Review: Serai, Shaftsbury Square

One of the rare few occasions that I join my colleagues out for lunch, they picked this place. It was my first visit here but there was a reason why this place was never in my go-to list. Mainly because experience has taught me that restaurants with air-conditioner and a fancy logo would have a menu that breaks my purse. If the Chinese has Madam Kwan, this would be the Malay counterpart.

True enough, their mains cost on average of RM 25. If you add a drink and taxes, it all comes up to RM 40 with some loose change. That is like my weekly meal allowance :( But because the majority wanted to go there, what's a small fry such as yours truly to say? T_T

Their tagline. And it is true. A friend was telling me how love comes in many form and that age is just a number, it is never too late. At the age of 31 32, it is safe to say that I have love. In fact, it is one of the purest love there could ever be. The love of food and money.

Food won't lie; it'll make you fat.
Food won't cheat; it'll wait for you but not too long or it'll rot. Even so, it's your fault for taking your time.
Food won't betray; it is yours and only yours. If someone else stole it, it's again your fault for not taking care of it.
Food is ever faithful, it gives no empty lies.

Yes, it has been awhile since I last dated someone. Is it so obvious?

Serai iced tea. It's lemongrass drink with a lemon sorbet. It's funny because those who ordered it, didn't like the excessive ice that they discarded the ice onto my drink saucer =\

My honey lemon. At RM 6.50, I could buy a small bottle of honey and drink until my pee turns into sugar water and brings all the ants to my toilet.

Sirap selasih. Rose syrup drink with basil seed. Packed with fiber, the seeds expand in water, forming a slight slimy exterior which otherwise taste of nothing.

It was clear this is one of their favorite haunt when few of them synonymously asked around the table, "The usual serai platter, guys?". This signature dish comes with a fried spiced chicken, deep fried squid, oxtail asam pedas and acar. 

RM 25 for the entire platter which isn't too bad considering that you get some seafood too. The chicken size is not exactly puny either. The guys pretty much polished off the food so it must have been good.

Nasi kerabu. Another packed platter, it has ayam percik, salted egg, ulam, solok lada and fish keropok or fish crackers. The other attraction here is the different chilli sauces for the different elements. One of it was a little too spicy. The spicy hot where you can actually feel the chilli heat, as though you are eating a raw chilli which is quite usual in Malay/Indonesian cuisine.

Unlike the Chinese or Indian versions that mask the heat with cream etc, this one just hits you right up. In the right way.

Nasi ulam ayam bakar. Similar to the nasi kerabu sans blue rice, this came with one whole grilled chicken thigh, marinated with spices. On the sides are fish crackers, mango sambal, fried tempeh served with calamansi and shallots dip. The crackers were a little salty but itself but doubles up as a good snack. Although it wasn't my first time trying out tempeh, I find that it's quite an acquired taste. Not salty nor sweet, not entirely savory either. Dipping it into the sweet dip did make it more palatable. It's like your brain is confused; this is no meat but it's not vegetable either, wtf.

The mango sambal served well as an appetizer for the main components. The rice was fragrant and great with the bits of raw greens. I know of some Chinese folks who don't like that green flavor but I am probably a traitor to my own race, given how other cuisines take precedence over my own culture's. If I can only eat one thing for the rest of my life, Malay/Indian will be my top pick. The only problem is I'd probably end up dying of heart attack or morbidly obese.

The grilled chicken was so good, so fresh that when I pried it open, there was smoke coming out. Sorry, my Mi3 isn't powerful enough to capture it. If you would sponsor me a better phone (maybe Lumia?), I'd take more hunger inducing pictures for your viewing pleasure.

It isn't hard to justify the RM 22 price tag but I could probably scour the night market and then reheat in my microwave for maybe half the price =(

Given their very local-oriented menu, it is surprising to note that their dessert is anything but. Macaroons, tiramisu, chocolate cake, pavlova, cheese cake, there is nothing remotely Malaysian about them. One common trait with the rest of the menu, though, lies in their price tag. Each slice costs about RM 12.50, save for the macaroons.

Maybe I haven't been buying cakes much lately but for a single slice of cake to cost more than RM10, certainly sounds like a rip off especially if you know how much the ingredients cost in the first place. But then again, workmanship is precious. So precious that our government needs to charge GST for services.

Somehow it did make sense when this was propped up at the cashier counter =_=""
Not sure what privilege it entitles you to though.

It was sort of like a dept lunch for Christmas and the big boss decided to buy us lunch =D
For those who couldn't make it, we offer our prayers he got them cake instead. I really wanted to know what's the fuss with their cake but couldn't really ask for a slice myself since I already ate the main lunch.

Fortunately, due to my thick skinned nature in the name of free food, I managed to get a slice  ^_^ Lets just say that if I was a cat, I had to scratch the door until there were claw marks on the door before I got the slice.

Pavlova! It wasn't my first choice but since it was free, I am happy all the same.

My first time trying one, it was sweet. Very, very surprisingly sweet. The strawberries were slightly sour but complemented the very sweet pavlova. This is definitely one for the sweet tooth.
Did I mention just how sweet it is?