Claypot Chicken Rice @ Sri Petaling KL

It has been a while since I last posted an article on my blog. My brother in law is back this year from US to celebrate Chinese New Yer after a lapse of 5 years. We've been bringing him around to get some good old Malaysian food fix.

We had cravings for clay pot chicken rice today and decided to go to our favourite place to savour this item. This stall is located in a typical coffee shop setup with the name of 'Good Tea' and is located in the older part of Sri Petaling commercial area. I don't really know the actual address, but the other landmark is this corner lot coffee shop is directly opposite the popular Alison coffee shop. Ask around and I trust local folks can direct you to this place.



Now, this clay pot chicken rice stall is run by a foreign couple whom are very friendly and can speak local dialects very fluently. Apparently, the current owner worked in the same stall for the previous operator and he took over the business from him. This is one of the few places that still use charcoal which I think still is better than the conventional gas cookers.

Now, over to the food. They serve clay pot rice in either small (RM4.50) or large (RM9). Each service comes with tender chicken pieces which are well marinated in their secret seasoning. Also, waxed Chinese sausages (lap cheong) and salted fish are standard items that goes with the rice. You've to mix all the ingredients together (rice, meats and sauces). The taste of freshly cooked rice coated with the fragrant sauce and the meats for additional taste and texture is simply.. heavenly.

Another unique thing about the clay pot chicken rice here is the condiments that goes with the dish. Instead of the usual cili-padi (bird's eye chili) you get elsewhere, this place provides its special version. It consists of finely cut chili padi with shallots, drowned in mixture soy sauce and fish sauce. This will go down very well with the rice.

Another must try would be their special fish dish. Crispy fried ikan kembung (RM3 each) are accompanied with what I like to refer to as the stall's special version of salsa. Finely minced shallots and chillies in sourish dressing will make this very appetising.

Beside clay pot chicken rice, this stall also offers various types of soups. The stall closes every Tuesday.

Soo Kee, Medan Imbi, KL

My wife's had a company product launch event at the swanky Pavillion on Friday evening (09-01-09). The mall was already in full Chinese New Year deco bloom with cherry blossoms used dominantly to welcome the year of the Ox.


After the event, we were on the lookout for a place to have our dinner. We decided to try out Soo Kee (a.k.a Tai Shee Tou) which is located within the Bukit Bintang area. We've heard so much about this place so we thought it will be a good opportunity to try it out.

We arrived slightly after 8pm and the place is still not very busy. We decided to go for Soo Kee's famous beef noodles. In addition, the staff there also recommended their braised pork ribs noodles.

The beef noodle came first, RM9 for single serving. The dish consisted of smooth flat rice noodles (kway teow) in Cantonese styled gravy. The portion of beef that came with it was generous. I must say the beef was well marinated, very tender and smooth, living up to its reputation. As for the egg-based gravy, it was alright but in terms of flavours, I've tried better versions elsewhere. Nevertheless, this is the dish that draws the crowd and I would say it worth my trip just to savour this.

Yee mee is used for the pork-rib noodle dish (RM10). The pork ribs had been braised earlier in a black beans based marinate. The noodle was then cooked with the meat, accompanied with mustard greens and slices of tomatoes. The meat was tender but we found it slightly salty. We enjoyed the beef noodles more and found this noodle dish on the average side.

We noticed that just across the road, there is another restaurant using the same Soo Kee's name but is operated by the son instead. Maybe we'll give this one a shot and see how it fares with the original Soo Kee's the next time we're in Medan Imbi.

Overall, the bill came up to RM23 (including Chinese tea).

Restaurant's Info:

Soo Kee Mee, No. 14, Medan Imbi, 55100 KL.

Tel: 03-2148 1324 & 2145 9528

Close on Monday

Wong Poh Restaurant, Ara Damansara, PJ

It was Saturday and as usual, my wife and me will be slaving around the home with routine weekend chores and sending the boys for their classes. As Chinese New year is about 2 weeks away, more up keeping needs to be done.

After a hard day's work, we decided to have dinner together with my folks at one of our favourite restaurants for crabs, Wong Poh in PJ.

By the time we were there, the place already jam packed with Saturday night dinner crowd. Luckily we still managed to get a table in the air-conditioned section of the restaurant, good timing.

The first dish that came to our table was the salted steamed chicken drumsticks & thighs (RM40). The meat was tender and juicy, not overly salty, everyone like the dish.

Next up was the pork belly with preserved vegetables (mui choy) (RM26). Wong Poh's version of the meat was quite lean, with only thin layers of fats. This goes down well especially with my dad.

The fish of the meal was steamed Hong-Chou (ikan merah) RM 52.30, not sure of its English name. The fish is fresh, which can be easily tasted as its flesh was firmed and doesn't have the fishy smell. The preparation is very simple with some oil and soy sauce as a based.

We ordered the minced meat with local bean curd (RM16) because we wanted a gravy rich dish to suit the taste buds of the kids. However, this is a disappointment as the gravy tasted very bland.

