As usual, it took me months later to visit the shop, with the usual obstacles of distance, time & the lack of an adventurous eating partner.

So one weekend, I decided to hell with it, if no one is keen then I’m going alone. And I ended up having 4 people joining me right after I have declared so. Funny how things turned out sometimes huh?

ps: (And today is my 2nd visit! Food IS consistent!) *stamps approval*

The Ayer Panas Hawker Center is where it is at, and here we found it to be an open area, complete with rickety & worn plastic tables & chairs. All of old hawker charm were present, though I must confess SS2 Wai Sik Kai’s seems posh after seeing this place.

We stumbled on this too. Turned out to be a bowlful of thirst quenching delight. We stapled the Red bean & honeydew flavours, and it was perfect for the hot weather while waiting for our food.

Seeing double, triple and quadruple of this on the other diners’ tables cued me on my order. The Vermicelli in wine soup with clams, RM11 was as popular as their Signature Hennessy Lor Mee. Our single portion came with generous fillets of dory fish, chockful of clams, sprinkles of coriander & spring onions. Fragrant with the naunces of wine & loads of ginger, this made for a very tasty dish. All of us rewarded this with a score of 8/10!

The Hennessy Lor Mee, RM11, needs no introduction. The aroma and richness from the luxuriant liquer was mellow, yet with a distinctly curious flavor. It’s heady scent hit me as soon as the bowl was placed on the table. We gave it a good stir and lapped up the  hefty tangle of thick egg & glass noodles topped with all of it’s added ingredients of pork, prawns, juliennes of carrots swimming in the eggy, starchy broth.

They do their porks dishes very well here too. Each fillet is wonderfully tender & and their sauce (I tried the kung po style (with dried chillies today)) is always in the right balance of salty & sweet. This is their Pork braised ginger with plenty of spring onions & leeks style, RM10 which I had during my last visit. With hints of sesame oil, the soft tender pork fillets satisfied the porcine pork deprived ache in us. Lovely.

Last was a simple but delicious dish of FRESH green lettuce, very lightly blanched and bathed in aromatic oil, (thanks to the pork lards, dried shrimps & salted fish plus bird eye chillis) that it was fried with, which fulfilled the fibre criteria in our meal.

I spied 2 more popular dishes other than the Hennessy Lor Mee; one of which is fish head beehoon and another the black Hokkien Mee. While the latter seemed a bit oily to me, the former promises to be good, with chunks of fried fish & thick milky broth. Will save that for the 3rd visit!

And this old unassuming stall churned out what could be the best ice kacang in this side of town (hawker version, and at the price of RM2.80, ok).

My Ais Kacang was spilling out of its bowl with SOFT, SMALL red beans (I hate those canned kidney beans ones!), firm green chendol tails, noodles of pinkish chewy jelly, nata de coco, palm seeds, corns, peanuts, cincau (black herbal jellies).
All that for RM2.80!
The thick sugar syrup & Gula Melaka drizzled over the ice was fragrant & a dash of coconut milk gave it the perfect finishing flavour.

This is easily one of the best ice kacang I have tasted in KL so far, though the one in SS2 Wai Sik Kai (Stall 41)  ice has a finer texture.

Lunch came up to RM36 for all the above, with free flow iced chinese tea thrown in. So cheap, so good and so satisfying! I love this place!

Quick, note this place and address down. It is really not that hard to find.

Directions:

GPS: N03 11.388, E101 43.82

Stall No. 22 Ayer Panas Hawker Center (tel: 012-624 7610). It is located inside the Ayer Panas Hawker Centre, Off Jalan Genting Klang. From KL, drive along Jalan Pahang until you reach Jalan Genting Klang, then turn right into Jalan Ayer Panas. Continue until you reach the T-junction at the end of the road. Here, turn left and you will see an old hawker centre on your left. Look out for the stall with empty Hennessy boxes hung around.

