Mahbub Restaurant • Bangsar — Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur

Been always wanting to visit this famous nasi kandar in Bangsar but the thought of horrible parking spaces and traffic at meal hours have convinced me otherwise for so long. Today however I decided to overcome all that as I have the luxury of time with me. Sure enough, the lack of parking wasn't exactly a great start but I found one eventually. I came about 2pm ish so there wasn't an overly massive crowd and I did not have to queue for my food. This place is famous for their ayam madu briyani and that's what I ordered. To make sure that I get to sample the rest, I also got the kambing and their daging rendang. Once I got my plate of food, I made my way to their so called "executive hall" or simply an air-conditioned indoor dining. This to me was a plus for obvious reasons, the space was comfy and clean. Now back to the actual reason why I came. The mix of curries or kuah campur was commendable. It was nicely spiced and lightly intense in heat. The sharp sweetness from the kuah ayam madu complimented the savoury curries. If you aren't a fan of sweetness in your rice dish, I advise that you tone down on the kuah madu or just not have it at all. I do not frequent nasi briyani but their version here was good in my opinion. I like the fluffy and grainy rice with noticeable aromatics that were nicely infused so that it does not overpower your palate. The ayam madu was sugary sweet and the meat could have been juicier. The beef or daging rendang was a big cut of meat that was beautifully spiced and cooked to tender goodness. I liked how the meat wasn't too chewy or stringy. The kambing was also a delightful addition because I was given a very tender piece with curry that tasted decent enough. It wasn't the most fragrant kambing curry I had but it gets the job done in a satisfying way nonetheless. Overall, I felt that this place serves what I would call quality nasi kandar with decent flavors and a comfortable indoor...

Overall 3.5⭐

Mahbub is an institution in Lucky Gardens, Bangsar. It has been around for as long as I can remember but it was my first time there!

It was peak Saturday evening and the place was heaving. However, the cooked food that we ordered (ayam madu, briyani, cucumber achar and 3 other veges) came within minutes. Roti telur followed in 15 mins.

Verdict on the food: not all the food hit the heights that I expected. The roti telur was one of the best I have had in a long while. It was thick, well layered and was complemented by delicious curries. I would come back just for this. The next best was the tenggiri fish curry which was tart in taste (as it should be). The fish was nicely poached and just well done.

I expected more of the briyani. Apart from great texture, it lacked umami or aroma. While it was meant to be more of a carb base for other dishes, I prefer my briyani to be able to stand alone as a dish by itself. The famed ayam madu was OK - a tad sweet (it is ayam MADU after all) but the meat was a bit hard as it was deep fried first. Only the chickpeas stood out from an ordinary crowd of veges (cucumber achar, fried cabbage, and cucumber and pineapple salad).

Despite my mixed feelings about the food, Mahbub is a great dining venue for all Malaysians. A muhibbah restaurant that unites our endless...

Before the pandemic, we used to come here for buka puasa frequently during Ramadhan since our office is nearby. I would join my colleagues (invitation to eat is always good), and then after dinner, we would return to the office and continue working. I remembered that it was very crowded and we always sat outside the restaurant (on the side of the street). Well, I popped by recently because a friend came back to KL for a visit, and she missed our food terribly. So, we brought her here and ordered all her favourites. It's a lot of food for 3 people, but the food was delicious, and we didn't need much motivation to polish off everything on the table. Hopefully, we will continue the practise of buka puasa here in the next Ramadhan. The menu looks relatively the same, and some of the old favourites like the sup kambing and murtabak is still around and going strong from what I heard and observed. The service is pretty good despite the constant crowd, and the food is served fairly quickly. Parking can be challenging, but since we are talking about Bangsar, I guess it is the same everywhere. They have car park spaces right outside the restaurant, but these are usually taken. You can always opt to park a bit further and walk. After all, with all the delicious food in your tummy, a stroll back to the car is not...