As for vegetable, we ordered baby xx (RM15) stirred fried with garlic. The veges were crisp and not overcooked.

The highlight of any visit to Wong Poh will be the crabs (RM77). We ordered 4 crabs (around 2kgs), prepared in 2 styles. Their famous butter cheese (above) which comes with lip-smacking sauce as well as the 'kam heong' style (below).

As usual, the crab dishes will come in last. This is to allow the customers to enjoy the normal dishes first before attacking the crabs. So, it's important to leave some rooms for the crabs when you're at Wong Poh. All your fingers and maybe part of the hands will be stained with the delicious sauces coating the crabs. Nothing beats the experience of licking them off your fingers and putting them under the miniature hammers and gets cracking away.

The butter cheese crab was very good as always. The fried buns did justice to the sauce, soaking up to the last drop. As for the kam-heong, this was equally good with lots of dried shrimps and curry leaves.

The bill came up to RM251.60 for 8 adults and 3 kids (including rice and tea).

Restaurant's Info:

Restoran Wong Poh, No 36 & 38, Jalan BM 1/2, Bukit Mayang Mas, 47301 PJ, Selangor.

Tel: 03-7803 3527, 012-364 7010

Operating Hours: 11.30am-2.30pm & 5.30pm-11pm

Golden Egg Noodle, Bandar Puchong Jaya, Puchong

My wife and me had earlier accompanied the boys for their 1st day of primary 1 school term. After making sure they've settled down, we decided to go for a late breakfast. We drove around Bandar Puchong Jaya, the nearest commercial hub to the school and and picked this 'pan-mee' shop to fill our growling stomachs.

Pan mee is a type of home-made noodles which is simply create from mixing wheat flour with right amount of water and knead the mixture into a dough. The dough is then cut to smaller pieces before going through a noodle cutting machine and voila.. you've the Malaysian version of spaghetti.

The speciality of this shop is that the pan mee here comes in 4 different flavours, namely pumpkin, seaweed, chili and spinach.

We decided to try the 2 most common way of preparing pan mee, the dry and soup version with pumpkin flavoured noodle. Customers can opt for the other flavours with a small price top up.



Elaine's soup version (RM4.90) which comes with clear anchovies broth, slivers of mushrooms, sweet potatoes leaves and lots of crunchy fried anchovies. The soup was alright and the pan mee cooked to the right firmness. However, we can't really taste the pumpkins in the noodles.

I always preferred the dry version when it comes to pan mee. I've tasted undercooked pan mee before and the flour taste is simply awful. The dry version (RM4.90) basically have the same ingredients and with extra dark soy sauce to coat the noodles. Also, it came with a small bowl of soup with 2 pork meat balls.

This homemade chili sauce that accompany the noodles are a bit dry and lack in sourish taste which I would have preferred. This restaurant also servers many other versions of pan mee (e.g. laksa, fried, etc), rice dishes and other snacks.

The bill came up to RM12.20 (with 1 iced coffee, and tax).

Restaurant's Info:

Golden Egg Noodle. 23-01 Jalan Kenari 19A, Bandar Puchong Jaya, 47100 Puchong, Selangor.

Tel: 603-80769749

Ahan Thai, Bandar Puteri Puchong, Puchong

My boys will start their primary 1 education tomorrow, 5th Jan 2008. Wifey decided to buy a nice dinner to celebrate this occasion. As usual, there are many outlets to choose from in the food haven of Bandar Puteri Puchong.

We decided to try out the Chinese-Thai fusion restaurant Ahan Thai. This establishment is located in the ever happening commercial hub of Bandar Puteri. As we're not sure whether the boys will have problems with fiery nature of Thai style cooking, so we let them make their own selection from the menu.

Ethan decided on the fresh river prawn yee mee (RM16.90). This is a good choice, the gravy is eggy, with the right thickness and infuse with the flavours of the prawns. He enjoyed the dish tremedously and able to wipe it clean.

As for Edric, he decided to go with Pattaya Fried Rice (RM6.90) because he simply loves fried omelette's. The rice was well fried with the right amount of seasoning. It also comes with generous portion, filled with pieces of minced chicken, shrimps and squid.

Now to taste the real food served by this restaurant, the adults opted for house Seafood Tom Yam soup (RM15.90), friend kangkong belacan (RM7.90), yellow curry siakap fish(RM15.90) and their signature dish, pineapple chicken (RM13.90).

The tomyam comes in a medium size claypot, with right level of potency of spiciness and sourish taste. It contained mussels, prawns and squids. The seafood was cooked just right as their texture was not too tough or rubbery.

As for the fish, the yellow curry was rich yet flavourful. The fish slices were fried before being cooked with the gravy. The gravy wasn't too spicy, good to go with white rice.

The vege dish tasted good, with enough belacan and maintained its level of crunchiness, as what the dish expected to be.