Location: . Opening hours: 8.30am-6pm (Tuesdays to Sundays).

Indeed the woks here wields some serious magic.

How else could one explain the delicious dishes that appeared from the kitchen that night?

One dish that got me hooked that night were the finger licking long ribs. It was absolutely addictive. The marinate thoroughly permeats the meat & the tender texture with the glorious soft fatty layers still got me salivating till today.

I licked the ribs, the bones, my fingers & was most tempted to lick the plate after I was done. Bliss!

What do bloggers wish for when they ‘loh‘ Yee Sang?

To more traffic!
To more $!
To more events!
To more freebies!!
To more friends!
To more movie screenings!

To more ..
to more…
and the list goes on..

Yup, we had our fun with the Raw Mango Yee Sang

The Claypot Tilapia with white pepper soup was another exceptional creation.
A whole fish deep fried; then immersed into the flavoursome medium peppery heat broth with chock loads of vegetables (the kind that comes with claypot tofu, you’ll know what I mean right?) & lastly topped with siew yok (pork belly) and yam.
This is probably the only pepper dish I’ll enjoy EVER; cos I hate pepper!

The Roast Duck was good, though not exceptional.
The meat was tender with very slight gamey taste. Personally that was fine, since I preferred my duck as such.
A worthy mention goes to the chilli, which although wasn’t spicy enough, still packs better heat than most.

Oh, this was named Herbal Roast Duck for a reason, with the reason being the “herbal” sauce that came with it, a refreshing departure from the usual sweet ones.
I can’t say much for the herbal sauce, which I disliked. The duck good enough on its own anyways.

The garlic roast chicken RM18 – half/RM35 full bird was tender & nicely garlicky. Then again, it’s not named garlic roasted for nothing. If only the breast part was as tender as the thighs, it would have been superb.

I do eat prawns when they are prepared well. And here at The Magic Wok is where I make another exception.
Fry some fresh prawns, then top them with deep fried garlic and fragrant dried shrimp.
Oh my…The creator of this dish is a genius!
Ming Har with dried prawns paste RM25/40/60.

Most chinese restaurants I know boast of their own in-house made tofu (beancurd). The Magic Wok didn’t slack in this dept either. Theirs was silky smooth and eggy, deep fried and served doused in tasty gravy with (fake) abalone slices.

The waft of robust beef stew (Oriental Braised Beef) struck my nostrils the moment this was served & I waited impatiently for the cameras to stop clicking.
Unfortunately the texture of the beef didn’t quite match the smell. It was the only serious let-down for the evening.

The oriental lamb RM18 outshone the rest; tender yet retaining a bit of bite for the teeth.

We didn’t have any complains for the twin style kai lan & stir fried Lotus Root with olive leaves, which provided the necessary fibres to round off the excellent meal.

Personally I liked the preparation of the lotus root, due to the herbal-ish nuances and sweetish flavour, credited to the wolfberries added into the dish.
RM18/25.

A sweet ending for the night.

In operation for 9 years, The Magic Wok first started out as a ‘hobby’ for Soon Wei’s parents, once their children has left the nest in pursue of their Uni education.

Recipes were from his mum, & more were created based on their dining experiences around Malaysia & overseas. Most are tweaked a bit here & there to achieve the taste & flavour they seek for their restaurant.
Overall, the dishes contains influences from a mixture of Chinese (Hakka, Cantonese, Teo Chew, Hokkien, Nyonya) cuisine & personally, I liked the concept.
Here at The Magic Wok, I’m assured that I’m eating Chinese cuisine, yet the menu came with enough different presentations & new preparations to occasionally jolt the jaded palate.

For an outlet that has been around for 9 years, there weren’t much coverage on the blogs for it’s food. Perhaps Damansara Jaya is a bit out of the “main” locations for some?
A pity really, for this area does have some hidden gems. Anyhow, I hope the map below helps.

