Wednesday 27 July 2016

Restoran Fu Man @ Tanjung Malim, Perak

Besides Ga Onn Restaurant and Garden Seafood, Restoran Fu Man is another favourite restaurant among the locals in Tanjung Malim, Perak. This restaurant is located in Taman Universiti which is along the old state road heading towards Kuala Lumpur. It's been a while since we came here. If I am not mistaken, the last time I was here was in April 2014. Yes, that long it has been and for a change, we decided to do lunch here today.

Menu On The Wall
Actually, the local Chinese prefer this restaurant more than Ga Onn and as such, the place is full house most of the time. Sometimes, you'd have to make prior reservations to get a table. It was pass 2 pm when we arrived and even then, we had to wait for 10 minutes before having gotten ourselves a table. To add to this, they also get quite a number of tourist buses dropping by and that should give you an indication as to how good their business is. Food is good here, no doubt about it and they have a number of signature dishes as well which are loved by many. As for today, we won't be doing any one of those signature dishes as those would require a larger number of people and here we are just the four of us. So, just some usual dishes that we love at this restaurant. The service here is very quick and all their staffs move around so quickly attending to customers needs. I guess they are so used to running full house most of the time.

Steamed Tilapia Fish with Ginger @ RM 26.00
Steamed Tilapia Fish with ginger. This is one of the dishes that I love here. It's just amazing how they prepare them without skimping on the ingredients. Just see the amount of ginger used. The fish was steamed and topped with ginger and bird eye chili's. The generous topping of ginger seeped in well into the fish meat and that gave it an all round taste. Super good it was and for this style of preparation, these guys are the best in town. It would be a shame if I rate this anything less than a perfect 10/10. 

Thai Style Asam Prawns @ RM 22.00
Thai Style Asam Prawns. Reasonably large prawns were cooked with a mix of vegetables and served in a sour and spicy sauce. The prawns were delicious and that mix of crunchy vegetables along with the sour and spicy broth was just amazing. Another good preparation and I would rate this 9/10. 

Kam Heong Clams @ RM 20.00
The Kam Heong Style Clams were excellent. Apologies for the blurry photograph as it got focused at a different point. The clams were huge, not the small sized ones that are commonly found in restaurants and the sauce was divine. It was so good that we literally wiped the plate clean. Generous usage of belacan and it came with lots of dried shrimps. I would rate this at 10/10.

Deep Fried Squid with Mayonnaise Dip @ RM 10.00
Deep Fried Squid with Mayonnaise Dip. Decent portions and very reasonable prices. The batter used to coat the squid was so delicious so much so none of us had to even dip it in the Mayonnaise provided. Excellent it was and I would again rate this at 10/10.

Homemade Beancurd  With A Variety Of Mushrooms @ RM 14.00
Homemade Beancurd with a variety of Mushrooms. Again a dish that we all enjoyed. The array of mushrooms used was the highlight of this dish and not to forget the tofu. Deep fried and crunchy on the outside yet silky soft on the inside. That combination was a bang. I would rate this at 8/10.

Kangkung Belacan @ RM 8.00
Kangkung Belacan is a staple dish that we have to order every time we eat out at a Chinese restaurant. Somehow, I didn't quite like the preparation here and felt that the one that we get at Ga Onn Restaurant, is far superior.  The reason, was the lack of belacan and dried shrimps. Otherwise, it was decent. I would give this a 6/10 only. 

With an exception to the Kangkung Belacan, the rest of the dishes were just awesome. Overall a good lunch and my tummy was happy. Reasonable prices, good food and excellent customer service. Definitely a place that I would recommend. 

Address: No.39, Jalan U1, Taman Universiti, 35900 Tanjung Malim, Perak, Malaysia.

Telephone: +605 4597 620

Opening Hours: 1130 - 1430 & 1730 - 2230 Daily

Saturday 23 July 2016

Restoran Hijau Daun @ Tanjung Malim, Perak

Restoran Hijau Daun isn't a new restaurant in Tanjung Malim, Perak. It has been around for more than 10 years now and they are famous for their lunch spread serving some authentic Malay dishes. Easily twenty plus dishes are prepared daily and the food is very good and tends to sell out quite fast. In the evenings, not many are aware that they also do Malay style Chicken Rice which is very tasty as well. This blog entry is specifically focusing on that dish. 

The Interior Of The Restaurant

Teh O Ais
The restaurant is rather deserted in the evenings with just a handful of customers. One of the reasons is that not many are aware that they also have Chicken Rice sold after 5 pm. Since I was the only customer at that time, my drink and food arrived very quickly.  I ordered a glass of Teh O Ais and it was pretty decent. My rating for this would be 7/10 .

