Despite the wet evening Shahrul was busy .The tables were nearly all taken up as it was dinner time. O Mulia Restaurant has made a name for itself through the years and this family business sells the well known Malaysian food , satay .
Shahrul was really sporting for as he cooked the satay sticks, I was 'firing' questions and he obliged without any hint of annoyance. At times, I was smoked out by the smoke from the burning charcoals. Anyhow, it was quite fun to be near the pyrothenics as he flamed the fire now and again.
Talk to any tourists, they surely would have heard of satay and tasted them while in Malaysia. On flights to Malaysia, visitors would have been served satay on the menu and it's the start of more to tempt the palate.
O Mulia Restaurant is tucked at a busy intersection of Tun Razak and Jalan Semarak, Kuala Lumpur and many locals make a beeline for the satay. Is it any surprise then that my relatives even take 'a piece of Malaysia ' to the UK when they pack some satay from O Mulia to feed some homesick souls who miss this beloved food from home ?
Satay is like shish kebabs skewered and the chunks of meat, chicken or beef are grilled over charcoal fires. Shahrul's sister brought us our order and the teh tarik drinks . Hot off the grill , we relished the aromatic, succulent pieces of meat. The thick gravy of roasted peanuts (unsalted) was scrumptious and we had to ask for a top up to dunk the cucumber chunks and onion bites ! The ketupats (steamed rice cakes) had a nice texture but I miss the coconut leaves that used to wrap them.
The orders were coming fast and rapid. I asked Shahrul how many are sold between the hours of 6.30 pm - 11.00 pm. I wouldn't have guessed right - 5000 - 6000 sticks!! Gosh, satay, it is !! Shahrul says his father buys the meat from Chow Kit market. According to Shahrul, chicken satay is more popular than beef.
I was also lucky to talk to the owner, En Othman, Shahrul's father. He was seated behind the counter at the cash register. He asked me why I wanted to talk to him. My reply '... because you're famous! ' That made him a wee bit shy. But he knows it and he told me this business was handed down to him by his late father, Hj Senen. Business started in 1948 and it is still going strong. Imagine, as young as 15 years old, En Othman had already been inducted into the satay business, upon the untimely death of his father. Now his wife, daughter and son with him as their mentor, run the business to take it forward . I guess, O Mulia is already a brand!
That's it. Dinner was just satay and its accompaniments and we were well satisfied. It looked as if the night was just beginning for O Mulia for more people had come and Shahrul hadn't taken a break from his station at the grill to feed hungry stomachs.
I bade goodbye to En Othman and thanked him for being so hospitable. 'Come again!' he said. Definitely. Till the next time.
O Mulia Restaurant
330-1 Jalan Tun Razak
54200 Kuala Lumpur
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