prata Kosong) only... top up with a few more dollars and you could enjoy the special pratas too!! We're talking about more than a dozen types of prata to choose from!! Trust us - that's a great deal!

And you get a nice souvenir certificate too! Something for the kids to hang up on their wall.
Who knows... if I ever visit a prata place in future and I see this certificate hanging on the wall of the shop, I'll know Mr Baboo's student is running the joint!!

They've got several time slots daily so this will be great for the holidays too!
Start planning now and book your places for this coming weekend!!

Casuarina Curry

136 Casuarina Road (Thomson)

Tel: 6455 9093
www.casuarinacurry.com

Operating Hours:
7.00am til Midnight
(Please refer to poster for Prata Workshop timings)