Tuesday, January 06, 2009

Steamed Fish @ Lan Je, Rawang, Selangor


eat me pleaseeeee!!!



Holidays always seem to be great times to catch up with family and friends. For lunch on New Year's day, it was all about family. My mother wanted something different from the usual places we eat at, hence she requested we visit Pan Heong at Batu Caves, especially since my uncle and aunt has yet to savour their fantastic sang har (water prawns) noodles. Once we got there, we realised it would be an incredibly long wait since we had 10 tables ahead of us.

Thus, we decided to give up and head further down the road to Rawang. A quick google search on 3G, got me Lan Je's telephone number and subsequently, I managed to confirm they were opened plus book a steamed fish for each person.

crackly crunchy super fresh prawns

The drive was pretty smooth especially since the road to Rawang from Selayang has been widened. Right before we hit the town, I had to get my bearings right before I recognised the small low stalls on the side of the road, where Lan Je is located at. Couldn't miss the crowd of people hanging there. Luckily we got a seat quickly but the waitress took a long time to clean up the place since it was laden with bones and fish remnants all over the place.

Long long ago, Lan Je used to sell economy rice to the workers from the nearby cement factory. She started selling steamed tilapia fish, which got a good response from her customers and ever since then she has been famous for that dish. Nowadays, Lan Je does not get involved with the day to day running of the stall. Instead it is manned by her sons and daughter-in-laws, who have also perfected the art of steaming the fish.

At the stall, small black tilapia fish vs the more common red tilapia fish is used (around 300grams) hence you order one fish per person. This means you don't have to fight for your fish and you can take your time eating it. Topped with a slightly spicy topping of garlic, ginger and chillies (you can adjust how spicy you want when you place your order), the fish is steamed just right, yielding flesh that is silky smooth. My favourite bit is when you turn the fish over and you get the not so dry fish flesh underneath. Even Splashie Boy and my aunt who both hate eating fish with bones ate their own portions with relish. My mother, uncle and I were in heaven since we love eating fish and sucking the bones until everything is clean.

The menu here is pretty standard and pork free. It seems even Malays patronise this stall as they love the steamed fish. Aside from the steamed fish, they also do a salted dry fried prawns very well. The very fresh prawns are fried till the skin is all crunchy and edible. The fried vegetables (yau mak), which we had was also very good and crunchy. The only let down was their chicken with dried chillies. We all felt it was a little hard. Total damage for 5 of us was RM118, which we all thought was worth it especially since it was such a satisfying meal. You'll definitely see us returning for the steamed fish here, and to be honest now with the highways interlinking everything together, it is not that far away. For more pictures, see my Flickr set.

Lan Je Steamed Fish
27-28, Block C, Jalan Rawang
Gerai MPS, Batu 16
Rawang

Tel No: 012-227 0037

(Pork free. To get here, drive down from Selayang towards Rawang, you will pass by Templer's Park on the way there. Just before you hit the town area, you will see these low stalls on both sides of the road. After the BHP Petrol Station, make a U turn and you will see Lan Je on your left hand side. Open from 11.30am to 3pm, 6-10pm. Closed on Tuesdays. It is advisable you call ahead and book your fish especially during peak times, as they tend to run out of food if you are late.)

*Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. This review is time sensitive; changes may occur to the place later on that can affect this opinion. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from this place for writing the review.

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15 comments:

J2Kfm said...

one steamed fish each? hmm ... that's new.
not bad, heard bout this place b4 as well.

boo_licious said...

j2kfm - Happy New Year! Yup, very famous place. Esp good for fish lovers, you can eat as much as you want.

"Joe" who is constantly craving said...

300gms??? hmm looks like i can book two..since the bones and all weigh quite a bit, doesnt?

worldwindows said...

Black tilapia! I thought it was edged out by the red species. Price seems cheap.

The Dusun Aroma said...

ohh Tilapia... now I miss my Pa/Ma in law, their drunken tilapia with wild ginger always the best to accompany a jar of rice wine..

yummy and healthy!

Ciki said...

we love this place! For a map, kindly refer here. cheers!

http://cumidanciki.blogspot.com/search/label/Name%3AKedai%20Ikan%20Talapia%20Lan%20Je

boo_licious said...

Joe - u going to eat 2 for yourself or is this for both of you????

worldwindows - Happy New Year! Yeah, red tilapia seems to be the preferred variety vs the black one.

boo_licious said...

The Dusun Aroma - aiyoh that sounds heavenly. Home cooked and laden with rice wine also. Lucky you!

Thxs Ciki. Hmmm, how come you didn't come up in my google search? Will add you now in the other reviews section.

Ciki said...

aw.., thx boo:):) (yea, why hor? i thot i tagged it.. am i doing in wrong?)

ling239 said...

heard of this many times, but have yet to go all the way for it... :p

boo_licious said...

no worries Ciki. Dunno, it does not turn up, weird.

ling239 - Happy New Year! Worth the drive esp if you love steamed fish. Not too far too, just zip down the MRR2 and the highway...

Feedmelah.com! said...

Hi boo,

This steamed fish looks really similar to one that is served somewhere near the army air base off old klang road.

Used to go there when I was alot younger. It's in an industrial area, with people soldering metal next door.

It basically serves spicy steamed fish and normal steamed fish.

And blanched vegetables... any idea where I'm talking about? Forgot where the place is...

fatboybakes said...

aiya, no wonder we couldnt find it la, we must have overshot when we exited the rawang toll...

boo_licious said...

Feedmelah - sounds like the Sungai Besi steamed fish head place? Was it shacks and they had nice fried lalas too?

fbb - rarely use Rawang toll as it is further. We usually go vide Selayang or the Sungai Dua way (very nice views of the dam and waterfalls for that route).

讲古佬 said...

lan jie,
i also know cuz i live ion rawang.
but is tat delicious as you said?

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