PJ is one of the oldest townships in Klang Valley with it’s oldest part aptly called Old Town. In this part of the valley, you can find quite a number of eateries older folks are familiar with.

As a general rule of thumb, older establishments that withstood the test of time usually offers better foods, which is why once in a while we’d head to the food court at PJ old town for some good old fashion hawker food.

sting ray curry, vinegar pork, and chicken rice

The last time we went was a few weeks ago, and this time around we ordered the curry fish from Gerai Seong Kee. There were a few types of fish to choose from, we ordered a big clay pot of stingray curry mainly due to the lack of hazard in fish bones.

I almost always choose stingray when it comes to ikan bakar as well. It’s just a lot easier, not to mention the fact that I actually love the way it tastes.

clay pot stingray curry fish from Seong Kee

Rather than ordering white rice to go with the curry fish, we got a serving of pork knuckle with vinegar and a plate of roast pork and roast chicken from Kie Kee chicken rice. This way, we get to have four different dishes with chicken rice instead of plain tasting normal steamed rice.

The concept is pretty much like how you’d dine in a Tai Chow place, except this is actually a food court.

roast chicken, roast pork, and pork knuckle with vinegar from Kie Kee

As it turned out, the rich and creamy santan based curry fish actually does go very well with chicken rice. Combination of cabbage, brinjal, ladies finger and that soft silky stingray meat mixes well with the slightly oily rice.

The pork knuckle was fatty and quite strong tasting, just the way I like it. The best thing is, alternating the few dishes ensures that your palate doesn’t go dull by having the same taste throughout the entire meal. It was good.

Best of all, the lunch session didn’t exactly cost us an arm and a leg, it’s in a food court after all. However, the serving from Kie Kee seems to be getting smaller and smaller while the price basically remains rather cheap. I guess you can’t escape from inflation after all.

Address:
Intersection of
Jalan Othman & Jalan Selangor
Petaling Jaya, Selangor
GPS: 3.087519, 101.645948

Tags:  chicken-rice,  curry,  horng,  kerol,  old-town,  rachel

Posted by KY | 20 Comments »

After writing about the New Restaurant Ipoh Chicken Rice, I got a comment from Mellissa saying that I was conned and that the real deal is at Restaurant Satellite Chicken Rice right next door to the former. Which only means that I gotta give this place a try since this is the lady’s grandpa’s favorite place.

So Mell and I went to the restaurant last Thursday for an early chicken rice dinner after we came back from Krabi.

Restaurant Satellite Ipoh Chicken Rice

The one thing I like about the place is the ample parking space, and since New Restaurant and Satellite basically reside next to each other, the same applies to both. So many good eating places in KL comes with nightmare parking situation (like Ngau Kei beef noodle), and I’m just glad that this one doesn’t.

We took our seats and ordered roasted & steamed chicken for two, a plate of the signature bean sprouts, and a dish of mixed chicken innards that include intestine, liver, and chicken gizzard to go with a couple plates of chicken rice. I don’t think they serve any pork (roasted or bbq) here, just good old fashion chicken rice.

roasted & steamed chicken, innards, bean sprouts, Mell & KY

As it was pretty early and the restaurant still pretty empty, our food came rather fast.

The chicken were smooth and rather tasty (I prefer the steamed), and while the chicken liver might have been slightly too cooked, the gizzard and intestine were nice and chewy in a good way. I do like the seasoning on the bean sprouts and the chili paste more than their neighbour.

The soup though, was nothing to shout about. I wish more places would serve good soup like Yat Yeh Heng chicken rice at Kelana Jaya.

Satellite Restaurant is located on Jalan Gasing, near Fed Hwy

Overall dinner was pretty satisfying, but at RM 27 (including drinks and another packet of chicken rice to go), it certainly isn’t the cheapest chicken rice around town. It’s hard to pick a “winner” between Satellite and New Restaurant, but I gotta say that this place oozes out the feel or traditional chicken rice a bit more than the ultra modern approach of New Restaurant Ipoh Chicken Rice. You can’t go wrong with either one though.

