Warong Afgan, Paksitani Food!

Blue Roof - Afgan's Warong, glamour-less Pakistani food

Thanks to Thomas and his heads-up from The Star some months ago, I was introduced to this nameless warong by the roadside leading to Batu 9, Cheras (Suntex/Masterskills University). The writer of that Star newspaper article on this warong wrote about the authenticity of the food served here, and I have to agree - I have not seen or tasted anything like that here in Malaysia, right down to the dressing of the men who cook and serve you these food!

The freshly baked bread, long beans and teh tarik

Perhaps, this is the most authentic Pakistani simpleton food available here in Malaysia. There is not much to select from, the bread (more like naan) is just perfect. There is an art in making good bread. From the mixing and the roughing up of the dough, to the time it is left to set in and the final preparation of the dough before it is baked (I noted the use of the fingers to make that holes on the bread that makes the bread a little crisp when baked), its all part and parcel of perfect bread - this is what Afgan's (Afgan is his name, but he is from Pakistan) warong has to offer. Each perfectly crafted bread is priced at RM1.50 and to me, its a full meal for an adult.

Before you run out to Afgan's warong, let me warn you - the food choice here is limited and its aimed at the working class, nothing fancy. On the menu, bread (freshly baked in his clay oven), 'kebab' and 2-3 types of gravy - I was lucky to have long beans dry curry today, it complemented the bread - very nice. Kebab is kinda different - its made of minced beef and vegetables, made to a burger like patty, then fried in a shallow wok.

Closeup of the kebab - it is like beef burger patty, with some egg tossed on it before serving

Towards the end of the preperation, Afgan breaks an egg and gently pours it over the cooked patty, flips it over and the rest of the egg goes on it - its was interesting to watch him doing this. The final 'kebab' was black in colour, kind of burnt-out but tasted kinda nice - there was no burnt-out taste at all. Thus, don't judge a book by its cover - taste it first! The kebab is normally served with mint sauce and the bread - a full meal. My long beans curry was extra. All in - RM8.50 - including 'teh tarik' to wash it down. I must say, the tea was very nice too.

The Kebab (lime to taste) served with mint sauce

If you are looking for 'authentic simpleton Pakistani food', this is the place to be. Don't expect spicy southern Indian or mamak type of food, it is different. I recommend the 'kebab', the freshly baked bread and a side dish - check his displayed pre-cooked offerings for the day, could be interesting. Don't forget the teh tarik to wash it down.

Located along the road leading to Bt.9, from Taman Murni/Grand Saga Cheras Highway interchange

How to get there? Exit off the Cheras Highway at the Taman Murni Interchange and head back towards Bt.9 town, i.e. go left as you exit the Cheras highway. It is about 200 meter from the highway, can't miss it. Look out for that blue roof warong.

Xin Kuala Sepetang Seafood Restaurant

I'm still writing about our Taiping Christmas outing last December. Another memorable place we tried was Xin Seafood located in Port Weld or Kuala Sepetang as it is now known. Kuala Sepetang is a 30 minute drive from Taiping and the journey will take you through various old kampongs (some dating back to the days of Long Jaafar) and a verdant mangrove forest. A visit to the mangrove education centre and a charcoal factory would make a good day trip, but we did not do it this time. Our sole intention this time was the seafood ! The original plan was to go to Restoran Tepi Sungai (a.k.a. RT Port Weld). It was however the Christmas weekend and the place was full and we had not made any prior reservation. They were kind enough to point us in the direction of Xin which they said belonged to their 'saudara' (relative).

So that's how we ended up at Xin. The restaurant is located just beside the river. There were actually boats docked next to the restaurant. Quite a scenic view at sunset I must say. The restaurant itself was very basic and functional as most restaurants tend to be in small villages. Lots of seafood were on display in various tanks and baskets and we were told to take our pick. The choices of preparation were mainly either steamed or fried with a few choices of gravy.

We picked 2 medium sized ikan kerapu (RM36 each) and these were plain steamed with some ginger slices. In any other place, a simple preparation like this would have been disappointing but the freshness of the fish here prevented any unsatisfactory verdict. 

We were recommended to try the prawns and squid in a tom yam soup (RM48) and we had no regrets with this dish. The tom yum was thick without the heaviness of santan (coconut cream). Sour, spicy and a little sweet – very well balanced and definitely a 'must have' here.

