The best Loh Mee in town at Restoran Y, Balakong (CLOSED)

UPDATE AS AT JUNE 2014 - CLOSED
 Gone but not forgotten.

Once in a while, you come across a hawker stall with food that's good enough to make you take a 15 minute drive just to taste the fare. Such is the case with the Loh Mee stall at Restoran Y in Balakong.

 Located just behind the AEON (Jusco) Cheras Selatan, the corner coffee shop has many hawker stalls selling the usual stuff like wan tan noodles, curry mee, chap fan, Western food (which is popular) etc. From our first visit here, we were attracted by the sign reading "Ulu Yam Loh Mee".

For those of you who are not aware, Ulu Yam is to Loh Mee what Kajang is to Satay.

The Ulu Yam Loh Mee

The loh mee uses a hand made noodle which we understand from the stall operator, is sourced from Ulu Yam directly. The noodle has a nice texture and consistency which sets it apart from the usual machine made variety. The other tell-tale sign is the irregular size of the noodles, the result of being hand made. The gravy is thick and tasty with slices of pork, prawn and vegetable. You can also choose to add some "XO" wine to enhance the taste of the noodles but it will cost you RM2 more. The noodles are good with or without the XO wine.

The Spare Rib Noodle with Yam

Another good choice here is the Spare Rib Noodles with Yam. The spare ribs are cooked with the yam slices until both are soft and tender. The ribs practically falls off the bone whilst the yam will melt in your mouth. The thick gravy is good to the last drop and best enjoyed with a nice dollop of their pretty good sambal.

If you are ever at AEON Cheras Selatan and looking for something good to eat, take a walk outside to this place and I'm sure you won't regret it. Merry Christmas everyone and happy eating.

Location : Corner coffee shop behind AEON Cheras Selatan, Balakong.

Rumah Makan Cibiuk

Kajang is honored to be the location of the first Rumah Makan Cibiuk franchise restaurant in Malaysia. Originally from the Cibiuk district in the Garut region of Java, the restaurant has expanded to over 40 franchise restaurants all over Indonesia. From their website, the story goes that  the Malaysian entrepreneur who opened the restaurant in Kajang, first ate at Cibiuk's Bandung outlet during a shopping trip there and was so enamored by the food, inspiring the set-up of the franchise here in Malaysia.

Cibiuk has the tagline "Rajanya Sambal" which can be translated as The King of Sambal or The Sambal is King (you decide). And the sambal literally takes center stage, placed on a pedestal in the middle of the restaurant, where you can help yourself to a variety of sambal and fresh salad (lalapan or ulam). Be warned that some of the sambal really pack a punch - think tongue numbing pungency and profuse sweating; you get the picture.

Varieties of sambal with some fresh salad

Various rice sets are available for single diners, two or four persons. There are also a-la carte options which we have not explored yet. First up was the Nasi Liwet Kastrol (for 2 persons). The menu really could do with a translation of the unfamiliar Indonesian terms in English or Malay as I had no idea what Nasi Liwet or Kastrol was when I first ordered this. Nasi Liwet turned out to be rice cooked in chicken stock and coconut milk and topped with fried shallots, cili padi (birds eye chilli) and some fresh basil leaves. It may be close cousin to our own nasi lemak and the rice was tasty enough to be eaten on its own. Kastrol is actually the pot in which the rice is served in.

The nasi liwet served in a kastrol

The set came with fried chicken, tempe, tauhu, salted fish (although the tempe was missing in our set), lalapan and more sambal. The fried chicken is done perfectly in true Indonesian style, piping hot and crispy on the outside and moist and juicy inside. The chicken is not the broiler variety and has a nice texture and bite, possibly a kampong (free range) variety. This was a great choice for us to begin your journey into Cibiuk's Sundanese cuisine and is highly recommended.

