Tian Xian Seafood Restaurant (CLOSED)

UPDATE AS AT JANUARY 2014 - CLOSED
Gone but not forgotten.
 
One disadvantage for our team is that none of us reads Chinese. So we tend to miss out on places reported in the Chinese press. And if the newspaper and magazine reports pasted on the walls are anything to go by, then Tian Xian has received it's fair share of publicity in the Chinese print press. We on the other hand have Uncle Goh, an eminent Kajang foodie (and a friend of our Dad actually) to thank for pointing us in the direction of Tian Xian. The restaurant has been open for more than a year now but this was our first visit.

We were informed that the see tau poh (lady boss) here used to work at the legendary but now defunct Tai Wah Restaurant. And a few of the latter's signature dishes have been recreated here. The chef is the see tau poh's brother and he's an award winning Chinese chef in his own right too. Here's what we had:-

We were recommended the fish in a claypot. It turned out to be fried red garoupa pieces which were then braised in a claypot with taufoo, green beans and, lettuce and mushrooms. This would have made an excellent one-dish meal and the tasty gravy goes very well with plain rice. Excellent dish but a tad expensive at RM52.

Uncle Goh had recommended the roti babi (fried minced pork in bread). This was a signature dish of Tai Wah and it's pretty hard to find these days – Yut Kee in KL being one of the few places you can find this dish nowadays. The version here took us back 30 years to the Tai Wah days – it's that good. Highly recommended.

Using the same tasty minced pork filling, but with a crispy fried outer layer was the 'Vietnamese spring roll'. It came topped with some mayonnaise and ebiko (fish roe) which was not quite necessary. The rolls were good with the accompanying sweet chilli sauce.

For our vegetable dish, we chose the unusual combination of pumpkin and bitter gourd. Thin slices of these were stir-fried with abalone mushroom and wolfberries. The pumpkin and bitter gourd remained nice and crunchy. Well executed and worthy of a recommendation.

The see tau poh advised that they have retained some other signature dishes from the Tai Wah days – a 'cold dish', spring rolls, fried rice, noodles etc. That's reason enough for another visit in the near future. We can't wait.

Location : No 82 Jalan 1 / 2, Seksyen 1, Bandar Teknologi, 43000 Kajang, Selangor
Contact : 012-2728889