TRUE BLUE HONG KONG DIM SUM

After first tasting dim sum in Hong Kong in the 80's, it was a constant disappointment looking for good genuine true blue dim sum in Malaysia.

Through word of mouth, it is said the best dim sum is found in either Ipoh or Kuala Lumpur. After many years of going in search of the real McCoy Hong Kong dim sum, I have been really disappointed time and again. My search have brought me to five star hotels, to popular dim sum stalls by the road side and yet it seem to be elusive.

Since moving to Kinrara, I have embarked on a new quest to search out new good food in Puchong area. On a Sunday morning, on the way to a new church, I chance upon a dim sum restaurant. Being sceptical after such a long search, I gave this restaurant try without any hope of findig the true blue dim sum. How wrong was I when I tasted their "siew mai ". It was crunchy and sweet to the taste. It was how I remembered the dim sum tasted when I was in Hong Kong in the 80's. After tha first bites, the rest of the dim sums were just perfect especially the " Prawn Chee Cheong Fun". The prawn was fresh and the "chee cheong fun" literally melt in your mouth.

After a week, I went the second arm with my camera to show you all what this wonderful restaurant serve. They are open everyday except one Wednesday in a fortnight from 7:30am till 4:30pm. The restauant is easy to find as it is on the row of shophouses opposite the Puteri Mart in Puchong.

Try it and you will like it. Please do give me your comment.

Old Friend Hong Kong Dim Sum,

65, Jalan Puteri 5/7

Bandar Puteri,

47100 Puchong,

Selangor.

Tel: 6012 389 7901

Kemaman In Damnsara Utama

For those of you who are either from Trengganu or use to travel there would definitely heard of a small town Kemaman, about 50 kms from Kuantan. Most travellers would drop by this coffee shop, Hai Peng. It is a quaint coffee shop located at the corner of the traffic lights on the way to Kuala Trengganu. Here you can find wonderful local specialties such as "Nasi Dagang" , Keropok Lekor and of course the local bred coffee. That is the best you can find in Trengganu ( it have to be because I was born there ).

Just in August, I drive by Uptown in Damansara Utama and was greeted by a new sign board, "Kemaman Kopitiam." I was curious to think that someone would go through the trouble to associate with a town that is not so well known. Of course, when you used the name and mentioned Kopitiam, I must try the food to check its authenticity. ( I have to protect the honour to my hometown ).

I was given the menu which have similar food that I can find in Kemaman Hai Peng coffee shop.

My first dish was "Nasi Dagang", this is definitely different from the normal nasi lemak that you can find else. Nasi Dagang are made from glutinous rice and slight tinge of ginger top with "ikan Tonggol" ( a type of mackerel ). One mouthful brings me back memories of my hometown.

The second dish was Keropok Lekor, this is basically fish fingers make Kemaman style. The keropok are deep fried to a crisp and it sort of stir the salivary gland especially when you dip them into the chilli sauce that was provided.

Next comes the final test, the coffee; it was brewed to perfection, just the way I have tasted in Kemaman.

I talk with the owner, Ms. Nana Tan, she incidentally come from Kemaman. She told me the coffee powder originates from Hai Peng. The Keropok Lekor are also imported from Kemaman. As for the Nasi Dagang, it is cooked by herself and the main ingredient, the ikan tonggol , cannot be compromised. This is the only type of fish that can be used to cook genuine nasi dagang.

Ms. Tan told me that a couple of days ago, Light n Easy DJ Ross visited the shop incognito and make his recommendation on his regular " light eat beat" programme. That night their nasi dagang were sold out before 8:00pm.

You can try this authentic Kemaman cuisine Kopitiam style at Uptown Damansara Utama. There are next door to the police station. You will have no problem finding the place.

Kemaman Kopitiam

1 Jalan SS 21/60

Damansara Utama

47400 Petaling Jaya

Selangor

Tel: 60377221945

Together in Rawang

Having stayed in Rawang for 10 years, it is a wonder that I have missed out the opening of this new Together Restaurant & Cafe. I was told by the owner that the restaurant was opened for a year now.

This restaurant offers more of home cooking which may be dishes you find at most coffee shops. However, the taste is truly ourstanding as most of their food are home cooked.

