A hidden gem amidst the flying airplanes - Kwai Lam Food Stall

Kwai Lam Food Stall is situated somewhere isolated in Kampung Baru Subang, its somewhere pass Terminal 3, Subang Airport. On the route to this hidden gem, I think one might be able to arrive here via the Sungai Buloh way. Upon arriving, we were greeted by a huge crowd, and almost a full house eatery. No fancy decor nor air condition, which can only mean one thing to draw such big volume of customers; THE QUALITY OF FOOD!

Man, let's hope that would be right as we braced ourselves to face the possible long wait. We noticed there were at least 10 tables not getting their food yet. Nevertheless, the kitchen is doing their best to whisk up a storm. Perhaps we have some peanuts and crackers to munch on, our first dish arrived after 15 minutes! That's fast!! Steamed Frogs with Grated Ginger. Served on top of a steel plate with candles keeping it warm, the flesh of the frogs were succulent yet firm! There is no unpleasant odour tagging along. If there is, the grated ginger sauce would've done the trick. The grated ginger made me having spoonful after another, despite we didn't order any white rice to go along with it!

Look at the muscular legs of the amphibian! The price tag which came along was reasonable. RM18 for the plate you see in the photo...

Next, Butter Fried Mantis Prawns (RM12) came in a reasonable portion, enough to be shared by 5 people. Very greasy though, it has the slight resemblance of being salted egg coated which is.... the zenith combination to your rising blood pressure! =p If only we ordered half a bottle or two of Carlsberg to go along with this dish.... rather than chinese tea.

Well what I like a lot of this place is, they really can synchronize the order of the dishes very well. Knowing that we were not eating rice, the dishes came not long after the order was placed though there was some gap time between one dish or another. The Yau Mak came after the Fried Mantis Prawns, and it couldn't have arrived better to clear our guilt feeling before moving on the fill our stomachs with the Tai Look Mein. Besides pork slices and fish cake, the noodles contains lard fritters which really entices my appetite! Guess what? We ordered portion for 3 person, and we got quite a big plate and for a very low price, RM10 only!

Enter the supposed highlight of the night - Banana Leaf Grilled Stingray (RM20). This dish seems to be a bit steep compared to the more reasonably priced dishes earlier. However, the portion is still sufficient to be shared by 5 person. The only drawback was the curry/kunyit marinade could be abit more pungent. The best grilled sting ray I had in Ipoh was the corner stall called OCEAN in Dung Gu Teng (Anika Selera) but I guessed it has changed hands, so not that nice anymore. My preference would be those grilled to almost dry and the skin almost crispy while maintaining the juicy flesh!

The last thing to arrive was their Fried Chicken Wings (RM2.30/piece). I noticed many tables also ordered the chicken wings and grilled fish. However I've tasted better fried chicken wings but this version ain't too bad either. Not coated with any flour but fragrantly marinaded in soya sauce, oyster sauce etc, the chicken wings is rather dry, love it or loathe it. The total bill came to only RM83 for 5 person, inclusive of towels and chinese tea. I would love to come back for more, as you wouldn't find such pricing in Selangor, places such as Subang. Crabs is a must for my revisit, now contemplating to choose between the steamed with egg whites style or the sweet and spicy chilli gravy. Yummy Kwai Lam!!!!

Ayam Di Dalam Tempurung

Another one photo short post. This is my first attempt of using my factory's trial product. Judging by its hard and crispy crust with a rather hollow and spongy core, I saved a portion of mom's curry chicken from dinner to make a resemblance of Kampar's Curry Chicken Bun. Besides this, I think this type of crusty bun would ideally complement well Cream of Wild Mushroom. Okay, I know I've been distracted by the horrific incident and experience in River Nile, coupled by exciting suppers for the past 2 nights. I shall resume with the KL posts after this. Have a nice weekend, everyone (except for me, working tomorrow)

JJ Cakes - SWISS ROLLS~

Finally I get to try the Swiss Rolls from JJ Cakes. They boast in their preservative free cakes which is best eaten fresh, or should be finished by the next day. No artificial colouring or flavouring is used. Well, the colours still look very striking be it Pandan, Honeydew, Strawberry and Banana. Tastewise, it suits those health conscious as it was not too sweet. My tastebuds were overshadowed by the Milk Tea I'm drinking, so you can roughly estimate the low level of sugar used. The texture is like cotton soft! And its fluffy! From the experience of working in a factory which produces bakery products, the secret would be in the flour used. A special texture flour is used to get that degree of sponginess! Now, can they claim that "no artificial ingredients" is used? =)

