Food Finds
Over the weekends we found ourselves on the duty-free island that is Langkawi. Instead of a nice relaxing weekends at Datai like last time, this trip was for Haze’s speed painting job and we only had an evening to spend, so naturally we went to Cenang beach area.
Qiang Shi Fu Seafood Restaurant, Langkawi
Like most who’re at the area for the first time, we took the opportunity to visit the Underwater World Langkawi (will write about that), followed by looking at the variety of duty-free chocolates available at the stores.
By then, it’s dinner time. After looking around for a bit, we decided to dine at Qiang Shi Fu Seafood Restaurant, one of the very few (if not the only) Chinese restaurants at the area.
Like most seafood restaurants, they have a host of live seafood available for your picking. My eyes were fixated at those huge live top shelf in the tank by the entrance, so that we ordered 4 of those steamed with garlic, which turned out sweet, fresh, and perhaps just a bit on the chewy side.
red snapper, steamed with “choi pou”
We also had a red snapper steamed with fried ginger and choi pou (preserved radish) which turned out way better than expected. The fish was fresh and flavors well balanced with the other ingredients. In fact, I will try to cook our fish with this method.
steamed live top shelf, vegetable soup with salted egg
Pea shoots in soup filled our quota for fiber & vitamin C, and did the job rather well too. They even have a bit of salted egg in the soup for that extra kick.
Overall the meal cost us RM 89.50 including a RM 5 can of Tiger beer. I felt that it was a pretty decent value for what we had, and would not hesitate to return should we head to Langkawi again.
Address:
Qiang Shi Fu Seafood Restaurant
Jalan Pantai Chenang,
Kampung Lubok Buaya,
07000 Langkawi
GPS: 6.288132, 99.729330
Tel: 017-561 2223
Hours: Lunch & Dinner
After the recent bout of postings on Klang area foods, I think it’s time to get back to PJ for a bit, and talk about this Penang curry mee just off Jalan 222 that is fast becoming one of my regular weekday breakfast spots.
Curry mee at Restaurant Mei King, PJ off 222
For those who aren’t familiar with Penang style curry mee, it is quite different from the usual KL version. The ingredients usually consists of prawns, tofupok, cockles, cuttlefish, and the all important coagulated pork blood. All these served with your choice of noodle in a santan base broth topped with a sambal paste that can be slightly charred.
It is the best version of any curry mee if you ask me.
This particular stall in Mei Keng kopitiam is run by the same family originated from Penang Kuantan Road, they also run a stall at OUG’s Sun Sea kopitiam, which used to be one of my breakfast spots that takes quite a bit of detour en-route to work.
glorious Kuantan Road curry mee
The santan based soup is legit here, they get the sambal just right, and of course, there’s the all important coagulated pork blood. A bowl here cost RM 6 and it’s really rather close to any you’d get in Penang, except for maybe bigger cockles & prawns on the island.
prawn & coagulated pork blood, great combo
If you’re a curry mee fan and enjoy a good bowl of spicy curry mee worthy of heighten bowel movement in half a day’s time, this is one you should check out.
The stall opens for breakfast thru lunch. Another choice around the area is Restaurant Okay at SS2 Chow Yang area, but that one commands a long queue & runs out by 9ish usually.
Address:
Mei Keng kopitiam
42, Jalan 14/48,
Petaling Jaya, Selangor
GPS: 3.097563, 101.629334
A couple weeks ago one of my friends, Michael, a true born & bred Klang guy sent me a picture of a bowl of old school bak kut teh via WhatsApp and claimed that this place is so good they usually sell out by 8:30 in the morning. The name oft the shop – Teck Seong bak kut teh.
Teck Seong bkt, Taman Intan Klang
Coincidentally, this restaurant also happen to be located just minutes away from where I stay, makes visiting for weekday before-work-breakfast perfect. So I did just that the very next morning.
It is true that bak kut teh is mostly a breakfast dish in Klang, and some of the best outlets only operates in the morning. Like many of these places, Teck Seong starts early in the morning, at 6 am.
“pua pui chiak” cut, or 3 layer pork
The offering here is of the most old school style – one bowl of pork of your choice per person to go with steamed rice. You do get chili padi and soya sauce as condiments.
