Review: Dah Makan

B-5, Jalan Sri Hartamas 8,

Mont Kiara,

50480 Kuala Lumpur

Tel# +60 12-526 0774

https://dahmakan.com/

 A play on the most commonly used phrase in Malaysia (giving "Yes, I'm on the way" a run for its money), Dah Makan is an online healthy delivery food service. While having heard about them via Facebook (ads) for awhile during its initial opening, it was only when my company had training that I got a chance to try them out. Otherwise, it was difficult to justify paying above RM 20 for a meal.

Before the training, the PA sent us a menu that we were supposed to pick from during the 3day training period. Each lunch had different options. Though they varied in terms of the protein, a common running theme was the healthy cooking style. The meals were color coded so that you don't take someone else's lunch. Obviously, it makes no difference if you are ordering for yourself only (why so sad?). 

Grilled salmon with grilled vegetables.
 Given how expensive this fish can be, I was surprised that they used a rather thick cut. It was cooked until the skin was slightly crispy and had a hint of herb to it. The sweet potato was also a bit soft so you don't have to bite real hard. Do you know how difficult it is to chop raw sweet potato? It can be an arm workout.

The rest of the greens were also roasted and season lightly with salt and pepper. The pumpkin was a little too sweet and seemed a little out of place in this overall salty meal. A dollop of mayo was also provided but it was ironic given how healthy this meal was and bam, here's some artery clogging mayo. Maybe they made the mayo themselves with healthy option?

Spiced rice with grilled chicken, coleslaw, yogurt dipping sauce and corn.
The yogurt sauce with chicken was an interesting good combo. Sort of like tandoori chicken but milder on the spice spectrum. They were rather generous with the meat which was thankfully cooked thoroughly. I hate it when halfway to the joints, you find suspicious looking blood veins.

As much as I try to avoid carb, there were just some days when carb was on the menu. Be it in rice form, noodle or even pasta, there was just no avoiding them. Thankfully, they didn't go for the white option so not all is lost.

Grilled veggie and salmon with brown rice and pine nuts.
Do you like pine nuts? My father bought them before during his China trip and it's one of those things that you take an instant liking too but instead of making you want more, the taste becomes awful that bingeing on them is highly unlikely. Or maybe that's just me. The rice was cooked with enough of these nuts to lend it some flavor and it was a nice touch.

Again, the salmon and vegetables were cooked in the same grilled style with salt/pepper seasoning. Yes, cooking healthy food is really not that difficult.

Stir fried rice noodle with turmeric chicken.
Why did they opt for the thick vermicelli? Maybe that's to differentiate themselves from the cheap version but I don't particularly fancy this type of noodle as it's thicker. They cooked it just find but some may find it bland, which is where the light soy dipping sauce comes in handy.

It is meant for the chicken which was a little too dry but there's enough to go around. The raw carrots was  nice touch of contrast to the flavors and texture for this lunch.

Unfortunately, my lunch also came with some extra protein that I didn't quite ask or want. Can you spot it?

Aglio olio fettuccine with grilled shrimp.
Is it the curse of shrimp or seafood (with the exception of fish) in general that it will suffer from dryness due to overcooking? These were so dry that I can't tell if they were cooked through all the levels in Dante's Inferno. Poor prawns. And to think that you later had to go through my digestion system. Hope the sin was well worth it.

The pasta sort of made up for it as the texture was just right with the perfect strike of chili, salt and garlic. The sun dried tomato gave it a slight sweetness. I would have forgiven this carb lunch, if not for the prawns.

Baked herb fish fillet with rice and grilled vegetables.
The rice may not have been rice as it was slightly sticky but went well with the fish. It would have been a rather dry spell but the accompanying yogurt sauce saved the meal. Wonder if it can do the same to my social/love/sex life.

These meals were all pre-booked in advance and yet, they somehow managed to get our order wrong and/or late. Maybe it's because of the sheer amount of order (20) or they just couldn't cope. Perhaps they have ironed those issues out so you can happily order a healthy meal from them that you could just as easily whip at home but just too lazy and rather part RM 20 or so to get someone else to do it for you.