My exhousemate Kerol reads the Chinese daily Sin Chew religiously, and once in a while she’d come across a food review from the paper that she thinks we should try. Most often than not, her recommendations prove to be spot on, just to show that you can usually trust a Penangite when it comes to food.

Char Siew Zhai wantan mee at Taman Paramount

The latest place she recommended was this new wantan mee restaurant at Taman Paramount by the name of Char Siew Zhai (or little bbq pork), the first time wee went was just a couple weeks ago, and I’ve been there three times since.

One of the unique selling point of this place is the way the noodle is prepared. After boiling the noodle and going through the standard quick bath of colder water (to make the outer layer more springy), they throw it up really high and before catching  it on the sieve several times. Apparently this is done to get rid of most moisture so that the noodle absorbs sauce better.

I managed to capture it on video on my 2nd visit there with cheesie, check it out!

dumpling, curry chicken, duck & char siew noodle

Char Siew Zhai offers a wide range of noodle and rice based dishes that is often associated with restaurants like this (another place would be Chong Loy at Sunway). They have wantan, dumpling, char siew (bbq pork), siu yok (roast pork), roast duck, curry chicken, chicken feet, stewed duck, fried pork, roast chicken, poached chicken, and shredded chicken served with noodle or rice.

You can also order most of the items listed above as side dishes.

kerol, rachel, cheesie, and KY at Char Siew Zhai

I’ve tried their dumpling noodle, wantan mee, roast duck, bbq pork and roast pork so far and I gotta say I really like their noodle. I guess the whole high throwing method really does work, they’re tasty!

The char siu (bbq pork) is really good too, slightly different texture (rougher and less oily outer layer) than normal. Roast duck was alright but not anywhere near Loong Foong which is situated just a few doors down. Wantan and dumplings were pretty tasty.

The best part is, a wantan mee, char siu mee, or dried curry chicken mee is only priced at RM 4.00, with the most expensive main dish  not exceeding RM 7.00 (combination roast meat noodle). This is cheaper than most hawker stalls around the area in a much more comfortable area too.

Address:
Restaurant Char Siew Zhai Wantan Mee
No. 5, Jalan 20/13, Paramount Garden
46300 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
GPS: 3.106085, 101.625295
Tel: 012-628 1348

Cool things you can do with a blackberry

As per promise from the previous post on PM Najib’s Hari Raya open house, here’s the #4 cool thing you can do with a Blackberry – BBM!

BBM is short for Blackberry Messaging. It is basically a chatting program not unlike MSN or Yahoo messaging, but exclusive to Blackberry phones only. BBM goes through Blackberry’s proprietary network if you subscribe to BIS (the must-subscribe Blackberry Internet Service). Instant messaging on the go with everyone who has a BB, and you don’t need to pay for SMS charges!

You can pre-register for Xpax Blackberry here and get the new Curve 8520.

Tags:  cheesie,  hawker,  kerol,  rachel,  wan-tan-mee

Posted by KY | 32 Comments »

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Tags:  char-siu,  dumpling,  horng,  pork,  SS2 SS3 SS4,  wan-tan-mee

Posted by KY | 34 Comments »

On most “by invitation” food review sessions, there are PR representatives or the restaurant owner joining myself and other reviewers. Most often than not, the conversation will initially revolves around the food they serve, their restaurant, the company; but eventually to food in general and ended up with information exchange on the best food secrets in town.

The same thing transpired on the review at Dragon-i Pavilion. The PR couple Mr & Mrs Kong claimed to be the pickiest wan tan mee eater this side of Klang Valley, I told them I thought the wan tan mee at restuarant OK, SS2 is pretty good, while their recommendation was this place at Hock Lim kopitiam, PJ State.

this kopitiam doens’t even have a banner

The very same weekend after the review, Kong sms-ed me and said the wan tan mee I recommended was not up to their standard. It was then I decided that I must try this place, so Rachel and I went over to PJ State on Merdeka Day for breakfast.

ohhh, glorious char siu and wan tan mee

We ordered two medium plates of wan tan mee with the standard ingredients: char siu (bbq pork) and wan tan (dumplings).

It took a while for the noodle to be served, as the stall was apparently the busiest among the lot. However, true to Kong’s recommendation, it was really very good. The noodle with just the right amount of sauce, the pork wan tan with very soft smooth skin giving it a very nice texture and taste. Best of all, the char siu was really excellent, complimenting the noodle perfectly.

