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    December 27, 2010

    KY eats – Xin Chun Steamboat, Kota Damansara

    Steamboat has always been one of my favorite type of Chinese food. There are mainly two types of steamboat places around, ala carte/set, and buffet style. While some swear by the buffet places such as Yuen at Sunway, I actually prefer the former version more. I find it usually a lot less stressful, and you don’t ever get the feeling of having to try to gorge yourself just to squeeze a bigger bang for the bucks.

    Xin Chun Steamboat - Pulau Ketam style
    Xin Chun Steamboat – Pulau Ketam style

    A couple weeks ago I joined the guys at a simple dinner at Xin Chun Seafood Steamboat Restaurant at Kota Damansara. The place was pretty busy when we got there, the tables inside the restaurant were all filled up, and there are even tents set next to it shop filled with even more diners.

    a glorious pot of steamboat
    a glorious pot of steamboat

    Since we aren’t exactly teenagers in puberty anymore, only three single set of steamboat is ordered (RM 13.50 per set). The set comes with prawns, dumpling, fish  meat, pork ball, fishball, tofu skin, corn & carrot (to sweeten the soup), vegetable, egg, noodle, and a few of those other fishball lookalike thingy.

    dumpling, steamboat set, condiment, pork slice
    dumpling, steamboat set, condiment, pork slice

    For good measures, we also ordered a plate of sliced pork and dumpling.

    The most important ingredient at these Pulau Ketam style steamboat places is the sambal, and it doesn’t disappoint at Xin Chun. The sambal’s spicy and flavorful, if you like a bit of complexity, add the fried shallots in it.

    While the soup isn’t as great as the one with herbs at Damansara Village (extra charge of course), it holds up on its own pretty well. The ingredients were good though, I particularly like the sliced pork and their very yummy dumplings.

    Kim, Gareth, KY, Horng, Yuki
    Kim, Gareth, KY, Horng, Yuki

    Other dishes available at Xin Chun includes crab meehun, lala meehun, deep fried fish head, steamed clams and so forth, perhaps we should try those too next time.

    With drinks, our dinner came up to less around RM 15 per person, simple, satisfying, and pretty economical. No wonder there’s the big crowd.

    Address:
    Xin Chun Seafood Steamboat
    No 15, Jln PJU 5/3,
    Dataran Sunway, Kota Damansara,
    47810 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
    GPS: 3.15188, 101.59548
    Tel: 012-544 5582

    filed under Eats, PJ area, PJ Others, Steamboat
    January 31, 2010

    Hoho Steamboat with the porkgang

    Hoho steamboat is probably one of the earliest “pulau ketam” type steamboat in town, it has been operating for so long that Kim said her parents actually dated there. It is then safe to say that this place has been in operation for well over two decades.


    Hoho steamboat, established since forever

    Housed at the same premise as the pretty well known Ipoh Road Yong Tau Foo at Segambut just a stone’s throw away from the intersection of Jalan Kuching and Jalan Duta, the restaurant is converted from a former Bungalow with ample parking space. There are tables inside the building, under the tin roof (with fans and ample lights), as well as under the moon light. The usual ingredients for pulau ketam style steamboat.


    steamboat set, deep fried dumplings, bacon strips

    Most of the porkgang and two extra guests braced the traffic last Friday evening for a good steamboat meal thanks to the suggestion by Cheesie.

    For the eleven of us, we ordered steamboat set for nine pax that includes dumplings, pork balls, fish balls, fish noodle, tofu, prawns, vegetable, tofu skin, eggs, noodles (yee mee), mee hun, quail’s eggs, and fish cubes.


    Kim and Cheesie doing the hardwork

    We added a couple plates of deep fried dumplings to munch while waiting for the soup to boil, and they are actually rather delicious.

    Other extra orders we had were clams (to make the soup sweeter), quail’s eggs (cos Eric has low cholesterol), and of course, extra pork balls and some raw bacon. Hoho is one of the very few steamboat places that offers bacon strips, the concept is a bit new to me as I usually like my bacon fried, but the boiled version is actually pretty nice too.


    Haze is a very happy girl. Jac doing the “cooking”

    Due to a bit of miscommunication, we ordered both tomyam and clear soup for our pot. While the tomyam soup turned out to be pretty tasty, I usually prefer to have only the clear soup. Having the pot split down the middle with two soup base that has very different tastes is usually not a great idea as they tend to mix up quite a bit when boiling.