Address:
Restaurant Satellite Ipoh Chicken Rice
103 Jalan Gasing 10/1,
46000 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
GPS: 3.107456, 101.65334
Tel: 03-7956 6830

Tags:  chicken-rice,  hawker,  jalan gasing,  mellissa

Posted by KY | 30 Comments »

Everyone in a while, Kerol would come over and pick us up for brunch over the weekends. Being from Penang, this not-terribly-young lady is a truly picky when it comes to choosing her food. So whenever she brings me to a new eatery, it is most often one worth the stomach.

New Restaurant Ipoh Chicken Rice at Jalan Gasing

A couple weeks ago she brought myself and housemate Rachel to the New Restaurant Ipoh Chicken Rice at Jalan Gasing.

I am quite a fan of chicken rice, from Malay stalls, Ayamas, air-conditioned restaurant, to the famous Fatty Loh Chicken Rice in Penang, I’ve really tried them all. However, none of the above mentioned outlets is as big as this place.

pork meat balls, bean sprouts, roasted pork, steamed chicken

Since arriving at PJ from Ipoh in 1977, New Restaurant Ipoh Chicken Rice has expanded to four shop lots with tables on both levels. There were at least 30 workers including servers, hosts, cleaners, cooks, and kitchen helpers in the very efficiently and rather clean restaurant. Order is done with an assistant of a PDA connected wirelessly to the kitchen too.

For the three of us, we ordered roasted and steamed spring chicken, roasted pork (siu yok), six pork meatballs, and a portion of bean sprouts.

Rachel, Kerol, and KY enjoying some chicken rice

One very important thing at any chicken rice places is the quality of it’s chili sauce, and in this regard, New Restaurant Ipoh Chicken Rice did not disappoint. The chili does pack a kick, and minced ginger is available too.

The chicken was really delightful, even the breast meat was rather smooth and rather tasty, but of course, I still prefer dark meat anytime. Bean sprouts were fat and juicy, providing a nice contrasting texture to the meat. The meat balls were, although famous and tasted pretty decent, isn’t at the same league Wan Hou Steamboat’s version. The roasted pork too, was alright but isn’t something I would recommend strongly, I had wish we ordered more chicken instead.

New Restuarant Ipoh Chicken Rice is pretty close to Federal Highway

With everything we ordered, lunch came to about RM 10 or so per person. Not exactly the cheapest meal but a pretty satisfying one. The place opens from 7:30 in the morning till some 11pm at night daily. Interestingly, there’s another chicken rice shop right next to it that is more old school, and as Mell said, her grand dad’s favorite. I shall check out that particular Satellite Chicken Rice shop soon.

Address:
New Restaurant Ipoh Chicken Rice
107, Jalan Gasing 10/1
46000 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
GPS: 3.107456, 101.65334
Tel: 03-7956 0958

Tags:  chicken-rice,  jalan gasing,  kerol,  rachel,  roasted-pork,  siu-yok

Posted by KY | 43 Comments »

On a lazy weekend morning a few weeks ago, I was looking for a lunch buddy and happened to see Lorna coming online over MSN.

“Lunch?”
“Why not?”
“Let me bring you to this Malay chicken rice place”

I said okay with a mixture of apprehension and curiosity, then proceed to get ready and wait for the lady to pick me up. (sexual equality, right? )

Lorna sipping her syrup ais

As it turned out, the nasi ayam bakar special (special roasted chicken rice) place is located pretty close to where I stay, at SS5 just next to the big Kelana Jaya Giant. The Malay food court area was not as busy in the afternoon as it is at night, there were only a few tables occupied.

drum stick, rice, soup, satisfying

We ordered two sets of nasi ayam bakar with drum sticks, and another extra drum stick for good measure. To properly Malaysianised the meal, we had iced syrup to drink.

