food review

Shark Fin Noodle

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shark fin noodle stall

This has gotta be one of the more decadent dishes you can afford to eat every day. Weighing in at a relatively easy-on-the-wallet price tag of RM 5.50, it’s practically a steal! This Shark Fin Noodles is located at Ming Tien food court, and I feel obliged to proclaim the goodness of this particular dish to all and sunder.

shark fin noodle owner

The Shark’s Fin Noodle stall serves up shark fin soup and shark fin noodles. Imagine noodles dumped into shark’s fin soup and you’ll have an idea about what this dish is all about. It’s almost criminal that most places do not serve this – it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that chucking some good ol’ noodles into leftover shark fin soup would make a tasty dish.

shark fin noodle setup

Granted, at the price you’re forking out (RM 5.50) you shouldn’t expect prime fin from a 3,000 kg shark inside your dish…my agaration tells me that there’s only a sliver (or two) of real shark fin inside the dish.

shark fin noodle

However, the texture is authentic enough, and the crab sticks and other miscellaneous ingredients coupled with the starchy and vinegar-ish soup fabricates a more-than-passable approximation of shark’s fins soup (with noodles).

shark fin noodles macro

I am actually quite intrigued about shark’s fin noodles. It’s almost a no-brainer to create something like this. Leftover soup? No worries! Just reheat and dump in some noodles for a meal. It’s the first time I’ve sampled this dish and it has already engendered a craving, nay, a hunger for shark fin noodles with a healthy dash of vinegar.

shark fin noodles ppc

It’s a bargain at RM 5.50!

shark fin noodles end

Ming Tien food court has a lot of great stalls and they open until 3 AM…perfect for washing down your alcohol with some solid food. πŸ˜‰

Thong Kee @ PJ Old Town, beside the “smelly market”

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Thong Kee area

I’ve always believed that the best and most delicious food is found in the dirtiest of places. It’s a Malaysian thing. Heh! The places with great food aren’t really big on hygiene. Jennifer and Wye Meng told us about this awesome dai chow place beside the “smelly PJ Old Town main pasar” and we all headed down for lunch.

Thong Kee pasar

It was better than I expected – overflowing rubbish bins, the smell of pork and fish from the main wet market, flies buzzing around. I was very pleased…the ambience is unbeatable! πŸ˜‰

Thong Kee stall

The stall you want is called Thong Kee – just look #47. Thong Kee is very popular, so look out for the teeming mass of hungry customers congregating there.

Thong Kee cendol

Wye Meng told us that the stall beside Thong Kee serves up a mean bowl of cendol. I ordered mine with extra gula melaka and fu yoh, it really is something wicked on a hot afternoon. It’s one of the best cendol I’ve had.

She’s quite familiar with this place so she ordered all the signature dishes:

Thong Kee hokkien

This is 福建米 (fuk kin mai) otherwise known as Hokkien style fried bee hoon.

Thong Kee hokkien dish

The rice vermicelli doesn’t look like rice vermicelli at all, but it more than makes up for it with the amount of seafood present. It’s an aquatic celebration! I ate quite a few marine species and pronounce it good!

Thong Kee wat tan hor

This is ζ»‘θ›‹ζ²³ (wat tan hor). It’s kwong fu style fried kueh tiaw. I obviously didn’t write the Chinese characters – those were kindly furnished by Wye Meng. I can’t write Chinese.

Thong Kee wat tan hor dish

The wat tan hor is starchy and they’re quite generous with the seafood too. Marine treasures abound inside the dish – everything from cuttlefish to prawns. Wat tan hor does not have a “taste” per se – it’s a rather plain dish, but it’s good to balance out the two salty dishes. I also like how they cracked a raw egg into the wat tan hor. Authentic!

Thong Kee pai guat

This is ζŽ’ιͺ¨η‚†η”Ÿι’ (pai guat man sang meen) – stew pork rib fried with wantan noodles. It’s called Specialty Sang Mee on the menu and it’s their flagship dish.

Thong Kee pai guat dish

The cook is magnanimous with the pork ribs – just look at the CHUNKS of pork ribs in the dish. The noodles is done well, chewy and slurp-ilicious! I like the gravy too. Mmm…salty. Two thumbs up for this one; it’s the best dish at the place!

