Yip Sheng @ Bandar Teknologi - Revisted

A friend (IB Tiong) mentioned some time ago that Yip Sheng had the best Hokkien Mee in Kajang. We've been going to Yip Sheng for ages but always for rice and dishes and not noodles (see our previous posts on Yip Sheng). So we had to satisfy our curiosity and we finally found an occasion for a light dinner here.

First up the Hokkien Mee. Suitably greasy with pieces of fried lard between the fat noodles. Bits of green vegetable, squid, pork and a few small prawns - a good if rather standard mix. No liver though. The batch we got had a distinct burnt aroma. Not the wok hei (breath of the wok) but the aroma of something that had been left a tad too long in the wok. Despite the aroma, the taste was faultless - a top class Hokkien Mee all right. Ask for some sambal chilli and mix some in for extra heat. Recommended.

Fried rice (sorry - half eaten already)

Jeremy had his usual fried rice and this was again truly good. Lots of carrots, long beans and shallots with bits of char siew and a few plump prawns. This had the right wok hei. One of the best we have had in some time. Recommended as well.

Our selection of a meat dish, pork ribs with a Marmite sauce. Tasty, but the meat was a little over-fried and a tad tough.

So now you know where to go if you are in the mood for a little supper of noodles and fried rice. Give this a try. And thanks to IB for the note.

Location : No 73-79 Jalan Seri Baiduri 1, Taman Seri Baiduri, Bandar Teknologi Kajang (it’s on the right hand side of the road after you turn in from the traffic light).

Contact : 03-87237805

CLOSED - Ipoh Chicken Rice Express @ Pearl Avenue, Sg Chua

Updated as at end August 2014 - it looks like they have ceased operations.

There's a new contender for the best chicken rice in Kajang and it's none other than a branch of PJ's 1977 New Ipoh Chicken Rice restaurant. Branded as Ipoh Chicken Rice Express, this restaurant located at the Pearl Avenue apartments in Sg Chua has been getting mixed reviews so far.

The steamed chicken is decent ennough, although the chicken is not the firm free-range variety. It's also not the soft broiler variety. It's somewhere in between. Good, but not great.

 

The rice was standard chicken rice fare, flavorful from being cooked in chicken stock (and some margarine I'm sure).The accompanying soup was not outstanding either but the chilli sauce had a pretty decent kick. 

We were quite happy with the bean sprouts. Not the thin, stringy local variety. These were nice and juicy, but not quite as good as the ones you get in Ipoh. Thumbs up anyway.

The hor fun (kway teow or flat rice noodles) had the right texture - smooth and silky. Well complemented by the tasty chicken stock. I would recommend this to go with the chicken instead of rice.

On another visit, I had the curry noodles which was served with the hor fun and steamed chicken. The curry was not too thick or overly creamy with coconut cream. I would recommend this for breakfast.

Prices are rather steep by Kajang standards. Lets see if Kajang folk think that the quality is worth the asking prices. It's not quite the best but there are a few hits and some misses.

Location : Ground Floor, Pearl Avenue, Sg Chua, Kajang.

Banh Mi @ Bandar Puteri, Puchong

After my recent trip to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, I have been on the lookout for nice Vietnamese food in Klang Valley. After reading about this place on Eat Drink KL blog, I was tempted to give it a try.

Located behind the Columbia Asia hospital in Bandar Puteri, this is a relatively quiet neighborhood for a restaurant, far from the hustle (and parking madness) of the Bandar Puteri town centre. Lots of parking in this vicinity.

They have a very limited menu - maybe less than 15 items, of which half are choices of Banh Mi (Vietnamese baguette sandwiches). You can have it with choice of pork (bacon or grilled pork), fish, chicken, egg or a combination of these (on request).

Banh Mi with bacon - RM6.80

Banh Mi with grilled chicken - RM6.60

Banh Mi with Grilled Pork - RM6.60

I liked the grilled chicken and grilled pork as these had the added smoky aroma and flavors from the grilling. Recommended.

