Tuesday 11 February 2014

Nasi Ayam Hailam Damansara Utama @ Damansara Utama, Petaling Jaya

I have heard a lot about this restaurant called Nasi Ayam Hailam Damansara Utama but never got the chance to try out the place until this evening. Located in the busy area of Damansara Utama, this restaurant has gained popularity among all races as it has the Halal status. In addition to that, this restaurant had been endorsed by the Jalan Jalan Cari Makan team some time ago and that has drawn more crowd to come here. This restaurant is affiliated to the other famous Nasi Ayam Hailam restaurant in Bukit Bintang as it belongs to the same family. To give a little background on this establishment, this restaurant belongs to a Chinese family that has been selling Chicken Rice for almost five decades. Originally started in some other area as Nasi Ayam Chee Meng in 1965, the grandchildren have now grown this business into a much larger chain in the Klang Valley. 

Nasi Ayam Hailam Damansara Utama along Jalan SS 21/39

Endorsement by the Jalan Jalan Cari Makan team

Their Logo

Interior of the Restaurant

Musical Instruments Adorning the walls

Interior of the Restaurant
The restaurant is manned by Indonesian workers. The design is quite Hainanese in layout and furniture and there are a number of old musical instruments hung along the walls that add to the decor. I also found the restaurant to be very clean and it is air conditioned for customers comfort. They do not have any menu cards but you could take a peek at the meat station to get an idea of what they offer. Besides the Chicken Rice, they do offer a number of vegetable dishes as well as some Kerabu dishes. Ordering is done at the table and within minutes, the food is served. 

Ice Lemon Tea @ RM 3.00
Their Ice Lemon Tea is priced at RM 3.00 per glass which is quite expensive. Taste wise, it was nice and not too sweet, just the way that I like it to be. I would rate this drink at 7.8/10 .

Yellow Oil Rice
It is good that they serve the authentic Yellow Oil Rice here. The portion of rice was huge and a much larger portion compared to the other Chicken Rice places out there. The rice was very good and had the right ingredients in it making it simply delicious. I would rate their rice at 9.4/10 .

Bowl of Clear Soup
With any set of Chicken Rice, a bowl of clear soup is served complimentary. The soup here was heavily infused with spices and black pepper and it was delicious. I ended up asking for another bowl and they served me without any fuss. Definitely good stuff and I would rate this at 9.3/10 .

Steamed & Roasted Chicken @ RM 13.00
Any set comes with only one variety of Chicken and as I wanted to try both types, there were additional charges. The basic set of Steamed Chicken with the rice was priced at RM 7.00 and the additional portion of Roasted Chicken was priced at RM 6.00 . For me, this was not too much and I guess any heavy eater would want two portions as just one portion of the meat would not be sufficient and coming to think of it, to pay RM 13 for just Chicken Rice per meal is definitely on the high side.

Roasted Chicken
Their Roasted Chicken was nice but not mind blowing. The meat was juicy but it did not have the wow factor. I would rate their Roast Chicken at 8/10 .

Steamed Chicken
Their Steamed Chicken on the other hand was excellent. Everything was just perfect and the meat was tender and juicy making you crave for more. I would rate their Steamed Chicken at 9.4/10 .

Ginger Sauce
Their Ginger Sauce was excellent and addictive. It was wonderfully prepared and was perfectly balanced. A must try Sauce here and this deserves a rating of 9.5/10 .

Homemade Chili Paste
This was another sauce that was absolutely heavenly. Being a big fan of chili, this was a heavenly sent dish. It was super spicy and just a slight dip would definitely jerk some tears. Excellently prepared and deserves a rating of 9.8/10 .

Kailan in Oyster Sayce @ RM 8.00

Very Fresh Kailan Used
I was contemplating if I should try their Chicken Feet or their Kailan and went for their Kailan. No regrets, the dish though simple, was delicious. The greens were very fresh and it had a lavish amount of Oyster Sauce. The portion was huge too. I would rate this dish at 9.5/10 .

In summary, I was definitely impressed with all the dishes here except for the Roasted Chicken which was not bad either, but it just didn't impress me enough. The price is slightly on the high side and that must be due to the high rental in this area. Otherwise, it is definitely a place that I would return again.

Address: No. 102, Jalan SS 21/39, Damansara Utama,
                47400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

Telephone: +6012 356 9819

Opening Hours: 1030 - 2230 Daily

2 comments:

  1. A gentle note : Your introduction is very important as it gives the vital First Impression of your blog. The correct word is "Critic" who is a person, and not "critique" which is a verb or 'doing word'.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great photographs and interesting commentary - hope you continue!

    ReplyDelete