Thong Kee end

The food was so good that I ate four (4) plates…and it nearly sent me into a post-lunch coma. I would definitely go again; it’s seriously first-rate hawker style food. Thanks to Jennifer and Wye Meng for buying us lunch. Next one on me! πŸ™‚

Durian SS2 – All you can eat!

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durian ss2

Durian runtuh! It’s durian season! There’s a famous durian buffet in the PJ area which spawned multiple competitors…er, inspired by their business model. The original durian buffet (to the best of my knowledge) is SS2 Durian, and they even have their own website! I was out drinking with Angela yesterday when I suddenly had a hankering for the King of Fruits.

durian ss2 pack

There’s this urban legend which effectively proclaims “Thou shall not mix durians with alcohol”. Unfortunately, Angela is a staunch supporter of this doctrine and was a bit apprehensive about indulging in the creamy stuff after drinking. Personally, I have no compulsion against consuming supposedly taboo food combinations. In fact, I kinda thrive on disproving urban myths. πŸ˜‰

durian ss2 cutting

One thing about www.durianss2.com is that the durian buffet is only open on weekdays from Monday to Friday. You’ll have to order a la carte from their rather impressive portfolio during weekends. They have a lot of weird and wonderful durian strains ranging from the premium Raya Kunyit to the common DX varients (D2, D24, D7 etc the last of which always reminds me of a certain police department).

durian ss2 smell

Durian SS2 usually have their racks filled with the thorny fruits whenever I drive past the stall. We went quite late last night so most of the offerings were gone. However, they have Styrofoam packs for RM 20 and plastic packs for RM 25 which contains a selection of different durians. We got the slightly higher priced plastic pack and it didn’t disappoint!

durian ss2 flesh

The durian flesh is pungent and sweet, with a slightly bitter aftertaste, just the way I like it. Angela also partook in the durians despite her initial misgivings. Durian SS2 provides wash basins, water, and makeshift tables and chairs so you can eat your durian in relative comfort.

durian ss2 us 

However, Angela tells me the Proper Way (TM) to enjoy durians is by squatting down, Ah Beng style. πŸ˜‰

durian ss2 coconut 

The place also sells coconut water, which is supposed to have a “cooling effect” to counter the “heaty effect” of durians. I’m not sure if I believe any of this (a polite way of saying Hogwash!) but I must say coconut water goes well with durians.

durian ss2 wash

However, there’s one piece of traditional advice which might be true…washing your hands with the durian husk does seem to subjectively reduce the lingering smell of durians on your fingers. Ask for one at the counter and see if it works. It did for me. πŸ™‚

durian ss2 packing

The King is not dead…he just set up a stall in SS2. Hail to the King of Fruits, baby! πŸ˜‰

Sup Kaww!

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sup kaww

Sup Kaww! (with an exclamation mark to prove the point) is a Malay soup establishment in SS 6 that boasts a menu filled with all things soup. This eatery is one of those hit-and-miss places. They’ll have really great soup one night and really crappy one the next. You never know what you’re going to get over here. It’s puzzling since I would have thought some measure of quality control would go into the process, but apparently not.

sup kaw special

On the good days, Sup Kaww serves a mean bowl of rich broth. It’s so thick (hence the name) that drinking the soup alone would fill most people up. Sup Kaww literally means “hearty soup” but due to the inconsistencies mentioned, it can range from a really sad broth to its namesake – hearty soup.

sup kaww special tongkat ali

I usually order Sup Kaw Special + Tongkat Ali (RM 12) which comes with the meat, bones, stomach, lungs and tail of a cow, infused with our local herbal Viagra substitute.

sup kaww special

Sup Kaww is not stingy with their ingredients…on any day (good and bad) you’ll find large chunks of meat inside your bowl. It goes really well with steamed rice. I went again with a couple of coworkers just now and although they’re having a Bad Soup Day (TM) it’s still a good place to sit down to a hot, steaming bowl of potage for two reasons:

sup kaww movie

The establishment is fond of showing DVDs of dubious copyright. You can catch the latest Hollywood flicks while having your dinner.

sup kaww carwash

There’s a car wash service right on the doorstep. Give your car a proper cleaning (interior and exterior) for just RM 10!

sup kaww me

I also like their RM 5 large fruit juices. Washing down a hot bowl of soup with an icy cold drink is heavenly!

