In Praise Of Sate Emas Kajang

Well when you talk about Satay Kajang, usually people think about Samuri Satay who has successfully parlayed their brand into a chain of satay spots. So much so that that the legacy of Tasmin Satay the pioneer vendor who popularised Satay Kajang has been squandered that the younger generation may not even be able to associate him with Satay Kajang, as his brood has failed to capitalise on his fame. This is much evident if you visit Kajang’s Satay Centre, where what that should have been a shrine to his legacy is now monopolised by Samuri Satay as the descendant’s outlet has been taken over by this satay juggernaut. Yet there is a latecomer to the Satay Kajang scene who has held his own, namely Satay Emas Kajang established by Haji Mahfudz who still manages many patrons to his main base at this centre. Nonetheless despite being featured on the mainstream press and various blogs, somehow they have not become too famous although they do have their own core of followers. This is despite the fact they have catered for major events like the 1988 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur.

Well I had recently patronised their Bukit Dukong R & R outlet in Kajang, one of the few under their belt. I like their satay simply because their satay still maintains the traditional taste and not taste mass produced like some. Famous for having more than eighteen types of satays, you can expect to have some exotic meats served up on their plates. Nonetheless these are still served with traditional rice ketupats in woven leaves casings, though their nasi impit is in the more modernised plastic wraps. Well the way traditional nasi impit is made actually is made do not actually lends itself to be kept for a reasonable period for commercial purposes, so it is no surprise I guess that you really cannot find it any more in any satay outlets. Well some traditions just cannot be kept I guess.

What I also like is that they individually wrap different types of satays into different plastic bags, so there is no cross flavouring that would otherwise have been the case. Thus you return home with this; your satay wrapped in newspaper but individually packed according to the different types of meats, the satay peanut gravy, and some sambal to spice the gravy up according to your taste and cucumber and onion slices. In order to identify the different types of satay, please note that the sticks are colour coded. Presented here are my family’s famous five, before the peanut gravy is ladled over it with a dollop of sambal on top. The usual suspects in our famous five are beef, chicken and tripe, while the supporting casts can be liver, spleen or cow’s small intestines, in this case the last two. We usually cannot have more variety as these five types already result in a large order of sixty sticks for the family, but if we have visitors then we can order more types, even the more exotic like venison, cow lungs and liver, or chicken bones, liver and gizzards split for an order of a hundred or more sticks. However you must be wondering how we can treat an order of a hundred sticks as a large portion if you compare with a journeyman’s satay right? Well this is because unlike some so-called Satay Kajang nowadays, their meat cutlets are still a generous size and with the rich and creamy peanut gravy coating applied, ten sticks are actually enough to satiate one’s appetite. Don’t take my word for it but instead try it out for yourself. For someone who has managed to retain the traditional taste of satay while innovating with new meat variants, Satay Emas Kajang deserves such support.