Nice Maggi Goreng and Malay Dishes @ D.K. Juara, Sungai Ara, Penang

Despite passing through Sungai Ara numerous times, this typical Malay warung - D.K. Juara has been the radar and gone unnoticeable by us, partly due to our ignorance. This stall had always been full of patrons for take away and dine in and we noticed all 3 of their chefs have been never stopped working with their woks throughout the time. Offering a variety of simple and home cooked dishes, they tasted great and we simply could not resist by returning for a few occasions.

We would regard it as one of the best Malay food we have tried and the price is reasonable affordable. At the meantime, we have to clarify our attempts on Malay dishes mostly were during university time. The maggi goreng here topped our list.

Remarks: The owners and chefs from D.K. Juara has since moved back to Thai and there is a change of chefs here. Therefore, there has been a change in the taste as well (updated 23 April 2017)

Maggi goreng (RM4.00) may appear to be a plate of noodles fried with various ingredients and eggs but it tasted marvellous. The noodles were bedded in a pool of thick sauce, giving arises to the slight sour and sweet taste. Heavy tasters would love the maggi goreng here. Despite being flooded in the sauce, the elasticity of the noodles still well preserved. 

I am yearning for another plate of maggi goreng here during the process writing the blog! 

They koay teow goreng (RM4.00) emulates Chinese style char koay teow, as usually Malay koay teow would be served wet. Served with significant wok-hei, one plate was insufficient to satiate our stomach.

Mee Goreng (RM4.00) tasted nice aside of the top 10 mee goreng which we have tried earlier. It is fried wet but the sauce was totally different from maggi goreng's. 

Nasi Goreng Tomyam (RM4.50) would be our favorite fried rice in this stall. Though the tomyam taste was not significant tasted in the rice, the green chilli paste added would definitely would make a total twist to the taste. The chilli paste was sour, sweet, spicy and pungent in the taste, making us wow after mixing it with the rice. 

If you are looking for something salty to provide a stimulus to your tongue, Nasi Goreng Ikan Masin (RM 4.50) would be the choice. It was served with a generous amount of salted fish, with almost every few scoops of the rice you will get a pinch of saltiness on your tongue.

Then it was our favorite fried rice back dated to university time - Nasi Goreng Pataya (RM 5.00). The fried rice is encased by a thin layer of egg, thus heighten the scent of the rice. 

Nasi Goreng Chili Padi (RM4.50) has the rice fried with a generous amount of chilies. What we mean a lot is till the extent you will feel slight burning sensation in your mouth, or worst when you accidentally chewed the chilies. A must try for those enjoy hot version of fried rice. 

Nasi Goreng Special (RM7.00) comes with a fried egg topping the fried rice and a side dish consists of chicken, squid and prawns. 

If you are looking for something extra as a side dish, the chefs are more than willing to prepare you a fried egg (RM1.00) or telur dadar (RM1.50). The telur dadar is very popular here, as majority of the tables ordered it too. It is actually a concoction of eggs and onions. 

Telur Bungkus (RM5.00) would make a decent choice should you have extra budget. Enclosed with the egg were various vegetables and chicken meat.

The Tomyam seafood soup (RM6.00) was served piping hot, and it actually quite similar to Thai tomyam. It was cooked with a great amount of lemon grass, Kaffir lime leaves and Galangal. Spicy intolerable individuals are suggested to prepare both physically and mentally prior taking it, and you will be ensured droplets of sweat on your forehead after consuming this bowl of tomyam.

In fact, I realised most of the home cooked dishes here have heavy influence of Thai such as Khaeng Som (RM7.00). Khaeng Som is a very popular dish in Thailand, featuring sour and spicy fish curry with vegetables. The taste was in fact very pungent till we choked a few times before getting adapted to the taste. 

Siakap 3 rasa (RM 25), or better known as 3 flavored fish - spicy, sweet and sour. We actually cannot tell the 3 different taste being presented here as the mixture of taste appear complicated. The fish was deep fried prior being poured the sauce, then garnished with a lot of chills (weird right?). Fret not, the chills were not spicy and merely serve for decoration purpose.

Nothing special about the Belacan Kangkung (RM4.00) but we were curious that it was fried together with garlics. 

Chewy and fresh Sotong Goreng Kunyit (RM 6.00) for seafood lovers, there is Nasi Goreng Sotong Kunyit too if you prefer it comes with the fried rice.

Overall, we enjoy dining here every time as most of the dishes here tasted nice, in particular for the heavy tasters like us. However, do prepare to wait for a while during peak hours. 

Persiaran Relau, 11950, Sungai Ara, Bayan Lepas, Pulau Pinang

Operation hours: 5:00pm - 1:00am (Closes on uncertain days) 

Location map refers here.