Uwan Salai, Maluri: Negeri Sembilan Cooking & Charcoal-Baked Kuih

For those who miss Negeri Sembilan cooking but can't make it back to the kampung, Uwan Salai on Jalan Nakhoda Yusof, Maluri, could be the answer. The name uwan, what grandma is called in the Nogori dialect, says it all about the kind of food served here.

The concept is self-service. You grab a trolley, move from station to station picking ready-cooked dishes, then go straight to the counter to pay. There's no long wait, so it's very practical for the lunch break.

The dishes cover smoked dishes, soups, fried and grilled items and all kinds of sambal, all done the Negeri Sembilan way. But what caught our attention most were the bahulu (little sponge cakes) and kuih bakar kemboja (frangipani-shaped baked cakes), baked the old way over charcoal. You can take them à la carte or as a set with kampung coffee and dry biscuits.

Another draw is the sate. The shop works with the brand The Mushroom Sate Cendawan, so besides chicken and beef satay, there's also sate cendawan (mushroom satay). Everything is grilled over charcoal until you can taste the smokiness, with generous meat, and eaten with peanut sauce and nasi impit (compressed rice).

According to the shop, Uwan Salai is open daily except Friday, from 11am to 7pm. A budget of around RM20 to RM40 per person is enough for a filling lunch.