Saturday Breakfast: Restaurant ‘ROSE’, Kuala Lumpur

Weekend usually means super unhealthy breakfast; filled with carbs, sodium, and almost everything your brain craves.

The word ‘Restoran’ is Indonesian/Malaysian’s adaptation from “restaurant”. The plaque ‘Food Trails’ from Kuala Lumpur Townhall hung proudly, as a proof the restaurant joined the local government’s effort of introducing the city’s historical and foodie side.

This restaurant provides Indonesian food, mostly from Sumatran side. So you are guaranteed to find rendang and tons of gulai (spicy stew, usually made from meat, chicken, gizzards, innards, and my favorite: tendons and tripes (I LIVE FOR THE DANGER)). Enjoy the dishes with warm jasmine steamed rice and have cold iced sweet tea to cool down the heat.

As for breakfast, we had lontong Medan. ‘Lontong’ is rice cakes, but this is different from Chinese and Japanese mochi (mochi is made from rice flour). ‘Lontong’ is made by putting rice into a hollowed container, usually from banana leaves, which gives its distinct greenish tinge. As a snack, folks sometimes put shredded chicken meat or savory veggies inside the lontong. As a whole meal, you can eat lontong with satay, or have it with Indonesian-style spicy veggie salad (gado-gado), or almost anything, really.

The beautiful monstrosity called Lontong Medan. Lontong with spicy gravy, filled with rendang sauce, crackers, jackfruit stew, hard-boiled egg, potato patties (we called it “perkedel”, from a Dutch word: “frikadel”), fried rice noodles (bee-hoon), and veggie stew.

And enjoy it together with kerupuk rambak/kulit, crackers made from cattle’s inner skin.

A once-a-week meal.

Restaurant Rose

49a, Jalan Raja Alang, Kampung Baru, 50300 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur
019-611 0457