Saturday, May 19, 2012

Doli & Da Bomb

Doli & Da Bomb. Sounds like a singing group right out of the '60s, eh? Remember 'Naomi & The Boys', or 'Gerry & The Pacemakers' or perhaps 'Ruby & The Romantics'? 

This posting, however, is not about food for the soul. Instead we're coursing through real 'makan' joints; koayteow stops to be precise, 'char' or otherwise. 

There is an eatery in TTDI (Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Kuala Lumpur, for the uninitiated) called Doli that serves many variations of this flat rice noodle. 

Located at Jalan Wan Kadir off the main road near the TTDI wet market, Doli's stir-fried 'char koayteow' is among the best we have ever tasted. 

Because prices at Doli are pretty decent, and the fact that they also offer non-koayteow variety (chicken rice, curry mee, mee rebus etc), we patronise the place often. 

[Digressing a bit, the Cantonese-style kungfu chow served at the Royal Lake Club is super-tasty, and my personal favourite. The only problem with the club's 'Buttery' outlet is that its service has been competing against, and losing to, the tortoise for yonks.  

'Buttery' staff gives kura-kura a bad name. I am still trying to figure out why the service has not improved, especially since the club has been in existence for over 100 years]

Back on the koayteow track... Three nights ago we discovered a joint that could give good ole Doli a run for its money. It's called Bom Kitchen, with dishes tagged with 'explosive' names like 'grenade', 'dynamite' and 'C4'.

About the only thing in Doli's favour is the fact that Bom Kitchen is way across town, in Keramat's AU2 area. The not-so-fun part is we have to 'tongkah' KL traffic, taking Damansara Ulu Kelang Expressway (DUKE) to Jalan Enggang to get to the place.

Bom Kitchen may be just a warong (stall) business, but the dishes 'rawk', to borrow today's parlance. We took Muslim Aid's two interns Fairus and Sofia along, had a 'dynamite' each, and shared a humongous 'C4' dish between us.

The 'C4', costing RM19, can eat 3-4 and is Bom Kitchen's signature dish. It's gravy-laden, with fresh seafood that's fried in batter first before using them as 'perencah' in 'C4'. The end result is a delicious, somewhat crispy squids and prawns nestling in a pan of noodles and gravy. 

'Granade' sells at RM4 per plate, 'dynamite' at RM5.00 per plate. I'm wondering when 'bazooka' will be introduced. The stall opens 6.30pm to 1am daily and closes Tuesdays.

Another specialty is supercheap 'Nasi Bom', targetting youths and the lower-income. Pre-packed in the style of nasi lemak, Nasi Bom, which is rice and one lauk, sells for RM1.50 each. It's very popular with school kids and youngsters.

The place has been in operation for the last two months and maintains its own Facebook account too (click here), thanks to its IT savvy co-owner, Muhammad, who runs the joint with a couple of partners (they cook, he waits at the tables and cleans up).


Muhammad is doing his post-graduate studies weekends in business management. The trained engineer is a social worker by day. Engage him in a discourse on humanitarian work while you are there; he would 'layan' you if the place isn't too busy..

To get to Bom Kitchen from PJ, take DUKE towards the city and turn into Keramat via Jalan Enggang (at almost the tail end of the expressway). There's a roundabout as soon as you enter Jalan Enggang.

Take 3pm and drive up until you see Jusco on your left. Make a U-turn at the traffic light ahead, and take immediate left (the road climbs up a bit) and left again. Be extra-careful with the U-turn, though. Demonic drivers are a-plenty behind the wheels, even at traffic lights.


The jalan where the warong is located, Jalan 24/56, AU2, is a horseshoe and the stall is a stand-alone, with no other businesses alongside or nearby. Go on folks, give it a try. Am sure you won't be disappointed...

C4 to whet your appetite...
Welcome banner at Bom Kitchen 
Sofia (left) and Fairus menjamu selera..
Dynamite, anyone?
"Meletop di mulut, bukan di tangan"
Sedapp...

18 comments:

tokcik said...

going by its name "Doli" must be from Taiping - still in existence but biz & customers slowing down - those from Taiping still npstalgic about "Doli". The one in TTDI most probably started by one of the descendent or fan.

Kama At-Tarawis said...

Pak Amran, you are so right. This is the Taiping 'Doli'.. the TTDI cawangan has been in existence for the last 2 yrs. i love their koayteow soup..

Rose Zaini said...

Yup Tokcik..Doli TTDI ni diuruskan oleh anak owner Doli di Taiping.
Taste-wise, Taiping is way better but as you said, the crowd's getting thinner there. I started having Doli when I was in Taiping during my secondary days - Doli was just a pushcart at the pasar malam in front of Larut Matang, and the Kuey Teow is sold for only RM1.50 per pack or RM2.00 for the specials, a popular buy for us budak hostel :)
Kak Kama, if you're ever in Taiping, drop by the outlet and you can still see aunty Doli cooking kat dapur. They're friends of my father-in-law apparently.

Chenon Ishak said...

DOLI in TTDI...Ok aje la...i wonder how they can still be in business with the thinning crowd...but will try the C4 soon...

Fadhil said...

Thanks for the heads up on this Bom place, Kak Kama. Will try to check it out on my next trip to KL. I stayed around this area a few years back but had not heard of it. Maybe masa tu depa belum berniaga lagi or I wasn't as adventurous as I thought.

I love kway teow. Have tried the original Doli at Taiping once... but I still prefer Mali's Corner at Setapak.

Anonymous said...

SALAM..
you may refer to the direction video posted in youtube by BOM kitchen. CHECK IT OUT!!

Direction video to BOM kitchen : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Q6s-4dCUM8&feature=my_liked_videos&list=LL1y56e9NcaQij_I5OCI628g

Makjun Maktok said...

i am one of the partners from BOM kitchen. Special thanx to Kak Kama for her generousity by this supportive post.. We are too young in bussiness. With a little bit of spirit n experiences, we try to be the best by our own way..

Kama At-Tarawis said...

anon & MM - for sure kak kama & co will return. anywhere yg serve good food (and at decent prices too), we'll go.. hehehe

Kama At-Tarawis said...

rose - jom kita pi 'tala' C4.. hehehe

chenon - we usually pi doli lepas maghrib, customers sentiasa ramai..

oldstock - pi try the next time you naik KL .. and let me know what you think..

لف توف™ said...

sesedap char koay teow sg dua

Wan Sharif said...

Thank you for sharing your yummilicious adventure...:)

hazeleyed lady said...

Ass Salam sis.
DOLI...one very popular char Kuey teow among utara folks...Taiping was the original venue...IF...i am talking about the same 'Taukeh'...
Please varify!

Kama At-Tarawis said...

yohwang.. gi terai, worth the trip across town for us.

hazel .. it's the same doli, from taiping. they gave us a calendar awal tashun dulu.. it says originated from Regat Tupai, Taiping..

Anonymous said...

I yang dok pi jusco au2 selang sehari ni pun tak penah makan kat Bom... Nampak gaya nak kena pi cari esok nih... haha

-TyphoonSueYangDahLupaPasswordNakLoginTakBoleh

Kama At-Tarawis said...

hahahah sue... lama tak login tu la sampai lupa password!

Unknown said...

Mak ngah, if you notice, I think kat Lake Club tu, service slow sikit because the staff pun has been working there since the club first opened :)

Unknown said...

thanks for sharing marvelous trip.
online QURAN explore

Unknown said...

Thanks for sharing, great post!

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