Seriously, food doesn’t get much tastier than the dishes on offer at Peladang Cafe in Ampangan. I could go there every day and get a new taste sensation, but don’t just take my word for it, if you are a food lover, go there – NOW!
Owned and operated by former army sergeant Haji Ramleee Rahmat and his wife Hajjah Fauziah, the cafe opened for business in 1999 when Haji saw the opportunity and potential growth in the area, which at that stage had only six restaurants.
Every day, except Saturday and Sunday, you will find Ramlee and Fauziah at the cafe cooking and serving his loyal customers, the majority being regular diners over the seventeen years – told you, the food is good!
Offering all types of traditional Negri Sembilan style Malay dishes including variations of nasi lemak, soup, kuay teow, fish, rendang, fried rice and noodles and fish curries, there is deliciousness, and “heat” if you want, in every meal.
The cafe does not open during weekends because a large side of their business is catering and even though it is only March, nearly every weekend of 2016 has been booked. I told you, the food is really good.
Weddings and functions keep the couple and their staff busy making sure the guests enjoy the buffet style lunches and dinners with the favourite request being daging masak rendang palembang, literally Palembang beef rendang.
This delicious, succulent dish must be made in mass proportions – usually 1000 to 2000 plus people attend weddings in Malaysia – so a lot of planning and co- ordinating is needed to maintain the quality and quantity of the dish as well as the reputation of his catering services to present it at its best.
The dish is very tedious and laborious to make but the meticulous process does allow the meat to last longer than normal and anyone who has tasted it will come back for seconds.
Hajjah Fauziah also prepares another popular Malay dish devoured by foodies in Malaysia and that is her fruit chutney blends, acar buah, which has become so popular it is now sold at the cafe.
The future looks bright for the family in the coming years as the building next door is being slated for re-development into new government offices, so the new staff do not yet know that a lunchtime treat is in store for them.
The couple have two boys and two girls, and the sons, aged 14 yo and 19 yo, are already being introduced to help out the business by handling some of the logistics and management of the catering side, where on any given weekend, up to 3,000 people will need to be fed.
One new item introduced recently to the cafe menu by Haji Ramlee is a coconut milk shake, called Ais Krim Kelapa, that is a meal on its own.
Haji tried a version of the drink in Kelantan and modified it into something that I personally cannot drink enough of, how to stop I don’t know.
It is not overly sweet like some coconut shakes I have tasted but so refreshing that your brain says more, have more, but your stomach tells you, FULL-ENOUGH. Dilemma.
It is served in its natural container with a little ice cream, some chocolate and some sprinkles closing the opening, you can choose to mix this with the iced coconut water within or poke your straw through and suck. Either or, it is a delight that sates your thirst and taste buds.
All the food at the cafe is cooked by Haji so it is consistently good and he will adjust to your culinary or dietary needs with a smile and a “boleh” no worries reply.
“You want hot, I give you more cili api,” he smiles. Try Peladang out, you will not be disappointed.
WHO: HJ Ramlee bin HJ Rahmat. CONTACT: 012 3699389
WHERE: No 69, Jalan Pulasan 2, Bandar Baru Ampangan, 70400 Seremban, Negeri Sembilan.
