Gossip & Seafood @ Robson Heights Seafood Restaurant, Kuala Lumpur

crabbie time again....yums!

Catching with friends over dinner is always more fun especially when the food is awesome. Last Friday (defying all odds that it was an unlucky Friday 13th!), we all made it safely to Robson Heights Seafood, chosen for its highly lickable salted egg yolk crabs. I was first introduced to these luscious crustateans last year by Lyrical Lemongrass who is a regular here.

large water prawns + glass noodles = great prawny tasting slurpy soup

Perched on a hill, this place is easy to spot especially if you are chugging down the Federal Highway in one of its infamous traffic jams, where time stands still. Even though it was a Friday night, I made it within 1/2 hour from Shah Alam - a miracle indeed. The specialties of this place is not hard to spot, as the enterprising restaurant has them printed on their wet towel packets. Since I did do some research on this place (after some prompting by Precious Pea, who was hungry at 5pm!), I ordered the pork ribs, which Kampungboycitygal raved about. Also added the interesting sounding fried intestines with dried prawns.

very lickable salted egg yolk encrusted crabs

The pork ribs came in a jiffy (the kitchen is definitely super efficient here!) with meat that was falling off the bones. I felt it was just a tad sweet probably because we ate it on its own vs with rice. The fried intestines was a big dissapointment - not crunchy and lacked much taste even though they did laden it with lots of dried prawns and chopped green cili padi.

We got lucky with the claypot glass noodles with water prawns, which turned out to be the winner of the night. Usually, the norm is to order the black pepper udon and since it wasn't available, this was recommended by the waiter. Filled with large water prawns (3 pieces sliced into 2 for the 6 of us), the soup was rich from the prawn roe making the glass noodles slurpworthy.

The crabs were the finale of the night with us attacking the very lickable salted egg yolk encrusted crabs. While the steamed crabs were large and sweet, it would have been better with more liquid vs egg as the crabmeat was a little dry inside. Nevertheless, it was a wonderful meal especially catching up with everyone. For more on what we demolished that night, see my Flickr set.

Restoran Robson Heights
108, Jalan Permai
Off Jalan Syed Putra
Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03- 22746216

(Non Halal. Place is parallel to Federal Highway. To get here, go up the Brickfields ramp on the highway, turn right at traffic lights, go straight and take a left at first traffic lights. Go straight, do not turn left back to the highway, you will see the restaurant on your right hand side.)

*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.

Tagged with: seafood + Malaysian food

Other reviews:

• Kampungboycitygal
• Very Sedap!!!
• Stephenblog

Bak Kut Teh @ Restoran Chuan Chiew, Subang Jaya

claypot goodness in a pot...a little sinful though

Let us counteract all that healthy food with a claypot full of sin a.k.a bak kut teh. I was craving for something soupy and filling since I had a very early dinner the night before. Original plan was Chao Zhao at SS18 but since it was closed, this was the next best thing.

You are spoiled for choice around this whole row of shophouses; there is Chuan Chiew, Yu Kee and further away Chao Zhao. All serve bak kut teh but Yu Kee and Chao Zhao has additional stuff. I seem to be fated to eat here as I got a carpark space next to the shop. Even though it may not be full when early, it starts to fill up as the clock strikes 1pm.

The taste of the bak kut teh is still not as superior as my all-time favourite Teluk Pulai at Taman Rashna but quite decent. It probably does not make the mark for me, as I prefer my soup to be a little herbal. I went a little overboard with the "additions", asking for enoki mushrooms and intestines. Each normal claypot comes with your choice of meat, canned button mushrooms slices, Chinese mushrooms slices, tofu puffs, beancurd skin and iceberg lettuce. Another plus point about eating here - the shophouses open both sides hence you can walk in from either the front or the back, making it much easier.

Chuan Chiew Restoran
18, Jln SS14/2
Subang Jaya

Tel No: 03-56330629

(Non halal. Open 7.30am-11pm. Closed every Tuesday.)

*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.