A footnote here:
As a food blogger, naturally I did a bit of homework prior to the dinner. General feedback was that the food was mediocre and the portions were on the smaller side, etc.
Well, I certainly hope my pleasant dining experience here applies at all times & to all diners & not just because it was an invited review.

Anyhow, The Magic Wok has over 50+ dishes on their menu and I am of opinion that making the right choices is crucial here. No doubt the prices may even be considered to be on the higher side, hence it would not be a wise option if you order the common preparations, ie steam fish in soya sauce.
Go for the specials & you would most likely find your $ worth.

Myself? I will be back, especially for the Claypot Rice with Waxed Duck SAUSAGES and duck meat. My, I haven’t heard of this yet!

A firm favourite of mine, this unassuming (& thank god, still a non-commercialised & pretty well kept secret in Penang) restaurant is as ole school as one can get.

Located next to the Magnum 4D shop along China Street, just off Pitt Street/Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling, one does have to be familiar in Penang to know of its existence.
(China Street is just opposite the famous Goddess of Mercy Temple (Kuan Yin Teng)).

The cooks & wait staff are the aunties, who’s been around for probably since the time the shop started. I don’t know about you, but it is always reassuring to see my meals prepared by the old & experienced.

Our typical lunch here would rarely, if ever, vary from the dishes below. Taste-wise, most of the dishes are ‘lighter’ on the palate, and I would forewarn those with a heavier tastebuds to visit at their own risk, since they might find it bland.

The Braised Fish with Bean Curd is a firm favourite of mine.
To be honest, it is more bean curd than fish but that is the standard here. Do let them know if you would like more fish fillets, and prices will be adjusted accordingly of course.

A close contender is this Pak Poh Chicken Drumstick. The gravy is the best, infused with all the herbs and good even if you were to drink it on its own.
I normally doused my rice liberally with it and pick at the meat since it is quite bland (not surprisingly, since its probably braised for hours). It is however, great eaten paired with chilli padi (birds eye chillies) .

I was accustomed to these cuts of siew yuk before I was introduced to KL’s prime cuts of crackly skin & soft gelatinous fatty – layered pork.
This was good enough for me then, and still is now. Look at the silver plate it is served in, there’s such a nostalgic feel to it no?

Even the boiled chinese herbs drinks here (barley, chrysanthemum, etc) is strong in taste & fresh.

Another customary order is this blanched kangkung topped with some sort of paste with salted fish and deep fried garlic .
It is oily yes, but acceptable once it coats each stalk of veg, for the topping is the one that lends the flavour to the dish.

Tummy space permitting, we would add an order of scrambled eggs with big onions, carrots & spring onions; again, another simple good old dish of yesteryears..

The old lamps, the ceiling mounted fan, chinese painting/pictures, the cane chairs, round tables & the mosaic flooring.. such charm don’t you think?

I can’t remember the exact amount but it was approximately RM50+- for all the above.
Very reasonable & I have always left feeling satisfied and happy.

Sometimes, simplicity is best.

Restaurant Hing Kee
Lebuh China
Business Hour: 10am-3pm & 6-10pm

Note: They do sell smooth tasty congee, but only on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

A quick Internet google did not yield much results except for the dim sum review by Joe & another by STL of happy Happy.
Since we wanted to go ala carte, it still left us pretty much undecided on either The Ming Room or Grand Imperial.

So 30mins before the agreed meeting time, I stood in front of Grand Imperial Restaurant, flicking through their menu and then repeated the same procedure for The Ming Room.

Finally I decided on Grand Imperial, for just based on the menu alone, seems to offer a wider selection of preparation for each category of seafood, meat & so forth. Anyhow, it’s good to check out a new place, I reasoned to myself.

Even at 645pm, the place was fast filling up with patrons, mostly families and even businessmen, all talking loudly & enjoying their drinks.

