Nasi Tumpang, Warung vs Nasi Tumpang, Belanga – Mid Valley

WARUNG

Lot F028C, 1st Floor
(near the KTM Komuter entrance)
North Court,
MidValley Megamall
Open daily 8.30am onwards

BELANGA

Lot no, LG 230B,

The Gardens Midvalley City,
Medan Syed Putra,
59200 Kuala Lumpur.

I had the honour of stapling the Nasi Tumpang at both outlets recently. For now, these two cafes could possible be the only ones in the Klang Valley to offer this Kelantanese delicacy.

As history goes, Nasi Tumpang was meant to be a meal for the farmers who sets out daily very early to the fields. Most times, they do not come home till late.  The wife (or whoever) would pack the rice together with leftovers of dishes (you can imagine how poor & how hard life was for them) & wrap it up in this shape. I seriously doubt it was so cone-y sharp back then but I would say the shape was more or less was tall & triangular. *Hhmmmm…this calls for a trip to Kelantan….verification required…. ;-) *

Anyhow, Kelantan’s history often involves the sea, the boats and fishing. Kelantan’s valleys is a fertile rice-bowl. Hence it’s no surprise that the main staple food is fish and rice. And Nasi Tumpang is a multi-tiered meal of alternating rice, fish floss (serunding), fish curry and egg. (source: Belanga’s founder, Pn. Zainab Shiyuti is a Kelantanese by origin).

Here at the Warung, my Nasi Tumpang was delicious. Simple. Very simple. But satisfying nonetheless. It could be that I’m a carb fan & I love my ‘chap fun’. At it’s very core, Nasi Tumpang is rice and dishes but presented in an intriguing manner, ie wrapped into a tall, sharp cone shape.

The layerings were beautiful, nicely arranged and stacked tightly, each layers differentiated by various fillings. At Warung’s,  the Nasi Tumpang came with yummy chicken curry, fried scrambled egg, fresh cucumbers, douses of sambal and serunding, crackers and  acar as sides. (RM9.80)

The rice kernels were still firm and stayed in the shape.

Belanga‘s version, however, has the texture of rice cakes – very moist, ‘overcooked’, soft compacted rice into a cone.

The fillings were pretty standard, fish (tongkol) or chicken curry with fried egg, sambal + anchovies and serunding (fish or beef floss). Here in Belanga, their flosses are made in house. And I can attest to the difference in taste. I liked their floss, compared to the generic “Malay” chicken/beef floss found in supermarkets and Petronas stations (yes, I bought from their marts before).

I’m not sure if I like my rice this way, but Belanga’s founder, Pn. Zainab Shiyuti a Kelantanese by origin, and insisted that this is the way it was ORIGINALLY done.

Nasi Tumpang with Fish (tongkol) – RM6.50
Nasi Tumpang with Prawn – RM6.90

Overall, I prefered the Warung’s version, authentic or otherwise. The portions of chicken, floss, egg etc given is more (it is pricier too). And I still find the rice at Belanga’s funny. However, their own made fish/beef/chicken floss is realllyyyy good.

Darn, I’m itching for a trip to Kelantan now…

halal, invited review, malay, mid valley