One of my weekend activities is visiting the wet market at Taman Megah, and right after that, breakfast, and that was how I discovered Restaurant Gembira that’s situated right opposite Ming Tien food court.
It was a quite amazing that despite staying within walking distance to this place, it took me some 7 years before I pay the first visit to this unassuming kopitiam. I’m glad I finally did, and as a reward, I found my favorite Sarawak kam lau mee.
Sarawak mee, one of the bests I’ve tried so far
Now, I can’t claim to be any good at determining the quality of Sarawak mee, in fact, Kuching is one of the cities that I’ve never set foot on (other than the airport), but I do know a good plate of hawker food when I eat it.
minced pork, char siu, noodle – simple and delicious
The dish is fairly simple – home made noodle, minced meat, char siu (bbq pork), and a little bit of chopped spring onion in a slightly salted clear sauce (without the dark soya sauce that is typical of wantan mee). It goes for RM 4.50 (regular) and RM 5.30 (big)
The combination was as sublime as it was good, and I think the key in this lies in the home made noodle that has a very good texture. It reminds me of the Sarawak noodle Irene once tapau for us from Kuching. It was delicious.
laksa sarawak here was quite frankly… terrible
The same stall also offers Laksa Sarawak, I’ve tried it once, and it was.. surprisingly terrible. The egg is a bit too burnt for my liking, prawn a tad too small, and soup not quite up to par. Don’t waste your time on this, the Laksa Sarawak at Bangsar is heaps better.
Any Sarawakian who tried this place before? Tell me what you think, and if there’s another place with better kam lou mee/laksa Sarawak that you know of, do share. 
Address:
Restaurant Gembira
Jalan SS+ 24/8
Taman Megah, Petaling Jaya
Selangor
GPS: 3.113943, 101.612206
I discovered Restaurant Sing Kee in most unconventional way – while riding my mountain bike for the purpose of waist management (beats running IMHO, you get a bit of adventure thrown in), I found myself at Sungai Way and saw this restaurant that was full of people.
If a restaurant at an old neighborhood is packed, it is usually good, and many weeks later, Haze and I decided to pay a visit for dinner.
Sing Kee at PJ Sungei Way
Sing Kee is just like any “tai chau“, with a huge variety of dishes on the menu. The specialty here though is their asam fish, a dish that we noticed on more than half the tables.
Since it was our first time here, I asked for the server to give us her recommendations. We ended up with asam fish, squid with salted egg yolk, and a plate of vegetable to go with two steamed rice.
the glorious asam fish – tilapia
It did take a while for food to be served, but at least the home brewed loh hon goh drinks accompanying our wait were plenty good.
Our food arrived.
The asam fish (RM 21) was almost a balanced meal by itself – steamed tilapia with brinjal, long bean, lady’s finger, onion, tomato, and red chili all in an asam soup base that strikes a perfect balance of sourness and hotness. The fish were done perfectly too, and despite a generally inferior species when it comes to taste, preparing it in this method clearly removes any muddy tastes that we sometimes associate with tilapia.
It was really one of the best asam fish dish I’ve tried thus far.
squid with salted egg, vegetable for vitamin c quota
Our second dish was the squid with salted egg (RM 22). A dish not recommended for the weak hearted (or those with high cholesterol for sure). It was another win, squid that still retains some chewiness coated with generous amount of salted egg and breading for that extra savory taste. The only problem with it was that the portion should be for 4 pax, not 2.
Then there was the vegetable, which tastes like any normal vegetable dish. Nothing to see here.
Haze and I were positively satisfied
If you’re looking for old fashion tai chau and a good plate of asam fish, you can certainly do worse than Sing Kee. I’m going to visit this place again when the asam addiction strike. Will try other dishes too.
P/S: I later found out that this is also one of Kerol’s favorite place, she is a picky eater.
Address:
Restaurant Sing Kee
No. 28, Jalan SS 9A/16
Sungai Way New Village
47300 Petaling Jaya
Selangor
GPS: 3.086855, 101.62206
Tel: 013-217 7260, 012-380 3918
Back in 2007 I wrote a blog post about this char kueh teow place in PJ State, it was the best char kueh teow I’ve in Klang Valley.
A couple years after that blog post, the kopitiam, along with the char kueh teow stall closed down. It was a tragedy, I was trying to look for a replacement go-to char kueh teow since then, a few other places came close, but none gave me that same “wok hei” in a plate of CKT as this stall
Still the best CKT in Klang Valley for me
Fortunately, the very same CKT is now back in PJ State, this time operating in the popular kopitiam next to UOB bank (the kopitiam also has very good roti bakar, seafood porridge, and braised duck at night).
I know it’s the same stall cos I can remember the operator, and interestingly enough he still recognizes me as fellow Penangites who moved to KL. He started operating CKT in this new location after an (I’m guessing unsuccessful) venture into operating a kopitiam.
