Sentul is one of those places in KL that I probably go less than once per year, and both times in the last two years, I went there for dinner at Zhen Liew Siang, courtesy of Haze’s aunt, one of those old school ladies who  loves her good, strong tasting Malaysian Chinese food.
Zhen Liew Siang at Sentul, always packed at weekends
The restaurant is located at Sentul Raya, the part of Sentul that has seen quite a bit of rebuilt over the years, you’d easily mistaken the area with some of the more glamorous parts of KL.
The restaurant occupies two floors of a shop lot, and a big chunk of parking space as make shift alfresco dining area. On weekends, parking is terrible and you almost always have to wait for a table, telephone booking is recommended.
fried mantis prawn with egg yolk, deep fried choi sam, belacan fried chicken wings
For this session, we ordered five dishes for the six of us, and had to wait for some 20-25 minutes before the food is served on a Saturday night.
Fried mantis prawn is battered and coated with salted egg yolk, and curry leaves to spice it up a bit. Anyone who likes squid with salted egg would love this.
For greens, we had fried “choi sam”, a cooking method that’s been gaining popularity recently, especially with kailan. The choi sam version is just as good, and I especially  like it that they sprinkle some deep fried imitation crab meat on top for that extra texture and complexity.
The belacan fried chicken is a dish taken from classic Penang Hookien/Nyonya cooking style, and according to Haze’s aunt, the head chef is apparently a Hokkien, which explains the chicken wings and the next dish – curry fish head.
nyonya style curry fish head
The curry fish head here is excellent, and pretty much the same as the way my mom cooks it. There’s brinjal, long beans, lady’s fingers, tofu pok, curry leaves, and of course, the fish head itself (I believe it was red snapper). Gravy positively thick and flavorful, with just enough hotness to go with steamed rice. If you want a full flavor Penang Nyonya style curry fish head, this is the place to go.
steamed stingray, irresistibly spicyÂ
The last dish we had was the steamed sting ray. Smaller sized string ray is used here as they often have a much smoother texture. The fish is covered with a thick layer of really spicy sambal that is slightly sweet and positively addictive. I struggled a bit to cope with the hotness but find myself unable to stop scooping up more of those spicy sauce. It was really good.
Zhen Liew Siang also offered other signature dishes like their steamed lala, banana leaf prawns/sotong, and even “shark mouth”. Do yourself a favor, make a trip to Sentul and give it a try!
Address:
Restoran Makanan Laut Zhen Liew Siang
No.30, Jalan 14/48A,
Sentul Raya, Off Jalan Sentul,
51000 Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.18472, 101.69212
Tel: 03-4041 3781
Hmmmmmm, I want myself some of that hot, piping curry fish head! *heart shapes for eyes*
Yvonne: if I see a heat shaped eyes I’ll freak out.
you should try their hot plate sotong…
Philnix: I should next time!
I do hope they dont serve pork at least? The food looks so yummy. Would Be nice if u can include in ur future post whether its halal non halal pork free etc etc. it would help alot. Hehehe
Raihan: actually they do. Every pork free/halal place is filed under “halal food” category.
YUMS!!!!
J.Y Tan: om nom nom
I always go there by 6 to make sure got tables. Love the stingray and fried chicken wings!
JD: wah that’s plenty early
The stingray looks good! The sauce should goes well with rice
Ken: very well indeed, super spicy
That’s quite quick service considering it was quite a full crowd. Think I will ehad in for the sting ray. Love spicy ones:D
missyblurkit: and it’ll be worth it!
Mmmm the stingray looks yummy!
Kelly: is very good!
oh we’ve had lunch and dinner here many times! Love the food.. more importantly, love the prices! LOL
ciki: ya very reasonable!