So satay-sfying: Nyok Lan Kajang Satay

Free Malaysia Today, December 14, 2015

Showing tremendous satay-ing power, 44 year-old satay stronghold Nyok Lan Kajang Satay is still skewering palates far and wide

Unique cuisines often leave indelible grill marks, permanent grease stains and ineradicable odors on their places of origin, making one almost synonymous with the other (think of food-place power couples like sushi and Japan, curry and India, tubs of lard and the US). Certain dishes inherit the names of their culinary crucibles: Buffalo Wings, Swedish Meatballs and Belgian Waffles come to mind (and rudely awaken the appetite). To this illustrious, cardiovascular health-unfriendly list we add the (otherwise relatively obscure) town of Kajang and its gastronomic local-boy-done-good, satay. Though satay’s fiery birthplace is nowhere near the Selangor outpost (or even, arguably, Malaysia, for that matter), Kajang is where satay found its groove, developed swag and attained ‘mad skillz’. The hinterland town (at least, until MRT 2 is completed) is spangled with satay specialty eateries which draw paramours of the grilled, skewered meat from across the land – and one of them is Nyok Lan Kajang Satay, a.k.a. Restoran Malaysia (the hastily thought of, but colossally unimaginative nickname rolls more easily off the tongue).

Ruthlessly setting meat and palates on fire since 1971, legendary Nyok Lan is fittingly ensconced in the very centre of town, and its riot of satay patriot patrons hardly ever thins. The restaurant serves a variety of other dishes as well, but they are rudely overlooked in favour of the prima donna offering. The usual suspects of chicken and beef satay are on offer, but so are the less familiar upstarts of mutton, fish and (until recently) duck – (Nyok Lan boldly goes where no satay purveyor has gone before). To meet the Viking demands of its never-ending horde of diners, the outlet has three charcoal grills working overtime, creating smoke signals in the alfresco areas of the premises.

I authoritatively ordered the chicken, mutton and fish satay, and was soon breathing in their hallucinogenic smoke (I had a vision I was mayor of Kajang, and declared every Saturday a special ‘satay holiday’ – dubbed ‘Satay-ur-day’) wafting in from the nearby grill where they were being prepared. I was surprised – nay, outraged – however, to discover that satay’s traditional sidekicks of onion and cucumber were not complementary provisions at Nyok Lan (they had to be specifically ordered at a cost of RM1 per portion of onion, and RM0.50 for sliced cucumbers – which I did anyway). My indignation subsided immediately, though, upon my orders gracefully washing up on my table, in all their ‘fierce’ glory.

I began my satay massacre with the chicken satay (RM0.90 per skewer) – and was punched in the eye by sheer magnificence. The lean but juicy chunks of meat had been marinated in a flavourful, but not overpowering, sauce and grilled to perfection – and gave another Kajang satay luminary – Restoran Haji Samuri – something to lose sleep over. The portions were generous and the flavours and textures sublime, and I giddily rated it 9.5 out of 10.

Next in line was the mutton satay (a wallet-skewering RM1.50 per stick), which was also toe-curlingly good and blew (with a flamethrower) much of its competition away. Mutton tends to get tough and overly gamey when grilled – but this satay had its act together. Tender and tasty, I found myself completely neglecting the peanut sauce and barbarically enjoying the mutton on its own. It earned a champion rating of 9 out of 10.

I had inadvertently saved the worst for last though – the fish satay (a savings account-grilling RM1.50 per skewer) was a novelty for me, and I wanted to close the night on an off-beat note. But the item sounded all the WRONG notes, and was an epic fail, with its rather tasteless meat and rubbery texture. Even drowning it in peanut sauce couldn’t sex it up – so I slapped it with a poor rating of 3 out of 10.

Speaking (with my mouth full) of the peanut sauce – Nyok Lan’s concoction is no second fiddle supporting actor. A unique recipe of coarsely ground peanuts and a dollop of volcanic sambal, the rich and mildly sweet dip was a revelation – and I even contemplated eating it on its own (but people were looking). I ceremoniously awarded it a rating of 9.5 out of 10.

Nyok Lan Kajang Satay (Restoran Malaysia)

No. 31, Jalan Semenyih,

43000 Kajang, Selangor

Hours: 10am to 9pm, Wednesday to Monday

Tel: 03 8733 1160

*Based on an article published by militant foodie, omnipresent shutter bug, indefatigable traveler and bionic blogger, Venoth Nathan, in Venoth’s Culinary Adventure. Images are courtesy ofhttp://venoth.blogspot.my/.