Jom Makan! Sarawakian Food @ Hadeeja Kek Lapis Segar, Ukay Perdana. (November 2011)

Assalamualaikum Readers,

Recently my family & I have been craving for Sarawakian food (Go Seghawak!) which is quite rare to be found in KL. We know a few spots including one hawker stall in Wangsa Maju, however we have been wanting to try the food at the restaurant of the Sarawakian singer, Deja Moss. For those of you who are non-Malaysians, Sarawak is the largest state in Malaysia and is located at East Malaysia, the Borneo nearby Indonesia to be exact. A beautiful, tropical region, infamous for its barely touched flora and fauna and its jungle is the habitat for the largest flower in the world, the Rafflesia. I visited its capital Kuching once when I was 11, fell in love with it (especially the mesmerizing Cultural Village) and hoping to visit it again in the future insha Allah. I especially hope to explore its jungle and caves at their National Park and visit the long houses belong to the numerous tribes of Sarawak, insha Allah. =)

Ok let's start with the address of this dainty restaurant & cafe :

Hadeeja Kek Lapis Segar 

No.1 - G, Jalan UP 1/2,

 Taman Ukay Perdana, Ukay Perdana, 

68000, Ampang, Selangor. 

Business Hours: 10am - 10pm

 Tuesday till Sunday.

Closed on Mondays.

It might be quite tricky to find this cafe at first but just focus on the sign of the street and soon insha Allah you will find it.  I read that before there was some black magic done to this shop, and indeed I could remember a few years back we tried to search for the restaurant twice, we could not find it at all. Alhamdulillah now she has overcame that problem, and to the culprit, please, any attempt of dimming the candle of others won't make your shine any brighter.

Deja's husband caught in sight. =D

The restaurant,  as I said is dainty. It's small but comfortable. I love its white interior, which makes it feel clean and tidy, but not to the extent that it gives a too hygienic feeling like a clinic.

Ok my camera did not do any justice to the real atmosphere. Actually it was white and lovely, and as you can see there's a couch there for you to sit and read magazines.

You can see that the wall art pieces are photos of the Sarawakian Kek Lapis. Hadeeja's specialty dish is the traditional, very hard to make, Sarawakian layer cake, the Kek Lapis Sarawak. Oh yes Hadeeja Kek Lapis Segar means Hadeeja's Fresh Layer Cakes.  To be noted, one fact I love about this restaurant is that it uses Bahasa Melayu (Malay) 100% from its signboard to the menu. I truly respect that this premise does not feel intimidated at all for not using English as most businesses these days.

What I like most about the decor, is the English style table setting with white eating utensils. It feels just lovely. =)

Alright now let's start with the dining. Tell you what, I forgot my notepad I had written the details on their tissue. =D

Ummi & I ordered Asam Boi Juice. RM 3.00
Taste pretty good.

Nana ordered Soya (Soy Bean Milk). RM 3.00

We were happy to try this famous traditional Sarawakian dish named Umai.

 RM 8 (for 1 person), RM 12 (for 2 persons)

Fresh fishes & seafood. Mixed well with onions and lime juice. For us it tasted like Kerabu Sotong or Thai Squid Salad. Quite nice.

As for my main dish, I ordered Mee Kolok Istimewa (Special Mee Kolok) RM 11.90
As for the plain one it is RM 8.90.

This Sarawakian special noodles taste exactly like instant noodles drenched in Soy Sauce. I quite like it because this week I have been craving for Maggi Goreng but felt too guilty to prepare it myself. =D 

The noodles are garnished with beef strips, vegetables and fried onion.

Since it's the special edition of the noodles, it comes with Sup Tulang (Literally Bones Soup) which tastes as good as Ummi's Sup Tulang. The beef was tender and the hot soup is delish.

As for Ummi & Nana, both of them ordered Laksa Sarawak. The prices are the same as Mee Kolok, it also comes as Laksa Sarawak (the plain type) and Laksa Sarawak Istimewa which comes with Udang Galah (Giant Freshwater Prawn) however it was out of stock on that day, thus just the ordinary prawns.

Ummi & Deena, as avid Laksa lovers, commented that the gravy tasted quite strange, not bad, but just a new experience to their taste buds. The gravy, which is especially flown from Sarawak only, was herbal which makes it different from other Laksa. They love Laksa Penang, Laksa Nyonya, Laksa Johor, but unfortunately Laksa Sarawak did not make it in the list.

Nevertheless they quite like the Sambal (Chili Paste) that comes together with the Laksa and said even the Sambal tasted different, unique, but nice.

Oh yes also to be known, Hadeeja also provides hamper & hantaran (bridal gifts) making service. The boxes and its handicraft is very Sarawakian which makes them so exclusive looking and the rate starts from RM 150 if I'm not mistaken.

Since the name is Hadeeja Kek Lapis Segar, it would be wrong if we didn't try their famous Sarawakian Kek Lapis. I have tried them during Eid before and honestly they taste so good. I don't know why sweet tooth people really made a hype about cupcakes & macaroons, as for me I personally think Sarawakian Kek Lapis is da bomb since the designs are so intricate, the colours are mesmerizing and the taste is just delicious!

Hadeeja's Kek Lapis is quite pricey compared to others but as Deja Moss explained before their quality is insha Allah the best. The butter that they used might be among the best ones in the market, and all other ingredients are from high quality ingredients thus explain the awesome taste.

Too many choices to choose from? Do not fret, because they provide fresh & moist samples for us to try before we order.

AREN'T THESE JUST TOO PREETTYYY? =)
A plate of Assorted Kek Lapis Sarawak (12 pieces, 3 flavours) RM 12
Oh I love ALL the flavours here. From left if the Mixed Fruits, top is Masam Manis (Sweet & Sour) while on the right is Oreo (I especially love this one!)

To sum our visit here, we like the attentive & polite service from their staff. As for the food, well firstly the Sarawakian Layer Cakes are NOT TO BE MISSED. THEY'RE JUST AMAZING. However as Peninsula folks, the Mee Kolok & Laksa Sarawak are not really our favourites but to try would be nice once in a while. However the looks of their Mee Jawa, Mee Goreng & Nasi Goreng Istimewa are surely tempting, so insha Allah we will come again for those. =)