Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Lempeng @ Restaurant Haslam's, Jalan Pahang Barat, Kuala Lumpur


Lempeng under cover of banana leaf

When it comes to food, I can be extremely relentless. Finding time to enjoy during weekends nowadays need to be slotted in between chores. Luckily we finished our chores early - many hands definitely make work seem lighter.


Glory behold, the side profile of the extremely delish lempeng

I had read
cumi & ciki's blog about the amazing lempeng, hence I knew that was what I wanted to do during my free time. We made our way down town and managed to find Haslam's easily, near Tawakal Hospital. The place was packed with people.

Since parking was scarce, I went down to check, if they were serving lempeng. Spotted a man in front frying up parcels wrapped in banana leaf and a crowd of people surrounding him. Signalling to Splashie Boy, I told him to get a parking spot while I waited for the lempeng.

It was a good move, as the lempeng was fast dissapearing off the greased hot plate. I planted myself firmly next to the waitress and kept relentlessly telling her, I wanted "dua lempeng, makan sini" i.e, "two pancakes, to eat here". I guess that gave me a trump card since I was eating there, as she doled me 2 pancakes ahead of this lady who was buying them to take home.

Success at last, we got a table and both peeled off the banana leaf from the lempeng. After a quick photo session, it was time to dig in and boy! was it worth all that fighting for. Similar to a pancake, this version was a soft concoction of smashed up bananas and freshly grated coconut. Eaten piping hot with a hint of a smoky banana leaf aroma, it was so delish, we could have had a few more. Unfortunately, there were none left.

I asked the waiter what time they start selling, thinking I was too late in my mission - seems they do this daily, 2.30 pm. It was around 3.15pm, when I stood at the hot plate and they had sold out within 45 minutes. A quick glance at other tables and I knew why it had sold out so quickly as everyone dining there had a piece of lempeng on their table.

For the uninitiated, lempeng is essentially a Malay pancake. Usually eaten with a savoury item like curry, this was the sweet version. Really good stuff and the next time, I am around the area, this will definitely be my stopover at 2.30pm.


Restaurant Haslam's
10, Jalan Pahang Barat
Kuala Lumpur
Opposite Tawakal Hospital)

(Halal. Lempeng is RM1 each. Available daily from 2.30pm until they run out which is super fast. For a map, refer to cumi & ciki's site.)

*Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from the restaurant for writing this review.

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15 comments:

sher said...

I always feel so delighted---and hungry---when I visit your site. The type of food that you feature is what I would love to have available here. Marvelous! And thank you for letting me live vicariously through you!!!!

Ciki said...

yes yes y'all.. yummie indeed.. lol ;)

daphne said...

RM$1??!?!?!!?!? For that I'm so willing to pay more.

Simon Seow said...

Next time I go, I order 10 please.

J2Kfm said...

wow, sure looks delicious. fragrant banana + coconut ...

Unknown said...

your tenacious negotiations are so impressive and it looks like the lempeng is worth the effort. Sounds delicious...

Unknown said...

oh my gosh..for rm 1 u get such goods? worth the wait and fighting

Tummythoz said...

Shy but this is new to me. *quickly roll over cumi & ciki to get exact location*

JOjo said...

WOw~ sold out within 45 mins? that's fast!

with a pinch of love said...

according to google, our blogs are very much "realted" lol after checking ur site out, i now understand why.. we're both food lovers!! hahaha.. cool site.. sedap lah =]

sean tan said...

Hi boo_licious! I am Sean and I've been following your blog for quite some time now. (Sounds like a stalker, no.) :). I would like to invite you to Makanlah.com, a new photo-based food portal.

Hopefully, you can join and share your beautiful gourmet experiences together. Please visit http://www.makanlah.com to know more. If you have any enquiries, do contact me at sean at makanlah.com.

Thanks!

p/s : like many food lovers above this comment, hopefully you can join too! Sorry boo_licious, advertise at your space. Food lovers, cheers!

Unknown said...

Heyyy.. boo! I love your blog! You are an original malaysian. I love how you like all types of food may it chinese or malay. And by stating the Halal and Non-Halal really helps. Thankies!

Christine said...

had been reading ur blog for quite some time..lempeng for RM1..certainly a good grab..nyway saw ur name mention as the ambassodor for the nokia function in the paper..

boo_licious said...

Thxs Sher. Wish I could reach out and hug you. I miss Upsie a lot too.

super yummy! Thxs for the tip, cumi & ciki.

daphne - yeah, RM1 for pure happiness alrite! Doubt one can get that gooey texture and wonderful aroma at home.

simon seow - aiks! how to eat 10 at one go???

j2kfm - u go try, if you love that combo, you will be asking for more more more!

thxs cooking for the info.

kampungboycitygal - totally worth the slight hassle.

tummythoz - always good to try new stuff, rite?

jojo - very much in demand.

with a pinch of love - thxs for dropping by. Keep up the love for food.

thxs for the invite, sean.

No worries, creative. Hope you get to try the food.

Hiya Christine. Oops, didn't think anyone noticed that article in the Sun! Do go get some lempeng, super yummy and worth it.

Flower said...

My mom used to make this lempeng too. We would normally have it when we have extra uneaten overripe banana.
I think I can make this today for tea for my two kiddies. I have some overripe banana and some frozen daun pisang in my freeser and also some frozen grated coconut. Ehm... sound really yummy.

Beside banana lempeng, my mama used to make normal lempeng. Best eaten as a breakfast with sambal or some gulai. That is what I call comfort food. Easy, tasty and yummy.

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