You can see how we appreciated it from the empty plates at the end of the meal.

hock lim kopitiam is facing MBPJ building

The stall is located at Restaurant Hock Lim which is situated on the same row as Saito College at PJ State.

Address:
Jalan 52/18,
46200 Petaling Jaya
GPS: 3.098789, 101.645132

Tags:  char-siu,  hawker,  kopitiam,  ky,  noodle,  rachel,  wan-tan-mee

Posted by KY | 41 Comments »

A pal of mine, shiang introduced me to this wan tan mee place in SS2 after reading my take on the Sungai Besi wan tan mee place. The dude claimed that he had ate at this place 3 days in a row upon discovering it. Since I usually trust the taste of this not-so-skinny guy, I just had to give this place a try.

no frill wan tan mee, the good stuff

I tried to order their sui kow but they always ran out of those on both occasions I was there, hence we ordered a normal char siu with wan tan noodle, and a char siu with mushroom noodle. Like many wan tan mee places, they also offer the popular chicken feet with mushroom as toppings for the noodle.

The noodle didn’t take long to arrive, and it didn’t look like they are worried about presentation. In fact, there was only the essentials of the dish, the wan tan, the char siu, the noodle, sauce, and pickled green chili. It didn’t even come with vegetable like most other places.

noodle so delicious the hot chick didn’t even have time to camwhore

However, putting the food in the mouth confirms why the dude liked this place so much. The noodle has a proper texture and firmness to it, while absorbing the sauce well. The wan tan too, were of good size and packed with enough fatty minced meat. It is always a disappointment when some stalls make their wan tan too small in order to increase profit.

The best ingredient of dish though, was their char siu, barbecued to perfection, maintaining the juiciness of the meat while achieving a very firm and consistent texture. It was definitely one of the better char siu I had.

Restaurant OK is located near KAYU and Chow Yang

The noodle starts from RM 3.50 per plate.

This wan tan mee stall is opened from around 11 in the morning to 6-7pm. Of course, the same restaurant also offers the Fatty Duck stew duck rice I reviewed earlier this week.

Address:
Jalan SS2/10, Petaling Jaya
(at the other end of the same row of shop houses comprising KAYU)
GPS: 3.115084, 101.616390

Tags:  char-siu,  hawker,  kopitiam,  noodle,  Petaling-Jaya,  SS2 SS3 SS4,  sui-kow,  wan-tan-mee

Posted by KY | 9 Comments »

Finally we went to the famous Sungai Besi Wan Tan Mee (全蛋面) last weekend. This was the place we attempted to go a couple months ago, but my house mate got lost on the way, ended up driving around KL for almost 2 hours before finally admitted defeat and ate at some road stalls at Bangsar instead. That incident gave her an excuse to upgrade to an expensive GPS phone, but anyhow, we got there this time (we didn’t use the GPS)

this place is usually packed with hungry customers

For the three of us, we ordered a wan tan with mushroom noodle, a mushroom chicken feet noodle, a curry chicken noodle, deep fried sui kow, a plate of deep fried prawn, and some oily vegetable. See, the good thing about this place is the variety of different “wan tan mee” you can order. The other toppings include the original wan tan and char siew (BBQ pork), curry wild boar, ginger duck, pork knuckle, sui kow, and Hakka stew pork.

some of the good stuff we ordered

The noodle served here was actually pretty good, though I feel that it is still 2nd to the stall in Pudu, but still pretty good nonetheless. The toppings and other items were pretty decent as well, and the RM 6 deep fried prawn really offered value for money. Other than the traditional chili, this place also offered two types of delicious sambal to go with the side dishes (sui kow and prawn).

prawn, sui kow, vegetable, noodles, best

The meal was pretty satisfying. However, they can be a little pricey. Including drinks, we had to part with RM 36 for the three of us. That was for the 3 plates of noodle and three side dishes ordered. Then again, you do get the variety and a different taste from the ordinary wan tan plus char siew.

turn right from loke yew to sg. besi and you’ll get there in a jiffy

This place opens from about 8pm till the wee hours.

Address:
190H Jalan 2 1/2 Miles Sg Besi,
55200 Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.122819, 101.709087
Phone: 03-9222 8177

Tags:  hawker,  noodle,  sui-kow,  sungai-besi,  wan-tan-mee

Posted by KY | 19 Comments »