Spicy in the city

Asam Pedas Tenggiri. - Photos: ALICE YONG

Malay food is finally having its day in the sun with Cili Kampung leading the charge, bringing traditional Malay family recipes from the legendary isle of Langkawi to the Klang Valley.

The Cili Kampung outlet at Suria KLCC manages to evoke laidback kampung vibes through the clever use of fish traps doubling up as pendant lights and strategic placement of potted palms and greenery, replete with paintings of kampung houses as part of its interior décor.

Specialities are served in communal serving bowls and plates for sharing. Chilli and spice fiends will be pleased to know that Cili Kampung has ensured the spiciness and hotness level of its classic kampung fare aren’t toned down, to live up to local expectations.

Our recent lunch was ample proof of that. The signature dish of Sambal Cili Api Chicken (RM40) left us hot and sweaty under the collar, thanks to the fiery-hot house blend of green and red chillies, garlic and red onion. Although the punchy and tongue-searing hotness was acceptable and welcomed, we were less enamoured with the rather dry chunks of fried chicken breast.

Sambal Cili Api Chicken.

We found greater appeal in the standout dish of Gulai Nangka with Pucuk Manis (RM35). The tender chunks of young jackfruit cooked in coconut milk together with leafy greens known as Sabah vegetable, provided well-balanced flavours that whetted our appetite for more.

Next, the rich and aromatic Beef Masak Lomak (RM48) also came up to scratch. It is cooked with a blend of ground chillies, turmeric, coconut milk, lemongrass and turmeric leaves. A most compelling dish to eat with rice, you can choose to have the yellow curry prepared with fish, chicken, squid, prawns or siput balitong (hornshell) as well.

The house speciality of Sambal Petai Prawns (RM65) that had sizeable prawns in it passed muster. If the dark red chilli paste with onion, garlic and stink beans was less oily, it would have been better, and more petai (stink beans) as whole seeds would have been nice. You can request for more petai at an extra charge of RM10.

We loaded up on more rice to relish the spicy-hot and subtly sour Asam Pedas Tenggiri (RM65). The generous slab of tenggiri (Spanish mackerel) tasted fresh and sweet, with some okra thrown in for textural contrast. Various aromatic herbs: daun kesum (laksa leaves), kaffir lime leaves, torch ginger flower, and lemongrass added depth and complexity to the gravy.

Left to right: Lychee Lime & Rose, Rambutan Lengkong, Sirap Pandan Kenduri and Bunga Telang Selasih from Cili Kampung.

If you happen to patronise Cili Kampung during tea time (4pm to 6pm), there’s the dry-style Mee Kari Oxtail (RM30). Although the curry gravy with its mildly beefy accent proved agreeable, it failed to draw much enthusiasm from our dining party.

Generally, we found the dishes on the salty side, but since they were primarily meant to go with rice, we reckon the strong flavours would be absorbed by the bland rice.

For sweet endings, top vote went to Mama Cendol (RM22). We like the dessert’s myriad ingredients: palm sugar ice cubes, green cendol jelly, red beans, sweet corn, buttered crumbs, fresh jackfruit strips, fresh milk and coconut ice cream melded harmoniously into a cool, subtly sweet treat.

Beef Masak Lomak.

The Onde Onde Puding Bakar (RM25) also piqued our interest as it looked and tasted similar to kuih bakar, a rich coconut milk-based cake baked over hot coals. Layered with palm sugar and grated roasted coconut, the dessert of buttered bread with pandan and coconut milk came with homemade vanilla sauce. After a heavy meal, this proved slightly too rich for us.

Bukit Kelapa (RM25) consisted of triple scoops of coconut ice cream with gula melaka syrup, crushed cookie crumbs, honeycomb, mixed nuts and supposedly pineapple filling was a nice offering to showcase our local produce.

The selection of house drinks fared better. Notable choices include Lychee Lime & Rose (RM16), Bunga Telang Selasih or butterfly pea flower drink with basil seeds (RM14), Sirap Pandan Kenduri (RM8) and Rambutan Lengkong (RM14), a mildly sweet concoction of diced grass jelly, goji berries and red dates.

CILI KAMPUNG

Lot 432-433 & OS401

Suria KLCC

Kuala Lumpur

014-965 6124

Opening hours

Daily: 11am-10pm