Tagged with: Malaysian Food + Bak Kut Teh

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Hakka Looi Cha @ Restoran Gembira, Taman Megah, Petaling Jaya

green comfort - nine types of vegetables, nuts and bean curd in one bowl

Let's kick start the week with something healthy.....a bowl of Hakka looi cha or thunder tea rice. I was around the Taman Megah vicinity last week for a very quick bout of shopping at the bake shops that pepper the area there. Since the Mee Kolo/Sarawak Laksa stall at Restoran Gembira was closed, it was the next best thing - the one bowl meal of mixed vegetables, fried beancurd, peanuts and sesame seeds; drizzled with a bright green soup made from pounded herbs.


add the green herb soup for a complete meal

There is something so comforting about eating your meal with just a spoon especially since I tend to drown my rice with all the "green soup". Even though this place lacks variety in terms of vegetables given, it is still a very satisfying bowl of 9 kinds of items. My favourite bits are the crunchy peanuts and sesame seeds, that add texture to the dish. Yummy till the last spoonful.

While I may have found heaven with my meal, it is literally hell trying to find parking around here. It has gotten horrendous especially since they closed up the old marketplace area to build a proper building. Now the stalls are housed under temporary shelters that line the road facing Bake with Yen, La Manila and Fatty Crab.

Looi Cha Stall
Restoran Gembira
39, Jln SS24/8
Taman Megah
Petaling Jaya

(Pork free and vegetarian. Stall is opened for breakfast and lunch, closed on Sundays.)

*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.

Tagged with: Malaysian Food + Looi Cha

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• Tham Jiak dated 27 May, 2008

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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Tagged with: Malaysian Food + Steamed fish

Wantan Mee @ Hung Kee, Jalan Loke Yew, Kuala Lumpur

During Chinese New Year, finding a Chinese hawker is a rare thing hence I thought this should be shared with all of you who are craving for wantan mee. One of the few places I know which is open during this festive season is this particular stall in Jalan Loke Yew. They started business on the second day of Chinese New Year and it was super packed with people.

Most of the stall owners I have spoken to are taking either the week off but some are taking the whole Chinese New Year off as this is their annual vacation. Rumours often flit around on where they go but the general concession is they usually fly off overseas for either a tour package or camp themselves in a casino to gamble.

Back to the food here, everything is home made down to the wantan mee which they make their own. The strands here are thinner than the usual wantan mee served in other stalls and has a nice springy texture. Equally good is the black and sticky char siu which you can opt for a topping. If not there's roast pork, duck, lap cheong (Chinese sausages) and braised chicken feet with mushrooms. They're generous with the wantans and a standard order comes with a huge bowl. They also serve the bigger dumplings, siu kau here. Instead of a tightly bound dumpling and crunchy filling, here it's stuffed with wood ears fungus for extra crunch. I'm not a fan of it though as I prefer the crunchier ones at Jalan Brunei.

Hung Kee
28-5 and 28-6, Jalan Loke Yew

Pudu
Kuala Lumpur

(Non Halal. Open from 7 am to 10 pm)

*Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from the restaurant for writing this review.

Tagged with: Malaysian Food + Wantan Mee

Ikan Bakar @ Lorong Ceylon, Kuala Lumpur

Although my favourite Ikan Bakar place is Pak Din's at Tanglin Food Court, I have been exploring other stalls around town. Even though this particular stall is not as fantastic as Pak Din's it makes better sense for those who work down town especially around the Jalan Raja Chulan/Jalan Sultan Ismail area to patronise this place rather than driving through the traffic to the Lake Gardens area. Hopefully traffic will start to ease up from today onwards with the upcoming exodus of people to their home towns. Believe me, I'm looking forward to peace and quiet in the city as the traffic is getting from bad to worst every day.



Run by a friendly group of people who claim to be from an island somewhere off Jawa, Indonesia, this particular stall is where people flock to for their ikan bakar cravings. Besides the grilled fish, you can also select from various cooked curries and vegetables set up at the counter.



Unlike Pak Din's, the fish is marinated in a special sauce hence it's slightly tinged with yellow. I like how they grill the fish over hot coals as it has less oil versus those grilled in a hot plate. Since the fish takes a while to cook, the stall owners will start grilling them before for the lunch crowd.

They serve various types of fish here and you can find old favourites like ikan pari (sting ray), ikan keli (cat fish - my personal favourite), ikan kembung (mackerel) and ikan terubuk. A must with the ikan bakar is the tangy dip made with chopped shallots, bird eye chillies, tamarind, sambal belachan and a squeeze of tiny calamansi limes.

