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

Tags:  dinner,  fish,  hotpot,  review,  sichuan,  spicy,  Steamboat

Posted by KY | 17 Comments »

Since my very short business tripto Kota Kinabalu would not allow me to visit anywhere, I thought it’d be a good time to sneak in a session of photo taking instead. I reached this East Malaysian city at around 5 something in the evening, and went straight to the Philippine’s market after checking into the hotel just directly opposite it.

You can find a few more photos from my flickr set

kid by the harbor

As I were taking pictures with the somewhat big camera, quite a few people were pretty intrigued by the activity and actually posed for the camera. This particular kid by the harbor was a little shy and would not stare straight to the camera.

intrigued

This trader was a little intrigued by me snapping a picture of him. This image is quite a contrast to the busy pace of the market.

puffer fish on the block

I had never seen puffer fish being sold in wet markets at Peninsular Malaysia. The box shaped fish looks almost unreal if not for the fish monger in the background.

big eyes

sunset by the harbor

As Kota Kinabalu faces west with nothing but the vast span of South China Sea and a few small islands, the sunset can be quite a sight.

Tags:  canon,  fish,  kota-kinabalu,  philippines-market,  Photography,  portriat,  puffer,  sabah,  streets,  sunset

Posted by KY | 9 Comments »

The “new” Chow Yhang, as it is written in Chinese character 新朝阳, is actually own by the the same boss that once operate the restaurant of the same name located at where KAYU and Mee Yoke are now. Years after selling off the two corner lots, Chow Yhang now run the new shop just a stone’s throw away from the old location.

always packed but there’s air contioner

We got there at about 8:30 on Saturday night and there was a healthy crowd at the restaurant, luckily we got a table just as the previous diners were leaving. Though stripped of it’s former glory of spanning across 2 corner shop lots, the new Chow Yhang is still nicely set up restaurant, it’s no frill decoration is clean; and rather comfortable with air conditioners keeping the temperature at check.

oyster omelet, tofu, vegetable, and soup

For 5 of us, we ordered an oyster omelet (蚝煎), a basic fried vegetable (蒜米豆苗), tofu with minced meat (王金豆腐), seaweed soup (紫菜汤肉碎), and the unique dish - fried bacon (炸华腩).

To my delight, the first dish came in less than 10 minutes after ordering. However, the subsequent dishes did not exactly come fast enough, so we ended up almost finishing the first before the last one arrived. Not so great at planning, I suppose, but I’m not about to complain too much.

the fried bacon with Thai sauce, yummmm

The food though, was top notch.

Instead of normal white rice, fragrant rice is used, nice. The oyster omelet fried just nice and goes well with the chili paste provided. The tofu, soup, and vegetables hold their own in terms of taste as well as presentation, not too salty nor blunt. The fried bacon though, was excellent, if you happen to be the sort of person who loves bacon. The crispy pork bits with plenty of raw shallots, lettuce, and Thai sauce blends very well to create a pretty unique taste and texture. It is rich and not for the faint hearted.

Just a couple of turns away from the expensive LDP

The bill came to RM 73, a pretty good deal considering it was less than RM 15.00 for each of us. The most expensive dish was only RM 15 (fried bacon). Would definitely go there again.

Address:
135 Jalan SS 2/6
47300, Petaling Jaya
Selangor
GPS: 3.116359, 101.616883
Tel: 03-7876 8767

Tags:  bacon,  chinese-food,  chow-yhang,  fish,  SS2 SS3 SS4,  tofu

Posted by KY | 10 Comments »

One of the must-eat item (especially for females, I don’t know why) in Penang is the Asam Laksa. The most famously stall would be this one at Air Itam, walking distance from the Kek Lok Si temple, by the alley across the morning market.

a walkway packed with hungry people

The place is not particularly hygienic or comfortable, just some tables and the stalls by the busy road, partially exposed to the element. But hey, we’re here for the food anyway.

The Penang Laksa, popularly referred to as Asam Laksa in other parts of the country, comes in a sourish fish (ikan kembung) based soup with thick rice noodle, plenty of shredded pineapple, lettuce, red chili, cucumber, onion, galangal (curry flower), and lemon grass. All these are topped with some mint leaves and the thick shrimp paste with a very distinctive love-it or hate-it smell.

yumm… *slurps*

Our order was served up in just a few minutes’ time. Simmering hot and oozing with the glorious laksa smell, we attacked the bowl like a vengeance. There were nothing left 5 minutes later. The combination of sour and spicy soup with the fresh produce and the thick rice noodle was perfect. I never waste the soup either, thick with shredded fish, it has a very unique texture and taste that I find very nice.

the map of air itam laksa!

The smallish bowl of laksa is yours for RM 2.40. I would never recommend this as a main meal due to the sour and spicy nature of the dish, but it does make a nice afternoon snack. This Air Itam stall serves in the afternoon to evening.

Address:
Jalan Pasar,
Ayer Itam, Penang
GPS: 5.401386, 100.277377

Tags:  air-itam,  asam,  chili,  fish,  hawker,  laksa,  Penang,  shrimp-paste,  spicy

Posted by KY | 16 Comments »