Pinang Masak

April 2009

I have a couple of complaints about this cute little café, and the second follows from the first: there’s nothing on offer here that’s not darned tasty, and there’s too much darned stuff on offer here. Noodles or rice? Full meal or teatime snack? Savoury or sweet? How on earth is one to choose? Every time I set foot in Pinang Masak I’m faced with a dilemma, albeit a delicious one.

Since it opened several years ago the eatery has gained a solid following among office workers willing to motor over from Sri Hartamas and Chow Kit and datuks and ladies-who-lunch venturing out from their Bukit Tunku manses. They all come for the same thing: honest food that tastes like it came from a Malay grandmother’s kitchen. There’s assam laksa (which, though fab, is really more reminiscent of laksa utara with its thinner, paler broth); sweet-and-spicy mee rebus; chewy, astoundingly grease-free cucur udang; crispy pisang goring; artery-hardening but absolutely worth it palm sugar-heavy bubur with sago; and an assortment of excellent kuih. It’s all good, but Pinang Masak’s forte is its mouthwatering nasi campur spread, the components of which change according to the whims of the cook and what’s fresh at the wet market.

The restaurant’s owner and her sister, who does most of the cooking, hail from Kuala Pilah, a smidge of a town in Negeri Sembilan state. The latter is the origin of much of the nasi Padang you see around town (west Sumatrans brought nasi Padang with them when they migrated to Ngeri Sembilan beginning in the 15th century), and the Sumatran influence is evident in Pinang Masak’s curries, gulai, and sambal, which tend to be on the spicy side (if you don’t adore heat, not to worry. There’s a good choice of mild dishes too).

Choosing favourites here is well nigh impossible, but you’d do well to keep an eye out for banana leaf-wrapped parcels of ikan bakar, fish slathered with spice paste and served with chilli-laced kecap manis or spicy-sweet-sour tamarindbased sambal; paku (fern tips) in creamy coconut gravy; refreshing green mango salad showered with caramelised shallots; brick-red pineapple curry; and an always bounteous selection of fresh and blanched ulam (vegetables) that might include slices of banana blossom, whole baby eggplants, petai, and various wild and cultivated greens to dip in sambal. If the stars are with you your visit will coincide with the rare appearance of ethereally rich ikan sembilang salai masak lemak (smoked catfish in coconut gravy) or daging salai masak lemak (smoked beef in coconut gravy). Both smoked proteins are a speciality of Kuala Pilah and surrounds.

Pinang Masak underwent renovations at the end of last year and its new face couldn’t be more inviting. The flatscreen on the wall strikes an incongruous chord, but appetite-rousing shades of orange on the wall, splashes of batik, and wooden decorative touches are entirely in line with the café’s comforting home cooking. One touch that’s not at all kampung: free wifi. Robyn Eckhardt

Pinang Masak, 8.0 out of 10 based on 1 rating