While having wines and champagne with Chinese cuisine was almost unheard of back in my younger years (it was then beers/shandy, tea or sarsi/orange cordial), it seems that every restaurant worth their salt now are going all out with the wine pairing trend.
And it is no exception here at the Grand Imperial, which I must say, offers quite grand of a selection of alcohol.

A non alcoholic person, I settled for some good old Chinese dessert instead, and the words “Avocado” jumped out at me from the menu.

Sadly, my Chilled Avocado Cream with Sago, RM7, was sickeningly saccharine- sweet, with nary of the luxurious creaminess expected of avocados. And this was supposedly their signature dessert.
My companion didn’t have much luck with his Chilled Lemongrass Jelly w Sea Coconut, Rm6 either. See below. Doesn’t it look outright pathetic?

Since our fourth guest is late, and happens to be a Malay, I quickly fired orders for a plate of siew yuk.

The crackly top hats and alternating layers of tender pork & fat restored some of the good vibes around the table. Maybe desserts isn’t their forte, we thought.

Anyhow, we added an order of BBQ Sliced Pork it with Honey Sauce RM16 just to be sure.

It was satisfying enough for my companions but not for me. My favourite is still the one from Paramount Garden. (Which reminds me, I really got to try the FSF)

Rainy nights and stressful days got us hankering for stewed, double boiled, body nourishing soups hence we ordered 2.
Both were recommended orders of the Restaurant Supervisor & was a complete joke.

Double Boiled Seafood Soup, RM22 & Mushroom Soup, RM14.

When we couldn’t spy any seafood nor mushrooms in both bowls, we called her over to confirm if it was the right order.

She proceed to dig the spoon into both bowls and shoveled up some of the contents. After repeating that for several times, (while we watched her digging away at our soups) she merely said “Oh, the chicken one is the seafood soup, and the pork one is the mushroom”.

My boss then tactfully reminded me that this is a business meeting & I should try not to create a scene. Hurmph.

Steamed Flower Crab with Egg White and Chinese Wine, at RM7/100g.
This cost us RM42.00.
It was just another crap, uh…I meant craB dish.

A fan of fried rice, this was my unspoken choice for our carbs that night.
Fisherman Fried Rice with Salted Egg Yolk. RM16.

A decent version but SO SALTY, all 4 of us didn’t finish our portions. So it wasn’t just me.
The culprit?
SALTED FISH. Which ingenious chef fries rice with salted fish AND salted eggs?!!

Beef Fillet with Spring Onions. I have absolutely no idea why this cost us RM46.00.
I think it was written somewhere in the menu as Australian beef. That’s probably why.
Texture and taste-wise? It could have been Malaysian cows for all we know.

So that sums up my experience with Grand Imperial. To be fair, we probably had 0.5% of what they have to offer (judging from the extensive menu) & you know what they say about food & taste being a very subjective thing.

So I do look forward to any good reviews anyone may have to share! ;p

Grand Imperial Restaurant,
Lot T5,3rd Flr,BSC East Wing.
No.285,Jalan Maarof,
Bukit Bandaraya,
Bangsar,59000, KL.
03-22831118

I do have memories of really scrumptious food that night else I wouldn’t have bothered. Partly also it would be a shame if these pictures remained tucked away in some cluster of my HDD, collecting bits & bytes of dust & subsequently forgotten (just like those other 101 pic folders on my drive).

We were here for a birthday celebration & this is MY favourite part of the meal.
I mean who really cares what we had for dinner when there is CAKE right?
Oh?
No?
You mean the dinner is important?? Sheesssh.

But I digress. Where was I?

And so yeah, the cake cutting part.
Which means this is when I get to EAT the cake. FINALLY.

Ahh…the expression on one’s face when presented with a cake by the famed FatBoyBakes.

Rich, ALCOHOLIC Blackforest Cake that wraps up the dinner nicely.

But of course, before all that jazz, we did had dinner. And The Ming Room offers both ala-carte items as well as 8-10 different set dinners. Ours was this.

