Motormouth From Ipoh

IMPORTANT : In case you’re one who scrolls through the pictures without pausing to digest the (bountiful of) words in the post, please take note that Mek T has ceased operations from May 1st onwards. The pop-up notice on their website revealed that they’re ‘taking a break’ now.

Laksa Terengganu – Lots of fresh ulam, herbs and spices went into this killer of an east coast rendition of Malaysia’s favourite noodles; the Laksa. The thick, chunky gravy was laden with robust flavours of curry and spices, and bits of pureed fish for that distinct kick. Warning : not for the faint-hearted.

Wait. And why is Motormouth writing about an outlet that has closed for busines?! Senile? Amnesiac?! Or for the sake of annoying lost sheeps travelling all the way there to try the Terengganu delicacies?!!

None of the above. Yeah, so I can be cruel sometimes but I am not heartless. Hence the warning message above. Unless you missed that, of course.

This visit happened almost a month ago; but I was holding back on the review because we vowed to return to try the other sumptuous-looking stuff before I compile everything into a single post. The ‘Nasi Dagang’, Nasi Sedap Sokmo’ and ‘Laksam’ did tickle our fancy. But read on to see what we ate that had managed to capture the very essence of east coast delicacies.

Yeah, aside from Lekor and Nasi Dagang, I am almost clueless. The same cannot be said for Kota Bharu though, with the repeated visits inviting more cravings! (Read all the posts HERE)

A fast food-like establishment, whereby you order at the counter but you’ll be served at your table. The Chinese family running the restaurant was a warming sight to behold.

This is not the first time that I have intended to write about a particular eatery that had impressed me beyond the common ones. Yet, by the time I managed to review the pictures, and painting strings of words in my head, the outlet has either moved, closed or sold off.

A lesson learned; never procrastinate what you can do today.

Nasi Ulam – Served with a piece of fried chicken, and a small cup of gravy (gulai) that has that distinctive lemongrass-turmeric flavours; to be drizzled upon the heaps of blue-tinted rice (from natural colourant made from ‘bunga telang’), the toasted dessicated coconut (kerisik) and a dollop of spicy sambal.

Ironically, here’s another Nasi Ulam experience. (The other one was of course; the previous post of Chef Debbie Teoh’s Nyonya creation) Significantly different than the other, the nasi ulam at Mek T is a single serving fit for a full meal; served with a piece of fried chicken, lots of herbs and vegetables, flakes of boiled fish, gravy, crackers and all.

And there was no complaint as almost everything was put together flawlessly (aside from the crackers that were a little softened); tossing the whole ensemble with the cup of gravy provided (but spare the spicy sambal if you’re not good with your chillies!) revealing a mess of utterly delicious yet healthy portion.

The Laksa was not to my liking though; but still good in its own right. Strands of spaghetti-like rice noodles beneath the ladles of crazily-spicy pureed fish gravy with an additional kick from the serving of sambal.

Bubur Kacang Merah (red bean desserts) came with the set, and the Deep-fried Lekor (fish paste crackers) and Pulut Lepa (bottom left; steamed glutinous rice filled with mashed fish fillings and wrapped in banana leaves before grilled) were good sides to complement the meal with.

A sweet ending; Lompat Tikam is the designated signature of Terengganu’s desserts; consisting of steamed rice flour and coconut milk drenched with gula melaka syrup

While the other restaurants around the area (and there are a LOT!) are doing brisk business on a Saturday night, sadly Mek T was not drawing in the predominantly Chinese crowd.

Indeed; some may argue that the cuisine are not as authentic as one may have in the east coast, or besmirched by the fact that they opted a fast food-like ambience instead of a kopitiam or full-fledge restaurant, but bear in mind that a meal for one will barely come up to RM15/USD5 with most sets coming in at less than RM10/USD3.30 each. Very affordable, and dare I say a relatively good option had you decided to try what Terengganu has to offer without having to fly over to the state.

A pity that they are taking a break now. Let’s hope that they’ll be back in business soon.

Details that may be irrelevant now …..

Restoran Mek T (www) (Halal)
127, Jalan Kenari 23A,
Bandar Puchong Jaya,
47100 Puchong,
Selangor
Tel: 603-8071 5707
Business Hours:
Tue – Sun: 11.00am – 9.00pm
Public Holiday: 9.30am – 9.00pm
Closed on Monday