THE nasi tumpang udang got me at Upeh, a Malay restaurant at The Gardens, Mid Valley.

This stacked rice in a cone had a layer each of prawn curry, sambal and fish serunding, wrapped in banana leaf and paper.

The soft rice was hot when I unwrapped it, and each layer came together to make it such a simple, delicious meal.

It’s what farmers would take along with them to work in the fields, as it’s rice with everything in it, in a convenient pack.

Upeh’s signature sup tulang was a tasty broth with beef bones simmered with spices, herbs and vegetables till the meat fell off the bone at the bite. 

Tomatoes, onions and celery gave a good balance to the rich stock. It was served with rice, vegetables, sambal and salted egg. We tipped a little sambal and salted egg into the soup for a spicy, flavourful lift.

We also shared a nasi kerabu biru with ayam percik, served with mixed shredded ulam at the side, as well as beansprouts, cucumber, salted egg and fish crackers. Kerisik topped the rice, which also came with budu and sambal and extra percik sauce.

We stirred everything together and the fragrant herbs showed through the rice, touched with the budu and sambal.

I enjoyed the smoky chicken embraced in the thick, creamy, fragrant and spiced sauce that was full of umami. I ladled the extra sauce over the chicken, which went so well with the blue rice.

The asam pedas ikan tenggiri was excellent. The curry struck a fine balance between hot and sour, with the flavours muted instead of sharp. 

Instead of a beef rendang we had daging bakar, served with a tangy sambal.

We relished the slices of tender, juicy beef, finished in a spicy sauce and liked them even more dipped in the sambal. It’s made with the best belacan from Perlis, asam jawa juice and calamansi, I was told.

We also had a “wet” mee goreng as requested by my friend, who knows the owner of the restaurant. It was fried well, with prawns and tofu, vegetables and sambal.

Keropok lekor was a must as a starter for our lunch, and cucur udang too. The last had a welcoming homemade feel.

I could taste the prawns in the fritter, which was not over-fried, and had a moist centre. The lekor or fish crackers – not house-made – turned out fine, and came with the same lightly sweet chilli dip. 

We had kuih lopes at the start of our lunch, instead of at the end. This triangular-shaped kuih made with pandan-flavoured glutinous rice, rolled in grated coconut and drizzled with gula melaka. 

I liked the texture of this kuih, paired perfectly with the not-too-sweet gula melaka.

The oddly named lompat tikam (“jump and stab”) presented a round green “jelly” made with rice flour, pandan juice and alkaline water, and a pink mound of glutinous rice sitting on coconut cream sauce laced with gula anau, a palm sugar specially sourced from Kuala Pilah. It was such a delightful dessert. 

The food is so reasonably priced here. The nasi kerabu with ayam percik is RM22.90, nasi tompang RM12, sup tulang RM19, asam pedas ikan tenggiri RM19, cucur udang RM8.90, kuih lopes RM6.90. I’ll be back for the laksam, masak lemak daging salai, laksa utara and more. 

Upeh is at Lot LG230B, The Gardens Mall, Mid Valley, tel: 03 2201 3158. The owners also have a Malaysian restaurant called Putera Puteri in London. – July 22, 2023.

* 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.