For RM88+ per pax, it is worth your moolah for this alone.

The Double Boiled Shark Fin Soup with Shark’s Bone.
So robustly flavourful yet delicate in taste. Murky white broth, chunks of abalone & combs and combs of shark fin. Dear God, I have sinned.

Such a glorious soup, and there’s no need for quick slurping since it was kept nicely warm by the contraptions you see here, whatever it may be called. Soup warmer?
I mean, don’t you hate it when you drink a good bowl of soup, and was just beginning to savour the taste, with the soup tummy warming properties starting to take effect & you find each subsequent spoonful colder than the previous, hence you panic & start to gulp down the remainder? Urgh.

Baked Cod Fish with Orange Cubes.
A delightful starter. Tangy orange juice doused onto streaks of tart pomelo, coupled with milky moist cod. Now, IF only they serve us a BIGGER piece.

With such marvelous starters, I begun to look forward to the night’s dinner.

And then the next course left me cold.

Pan Fried Iberico Pork Chop in Chef’s Special Sauce.
Hummprhh.. And to think that Chinese are supposedly the best when it comes to their pork.

Tender yes, texture – wise but salty & there wasn’t anything special with that sauce. If anything, it was too strong & probably overpowered the meat natural flavour. A pity really, for I have heard much raves of Iberico pork.

And the next dish elicited a yawn. Of which I did politely cover my mouth of course.
Sauteed Black Fungus with Kai Lan.

Baked Rice with Abalone & Seafood.
Ah..finally an interesting looking creation. Which brings one to wonder about the shell. Do they wash, dry & refill it for the next round? I mean, I’m all for Reduce, Reuse & Recycle…BUT BUT…

Well, I digress.

The rice was wonderfully flavourful with bountiful chunks of seafood, chicken cubes, long beans & mushrooms thrown in.

Then it is dessert time.

Chilled Sago Cream with Mango.
Forgettable. Hence no descriptions. Cos I forgot how it tasted.

Some hits and misses obviously. But The Ming Room carries decades of solid reputation & is renowned for its dim sum as well as its exquisite Chinese fare so I’m not one to dismiss it after ONE meal. Plus, I have yet to staple their famous dim sum.

So, should it be Grand Imperial or The Ming Room again tonight?

This restaurant is famed for its signature dish of Crab claypot porridge. And of course, all other crab-y dishes too as boldly hinted in its name.
Past patrons agreed prices are on the higher side (from what I ‘ve read from other food blogs), but the food must have worth their moolah spent if the crowd size is of any indication.

For me, with the prerequisite of “nutritious” and “recovery” in mind, no crabs dishes were ordered (since there are no Chinese belief that crabs aids in recovery of any sort) .

The Snakehead however, is a whole different story.
The Chinese (if I’m not mistaken, even for Malays & Thais) swears by it for its dermal wound healing properties.
Some research has found the snakehead to be an excellent source of dietary protein, and boasted a significantly higher amount of arginine ( a type of amino acid, among others ) ; an important constituent in the process of wound healing.

No fresh snakehead? Fret not, the essence of ikan haruan (snakehead) which are sold in bottles & a common gift to patients who had undergone surgery and women after childbirth is believed to be just as effective.

Now, I don’t see how all this applies to me, but hey, it’s fish. It’s got Omega acids and high protein quotient and was – nots.
And for all ya know, all that violent coughing probably did tear/rip some tissues inside.

Claypot Porridge with Snakehead Fillets.
Min order is for 2 pax, @RM18

The murky broth whispered promise of full-bodied and rich fish-y flavour. And indeed it delivered on its promise.
In contrast, the fish fillets, although fresh enough & bountiful for RM18, lacked the natural sweet taste I expect in my fish. It was rather bland, hence I ignored the fish & enjoyed the porridge with its hearty broth instead.

Here, the porridge is more watery, with each grain of rice whole and firm. I much prefer my porridge the “gooey glump” type though.

