Malaysia
Singapore
Thailand
Located in Kajang, Nasi Dulang Daun Pisang sits opposite a few houses and a parking lot.
The menu is laminated A4 posters lined up on a few tables beside the counter. I scanned the colourful sheets to find a huge variety of meal sets.
I noticed that many of their menu items didn’t have prices listed. Instead, they wrote “ikut saiz”, which means that what you pay today may not be the same price you pay tomorrow.
When I placed my order at the counter, the cashier said “Sotong hari ni 40 ringgit, OK ke?”. In English, “Today’s squid is 40 ringgit, is that okay?”. Did that shock me? Yes. Did that feed my curiosity even more? Also yes.
What I tried at Nasi Dulang Daun Pisang
The Set Dulang Sotong Bakar was priced at RM40 that day, and my Iced Tea was RM4.
Despite the second half of the restaurant’s name, the only banana leaf in sight was the small rectangle placed under the rice and half the squid. Everything else was placed on brown wax paper on a purple tray.
If sambal were a person, I’d be their number one supporter. I can confidently say that all the sambals at Nasi Dulang Daun Pisang were delicious. Every set comes with three types: Sambal Belacan, Sambal Asam, and Sambal Ayam Penyet.
If you’re a fan of super spicy sambal, you might be slightly disappointed. Personally, I like that their sambals aren’t tongue-numbing as it allows more people to enjoy their food. I think that this also lets customers focus on the main star of the show: the grilled squid.
First of all, look at the size of this sotong— it was bigger than my hand! I had seen videos of people holding the squid up to their heads to compare sizes, so I poked mine with the plastic fork in hopes of doing the same. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you see it), the weight of the squid caused the fork to bend. I didn’t want to break the fork so I put it back down.
After gawking at it for a solid 10 minutes, it was time to dig in. I’d like to preface this by saying that I’m not typically one to eat squid at restaurants because some places tend to overcook the protein till it becomes too tough to chew.
However, this squid was grilled to perfection. I could easily cut the meat into smaller pieces with my hands, and every bite was a soft delight. Since the price of the seafood here depends on their daily catch, it’s clear that they prioritise the freshness of their food.
As for the sauce, it was very tasty. Don’t let the colour scare you— the spice level is just nice and non-spicy eaters will definitely be able to enjoy this. Although, it could be a little bit too salty if you eat the sauce on its own. The rice complements the flavours of this dish well by balancing the sweetness, saltiness, and spiciness.
If you need more proof of how massive the squid was, I had this much of it left even though I had already finished my rice. I brought the leftovers home, and my whole family loved it.
One dulang set is also served with a small bowl of masak lemak gravy and some ulam. The masak lemak was thick, and I could taste the coconut milk. Overall, it checked all of the boxes and I’d definitely try out their masak lemak dishes if I go back.
The ulam provided fresh bites in between mouthfuls of intense flavours. I’d love to know how they cut their cucumbers, because I have never seen this much of a cucumber’s cross-sectional surface area in my life.
Final thoughts
The only downside to Nasi Dulang Daun Pisang is their payment system. Customers are only allowed to pay in cash, so make sure you drop by an ATM before you go there. Especially since their seafood prices depend on the size, you might end up paying more than you anticipated.
I arrived at 11.30am on a Tuesday, and there were only a few occupied tables. Closer to 12pm, more customers started trickling in, so I’d recommend going around the same time as I did if you want to avoid the lunch crowd. Their service was very fast— I got my order within 10 minutes.
If you live nearby, I highly recommend this place, and I would definitely return if I was already in the area.
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