The bright flavors and colorful dishes offered at Salima showcase a culinary amalgam dating back a thousand years. An elegant new dining place on Martin Luther King Jr. Way South, Salima spotlights Malaysian, Vietnamese and Cham cuisine.
Proprietor Asari Mohammed delights particularly in introducing his native Cham cuisine from Vietnam. This cookery has been influenced by many cultures, in particular the foods of India and Malaysia.
"The Cham people are one of six indigenous tribes from the geographic area of present-day Vietnam; historically the land they inhabited was known as Champa," said Mohammed and added that the Cham have a distinct language and culture, including foods "totally different from Vietnamese".
This family enterprise is built upon 15 years of business and professional cooking experience embodied by Mohammed and his wife, Salima, for whom the restaurant is named. Salima Mohammed worked previously as a personal chef for Malaysian diplomats posted to Saigon, now called Ho Chi Minh City. She also cooked beside her Malay brother-in-law in the family business, Saigon Four Seas in Ho Chi Minh City prior to arriving in Seattle nearly five years ago.
A U.W. economics graduate, Asari Mohammed has opened and sold a number of businesses. His goal of running his own enterprise, and his wife's dream of operating her own restaurant, resulted in Salima's debut in south Seattle. Planning to open in another year or so the couple jumped in when this site unexpectedly became available.
"Opening a new place is always a risk," Mohammed said, noting that they have been well received.
According to Mohammed about 95 percent of Cham are Muslim; thus Salima offers strictly Hallal cuisine. Hallal is the designation for food, meats in particular which have been slaughtered and prepared in a manner according to Muslim dietary law. Hallal dietary rules forbid the consumption of pork as well as of alcohol.
A magnificent meal
Service was prompt and friendly; we began our meal with an Indian-style appetizer, Roti Canai. This unleavened flatbread was rich, slightly oily and served with a luscious, red curry dipping sauce in a small bowl.
My husband drank a tea tarik, which can be served hot or cold. A Malaysian treat, tea tarik is made by pouring condensed milk into a tall glass from the height of one's outstretched arm. Tea is them poured into the glass in like manner, resulting in a foamy, frothy drink. Sugar is added as desired.
Our dishes arrived in rapid succession. A generous mound of coconut-infused white rice sat surrounded by small servings of items placed in a ring along the plate's edge. These included seafood sambal made of bits of spicy squid, chunks of rending, which is highly seasoned beef simmered in coconut milk, a mélange of colorful pieces of bell peppers cut into diamond shapes, finishing with bite-sized portions of lightly battered, fried chicken.
Hot pot stir-fried beef followed and was seasoned with sesame oil, garlic and ginger. It had been quickly stir-fried, very moist and was served with a mound of rice on a separate plate.
Stir fried okra in balacan shrimp sauce was a tasty surprise. Tender but not at all mucilaginous, the fresh okra had been cut into diagonal lengths of about three-fourths inch. Rather salty, the okra dish arrived highly seasoned with balacan, a fermented shrimp paste. Finished with a sprinkling of tiny, dried shrimp the dish blended the fresh greens and crunchy shrimp nicely.
Mohammed said that most Cham dishes are far too labor intensive to prepare properly for restaurant cooking. Therefore, Salima prepares popular favorites such as satay chicken or satay beef and spring rolls among its appetizers.
And for children, a chicken stick with French fries is available. Soups include the popular tom yum, won ton, and Oxtail. The noodle offerings include a steamed rice sheet with shrimp that's reminiscent of Chinese dim sum.
Counted among the rice dishes are biryani rice with chicken or beef that is elaborately seasoned and decorated.
Lamb is prepared in a curry as is chicken. One can order fish or prawn curry or deep fried fish, stir fried shrimp or squid with satay. The possibilities are broad. Diners can also feast upon sumptuous vegetable fare including stir-fried broccoli with crab, broiled okra with tofu sauce and cailan stir-fry with salted fish.
Drinks include the popular Lassi, a drink of Indian origin popular in Malaysia made with plain yogurt and fruits such as mango, strawberry, banana or pineapple and sugar. The Lassi is almost a desert item!
Bottled water, sodas, and Vietnamese tea and coffee are also available.
Salima is located at 6727 Martin Luther King Jr. Way South between South Graham and South Othello Street. Hours are from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Monday and closed Tuesday.
Ample parking is available, phone 722-2443.
Georgia Lord Wantanabee may be reached by writing to us via editor@sdistrictjournal.com.[[In-content Ad]]