Condiments for extra flavouring if you wish.

Of course a vegetable dish is duly ordered and we had kai lan ( RM10).

They must have served us the grandparents of the plant, for it was ridiculously fibrous & not to mention OILY.
Unka had to finish it alone ;p

SC wrote a pretty good review of them back in 2008 and she had the crabs, baby octopus (which looks really sublime by the way!) etc. Check it out HERE.

Unka frequents this place for their repertoire of fried carbs – rice, tang fun, bee hoon, etc & he gave pretty good ratings for it.
That, and the baby octopus already warrants a subsequent visit in my books.
But you can be sure I’m not ordering any vegetable dish.

Now, if you were to ask any Chinese folks on what to eat or to avoid, be prepared to be bombarded with their two cents worth of advice, some plain outrageous, some noteworthy and some just plain common sense.

But all concurred on one thing, fish is always good for the body, brains, etc etc and etc.

So fish it is and I noticed that lately, a few outlets in the Kota Damansara vicinity offers a whole fish, steamed with the sauce of your choice for RM10.
(The ones I remember are Key Way Restaurant, ChaiLan in the food court and Fortune Garden Restaurant).

I gave a half hearted attempt at locating Lan Je, famous for its steamed fish head and when it wasn’t sighted after going pass 3 different streets, I surrendered un-regrettably since I don’t fancy fish head (gimme the whole fish please!) anyways.

The scorching hot sun pretty much made the choice for us. Fortune Garden Restaurant is air conditioned and the banner outside says FREE dessert (tong sui) for every order of a steamed fish.
Ahh.. free tong sui?? Yes yes, I’m definitely having lunch here

Once inside, I eagerly queried the waitress on the tong sui of the day only to find out that the tong sui for the day is not cooked yet.
Yup, at 2pm, they haven’t cooked the dessert of the day.
What a joke.

However, every item under the dessert section of the menu is available for order.
Sigh. Enough said.

To appease our hunger, I chose 2 dim sum from the cart while we flipped the slim menu.

Shark fin Siew Mai RM5.00

Not bad! The dumpling were plumply stuffed with jicama, prawn, pork meat and carrot. The vegetables retained its crunch and the meat was fresh.
If you look closely enough, you will spy some slivers of “shark fin” but of course, one can’t really be expecting the real thing for that price.

Pork Ribs RM4.20

These were fair enough in taste but forgettable.

We found out that dim sum items are on 10% discount when we got our bill but I’m not sure if this offer is valid for breakfast so do call ahead; contact is provided at the end of this post.

Our Ginseng Chicken Soup (RM6.00) arrived 1st and I loved it.
Way different from the anemic herbal soups sold commercially, this one packs full robust goodness of herbs and I felt rejuvenated instantly. For RM6, I’m already considering this as a weekly dose!

Other than our RM10 fish, a requisite dish of vegetable was duly ordered and I chose asparagus (my fav!) with sambal.

Stir Fry Asparagus w Belacan (Dried Shrimp Paste) RM10.00

Fried with the chopped dried shrimp added together with chili paste and sambal belacan, this was fragrant and slightly spicy with each stem young, crunchy and sweet.
Yup, no fibrous old asparagus served! So far, so good.

Our choice of preparation was ‘steamed in basic soy sauce’ (at the lowest price of RM10).
Prices are adjusted accordingly if you were to choose any other style (translating to more expensive loh) such as ginger and garlic, thai, etc.

Now, worthiness factor for RM10.
Size – Check!

Taste – check check!

Good stuff! The fish was fresh, with flaky sweet flesh, absent of muddy taste and the soy sauce used were of a comparatively good quality so overall it was a pleasant dish.

Our total bill came up to RM37.65, inclusive of 5% service charge. Undeniably a value for money “nutritious” lunch.
It certainly delivered on both the quality and quantity factor.