    The sambal supplied by Hoho steamboat is rather potent and fragrant too. To me a pulau ketam steamboat is never complete without good sambal, and this place does not disappoint when it comes to that.

    map to hoho steamboat at segambut

    Though not the absolute best out there, the combination of price (less than RM 25/pax with drinks), taste, and experience does make Hoho steamboat a place worth visiting. By the way, they have the best URL too: steamboat.com.my

    Address:
    Hoho Steamboat
    67, Jalan Segambut,
    Kuala Lumpur

    GPS: 3.180645, 101.677523
    Tel: +603-6252 6473

    filed under Eats, KL City, KL Others, Steamboat
    November 1, 2009

    Hairy Crab Set Menu at Dragon-i

    I usually make it a point to not review the same restaurant more than once, but when Kong called me up and told me about the hairy crab menu at Dragon-i, temptations got the better of my crab/crap policy.

    The first time I had hairy crab (Chinese mitten crab 大閘蟹) was at Restaurant King Crab almost 2 years ago. It gave me a impression not entirely unlike the first taste of foie gras, the roe/juice from hairy crab has a very unique richness and taste.

    hairy crab set menu at Dragon-i
    The hairy crab set menu goes for RM128 nett, not for the faint hearted

    Hairy crab served at Dragon-i is harvested and air flown weekly from Tai Lake, China. The season starts at around September and runs through December every year.

    The set menu is priced at RM 128 nett per person (min 3 pax) with six dishes – steamed Shanghainese hairy crab, steamed Shanghainese crab roe dumpling (xiao long pao), double-boiled superior chicken soup with fish maw & bamboo pith, sauteed fresh vegetable with crab roe, yong chow fried rice, and sesame dumpling with ginger soup.

    hairy crabs (Chinese mitten crabs)
    the crab is steamed and then masterfully prepared for your consumption

    As with most classic Chinese dinners, we started out with the double boiled superior chicken soup with fish maw and bamboo pith. The soup was subtle yet sophisticated, I really love the big slab of fish maw and different texture given by the bamboo pith. Adding a little bit of soya sauce makes it rather tasty.

    double boiled superior chicken soup, vegetable with crab roe, yong chow fried rice
    double boiled soup, vegetable with crab roe, yong chow fried rice

    Next up was the sauteed vegetable with crab roe, a simple and unassuming looking dish that turned out to be very good. The richness and crab roe balanced by fresh green vegetable that is sauteed ever just slightly. A very good combination.

    Dragon-i’s famous xiao long pao was served next. Only this time they’re topped with crab roe much like the style more associated with Japanese food. I particularly like the tiny tray with a handle they used to hold the xiao long pao, even the ginger in vinegar is meticulously chopped.  Every strand is equal in length and width.

    steamed shanghainese dumplings
    cheesie showing the xiao long pao topped with crab roe

    Yong Chow fried rice was served just before the hairy crab itself. Although a relatively common fried rice dish you can find basically in any Chinese restaurant in Malaysia, the fried rice at Dragon-i was something else. Prepared by chef Kung Yu Hung who is actually from Yangzhou (that’s Yong Chow in Mandarin) itself, the rice is fried with bits of char siu, egg, green onion, prawn, and of course, hairy crab meat. It is on par with the excellent fried rice I had at Elegant Inn.

    hairy crab, sesame glutinous rice dumpling
    chef Kung Yu Hung, KY, glutinous rice dumpling with sesame

    The main dish of the day, hairy crab, was up next. Simply steamed with no extra ingredients added, the crab is then prepared by our very professional server. The shell is opened, each leg is then cut and the crab meat pushed slightly outwards, the pincers too were cracked for easier consumption.

    We had a male crab of about 200+ gram (female for the roe, male has more meat) each. The “kou”, technically not roe since these were male crabs, was supremely rich and savory. They are similar to “kou” found in the mud crab we are more familiar with but several order tastier, for the lack of a better description. The meat too was sweet and very delicious.

    group picture at Dragon-i, the curve
    Kong (left) and fellow comrades who enjoyed the lunch session

    We capped the day by having sesame dumpling with ginger soup as dessert, the ginger soup was something good to wash the tongue off any lingering seafood taste, and the sesame dumpling was rather good too.

    Overall it was a very satisfying food review session that was only made better by the company we were with. Meena (who was shortlisted on Nuffnang Awards for best food blog), KampungboyCitygirl, fatboybakes,  Cumi&Ciki, and more were there and everyone had a great time.

    Address:
    Dragon-i
    6 Jalan PJU 7/3
    Lot 136 & 137, 1F
    Mutiara Damansara, PJ, Selangor

    GPS: 3.157699, 101.611540
    Tel: 03-7728 6888

    The hairy crab menu ca n also be found at Dragon-i outlets located at Pavilion, Mid Valley, 1 Utama, Sunway Pyramid, and Queensbay Mall in Penang.