I also love the various vegetables they serve here and my must haves are their pucuk paku (ferntops) and a kerabu made from four angled beans, bean sprouts tossed with grated coconut. Another item I often pick from these Nasi Campur stalls is the bergedil made from potatoes.

If you work around here, do walk here rather than drive as parking is a major problem here with limited parking spaces. There's two paid car parks next to the stall but it's usually full by lunchtime.

Ikan Bakar Stall
Opposite Menara PMI
Lorong Ceylon
Kuala Lumpur

(Halal. Open 6.00 am to 4.00 pm and closed on Sundays)

*Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from the restaurant for writing this review.

Tagged with: Malaysian Food + Ikan Bakar

Yong Tau Foo and Fried Chicken Wings @ Seong Kee Yong Tow Foo, Petaling Jaya

When it comes to my family, they all seem to know where's the best places to eat whether it's stall or restaurant food. Hence when my mother raved about this place, it's been top on the list of places to try but every time we decide to go out for lunch, it's either too early for this place or we're too far away from it.

We finally struck lucky and managed to make it one day to sample their food. This small stall within the Medan Selera area will only fry or cook your items once you place your order hence one needs to be patient while they prepare the food. It's really worth it since everything is super fresh especially the fried items. There are also other items which you can order that are pre-cooked such as their Hakka Char Yoke which I thought tasted okay and not as nice as the Lorong Peel place. Besides that, there's curry fish head, assam fish, rendang fish, pork trotters in black vinegar on the menu.



Sampling their yong tau foo, you can distinctively taste that they added more fish versus minced pork and there's no salted fish. A quick chat with the lady who runs the stall indicates that they no longer stuff it with salted fish as it's pricey and not everyone likes the taste. Out of the items ordered, I really liked their brinjal and white tofu. The brinjal was pretty huge and well pan fried while the white tofu was very smooth. Also good was their tofu puffs stuffed with fish and meat paste. Although the items are quite pricey at RM0.90 each, the brinjal and white tofu was definitely worth it as they were huge portions.

My mother had also recommended the deep fried chicken wings. Ordering a minimal order of two to sample, it was super delicious as they lightly coated it with turmeric powder. Freshly fried and super crispy, this was the ultimate deep fried chicken wing for me. It's not cheap though as each wing and drumette costs RM2.50 hence a minimal order will set you back by RM5.

Seong Kee Yong Tow Foo
Stall No. 35, Taman Selera
Jalan Othman
Petaling Jaya

Tel No: 03 - 7781 0946

(Non Halal. The stall is open for business from 12 pm to 9 pm except for Tuesdays. They're close for one week during the Chinese New Year period)

*Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from the restaurant for writing this review.

Tagged with: Yong Tau Foo + Malaysian Food

Chinese New Year Feasting @ Sek Yuen, Jalan Pudu, Kuala Lumpur

It's amazing how the feasting starts even before the festive season but I reckon any reason to eat and be merry is always a good thing. This year, Chinese New Year feasting kicks off early since it's the last weekend before the festivities start. Most popular Chinese restaurants are also fully booked as nowadays people tend to eat out more rather than cook their dinners at home.

Last Friday, I joined friends who dined with their ex-colleagues at Sek Yuen, the old style dining place I had featured before. It was great fun and we polished off quite a few dishes that night. Some didn't make the cut for this post as I wasn't too careful hence I had some blurry shots but believe me, the people at the restaurant was amazed at how much we could all eat since we kept ordering extra dishes.

Although Sek Yuen has an air-conditioned restaurant, we opted to eat at the older part with whirling fans and the old style atmosphere. I managed to peek into their kitchen and saw them super busy with the preparation of the food. Everyone was zipping around hence you see them slightly blurry since they were on the constant move. It's also amazing how they still use wood for their fires in the kitchen. Ever since I mentioned Sek Yuen, my mother has been telling me stories about how they weren't so famous during her time as there was an even more popular restaurant further down the road. However, it's Sek Yuen which has maintained their business till now while the other restaurant owners' decided instead to close the business and collect rent for their premises.

The table was groaning with the amount of food we had ordered, first of course was the traditional Yee Sang which we had with jellyfish. This was tossed around with lots of good wishes on the stockmarket and as high as we could without all of it dropping all over the table. We also ordered their famous Pei Pa Duck which was featured in my first post, their char siu and onion chicken. All the dishes were classic Chinese items even this sweet and sour pork with the cucumbers and tomatoes.