We picked several types of seafood which were just plain fried including:-

Small sardine-like fish. These were fried until nice and crispy and you could almost eat the entire fish - with the exception of the spinal bone. This was pretty good.

Small baby crabs. You can often see these tiny crabs on the beach but we never thought these could be eaten. Deep fried in oil, these became a very nice snack. It would Would have been great with some cold beer.

Small prawns. Like the baby crabs, these would have been great with beer.
Boiled shellfish (kerang). The accompanying chilli sambal was not pungent enough so this dish was not very exciting.

Flower crabs. There were no mud crabs available so we had to make do with flower crabs which tend to be less meaty and tasty. However the freshness of the crabs saved it from being mediocre.

There were no green vegetables available so we had to make do with binjals. These were stir fried with a dried prawn sauce which was very crispy and tasty. Very good and recommended.

Other popular dishes here are boiled octopus (we saw it on many tables) and mud crabs (when available). Overall it was a pretty good experience. The total bill was RM245 for 13 of us which is about RM20 a head – not too bad for the amount of food we had.

Location : Lot 155B, Tepi Sungai, 34650 Kuala Sepetang, Taiping, Perak
Contact : 017-5619384

Restoran 8383, Pokok Assam, Taiping

For the first post for 2011, I'm writing about a small unassuming restaurant off the beaten path in Taiping. The Pokok Assam area is not exactly a popular destination for tourists in Taiping. Other than being voted the Neatest (or was it Cleanest ?) kampong in Malaysia, it really does not have any claim to fame. Locals however will vouch for good food found here. I have Taiping native Stephen to thank for taking me to this restaurant in 2007.

On the strength of what I tasted, I decided to take my family here for our Christmas Day dinner recently. If you know the foodies in my family, that's the gastronomic equivalent of putting my neck on the chopping block lah !

First up was a steamed kerapu fish with ginger slices. Very simple and just highlighting the freshness of the fish. Thumbs up.

The fried prawns were crunchy outside but nice and moist inside. Done just right. Thumbs up.

I can't recall what style of chicken this was but it was fried and came in a sweetish sauce. Excellent.

Sotong sambal (squids in spicy sauce) came in a very tasty sauce which was quickly mopped up. Thumbs up.

The kangkong (water convolvulus) belacan (shrimp paste) was OK but could have been more spicy and with more sambal belacan. OK only.

The brinjal came in a tasty sauce with dried shrimp. Excellent.

Black pepper pork had lots of pepper in it which was quite good for the cold rainy Taiping weather. Thumbs up.
What was shocking for us Klang Valley folks was the bill - RM121 for all the above - mind you there were 12 of us ! Taiping is still THE place for great value for money!

Location: Situated behind the Pokok Assam Police Station, this restaurant is actually situated within the compound of a corner lot single storey house.
Address : No256, Jalan Councillor, Pokok Assam, 34000 Taiping, Perak
Contact : 013-5238383 / 013-524 8383 (nice numbers – very appropriate for the restaurant!)

Christmas 2010 in Taiping

This year, the family decided to go to Taiping for Christmas. Taiping, if you are not aware, is the town of "eternal peace". Peace and quiet was what we were looking for so we all agreed to head north this year. Another compelling reason (and also the main reason for Gd, Ros and myself ;-) was the famed Taiping food. We were keen to try the Taiping popiah (vegetable roll), cendol (a sweet dessert drink using palm sugar), char kuey teow (fried flat rice noodles) and chee cheong fan (flat rice noodles in a sweet or spicy sauce). Well we managed to try all except the chee cheong fan and all were pretty good.

From our 3 days in Taiping, worth a mention were:-

• The popiah from the stall at the Peace Hotel which we found to be better than the one from the famous Taiping Ais Kacang shop.
  
  
• The Bismillah cendol was a little too sweet for us and we preferred the Ansari one instead which although less sweet, had a better overall taste. The Bismillah red beans also had a distinct burnt smell
  
  
• Restoran 8383 at Pokok Assam. Ros and myself had been here once before in 2007 with some friends from Taiping and we were keen to return to try more dishes. From my notes (yes, I do keep notes about the food places I have visited J) their signature dishes were a fried kerapu fish in a type of curry sauce and a chicken in tauchu (fermented soy bean) sauce with chili padi. Look out for the full review in a separate posting.
  