Pontian Wanton Noodles in SS2

After Shin Yee picked me and Lei Yi up from Sentral, we decided to head back her home to rest. On the way back, we decided to grab something to fill our stomachs to facilitate a better nap time later =p

SS2 was indeed a busy residential area. Amidst the many shops, we decided to give this a try! The previous time I was in this area, we went for KTZ to savour their Mango Lolo and some light snacks. Abit skeptical bout how franchise food can taste good, I decided to give the benefit of the doubt and see what this shop has to offer. Upon entering, I saw the shop almost packed to the brim on a Saturday afternoon. Flipping through the menu to make orders, is it because of the food tasting good or is it due to the affordable pricing to have hawker fare in an air-conditioned environment? I last recalled my claypot lou shu fun cooked by a Burmese worker in a hawker stall cost RM4.50 and only had one tablespoon of minced meat and an egg. And that was 2 years ago.....

RM4.50 for a small bowl, RM5.50 for a medium and RM6.50 for a large one, Pontian Wantan Noodles shop is famous for..... their wantan noodles! Abuthen. Seeing many tables having the dry version, we know we couldn't go wrong by ordering what is popular or liked by the majority. But wait, even so, there are 3 types of dry noodles - pure black sauce, black sauce+ chilli oil and tomato sauce (huh?)!!! Tempted to be different to try the tomato sauce version, I chose the original one in the end to play safe. We ordered another bowl of the one with chilli oil!

The noodles had a springy texture but maintained its "toughness" because it's not the fine versions some of us had before. The mouthfeel of the noodles is acceptable to me. But, the boost to it was certainly the fried lard found generously inside the noodles! Now I wonder, is it lard oil being used as the gravy as well? Tastewise, the one with chilli oil had the edge of the two! The original sauce tasted abit too salty to my liking. Now, I wonder should I order the tomato sauce version, would it gave me a pleasant surprise. Is the tomato sauce referring to the "tim cheong" we had in our Ipoh Chee Cheong Fun? Or those ketchup? Hmmm.... You may want to read Motormouth's feedback on the tomato sauce combination by clicking on his post here.

Not realising the dry version of wan tan noodles came with BOTH fried wantans and wantans in soup (3 pieces fried, 2 in soup), we made an extra order of a bowl of wantan in soup! RM4 for 10 pieces, one can easily downed this bowl in a jifty. The wantans here somehow missed the mark for its skimpy portion of filling! The dumplings (5 fried ones for RM4) beat the wantans anytime! The skin was crispy and yet the filling was moist and juicy! Dipped with mayo and chilli sauce, this is good finger food to go along with your noodles!

You may also dip your fried stuffs inside the bowl of Laksa (RM5 for small bowl, RM1 to increase the size per tier). The laksa has a curry like soup and definitely not the sourish asam type. I am not a big fan of the version served here but neither did I dislike it too. A thinner and finer type of "lai fun" is being used in this dish, coupled with some tau fu pok, fish cake, cockles and hardboiled egg. To me, the soup is more like curry than laksa! LOL....

Although aware that this place is not a master in desserts, I still picked one to try. The Honeydew Sago (RM3.50) came with LOADS of sago, with fine bits of watermelons and honeydew. The coconut milk and honeydew pulp was at the right proportion, neither too rich neither too fruity. I love sage but IMHO, they crossed the limit a little. Hehe.... Final verdict? You can skip this place if you have better things in mind to try. But the reasonably priced food certainly beats those "tom dick and harry foreign-worker-managed"hawker stall in KL right? =)

RIVER NILE CAFE in LOST WORLD TAMBUN - becareful of getting bashed up after eating their lousy food!

If you think a food blogger got sued by a Curry House by criticizing their food is out of this world, read on to see what is even worse happened in River Nile Cafe and Bistro in Lost World of Tambun. Food critics got bashed up!!!!

After finishing my meal, me and my few friends were busy snapping some photos. When we were almost done, I witnessed a commotion. A few of my church friends' parents got involved with some thugs. One of them got bashed up until laying motionless on the floor. Too afraid in to get involved alone, I stayed in the car and witnessed those involved and try to jot down their number plates. After the police arrived, I got out of the car to be closer. After meeting Jun Yen's dad, I asked anything I could help. The injured person was sent for treatment and I escorted them away to their cars, in case of more thugs coming their way.

The "manageress" which we saw earlier was so fierce and raised her voice in the commotion and acted as if they did nothing wrong when the police interogated. Earlier on, we commented that this woman don't dress up properly as a service head. She was busy attending to a few complaints by other customers before that, one even returned a bowl of soup for exchange. Yes, soups like this, so called Seafood Chowder, which has Crabmeat Filament Stick! Yuck! The Oxtail soup tasted like Adabi Sup Bunjut. Yucky!!!!