Also available are rice sets with braised pork belly or lemongrass chicken. I tried the lemongrass chicken which was served with stir fried bitter gourd with egg and a vegetable soup. The chicken was nice and tasty but if would have been better if it was served with hot steaming rice instead of the lukewarm rice I got.

Lemongrass chicken with rice set - RM6.80

Lastly, we had the Bo Kho or beef stew. Served with a baguette, the stew was nice but not as thick and flavorful as I anticipated.

Stew beef with baguette set - RM6.60

Special mention about the unique decor made with real unused baguettes. The baguettes are made fresh daily so the unused ones get used as decor for the shop. Brilliant! It's a small non air-cond cafe so it does get stuffy in the afternoon.

The entire operation is run by Vietnamese so you're ensured of an authentic experience. Vietnamese drip coffee (hot or iced) and Ice Lime Tea are available and are recommended as well.

Location : No 21, Jalan Puteru 7/9, Bandar Puteri, 47100 Puchong, Selangor (opposite the Bandar Puteri Police Station)
Contact : 012-3225548 (Cindy Pham)
Website : www.banhmi.com.my
Operating hours : 10.30 a.m. to 8.00 p.m. (closed once a month)

Restoran ZZ Mee Rebus Tulang @ Johor Bahru

A colleague of mine told me of a place in Johor Bahru that I 'die-die also must try' when i was there recently. Armed with my Waze, I ended up spending a good 20 minutes circling a residential area looking for the elusive restaurant. When I finally found it, it was a nondescript shack in between some trees with cabana like sheds scattered around in a random fashion. Very kampung-esque.

Putting aside the setting, I went straight for the main course - mee rebus tulang. Two large beef bones with bone marrow inside were heaped onto a serving of tasty mee rebus. The mee rebus was good - not overly sweet or thick and with just the right amount of spices. Topped with some green chillies, the mee rebus alone would be worth a visit here. The tulang (bone) was a little bit of a let down. Maybe because of the hype about it, my expectations were set very high. It turned out to be just OK. I ended up spooning the mee rebus gravy into the bone when sucking out the marrow to give it the extra taste boost. They serve the dish with a straw to facilitate the extraction of the marrow from the bone (brought to mind a phrase from the Dead Poet's Society about sucking out the marrow from life).

The ubiquitous otak-otak (this is the Johor version, served grilled in nipah leaves) was available. This turned out to be just OK, bordering on the bland.

The area is dark and the parking lot nearby is littered with glass fragments from shattered vehicle window glasses. Doesn't give you a sense of security, especially when the owners of the restaurant have also posted up prominent signs at the entrance stating that vehicles are parked at owners' own risk. It wouldn't hurt them to have some security personnel stationed there.

So in conclusions I can say to my colleague Danny, I would go here again if I was in JB - but only with a local and I think I could still live happily even without returning here again.

Location: Off Jalan Petrie, Johor Bahru, Johor
Contact : 012 7227209 / 013 7492671

Restoran Do Do Do - Tangkak Beef Noodles

I had a short trip to JB last week and chanced upon an article about Tangkak Beef Noodles at Motormouth From Ipoh's blog. I learnt that I did not have to venture far from the Plus highway toll and since it's about 2 hours out of KL, it's actually a great stop on the way to JB. Here's a map to the shop:-

The beef soup was robust and flavorful, no doubt the result of long hours of brewing. The cuts of meat though were soft but still firm - just the right texture. You can choose to have it with lean meat only or with tripe, brisket and tendon. The soup was peppery and the spices were not overpowering. Noodles (I had bee hoon and kuey teow) had enough bite.

Conclusion - an ideal stop on the way to JB. The sign at the shop said they opened until 6.00 pm but on the weekday that I stopped by, they were already packing up at 4.30 pm. Give it a try if you're ever in those parts.