The bbq chicken was rather unique, I could only describe it as a cross between roasted chicken and the chicken tandoori with the sauce that is somewhat similar to paprik style, slightly sweet and a little spicy. The rice was cooked together with other chicken parts (such as neck) and I presume, fats; thus carry a very fragrant smell that goes very well with the meat. It was very unique and certainly delicious. We finished devoured everything to the bones.

If I remember correctly, the chicken rice was less than RM 5 per portion and only available during lunch. The same place also have a big sign board that says “steamboat”, I wonder how Malay steamboat tastes like, maybe another time.

Address:
Jalan SS6/2,
Kelana Jaya, PJ, Selangor
GPS: 3.101791, 101.598172

Tags:  chicken-rice,  lorna,  lunch,  malay-food

Posted by KY | 24 Comments »

Earlier this month I was invited to the Wild Rice restaurant at Mid Valley Boulevard hotel for a food review session courtesy of foodstreet. I looked through the list of my MSN and found a dinner partner in Ringo to go there with me. (you know, a fehmes blogger to increase my street cred.)

wild rice restaurant, with indoor and outdoor seatings

The wild rice restaurant is situated on the 9th floor with nice indoor seatings as well as the open terrace with a beautiful pool view.

We were greeted by the friendly communication manager Mr. Huang, and shortly after that the dishes started coming in. The good chef prepared eight dishes for just the three of us for the night. Other than their weekend buffet, Wild Rice restaurant serves Malaysian food as well as Western dishes.

clay pot chicken rice, char kueh teow, Penang seafood hor fun

Our first dish of the night was none other than Char Kueh Teow. I usually have my reservations when it comes to this dish, but the chef (who has a very strong Penang tie) actually pulled this off rather well. The good size prawns, chives, bean sprouts, and egg combined to deliver a dish that tasted pretty good.

Similarly, the Penang Hor Fun was very nice as well. I like the way the egg is done with the yolk still half cooked while the white spread over the flat noodle. The hor fun comes with prawns, squid, dory fish fillet, and vegetables.

The chef also prepared two versions of clay pot chicken rice for us, the more usual recipe with salted fish, and a version with century egg. Although I love century eggs, I think the combination is a little weird though, this little experiment from the chef didn’t turn out very great (the dish is not on the menu). Then again, I always applaud chefs who are willing to experiment.

Hainanese chicken chop, avocado burger, pan fried salmon, oxtail soup

Then there’s the very crispy and juicy Hainanese chicken chop that I wish I have a bigger stomach to eat more. The chicken chop consists of 1/4 quarter chicken with thigh and drumstick, fresh button mushroom in brown sauce with some mixed vegetables, and of course, fries. (I wonder if they have fries in Hainan, but lets not digress)

The pan fried salmon was good as well, but I think the most interesting dish for the day goes to the avocado burger. This vegetarian dish has beet root, cheese, butter, and a generous serving of sliced avocado. If you had California Roll, you know how avocado tastes like. The combination of avocado relish, and cheese in the bun was actually delicious.

the good chef and Ringo

Ringo’s favorite dish, if my memory serves me correct, was the Malaysian oxtail soup. It wasn’t too spicy nor tasted too strongly. The soup was just nice with the meat tender and the carrots soft, serving it in a clay pot does help by keeping the temperature.

Boulevard Hotel is situated at the North Court of Mid Valley City

The best thing about Wild Rice restaurant is the fact that it is open 24 hrs a day. To me this spells the end of mamak after midnight show especially if I’m at Mid Valley.

As for price, I think they are pretty reasonable for a hotel. Soup is RM15; the burger and other local dishes are around RM 18 to RM 22. Expect to pay slightly more for western dishes, but the portions are pretty big. The good news is that the prices are nett, no extra 10% or 5%. I like that.

Address:
Mid Valley City,
Lingkaran Syed Putra,
59200 Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.119262, 101.677802
Tel: 03-2295 8000

Tags:  cheesie,  chicken-chop,  chicken-rice,  ckt,  claypot,  mid valley,  oxtail soup,  salmon

Posted by KY | 32 Comments »