This was the all time favourite dish - their Kao Yoke with yam slices. Thinly sliced pork belly sandwiched with light yam slices, it was so good, we had to order another portion of it. The moment this dish hits the table, it's all gone within minutes. The sauce here is not as thick as the other places that serve it but you can taste the fermented bean curd (nam yue) they use to marinate the meat.

Slightly blurry picture of the vegetables but it was so good, I had to feature it. Although it's just plain spinach fried with a bit of garlic, it tasted great when you popped a strand in your mouth as they fried it with enough heat in the wok (that wok hei the Chinese talk about or literally translated as breath of the wok) and the spinach was tender. We added another order of the vegetables after we tasted this but it wasn't as good as the first dish. We also had their kailan fried with siu yoke (roast pork) which was pretty good too.

This was something we hadn't eaten for ages - a crab meat, egg, tofu and vegetables mix. Not fantastic but pretty good comfort food especially with their steamed rice.

On the night we ate here, the place was super packed with people who were also having their festive dinners. Since we sat near the kitchen, we saw them preparing the dishes - the typical cold chicken in jelly for the four seasons that were decorated with tomatoes cut to resemble graceful swans. There was even glutinous rice stuffed duck (Lor Mai Arp in Chinese) which looked really good. It seems these dishes need to be pre-ordered. After 10 pm, they started playing music on the gramophone. At one time, they even played marches hence we said, that must be a hint for us to leave soon since they were giving us our marching orders.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable evening and nice meeting people who love to eat. If you want to try their food during Chinese New Year, do visit them as they're open during the whole festive period of 15 days. It's only after the festive season they'll take a break as this is the busiest time for them. (Note most hawkers in town will take off during the Chinese New Year period as it's their annual holiday)

Sek Yuen

313 and 315, Jalan Pudu

Kuala Lumpur

Tel No: 03 - 9222 9457

(Non Halal)

*Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from the restaurant for writing this review.

Tagged with: Malaysian Food + Chinese Food

Pangkor Laksa @ DK Cafe, Section 17, Petaling Jaya

I often read about so many interesting places on the Net that keeping track of them is virtually impossible. I vaguely remembered a reference made by De Bookworm in her blog almost a year ago about this place hence when I finally found it through pure accident, I knew I had to try it. Believe me, if you don't know Section 17 well, there's no way you'll find this place as it's tucked inside a residential area. Even I who often go to Section 17 was surprised there was shophouses I have not seen before when I went around the area to find the curtain maker a friend recommended.

Back to the cafe, the place is relatively small with an indoor area and an outdoor area that allows people to smoke and enjoy the fresh air. The times when we were there, it seemed pretty quiet but then that was during the weekdays. They do a pretty good value set lunches as I remember Splashie Boy ordering it and he liked the soup which they served him with. It was also fish and chips hence he was a happy camper since he loves that dish. For the fried fish, they use the same type of batter used for Chicken Crispers in Chillies.

I settled for their Pangkor Laksa (RM5.90) which was something unusual. The broth it came in was tangy like assam laksa but spiced up with chilli oil. It was a pretty good combination and I also liked the noodles it came with which had a soft texture versus the bouncy lai fun which laksa is usually served with. The noodles looked very home made as you could see each strand was not the same size.

Another time I went here was for a quick teatime break and sorry, no pictures again as I was with Splashie Boy's parents. Imagine the frowns if I had whipped my camera out to snap pictures. We tried their spring rolls (RM3.90) which was completely different from other places as they use the thin beancurd skin instead of the popiah skin similar to the ones used in Lor Bak. That was a really winner as I loved the minced chicken, fish and prawn filling combined with the crispy beancurd skin.

Next time when you're in Section 17, look beyond the usual places and give this simple cafe a try. Incidentally, if you know your way to Food Foundry or 6 to 10 Grill at the flats, this place is directly below the flats where the double storey terrace houses are. There are stairs leading down to this area but you'll have to walk a bit to get to the cafe.