I’ve tried “pua pui chiak” (半肥瘦) and “tua kut” (big bone) at Teck Seong and the experience has been great. The soup, while a bit more subtle than the likes of Mo Sang Kor, it still holds a strong herbal note. The flavor of meat though, is among the best I’ve had, then there’s the fat, they just melt in you mouth. Excellent.
one tua kut is definitely a good way to start the day
A single portion with rice is RM 11, so prices are more than reasonable, if not slightly cheaper compared to some at the area. If you’re a fan of old school style BKT, this is surely one to check out.
Address:
Teck Seong Bak Kut Teh
29, Jalan Batai Laut,
Taman Intan,
41300 Klang, Selangor
GPS: 3.055686, 101.473612
Tel: 016-213 1161
Hours: 6 am to 8:30/9:00 am
To be perfectly honest, I’m not exactly the go-to person you’d expect when it comes to the latest reviews of the hottest or the most hipster-ish cafe. In fact, I almost actively not review cafes, mostly because every other bloggers do it, and I’m more the bak kut teh and street food kinda guy.
Seraph Awaken, Klang
Well, sometimes those paths crossed, like how we ended up at one of the more interesting cafes in all of Klang Valley, right here at bak kut teh country, by the name of Seraph Awaken.
Seraph Awaken is located right across from Teck Teh, the oldest bkt joint in all of Malaysia. Like most shops around the old Klang train station area, this place has an ambiance that takes you back to the 80s, I was trying to find a radiofusion box on the wall, but alas, there wasn’t one.
ice drip coffee
What they have though, is a good selection of hand brew coffee with a good selection of beans sourced from around the globe. There are beans from Honduras, Ethiopia, India, El Savador, Guatemala, Mexico, and Columbia priced at RM 12-18 per cup.
Alternatively, there’s machine brew coffee like where you’d find anywhere – espresso, latte, americano, cappuccino, etc from RM 7-11.
coffee cube latte
The most popular choices here are those from their signature series – hibiscus coffee, Roselle coffee, coffee cube latte, and ice drip coffee.
For the afternoon, I tried their coffee cube latte, a glass of ice cubes made from coffee with a serving of chilled milk. The result is a an iced latte experience that can only be enjoyed slowly, which is quite fitting for a lazy Sunday afternoon.
hand brewed Columbian
If you’re looking for an afternoon of coffee that’s not of your usual espresso variety, head over to Klang and give this place a visit.
Address:
Seraph Awaken
28, Jalan Stesen 1,
41000 Klang, Selangor
GPS: 3.042644, 101.448415
Tel: 012-290 6860
Hours: Thu-Fri, 12 noon-7 pm; Sat and Sun, 10 am-6 pm
A couple weekends ago while trying to play catch up in tasting as many different bak kut teh restaurants in Klang as humanely responsible, I took up the offer from Zess, our resident Klang bkt expert, and met up for a sumptuous brunch at Ah Chee clay pot bak kut teh.
Ah Chee Bak Kut Teh, Bayu Tinggi, Klang
Ah Chee is of course, another one of Zess’ friends (this guy knows a lot of BKT operators). The restaurant is located at an end lot at the rather busy commercial area at Bayu Tinggi, Klang.
If you’re not familiar with Bayu Tinggi, well, it is basically located in between Bukit Tinggi and Port Klang, a place that’s frequent mostly only by Klang residents.
For the 5 of us on a Sunday morning, we kept it simple and just asked for the softest meat with their signature intestines plus fuchuk (tofu skin).
check out the stuffed intestine
Like every place that Zess brought us thus far, this one again checked all the boxes. The soup is more than decent, thick, flavorful, and on par with most other Klang BKT I’ve tried.
The meat though (at least the version we had), was really tender with melt in your mouth fats. I really enjoyed that, but that was not the best part.
The star of the meal was their intestine. The stuffed intestine is probably up to 7-8 layers and thus had this really great texture to it. If you consume offal, this is a must-eat.
we picked the softest pork plus intestine
The meal came up to under RM 20 per person, right about average in terms what you expect to pay for good BKT meal. Will be glad to revisit.
Address:
Ah Chee Bak Kut Teh
5, Lorong Sentosa 4,
Bayu Tinggi,
42000 Klang, Selangor
GPS: 3.012755, 101.430965
Tel: 012-627 3797
