A couple weeks ago I received an email from one of my readers by the name of Von who asked if I could do a review on Seeri Authentic Thai Restaurant.

Her exact wordings include:

“I found the green curry at that place just excellent, and hope that place won’t close shop as not many people know about it. It will be a waste to let such good food close shop.”

The email came across to me as pretty honest, so last week I suggested to some #porkgang jokers that we should give it a try, and we did just that.

Seeri Authentic Thai Restaurant, so authentic it’s in the name :S

Seeri Authentic Thai Restaurant is located on the same row as Kayu (which serves pretty good roti tissue) at the slightly less glamorous side of SS2, the Chow Yang area. Parking is usually not a terribly difficult exercise in this area.

When we arrived, there were only a couple other tables occupied. It was pretty quiet, but I wasn’t deterred. With it’s rather bland interior decoration and cheap plastic chairs, it’s not hard to imagine the lack of attraction to potential uninformed customers.

seafood tomyam, fried kai lan with mushroom, green curry with chicken

For the 8 of us, we ordered up quite a feast. Seafood tomyam and the recommended green curry were a no brainer, we also had vegetable, steamed fish, egg, squid, and pandan chicken.

Seafood tomyam (RM 30) came in an old school steamboat and actually turned out quite good, we didn’t order it very spicy (due to several low tolerance member) but it still had a zing, and ingredients were plenty full too. The recommended green curry chicken (RM 15) did not disappoint at all either, the curry was very rich with santan and yet super flavorful.

Fried kailan with mushroom (RM 12) was just to satisfy vitamin C quota. Nothing too exciting there.

steamed siakap fish, fried egg with crab meat, Thai style squid, pandan chicken

The steamed siakap (RM 30) we ordered was prepared the traditional Thai style. Last I had this was at De Chiengmai at Sungai Buloh, and while the soup based here was very delicious, I find that the fish wasn’t very fresh nor was it prepared properly. Perhaps I am spoiled by super fresh “live” fish at Chinese restaurants, but I do expect this situation to improve if business turns brisk.

Fried egg with crab meat (RM 14) was very delicious even though we could taste little crab meat. The squid (RM 12) too was very rich in flavor with plenty of basil, chili, and even whole pepper; I could be happier if they removed the eyes and beaks off the squid’s head though.

Kim, Cheesie, Jac, Eric, Suan, Kerol, and 4-eye KY

Last but not least, we also had the pandan chicken (RM 30, 10 pieces). They were rather fragrant and pretty tasty, but we had too much food, and the portion was a bit too big. If you were ordering this, better specify the exact amount you need.

With rice, plenty of cold fresh coconut (RM 4.5), and other drinks, dinner came to RM 197 or about RM 25 per pax, pretty decent for what we ordered. I’m sure Seeri Authentic Thai Restaurant is a place worth revisiting. *burp*

Seeri Authentic Thai Restaurant is located the same row as KAYU

Address:
Seeri Authentic Thai Restaurant
No.26 Jalan SS2/10,
Petaling Jaya, Selangor
GPS: 3.115587,101.616926
Tel: 03-7877 7659, 012-378 9618

kailan – 12, egg 14, squid 12, pandan chicken 20, tomyam 30, fish 30, coconut 4.5, logan 3, chinese tea 1. total 197

Tags:  cheesie,  eric,  fish,  green curry,  jaclyn,  kerol,  kimberly,  spicy,  SS2 SS3 SS4,  suanie,  thai,  tomyam

Posted by KY | 30 Comments »

Lorong Seratus Tahun at SS2 used to be one of my favorite places to go whenever I think of Penang food. They had real Penang hawker food prepared with authentic ingredients and was one of the very few places where you could fine Curry Mee served with coagulated pork blood, which is to me, one of the most crucial item in the that dish.

I was so happy when I first discovered it and wrote a glowing food review.

Lorong Seratus Tahun at SS2, now PORK FREE (yawn)

We ended up there again this afternoon to find that the places is now renovated in the to a familiar Old Town/Kluang Kopitiam style. The menu expanded to include quite a few dishes that you can’t find in Penang hawker stalls, and prices too were increased by some 15-20%. The lady boss told me I can’t snap a picture of the menu, hmm..

