I spent a considerable amount of money eating in a number of Nyonya restaurants in Melaka; seeking for the elusive homecooked true Nyonya meal, one that I can confidently pass the verdict “excellent” and finally recommend to my friends and readers as “the Nyonya place” to go.
In KL, I have had my fair share of disappointments.
After speaking to many Nyonya friends/families who all advised me that a good Nyonya meal is ONLY available in a Nyonya’s home, I had more or less given up on the search for good commercial Nyonya outlets.
Recently I had a writing assignment which left me with no choice but to look for a decent (if good/excellent is not possible) Nyonya restaurant to recommend to foreign travelers to KL.
After trawling the articles online I decided to give Limapulo a shot.
It has a rather interesting history, and much was said about this “friendly and humble” Uncle John who is still very much hands-on with the the preparation of the family-guarded recipes in the kitchen.
Most reviews raved about the well-executed food. And yes, the gorgeous pictures on their FB page did looked rather promising.
BELOW: Say hi to Uncle John, who truly does keep an eagle eye over the food preparation and service at Limapulo.
My first visit was for dinner and it wasn’t all that impressive.
Still, I decided to return specifically for their set lunches since they offer Mee Siam and Nyonya Laksa; 2 of my favourite Nyonya dishes.
Besides, it’s only RM9.90; which got me pretty curious since most Nyonya dishes are generally pricey.
So how big would the portions be for that price? And how would the dishes taste like?
Well, the good news is the set lunches lived up to its hype.
The Mee Siam is certainly much better than most I’ve had; each forkful a good balance of sweet, tang and spice. It was served with a small side of light peanut curry which provided an ideal alternative for those who may find it a bit dry.
I, however, enjoy my Mee Siam dry tossed with a squeeze of lime.
Since the lunch specials are on rotational basis, I had to return another day for the Nyonya Laksa.
One certainly can’t complain about the portions considering the RM9.90 price.
The Nyonya Laksa is a hearty bowl of creamy goodness consisting of a generous serving of noodles with fishballs, fishcakes, chicken, fresh cucumbers and half an egg.
But what would have me returning again and again to Limapulo is the Ayam Berempah set.
Uncle John had assured us that this recipe is exclusively available at Limapulo and had personally recommended this for my lunch. I heeded his advice and boy, was I glad I did!
The creamy chicken curry has a good balance of spice, richness and flavour and is totally addictive. In fact I haven’t had such a good chicken curry for a while (not counting the ones served in hotels) for this price.
For RM9.90, the rice set comes with a side of greens and a serving of rice and egg.
Since the lunch sets wasn’t inclusive of drink we ordered a chendol (RM3.50) and an ais kacang (RM3.50) each.
These were kept pretty basic here; the Chendol only had the pandan strips besides the basic coconut milk and gula melaka while the ais kacang only consisted of corn and palm seeds (if I remembered correctly).
Ais Kacang.
Chendol.
Limapulo is understandably busy during lunch hour and a 10 – 15 minutes wait for a table is expected if you’re there any later than 12.15pm.
Food is good (at least for the set lunches that I have tried) and the portion is substantial.
Service is friendly though it can be tough to get the attention of the service staff during peak hours.
Next post – dinner at Limapulo.
Limapulo – Baba Can Cook
26 Jalan Doraisamy (Asian Heritage Row)
50300, Kuala Lumpur
+603 2698 3268
Mon- Sat: 12pm-3pm , 6pm-10pm
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Baba-Can-Cook/635621076504974