WE were delighted to chance upon Nyiru Cafe in Petaling Jaya while looking for a place to lunch. Home-style food with kampung flavours is what it offers, similar to that of Kesom, whose shoplot it now occupies.

We had on our table nasi kerabu, nasi dagang and nasi berlauk, together with side dishes like ikan goreng sambal, ayam goreng berempah, keropok lekor goreng and keropok rebus ikan parang.

Blue rice with flaked fish, salted egg, lemongrass, bunga kantan, long beans, onion, kerisik, bits of raw petai and mango, sambal and fish keropok made up the nasi kerabu.

Stirred up, it showcased gentler flavours, and we wished for a more robust sambal but it was still good.

Later in the meal, we encountered an awesome sambal belacan served with the keropok rebus ikan parang, and that could have been added to the nasi kerabu to give it that lift.

I am totally sold by this steamed lekor and the keropok lekor goreng.

Now, I’m not a fan of lekor, having tasted some that stank of stale fish, but here at Nyiru Cafe, the lekor tasted fresh; I loved the texture of it fried, hot from the wok, and the chilli dip was just right with it.

It was the first time I had steamed lekor, and an ikan parang lekor at that, and I enjoyed it with the sambal belacan.

The nasi dagang here is the Terengganu variety, which is a mixture of white and glutinous rice, steamed with coconut milk, and flecked with fenugreek seeds.

It is served with gulai ikan tongkol. The rice is lightly sticky, the grains touched with coconut, and blended well with the curry.

The nasi berlauk was a good choice, coming with a masak lemak style curry, and mackerel (tenggiri) and long beans.

It was fragrant with lemongrass and sweet with the ground shallots in it.

We just had to have ayam goreng berempah and it turned out with crispy skin redolent of the spice paste in which it had been marinated.

A bonus too was the fried curry leaves atop, the chicken was so juicy and tasty. We couldn’t resist too the ikan goreng sambal, a freshly fried kembong covered with sambal.

The pisang goreng was so good; a thin crispy batter encasing the banana which had a sour tang to it.

Nyiru Cafe also does a yummy bubur cha cha, which is generous with cubes of yam and sweet potato, and a spurt of fragrance from banana.

The food is reasonably priced: nasi kerabu is RM9, nasi dagang ikan RM8.90, nasi berlauk RM7.90. Ikan parang lekor is RM5, lekor goreng RM3, bubur cha cha RM4.50. Fried chicken is RM6, fried fish RM6.

Nyiru Cafe is at No F-G-46, Jalan PJU 1/45, Aman Suria Damansara, 47301 Petaling Jaya, tel: 03-7490 5375. It is open from 8am to 5.30pm and is closed on Wednesday. – June 15, 2019.

* Eu Hooi-Khaw has been writing about food for the longest time, covering all aspects, from restaurant reviews to cooking and recipes, as well as the healthy side of it. She has written for major newspapers and magazines, published the cookbook Fresh Ingredients, and also writes for her website hooikhawandsu.com.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.