I’m SUPer! Thanks for asking! πŸ˜‰

The best popiah in Melaka!

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popiah melaka

I stand here as a witness to the best popiah in Melaka, nay, the world! It’s a gem of a find since most people will dismiss the unassuming stall, but not the locals. This popiah stall at Jalan Bunga Raya has been in operation for since time immemorial and picked up a couple of awards during its reign too – including a seal of endorsement by the good people at Ho Chiak!

popiah bunga raya

There is no signage on the mobile stall but this stall is so popular that it doesn’t need one. It totally eschews the trappings of modern marketing and prefers to maintain its (relative) anonymity. The queue for the sublime popiah kinda gives it away though. Just look for the Popia Bunga Raya sticker hidden in the stall. πŸ™‚

popiah stuff

The popiah in Melaka costs RM 2.50 (small) and RM 3 (big). The sign says it’s open till 9 pm but don’t let that fool you! It’s a trick, I tell you. A TRICK! The owner usually packs up by early afternoon coz all the popiah is sold out! We wanted to eat this on the very first day, but the stall was nowhere to be found. You really need to arrive early (and queue up) for this.

popiah roll

The secret ingredient which makes this popiah so great is the deep fried pork lard. I have always been highly skeptical of claims that there’s one ingredient that makes or breaks a dish, but here I stand corrected. The turnips, another important ingredient in popiah, are fresh and juicy too!

popiah cut

I had mine with chilli sauce and it was just BURSTING in flavor. I approve!

popiah me

Hail to the King (of popiah), baby!

P/S – Excuse my T-shirt. :p

Satay Celup

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“It’s like lok-lok…but with peanut sauce!”

satay celup

Satay Celup originated in Melaka but like most other things it has migrated far and wide. I hear it’s even available at the mobile lok-lok trucks around here, but for the Real Deal (TM), nothing beats going to Melaka to eat satay celup!

ban lee siang

The place we went to is none other than Ban Lee Siang – one of the renowned satay celup establishments in Melaka. There are two other satay celup places flanking Ban Lee Siang and it’s very telling that Ban Lee Siang is the only one packed to the rafters, with people waiting for a free table while the other two are practically deserted.

satay celup sticks

Satay celup is a Malay word meaning “sticks of stuff” and “dip”. The skewers are kept refrigerated and you walk around with a tray to choose the items you want. There’s easily 50 different items on offer, ranging from clams to quail eggs and everything in between. The prawns are surprisingly fresh and sweet, and the balled up vegetables provides a nice, crunchy texture. The mushrooms and stuffed chillis are pretty good too.

satay celup sauce

Satay celup invariably comes with the same setup – there is a communal satay celup pot in a recessed pit in the middle of the table. The satay celup pot is constantly kept full by the staff, who roams from table to table to refill the sauce. The sauce is none other than satay sauce a.k.a. peanut sauce!

fill

This is what makes satay celup interesting. It’s like lok-lok (where you dunk food skewers into boiling hot water or broth) except you dip this into a simmering pot of peanut sauce. The sweet (albeit diluted) satay sauce tastes delicious with the meat, vegetables and seafood on sticks. It’s a great twist to a classic dish.

offerings

The satay celup system, for the uninitiated, is rather like a buffet. You pick the items you want from the bank of fridges and put it on a tray. Each stick is RM 0.50 except the red color coded ones, which goes for RM 0.60.

satay celup skewers

You’re free to eat as much as you want and by the end of the meal, a waiter comes over to count the number of sticks you’ve consumed and you pay accordingly. Easy!

bread

Satay celup in Melaka is served with bread. The bread is used to soak up the delicious peanut sauce.

jenn dad mike

I think the peanut sauce actually tastes better after a lot of people have eaten from the same communal pot. The satay sauce absorbs the taste of the ingredients dumped into it by previous diners since the pot is never emptied but refilled.

me satay celup

It’s the shiznit, yo.

