Hometown Hot Soup Restaurant

It was pretty late on a Saturday evening (about 8.30 p.m) when we ventured to Hometown to try their hot pepper soup. Howetown is owned by the same people who operate Restoran Kee V in Sungai Chua and they have 2 popular outlets in that area. The outlet we visited is located along Jalan Semenyih, near the Billion shopping centre.

A look at their glossy menu suggested that these guys may be looking to franchise their successful food business? The crowd at this outlet seemed to indicate that they had a winning formula too. We ordered and were amazed at the speed that the food was served – we had not even finished washing the tea cups !

 We had to try the hot pepper soup with various pork innards. It was pretty decent but not particularly outstanding. It could have done with more pepper.

The fa diu kai or claypot chicken with rice wine was good. There was lots of sauce to go with the rice.

We ordered their special taufoo (bean curd). A fried block of taufoo was topped with what looked like minced meat but turned out to be chopped radish (?). This was decent enough.

The green vegetable was nice and crunchy.

Overall it was a decent enough meal, but not exciting enough to warrant a return visit. Unless of course we were dead-hungry and need a place where the food is served before you can warm the seat…….

Sahara Tent at Alamanda, Putrajaya

It was Chinese New Year season as Ros and I were celebrating our wedding anniversary recently. We were pretty much sick of Chinese food so I gave Ros a choice of Western, Japanese or Middle Eastern. She chose the latter - but the 'Middle Eastern' places around Kajang are generally pretty basic and functional, not exactly conducive for a special celebration. So we decided to venture a little further to Putrajaya.

Located within the Alamanda shopping complex in Putrajaya is Sahara Tent, an award winning Middle Eastern restaurant which gained fame in Malaysia at its flagship outlet located at the Fortuna Hotel, off Jalan Sultan Ismail, Kuala Lumpur. The entire area was later turned into Ain Arabia or Arab Quarter by DBKL. Sahara Tent's flagship outlet recently moved out to the main Jalan Sultan Ismail thoroughfare, near the old Finnegan's pub. In terms of décor, Sahara Tent @ Alamanda scores very high – fabrics and tapestries decorate the walls, Arabian carpets and artifacts are strewn around the outlet and even the lighting uses Arabian colored glass light fittings. Several group dining areas resemble a desert tent – very appropriate for a restaurant that takes its name from a desert tent. Service too was great – I think the wait staff were mainly Filipino and spoke pretty good English – a real plus point in this day and age of foreign workers.

We ordered the Meze Platter. Now I had ordered the same item at their flagship outlet in KL and the six items were served on several small platters – hummus, murtabel, chef's special eggplant, tabouleh, fattoush and waraq-enab. Here, the items were served on a single platter – but I should say, with sufficient portions to be shared by two. No complaints in that sense.

The hummus or mashed chickpea with olive oil was smooth and creamy with a tinge of bitterness. Scooped up with some bread, this is a dish synonymous with Middle eastern food for me. Murtabel on the other hand is mashed eggplant. I could not identify the seasoning but it was served with olive oil an olive on top. We liked the hummus better.

Tabbouleh is one of the 2 salads served on the platter and is a salad served with bulgur (a type of wheat). It has a slight bitter taste which may have come from parsley in the salad and sourness from lemon. Fattoush is the other salad on the platter. This had diced cucumber, tomato, onion and crispy bread pieces in a tangy salad dressing. Very appetizing.

Another inclusion on the platter was described as Chef's Special. From what I could make out, it was grilled eggplant with onion and chilli, tomato and capsicum. It had a tangy taste as well, and we both liked this. There were also two pieces of vine wrapped rice parcel (or waraq-enab). Vine leaves are a little bitter, so be warned.

 

For our main, we had the Chicken Briyani – nice long grained rice full of flavor topped with a moist and tender piece of chicken. Excellent in terms of taste. The accompanying tomato gravy was bland and tasteless – strictly for those who must moisten their rice with some gravy !

To complete the meal, we ordered some sweet dessert - baklava. This was supposed to be freshly made with crispy and crumbly pastry and sweet syrup. Here it was pre-made and refrigerated so the filo pastry had gone hard. My advice - avoid ordering this.

Overall, the food was pretty good (excluding the dessert), ambiance was great and prices were moderate. We'll return to explore the menu further.

Location : Sahara Tent Restaurant at the Ground Floor of Alamanda, Putrajaya located near the fountain area on the outside of the complex.

New bak kut teh stall near the Kajang market car park

We visited the new (1 week old only) bak kut teh stall near the Kajang market car park (where 7 Wonders used to be). We understand that the cook (he is either Burmese or Vietnamese) used to work at the "Longkang" place. The look and taste is quite similar to Longkang's BKT and we were pretty satisfied. Certainly worth another visit.

Look out for a full review soon. Happy Chinese New Year to everyone. Happy eating in the Year of the Rabbit !

Min Kee Restaurant, Revisited 2011 (CLOSED)

UPDATE AS AT JUNE 2014 - CLOSED.
Chef Loo has decided to call it quits. It was good while it lasted. Will live in our memories. Yum.
 