I’m so glad this CKT man is back
The CKT itself is still just as good as I remember. It’s oily, spicy, and comes with all the ingredients you’d expect in a plate of proper CKT – cockles, prawns, Chinese sausage, bean sprouts, and the slightly wider version of kueh teow that is used here.
If you are looking for a plate of good char kueh teow, look no further than this plate of goodness at RM 4.
Address:
8 Jalan Tengah
Off Jalan Yong Shook Lin
Petaling Jaya
GPS: 3.099378, 101.644478
Last week I was invited to a buka puasa dinner at Paya Serai. It is a little bit like going to pasar ramadan at Kelana Jaya, there are over 100 dishes of mainly local delights to choose from, but instead of on a street, you have a comfortable air conditioned dining area, plus you pay a one lump sum instead of having to do so many transactions.
In another word, it is a buffet (duh!)
buffet spread at Paya Serai, PJ Hilton
For the Ramadan month, the buffet spread at Paya Serai is spearheaded by Chef Noor Hisham, so in addition to the international dishes, there are more emphasis on traditional Malay cuisine, which is entirely appropriate if you ask me.
awesome ulam spread, and sambal tempoyak too
I usually start my buffet with cold cuts and oysters (which they serve here too), but at Paya Serai, I can never resist their superb selection of ulam and sambal – especially sambal tempoyak. I don’t know if you can find this fermented durian sambal in any other hotel, it is positively pungent and supremely addictive for those who has a taste on the wilder side.
tempura and such, various kuih muih, ice kacang too
A couple dozen types of Nyonya and traditional Malay kuih muih is something not to be missed as well, and over here they have them in small convenient pieces so you don’t over stuffed your stomach too soon.
There’s a tempura stall and some sushi for those who felt like a buffet isn’t complete without Japanese food, but I didn’t have any but didn’t miss them.
paku, curry, and lala
Among the many dozens of traditional lauk, I was surprised to find paku in the spread, it’s one of my favorite vegetables and was always awesome. Their lamb curry, lala, paru (cow’s lung), and satey were pretty good as well.
I didn’t find baigan bhrata, a Northern Indian eggplant dish to be very delicious, but I guess a couple misses among over 100 dishes is certainly acceptable.
these four plates, and I was stuffed :S
Other than the normal buffet spreads, a few stalls were set up at the front of the restaurant too, offering laksa, nasi lemak, roti jala, and even apom. I tried the nasi lemak and it was pretty good (with beef rendang of course)
The buffet certainly had a lot more dishes than I could bargain for, and we eventually reluctantly leave even though there were more to be tasted. What to do, stomach already completely stuffed, haigh.
more food, and with the guys – Tian Chad, Firdy, Wilson
The buffet is from 7 pm to 10:30 pm. Pricing are as follow:
Do call for reservation cos it gets packed!
Address:
Paya Serai
Hilton Petaling Jaya
No 2 Jalan Barat
46200 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
GPS: 3.10235, 101.64087
Tel: 03-7955 9122
Hello and selamat berpuasa to all my Muslim friends.
To me, Bulan Puasa is always the best time to get yummy Malay food in great variety that you otherwise would not find in a single location – the ramadan bazaar that pops up everywhere and lasts only until Hari Raya.
pasar ramadan kelana jaya at Jalan SS 6/1
The first pasar ramadan I went to is the one at Kelana Jaya. The bazaar is situated opposite the small Giant at Kelana Jaya on Jalan SS 6/1. When we reached there at around 6 pm on Sunday evening, the place was already jam packed with a lot of people. My best estimate is that there were at least 50-60 stalls offering just about every Malay food you can imagine.
rendang, curry, kuih, keropok lekor
There were a few stalls offering beef rendang, lamb curry, or chicken curry to go with nasi kukus (steamed rice). We bought a packet of beef curry for RM 4 with easily enough tender meat to feed 3 full grown cats.
Coconut and sugar cane juice were going for RM 4 per jug too, and they are fresh and 100% without any additives. I doubt you can find better tebu for this price, I used to pay RM 2 for a small cup, or worse, those dried sugar cane drinks.
nasi tomato, lemang, roast lamb, ikan cencaru
The ikan cencaru goes for RM 5, 6, or 7 depending on size, and the uncle gives some extra sambal during packaging too. We bought one, and regretted not to have bought more. We also tried satar (in banana leaves with ikan tenggiri fillings, RM 2.50 for 4), RM 1′s worth of keropok lekor, chicken wings (RM 1.50 per piece), a very good beef murtabak, a some kuih too.
nasi ayam goreng, satar, sotong bakar
Lucky for us, there’s another 3 more weeks or so to go before bulan puasa ends, I still have quite a lot to try – the whole roast lamb, fried chicken, mee soto, laksa, sotong bakar, and more. yums.
Address:
Jalan SS 6/1
Kelana Jaya, PJ
Selangor
GPS: 3.104714, 101.601595
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