Food Finds
Hello everyone and welcome to the new Malaysia! If you’ve noticed that the left index finger of people in the video below seems to have a black stain, it was because this was taken just a couple days post election, the stain was from indelible ink used on voters. And yes, the government was changed in the most shocking and democratic fashion, a new beginning for the country after 61 years of single-coalition rule. This review marks the first entry post-new Malaysia.
Anyway, let’s get to Liang Li Grilled Fish.
Liang Li Ikan Bakar, at Pandamaran 168
Liang Li grilled fish is a small grilled fish, or commonly known as Ikan Bakar, stall in Klang that is ultra popular to the locals. But since it is located almost all the way to Port Klang area at Pandamaran, it is still relatively unknown to people outside of this bak kut teh birth place.
The stall opens at 5:30pm, and it is always wise to get there as early as possible, for after 6pm or so the queue can be quite long and often wait time can exceed one hour due to the fact that the operator only grills with a small cooking area and have everything made-to-order to ensure quality.
Liang Li Ikan Bakar, with yee mee on the side
For the seven of us, we ordered a couple pieces of stingray, a portion of squid, prawns, a barramundi (siakap), and cockles from Liang Li stall. Additionally, we also ordered fried yee mee and Hokkien mee from the “tai chao” stall, and a portion of oyster omelet from another stall.
barramundi, stingray, prawns, squid
All seafood except the cockles (bakar style) were marinated the same way, with a strong presence of kunyit and curry powder of sort over banana leaf. What really stands out here is how each piece is cooked just so to a really soft and tender texture with nothing being overcooked or under-cooked.
The balacan infused chili paste that is served with the grilled seafood was top notch as well. We were really happy with the quality here.
cockles, hokkien mee, oyster omelet
The noodles were competent dish as well, but I thought the oyster omelet was a bit of a disappointment, something I wouldn’t order again.
The meal came up to around RM 30 per pax, and I believe we will certainly return for more next time.
Address:
Liang Li Grilled Fish
Restoran Pandamaran 168
168, Jalan Chan Ah Choo,
Pandamaran, Klang,
Selangor
GPS: 3.009372, 101.417521
Tel: 017-395 6257
Hours: 5:30 pm onwards
The birth place of bak kut teh, Klang, has perhaps one of the most competitive bak kut teh scene in the country, with population of some 750,000 (according to wikipedia) and a claimed of some 3-500 bak kut teh restaurants, it also has the highest BKT restaurant per capita.
Samy & Tien, night time bak kut teh option at Klang
From these mostly mom & pop restaurants rose a few familiar names of BKT sellers any connoisseurs of this dish would recognize- with one of them of the Ah Her & Samy family.
Well, they now have a new outlet at Taman Intan out to tackle the night market by the name of Samy & Tien Bak Kut Teh, challenging Weng Heong just a few shops down the street in luring those who look for a good BKT dinner.
Much like it’s sister branches of Ah Her at Pandamaran (night), or Samy & Ah Her at Berkeley (morning/lunch), Samy and Tien offers BKT in single serving bowls with a choice of your favorite parts – such as paikut (ribs), tua kut (big bone), seh kut (small bone), nui kut (soft bone), pua pui chiak (3 layer pork), and so forth.
paikut or tuakut? take your pick
As for taste, it is almost exactly alike their sister branches. Thick herbal soup with a strong peppery note, and with the meat coming in soft, tender, and flavorful.
Also similar with their sister branches, it is not meant for those who seek lots of soup to go with their BKT. This is not due to them being stingy, but there’s only so much broth you can make to achieve these sort of thick consistency.
So if you’re looking for one of the better bowl type BKT in Klang for dinner, now it’s just some 10 mins drive from Subang, with no more toll to pay as well!
Address:
Samy & Tien BKT
59, Jalan Batai Laut,
Taman Intan,
41300 Klang, Selangor
GPS: 3.056525, 101.474312
Tel: 012-876 6223
I’m blessed with many friends who know I love to explore different foods, and it is also from suggestions of these friends that I manage to experience all these different places documented in this spot on the interweb.
But even better than suggestions though, is when friends brought me to the source of food – like during my last work trip to Kota Kinabalu, May picked me up and took me to this place by the name of Sabah Keratang.
Restoran Sabah Keratang, Kota Kinabalu
Keratang is the local name for Giant Garupa – the largest bony fish that offshore Sabah. While there’s a misconception that giant garupa is just normal garupa that grew old and huge, it is actually an entirely separate species of garupa that can grow to half a tonne and has distinctively thicker skin.
Unlike full fledged seafood restaurants like Welcome Seafood, Salut Seafood, New Gaya, or fish noodle places like Fatt Kee, Taukefish, Sabah Keratang wedged itself pretty much right in the middle, offering fish noodle soup, fried rice or noodle with garupa, and a selection of seafood and other dishes to go with rice.
three dishes for two hungry souls
Over the dinner for two, we ordered a garupa soup (RM 30 for small), 3-in-1 seafood (RM 29.50 for small), and vegetable (RM 10) with a couple plates of steamed rice.