• Xin Seafood Restaurant at Kuala Sepetang (Port Weld). Where else could you get fresh seafood – straight off the fishing boats ? Everything was super fresh – crabs, fish, prawns and squids. We'll post on this place separately too.
  

Taiping was indeed a good break for us. Special mention to our eldest brother Joe who made the rounds to ta-pau (pack) most of the hawker food we tried.
Finally, thanks for following us in 2010. Look out for more updates in 2011 and do keep the feedback coming.
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2011 AND HAPPY EATING !

Restoran Siaw Kah Kampung Ayam Sup Pedas

The title above is the actual name of the restaurant. That's bad grammar in both English and Malay. Perhaps its a direct translation from Mandarin ?

This place actually appearred on Ho Chak some years ago. That may explain the slightly higher pricing. However their competitor, Ah Hee Hot Soup (located in the block behind their restaurant) also appeared on Ho Chak last month. That could mean that Ah Hee's prices are going up too?

Now we've been coming to this place for many years and we're pretty familiar with their fare. Here's some of our favorites:-
1. The hot pepper soup (of course)
You can have the hot soup with chicken, pork, mixed pork and chicken and also with various pork offal (intestines, stomach, ears etc). We like it with the pork and offal. The soup here is really pungent from the pepper and ginger. The addition of  celery leaves (yes, the leaves and not the stalks - also known as daun sup or daun saderi) adds another level of flavour. This is our benchmark for hot soup in Kajang. Great for a cold rainy day.
Verdict : Excellent
2. Fa diu kai (Chinese wine chicken in claypot)
Another must have at this restaurant. The chicken is coated in a layer of thick sweetish soy sauce. The Chinese wine is not apparent in the taste but gives the dish a very nice aroma.
Verdict : Excellent
3. Oil Steamed Tilapia
A supremely simple dish that is done very well here. The fresh tilapia is steamed and then topped with a simple oil and soy sauce.
Verdict : Excellent
4. Stir fried cabbage with dried prawns and chilli padi
Another simple dish done very well. This is a great choice for a vegetable dish here.
5. Braised pork belly with preserved vegetable
This was recommended by boss. The texture suggested it had been braised for a suitably long time. However taste wise, I suggested that my mother-in-law's version of this dish was better. That brought a smile to her face (and earned me some brownie points too, I'm sure). I'll be getting a larger portion the next time she cooks this dish !

Other dishes worth trying here are the sei tai tin wong (four vegetables in sambal), otak-otak (either steamed or fried and the usual fresh greens. This is certainly our recommended place for hot pepper soup in Kajang. It may even be a contender for a place on our Top 10 restaurants list, although their limited menu holds them down.

Location : No. 278, Jalan Berjaya 8, Taman Berjaya, Sungai Chua, Kajang

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


 

Bukit Mewah Restaurant

We just realized after we published our Top 10 Best Restaurants list that we have not posted a review of this place. That's a mortal sin for a place that we frequent on a pretty regular basis in Kajang. Our apologies for our tardiness, but better late than never. Since we've tried most of their dishes over the years, we'll stick to their specialties and also our favorites.

Their signature dish, and one for which they were featured on the Ho Chak TV show, is the lotus leaf wrapped fried tilapia fish. A deep fried tilapia fish is smothered in a hot spicy sauce with lots of onions and wrapped in a lotus leaf. The lotus leaf imparts a wonderful aroma to the dish. 

A definite 'must-try' here. Make sure you squeeze the calamansi lime on the fish before eating for an added tangy taste.

The lotus root fried in a batter with century egg is pretty good here, although we have had it a little soggy once. The century egg adds a salty and tasty dimension to the plain tasting lotus root. Cripsy on the outside and crunchy and juicy inside, it's a dish we would recommend here.

The pai kuat (pork ribs) here comes in various popular varieties such as Guinness, marmite, cheese or plain fried. They allow you to choose 2 varieties of your choice to be served on a single dish. The Guinness and cheese varieties are worth a mention.

Another signature dish is the fried special taufoo (soy bean block) topped with a minced meat sauce on a sizzling hot plate. It's just a jazzed up taufoo dish but done quite well.

Vegetable dishes are generally well executed here and these include the baby French beans with garlic and the sei tai tin wong or four beans in a spicy sambal.

Standards have dropped a little of late (new chef?) but the place is still pretty crowded, especially on weekends.

Location : Taman Restu, Off Jalan Semenyih, Kajang