Tag / chow-yang
Horng and I were both from the same “11200” postcode back in Penang, an area that is called Tanjung Bunga (literally cape of flower). So it was a bit of a wonder why it took us so long to step into the Tanjung Bunga nyonya restaurant at SS2 despite having driven by the shop lots on multiple occasions over the years.
well, my very first address was under the Tg. Bungah postcode
As a rule of thumb, if a restaurant has been there for ages and do very little in terms of decoration or renovation, chances are the food is usually at least decent.
In that sense, Tanjung Bunga Penang Nyonya Cuisine is one such places, the interior is rather basic but clean, with air conditioning system that sort of works.
curry fish head, asam prawn, perut ikan
Tanjung Bungah restaurant offers pretty much all the essential Penang nyonya dishes. For the five of us, we ordered five different dishes for dinner. Serving time was actually pretty fast, with the first dish arriving some 10 minutes after ordering.
Curry fish head with garupa was rich, spicy, and true to Nyonya style, comes with a plenty of vegetable and even mint leaves. Fried asam prawn was prepared the way my mom would, which also reminds me of the version at Kah Soh – retaining the sweetness of tiger prawns while infusing the dish with just the right amount of dark soya sauce and asam.
Perut ikan, or pickled swim bladder curry, could be slightly richer and creamier, but a passable dish nonetheless.
inchi cabin and paku pakis
Then there’s paku pakis, or the wild fern shoots, a vegetable dish to fill the vitamin C quota, and one with texture that I always love. The preparation method here is more “lemak” than spicy, which suits us just find as there was already curry on the table.
Our favorite dish turned out to be the inchi cabin, or the Nyonya fried chicken. The unique blend of spices and sauce used to marinate this version of fried chicken was just spot on, We wish we ordered more.
Dinner came to be about RM 15-20 per person, which is on par with other similar restaurants, would not hesitate to go back there again.
Address:
Tanjung Bungah Nyonya Cuisine
117, Jalan SS 2/6, Ss 2,
47300 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
GPS: 3.116029, 101.616522
Tel: 03-7877 4531
Hours: lunch and dinner, closed on Thursdays
Some of you might have heard about the famous yau char kuai (油炸粿, you tiao) stall outside Chow Yang at PJ SS2, or have even tasted it. Well, passing that super busy stall for the Nth time, I finally tried something from there when Suan’s friend Pinky was in town.
sizzle, sizzle
It was after a heavy lunch that Suan decided to check out the much talked about stall. We squeezed ourselves to the front and tried to order some of the famous yau char kuai. Unfortunately, we had to give up the idea upon hearing that waiting time for yau char kuai is 40 minutes.
However, the owner was making fried glutinous rice with dough thingy (I don’t know the Chinese name), and we could have some in for a mere 5 minute wait. So we thought, why not?
hot, sweet, delicious, and yummy (no pun intended)
We took home 6 pieces of this fried glutinous rice with dough thingy, and boy it was really good. Imagine sweet and slightly sticky glutinous rice wrapped by the slightly salty dough with the texture of good doughnut. I think my explanation failed to do justice to the taste, but Suan, Rachel, and Pinky all love it too.
the stall opens at night, expect long wait
I think I gotta try their yau char kuai next time.
Address:
Jalan SS 2/6
Petaling Jaya, Selangor
GPS: 3.116862, 101.617377
I went to this place in Chow Yang area of SS2 thanks to my house mate Kerol having to spend Jack, who has helped fixing her computer numerous times thanks to her attraction to the world of spyware, worm, and computer virus. Being hungry at the same time, I accidentally got a free meal too.
a standard kopitiam “tai chao” set up
After deliberating for a few minutes, we decided to go to Restaurant Shanky, a tai chao (大炒) place on the same row as KAYU Nasi Kandar at the SS2 Chow Yang area. The restaurant is of a typical kopitiam set up but kept rather clean and hygienic looking.
We ordered 3 dishes for, well, 3 of us. A Thai style deep fried fish with Siakap, spinach, and pork belly with salted fish (咸鱼花腩). All these to go with steamed rice.
Thai style fish, spinach, and pork belly with salted fish
Food came after about 15-20 minutes, pretty standard waiting time for a tai chao place. The Thai style fish was really good, the fish deep fried to a crispy texture, and it came with Thai chili sauce and plenty of garnish such as parsley, shallots, and red chili. The combination of the sweet and spicy sauce with the crispy fish meat was pretty addictive.
The spinach is topped with some “silver fish” just like the one from Ah Leong’s fried rice at the nearby mamak square. An interesting combination. Lastly, the pork belly with salted fish is just as good as I’ve tasted from any other places, a very sinful dish that will nullify 3 hours of intense badminton.
restaurant shanky is situated on the same row as Kayu Nasi Kandar
The bill came to around RM 50 for the 3 dishes. Pretty reasonable, I’d say it is inline with the nearby new Chow Yhang restaurant in terms of food quality and price.
Address:
20, Jalan SS2/10
47300, Petaling Jaya
Selangor
GPS: 3.115850, 101.617012
The news on the tragic end of the Croc Hunter Steve Irwin came pretty shocking to many of us. To pay tribute to the fun and whacky celebrity conservationist, I’ve decided to head to Chow Yang for a meal of Stingray ikan bakar. I think I’m not the only one who did this.
are you hungry for some ikan bakar?
I went over to the stall and picked up a slab of stingray and top it with some okra (ladies finger). Other types of vege you can choose to accompany your fish are long bean, petai, onion, and kacang botol (winged bean). You can also choose to have all of those veges as the side as well.
Although it’s called ikan bakar, the fish is not exactly grilled over fire. Instead, the guy pan fry the fish with a piece of banana leaf in between while applying the sambal paste on top. About half way through, a wok cover is used to blanket the fish while some water is squirted on just next to the fish, creating a steam. I believe this is how the fish is kept from being too dry while getting it cooked thoroughly. This cooking method is different from the Malay style ikan bakar I had near KLCC.
so tender you can just chew down the cartilage with the meat
The result was a fully cooked and very tender stingray meat with plenty of flavor from the sambal paste. The okra on top has a different texture and taste to serve as a very great compliment to the fish. Some sourish and spicey sauce with onion accompany the dish as well. The stuff is so delicious even the mat salleh loves it.
Chow Yang at SS2, just behind KAYU
The dish costs me RM 13, pretty fair price. While Chow Yang opens 24 hours daily, this stall operates at night only.
Address:
Jalan SS 2/6
Petaling Jaya, Selangor
GPS: 3.116862, 101.617377
