One of the best things about sharing my food adventures on this site is that I do get a lot of good recommendations from readers. From the previous post on the char kuih teow at Mei Sin kopitiam, missyblurkit commented that I should try their nian gao (kuih bakul, 炸年糕, or fried gold cake), and another reader, May, mentioned that I should try the Ipoh kai si hor fun.
A couple weeks later, I did just that.
fried nian gao at Restaurant Mei Sin
For those who aren’t familiar with nian gao, also known as Chinese New Year cake, it is prepared from glutinous rice and very generous amount of sugar. It is sweet and sticky, and most consumed during Chinese New Year as the name nian gao 年糕 sounds like 年高, which symbolizes a higher (better) next year.
I love it smacked between layers of sweet potato and yam, and deep fried in batter.
nian gao in between yam and sweet potato, superb with coffee
The end result is a lethal dose of calorie that is crispy on the outside, firm in between, and soft in the middle. This delicacy is best consumed piping hot, it is mainly sweet, and I think goes best with coffee (even better with Vietnamese coffee).
The same stall also offers other deep fried goodness such as sesame seed ball and banana.
I remember having this first time when I was a small kid back in Penang, from the then famous (or perhaps still) stall located right in front of Island Plaza (of course back then there was no Island Plaza) in Tanjung Tokong. This is the first time I had a good one in KL, any other places offering the same thing?
kai si hor fun at Mei Sin kopitiam
The nian gao was of course, the dessert. My main meal for the day was the Ipoh kai si hor fun, and as suggested, I tried the dry version.
It was a pretty simple dish, with hor fun (or kuih teow, if you like) served in some combination of dark/light soya sauce with bean sprout, smooth steamed chicken and plenty of fried garlic on top. It actually tasted good, and I bet would be even better if I ask for thigh next time. (mine came with chicken breast, I don’t like chicken breast)
Address:
Restaurant Mei Sin
No. 16, Jalan Melati
Off Jalan Imbi,
Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.14396, 101.714768
Portuguese grilled fish is a bit like chicken Maryland. If you head to wikipedia and search for Portuguese cuisine, there won’t be any dish described in there that is remotely close to what we are familiar with as Portuguese grilled fish. Similarly, I’ve been to Maryland a few times without ever encountering our version of this Western food chicken dish.
Nevertheless, along with such terms like Balinese cats that aren’t from Bali, we know what we’re getting into when we order Portuguese grilled fish, and we don’t expect it to be Cristiano Ronaldo’s favorite dish.
this stall has been around for decades
My very first experience with this version of grilled fish was actually at this famous stall at Petaling Street probably some 15 years ago when I was studying at Subang Jaya, and it wasn’t just a few weeks ago that I finally pay a return visit after all these while.
15 years ago, Petaling Street had no roof, the stall operators were mostly locals selling counterfeit products, and the Portuguese grill fish operation was a stall next to Hong Leong bank.
Today, the street has a shiny roof, stalls are manned by Banglas & Nepalis selling the same counterfeit products, and nothing has changed to the Portuguese grill fish stall.
medium portion with squid, lala, and sting ray
A portion of grilled fish starts at RM 5 (kembung) & RM 7 (stingray, tilapia, chicken fish) and comes with one serving of rice. The version we ordered had string ray, lala, and squid in medium portion and cost an affordable RM 15.
Other than fish, you can order prawns, squid, bamboo shoots, and chicken wings, and the combination of them.
The preparation method seems fairly straight forward – the ingredients are chucked into aluminum foil, and then cooked over charcoal fire. Waiting time is usually at least 25-35 minutes because everything is cooked from its raw form.
still as good as when I had it for the first time more than 10 yrs ago
While the rice we had that day was a little too wet, the grilled seafood was a blast. Their super spicy sambal is still as addictive as I remember, and there was just no way one could realistically finish the paste without suffering permanent damage to the stomach lining, but we couldn’t stopped ourselves from having just one. more. spoon.
It was another good meal, the old fashion way, and next time, I’m gonna order them with petai. 
Address:
Ikan Panggang Portugis Istimewa
by Hong Leong Bank, Petaling Street
50000 Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.144501, 101.697725
Tel: 019 315 9448
Ask anyone from Penang, and chances are char kuih teow is in the list of their favorite hawker dishes. So for those Penangites living in Klang Valley, there’s always a constant urge to find a good plate of char kuih teow.
So when a colleague who was also from Penang talked about this CKT place at Imbi, I knew that we will surely have to try this over lunch time, even thought it meant a good 1km+ walk under the sun.
Mei Sin kopitiam Char Kueh Teow stall
Mei Sin eating shop is a kopitiam just off Jalan Imbi, and just like another famous kopitiam nearby – Win Heng Seng, this one is usually packed with white, blue, and no collar workers during lunch hours.
glorious char kuih teow, just need even bigger prawns actually
We went there by around 12 p.m. and the crowd was just building up. The char kuih teow we ordered (of course I ordered in Penang Hokkien, always as a litmus test) took just 15 minutes or so to arrive.
The plate of RM 4.50 goodness came with lightly cooked cockles, prawns (medium size), egg, kuih teow, bean sprouts, and of course, chives. It was lovely, spicy, full of “wok hei”, and positively delicious.
I would rate this place a little better than the CKT stall at Win Heng Seng a stone’s throw away.