Which to me, was still fine if they are still serving good old fashion good. I just wanted my curry mee with coagulated pork blood.

And then I was shown by Suan that the menu said PORK FREE! THE HORROR!

Curry Mee, and Char Kueh Teow without lap cheong (Chinese sausage)

Well since we were already there, we ordered anyway. The place was noticeably busy, so our food took a while to come. However, it was a bit of a bad job for them to serve Horng’s char kueh teow a full 15 minutes before Suan’s.

The Char Kueh Teow now does not come with Lap Cheong (Chinese Sausage), nor do they still use any pork oil in cooking it. A rather good good plate of ckt is now a very ordinary one, RM 7.50.

The Curry Mee, without coagulated pork blood, is not too different from any curry mee you can find anywhere else. Nothing special, RM 6.50. (3 years ago it was RM 4.50).

Horng also ordered a plate of Loh Bak at RM 9.50, and as expected, instead of pork we found chicken breast inside the loh bak. Quite a turn off.

In total, we spent RM 63.95 (5% service charge). Being slightly priceir than other places is fine, but removing all pork ingredients and still calling it “authentic Penang food” is just wrong. Granted the food isn’t terrible, but it’s not at all close to what it used to be.

I’m disappointed, that would be the last time I step foot in the restaurant if it stays this way.

p/s: Happy Merdeka.

Tags:  ckt,  curry-mee,  Penang,  pork free,  SS2 SS3 SS4

Posted by KY | 43 Comments »

After watching the Astro AEC program (channel 19) “Our Root” on the Baba and Nyonya cultures featuring Kelvin the noob on Sunday. We decided that it would be fitting to have some Nyonya food for dinner to celebrate his success in dodging the grandmother’s “got bring gf back or not?” question on satellite TV. So we headed to Ah Tuan Ee’s Place in SS2.

“jiu hu char” or fried mengkuang with dried cuttle fish

There are actually no less than 4 Nyonya restaurants in SS2. The others are Restaurant Bibichick, Melaka Street, and well, Nyona Restaurant. I have sampled them and they were all pretty decent.

Ah Tuan Ee’s Place has a much more refined interior decoration and a nicer ambiance comparing to it’s counterparts. The illustrated menu is especially helpful if you are not familiar with traditional Nyonya food.

nice ambiance and illustrated menu

For the three of us, we ordered a “jiu hu char” (fried mengkuang with dried cuttle fish), sambal salted fish, egg plant with sambal, and fried asam prawn to go with steamed rice.

“jiu hu char”, sambal salted fish, egg plant with sambal, fried asam prawn

The food were pretty good, especially the super simple dish that is the salted fish sambal that goes very well with white rice. The egg plant was a little too oily, but the prawn and “jiu hu char” dishes reminded me of my mom’s cooking, it was great. (My mom isn’t a Nyonya, but Penang Chinese cooking is similar in many ways). It was a pretty good meal.

Ah Tuan Ee’s Place is just a block from SS2 Square

The food were good, however, the price isn’t very economical. I guess you do have to pay for the nice ambiance after all. The meal for 3 costs us RM 77, that includes a 10% service charge and the 5% government tax.

Address:
74, Jalan SS2/72
Petaling Jaya
47300 Selangor
GPS: 3.118673, 101.625810
Tel: 03-7957 2915

Tags:  eggplant,  Melaka,  nyonya,  SS2 SS3 SS4

Posted by KY | 8 Comments »

I have spotted this relatively new Teo Chew Bak Kut Teh (潮州肉骨茶) restaurant for quite some time before finally have a chance to step in and get a taste of what it is all about. As you might aware, Bak Kut Teh is one of my favorite local dishes, as I have devoted a whole sub-category for it.

