Hit the Rojak II

About a month before moving to KL, we were in town for a few days to look for a place to live.  What a nightmare!  Ever viewed 20 potential homes in about 7 hours, all of them discouragingly lacking?  As the brain begins to fog and the eyes begin to goggle in the skull, details run together and each place, in memory, becomes indistinguishable from the other.  At one point, about midday, as we were speeding through entirely unfamiliar surroundings from one appointment to the next, our real estate agent waggled a thumb at a truck parked roadside.  "I reckon here's where you'll get the best Indian rojak in KL," he pronounced.  I immediately perked up -- and then deflated, as what might have been a welcome diversion from our mission faded in the rearview window.

Then a couple of weekends ago, fortune came our way:  entirely by accident, we came upon the very truck, parked in its spot next to a monstrous apartment/condo construction site on a busy side road in Bangsar.  There was no question that we'd have to stop and give the rojak a try.

Indian rojak is an entirely different animal from Penang rojak.  Different ingredients, different sauces.  In Indian rojak sauce you won't find petis -- the pungent black prawn paste pictured in my previous post -- but you will find toasted peanuts, chilies, gula melaka (palm sugar), tamarind, and sometimes mashed sweet potato.  And while the ingredients in Penang rojak sauce are mixed on the spot, Indian rojak sauce is cooked, and served lukewarm.  Like Penang rojak, Indian rojak's salad includes jicama, cucumber, and deep-fried tofu, but also bean sprouts, assorted deep-fried fritters, a hard-boiled egg and, if you wish, boiled sotong (squid) bathed in chili sauce.

Above, veggies ready to mix are laid out on bottom, while fritters -- prawn, coconut, and plain flour -- occupy the shelf up top.

Another view of veggies, with deep-fried tofu triangles tucked behind.  The tub holds chili squid and the tied bags rojak sauce, ready for takeaway.

My Indian rojak experience is limited enough that I can't speak to the "best in KL" assertion made about this version, but I can say that this fellow's pride in his product is justified.

Across the counter his partner uses an old-fashioned hand-cranked contraption to shave ice for chendol, a sweet dessert/drink of coconut milk, palm sugar, and short worm-like cooked "noodles" of pea flour flavored with pandan leaves (called "chendol" -- the dessert is named for this ingredient).  The chendol served out of this truck may also, if you request it, include corn, kidney beans, and a bit of coffee (in the green plastic tub). 

Chendol and Indian rojak seem a match made (or mandated) in heaven; most Indian rojak trucks offer the icy treat as well.

After the mixing and the shaving, the pouring and the plating, this is what we ended up with: a picturesque plate of Indian rojak, smothered in a smooth, coconut-y dressing punctuated by a zippy chili backbeat,

and a refreshing bowl of beans 'n corn 'n "worms".  I have to admit that I was not initially enamored of the sweet bean and corn concept, but it's quite grown on me since we moved to southeast Asia.

No doubt about it, ground peanuts and coconut milk makes for an extremely rich salad dressing, so much so that we could easily have gotten by with one order between the two of us.  Nonetheless, this vendor has managed to tone down the goo's inherent sweetness a smidge, and that bit of chili cuts right through.  It's not too thick (I've had versions bordering on gloppy), although there is alot of it, so it's best to adhere to discipline and leave a little peanuty pool on one's plate at the end.  Prawn fritters are generously studded with crustaceans, the flour fritters have a pleasantly soft and spongy-doughy chew (perfect for sopping up sauce), and the deep-fried tofu is light and springy.  All combine with the cool fresh vegetables, smooth hard-boiled egg, and not unpleasantly toothsome squid in an inspired medley.

Indian rojak and chendol truck, next to the construction site on Jalan Penaga close to the Jalan Ara intersection, Bangsar.  Late mornings to late afternoons.

Comments

[Sue]

What a lovely blog, I've linked you, hope it's ok! Welcome to Malaysia! :) Btw, there's a good rojak stall in SS15, Subang Jaya too (opposite the Shell Station) where people queue for hours just to get their rojak. Worth a try!

[Catherine]

(a) you are a food junkie!
(b) don't hate me, but I got tagged for another meme and I'm tagging you again. You have to tag 5 people -- that's a lot! -- so you're stuck. If you don't do it I'll forgive you though. I just didn't want 877 years of bad luck...
http://foodmusings.typepad.com/food_musings/2005/09/meme_meme_bobem.html

[Robyn]

Hi Sue, thanks for the compliment (Dave thanks you too, since the photos are his work). All my posts are old hat to you Malaysians, but it's all (deliciously) new to me -- very excited to be here! Thanks for linking me.
The rojak stall on SS15 -- is it Indian or Penang? Will try to check it out ... still learning my way around KL. :-)

Catherine -- talk about the pot calling the kettle black! (the food junkie part). The meme -- let me think about it. Seems a little early in my blog "career" to get intro/retrospective..... Thanks for tagging me!

[Sue]

Hi Robyn, the rojak in SS15 is definitely Indian with all the crispy crunchy stuff! :) Somehow nothing here beats Penang fruit rojak from Gurney Drive in Penang!

[Robyn]

Sue, very cruel of you to mention Gurney Drive when I have no trip to Penang planned in my near future! There's one guy doing grilled fish in the banana leaf with sambal, in front of an old house with other vendors... you know that one?

[RST]

Hmmm, ais cendol! Some of those antique ice shavers are certaionly very beautiful and very collectible. When I was in Phnom Penh, I was really tempted to lug one of these monsters home to Chicago with me. Not that I would ever really USE it, I'd just show it off. ;0)

Re: rojak I love to have jambu (rose apple) in mine.

[serena]

oh god, am trawling through your archives in search of virtual comfort food on this cold rainy morning.

if you ever find yourself in PJ, try the indian rojak stall opposite taman bahagia LRT station (close to SMK Seapark). love the stuff. i also have a soft spot for the one in SS15, referenced above, with fond memories of sitting on the curb, sharing a plate of this & a bowl of the ice cold cendol with a friend, under the shade of trees.

[Extreme]

Bagus... sapada good.