After the xmas eve party at my place, the very next day we headed to Gareth and Kim’s for a big feast. We were promised a home cooked dinner by Kim, but boy were we surprised by what was in store for us.
The dinner was for some 2 dozen people, but I believe there were enough food to feed at least two rugby teams, including reserves!
the dinner schedule, check out how many dishes here
First, just look at the schedule above to get an indication of the work needed for this epic dinner. Preparation actually started more than a day in advance (for the food alone), and longer if you count in buying groceries, gifts, and extra table/chairs for everyone.
chicken with pigs in blanket, bread, and cocktail shrimp
The photos you see here are some 70% of the dishes served, there are some that somehow escaped the lens. As far as I remember, here are what we were served:
the super excellent pork loin and ribs
It was impossible to pick a favorite, everything were awesome. I can make use of some ribs and pork loin right now (or anytime) for sure!
Recipes of some of these dishes can be found at http://www.kimberlycun.com/category/homemade-recipes/
Kim includes photos of each step for her recipe too, super easy to follow. This entry is on the pork ribs we were served, I believe.
salad, couscous, and more
In the original schedule, apple crumble was supposed to come out at 8:45, but thanks to everyone being overfed with all these awesome dishes, desserts didn’t make their way out until 11:45 pm.
Of course, nobody complained, 3 more hours to digest is a good thing. 
seafood bisque and desserts
As with the slightly more mature theme this year, no one passed out from drinking too much, though many almost have a coma from all the food.
we were all very well fed at the end of the night
At the end of the night, Gareth & Kim played Santa & Santarina and distributed carefully chosen gifts to everyone. That was especially a sweet touch, thanks guys, and lets do this again next year and every year.
and everyone got a gift from the hosts!
When it comes to steamboat in Malaysia, tomyam, clear soup, and porridge usually comes to mind. Most people aren’t aware that there is also the spicy Sichuan and Mongolian style steamboat in the valley. Last I had this type of steamboat was more than 1.5 years ago at Hong La Qiao and Inner Mongolian Restaurant at Pudu, so when the invitation to Jin Shan Cheng from foodstreet came in, I was rather delighted to revisit this version of steamboat.
steamboat is always best enjoyed in a group
Jin Shan Cheng is located at Sunway Mentari, across NPE from Sunway Pyramid. The restaurant itself is on first floor, but there’s actually elevator for those who are extremely lazy. Interior decoration is rather simple and without much fan fair, but this isn’t exactly a fancy restaurant, we’re here only for the food anyway.
the condiments and two types of soup
The steamboat comes with two types of soup, the traditional super spicy with lots of chili oil Sichuan style, and the other without. They are basically the same soup base though. Instead of your usual chicken rice style sambal or chili padi, there is a pretty special type of sauce accompanying the steamboat. I tasted a hint of cilantro, garlic, ginger, oil, and some type of pepper. Of course, there are also fuyu (fermented tofu), peanut sauce, and chili oil. Those usually go very well with meat items.
spicy frog legs, spicy fish pot, pepper beef
While waiting for the soup to boil, we were served three traditional Sichuan dishes. The spicy frog legs cos Eiling mentioned to the owner that she likes frog legs, the spicy fish pot, and the sizzling pepper beef.
The frog legs were actually very good, spicy yet full of flavor. The boss explained that they use a type of pepper imported from China to bring out the original taste. The fish, while very oily (wouldn’t be the correct recipe if it wasn’t), tasted pretty good too, I think it’ll go well with some rice but unfortunately we didn’t order any. Though cooked with tilapia instead of cod, it still did justice to the dish.
stop teasing with scallop already, Eiling!
For the steamboat, we had beef slice, scallop, vegetable, pork kidney, fish meat, and a few other items. My favorite had to be the kidney, closely followed by the beef. Both items tasted great with the strong flavoring from the soup and condiments. However, you need to make sure that they are not over cooked, a 5-10 second bath in the boiling soup is all you need.