The menu is not extensive and they have 6-10 items for each category of vegetables, beancurd, chicken, seafood and pork dishes as well as some desserts.

Service is notably quick and efficient. One gets attended to immediately if you were to wave at any of the wait staff.

Address as below. It’s right opposite Wang’s cafe and Penang Village.
Do pardon the spelling. Must the printer’s mistake. Ahem.

No frills decor, with the typical old times Chinese restaurant set-up, complete with round tables covered with cheap cotton table cloth and those ubiquitous banquet chairs.

“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.

While Batu Caves may sound to some like the other side of the world..good food has never deterred us foodies. So we gung-ho bunch braved the traffic & distance on a Sunday to this in-famous outlet.

Approaching the shop, we were greeted by this. *gasp*

Hell..it was only slightly later than 12pm! And the outlet is completely FULL & there were at least 30 tables inside!

Thank god for the Queue Control Station..

Tell ‘em the number of pax, get a number & wait.

Meanwhile, a walk-about tour is a must.
An absolutely riveting operation is in hand, from the order takers to the table-clearers to the cooks, “synchronised team work” comes to mind, minus the typical chinese shop style bickering and hollering.

An average of 5 dishes per minute went past me from this kitchen…

and..our Lyrical Lemongrass has her piece on the wall of fame!!

…with FBB’s 2 cents worth. How apt.

The very reason I am here. THE PORK BEE HOON. RM15.

Superb stuff. I was worried as usual that this might be salty, considering that it’s fried with soya sauce and has stewed pork. But any doubt went pooff! from the first mouthful.
AWESOME melt in the mouth pork & fat with flavourful fried vermicelli, I thought the pork tasted very much like the canned stewed pork sold in supermarkets & perhaps… should the craving strikes again, this might be attempt-able at home?

Unka thinks its good too..and polished off the remainder straight from the plate it was served in!

The smooth thick congee, RM19.90 with sweet soft slivers of fish & thick wedges of century eggs is a steal considering the portion as well as the bountiful amount of fish thrown in.

The piece de resistance of the lunch.

So fresh, it tasted of the sea with all its sweet and bursting with the briny flavor of the shellfish.
This extravagant/lavish plate of briny goodness only set us back RM90!!
Look at that huge prawns!
5 of those, plus the creamy decadent, absolutely roe-rich gravy.. Cholesterol is a bad word…DIVINE is the word. ..
Unka said it’s better than Green View Restaurant’s version. PureGlutton nodded approvingly & the rest gushed non-stop of its extraordinary taste.

Big prawns, with the flesh parting cleanly from its shell.

So, this was all that’s left after we were through with it..waste not even the gravy!

Frog Leg Loh Mee. RM21.00.

This somewhat paled in comparison after the Sang Har Meen, but the pieces of frogs was sweet & darn tender.
We think it would have been paired better if cooked in congee instead of the noodles.

Here the damage. For 12 hungry mouths.

Told ya its RM17 per pax!!

Satiated & gratified..it’s another great food fest!!

ALL of the noodle dishes are thoroughly imbued with the delectable flavour of smoky char (wok-hei-ness) prerequisite of such dishes & Pan Heong team of chefs definitely has got this down to pat.
Indeed a place worthy of subsequent visits, paying toll and the distance travelled.

Pan Heong Restoran
No. 2, Jalan Medan Batu Caves 2,
68100 Bt Caves.
Tel: 03-6187 7430 (Do call before making your trip, for they close on random days in a month)

Business hours: 8.30am to 3.30pm.

Week 1: “Beckiieee…I found this great place!!! UNDER A TREE one..the assam fish head here is soo sooo good.. the sui tan is damn nice..all the dishes very niceee...”

Week 2: “So becky.. you had the fish yet? No?? WHY?? I send you the address NOW ok..you must try.. you wont get bored eating it everyday! ”
ME (thinking to myself) : Everyday??? Sure boh??