Lastly, the chicken dish. The presentation was quite unique. The sweet and sour sauce made up pieces of capsicums, onions, chillies and of course pineapples. It was contained in a pineapple ala pineapple fried rice style. The boneless chicken pieces was deep fried to the right level of crispiness and without being too oily. This to me is just like sweet and sour chicken but the sauce was serve separately, tasty but not extra-ordinary.

The servings here are in moderate portion and ambience is not bad either. No A/C though. The bill came up to RM89.70 for 4 adults and 2 kids (including tea and taxes). We'll certainly return to this place to taste more of its other offerings in the future.

Restaurant's info:

Restoran Ahan Thai. 28, Jalan Puteri 1/4, Bandar Puteri, Puchong 47100 Selangor.

Tel 03-8068 3587.

Siu Siu Restaurant, Robson Heights, KL

As mentioned in my debut blog entry, I've chosen to celebrate my boy's 7th birthday at Siu Siu Restaurant, nestled in the luch greenery around Taman Seputih, along Robson's Heights. The afternoon showers earlier really given a very cooling feeling to the restaurant's ambience when we reached there around 7pm. Immediately we've brought to our reserved table. Below were our orders for the evening:

1. Claypot Crab Rice (RM47) - This is one of Siu Siu's signature dish, which is a very unusual way of service claypot rice and it came with 1 big crab as the highlight of the dish. The crab was coated in thick soy based gravy, slightly sweet and aromatic. The crab which came with the rice was removed from the claypot and served in a separately plate. The waiter then mixed the rice thoroughly with the sweetness of the crab's juices and its soy based sauce. I must say I personally enjoyed the rice more as it was very aromatic, each grain fully infused with the flavour and sweetness of the crab. Elaine skipped the normal white rice and went for the this rice for the evening. I've never seen here ate so much rice ... hmm... yummy.

2. Barbecued Pork - Char Siew (RM30) - Wonderfully barbecued pork belly with balanced layer of fats and meat. The meat has a caramelized coating on the exterior which is not overly sweet and moist and juicy texture on the inside. Everyone enjoyed this one.

3. Ginger steamed Grass Carp (RM60) - This is a common way to prepare this fresh water fish in local Chinese restaurants and we decided to try it here. Siu siu's preparation on the ginger mixture was slightly coarse but went well with the fresh fish nevertheless. However, some guests prefer a more finer texture of the ginger to go with the fish. The serving was huge, but unfortunately, this came last where we were quite full by then, thus we're not able to finish this dish.

4. Buttered-milk Prawns (RM60) - This dish came in a huge claypot with fresh prawns. The gravy was more like a watered version of the butter cheese crabs some of you might have enjoyed in other restaurants (e.g. Wong Poh). The curry leaves provided additional flavour to the sauce. As for the prawns, these were deep fried in a batter before being cooked in the gravy. The flesh were firm and succulent, a sign that they were fresh. This dish also comes with deep fried buns (man tou) which were meant to be dunked into the delicious gravy.

5. Steamed Kampung Chicken (RM33) - Half bird was ordered, came with some soy as a based and steamed kai lan to accompany the dish. I found this to be ordinary and have tasted better versions elsewhere. I also found the skin a bit thicker than what I would prefer for a kampung chicken.

6. Minced Meat Tofu (RM25) - This is also another house speciality. The uniqueness of this dish here is that unlike the normal oyster sauce based gravy with minced pork you can find in other places, Siu Siu's added finely chopped long beans for an additional texture. There are enough gravy to go with the dish, ideal for kids to go with their rice. The tofu was deep fried before being cooked in the sauce but its texture remains very smooth.

7. Kai-Lan & Preserved Vegetable (RM20) - This was our vegetable dish for the evening. Siu Siu's version came with preserved Chinese vegetables (mui choy) to go with the freshly stir fried kai lan. The crispness of the vege provided a good balance to other meat and seafood dishes we've ordered.

We have the jelly (agar-agar) birthday cake we've bought from a shop in Puchong Jaya as the dessert to end a satisfying meal.

The bill came to RM302 (with rice, tea and taxes) for 9 adults and 3 kiddos. A bit on the higher side for a meal on similar establishment but hey, we enjoyed the experience nevertheless. There are some other house dishes that we're unable to try, we'll leave that for the next visit.

Restaurant's info:

Robson Heights: 15-11 Lorong Syed Putra Kiri, 50450 Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 016 370 8555, 016 309 8038. Close: Monday

Enter the Rookie

I've been contemplating for a while on starting my own blog, well .. better late than never. First challenge is to identify a name for my blog. My twin boys were watching Ben Ten on Cartoons Network. One of my favourite character from this cartoon series, "4 arms", is having his duel with another monster. Ahh.. why not, he's my star of the show ;-).

Earlier, I've been surfing the food blogs to find a place to have dinner tomorrow. The event, my boys 7th birthday. Celebrating it earlier as the actual day will be on a weekday. I decided to try a place called Siu Siu, hidden in the lush greenery of Taman Seputih area, along Robsons Heights.

This place was highly recommended by an Aussie colleague of mine who knows my love for food.

All immediate family members will be there. I'll post some pictures of the place and the food reviews later.