    December 30, 2008

    KY eats – Wan Tan Mee at Ho Weng Kee, PJ SS2

    After one too many postings on parties and relatively pricey food, I think it is about time to write about something most everyone afford to eat in this economy. A good old plate of wan tan mee at Restaurant Ho Weng Kee, strategically located at the commercial area in PJ most recognized for its food offerings, SS2.

    Wan Tan Mee at Ho Weng Kee, SS2
    no air conditioning nor fancy tables

    This particular kopitiam specializes in wan tan mee with its various differing types of ingredients. You can have them with braised chicken feet and mushroom, curry chicken, prawn dumplings,beef, shredded chicken meat, and so on. I usually prefer mine the old fashion way, dried noodle with char siu, and a small bowl of wan tan soup with spring onion served separately. To me, wan tan mee never not complete without pickled green chili.

    Wan Tan Mee at Ho Weng Kee, SS2
    old fashion char siu and wan tan with noodle

    For this particular brunch session, we ordered 2 plates of old fashion wan tan mee, and a serving of deep fried dumplings as appetizer.

    The fried dumplings were actually very very good! freshly fried with very crunchy skin and meaty yet with appropriate amount of other such as fungus, very juicy and tasted awesome. This was one of the better fried dumplings I had in a long time.

    Wan Tan Mee at Ho Weng Kee, SS2
    pickled green chili and the very good fried dumplings

    The wan tan mee, on the other hand, were pretty decent in their own right. Char Siu could be a little thin, and while better tasting than most places, it falls short of hock lim at PJ State as far as char siu in wan tan mee goes.

    Over all the meal was a pretty good one though, I helped myself with plenty of pickled green chili, and that fried dumpling was just pure ecstasy. I shall order the dumpling on my next visit and perhaps try their other wan tan mee varieties.

    Wan Tan Mee at Ho Weng Kee, SS2
    ho weng kee is on the street parallel to LDP

    As for price, Ho Weng Kee charges slightly more than your normal kopitiam with hawker stalls. A plate of wan tan mee goes for RM 4.50 to RM 5.80 depending on the ingredients chosen. I still find it pretty reasonable.

    Address:
    32, Jalan SS2/66
    Petaling Jaya
    Selangor Darul Ehsan

    GPS: 3.119294, 101.620284
    Opens for breakfast and lunch, closes on Tuesdays

    filed under Eats, Hawkers, PJ area, SS2 SS3 SS4
    October 8, 2007

    KY eats – Fish Noodle at Charn Kee Tasty Corner, Jalan Alor

    Every once in a while, we drive out to have lunch with colleagues and friends even though there are plenty of choices within walking distance at KLCC. Our destination last week was Charn Kee Tasty Corner at Jalan Alor, Nicholas (the driver) recommended the famous clay pot fish paste noodle he has been eating ever since he was a little boy.

    Fish Noodle, Charn Kee Tasty Corner, Jalan Alor, KL
    a kopitiam set up, with illustrated menu

    The restaurant (kopitiam set up) serves several dishes, with illustrated menu to aid the selection process for the uninformed. Naturally I have to try the clay pot fish paste noodle, the other noobs had the dry version of fish paste noodle and the lam mee (something similar to loh mee). We also ordered extra dumplings and fish balls to share.

    Fish Noodle, Charn Kee Tasty Corner, Jalan Alor, KL
    lam mee, fish paste noodle dry and soup version, dumplings and more fish balls

    Even though it was at busy lunch hour, food didn’t take too long to arrive. The clay pot fish paste noodle was really good, reminded me of the same dish that I had at Kota Kinabalu some years ago. The fish paste and prawns complimented the noodle nicely and give the soup a subtle seafood taste. I particularly like the strong chili paste that accompanies the dish.

    My colleagues returned very positive verdicts on their respective dishes too. The extra fish balls and extra dumplings were very good as well. The texture of the fish ball were just perfect.

    Fish Noodle, Charn Kee Tasty Corner, Jalan Alor, KL
    look at the happy bunch!

    Price wise, Charn Kee is pretty reasonable, if my memory serves me correct, the meal costs less than RM 8 per person inclusive drinks. This is going to be one of the places to eat in KL for me.

    map to Jalan Alor, KL
    Charn Kee at Jalan Alor is just a short walk from Bukit Bintang area

    Address:
    No 35, Jalan Alor,
    50200 Kuala Lumpur

    GPS: 3.145797, 101.708819
    7:30am to 4:30pm, close on Monday

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