Restaurants in SS2 come and go, there is a new restaurant almost every month, and similarly, a failed food outlet at the same rate. Luckily, this survival of the fittest cycle has led to the improvement of the quality of food offered in this region.

clean and comfortable eating environment

The menu offers quite a variety of food to choose from. There are of course, bak kut teh, with over a dozen different pork ingredients to choose from (ribs, fatty meat, liver, intestine, etc), loh pork arm (卤猪脚), vegetables, and even Teo Chew porridge and noodle. I ordered the first 3 items for myself and my sister, and two bowls of rice, of course.

meat, meat, chili, vege, perfect!

As with many bak kut teh places, red chili, chili padi, and chopped garlic is available on every table. There’s also normal and dark soya sauce that goes so well with the meat and chili. The restaurant is also very clean and comfortable, a welcoming departure from most bak kut teh operations.

The bak kut teh, while not spectacular, was decent, with the meat cooked to a very soft texture. The soup though, is not as thick than the Klang version. However, the loh pork arm that we ordered was fantastic. Again, the meat and skin cooked to a very soft and easy-to-chew texture and the broth just perfect. It tasted very juicy, and went well with the chili and garlic combination. It makes me salivate just writing about it, even just having had lunch!

The entire meal, including a couple glasses of Chinese tea, was around RM 20. Which is pretty standard for a bak kut teh meal for two.

Teo Chew Bak Kut Teh is at the heart of PJ

Operating hours are 7am to 3pm, and 6 to 10pm. Closed on Mondays except public holidays.

Address:
26, 28 Jalan SS2/66,
47300 PJ, Selangor
GPS: 3.119294, 101.620284
Tel: 03-7875 2025

Tags:  Bak Kut Teh,  bkt,  PJ,  pork,  soup,  SS2 SS3 SS4,  teo-chew

Posted by KY | 8 Comments »

Note: This restaurant is no longer in business

Restaurant Fei Loh Hokkien Mee (肥佬福建面) is one of the newest establishments in the busy commercial area that is SS2 in PJ, occupying the same shop lot that used to house a rather interesting restaurant called Nutripot that failed to attract enough customers. I thought I’d give this new place a try last week, since it was drizzling and my itch of trying new places got the better of me again.

pretty decent size prawn filled with roe

Instead of trying their Hokkien Mee, I ordered the slightly more luxurious “Sang Har Mee” with Cantonese Kuey Teow (Fresh Prawn Noodle, 生虾面) instead, since they put up a big banner advertising it, for RM 13, why not? The Kerol ordered a Cantonese Egg Gravy with Kueh Teow and Meehun, or traditionally called “Yin Yeong”. Other than these dish, the restaurant offers Hokkien mee, various types of fried rice, Loh Mee, and some side dishes such as lala, braised duck, pork ribs, chicken wing, and vegetable.

clean and comfortable environment

The food came steaming hot and the portions were pretty decent as well. My Fresh Prawn Noodle looked especially eye-pleasing, with the red color from prawn’s roe, and the thick gravy, ahh.. it was just so appetizing. Fortunately, the dish did not disappoint my tongue, it was very savory and the prawn tasted fresh and delicious.

Kerol’s dish were pretty good too, though she complained that they have a bit too much garlic in it, personally, I love garlic and could never have enough of them. I also like the fact that there is free flow chili paste (that is pretty good) and pickled green chili to go about.

pretty decent noodle dishes at reasonable price

Together with a couple glasses of Chinese tea, the bill came to RM 20. The normal noodle dish was RM 6 and the drinks RM 0.50. Pretty reasonably priced for a proper set up and air conditioned dining environment. I wouldn’t hesitate to go there again to try out some of their other dishes.

However, if you are into just Fresh Prawn Noodle and don’t mind to spend more, Green View Restaurant, also at SS2, is the place to go.

Fei Loh is just a few steps away from the Korean House.

Address:
Ground Floor, 179, Jalan SS2/24
47300 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
GPS: 3.116755, 101.622677
Tel: 03-7877 9527

* close every Mondays

Tags:  fresh-prawn-noodle,  hokkien-mee,  kerol,  loh-mee,  PJ,  SS2 SS3 SS4

Posted by KY | 7 Comments »