DK Cafe

603, Section 17/12

Petaling Jaya

(Halal. Open from 11.00 am to 9.00 pm and closed on Mondays. Very vague and not too perfect directions this time round as I don't remember the road signs. There's a Shell petrol station in Section 17 (near the flats, not the one near the highway). Next to it is a road, take that all the way until you see a field, turn right and drive up. There will be two to three rows of shophouses there and DK Cafe faces the double storey terrace houses.)

Updated on 12/2/2007 - Currently Pangkor Laksa unavailable until after Chinese New Year as the restaurant is unable to get the special noodles.

*Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from the restaurant for writing this review.

Tagged with: Pangkor Laksa + Malaysian Food

Prawn Mee @ Jalan San Peng, Kuala Lumpur

Last week, I finally managed to make a trip this place after reading about it from the two blogs who had earlier featured this stall. It took me a while as I got distracted with the wholesale clothes shops just off Jalan San Peng and for some funny reason, I thought the prawn mee place was there. Once I got back to Jalan San Peng, it was pretty easy to spot the place which faces the road and is next to an Indian temple called Kuil Devi.



When I first got there, I was surprised to see them cooking a big wok filled to the brim with chilli sauce. Subsequently I got talking to the proprietors of the stall namely Mr. Tan and his mother who explained to me what it was for. In fact, I managed to have a long chat with Mr. Tan as he must have been the first internet savvy hawker I have met. Usually when I ask five million questions, they'll always shoot me the question back: "are you from the press? and I'll say no, this is for own personal use and my website." Imagine my surprise when this time, I was asked for the link to this site.



Mr. Tan's family has been running this prawn mee stall for 36 years and thia version of prawn mee was concocted by his father.



Totally unlike the other places, they put the chilli sauce and broth seperately for each bowl allowing you to control the heat you can take. If you want it with more kick, help yourself to more chilli sauce from the table which is made on a daily basis. According to Mrs. Tan, they make two to three big woks of the sauce every day.



Everything is freshly made right down to the fried lard pieces which adds the sinful topping to the noodles. Prawn heads are used to boil the broth that is constantly kept boiling. It also acts as the boiling water for them to cook the noodles.



Unlike other places, they serve their prawn mee (RM3.80 for small, RM4.50 for large) with poached chicken slices, medium size prawns and kangkung (water spinach). The soup is delicious and makes a pretty substantial meal with the chicken. You can also opt to add more ingredients (Kah liu in Chinese) whether it's small prawns (RM9) or large prawns (RM10).



If you're sharing with a few people, order their poached chicken (RM4.50). Laid on a bed of crunchy bean sprouts, it's drizzled with sauce made from sesame oil. The texture is not as smooth as the Ipoh Kuey Teow places but it's definitely value for money as their portions are pretty substantial.

Besides their signature prawn mee and poached chicken, they also serve lam meen with the thick yellow noodles.

San Peng
Jalan San Peng
Off Jalan Loke Yew
Kuala Lumpur

Tel No: 012 - 290 7050/ 012 - 311 8292

(Non halal. Note the stall is also called San Peng hence you can't miss it with it's yellow and red signage. The stall closes every Tuesday and is open from 7.30 am to 3.30 pm. To get here from Jalan Loke Yew, turn left after the chinese school and when you see a Shell petrol station. Go straight, you will pass a traffic light. Continue going straight and you will see a TM Berhad orange and white building on your left hand side. Make a U turn on the right hand side of the road and the stalls will be on your left hand side as they're in front of a row of shophouses and next to the road. The GPS coordinates are N 03 08.024', E 101 42.700')

*Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from the restaurant for writing this review.

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Tagged with: Prawn Mee + Malaysian Food

Banana Leaf Rice @ Mathai's, New Lay Sin Restaurant, Brickfields

I took a little break from posting yesterday as we celebrated Federal Territory Day. I guess Blogger knew I was feeling lazy as it refused to work the night before and early yesterday.

Today, I thought I'll blog on one of favourite weekend foods aka the banana leaf rice. I was first introduced to this small stall in Brickfields long ago by an Indian friend, Mohan. Little did I know it was famous until I stumbled on many references below in other people's blogs. Unlike other places which open their own shop, this Indian stall shares the space in this crowded coffeeshop with other stalls. Among these stalls, the pork noodles is also pretty famous and has it's own faithful following as seen by the New Straits Times referencing them as the best place in Kuala Lumpur for this type of noodles.

