Kedai Mekan (SEA)

I had been tracking the progression of Kedai since it emerged as a farmer’s market stall. See http://www.chowhound.com/post/kedai-makan-862520 This was my first visit to the new location on Bellevue Ave., in the old Le Bete (and briefly Chico Madrid) space. There was a good-sized queue on Sat nite; my wife and I waited for about 20 minutes at Montana Bar until we were summoned via text, earlier than initially quoted.

ROTI BABI, an eggy flat bread stuffed with spiced pork and mushrooms, was crisp and oily without being greasy, served with a Worcester and bird chile dipping sauce. MALAYSIAN STYLE NASI BIRYANI AYAM was a kaleidoscope of Indian spices, with aromatic basmati studded with cashews, a generous portion (drumstick and 2 thighs) of precisely fried chicken, battered with another blend of dry masala. This is served with a rich (but not chile-hot) coconut milk curry gravy with a boiled egg, with a bit of raita and sweet pickled cucumbers. Perhaps the best of the lot was CHILI PAN MEE, thin flat egg noodles (dried probably) with an appearance somewhat reminiscent of Sichuan dan dan, with spiced ground pork, a runny egg, scallions and tiny fried anchovies, served with a nicely hot dry sambol on the side.

I was later perusing blog postings regarding Malaysian recipes and Kuala Lumpur hawker stalls, and the dishes at Kedai Mekan seemed to resemble those pictured in the mother land (albeit at far different pricing). Total bill for this plus two drinks was $55, including tax. Considering the detail orientation, portions and quality, probably one of the best sit-down values I’ve encountered in recent years in SEA.

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Thanks for the report. I have not had Malaysian style biryani previously. How would you compare it to e.g. Pakistani biryani or Hyderabad biryani? Is the coconut milk curry gravy supposed to be mixed in with the biryani?

I’m really looking forward to dinner at KM and I appreciate that they do the text for table queue, unlike SF walk-ins where you have to stand around on the street and wait! We might wander over to The Saint for some agave spirits before dinner. Does anyone have any additional suggestions / recommendations from their menu?