The first dish I would highly recommend would be their Wantan Char Siew Noodles. The noodles are made in the shop. They do not sell them elsewhere. I remembered my young days where I would go to Petaling Street to savour the wonderful wantan noodle at Koon Kee. Now in Rawang town, I can enjoy just that. The noodles by Together Restaurant is not too soft or mushy. The succulent noodles would just break at each bite which is not common to find in other restaurant. The sauce were mixed at just the right texture.

I went with a couples of friends. One of them ordered just the small noodles. Once the noodles was served she regretted for ordering small even though the portion was larger that normal.

To accompanied our wanta noodles, we ordered Dumpling Soup (small portion). The dumpling were served steaming hot. There were altogether 5 pieces which were enough for 4 of us. Once again, the dumpling soup were served to our satisfaction. The dumpling have meat fillings which were well blended without the chunky lump when you bite each mouthful. The soup will just right, not to salty or too concentrated.

The last dish we ordered were Vinegered Pork Trotters. This is a Hakka traditional dish that are easily available in coffee shops but most of the time yo will find it either not sour enough or too sour or the meat to hard or too soft. In this case, I was pleasantly surprised that the dish was cook very well. I like to soup best especially when take hot. One sip will cause your mouth to salivate, making you wanting more. The meat are well cooked that it absorp the flavour of the soup. Depending on preference, to me I think the skin part of the trotters taste exquisite , sour yet sweet combine with the gelatinious skin which melt in your mouth. This is one dish that will make you wanting another helping of rice.

DIRECTION:

The restaurant is located in the newly completed shoplot of Rawang town. Head towards Serendah and when you are about to leave Rawang town you will notice a row of shophouse on the left. The shop is nearing the end of the shoplots heading towards Serendah.

ADDRESS:

Together Restaurant & Cafe

Block 1-1-7, Rawang Mutiara 1

Rawang Mutiara Business Centre

48000 Rawang, Selangor

Tel: 6012 3962290 / 6012 6617947

Sleeping or Jumping.....Your Pick.

Most of us would have heard of "Monk Jump Over The Wall" dish. Some may call it Buddha instead of monk. I would prefer to label it as monk because the story goes that a Buddhist monk was meditating in a monastery and he smelled of wonderful food across the wall. The smell was so good that he forget about his abstinence from meat that he climb over the wall to indulge in the bowl of soup which contained all the ingredients that can destroy the faith of a monk!.

This Monk Jump Over The Wall dish is both popular as well as making a dent in your pocket. There are many restaurants cooking such dishes and in the course of my checking out I was introduced to this restaurant in Tanjong Malim, Perak that offer a different type of "Monk". The restaurant owner have named the dish " Sleeping Monk". When asked what is the different between Sleeping Monk and Monk Jump Over the Wall. The answer given was just as sheepish as the name. The reason given is that Sleeping Monk is the younger brother of the other dish and the prices is cheaper ( RM 280 for a bowl for 12 pax ).

The ingredients for this dish is similar to its big brother and the taste is better than all the mini Jump Over the Wall dish. This dish have to be ordered 2 days in advance and when served, you are sure to have the waft of the aroma that is famous to make a monk jump or in this case wake up a sleeping monk!

Other specialty are, Sea Cucumbers Stuff with scallops, mushroom and herbs. There is another dish which you have to call earlier to inquiry if it is available and it is dependant on the catch of the day. It is the "Water Monkey". When I ordered this dish, I have a funny look from the neighbouring tables as they literally thought I was ordering monkey meat! Actually the Water Monkey is a fish called Sebarau in Malay and water monkey in Cantonese. It is one of the best fresh water fishes you ever tasted. The dish is served steamed and the little soup that are on the dish will be scoop off onto your rice and you will be asking for another bowl of rice in no time!

This restaurant, FU MAN is on the route for those gourmet tours as you can always see bus load of people converging there for both lunch and dinner especially during weekends.

DIRECTIONS:

On the North South Highway, you exit at the Tanjong Malim toll. Once you paid the toll, you go straight and look out for the sign to UPSI ( Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris ). They are located at the end shop lot near the the university. It is by the roadside. You should have no problem finding the place as the shop lots are rolls of shops selling textile.

ADDRESS:

FU MAN Enterprise

39, Jalan U1

Taman Universiti

35900 Tanjong Malim

Perak.

Tel: 605 4597620

Mobile: 6012 6541587

The Best In Rawang

Whenever my friends know that I am staying in Rawang, their first comment is whether I knew the restaurant famous for its steamed talipia fish. Most of them know the restaurant Lan Je because it have been around for as long as I can remember. This restaurant in so famous that the only dish worth ordering is Steamed Talipia and nothing else.