The nasi liwet set for 2 persons

On another visit, we had the Nasi Bakar Pulen Komplit set. The nasi bakar is actually cooked rice rolled in a banana leaf  wrap and then grilled. The grilling imparts the aroma of the banana leaf into the rice. The rice was nice and tasty too, almost like the tasty nasi liwet we had before. The grilled chicken had a nice caramelized outer skin, partly due to a sweetish sauce the chicken had apparently been dipped in. The tempe, tauhoo and lalapan made an appearance here too. This too is a good set which we highly recommend.

The nasi timbel ayam bakar set

Another rice set that we have tried is the Nasi Timbel Komplit Lele Goreng. I was told that nasi timbel means rice wrapped into a packet. And that was just what it was, plain white rice wrapped into a packet with banana leaf. Lele goreng is the ubiquitous Indonesian favorite ikan keli  deep fried until crispy. Accompanied again by the tempe, tauhoo and lalapan. It was good but not particularly outstanding.

Nasi timbel komplit lele goreng

If you like some soup to accompany your meal, you could try the Sop Buntut literally translated as Backside Soup. Don't worry though, it is actually a flavorful Oxtail Soup served with several thick slices of fried emping floating on the top. Good but not outstanding.

Sop Buntut

A really good antidote after all the fiery sambals is the Jus Alpukat which is Avocado Juice. This is dependent on the availability of avocado which I was told is shipped in regularly from Indonesia. Do check if it is available as the creamy avocado really soothes the burning tongue after the pungency of the sambal takes effect.

Jus Alpukat

Prices are pretty reasonable and Teh-O is served gratis (free). The new restaurant is open sided and is thus airy, cool  and comfortable at dinner time. Low tables are available for those who prefer to sit on the floor (on a raised platform) for a more authentic kampong feel. 

Overall, this is one of our best finds for 2012 and I'm sure it's a place we will be returning to more often in 2013, especially to try their a-la carte menu. 

Location : No 1G Kajang Putra, Jalan Putra 6, 43000 Kajang (it is located near the Sg Ramal Toll booth off the Silk Highway. Easiest way to get here is via the Silk Highway from Jalan Bukit, Jalan Reko or Sg Chua heading towards Putrajaya, exit just before the Sg Ramal Toll and the restaurant is just on the left side of the highway).
Contact : 012-4570061 / 012-3617348
Website : http://cibiuk.my/
Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/RumahMakanCibiukMalaysia

Sup Power Ali

Sup Power Ali has been around for some time now, located along the Jalan Semenyih road near the interchange with the Silk Highway.

This is the place we go to for some local "comfort" food, steaming bowls of hot thick and spicy Mamak style soup with your choice of meat - chicken, beef, mutton, oxtail or various types of innards including tendons, tripe, 'torpedo' and bones. It's served with bread cubes, the perfect accompaniment to mop us the tasty soup.

There's also a stall selling nasi lemak with dishes but it's really not worth mentioning. The soup however is worth the drive there. Give it a try on cold rainy night (like today) and you'll not regret it. Be warned however that it's not for the faint hearted - the soup really packs the chilli and spices. Also be warned that picking too many meats may burn your pockets. We usually just order chicken, beef or oxtail separately. You tend to get more value for money that way ;-)

Location : 7-A, Jalan 1, Taman Maju 2, Jalan Semenyih, Kajang

Beef noodles at Zuan Kee, Bandar Teknologi (CLOSED)

UPDATE AS AT JUNE 2014 - CLOSED
Gone but not forgotten.

Once in a while, I get the urge to have a good bowl of soupy noodles. My favorite pork noodles with an extra scoop of lard and garlic is usually the first choice. The next choice would be beef noodles. Made with beef stock brewed for hours, it is a great comfort food.

You can have it with beef and tripe,

Or with just the beef slices.

It comes topped with fragrant fried shallots and spring onions. I'd recommend the slippery smooth kway teow (flat rice noodles) which goes very nicely with the soup. They also have the dry version, but that would be missing their star ingredient - the beef soup, which is good to the last drop. Possibly the best beef noodle soup in South Klang Valley ?

