We wrote about and photographed this Pakistani stall near Kuala Lumpur's Masjid Jamek last fall for KLue magazine. We met Osman, its shy but very sweet owner, at his Deepvali punjabi sweets stall in Brickfields way back in 2005, but it took us another year to find our way to his Pakistani savories outlet. It's now firmly on our list of favorite downtown KL nosh spots.
On Saturday morning we stopped in to find that Osman is (temporarily, we hope) back in his hometown of Lahore. For now the kitchen is in the capable hands of his serious cousin and a new employee who proved himself deft with a rolling pin, griddle, and spatula and easy to smile for the camera.
This was our first encounter with this kitchen's paratha (we usually go
for its wonderfully chewy naan, and cart home 10 or so additional to pop in
the freezer to boot), which Osman encouraged us to try on our last
visit. The griddled disk placed before me was so hot it burned my fingertips. After a couple painful attempts to tear off a piece I momentarily gave up and leaned over the plate. My head was immediately enveloped in a cloud of
vaporized ghee and toasted wheat.
At around 10:30am a number of dishes had yet to come off the stove, though that mattered little, as our favorite of Osman's specialties was already finished. As I write this I feel an obsession beginning to percolate, an obsession that I'm pretty sure will one day land me in Lahore.
Nihari, a spiced stew of long-simmered meat, is considered a hangover remedy. Osman's version is made with chopped beef, plenty of ghee, and peas. It feels wrong to call a meat dish 'silky', but that's what Osman's nihari is -- earthy, complex, and yes, so unctuous and silky with ghee it glides over the tongue, past the molars, and down the throat with no effort on the diner's part at all. It's incredibly comforting, like a rich and meaty ragu Bolognese. We packed some home, in fact, to toss with pasta.
I don't want to give short shrift to the other dishes. Our chickpea daal sparkled with cinammon and, after few benign moments, stung with chili. We stopped there, with nihari, chickpeas, and paratha. It was only 10:30 in the morning, after all. But we know from past experience that everything made in this kitchen - lamb curry, keema, lentil daal - tastes like the best kind of cooking: homestyle.
Pakistani stall, near the end of Lorong Bunus Dua (Maydin at the corner), off Jalan Masjid Jamek, KL. Look for the bright green kitchen and the tandoor oven. Open from about 900a. Biryani on Friday, nihari on Saturday, haleem on Tuesday.
It all sounds very delicious, particularly the Nihari.
Posted by: Nate | July 01, 2008 at 12:34 AM
The dishes looked very delicious and tempting. I have always loved Indian food - or anywhere close to there because of the richness of the flavor. They can't be described in words ..
Love the site. You take great photos.
Posted by: Andie Summerkiss | July 01, 2008 at 11:47 AM
mmmm looks a lot like piaya!
speaking of which, there's an upcoming indie romantic-comedy film that revolves around the passion of Negrenses for their cuisine....
Dave and Robyn: you must WATCH this! So next time, take a sidetrip to the Visayas...
the trailer:
http://idiotboard.blogspot.com/2008/07/namets-namets.html
Posted by: juls | July 01, 2008 at 06:55 PM
Nate-this stall's food is fantastic but we seem to be the only non-Pakistanis partaking. A pity.
Andie - thanks. Cred to David Hagerman for the photos.
juls - thank for the link - my mouth was watering just watching the trailer. Wish it was going to be playing here....
Posted by: Robyn | July 02, 2008 at 11:49 AM
Gosh, the dishes look positively delicious! I'll make sure to make a trek down to the restaurant when I'm visiting KL next time.
Posted by: Pete | July 02, 2008 at 02:41 PM
Pete-definately worth a trek, but don't expect a restaurant,just a small stall and a few tables in an alley. Nevermind, the food makes up for the lack of atmosphere. I'd be hard-pressed to choose betw naan and paratha ... better get both, and a chapati too while you're at it. ;-)
Posted by: Robyn | July 02, 2008 at 02:50 PM
hi robyn,
i'll let you know if i get a copy. i'd be happy send one your way. :) and make your mouth water more ;)
cheers!
Posted by: juls | July 02, 2008 at 09:15 PM
Gosh darn I love your blog. It's so educational and really teaches us of the wonders of Asia. All your work much appreciated.
Posted by: Beth | July 04, 2008 at 12:03 PM
Everything is just in your hand. A complete Notebook containing all information. Just Regeneration from G Ragu.
Posted by: g ragu information | September 28, 2008 at 06:40 PM
Lahore is famous for its tasty food like Lahore Brost but food has become very expensive these days.
Posted by: paknewsarticles | June 17, 2009 at 01:01 PM