Got Indian lok-lok meh? Got…Just go to Brickfields & you’ll find over 40 items on their menu

In Malaysia, lok-lok stalls and food trucks are rather common sights once the sun goes down. What is lok-lok? Lok-lok is a street food traditionally associated with the Chinese community. They normally consist of skewers of meat and vegetables. Hence, it is interesting to see a lok-lok food truck being operated by an Indian vendor. Not only that, but also masala chicken served as lok-lok. Yet, here in Brickfields, you can find Steven Savari, who takes pride in being one of Malaysia’s few Indian lok-lok hawkers.

Meet Steven Savari

Steven can often be found manning his food truck, S&J Golden Wheels, along Jalan Tun Sambanthan in Kuala Lumpur’s Little India district. On most evenings, his truck occupies a little parking spot between Pos Shop Brickfields and Aloft KL Sentral. Given its location, it is not too surprising to see Savari getting a lot of business from workers leaving the nearby offices or just curious tourists. But did you know that Savari was actually once a white-collar worker himself?

Engineer turned lok-lok hawker

Before he started selling lok-lok, Savari was actually in the engineering industry, travelling across Southeast Asia training rookie engineers. While the job paid well, Savari aspired to do something more personal with his life. He told MFT that he decided to start his own business, but was unsure what sort of business would suit him. “I was thinking about what to do and then this thought about a lok-lok stall came to my mind. So, I just started.” Despite the challenges of a career change, Savari still has no regrets.

But why set up in Brickfields? Savari said that Indian people love to eat lok-lok and it only made sense to establish himself in Little India. Plus, in Brickfields, he is much closer to his favourite panipuri stalls, which are the only other treat he enjoys just as much as lok-lok. But what does Savari do different from other lok-lok stalls? MFT took a look at his lok-lok and here’s what we can report.

Reasonable prices

Savari sells about 40 to 50 different types of lok-lok, including classic offerings like fishballs, meatballs, crabsticks and sausages. These lok-lok are reasonably priced, even by KL standards. Like most other lok-lok businesses, the price of the skewers can be determined by the coloured tip of the skewer sticks. Sticks without colours are the cheapest at RM2.50, followed by yellow (RM3) and green (RM3.50). Red, blue and black are RM4, RM4.50 and RM5 respectively.

Special masala chicken lok-lok

What’s good to eat here? We must first talk about his Signature Masala Chicken. With a bright red colour like any tandoori meat, the chicken has a fierce heat to it as well as tasty juices. No wonder why this one skewer is considered to be among Savari’s bestsellers. Also worth trying is his Pandan Chicken, featuring marinated chicken wrapped in rolled pandan leaves. The chicken is so juicy, flavourful with a noticeable pandan fragrance. Delicious? Aromatic? It’s a strong yes to both.

What else is good to eat?

Other than that, you should try the Baby Crabs. These little snacks are seasoned, lightly battered and deep-fried to perfection. There’s a burst of umami flavour with each bite, perfect for those who love a crunchy treat. Are you a vegetarian? Try the Shiitake Mushrooms. They are battered and deep-fried until they have a crunchy exterior. Inside is a juicy and earthy flavour. They taste even better with a pinch of salt and pepper. Last but not least, Tentacles. Addictively chewy, these bad boys go well with a dip of spicy chill sauce and a dash of pepper.

When you choose your set of lok-lok, you are given the choice of having your skewers boiled or fried. If you choose boiled, you can pick between two soups for boiling; the savoury soup and the sour, spicy tomyam soup. If you choose fried, you can ask for a sprinkling of Savari’s special chilli powder, which gives any lok-lok a good spicy kick. And if you need even more spice, check out his four homemade sauces. These are sweet sauce, chilli sauce, Thai sweet-and-sour sauce and peanut sauce. It’s worth trying out a little bit of all four, to get a taste of everything in one go.

Worth a try?

So, the next time you are in Brickfields after the sun has set, perhaps consider strolling by Savari’s humble stall to see if anything catches your fancy. Whether it’s the reasonable prices or the masala lok-lok, there’s always a good reason to visit. Given how Savari has already opened two other stalls in Ampang and Semenyih, we just might see a few more Indian lok-lok stalls in the future.