Location: No 1 Jalan 1/3, Seksyen 1, Bandar Teknologi Kajang, Semenyih, 43500 Selangor

Lek Kee Chicken Rice, Taman Kajang Prima

Following up on my earlier post about the best chicken rice in Kajang, the main contender for the title was Lek Kee Chicken Rice which was located at the car park area of the Kajang market. Quite famous actually, but also notorious. See the comments to the review in the Kajang Town blog here.

Actually gd, Rose and myself too have a love hate relationship with the Kam Mou (golden haired guy) who used to chop the meat there. Good food but bad hygiene and bad attitude. But putting everything else aside, it was a pretty good chicken rice. So when the Kam Mou dissapeared, we though that was the end of his legacy.

The good news is that Lek Kee has now reopened at Taman Kajang Prima, off Jalan Semenyih.

However the Kam Mou has lost his signature blonde hair and is now with black hair :-) Not sure if he is less ham sap as well ;-)

Still with the same bad ass attitude though. Somehow it wouldn't be the same without the attitude :-)

Chicken and char siew are still good. Haven't tried the duck and siew yoke yet. Give it a try and let me know what you think. It's located behind the HSBC Bank.

The best chicken rice in Kajang ?

This is going to be contentious but I'm sticking my (chicken) neck out here. The best chicken rice IMHO is to be found in a coffee shop named Double Six Restaurant (Restoran 66) at Bandar Teknologi, Jalan Semnyih, Kajang.

A steady stream of customers from about 12 noon until they sell out, which can be as early as 2 p.m. is testament to the quality of the chicken rice here.

 The roast chicken, roast pork and char siew are all good.

And the rice is cooked in chicken stock, making it tasty and flavorful.

Located on the left side of the main road as you enter Bandar Teknologi from Jalan Semenyih, do give it a try and let me know what you think.

Old Man II

During our visit to the Arabian House Restaurant recently, we noticed a place named Old Man II nearby. We have written about the Old Man Restaurant before and that place is located close by too. So we decided to give this new outlet a try and find out if the restaurants are related.

We were given a nice menu with an extensive selection. It reminded us of Esquire Kitchen. There were many one dish rice or noodle options as well as a la-carte choices. We decided to go with the latter and ordered some of their signature dishes:-

First up was their House Special Steamed Tilapia (RM23). Well this house must be very tolerant to chillies as we found this to be pretty spicy and pungent. The fish was fresh and tasty though. You'll enjoy this if you like the spicy stuff.

The Mongolian Style Pork (RM15) had slices of pork stir-fried with lots of onions, black pepper and curry leave (?) as well as a sprinkling of chilli padi. Hmmmmm...I never knew they had curry leaves in Mongolia? Putting aside the rather inappropriate name of the dish, it tasted pretty interesting actually.

Four Treasure Tofu (RM13) had fried pieces of silken tofu topped with a sauce that had carrots, green beans, red peppers and fish paste (the four treasures?). Pretty decent.

The Shrimp Omelette or Foo Yong Tan (RM10) came with plump and juicy prawns. Nicely executed.

The Stir Fried Lotus Root came with mushrooms, celery, green beans, carrots and cashew nuts as well. Nicely done too.

After the searing hot chilli, we needed something sweet to cool off. The Vietnamese Iced Coffee I ordered was too sweet and not strong enough. The Longan and Sea Coconut too was rather sweet. However the fresh Kedondong Juice served with Assam Boi, was the right choice to cool down.

We found the cooks to be quite restrained in the use of salt (which I personally think is a good thing) and we assume not much MSG was used as well. Overall the results were rather mixed but it certainly warrants more visits. And yes, they appear to be under the same management as the Old Man Restaurant nearby as we spotted a couple of familiar faces here.

Location : No 21-G, Jalan Putra 3, Taman Putra Kajang, Sg Chua, Kajang
Contact : 013-2802898