With the blessing of the great lady luck, I had the chance to go to the Emperor Chinese Restaurant at Sheraton Subang Hotel for the second time. The first was an appreciation dinner from a vendor (which I didn’t manage to capture any photos), and this time it was an invitation arranged by foodstreets for a food review. Excellent (and free) Chinese food within the span of a couple months, what more could I ask for?

the friendly Chef Michael Wong and his creations

I arrived at Sheraton during dinner time and was greeted by the friendly PR person Bel, who introduced me to the Executive Chinese Chef Michael Wong. Chef Michael has been with the hotel from 97 to 2000 and recently joined back to lead the kitchen team. For this “exercise”, the good chef prepared a total of six dishes and a dessert to satisfy our taste buds.

double boiled soup, assorted vegetable, and cold chicken roll

First on the table was the double boiled fish maw with dried scallop and vegetable soup, it was seriously the best soup I’ve had so far. Scallop, mussel, and fish maw together with Silkie (black skinned) chicken really gave the soup a very distinct sweetness that is so delicious. I was still thinking about it for days after the session.

Then it was the cold dish, cold chicken roll with jelly fish. This dish is traditionally made with pork, but as the Emperor Chinese Restaurant serves halal food, chicken is used instead. Chef Michael explained to me the tedious process of preparing the chicken (slicing, steaming, rolling up) to create a texture consistent with the traditional ingredient. I must say he did a very good job and the substitute meat did not disappoint.

baked cod fish, butter prawn, and dancing fried rice

As for the cod fish, instead of the more orthodox steaming or deep frying cooking method, the good chef baked the generous slice of cod steak in an oven with garlic sauce. It was done just nice and not over cooked, a relatively simple dish that came out just right.

Butter prawn and assorted vegetable were both good as well. However, the other interesting dish would be the “dancing fried rice”, the fried rice is topped with tobiko (flying fish roe) and decorated with katsuobushi (the topping for takoyaki) on the side that seems to ‘dance’. A very visually captivating dish that tastes as good as it looks.

avocado apple juice and lemon grass pudding with mint ice cream

To round it off, we had the lemon grass pudding with mint ice cream as dessert. A nice way to cool down and refresh after the rather heavy meal. Bel also ordered us an the unique apple and avocado juice, a thick concoction that combines the sweetness of the two fruits that tasted surprisingly good!

Sheraton Subang Hotel is right next to SJMC at SS12

It was a very good meal and needless to say I was very satisfied. If you’re looking for a high class Chinese restaurant (serving halal food), you should definitely consider this place.

Address:
Jalan SS12/1
47500 Subang Jaya
Selangor
Tel: 03-5031 6060

Tags:  chicken,  chinese,  cuisine,  dining,  eats,  food,  halal,  hotel,  rice,  sheraton

Posted by KY | 17 Comments »

Chola Spice Garden is slightly different from the usual Indian restaurants dotted around the country, serving a mixture of both northern and southern Indian cuisine instead of only concentrating on one. I was invited for a food tasting session and brought two noobs (Terence & Dree) along with me.

ready to eat as well as order to cook options available

Food is served in two ways here, there is the mamak/nasi kandar style self served food on the buffet line, and order to cook items from the menu as well.

Chicken Chitinat Masala, Chicken 65, Bombay Fried Rice

The first things we had was the strangely named Chicken 65 and the Chicken Chitinat Masala, to go with two types of tosai, the normal and “paper” version. I particularly like the strong tasting Chicken Chitinat Masala with it’s flavorful albeit spicy gravy. The Chicken 65 is a type of deep fried marinated chicken served with fresh onion and curry leaves. The contrasting texture and taste between the chicken and raw onion was quite refreshing and it became on the fastest dish to have gotten empty.

Pataya Fried Rice, Potato Cheese Paratha, Tosai, Poori

I like the aromafrom the Bombay Fried Rice, it carries a slightly tomato-ish taste while being not overly spicy. We also had the Poori with potato masala as the condiment. However, the most interesting dish would be the Potato Cheese Paratha. At first I thought it was just a normal “roti”, but as the bread is cut, fillings of potato cooked with cheese and spices is revealed. The deceptively simple combination actually tasted very good!

Madras Masala Tea, Mint Lime, Ice Blended Lemon, Mango Lassi, Saffron Almond Milk

As for drinks, we sampled 5 different types of thirst quenchers for the 3 of us. The mango lassi was very fruity and sweet with mango taste, ice blended lemon refreshing, and the iced mint lime drink rather interesting. My favorite though, would be the saffron almond milk. Creamy with a dash of sweetness and taste from saffron. It was the first time I had this drink, and I am sure it won’t be the last.

Chola Spice Garden is located just next to Sunway Pyramid

As for the price, Chola Spice Garden is rather reasonable. For a semi air conditioned restaurant, you can have a rice dish with a piece of chicken and vege for just a few ringgit. Dishes from the menu ranges from a few Ringgit onwards. You can certainly get a pretty interesting meal for just above RM 10 per person here. Do try the saffron milk!

