My colleague V has been raving about this place in Petaling Jaya that sells affordable and tasty Malay dishes – so we went to try it out recently! Dubbed D Hamodal Cafe, the cafeteria-style establishment serves nasi campur (mixed rice – ie a variety of different dishes that you can pick and mix to pair with rice). It is popular among the factory and office workers within the area for its tasty food, large portions and affordable prices.

You can already see people queueing up (this was around 12.30PM) but fret not as there is plenty of seating on the ground and upper floor.

Line moves quickly.

Wasn’t able to take a lot of pictures as there were many customers and I didn’t want to hold up the line. The dishes are typical Malay fare: stir-fried veggies, curries, rendang, assam fish, masak lemak (cooked in coconut milk), ulam (Malay-style salads), fried chicken, stir-fried beef masak kicap (soy sauce), turmeric squid, sambal sotong (cuttlefish) and many more. There are easily 30-40 dishes available.

My admin L took about 4-5 different items (fried omelette, squid, cuttlefish, meat, ulam) and it only cost Rm15, with drinks!

Boss had fried egg with squid

Not being a fan of veggies, I had fried chicken on the recommendation of V, as well as sambal sotong and pedal/hati masak kicap (gizzard and liver cooked in soy sauce). The fried chicken was marinated well and was full of flavour but a little on the dry side. Sambal sotong was spicy but not overwhelming, and I liked how well they prepped the gizzard and liver, as it did not have an offal-y smell. All this for just RM10, with a drink of iced tea.

D Hamodal is a good choice for a quick, tasty and affordable lunch if you’re in the Petaling Jaya area. Service is fast and efficient, although it can get pretty warm since there’s no air conditioning.

D’HAMODAL CAFE 

Dataran Hamodal, Block A, Lot 4, Jalan 13/4, Seksyen 13, 46200, Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

Opening hours: 7.30AM – 6PM (closed Saturday – Sunday)