Every we went out to eat with Chow Ahbeng aka Galvin, he would always say something like “next time I bring you to eat at this place, they serve the best xxx”, and one of the places he mentioned most was this “fried porridge” thing at Klang.
So after listening to him talking about it for a good part of last few years, we finally made a trip to Klang a couple weeks ago and actually tasted it for ourselves. The place is appropriately named Restoran Bubur Goreng, direct translation – Fried Porridge Restaurant, not the most imaginative name huh?
the group includes Galvin, Damien, Rachel, Kerol, Horng
The restaurant is located right across the 7-11 at Berkeley Garden in Klang. Berkeley is in turn, located on the right of Federal Highway after taking 3 o’clock at the round about not far from the Klang toll. Not exactly terribly difficult to find even for a first timer to the area.
Galvin did the honor by ordering for the nine of us. A big plate of Hokkien Mee, two bowls of their signature fried porridge, and another huge portion of crab meehun.
hokkien mee, fried porridge, huge plate of crab meehun, bottled sugar cane
The Hokkien mee here is a little wetter than usual, and the extra sauce really does help bring out the flavor, I just wish there were slightly more lard like those at restaurant Ahwa in PJ though.
Crab meehun was this giant plate of fried meehun with three or four rather good size flower crabs. I’ve always love crab meehun and this did not disappoint, having flower crab instead of the usual mud crab made it easier to eat too. This was my favorite dish from the dinner.
crab meehun, and fried porridge with extra lard!
As for the fried porridge itself, well, I find it tasting a little weird. It’s a combination of familiar tastes that never felt quite right to me. The porridge has pork, tofu, spring onion, and some ingredients I couldn’t identify/recall. Horng and Galvin seemed to like it, but the slightly burnt porridge taste was still a bit weird, probably takes a little used to.
The bill came up to less than RM14 per person with drinks included. Pretty reasonable considering a typical meal of Hokkien Mee at PJ and drinks will fetch close to RM 10 anyway, and we had plenty of crab meehun.
Address:
Restorant Bubur Goreng
(Old Berkeley Cinema)
Lot 6932, Lebuh Bangau Taman Berkeley,
41150 Klang, Selangor Darul Ehsan
GPS: 3.06005,101.464974
Tel: 016-6868 579
This is yet another hidden place in the middle of KL introduced by Kelvin. Contrary to the Kampung Atap curry fish head (another place introduced by the same bloke), Yee Sang Fat (易生发) is famous for their steamed fish head.
the gang enjoying good food
This kopitiam is not trivial to locate. Situated opposite the Pudu Methodist Church just next to Jalan Tun Razak and Jalan Yew, the easiest way to get there is via Jalan Pasar. Since there are tables set up both in and outside this tai chau (大炒) place, you won’t miss it if you are on the correct road (Jalan Gajah).
fish head, brinjal, pork ribs, vegetable
We asked for the must-try steamed fish head, brinjal (egg plant) with garlic, pork ribs, soupy lala, fried kangkung, and a tofu dish recommended by the waiter. We pretty much ordered all the dishes that printed on their lighted sign board that also spot the shop’s name. Six dishes for ten person to go with rice.
It didn’t take too long for the dishes to be served. The lala came first, and we devoured it like there’s no tomorrow. Then it was the fish head, steamed with plenty of garlic, ginger, and spring onion. The portion was pretty big too, and more like 1/3 of a fish instead of just the head.
tofu and lala
The vegetable and pork ribs were pretty good, but my favorite of the day must be the brinjal with garlic. The soft and tender brinjal fried with some salt and lots of crispy garlic topped with spring onion. The contrast of the differing textures and the taste were just perfect. On the contrary, the tofu dish was pretty much forgettable.
not the easiest place to get to (NOTE: check comment #9)
This meal came to slightly over RM 120.00 for 10 of us, definitely a great value. Granted we did not order any fancy drinks, but there were fish head, lala, and meat as well. A burger meal with fries and coca-cola will cost you around RM 12 at Burger King. I’m sure we will go there again one of these days.
