A popular lady called Madam Kwan's

Do you love Malaysian food? Because I do. And one place which I particularly love when in Kuala Lumpur is Madam Kwans.

Surprisingly it's a chain of restaurants but don't let that fool you into thinking the food here in average - it's anything but. When I visited KL for the first time last year, one of my friends who'd lived here for several years recommended I try this place which has won many awards for its nasi lemak. I did so and fell in love, taking Jeremy here on our recent trip twice!

On our first trip there to the outlet in Suria KLCC, Jeremy and I just managed to beat the ridiculous lunchtime rush and got a seat straight away. We order quickly, with myself opting for the Nasi Lemak, and my boy choosing the Nasi Bojari.

The Nasi Bojari comes with tri-coloured rice, fried chicken leg, beef rendang curry and asam prawns. It's a decent sized spread of food that looks incredibly impressive and smells just as good. The chicken is tender and juicy; moist to bite into. The beef rendang has a nice level of spice to it, and the prawns are absolutely delicious!

My Nasi Lemak comes with the fluffiest, most fragrant coconut rice you could imagine. Alongside there's sambal, shrimp floss, pickled vegetables, hard boiled egg, cucumber slices and chicken curry. One bite in and I can see why this is a popular dish here!



The curry is spicy and has just the right textural consistency; slightly thick and oily it coats my mouth and highlights the tender chicken pieces inside. I love that they serve this with shrimp floss, it's something I eat a lot at home with plain congee, and something that gives me great satisfaction - especially with the level of flavour it provides.

Our next visit back had Jeremy choosing another traditional Malaysian dish, Char Kway Teow. It's a fried noodle dish that uses flat noodles wok fried at a high heat level to generate a nice char and smokiness to the taste. There's egg, bean sprouts, spring onions and prawns - and a whole lot of flavour!

The noodles are elastic and tasty. The different ingredients offer a range of textures and intensity of flavours. Another great dish from Madam Kwans!

Though not a traditional drink for Malaysia, Jeremy chooses a frothy Chocolate Milkshake to enjoy. While other milkshakes we'd tried while over here were watery, this one has a nice consistency and a good level of chocolate. I have drink envy!

I go back to my good old Lemon Iced Tea which is icy cold and so refreshing. The tea flavour is strong but offset by the lemon wedges and the spoonful of honey floating around at the bottom. I love that they use honey over here - it makes things so much more enjoyable than your standard sugar being mixed in. I could drink this all day long.

I order a serving of the Mixed Satay which comes with both chicken and beef skewers, plus rice squares, cucumber, onion and pineapple pieces to dunk in the giant bowl of satay sauce.

The meats are so tender and flavoursome; a slight smokiness from the grilling process present in each bite. I adore the fact that they've provided pineapple too as I love eating this fruit with savoury flavours. Yes I am one of those people who eats it on pizza!

The sauce itself has just the right thickness in consistency. It's the perfect companion the meats and accompaniments.

We also order a side of Sambal Kangkong which is a spicy vegetable dish that sends your tastebuds into a pleasure state. It's exciting, a sparkling creation of flavours with vegetables that are crunchy in some parts and soft in others. Delicious, and a perfect side to share.

My revisits to Madam Kwans were just as good as my first time. The crowds flock here for a reason, and I'm happy to say that I can see why. The food is just plain scrumptious and worthy of trying for anyone who visits KL and is looking for traditional Malaysian fare but in a nicer restaurant setting. I'm missing the food already!