Since I am from Rawang, I think I should reccommend another restaurant that have at least 18 ways of cooking Talipia fishes. I have tasted several ways of how this Talipia have been cook and I would like to reccommend three types of these cooking.

1) Chin Fong Talipia.( Top Left)

The talipia are fried and steamed before serving wrap in alumminium foil. The wraping seal up the juice and contained the aroma of the curry leaves during the steaming process.

The fish is crispy at the surface yet juicy when you bite into it. It is both appetizing as well as spicy to the taste. A definite to hit with spicy food lover.

2) Kwai Mei Talipia.( Centre )

Literally translated as "Unique Flavor Talipia". It is indeed unique because the fish is marinated in orange juice and fried with curry leaves. It is a favourite with both children and adult alike. The uniqueness is that on one hand you like the smell emitted by the curry leaves and on the other, the savoury taste of orange.

4) Kwai Fei Poh Pin Talipia.

For thos who do not like fried fishes, they have steamed talipia with sliced abalone. Normally, steamed talipia are associated with muddy smell. The way the fish is steamed have removed all the mud smell and with the slices of abalone you would think twice about labelling talipia fish and a lowly fish.

The smoothness of the fish plus the spring texture of the abalone, you cannot imagine the fish is talipia. Most would think the fish to be a Napolean Wrasse fish but not at that price.

Direction:

To get to this restaurant, you need to turn toward the left after exiting the Rawang interchange toward Batang Berjuntai / Batu Arang. It is approximately 3 km from the toll, on the right side of the road directly before the Shell Station. You should see the restaurant before you reach the traffic junction to Bandar Country Homes.

Other Dishes:

There are other dishes to choose from among my favourite is the Shanghai Spicy Chicken ( Top Right Picture). his special dishes are concoction of the restaurant owner. The chickens slices are fried with four types of chillies and add with a tinge of salted fish. When eaten hot, you would enjoy gulping them with plateful of rice.

Price:

The Prices are reasonable. The prices of talipia dishes are from RM 18 to RM 30 depending on the size of the fishes and the style of cooking. It is a good place for family dining as you would have nice food without a dent in your pocket.

Restaurant:

Restoran Chin Hiong

Lot 2, Batu 22, Jalan Batu Arang,

Kampung Sungai Bakau,

48000 Selangor, Malaysia

Tel: 603 6092 0628

ENJOY!

Good Old Japanese

I invited my friend to Klang recently for Japanese food. My reluctant friend commented " Klang is know for its 'Bak Kut Teh', but Japanese Food?"

It is with much persuasion that he finally agree to the invitation ( even though I was paying ).

The first dish of Shashimi salmon and hamachi have him yearning for more.

Shashimi taste better if you know that the fish used are fresh and the fish are from the cold water North of the Tropic of Cancer. The reason being in cold water the fish have more fat to keep themselves warm as compare with fishes near the Equator (that is why you find most buffets that serves tuna do not taste smooth and most time rough to the tongue). This fat have rich resource of Omega, enhance the taste as well as stimulate your palate especially if you dip it with sufficient amount of 'wasabi'.

The best part of Shashimi is the belly area. I happen to know the Osaka Restaurant owner and he provided me salmon shashimi near the belly area. The smoothness literally make the shashimi melt in the mouth. The hamachi was sweet and have nice after taste. We have to have refilling after one plate.

Next was the signature dish of the restaurant : The Black Dragon. I notice that every patron at the restaurant ordered this special dish. When ours arrived it was gobbled down at the blink of the eye. Even Houdini would find this disappearing act hard to follow. We have to order another round to keep everybody satisfied.

The Black Dragon is shushi roll with the internal filling consisting of soft shell crab and the external filling with unagi . It is a definite a must try.

For the adventurous, you can try the 'spicy tuna maki' this shushi roll is spicy and if you need it more hot, you can request for 'chilli padi ' to be added. Once you put the shushi in you mouth after dipping them into wasibi soy sauce, you have to be careful or else you will think a volcano eruption in your mouth, coming through your nose, ear , eyes and will leave your hair standing on ends!

Try this restaurant and if you like it, continue to check out this blog for I will continue to update on other food I have enjoyed during my sojourned;

Restaurant Osaka

1 Ground Floor,

Jalan Tiara 2B

Bandar Baru Klang

41150 Klang

Selangor

Malaysia

Tel: 603 33431855