Melaka Chicken Rice Balls

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chop chung wah

Melaka is famous for chicken rice balls. It’s practically an institution over there, with shops dedicated to the golf sized morsels of delight every few meters (or so it seems). There are a lot of established chicken rice ball shops in Melaka, with each person having their favorite. Jennifer brought us to Chop Chung Wah at Jalan Hang Jebat, off Jonker Street.

melaka chicken rice ball

This place is arguably one of the best chicken rice ball shops in Melaka. The line snaking out of the shop is a testament to the popularity of the chicken rice balls. People actually wait under the hot Melaka sun just to eat the chicken rice balls here. Don’t play play, got queue one this place.

chopping chicken

The interior of Chop Chung Wah is basic, with seating arrangements that harks back to the 60’s. Think marble tables and stools. It only registered to me while writing this that I could very well have fallen off the stool coz I usually sit on chairs. There are articles from newspapers adorning the walls and an interesting anecdote here is that the place got on The Star in 2006…and Jenn was part of the entourage who went for that food review.

rolling rice balls

The chicken rice balls is hand rolled by an old lady, conveniently stacked five (5) to a plate in an endless stream to cater to the never-ending march of customers filing into the coffee shop. I’m amazed that they can cope with such demand at all – every single table is full, with people queuing up outside waiting to get in. It’s an exercise in efficiency, I tell you.

chilli sauce

The chicken chopping is done by the son of the owner (who can be rather grumpy sometimes ;)). The family operating this place is Hainanese, and word is, the son is so busy with this chicken rice ball shop that his wife was literally shipped in from Hainan, China to help with the business. It’s a true Hainanese place, they take the phrase “keeping it within the family” to new heights.

chicken rice ball

The chicken in Chop Chung Wah only comes in one variant – steamed chicken. It’s very authentic Hainanese chicken indeed. I found the meat juicy and tender, and you can even see the essence of chicken forming a bed for the steamed chicken. The key ingredient in chicken rice is the chilli, as most would tell you, and this place dishes up really good chilli sauce.

chicken

The chicken rice balls are actually flavored with chicken stock and have a slight glutinous texture to it. It goes down really well, and we ordered another plate coz five rice balls each is just not enough. Apparently, five rice balls is equivalent with a regular plate of chicken rice. It tastes delectable dipped in chilli sauce!

It’s definitely a must try if you haven’t eaten chicken rice balls in Melaka before. Just look for the awe-inspiring queue to find the place. πŸ™‚

Awesome pork chap fan @ SS 6

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chinese stall ss6

Allow me to wax lyrical about my favorite pork lunch. Restaurant New Yew Sang Seafood is a dai chow place that magically transforms itself into a chap fun (mixed rice) place in the day. It has a rather unassuming façade, but dishes up hearty meals for the office workers around these parts.

chinese snake

The crowd here during lunch is formidable – the tables and chairs snakes lazily out the front of the restaurant and runs along the side and all the way down, illegally infringing on the sidewalk of the other business establishments as a testament to their popularity.

chinese crowd

The place isn’t really optimal for eating though – the corrugated tin roof causes major heat retention in the afternoon sun and the place is always so packed it’s hard to even find a seat. There are two mixed rice places here – one is Malay and the other Chinese. Needless to say the Malay one doesn’t serve pork.

chinese stall

I usually come here if I want to take away. The pork has been calling me the entire week – this is the fourth consecutive day I’ve eaten here. I would eat here at night too, except they don’t open at night.

chinese owner

The owner with ready packed rice in Styrofoam boxes for easier distribution.

What’s so special about the chap fan over here? It’s just chap fan right? Yeah, when it boils (haha) down to that, I can’t exactly put my finger on why I like this place. It has an impressive repertoire of dishes with enough variety that you can go for a fortnight without having to eat the same dish twice. That’s not the reason though – I always get the same stuff every day. If I was forced to cough up a reason, I’ll say it’s the pork.

chinese left

The left flank of food.

I’m particularly fond of the stewed pork over here. It’s unashamedly swine: loud, brash and full of fat. It’s like there’s a neon sign saying PIG over it.This is not a place which believes in taking off the skin and fat before serving pork – the huge chunks of lard and chewy skin is not discarded, but celebrated. Totally unapologetic. I like.

chinese front

Center.

I always take one huge steamed chicken drumstick in soy sauce – it tastes like the “Asian marinated chicken” I used to get in Countdown (a chain of grocery stores in NZ) to microwave before eating. I think you’re supposed to take one piece (each drumstick is conveniently chopped into three bite sized pieces) so perhaps this is why my rice tends to rack up a bill on the high side.

chinese right

The right flank – the pork is here.

