Friday 1 July 2016

More Kelantan Food? Bring It On!


After my Nasi Kerabu experience at Village House Kopitiam (CLOSED), I decided to pop in to Capital Nasi Dagang Kelantan in hopes of finding more good Nasi Kerabu.

This kopitiam is a far cry from Village House Kopitiam in terms of decor. It's no frills and if you are not bothered by the lackluster look, then step right in.


You will find marble tables and best of all, sturdy wide bottomed wooden chairs hee..hee..hee though the one I sat on was a bit rickety. 


A friendly young lady attended to me and I asked her for the nasi kerabu. She explained to me that their nasi kerabu is not the usual nasi kerabu. It is called nasi kerabu tumis and the rice is not blue. I thought she sounded apologetic, which was not necessary because the color of the rice did not matter to me.


I took a seat and ordered a glass of warm water. It did not take long for the nasi kerabu to be served. 


There's rice, raw vegetables, lots of kerisik, keropok and half a salted egg for protein.


I mixed everything up and took a mouthful. Whoa. This was fabulous! The gravy was so flavorful and there was adequate aromatic herbs among the raw vegetables. I loved it.

I regretted not asking for ayam percik because I need more protein. I only managed the salted egg yolk (my favorite) because I found the whites too salty for me.

I was so taken by the nasi kerabu that I returned the next day for their nasi dagang. The truth is, I never liked nasi dagang since I was little. And that's because I hated the ikan tongkol (in Terengganu it is known as ikan iya). I don't like it because the flesh is hard and coarse.

At Capital, you have other choices besides the ikan tongkol curry. There's chicken, squid, prawns and also beef rendang. Since I wanted to taste everything (and revisit ikan tongkol), I chose the nasi dagang with all the works.


What a delight. There was even a piece of crispy salted fish on top of the rice. My first taste was bliss. This from a nasi dagang hater. The rice alone had so much flavor. 


I loved it that they gave me the drumstick. The chicken curry was tasty. So was the beef rendang.


There was only one small prawn. And of course, ikan tongkol. Sorry, I still don't like it.


Ah oh, the squids. Three tiny ones. There's also some acar timun, sambal belacan and half an egg.

I think Capital may have converted me into a nasi dagang lover.

Yes, I will return! And to the people from Kelantan and Terengganu, if you haven't been here before, I suggest you pop by to get a taste of home.

34 comments:

  1. As long as foods is nice, i won't be bothered by the lackluster look, hehe....

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    1. Ya lah, it's the food that matters.

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  2. Kind of like saying: only no frills places are you more likely to find authentic, homey kampung dishes. If you see a fancily done up restaurant serving kampung food, run away...

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    1. In this particular case, it was true...

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  3. The salted doesn't look like one, haha.. Like normal egg but in a hard shell..I like the second one compared to the first, more hoiwai.. No vege, only "liew", wah, sedappp..

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    1. The one from Capital is better because the taste is very ooommmph!!

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  4. Well, coming from an authority on Kelantan and Terengganu food, this sounds like a must-try place! ;) The nasi kerabu looks good except for the sad-looking salted egg :( I don't like ikan tongkol either, the flesh is very dry.

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    1. Now they have nasi kerabu with fried chicken. The nasi kerabu here wins hands down compared to the other one. But don't take my word for it (even though I am from KT) and try it yourself :)

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  5. Ikan tongkol curry? That would be the nasi dagang Terengganu, right? No, thanks, not a fan of tongkol and I'd go for the nasi kerabu Kelantan any day.

    Here, the current craze is nasi kak wok, I think that's Kelantanese too. Bought a pack to try - don't think I'd be buying it again.

    Going to stop at the bazaar later...to buy some laksam - my girl loved the one I bought the other day, also Kelantanese delight, right?

    Yes, that is one sad looking salted egg, really! :D

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    1. Nowadays you can have nasi dagang with chicken or rendang. Back in those good old days, it was only gulai ikan tongkol which I hated.

      I have tried Nasi Kak Wok at that other place. It's more of a novelty I think. At RM8.90 for rice with some curry gravy and some bits of fried chicken, not worth it. Will blog about it soon.

      Yup, laksam is Kelantanese. I don't really like it and prefer the red Terengganu laksa hee..hee...

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  6. By the way, isn't there an outlet right next to Nyonya Colours in Mid Valley? Kelantanese cuisine too? I remember long long ago, there was a restaurant at Bukit Bintang Plaza - east coast delights. I never tried - not into food so much then, would go for the same ol' stuff, not blogging yet at the time. :D I think it was in the basement. Of course, it is no more there, the whole plaza is gone, I think. Saw photos of people demolishing the multi-storey car park that day.

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    1. Sorry, I don't know that one because I hardly go to Mid Valley. The one in Bukit Bintang what I remember is Rasa Utara which is Kedah food. Tried it before but wasn't a fan.

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    2. The outlet next to Nyonya Colours in Mid Valley is Belanga. I believe they serve Kelantan food. At least to me who have not been to kelantan, the nasi Kerabu and Nasi Dagang at Belanga is very tasty.

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  7. They sure look yummy!
    *drool*

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  8. Those food looks good! Never been to Kelantan before.

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    1. I also haven't been to Kelantan LOL!

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  9. in the war between nasi kerabu and nasi dagang, i usually am on the side of nasi kerabu too. though i agree with you that it's very possible to be a nasi dagang fan! :)

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    1. Same here, nasi kerabu for me anytime! But yeah, I will now pick nasi dagang as a must eat too :)

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  10. I like to eat Ikan Tongkol. I used to order ikan tongkol at Belanga. How much is the nasi dagang with all the works? Looks really tasty. If you eat the whites of the salted egg mixed with the ulam and rice, can you still taste the saltiness? I have never found salted egg whites to be too salty because I expect them to be salty and would eat them together with lots of rice so I won't feel the saltiness.

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    1. The nasi dagang with everything is RM19.90. Worth to splurge once in a blue moon because it is good. The egg whites were extremely salty even when mixed with rice, so I left it. But when I had it again another time, the saltiness was just nice. Maybe different batches have different level of saltiness.

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  11. First time I see salted egg with rice, usually is salted egg with white porridge

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    1. Don't know much about fish, but I google for Ikan Tongkol, I think I had eaten that before, I don't mind this fish

      As Ulam, after google for it, I also learn more about it

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    2. What does the word dagang mean? I only know nasi lemak

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    3. Dagang = trade. Nasi dagang can roughly translate as Trader's Rice.

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  12. Love the marble tables :) I am actually getting pretty hungry :)

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  13. These are so sinfully yummy.

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    1. Yup, need to spend a few hours on the treadmill :(

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  14. I never tasted nasi dagang before. I know it is like the same condiments except the gravy they pour on top of the rice.

    Kerabu?? Anytime for me!! Haha

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    1. Hope you get to taste it one day. The rice is very fragrant and nice to eat with lots of curry gravy.

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  15. Oh, I never eat something like this before.. Ipoh no have so I guess I will pop down to KL one of these days.. hmmmm...

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    1. You must make the Kucings take you here lah..hee..hee...

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