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






 

Restoran Sup Ketin UK @Section 7, Bandar Baru Bangi (BBB)

I find it rather strange, writing about this place as it happend by chance, that I found it. I was hungry, driving around in Bandar Baru Bangi Section 7 (closer to Sg. Chua) when I noticed the crowd in this shop - so I went to investigate. My first experience was a ta'pau - after choosing from the spread layed out. I was pleasantly surprised at the outcome of that packed soup and swore to go back for more.

Delicious! Notice the ox-tail in the soup

My 2nd and 3rd outing here was with friends and they too gave thumbs up to the beef soup here. The use of celery gives the soup a very nice flavour, different from other offerings. This is how it works, you go up to their counter - select the various 'parts' available, they mix it up in a bowl and add the brewed soup and some chillies if you want it spicy and serve it to you. It goes with rice.

The selection counter - a good spread

I would have prefered some sliced french loafs to go with this soup, it would have made an excellant offering. I must suggest to them next time I am there.

Simply Delicious!

No doubt, the soup is simply delicious - you just have to try it. I had two friends who were hesitant to try it on the first time, but ended up giving it a thumbs up after trying it.

The other interesting thing here is the number of satay they sell. We just had to try it - chicken and beef. Chicken was ok, but the beef was exceptionally good. Well marinated and tender, much like Malaysia Restaurant (in our shoot-out). No wonder they were selling in large volume - and they acquired another shop across the street to cater for the satay lovers in Bangi.

Now according to another blog I read, the owner used to sell watches in Chow Kit area, before embarking in this business. Originally from Terangganu - he brought with him the east-coast taste to the offering. Each bowl of goodness cost RM6 - RM8 depending on what goes in. It is said to be a very Kelantanese type of cooking. Somehow, the Kelantanese always get food right, I have noticed.

Fish Head Noodles @Sri Kembangan

I've been wanting to write about this fish head noodles for some time now. Located just behind the famous Hee Lai Ton Restaurant at Taman Muhibah in Sri Kembangan, it's a normal corner lot coffee-shop place.

An unassuming coffee-shop

Restoran Hing Fatt serves about the best tasting fish head noodles in town. I was told that these guys are under the same ownership as the famous one in Taman Desa, off Old Klang Road. The uniform is the same and the taste is the same too. I was also told on weekends, you have to queue up to get your serving. My favorite time is weekdays, late morning or early lunch here, normally with my partner in crime.

Mouth watering serving, in milky soup, just how I like it

There are 2 choices for your serving, either the fried fish head or the fish paste. I always prefer the fish head - being able to nibble and extracting the goodness from the bones. The soup is very tasty and the fish head comes with ample flesh to nibble on. You may also call the fish paste as a side order, served in a bowl of soup.

Fried fish head served in bee hoon soup

My partner in crime prefers the chunky fish paste - so that he doesn't have to waste time nibbling on the fried fish or feel short changed on the wasted bones - so he says. Anyway, we all have our personal preferences and both taste equally good.

No nibbling or extraction needed, just bite on it!

The noodle is served with home made chili sauce and 'limau kasturi' (calamansi lime) for a blend of hot and sour taste. This certainly adds a kick to the overall serving. It must be consumed hot and spicy and while the sweat is pouring down. I would recommend a nice tall glass of Kopi-si-peng (iced coffee) to cool down the burning tongue. They make lovely Hainanese traditional coffee-shop type coffee here. A must have!

This is the best fish head noodles south of Kuala Lumpur that I have tasted, on par (cause they are related) with the Taman Desa Fish Head Noodles, and less crowded (on weekdays that is). Ample parking is available around the shop.