The garupa soup was as good as any seafood noodle places, with tomato and salted vegetable tofu soup base that compliments the fatty nature of the garupa meat with its thick skin. Portion was rather healthy as well even though this was a supposed to be a “small” one.
the giant garupa skin, check it out!
The 3-in-1 seafood came with prawns, squid, and of course, giant garupa slices. This turned out to be our favorite dish, the seafood was fresh and super tasty, and while it was slightly on the saltier side, with steamed rice it was perfect. I love it.
As for the vege, it wasn’t anything to shout about, not anywhere near the Kundasang sort of vegetable I enjoy.
Overall though, I thought Sabah Keratang is definitely a worthy place for a meal if you find yourself at Kota Kinabalu.
Address:
Sabah Keratang
Block J, Sadong Jaya,
74, Jalan Karamunsing,
Karamunsing,
88000 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah
GPS: 5.969263, 116.072061
Tel: 088-253 718
To be honest, I found out about the beef noodle at Lai Foong kopitam relatively recently via instagram posts of some friends I follow. Perhaps a bit of an embarrassment for someone who love street food, but better late than never, right?
Lai Foong kopitiam, Jalan Tun H S Lee
Located at Jalan Tun H. S. Lee (just across the entrance of Petaling Street), Lai Foong is wedged in some of the busiest areas in downtown KL. Parking is non existence, but luckily for those on motorcycle on a weekday morning, situation isn’t nearly as bleak. Another proof that motorcycle is the best invention of all time!
a selection of beefy goodness
The beef noodle stalls does open for business bright and early (by 8 am or so) and all throughout lunch time. A bowl with everything will cost RM 10 but does include pretty much every part that you can expect, including beef slices, tripe, intestine, beef ball, and my favorite – tendon. Every part was tender, with the tendon having the perfect consistency that isn’t chewy nor it is overly hard.
flank, beef, intestine, tendon, take your pick of have them all
The soup base is light yet flavorful, with a hint of soya sauce base yet having enough depth to satisfy. The chili sauce provided too does its job well and did not disappoint.
The beef noodle at Lai Foong certainly live up to its reputation, and has definitely earned yours truly as a customer who’d come back again.
Address:
Lai Foong kopitiam
138, Jalan Tun H S Lee,
50050 Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.145424, 101.696846
Tel: 03-2072 8123
Since I am somewhat known for being a bak kut teh lover (which I am), I suppose it is appropriate to not go too long between bak kut teh posts, so today I present you – Siong Huat Bak Kut Teh, at Port Klang.
Siong Huat Bak Kut Teh, Port Klang
As mentioned, this particular bak kut teh place is located near port Klang, so for those who travels from other parts of Klang Valley, it is indeed quite a distance. However, since the Federal Highway toll is dismantled, the journey cost RM 4.20 less, and so there’s no excuse to not do this.
Furthermore, Siong Huat also has a dedicated parking lot for dine in customers, which makes it that much more convenient.
Unlike many bak kut teh places in Klang that concentrate on either bowl type bkt (one where you specify just 1 particular cut of meat, served in bowl), Siong Huat offers claypot style bak kut teh in soup & dry versions, and also with options for seafood. On top of that, they also offer a variety of “tai chao” dishes.
bak kut teh does go very well with lala
For the 8 of us, we ordered a big portion of bak kut teh with lala (spicy version), a regular clay pot bak kut teh, a dry version, a plate of vegetable, and steamed garupa fillet with ginger. All of these to go with steamed rice, like god intended.
The seafood bak kut teh was served with a pretty generous amount of lala and chili padi. The cili padi is necessary in any seafood bak kut teh soup base to balance the seafood taste with herbal aroma. The version here is as good as others I’ve tried in Klang, such as Yun Heng’s lala bkt, or Klang Coast at Bukit Tinggi, but perhaps a notch below Ah Tao’s version (sadly he passed away). Definitely satisfying.
regular & dry bak kut teh, vegetable, steamed fish with ginger
The regular soup based as well as the dry bak kut teh were competent in their own right, with the soup version accompanied by pretty good tofu skin as well.
Additionally, their steamed garupa fish is a must order for those who love fish. The ginger was spicy, and fish tasted superbly fresh and done just right, goes well with steamed rice.
they have cendol with durian!
For those with some sense of adventure, Siong Huat also serves cendol with actual durian (RM 16 per bowl), a dessert fit as a meal on its own, and priced accordingly.
As for our over ordered meal, it came to around RM 40 per pax, including the pricey dessert. Worth it.
Address:
Siong Huat Bak Kut Teh
Jalan Tengku Badar,
Kawasan 13,
42000 Pelabuhan Klang, Selangor
GPS: 3.006649, 101.399987
Tel: 019-276 0363