Week 3: “Eh becky..have you gone to try it yet?? You know, the place I told you about..the assam fish..
You managed to find it? It’s UNDER A TREE. ”

THAT …for 3 weeks in a row.

THAT….is alike hanging a wriggling fat fish in front of a hungry shark.

THAT…. got images of a huge fishy head, with bulging eyes and full cheeks (I loveee that part I tell you..) swimming in crimson, piping hot broth, with whiff of sharp piquant gravy assailing to my piggy snort…

But still I was hesitant..cos you see.. unless it is a food blogger or someone I know, who I had dined with before & had pronounced his/her standard in food worthy of opinion, I hardly trust their recommendations.

Blame it on past experiences.

Anyhow, I took the bait. Rounded up a gang. And this time thelaziestchefever aka The Gourmand Extraordinaire joined us. Do read about his excited experience here. ;p

As usual, desserts took the most attention & we started on the cakes, again… even before the order for the food was placed!

A Slice of Heaven
Jaya One (next to Cold Storage)
No. 72A Jalan Universiti
46200, Petaling Jaya.

Open daily from 10am to 10pm. For more details, check out Just Heavenly’s blog.

And all those pics of cakes by Ciki and AWOL got me rushing down to Bangsar for my fix…

Yup, it’s the Red Velvet and The Hummingbird. I actually preferred The Red Velvet by A Taste Boutique. Not sure if it was still that good since I last had it in Feb. Their cream cheese topping was remarkable.
This one was eerr…butter cream?
The Hummingbird was lovely though, the sponge base is banana-ish with generous amount of pecans. Moist, interesting & delicious!

Ok, now on the REAL food.
THE BEST DISH of the night = Salted Egg Squids. RM19.
This is THE “ham tan sotong“. One of their signatures. And superbly tasty.
It came to our table piping crispy hot and remained excellent throughout the meal. Even when it got cold, it didn’t collapse into a pile of soggy batter and rubber rings. Nope, it stayed crispy and tenderly chewable throughout.
For such a huge portion, RM19 is well justified.

Their Salted Egg Pork was another recommended dish. However, we tried not to go overboard with the salted egg flavour so then the lady boss recommended their Marmite Pork.
Alas, Emeryn doesn’t take marmite so we skipped that too.
PS: I saw that it was a popular order that night, and the pork pieces absolutely glisten, all sweet and sticky..darn…

We ended up with the Sweet and Sour Pork, RM17, which is basically a version that’s really substandard with floury coating & barely bearable- tasting pork meat and unimaginative gravy. Flat and bland. Urgh.

Guess that wasn’t their forte, for the other dishes did shine.

Our simple vege dish of quick fry french beans with chai poh. RM12. Sweet, crunchy and easy on the palate. Nice.

The steamed egg RM10 won us over with its slippery smooth and custard-like texture.
So simple, yet satisfying.

And here is the steamed assam fish. Tilapia, with moist sweet flesh, & no funny undiscerning taste whatsoever. Lap it up with the gravy, enjoy it with rice, eat it on its own. It’s just good.

The portions frighten us at first, for the lady who took the orders went ahead and set portions for 8, which is something one should be aware of when dining here.
So please inform her in advance, else she places kitchen orders for the number of pax at the table for EACH dish.

All in all, RM100 for all the dishes above, for 8 pax and with chinese tea included wasn’t a bad deal right??
The place may sound really remote, but it is actually about 15mins drive from SS2.
Mr Gourmand Extraordinaire mentioned the Setia Way KTM station is actually very nearby.

28, Jalan SS 9A/16
Sungai Way New Village,
47300 Petaling Jaya.
contact: 012 – 217 7260/012 380 3918

NO TREE IN SIGHT.

We sat at Tin Sing, which was air-conditioned but these two restaurants you see above actually shares the same kitchen. In short, BOTH restaurants are the same.
And yet the name on their receipt is Mei Sin or something..hhmm..

All hail the gluttons!!