The Baked Scallop with Cheese (RM24) but was done half heartedly. The cheese was just melted and not baked. So watery! It looks like baby puke! Though the scallops was fresh but the way of cooking just spoilt it big time. Wasted our money!

My set was a Grilled Lamb Loin. Common, does this look like Loin to you or lamb shoulder? The worst part was, my friend who ordered Butter Mint Chicken got LAMB! an identical dish just like mine! Damn lousy service. Or the kitchen is manned by gangsters?! Dunno how to cook according to customers orders?

The Pasta Marinara also had a Crabmeat Stick. Damn it, we pay RM15+ for this type of shit? The pasta was not properly cooked and had some "flour odour". The sauce is bland and the presentation is just messy.

This is some Prawn Spaghetti. I bet I could find bigger prawns in my plate of Char Kuay Teow. Melted Cheese? Common, use cheese powder la, gangsters! So does my review/critic count? Well, if you can be so unsporting and hire thugs to beat up customers who voice our dissatisfaction of your food, you should be boycotted immediately regardless how good or bad your food is. Remember, RIVER NILE of LOST WORLD TAMBUN, please refrain from patronizing this place. Save yourself from a bad dining experience or threatens of being physically assaulted or possibility of car being vandalised should you complaint their food or service!

Qi Yuan - a new spot for some light dim sums???

Time to evaluate another outlet which serves Xiao Long Bao. These cuties contain meat and broth in a dumpling. Having thinner skins, the ones in Qi Yuan is slightly better than the ones from Dragon-One. The soupy broth came in a considerable amount and was still hot. Slurp in caution while enjoying this!

Though its a shop with cooking theme of Sze Chuan and Cantonese (Kwong Tung) cuisine (thus the theme of "chuan kwong"), it does not fare less in the dim sum selections. You can find familiar dishes like the Har Guen (Prawn Roll) and Carrot Cake. Most dim sum will cost around RM3-RM4. The carrot cake here had a nice texture but could do better with some dried shrimps/ sausages.

Compared to the prawn roll, the Prawn and Scallop Dumpling did not fare as good in terms of crunchiness of the prawns. Most likely affected by the konyaku-like skin, I believe the moisture entrapped inside and the starchiness of the flour used caused the filling to be slightly messy. Though priced reasonably (RM4.50, if i remembered correctly), you can skip this. The Pork Dumpling in Chilli Oil came in 6 bite sized pieces, enough for you to sample it. Passable but nothing to shout about.

For less than RM4 (forgot the price, maybe RM3.70), you get 3 pieces of Char Siu Bao in a steamer basket. The skin of the pau is soft and fluffy, but the slight drawback was I tasted a mild chlorine like smell, probably due to the type of flour used? The filling could be more flavourful as I still get to taste a mild porkish odour of the meat.

Initially thought it was a dessert, The Pandan Leaves Dumpling (forgot the actual name and the price) turned out to be a savoury dish. Instead of having pandan kaya or dessicated coconut as the filling, it encases preserved salted vegetables and meat floss!!! It was indeed a surprise as I thought to end the meal with some desserts already by then.

A cross between savoury and dessert, the Lau Shar Pau is actually a Lai Yao Bao (Corn Custard Bun) with a twist. Incorporating salted egg yolk as partner, the filling turned out to be a winning combination! Best taken when hot, break the bun to check out the oozing filling! Do not scald your tongue in the process. This item would draw me back wanting for more! Perhaps the whole basket for myself! ^^

Another dessert - their Egg Tarts came in 3 but in really small size! Compare with the 50 cents coin by the side. The filling was not too my liking as it did not have the wobbly like egg custard. The "yellower" than normal custard did not ring my bell. Perhaps the flaky pastry did its trick in gaining some consolation marks!

Being a dessert fan myself, I needed some time to choose among some noteworthy desserts being offered. Sorry to the black glutinous dessert, mango pudding, mango sago, coconut sorbet on strawberries, I chose the Mixed Fruit Jelly (RM3.80). With bits of mango, strawberries and watermelon on top of jelly, which I reckon is aloevera flavoured, this is indeed a refreshing dessert. The price is also very reasonable.

