Sarang Cookery @ Jalan Galloway- A delicious mix

Galloway Road is fast becoming known for being home to several notable food establishments. One being VCR – a renown spot among avid cafe goers, tucked at the corner of the street. It is easily identified by patrons through its dark and gloomy black exterior. In contrast to VCR ( VCR – A Tranquil Spot within the Boisterous City Center.) , few doors away is Sarang Cookery, all bright and chirpy, its notability though, does not differ much. The kinds of dishes serve may differ, but from what I can gather, it has its fair share of loyal fans.

I decided to pay this eatery a visit because it was getting loads of good coverage from individual blogs as well as food review websites like EatDrinkKL. It garnered continuous 5* ratings on Facebook and has been positively mentioned in TripAdvisor UK, Australia and even Hong Kong. So, I figured it must be good and definitely worth a try.

Outside

Inside

My friend and I headed there for lunch. The cafe was decorated minimally, simple. Some family photographs covered the wall, a few antique cupboards at the corner and baba nyonya wall decors hanging here and there. The overall feel I got from the cafe was that of a humble home. Its the same feel you get from the outside too.

We arrived at the cafe around 12 pm, there were plenty of vacant seats. I noticed that the tables were arranged in such a manner to accommodate and enable large crowds to frequent the cafe, which was brilliant because there were plenty of offices nearby. As I would discover later on, it was those ‘office crowd’ that filled the cafe for lunch, at least during weekdays. By 1 pm, while I was midway through my meal, the cafe was filled to its capacity. There were tables that was accommodating 6 to 7 people, but it was all well spread out that it didnt give us the stuffy vibe, the kind of feeling you get when the restaurant is packed to an extent it is not comfortable to take your own sweet time anymore and instead you gobble up your meal and leave a.s.a.p. ? Here, despite being packed, there was plenty of room to breathe and have a decent chat while munching.

As soon as we sat, we were immediately attended to by Ms Christina, the bubbly and friendly owner of this cafe. She gave us the menu, told us to take our time to look through it and call her when we are ready to order.

Both of us decided on the ‘set’ option – which comes with a main dish (meat), rice and vegetables. The 3 ringgit difference between the ala carte and set may seem minimal, but as oppose to the ala carte , which only serves you one dish – ie: prawn, petai sambal or pineapple prawn curry, among others – which will naturally entail you to order a vegetables dish and rice separately, the set dish enables you to get a little of everything in one go.

** Perhaps because it was just the two of us, the set seemed more ideal. If I were to be accompanied by a group of 4 or larger, then the ala carte would seem best because each dish comes with its own load, more than 2 measly individuals can handle.

The Chicken Kapitan Set, 10.50 Ringgit

This dish consisted of a bowl of chicken kapitan, rice, a papadam and a side of cabbage. The Chicken Kapitan was made up of mini fleshy chunks of tender chicken breasts + thick sambal (gravy). The gravy was super delicious – thick, sweetish and equally spicy. Put those three combinations together, cook it well and KAPOOWW!! It will naturally be a dish that any asian (do exclude the ones who cant handle the heat) would die for. The chicken was cooked very well, super tender and meaty. Picture this – soft tender chicken breast enveloped by sweetish spicy thick gravy, take a spoonful of that – mix and mash it up with some rice – put that spoonful into your mouth and savour the taste… YUMMM! Got your mouth watering, didnt I? That was how good it tasted. I loved it and its certainly a dish I would recommend.

Asam Pedas Fish Set, 17 Ringgit

How would you imagine ‘asam pedas’ taste like? A dish packed with spices, an equilibrium of sour and hotness? Yes, that is exactly what you will get with this dish. The fish was fresh and soft + asam pedas gravy = yummy dish! So yea, the asam pedas dish was accompanied with rice, a papadam and the same vegetable of the day – cabbage. Overall, a delicious dish.

Would I head there again?

Yes, I will. I most probably would not head there as often as I do the other cafes because it is not that near to where i am currently located. So, if i happen to be in the area, will certainly drop in.

** Sarang Cookery is not just a cafe, they also provide cooking classes for those who are interested. They offer an array of choices stemming from Peranakan, Malay, Indian and Chinese cuisines. Log on to their website : sarangcookery.com for more details.