Jin Shan Cheng is located at Sunway Mentari
The price at Jin Shan Cheng is pretty reasonable, the cooked dishes start from RM 15 for small portion. For example, the spicy fish pot costs RM 20 to RM 35. Not bad for something authentic an different. This place is best for those who love spicy food, you’re advised to stick with clear soup pulau ketam steamboat otherwise.
more pictures at my flickr set
Address:
No. 42A-2, Jalan PJS 8/2
Dataran Mentari, Bandar Sunway,
56301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
GPS: 3.075284, 101.613053
Tel: 03-5631 8220
Web: www.jscmsb.com
While on the way visiting my friend at Puchong, Kerol suggested that we go to this place that has excellent clay pot dishes at Seri Kembangan. The direction she gave us was “nearby South City Plaza”. Luckily we managed to find Kien Kee without much trouble.
hawker center setting, but with only 1 stall
The so called restaurant is situated at an almost hawker center like area, with the kitchen occupying one lot, and tables spread around in the middle of the square and also some unused ‘office’ rooms (with air conditioning). We quickly found a table in one of those air conditioned places and ordered 4 dishes, the spicy soup (辣汤), clay pot chicken (花雕鸡), chicken with rice wine soup (黄酒鸡), and vegetable. The first three were the must-order stuff as recommended by Kerol.
the four dishes we ordered
We had to wait for quite a long time before the food came, I guess it usually takes a bit longer to work with clay pots instead of the normal cooking methods. Then again, you get the benefit of having the food staying hot for much longer time.
The dishes were actually very good. I particularly like the clay pot chicken, very strongly flavored and goes very well with rice. The spicy soup tasted similar to pork tripe soup I had at USJ, but just a tad less spicy, ingredients include pork tripe, intestine, meat, chicken, and some unidentified innards. It was the first time I had this hakka delicacy, I had naively thought it was something similar with hot and sour soup instead. A rather nice dish I must say.
I’m not exactly a fan of chicken rice wine soup (黄酒鸡), the taste is pretty strong and with appropriate amount ingest, will probably make you blush and a bit tipsy. Kerol said it is among the best she had though.
don’t soil your shirt like this aunty.
The bill came to almost RM 80, with a lot of drinks we ordered. It isn’t exactly cheap, nor expensive. Other than the long wait, it is a pretty nice place to dine, and I have a feeling I shall go there again.
Address:
D-1, Jalan 10/3
43300 Seri Kembangan
Selangor
GPS: 3.022562, 101.705552
Tel: 012-350 9900
opens 9am to 3pm, 6pm to 9pm, close on Monday
After the lala miso soup, my second dish for this year’s reunion dinner is Hong Kong Kailan with Roasted Pork. This is actually the first time I made this dish, though had it a few times at various restaurants, usually with Choi Tam (Brussels Sprout). I would usually have my vegetables fried only with garlic, but since this is the year of pig, why not a spice it up with some roasted pork?
this dish sure looks yummy, isn’t it?
Ingredients:
Steps:
cooking this is easy as 1-2-3
The dish was pretty easy to prepare, and it did turn out great. The aroma of roasted pork complimented the fresh vegetable really well. Corn flour and water gives a slightly salty gravy that makes eating this dish with steamed rice a very good combination. Try it!
We decided to catch dinner at the nearby Petaling Street after going on the Eye on Malaysia a couple weeks ago. Even though it was a weekday, the heart of KL is packed as usual. We ended up at Hong Kee (鸿记) clay pot chicken rice after seeing that the rat’s tail clay pot place was not operating that night.
the old school charcoal burner
Like it’s Damansara Jaya counterpart, this stall cooks the clay pot chicken rice with the old fashion charcoal fire instead of using propane gas. I’m not sure I could taste the different, but it sure make the food preparation a lot more exciting, attracting the tourists along the busy Petaling Street.
Although the place also sells Portuguese Ikan Bakar, we only ordered their signature dish, the clay pot chicken rice, and a plate of vegetable (油菜) for the night.
suanie was philosophical about her food
Our food didn’t take too long to arrive. 2 big pots of steaming clay pot chicken rice for the 5 of us. The chicken rice marinated with the appropriate sauce, topped with some shredded salted fish, sliced lap cheong (Chinese Sausage), and spring onion was as good as I’ve tasted from anywhere. The vegetable though, was just average.
fireworks
Price wise, Hong Kee is inline with the other places despite operating in the city center. The meal costs about RM 10 for each of us, a pretty decent place to visit if you’re down at Petaling Street.
Hong Kee is just right next to the Chinese bookstore by Petaling Street
GPS: 3.144651, 101.698637