Address:
Jalan Gajah,
off JalanYew Pudu
Kuala Lumpur 55100
GPS: 3.132342, 101.717026
Steamboat is best enjoyed with a group of friends, so I gathered the usual suspects last weekend and eight of us went to the relatively new Damansara Village Steamboat opposite ProJET gas station near Atria at Damansara Jaya.
very nice set up and excellent ambiance
This place is more than just a simple restaurant, there’s a little pool for kids to catch guppies (longkang fish) from, some furry animals, Iguana, and a giant tortoise on one side, a miniature vegetable farm, and even a guy twisting balloons for free. At least this local restaurant is catching up to McDonald’s concept of making the kids happy first.
As for the restaurant itself, there are indoor and outdoor areas, with everything set up in an open concept. No need for air conditioning when you have high ceiling, no wall, and plenty of fans. The tables are not arranged too close together either, very spacious and comfortable.
the standard steamboat set
For the eight of us, we ordered five portion of the standard steamboat set (assorted fish balls, prawns, mussels, eggs, bamboo clams, noodle, and vegetables). To complete the meal and add some variety, we also asked for 300gm of live tiger prawn (still jumping on the plates!), straw mushroom, 1kg of giant clam, and a pretty good size batfish that looks and tastes pretty much like pomphret.
the extras: tiger prawns, clams, fish, straw mushroom
As this is a Pulau Ketam style steamboat, we go for the traditional clear soup with some herbal ingredients. The sambal provided at this place was pretty good too.
We started out boiling the soup with some seafood, fish balls, and noodle for the first round. Finished everything in less than a few minutes; and proceed with the second round of giant clams and others; then it was the fish; and after that the live prawns; with the final round of more noodles and egg. The soup got better and better as the essence of seafood ingredients got sucked into it. It was a very fulfilling meal, fresh ingredients with very good soup. The food went well with the fresh coconut juice and a bottle of toddy we ordered.
the happy diners
The dinner came to slightly less than RM 30 per person. I would consider that a very good value for the ambiance and great food we had. A place worth visiting again.
less than 2 kilometers from Kelana Jaya LRT station
Address:
1067, Jalan Jenjarum
SS23 Damansara Jaya
47400 Petaling Jaya
GPS: 3.124233, 101.612672
Tel: 03-7803 1832
By the way, if you haven’t know already, the big boss is Patrick Teoh.
It was probably more than year since we went to Nong and Jimmy Thai BBQ Seafood place the last time. A place we usually refer to as “that Cheras tomyam place”, though it is actually located in Taman Cahaya and geographically not even really in Cheras, but Ampang instead. Last friday 5 of us decided to do treat ourselves some good ol’ favorites.
we ordered up a feast
ST, faggot, margie, kerol and I got to the restaurant and luckily was able to find a table without much hassle though it was a busy friday night. (I called suan but she didn’t manage to pick up.. ) The restaurant is more like a roof with some light fixtures and fan over concrete surface where they put lots of cheap tables and chairs. Do not expect air conditioning or comfortable chairs, they concentrate on food, not comfort nor the whole dining experience thingy.
ST, faggot, margie, & kerol
We ordered a basket of BBQ cockles, a claypot tomyam, BBQ prawns, BBQ stingray fish, fried squid, and kailan vegetables to go with some fried rice that includes big juicy prawns in it. The claypot tomyam and the BBQ prawn is a must, tomyam is served with prawn and squid as the main ingredients. The tomyam here tastes a little different from those that you get from mamak restaurants or Malay outlets, it is a little closer to authentic Thai flavour, we like it.
cockles, prawns, special chili sauce with peanuts, BBQ fish
Not everyone eats cockles, but if you do, do not pass it up. The chili sauce with peanuts goes very, very well with the BBQ cockles, and basically other BBQ dishes like BBQ prawns and fish. The fried curry squid was pretty good too and provided a nice departure from having too many BBQ dishes. You can order white rice to go with the dishes, but to really get some serious prawn overdose, go for the fried rice instead.
claypot tomyam, fried rice, squid, vege
Needless to say, we gobbled up everything and had happy stomachs to kick start the weekend. You can too, check out the patented map!
oh such lovely map
Address:
Lot 27363, Jalan Cahaya 1,
Taman Cahaya,
Ampang, Selangor
GPS: 3.142669, 101.754727
Tel: 03 4251 1807