Sheng loves the CKT, and do try the fresh yao char kuai too
When you are at Mei Sin kopitiam, don’t miss out on the yao char kuai too. The freshly deep fried yao char kuai I had was very crispy and had just the right amount of saltiness with it. I wished there were some bak kut teh soup to go with, but I guess kopi-o wouldn’t be a bad substitute either. The yao char kuai place seems to be off on Thursdays.
Address:
Restaurant Mei Sin
No. 16, Jalan Melati
Off Jalan Imbi,
Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.14396, 101.714768
Every once in a while, usually on Fridays, we drive out from the enclave of Bukit Bintang to eat at a land far away. For example, Ah Koong Eating House (亚坤纯正西刀鱼丸) at a grand total of 2 kilometers away from the office.
Ah Koong Eating House, Imbi, plenty to choose from
Ah Koong Eating House has quite an extensive menu of various fishball noodle with different choices of fish, oyster, fish cake, yong tau foo, and more. It is in essence, similar to the likes of B & Best Seafood Noodle and 60s Teow Chew Fishball Noodle, but with even more varieties on offer.
The good thing about Ah Koong though, is that the shop is airconditioned too.
some deep fried goodness as side dishes
Ordering at Ah Koong is simple, you proceed to the front of the “stall” pick your choice of noodle/rice/porridge/kuih teow etc to go with your choice of different fish meat, fishball, oyster, and more. There’s also a choice of different soup to go with – dry, tomyam, curry, and clear soup.
curry mee, dried noodle, soup noodle, and oysters
We ordered some deep fried fish cake and yong tau foo items to share, and I had the fishball kuih teow soup with oysters (RM 14 + YTF price per item), and it was actually quite delightful. A colleague had their curry mee, and another elected to go with dried lou she fun, and each gave pretty decent feedbacks to their dishes.
While the place might have a reputation of being expensive, I found that the price is pretty much in line with other shops that serves similar type of food. Parking at Imbi area can be a drag, but if you’re looking for a bowl of good fishball soup with choices of other goodies to add in, this would be a place to go in KL.
p/s: if you want those with pork lard, head to B & Best instead.
Address:
Ah Koong Eating Place
Ground Floor No.172,
Jln Changkat Tambi Dollah,
Off Jalan Pudu,
55100 Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.140039,101.712858
Tel: 03-2143 3477
Some weeks ago I attended a pretty special fine dining session hosted by Carlsberg Malaysia at Samplings on the Fourteen, Berjaya Time Square Hotel in conjunction with their participation in the 11th installation of Malaysian International Gourmet Festival.
That was a long sentence in a paragraph, but basically it was Carlsberg introducing Kronenbourg 1664 & Kronenbourg Blanc as the official beer of the festival.
Asahi, Kronenberg, Blanc, Savanna Dry
It was a night of food and beer pairing, with the food prepared by Chef Jochen Kern and Chef Valmurugan Subramaniam (Sous Chef of the restaurant).
Chef Jochen Kern is a German culinary expert with more than 40 years of experience in the industry, having served many dignitaries such as Queen Elizabeth II, President Bill Clinton, Dr. M, King of Thailand, Sultan of Brunei and more. With a credential like his, we knew we were in for a treat.
pan fried foie gras – om nom nom nom
We started the night with Pan Fried Foie Gras on marmalade of fresh grapes, red onion, and Kronenbourg Blanc. Two generous slabs of those liver was more than I bargained for, it was as good as the memory of my first time having it at Zipangu. There were also a couple shavings of truffles on top, le yums!
The foie gras was paired with Savanna Dry Cinder, perfectly counter the fattiness of the liver. Good stuff.
savanna dry cider infused porcini mushroom, poached black cod, Blanc
Next up was what the good chef called Cappuccino, Savanna Dry Cider infused Porcini Mushroom; and Poached Black Cod, in Kronenbourg Blanc Sabayon & Beurre du mutarde on brown lentille and potato compote. We had these with a glass of Kronenbourg Blanc.
The soup had an interesting blend of taste, with the sweetness of cider crossing with the taste of mushroom, it worked for me. Poached black cod is new to me too, and the beer infused sauce over the fish was perhaps just a tad too much smoothness, perhaps something fresh or crunchy could have made it even better, but I was just nitpicking. It was still very good nonetheless.
grilled American prime beef tenderloin
Then we arrived at the main dish of Grilled American Prime Beef Tenderloin. This slab of meat was glazed in peppered Kronenbourg lager and tomato choron with Louisiana corn crisps and tender chilly bean tomato.
Say what you would about Wagyu or Kobe beef, I still love these classic prime beef just as much. It was perfectly prepared, and of course went very well with the glass of lager accompanying the meat.
hot corossol souffle with cafe luwak, cafe amarula iced
Desserts came in the form of Hot Chocolate Souffle with cafe luwak sabayon (I just had cafe luwak in Bali a week prior) to go with Inniskillin Ice Wine, which was very cold, sweet, and aromatic, perfect for desserts.
To cap the night, we also had a cup of Cafe Amarula instead of the usual coffee or tea. Much creamier, and carries a kick on top of the coffee flavor, good stuff.
chef Jochen Kern, Siao Ling, Søren, myself, and Suan
It was a fantastic night that was only bettered by the company at our table of 5. Two other media friends, Suan, and myself were joined by none other than the MD of Carlsberg Malaysia, Søren. Whom despite his position, turned out to be a friendly chap who shared with us many topics both in and outside the industry.
Now I shall replay the memory of savoring that foie gras in my brain, on a loop.
