Klasik Satay Station,
Jalan 1/1A ,Taman Kepong Indah,
52100 Kuala Lumpur
Business hours:
Mon – Sun: 5.00pm-12.00am,
Tel: 018-3288911, 019-3649205
or email <ahref=”mailto:contact@satayklasik.com”>contact@satayklasik.com
GPS Coordinates: N3 13.662 E101 38.308
WHAT makes a good satay? Is it the meat? Is it in the sauce? Maybe it is both.
In Malaysia, satay has become a popular delicacy and many satay “entrepreneurs” have staked their claim of having the “best meat on a stick”.
Kajang is also now known as Satay City but one does not have to flock there to eat satay as the name franchise has mushroomed throughout the country.
Enter Mohd Effendy Mohamad, 34, who is the owner of Klasik Satay Station in Taman Kepong Indah.
He learned the tools of the trade from his cousin’s husband seven years ago, which propelled him (Effendy) to open his first satay stall in Selayang.
The humble stall occupied a space in a restaurant and then Effendy moved to Kepong Baru, Aman Puri and Odin’s restaurant in Taman Ehsan.
In November last year, he decided to open his own restaurant.
“We had an official opening in December and so far business has been good, as many of our loyal customers return to support us,” said Effendy.
That is not the only support he receives.
Effendy’s wife, Rozita, takes care of the cash register while brother Kusairi and three of their childhood friends, offer their help, once in a while to run the restaurant.
Variety of favourites: (From top to bottom)mutton satay, beef satay and chicken satay with the peanut sauce and homemade sambal..Hailing from the lineage of the famous ‘Satay Kajang’ founded in 1911, Effendy said he preferred to stick to his original recipe in making the satay marinade and peanut sauce. “We don’t want to change and complicate the flavours.
“It’s best to stick to what we know. We have had a lot of good feedback so far from our customers,” he added.
The place is known to be packed during weekends and as they are still facing some staffing hiccups, service tends to lag when it is a full house.
The chicken (RM0.70), beef (RM0.90) and mutton (RM1.20) satay and Mee Jawa (RM4.50) are good.
Based on the location and ambience of the establishment, the satayare a tad pricey, based on the fact that at most satay joints a stick is priced at RM0.60 (chicken and beef).
The thing is, Klasik Satay Station’s chicken and beef satay are somewhat lean whereas the mutton tends to be a little chewy.
Their specialty is the sauce where customers can opt for spicy and non-spicy.
“The sauce is a classic peanut sauce which is not spicy, but those who prefer a bit of heat can add a dollop of our home-made sambal, made from pureed dried chillies and secret spices.
“In other satay establishments, they don’t put much emphasis in the sauce.
“So if you eat the satay by itself there won’t be much flavour.
“Whereas at Klasik Satay Station, we really put a lot of effort into making sure our satay is tasty and good enough to eat on its own.
“We use premium imported beef from our supplier,” said Effendy.
The menu here is very basic.
There is satay, mee Jawa as well as nasi lemak bungkus, rojak buah and beverages.
The owners have also sublet a portion of the porch area for a stall selling yong tau fu.
Any plans to expand the menu?
“It depends on customer feedback.
“We want to focus on our strength, which is satay.
“It will be quite risky to serve mediocre dishes which we don’t specialise in and get a bad review in the end.”
When it comes to grilling satay, the practice of using charcoal is still favoured over electrical or gas stoves.
“We train our staff to grill and fan the satay sticks the right way,” he said.
They do get a lot of customers coming in asking for the usual local suspects like nasi goreng and tom yam.
“They are not used to accepting the fact that we are a specialised outlet. We want to keep our menu simple and uncomplicated,” he concluded.
This is the writer’s observation and not an endorsement by StarMetro.