Besides all light items, Qi Yuan offers choices of hand stretched noodles. Mostly served as dry version, expect familiar types like the Dan Dan noodles, chilli oil noodles and minced meat noodles. There is also a soup version of beef noodles! Overall, I'm quite satisfied with the food here. I would definitely come for more, provided they are more serious with their business hours. My first attempt during CNY failed as they opened half day without really notifying on the door, which I believe it did made many others disappointed. After this blog post visit, I again knocked on an empty shop to find it closed on a Sunday at lunchtime!!! Though Motormouth's post previously reported their business hours to be from 7am to 8pm, I made a phone call recently before going there, only to be informed their business hours now is only until 3pm. Good that I was not disappointed again after travelling from home to Greentown purposely for this. So, only can try it on weekends for working people.

Weng Seng Seafood Restaurant, hidden gem in Gunung Rapat

My aunty from Shah Alam came to Ipoh just last weekend and gave us a treat. One of my relatives suggested to go all the way to the slight outskirts of town for a dinner. I've no idea and have not heard of this place before. Weng Seng Seafood restaurant is a hidden gem somewhere near Kek Lok Toong. I'm not acquainted with that area despite staying in Ipoh all my life.

To suit my grandma, a tau fu dish was ordered. Kwai Fei Tau Fu, or fondly translated to Queen's Tau Fu by the restaurant, they boast this among their signature dishes on their menu board. Tastewise, there was nothing really special but the tau fu itself is indeed velvety and eggy. A simple "ching" dish for the older folks I reckon.

Another dish featured in the menu is the Indonesian Seafood Claypot. "Swimming" gloriously in the kunyit curry gravy which just had a degree of mild spiciness, one can get generous portions of fish fillets, brown sotongs and prawns with ladies fingers as their "lifeguards". This dish will certainly get you having another helping of white rice!

I'm never a big fan of poached chicken, other than the chicken from Ngar Choy Kai. Ayam Kampung flesh is never my cup of tea. Though the abalone does attract me to grab along one small piece of chicken to accompany the pricey sea mollusk, I didn't go for a second piece. In addition to the chewy flesh, I noticed a faint chicken odour. >.<

Thankfully something more fragrant cleared the potential lost of appetite after biting to the chicken in the form of Nestum Sotong. This time, white squid was used unlike the brown ones used in the curry. The Nestum was given a slight grinding treatment, making it to finer particles, as if breadcrumbs were used to coat the sotongs. Help yourself to the curry leaves too which add a slight crunch and aroma to every bite!

Amidst the fried stuff, dig into another claypot dish in the form of Salted Fish Pork Belly. The Ham Yu Fah Lam Bou here is nicely executed as I like the pork belly to be as thin as possible. The gravy should ideally be sufficient to caramelize the meat and not drench it. This dish is indeed robust in flavour and yes, pork belly with the right amount of fatty layers FTW!!!!

Oh, I missed the photos of our source of fibre, but the vegetables didn't made its mark in my memory. Lastly, we had the steamed tilapia with black beans. I could accept this way of cooking but the amount of black bean used is abit too much. Be moderate with the toppings as it may overshadow the flesh of this fish. Under the right amount, it will be a good complement to the rather bland taste of tilapia flesh. I'm quite satisfied with the meal, and the table of 10 people cost less than RM200. Oh, I've just found out that this place has been in business and reviewed 5 years go. Check out Citygal's review here.

A Lai I (eeeeee....)

Ah, I'm so captivated by this photograph as soon as I was handed the menu in A Lai I. Look at the amount of fish roe used as the topping of the sushi cake! Well, for RM80, it might be pricey to some as you are mostly getting sushi rice. On the other side of this laminated sheet it shows A Lai I are constantly creating new dishes to appease the customers. There is a Bento/Set Menu and an ala carte menu. Let's see what I've picked managed to gave A Lai I a good first impression since it's my first time here despite this place is quite established.

However, there were some slight problems with the service here. The first to arrive on my table was the Gyu Tataaki Teriyaki with Vegetables (RM20). I was totally turned off when a stir fry dish was the first in line ahead of my sashimi and appetizers. Tastewise, it was just so-so and did not live up to the hefty price tag.

As if stir fry items were not enough to kill your tastebuds, the next in the line was the Fried Mini Crabs (RM8.80). I threw away the receipt so I can't provide the actual name and price of this dish. However the crunchiness and addictiveness of this dish was very vivid in my mind! It's a slight detour from your conventional fried soft shell crab. These miniature crabs does not have much flesh, thus giving the extra crunch to every bite!