From what I gather, Mathai's originally started out in the 1960s and the current proprietor is R. Moorthy after the original owner, Mathai retired. Sometimes, it's referred to either Moorthy's or Mathai's depending on how long you have been eating at this place. The must-have when you dine here is their fried tenggiri which I have featured above. Spiced just right and juicy to the bone, it's my favourite. Most places always slice their tenggiri fish too thin hence when it's fried, it shrivels up and is dry on the inside. Here, the fish is sliced thickly to avoid it from drying out before the outside crisps to the beautiful golden brown you see above.

The curries here are pretty good too and we usually order their chicken curry varuval. They also serve fish head curry if you like. Prices here are also extremely reasonable compared to those cut throat Indian restaurants so expect to spend about RM6 to RM10 per person depending on what you order. Incidentally if you can't take spicy food, try the cucumbers they serve as vegetables to cool down your tongue.

Mathai's Banana Leaf Rice
New Lay Sin Restaurant
250 Jalan Tun Sambanthan
Brickfields
Kuala Lumpur

Tel No: 016-371 9894

(Halal. Opened from 10 am to 3 pm and is closed on alternate Mondays.)

Updated on 16 May, 2008 - The stalls at New Lay Sin including Mathai's has moved down to Mayflower Seafood Restaurant, 144A, Jalan Vivekananda, KL.Tel: 03-22603698/6698. Operating hours are from 10.30am-2.30pm (lunch) and 5.00pm-10.30pm (dinner)

*Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from the restaurant for writing this review.

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Tagged with: Banana Leaf Rice + Malaysian Food

Hakka Yong Tau Foo @ Wah Kiow, Lorong Peel, Kuala Lumpur

Traffic around town was chaotic yesterday with the FT parade rehearsals that we kept changing our minds on where to go. Eventually we ended up at Jalan Peel hence it was yong tau foo this time round. Just off the main road, Jalan Peel almost at the end before the turn off to Jusco Maluri, you will see this road, Lorong Peel with signboards to a government school called Yaacob Latif. You can't miss this wooden shack on the left hand side of the road which has been in business for almost ten years plus.



Sandwiched between a hardware shop (whereby the owner couldn't stop staring at me when I snapped pictures) and a beauty salon, this place came highly recommended from my friends. Everything is made on the spot and you'll see various people doing their part by stuffing the prepared fish paste into the vegetables. In fact, everyone is so super busy that they didn't bother when I continued snapping pictures.



The fish paste is mixed with minced pork to give it a sweet flavour. Usually the Hakka variety has salted fish added also but the taste of it is not so distinct here. Some Hakkas get really fussy even about what type of pork you must add as it has to be the soft minced pork belly to get the right texture.



A quick call to a friend of mine indicated what were the must haves from the menu. Here they'll give you a piece of paper with all their items which you tick and indicate the quantity you wish to order. It's a good system as I've seen some stalls adopting the pick what you want at the counter system which just clogs up the counter. We liked the smooth tofu here and the crispy bean curd. Another plus point about this place is everything is freshly fried.



We also liked the braised oyster special which looks pretty ordinary from the outside but hides crunchy yam bean and delicious dried oyster within it's interior.



You can order rice with your yong tau foo as they also serve a variety of dishes such as black vinegar pork leg, assam fish, chicken curry and etc. My friend recommended the Hakka Char Yoke. The pork belly slices are marinated with fermented bean curd (nam yue) and then deep fried till crispy. Sometimes if you frequent the economy rice stalls, you can see these fried bits which they also sell. The meat is then braised with the nam yue and wood ear fungus till it's tender. The taste of nam yue is not very strong with this dish but we liked the thick gravy it came with.

Besides these items we ordered, you can also get fried wantan, spring roll, fried bean curd stuffed with fish paste and braised mushroom special, stuffed chili and etc.

Wah Kiow Hakka Yong Tau Foo
Lorong Peel
Off Jalan Peel
Kuala Lumpur

Tel No: 03 - 9283 7576

(Non Halal. The shack is just opposite the police quarters and right before school. Park at the side of the road. Opened from 10 am to 3 pm. The GPS coordinates for this place - N03 07.616', E 101 43.572')

*Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from the restaurant for writing this review.

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Tagged with:

Yong Tau Foo + Malaysian Food