Address:
No. 5, Jalan PJS 11/28
Bandar Sunway
46150 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Tel: 03-5633 9449

Tags:  chicken,  dining,  Eats,  india,  indian-food,  masala,  saffron,  spice,  sunway

Posted by KY | 14 Comments »

After casting my vote on that fateful election day that changed our history forever, I called up FA to go breakfast as her polling station is just a mere kilometer from mine. I took a very short drive to Sea Park (PJ Seksyen 21, not to be mistaken with Taman Sea) for some Ipoh Kueh Teow Soup at Soo Kee.

master chef skillfully remove all bones from the chicken

For the two of us, we actually ordered up quite a feast. Two bowls of Ipoh Kueh Teow Soup (Ipoh Hor Fun), a bowl of prawn wan tan (with at least 8 wantans in there), and a pretty big portion of steamed chicken. I don’t get to eat early breakfast that often, so it is a feast when I get a chance.

Ipoh kueh teow soup, prawn wantan, and really smooth chicken

While waiting for our food, we noticed that a lady next to our table took out a curiously looking newspaper wrapper, and out came roasted pork (siu yok). That certainly made us salivate, and after FA checked with the lady, I was sent to the wet market just opposite the restaurant on a mission. I came back with RM 5 worth of godsend.

look at FA being so happy with the roasted pork

As it turned out, we really had too much food that morning. The kueh teow soup was actually very good and true to the traditional recipe. Some prawns, shredded chicken meat, spring onion, and a dash of chili oil that amplify the flavor. I particularly like the steamed chicken too, almost completely boneless (like Fatty Loh’s style), with the meat very smooth and succulent. The wantan was pretty good too, if not a little bit on the saltier side for my taste.

The addition of roasted pork was certainly the highlight of the day. The crunchiness of the skin on roasted pork was a stark contrast to the smoothness of chicken and the kueh teow, the contrasting taste and texture made the breakfast awesome. We had our stomach completely filled.

Soo Kee is located just a stone’s throw away from the Sea Park Shell station

I don’t remember exactly how much each bowl of kueh teow costs, but the entirely meal was more than RM 20. Certainly expensive for breakfast, but with the amount of chicken and prawn wan tan we had, I think it was still reasonable.

Address:
33 Jalan 21/17,
46300 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Tel: 03-7876 7736

Tags:  chicken,  dining,  food,  hor fun,  ipoh,  koay teow,  kueh teow,  soo kee,  soup

Posted by KY | 32 Comments »

A couple weeks ago three of us went to the much blogged Indonesian food outlet Waroeng Penyet at the Curve. For those who can’t read the Indonesian (or Malay) language, waroeng (or warong) is a traditional hut, while penyet translates to flattened. So I guess you can call it a flattened hut though the place doesn’t look exactly like a hut nor is it flattened.

no frill fast food outlet setting

As their logo suggests, the signature dish at this outlet would be the ayam penyet (flattened chicken). We ordered 2 servings of that, a bawal bakar (black pomphret), udang penyet (flattened prawn), pete udang belado (prawn with petai), and a sayur asem (vegetable soup). Of course, we were not able to deny the temptation of the curious soda gembira (happy soda).

Just like Carl’s Jr., you get a number after you order, and the food is served to the table fresh and steaming.

how do you like the soda gembira?

The chicken were absolutely stunning. Crispy on the outside and still juicy on the inside. The sambal was very flavorful, with the taste of fresh chili and a slight tangy sensation, it compliments all sorts of meat nicely. The prawn and pomphret were equally good as well. The soup though, it something I wouldn’t order again, it was a bit weird to me with the slightly sourly taste that is everything wrong between tomyam and chicken soup. I guess it might be an acquired taste… but perhaps not for me.

These dishes were served with rice, so you do get a proper traditional meal in a modern setting.

flavorful, spicy, and absolutely delicious

If I remember correctly, each dishes were priced just under RM 10. The excellent sambal (3 types actually) can be refilled at will, and I will definitely go there again. Give it a try if you are one of those who love spicy flavorful food!

Waroeng Penyet is situated on the first floor near the bridge connecting Ikano Power Center to the Curve.

Address:
First Floor, Lot 1.32
The Curve
Mutiara Damansara
Petaling Jaya
Tel: 017-200 3988

Tags:  ayam penyet,  chicken,  cinneleisure,  fried,  ikano,  ikea,  sambal,  spicy,  the-curve

Posted by KY | 25 Comments »

This place at SS2 probably sells one of the bigger chicken curry puffs this side of Klang Valley. If you like your curry puff big, fresh, and tasting just nice, this stall called HOMI is the place to go.

freshly fried curry puffs

For the uninitiated, curry puff is our traditional Malay pie originated from this region. It consists of fillings wrapped by a deep fried pastry shell. Traditionally chicken curry with generous amount of potato were the de facto ingredient, but these days you can find many puffs filled with everything from sardine to durian.

big and handsomely filled!

At this particular stall, the curry puff is made the traditional way, except in a very generous size. For RM 1.20 each, it gives pretty good value, and of course, tastes pretty good too! The shell has a slight buttery taste to it and the curry is thick and juicy. However, the best thing is that business is so good and hence you’ll always get freshly fried curry puff. Warm curry puff is so much better!

Homi is located at Sun Hin Loong kopitiam, opposite KFC

The stall operates in the afternoon. Situated at SS2 Sun Hin Loong kopitiam, it is only across the road from SS2 Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet.

Tags:  chicken,  curry puff,  dining,  hawker-food,  malaysian,  puff,  snack

Posted by KY | 17 Comments »