Next, the sushi arrived. You may order one unit of the sushi instead of coming in pairs, a common practice in many Japanese restaurants in Ipoh. I had the generic ones, baby Tako, seasoned jelly fish and seasoned scallops. Each piece is priced at RM2.80. There are more expensive ones among the list but I could not recall were there any sea urchin and tuna belly (toro) sushis. 20 minutes have passed since I placed my order and there was no sign of my salmon yet. That was why I was lazy to snap a picture of the California Roll (RM5), though the roll was freshly and nicely wrapped. The seaweed was still crunchy and they used the avocado instead of Tamago.

And finally, my salmon came!!! After a long wait and I knew the order was totally wrong, I was so annoyed, I even voice it out to the boss. He just nonchalantly said "oh i forgot this item at 1st". Common, you are charging a premium for your food. It's not like you are selling Japanese Food in Wooley Food Centre or Pusat Makanan Bercham Emas. How could one forget the golden rule in Japanese food of serving in order is vital for one to get the fullest of the food. From raw to cooked. From the less flavourful to the most robust in flavour. Even in sashimi, it could be down in detail to eating the lighter colour to heavier in colour. Though the Salmon Roll with Fish Roe (RM18) was a good dish, the improper serving order killed off part of the fun. To be fair, I must commend this dish is good with the fish roe giving a good crunch every time you bite into some.

Overall, the food is quite okay but its slightly more expensive than Akamomiji and Kizuna. Being one of the early Japanese restaurants in Bandar Baru Medan, the interior maybe abit shabby and does not cater to private conversation. The distance from table to table is too near. Will I return? Most likely no. =D

9 Big Ghost Banquet in a Chemor traditional home~

It was my first time driving to Chemor motivated by visiting a colleague's house and also good food! Chinese New Year season has dampened a bit but all was not gone! The journey was well rewarded with my colleague's parents cooking a storm whole day for dishes fit for a banquet. Yup, we nicknamed it "9 Big Ghost" (literally in Cantonese)

Enter the Little Ghost of home made Yee Sang! Say no to artificial colouring and preservatives and hello to healthy vegetables and fruits, namely cabbage, turnips, carrots and cucumbers. The fish is substituted with mandarin oranges, which made close resemblance to salmon slices! Topped with crushed nuts and fried nga ku bits, the home made yee sang is ready for tossing after drizzled generously with oil and plum sauce! Refreshing and different from the generic versions in restaurants and supermarkets!

A good appetizer fit to be a main course for light eaters, the 2nd Ghost was the Fried Stuffed Chicken Wings. Coated with crumbs instead of batter, the crispy and juicy chicken wings houses glutinous rice with bits of sauteed mushrooms, garlic and carrots. I seldom get to try this dish. In fact, this is my first time??? Skilfully and meticulously done, this dish it fit for the Four Season platter in restaurants! =D

Next, a larger chicken dish. Poached Kampung Chicken. The meat is firm but more on the chewy side. This may not be everyone's cup of tea as you might have good exercise of the jaw. But the firm flesh does have a distinctive flavour in a special way.

Enter one of the most sinful ghost of the 9. Stewed Pork with Yam (Wu Tau Kau Yuk). Using roast pork, it has the signature 3 layer of skin, fat and meat! Part of me was craving for slurping the whole piece down my throw while the other part was playing the guilt card of separating the gelatinous fatty layer.

Take a break, chew on some brocolli and snow peas to ease of the guiltiness of indulgence! While doing so, entice your tastebuds with some braised sea cucumber and mushrooms! Totally way better than the ones I had in Ipoh Hometown restaurant, the sea cucumber has the melt in your mouth feel. Well, we were indeed blessed to be served a premium grade of sea cucumber nicknamed "Ju Por Sum", a expensive variant. We don't nickname it the 9 Big Ghost Banquet for nothing right? =D

If you still haven't feel the cholesterol laden guilt, continue to indulge in Pan Fried Soya Sauce Prawns. The prawns may not be the very large size, but you can taste the passion of the person who cook this dish. Really very home made taste yet full of "wok hei" ala restaurant styled cooking.

Uncle and Aunty had some plain rice in the cooker but we did not touch a single grain at all. Enter the next ghost in the form of Steamed Glutinous Rice with.... pineapples???? Haha, definitely out of the norm. Well, you do get bites of sausages and mushrooms here and there.

Save the best for the last. This "Sek Pan" was very fresh. I was told that Uncle purposely got this fish from the Pasir Pinji market! Upon sufficient steaming, not too much or less, the flesh was firm and came off the bones easily. Yummyyyy~

Oh, the last and 9th ghost was the Fruit Enzyme wine.... which haunts my tastebuds! =p Hehehehhee... so much for the Gou Dai Guai feast. Looking forward for next year's menu!!!!