Dian Huo Xin Wo – good steamboat in PJ – review

It’s been a while since I last had a steamboat meal.

If you don’t already know, I’m very picky with my food. While I can tolerate MSG to a certain extent (well, when you dine out often, you have to!), I tend to steer clear of soup based meals like noodles and steamboat as most proprietors are liberal with the use of MSG to flavour the broth.
Many claimed to be absolutely MSG-free, but I beg to differ after dining at the said outlets.

And thus my steamboat meals are limited to perhaps once a year, and likely one that’s home-based and hosted by a friend.

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But my recent discovery of Dian Huo Xin Wo finally gave me a confident option to dine out whenever the steamboat cravings hit, and also to recommend to friends.
I went without any expectations but just by a suggestion from a friend who said “Hey Becky, try out my friend’s place & tell me what you think“.
I got a few blogger friends to come along and we all agreed that it turned out to be a fine meal.

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What set Dian Huo Xin Wo apart from other steamboat restaurants are their soup base and self-made meat and seafood balls.
The balls are 50% bigger than the norm and the fillings are top-notch with some having funky elements like cubes of salted egg.
No fillers such as flour are added; and all are hand-shaped upon order.
As an example of the quality and vigilance here, the paste for the prawn balls is 100% prawn meat and the paste was massaged for an hour before they are rolled out for orders.

Yes, that much dedication and effort went into the making of these balls!

Signature Beef Ball – (RM8 per basket of 4).
Golden Yolk Pork Ball – (RM8). Mushroom Pork Ball – (RM7). Crystal Fish Ball – (RM6). Squid Ball – (RM7).
Shrimp Ball – (RM8). Seafood ball – (RM8). Quail Egg Chicken Ball – (RM7).

BALLS

Quail Egg Chicken Ball – (RM7).
Protein within protein.

Gosh I do love this place! 🙂

chicken egg ball - Dian Huo Xin Wo - good steamboat in PJ - review

The recipes for Dian Huo Xin Wo signature balls (all 9 of them) are developed by the owner’s family and is a trade secret.
I daresay this is the only steamboat venue that serves such large, healthy and delicious meat/seafood balls.

The menu at Dian Huo Xin Wo doesn’t try to impress with 200 items, but focuses instead on the quality of the seafood, meat and their signature soup base.
Prices are slightly premium in comparison to other steamboat outlets but I personally opined that any comparison are negated as there aren’t any similar offerings on the market.

Dumpling (RM6).

dumpling - Dian Huo Xin Wo - good steamboat in PJ - review

The meats:
American Wagyu Beef Slice (RM36/plate/portion). Mongolian Lamb Slice (RM25).
Australian Snowflake Beef Slice (RM18). Pork Loin Slice (RM16).
Chicken fillets (RM12).

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Not much culinary skills are required here; just a quick stir in the flavourful broth will cook the thin slivers of meat and you would be able to enjoy the natural flavours of the beef/lamb/chicken.
You can choose to have them medium rare, medium well or well-cooked.

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Seafood: Fish or prawns.
The fresh prawns are 5 for RM20. What a steal isn’t it?

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prawn - Dian Huo Xin Wo - good steamboat in PJ - review

Other options of seafood includes grouper fish head, pomfret, snapper fish slices, mussels, cuttle fish, jelly fish, bamboo clams and fresh crabs.

I would go all out for the meat and seafood during a steamboat session but there are other add-ons such as vegetables, tofu and the swine’s spare parts if you need more variety.

Fish skin dumpling (RM7). Pork intestine/liver/stomach (RM10).
Seafood tofu (RM6). Beancurd skin (RM5).
Enoki mushroom (RM6). Watercress (RM6).

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We sampled all 3 broth that evening and the Black Chicken Herbal Soup (RM23) took the top spot in terms of flavour for me. Its deep nuances of herbal yet complex and light flavour is exactly how I love my soups.
As for the MSG-free claim, it is genuine enough as none of us suffered any MSG side effects after dinner.

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The other 2 soup base are Pork Oriental Soup and Clear Tomyum Soup (RM18).
The pork one is ideal for those who prefer a good soup base minus the herbs, while the tom yam could be a bit mild for some who likes their tom yam fiery in the mouth.
Dian Huo Xin Wo’s Tom Yam isn’t even remotely spicy so do be aware of this before opting for the tom yam version.

Dian Huo Xin Wo - good steamboat in PJ - review

As Chinese New Year is around the corner, Dian Huo Xin Wo offers the one and only (as far as I know) Smoked Bacon Yee Sang (RM68) in Klang Valley.
This yee sang is available for order from now until 17th February. Do pre-order to avoid disappointment.

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We snacked on a few appetisers that evening while waiting for our pot of goodies to cook.
The Crunchy Fried Salmon Skin (RM6) and Japanese Cucumber with seasoning sauce and julienne carrots (RM4.50) were nice but it was the Tongsam Century Egg with Pickled Ginger (RM4.50) that stood out for me.
The century eggs are imported from Hong Kong and thus tasted much superior than our local ones with a nice molten yolk. If you are a fan of century eggs, these are definitely worth a few orders!

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Overall, all ingredients were great and tasty enough for me so I personally didn’t feel the need for condiments.
But should you require additional flavourings, these chilli dips are crafted from scratch and are designed to complement the ingredients in the steamboat.

chilli paste

Beverages:
Some carbonated drinks are sold here but I vote for the signature herbal tea which was full-flavoured (non-overly diluted), low in sugar and really soothing to drink after consuming the hot food from the steamboat.
RM3/glass.

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Last but not least, I love the pretty decor in the shop and how the outlet remained cosy and comfortable even during peak period.
Most steamboat restaurants get too noisy and chaotic during busy hours which I personally find to be disrupting to the dining experience.
Dian Huo Xin Wo provides a more intimate feel overall.

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Will I be back?
Oh I definitely will! 🙂

NOTE:
1. The BACON Yee Sang is available for order from now until 5th March 2015.
2. All 9 types of meat/seafood balls (in raw form) are available for take-away as well. So if you are planning a steamboat dinner during the Chinese New Year period or specifically for your reunion dinner, do treat yourself and your family to better quality meat/seafood balls and grab these from Dian Huo Xin Wo.
No minimum amount are required but do pre-order to avoid disappointment.

**Dian Huo Xin Wo is closed for CNY break from 18/2/2015 until 23/2/2015.

Dian Huo Xin Wo:
Address: 19, SS4D/2, Petaling Jaya.
Phone: +603 7887 4557 / 012 296 3886
Opening Hours: 5pm – 11pm Daily

**It is located on the same row as the Restoran Yi Xin Ge Bak Kut Teh and the famous Bentong Chicken Rice. Just take the 1st turning to the left after passing Kelana Jaya LRT Station.

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