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Monday, February 23, 2009

Nasi Bawal Power @ Selera Central, Sunway Damansara, Kota Damansara

bawal goreng1
arty looking fried bawal (RM6 without set, RM8 for the set)

My colleague has been talking about this particular stall for the past 2 weeks, making me drool with her descriptions on how good the food here. After waiting forever at the service centre on Saturday (only sustained by a FOC nasi lemak packet, cups of milo and teh tarik), we made our way here for a very late lunch. We were unfamiliar with the food court, hence we ended up at the Chinese non halal section. Walking through the area, it didn't look right, so we walked further and came across a carpark in the middle. Looks like the halal and non-halal food courts were seperated by the carpark. Got there and finally found what we were looking for - Bawal Power at the corner of the food court.

ayam goreng
yummy fried chicken (RM6 for the set)

Since it was late afternoon, it was sweltering hot, but we sat down and ordered out food; ikan keli set for me and ayam goreng set for Splashie Boy. This place said to originate from Penang, specialises in fried fish and chicken and best of all, it is done on the spot, i.e. they fry the items as and when you order. Hence you get piping hot and extra crispy fish or chicken served to you. That really works for me as I hate pre-fried food - all cold and yucky.

With the set, you get a plate of ulam (a mix of ulam raja, longbeans, 4 angled beans, cabbage), sambal belacan said to be from Penang, rice and a plain gulai curry. The fried items are drizzled with kicap manis (a sweet soy sauce) and if you like it hot hot hot, they also give you a soy sauce dip with chopped chillies and onions. I really loved the fish - fried till all the sides were crispy for you to crunch on the bones. While the catfish is not the prettiest thing in town, it is a favourite of mine with its sweet and fine flesh. Splashie Boy's fried chicken was very good too and you won't want to visit KFC or Popeyes, after tasting it. We couldn't resist, so we added a bawal goreng (fried pomfret). It was just as delicious that you can't help and use your fingers to eat every crispy bit.

sambals
love the spicy sambal belacan and kicap with chopped chillies & onions

If you love deep fried fresh fish and chicken, this is definitely THE place to come to. I also loved the sambal belacan with the fresh vegetables - balances out the unhealthy fried food, I guess. During peak times, I reckon a little patience is needed since everything is prepared on the spot but the wait will definitely be worth it, since the food is damn shiok! Other pixs are in
Flickr.

Bawal Power
Selera Central
Central Park, Sunway Damansara
Kota Damansara
Petaling Jaya

(Halal. Open from 12 noon to midnight. Closed on Sundays. Near the police station.)

*Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. This review is time sensitive; changes may occur to the place later on that can affect this opinion. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from this place for writing the review.

Other reviews:

21 comments:

  1. i couldn't help smiling at the name "bawal power" ... it's so catchy and hilarious, i'd love to check out the stall just because the operators have such a cool sense of humour! pomfret is one of my favourite kinds of fish, but i'm not a fan of frying it though. my personal preference is for fish to be moist and kinda "au naturel." :D

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  2. though ive been ur silent fan since 2006, i recently bcame a vege and this post is not helping at all ;) aiyayayayai. so simple yet so tempting la!

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  3. Sean - awww, too bad as it is very good. I also like my fish steamed but once in a while, it is great deep fried.

    G.Kalaiselvi - sorry to hear you can't eat this. I did vegetarian yesterday, will post it soon when I have time.

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  4. so no pic of the ugly keli?
    awww .... it doesnt matter leh ...
    appearance ain't everything.
    taste IS!

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  5. artsy fartsy indeed..for a fried bawal haha..

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  6. Interesting..it reminds me of the ayam penyet. Quite a catchy name too.

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  7. Droooool! I am impressed you found this place :-) I love the arty soya sauce "signature"!

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  8. i've been to the one in Penang and it was sooo good that my friends and I ended up going there for dinner every night. that was 2 years ago. and it was rm5 for the whole thing

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  9. Fried bawal never looked so tantalizing! LOL

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  10. Bawal Power does bring on the smiles! For very long, I've defied anyone for who can find fried bawal as good as, or even better, than the one Mom fries at home... I think I might have to take my hat off to you!

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  11. I've been there for dinner and I love the Keli set too;) Yummy.

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  12. Noticed this place but never go in... I wonder why?? lol...
    ikan keli used to be my fav when I was still working in KL... back here, most of the dishes are homecooked.. my parents hate keli.
    In KL... hardly look for Malay food unless feels like it. So this time... Bawal Power it is...

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  13. Good for the once a while trip (treat) Really tasty but also nasty esp those who use their voice for a living.

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  14. The first to introduce this dish is Juru Industrial area, Penang. Each fish cost RM4 regardless of size.

    The price is a bit stiff here ... especially 1 fish is never enough for me ... at least 2 XD

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  15. the bawal memang nampak power giler! i love freshly fried fish too! looks great!

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  16. waaaaa, the sambal, i'm sold!

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  17. j2kfm - keli hard to shoot, too long!

    Joe - coincidence since it was drizzled that way but it makes a nice pix without the rice.

    precious pea - ayam penyet seems to be like growing away everywhere!

    Julian - must thx my colleague, she hangs out at this stall all the time.

    Ummi - sigh, how I wish it was RM5 but I guess with rental and fish going up in price....

    EAdotcom - go try?

    550ml - am sure yr mum's fried bawal will be very good. Yum yum, now I feel like eating this at home too. My fav is the teeny weeny ones that you can crunch the bones and fins away.

    high 5 millepedemom!

    leo - the other stalls don't look very exciting though, only this one.

    worldwindows - aiks, true also.

    email2me - I guess nowadays it can't be that price anymore? Rental, price increase and etc...

    sc - near yr place, so you go try?

    ky - LOL, I had a tough time choosing between the gulai, the kicap and the sambal.

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  18. thanks for this! i live just around the corner and come here all the time for food but never tried this place before. just had my lunch there - good stuff!

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  19. glad you like it Q. I crave for this place now as it is great stuff.

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  20. hurm,central park,sunway damansara?izzit near the the eon bank area,where's the r shoplot around there?

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  21. Anonymous2:04 PM

    bawal power is superbly nice...when i took d first bite, i didnt even wanna say anything...just wanna savour d taste longer... :)

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