I also like the tomato cooked with eggs and starch, producing that distinctive look. I’ve never been a big fan of this when I was a kid, but it was the best (as in palatable) dish that the cook in rehab could come out with. You can’t exactly go wrong with a couple of tomatoes, an egg and starch.

chinese tapau

It usually costs RM 7 for my pork extravaganza…and it’s worth every penny (or sen).


View SS 6 Pork chap fun in a larger map

Guaranteed to send you into a post-lunch coma. πŸ˜‰

Seafood Noodles @ SS4, Petaling Jaya

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seafood noodle ss4

I am told there’s an undiscovered gem serving awesome Hoi Seen Meen (Seafood Noodles) in SS4, Petaling Jaya. A couple of us went there for lunch. The unassuming place is either called B & Best Restaurant or Restauran Rasa Sayang. I don’t really know which really, since there are two signboards.

seafood noodle stall

The trick is to peek in and find this stall. It’s conveniently labeled Seafood Porridge & Noodle for those of us who have problems with Chinese comprehension. I’m told it serves both clear and spicy broth. There are reports that you can opt to add in abalone as well, but be prepared to fork over the cash for that. I think its RM 68 for abalone. Not that hoi seen noodles are cheap, it’ll set you back at least RM 12 (not RM 11 as the sign says).

seafood noodles fishcake

You can order a side of fish cake (RM 7) to go with your seafood extravaganza. Might as well do the full Monty right?

There are two variants of Seafood Noodle that you can order:

seafood noodles spicy

Spicy Soup Seafood Noodle

seafood noodles dry

Dry Seafood Noodle (the Soup Seafood Noodle looks like this too – just imagine the noodles dumped inside the broth)

seafood noodle end

I had the dry seafood noodle since I’m not a big fan of hot, soupy things…especially in the midday sun, where you’re apt to sweat 2 liters just from attacking the broth.


View SS4 Seafood Noodles in a larger map

It should be noted that all dishes are RM 12 and not RM 11 as the sign states. You can micromanage the type of fish you want too: Choose from garoupa, pomfret, or whatever the catch of the day is. It’s pretty good seafood noodles, filled with aquatic goodness!

Bubba Gump Shrimp Co

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bubba gump

Bubba Gump Shrimp Co is an eating establishment based on the Forrest Gump movie. I went there with PinkPorkChop for a late lunch just now.

bubba gump interior

I love the dΓ©cor inside Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. The ambience is great and I prefer the friendly service over TGIF. The outlet at The Curve has really friendly staff which beats TGIF any day.

bubba game

Bubba Gump Shrimp Co is a renowned for their mind boggling games. The staff comes to your table with toothpicks and you answer the questions to the best of your capacity.

bubba answer

It should be noted that ALL of the questions are not straightforward. I shall share with you the answer to one – this requires moving two toothpicks to make up 100. The trick is to move 1+1+1+1 to 141 – 41 (just shift two toothpicks) so it comes up to 100. PPC and I cracked our brains to figure that out.

bubba tag

Camera tag! πŸ™‚

bubba stuffed

PPC wasn’t really hungry so we shared a plate of “I’M STUFFED!” Shrimp (RM 39.90). This is one of my favorite dishes in Bubba Gump – it’s large shrimp with crab, baked in garlic butter and topped with Monterey Jack cheese. It comes with a serving of Jasmine rice.

bubba chocolate

I also ordered “That Chocolate Thing” (RM 16.90) for us to share. I love the description – it goes “We’re not sure what to call it, but we know you’ll love it! A special jar of warm chocolate cake topped with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream, and drizzled with raspberry sauce. You’ll say I HAVE TO HAVE THAT CHOCOLATE THING!”.

bubba us

The bill came up to RM 92.70, inclusive of our drinks – Run Forrest Run (RM 11.90) and Mango Sparkler (RM 11.90). It’s pretty reasonable considering the quality of the food and the great service.

bubba ooze

Anyway, after the late brunch, we headed to Cineleisure to catch a movie. I felt really bad coz I overslept and PPC was waiting for me at the Curve – sorry! Unfortunately, there wasn’t any shows until late so we just took a photo with B.O.B. and headed back home.

bubba end

I also bumped into PS (fixed! :)) while I was on my way back to the car. It’s always good to meet readers, thanks for saying hello. Cheers for reading! πŸ™‚

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