If you’ve been craving for really good authentic Indian dishes, you should check out this spot in Miri. It may seem unassuming on the outside, but houses some amazing dishes that you have to try. They offer dishes like lobster briyani, lamb shank briyani, nasi kandar and many more!
Asian nasi kandar is located around the old town of Miri and isn’t hard to find. You’ll know you’re in the old town once you start seeing buildings with holes on the top floors. It makes them look not dissimilar to lego pieces.
Located right in between a clinic and a bank, its huge sign is pretty hard to miss. Step inside and you’ll notice a cart on the left with curries, meat and veggies of a dozen colors laid out. That’s where you’d go if you were down strictly for nasi kandar.
At the back, you’ll notice the “roti station”, a drinks station, and a kitchen at the rear with yellow chairs and tables contrasting the white walls and floors. Moving on to the food.
The restaurant was well known for many dishes, and it was honestly tough to decide what it was we wanted to highlight. The first thing we did do was take a look at their preparation for the Nasi Briyani Lobster. (biryani or biriyani)
The lobsters are brought in fresh in the morning.
We learned that they source their lobsters from a private supplier and bring it fresh in the morning. Once cleaned, the lobsters are placed aside while they prepare firewood and create a makeshift fireplace using bricks. A pot is then placed on the bricks once the fire is up, and oil followed by a variety of veggies and spices make their way inside.
After also adding milk, ghee, and a bunch of other stuff which I could hardly remember due to the sheer amount of ingredients. The mixture was allowed to simmer for awhile.
The lobster is then added and mixed together with the broth. After leaving it to cook for a good 15 minutes, rice is added to the lot, and left to cook again.
The “authentic” way to cook briyani.
Once the rice is cooked, the firewood from the bottom of the pot is placed on top of the pot after sealing it tightly. This was something I’ve never seen before. When I asked why, the cooks mentioned that it helps the briyani to cook evenly at the top too! It was a method that they mentioned was the “authentic” way to cook briyani. What a simple but brilliant concept! I was glad to have seen something like this up close.
When I was there looking through the entire process, there wasn’t any doubt in my mind that the end result would look absolutely incredible. When the pot was reopened after removing the cover laden with ash, the view of the lobster mixed cooked rice was a sight to behold.
This is what the end result looked like, perfect briyani with a superbly cooked lobster.
We also got to try their roti jantan 3 rasa. It was basically half boiled eggs over roti, with 3 different curries poured over generously. This was my personal favourite because of how well the different curries complimented each other! The roti was simple and provided an empty canvas for the curry to do most of the work. The eggs on top gave the whole thing a lovely texture. 10/10.
Lamb Shank Briyani
We also got to take a look at their preparation for the lamb shank briyani, which had an interchangeable process to the lobster briyani from before. The difference was that they used less spices than the lobster to allow the lamb’s natural taste to take centre stage.
The end result was equally as satisfying to see as the lobster briyani after it is uncovered.
Another specialty that the restaurant offered was briyani that was cooked in bamboo! This was a very unique way to cook it as the raw ingredients are stuffed inside the bamboo and cooked for about 30 minutes. Once fully cooked, the bamboo is taken out and its contents are knocked into a plate right in front of customers using a hammer. There was a variety of things that could be prepared this way, including the lobster and lamb shank!
The owner wants to bring the authentic taste of Indian food to Miri.
As usual, I got to talk to the owner of the establishment to get a sense of the whys and whats of the restaurant. The owner is originally from west Malaysia, specifically Johor, and moved to Miri last year. He wanted to bring the authentic taste of Indian food to Miri. He stressed on the importance of getting good ingredients and cooking things the right way, as he mentions that the customer would be able to tell if it was well made or not. He was friendly and was happy to make sure that people who came to his shop got what they came for; good food.
Is there any places that you think have good briyani in miri? Let us know in the comments and we might just take you up on your suggestions!
Prices:
- Nasi Briyani Lobster – depends on size, ranges from RM45-75
- Nasi Briyani Lamb Shank – RM20
Bamboo Briyani – depends on type of meat;
- Lobster – RM 48-78
- Ayam – RM15
- 3. Lamb Shank – RM25
Asian Nasi Kandar Briyani Menu
Every Day
– Bamboo Biriyani Lambshank
– Bamboo Biriyani Ayam
– Biriyani Lambshank, kambing, daging, ayam, ikan
SUNDAY & SATURDAY
– Bamboo Biriyani LOBSTER
– Nasi Briyani Lobster
– Bamboo Biriyani Tenggiri
Location:
Shop Name: Asian Nasi Kandar
Address: 434, Jalan Bendahara, 98000 Miri, Sarawak
Operating Hours: Daily from 6am – 10pm
Waze/Google Maps: Search for “Restaurant Asian Nasi Kandar”
Facebook Page: Restaurant Asian Nasi Kandar
Looking for more food places to hunt in Miri?
Check out: 6 MUST TRY Muslim-Friendly Dim Sum in Miri