It's been more than a year since we first posted about Min Kee and we are glad to report after a recent visit thatChef Loo is still producing top class food. A testament to the quality of their food is the popularity of this establishment with many local market traders. Most market traders are particular about freshness of produce and 'clean' taste of the food. Min Kee scores pretty high on both counts. On most visits here, we've seen various market traders having their dinner here and also celebrating special occasions. During our last visit, we met a family of traders from the Kajang wet market who had brought their own terrapin to be cooked by Chef Loo. The wafting aroma of the terrapin cooked in a claypot with ginger (and some rice wine?) was enticing enough for us to enquire with the operator about the dish. A pity that terrapin is not easily available in Broga these days.

In our last post, we did not include their signature dish (which requires prior booking). The braised eight treasure duck alone is worth the 20 odd kilometer drive from Kajang to Broga. The duck is cooked until tender and almost melts in the mouth.

 Stuffed with nuts (lotus and gingko), mushrooms, carrots and some other nutritious goodies, the stuffings add more depth of flavor to the dish. I ended up literally licking off all the goodness from the bones! Highly recommended and still a steal at RM48 for a bird.

Another must have that we did write about previously is the crispy butter fried tilapia. The fish is filleted, sliced and deep fried with butter. Lip smacking and finger lickingly good to the last bone.

The braised pork dishes here tend to be good. We had the char yoke the last time and this time we had the pork and yam. The pork was melt in your mouth tender and had well absorbed the five spice flavored sauce. Thumbs up.

Green vegetables are grown around Broga so you can be assured of fresh and crunchy vegetables here. The yau mak was cooked with fermented bean curd (and some intensely hot chilli padi). Thumbs up, but be warned about the chilli padi!

The fern shoots (pakis) cooked with sambal belacan packed a punch too. I guess they like their vegetables with a kick here ? I found it very good actually.

It was a very satisfying visit to Min Kee and we can confirm that this is a place that will remain on our Top 10 list for some time to come. Do give it a try, but make sure you call in advance and book the braised duck.

Location : Lot 2788, Kg Baru Broga, Pekan Broga, 71750 Lenggeng, Negri Sembilan (it's a few kilometers after the Nottingham University campus)
Contact : 016-381 8038

Chinese New Year in Kajang Town

Ok, this is not a food posting. I just wanted to post some photos of the nice CNY decorations that have come up around Kajang town. Jalan Besar and Mendaling Street especially look great.

This shot is just outside the Temple Restaurant along Jalan Mendaling.

There are paper effigies with the horoscope animals.

And the Rabbit takes center stage this year. It's a little early but Happy New Year everyone !

Chop Tong Sing, Kedai Kopi & Makanan

Kedai Kopi Tong Sing is an old school kopitiam (coffee shop) that we have been frequenting for ages. Situated along Jalan Mendaling in a rather quiet part of the old town in a pretty run-down shoplot, it is the only surviving authentic kopitiam in Kajang town.

There used to be two kopitiams along Jalan Sulaiman and one on Jalan Besar, but they have long disappeared. Tong Sing managed to survive due in part to the popularity of a stall within the shop which serves a pretty good curry noodles and a decent pork porridge. Very popular on weekends and public holidays, it also has it's faithful daily regulars.

The coffee comes thick and is served in old kopitiam cups.

The roti bakar pairs a sweet kaya with thick slices of butter.

Half-boiled eggs are a energy boost in the morning! They use free range chicken eggs here.

The yam cake was so-so only.

The curry noodles were thick and not very spicy – you have to add your own sambal chilli for added heat. I usually add two spoonfuls. Slices of chicken and fried pork with some crunchy bean-sprouts make this a great meal.


Location : Along Jalan Mendaling, Kajang Town


 

Kedai Kopi Kok Beng, Taiping

Kok Beng in Taiping is a place I have written about briefly in the past. Voted one of the Top 10 Chicken Rice restaurants in Malaysia, there was a lot of anticipation as I took my family here for lunch over the Christmas weekend recently. Gd, the resident chicken expert is especially picky about chicken texture. Would this meet his high standards ?

 First up was a side order of nyonya style acar awak (mixed pickled vegetables). Piquant, spicy and a little sweet, this got the thumbs up from everyone.

Next up was the char siew (sweet roasted pork). Sweet and juicy on the outside with enough caramalised bits to make it interesting, the char siew was top quality. Excellent.

Finally the steamed and roasted chicken arrived. It was good and everyone agreed it was pretty tasty. Succulent and tasty would be a good description. Gd however found that it lacked the 'bite' of a free range chicken and was rather soft in texture. The roasted chicken on the other hand was cripsy on the outside - it fared somewhat better than the steamed chicken. 

Special mention must be made of the accompaniments. The soup was made from chicken stock and had a strong pepper taste which was pretty hot on the tongue. Top class and suitable for the cold rainy Taiping weather. The ginger and chilli sauce was excellent - packing enough punch to cause a hiccup if you pile on too much.

Located along the main thoroughfare in Taiping town, this is a good spot for an above average Chicken Rice. We would highly recommend the char siew here though.

Location : No 38, Jalan Kota, 38000 Taiping, Perak