Just like the Malaysia style...

... but not quite! We went to Belacan Grill at Redondo Beach last Sat for a taste of Malaysian cuisine. I heard about Belacan Grill but have never been there. Mainly because it is so far out of the way. I've been talking about going there for decades. So last week we finally got our arse up and took a drive down there. I wasn't too impressed with the food. Probably I ordered the wrong dish? Not sure. They are good but I just didn't think it's worth driving all the way out there for it. If I am around the area, I would probably eat there. If not, I would rather go to Yazmin, at Monterery Park (for their famous Char Kuey Teow) which is probably 20 min less commute time.

their pretty menu. I believed on the 1st page, they had "Selamat Dating" instead of "Selamat Datang". yea..... pretty sad, i know.

john's hainanese chicken, the sauce was pretty good. and i of course ordered my nasi lemak (coconut rice)! I love love love nasi lemak but I don't think i can ever get the malaysian kind nasi lemak here... anywhere. I did find something similar from Java Spice (Indonesian Restaurant) though. It's weird that they can do all other food pretty similar like, laksa, char kueh teow and etc etc. But just this one nasi lemak, it's never the same. I miss the nasi lemak (the hawker stand style) in malaysia, where they wrapped your rice with pandan leave and newspaper. The sambal squid, sambal chicken... i'm drooling now. So to my friends in malaysia, when you have nasi lemak next time, please at least think of your poor friend here who love nasi lemak to death. Take a picture of it and show it to me.... I'm afraid i will forget how it looks like.
john's fortune.... and this is mine......

A few weeks ago when we were in Rowland Heights for my haircut and dim sum with my friends, I stopped by Java Spice to take their famous nasi bungkus to go, which is only available on the weekends. Then I was told they have a Nasi Lemak special, which of course I couldn't resist and took that to go as well. here's the nasi lemak. It is pretty good and so far the closest thing i can find. However, I still prefer their nasi bungkus better. Spicy! I love all thing spicy so it probably win this over because of its spiciness.