“Unplanned” dinner at Pik Wah,

…& a celebration of a 42km achievement plus a birthday.

I haven’t known this place to exist.
And it wasn’t exactly easy to find either. While I thought it was housed in a “funny” location & unpopular, I later realized that it is apparently; quite an institution by itself.
Not much blogged about, other than by the Queens of Food Bloggers, A Whiff of Lemongrass and Boo of Masak Masak, who has probably visited every restaurant there is in town, the food here has definitely not been given its due credit. Do read of FBB‘s account of his recent visit.

Back to that night, we were all famished by the time we were seated, no thanks to someone’s superb planning , so we quickly went down to the business of ordering.
Very apprehensive at first, as I have not heard about this place before & certainly didn’t want to be fed horrid food that night (or any other night for that matter), I was swiftly assured when Boo said her family are frequent patrons and FBB started reminiscing about how he used to visit the old branch in Jaya, PJ & how he enjoyed the food back then. Even Unka said that the restaurant has been around a long long time.
Ahh..if they know the place & it’s been around for so long, the food can’t be too disastrous; I consoled myself.

Now, if you fancy having Chinese with reasonable pricing but in a freezing air- con atmosphere, then this place should top your list.
With the interior exactly like the old Chinese restaurants that host those typical 8 course Chinese weddings dinners, which is normally followed by extreme toasts of “yaaammmmmmmmmm sennggggggg” towards the end, (of which I’m sure anyone above 20 years of age today would have attended at some point) this place was indeed a striking reminder of an earlier era & the word “nostalgic” comes to mind.

Soft braised pork, RM25.

Our first reaction was, “So small?? Enough ah??”, followed by “Order, order another dish..” & thus the subsequent frantic waving at the nearest waitress to place the additional order of marmite chicken.

Though this wasn’t my favourite of the night, for I find the sauce a bit sweet, there wasn’t really much to complain about it otherwise. The customary deep fried man taus (bread) served was just the ideal partner.

We had their recommended fish done in the sweet and sour lemon-y style. RM46.
The tilapia, deep fried to a crispy crunch on the skin, yet retaining the moistness of the flesh inside, was simple and satisfying.

The Marmite Chicken, RM15 was a surprise. While it is a common method of preparation available in most Chinese tai chows, I love the version here in Pik Wah, where it was saucy, much like the soy sauce chicken I used to eat as a kid, NOT the deep fried and dry version with honey glazing and all.

Our vegetable dish for the night, Braised Tofu and Sweet Gourd . RM15. I love this dish and their tofu here is really good, of which I found out later that it is actually made in house, hence the silken but firm texture which beats those market bought ones anytime.

And finally, the carbs. I can’t, for the hell of me, tell the difference from one type of noodle to another, unless it is the common ones like bee hoon (vermicelli), kuay teow, hor fun, maggi mee, etc.
Any noodles in this form is to me, wan tan mee, but I think it has a proper name no? Yee mee?
Anyhow, I forgot my “no-carbs at night” rule after the first bite. Darn springy noodles and super tasty accompanying stock-like gravy. RM18.

The total damage was RM154, for 5 of us, with 5% service and 5% government tax.
Chinese tea was charged at RM2.50 per head and if you can do without the appetizer of nuts (one stewed and another the crunchy type) which cost RM4.50 per small plate, do inform them beforehand so it won’t be added into your bill.

Restoran Pik Wah (MABA House) Sdn Bhd
MABA House, Basement Level Stadium Block
6, Jalan Hang Jebat
50150 KL.
Tel: 03 – 2072 3668

The party continues after dinner as we head to Max’s at iHaus to join the rest for drinks and cakes.
Happy birthday to the Bald Eagle, who was having his well deserved dinner with his wife, AWOL after completing a major milestone of a full marathon (42km is no joke ok!).

The amazing Red Velvet cake was courtesy of FBB, with generous layers of cream cheese and velvet-y moist cake sponge. Order at FBB cakes.