Nasi Ayam (Malay Style Chicken Rice)

Malay Style Chicken Rice
For the price, the portion was good. The set came with a cup of Butter Rice, chopped Roasted Chicken with sauces and some clear soup and it surely looks good.

Butter Rice
Just as it should be, they had served butter rice instead of the usual white rice. The rice itself was so good as it was cooked with butter and ginger and I was glad that they didn't skimp on the ingredients. I could have even eaten the rice on it's own. That good it was. 

Roasted Chicken with Sauces
Oh, the chicken was heavenly. Roasted and then topped with some chili paste and sweet sauce. The meat was succulent and so good. In my opinion, this preparation is anytime better than the other famous chicken rice shop in town, Nasi Ayam Farhani. 

Clear Soup with Spices
Another excellent one though it seemed a litlle oily to me. Health aside, it tasted very good as it was infused with some spices. So good it was that I had to go for another helping and they kindly obliged. Overall, I am very happy with the Chicken Rice here and I would rate it at 9/10 . Surely a dish that I would recommend here. 

Address: Along Jalan Chong Ah Peng, 35900 Tanjung Malim, Perak, Malaysia.

Opening Hours: 1030 - 2030 (Closed on Sunday's)

Monday 18 July 2016

Nasi Lemak Lontong Stall in Restoran Bamboo Bak Kut Teh @ Taman Daya, Kuala Lumpur

I was in Selayang this morning looking for a place to have breakfast and landed here in Taman Daya. Well, geographically this place comes under Kepong but in reality it can be quite confusing. It is not too far from FRIM (Forest Research Institute of Malaysia) and is directly facing the Middle Ring Road. So, I guess it is better to say that it is near Selayang. Anyway, Taman Daya is a very familiar place for me as I used to come here often for dinner. As I was driving around looking for any new restaurants that might have opened recently, I discovered this Bak Kut Teh Restaurant that had just commenced business in May this year. Parking can be a little crazy here and after doing a couple of rounds, finally got a bay behind the market. 

The Restaurant In Taman Daya, Kuala Lumpur
The twist here is that this restaurant serves Bak Kut Teh only for dinner and for breakfast till lunch, there is an Indonesian girl selling Nasi Lemak Lontong and another Chinese stall selling Roasted Chicken Rice. Being a huge fan of Indonesian style Nasi Lemak, I decided to give that a try. 

Local Coffee @ RM 1.50
Drinks are sold by the landlords which is a common practice at most Chinese restaurants in Malaysia. This cup of local coffee was priced at RM 1.50 which is a standard price in the Klang Valley. The coffee was good and not too sweet, just the way that my ideal cup of coffee should be. I would rate this drink at 8/10 .

Nasi Lemak @ RM 3.50
They had a number of add on's to choose from right from Rendang to Lontong and I went for the Sambal Kerang (Cockles Sambal) which is one of my favourites in addition to the usual spicy Sambal Ikan Bilis (Anchovies Sambal). For the price of RM 3.50, it's surely a good deal. 

Super Spicy Sambal Ikan Bilis (Anchovies Sambal)
Firstly, let me talk about the rice. The rice was delicious and the aroma was so good. Great that they weren't stingy with the coconut milk. As for the rice, I would rate it at 9/10 . The fried peanuts and fried anchovies too were fresh and crispy. Again, that was excellent as I have come across many places that serve these items which would be at least three to four days old, sometimes even a week old and they would taste so horrible. The Sambal Ikan Bilis was superb. It was extra spicy, way beyond the usual level of spiciness that you commonly get and I was in love with it. It has been so long that I tasted a sambal that was this spicy. Spicy food lovers would have a gala time having this Nasi Lemak. I would rate their Sambal at 10/10. 

Sambal Kerang (Cockles Sambal)
The Sambal Kerang was also good. Though you can see lots chili seeds in the photograph, it wasn't spicy at all and the blend of tastes that you get from the earlier sambal and this was excellent. As for this, I would rate it at 8/10 .

If you are one of those who loves Nasi Lemak and especially those spicy ones, then this would be a place that you have got to try. Just a humble stall but excellent food at very reasonable prices. I am surely coming back for more.

Address: No. 11, Jalan Daya 14, Taman Daya, 52100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Opening Hours: 0800 - 1400 Daily

Wednesday 13 July 2016

Restoran Garden Seafood @ Tanjung Malim, Perak

It has been a while since I last blogged and after a two month's break, here I am back with another entry from Tanjung Malim, Perak. Well, this isn't the first time that I am writing about Garden Seafood Restaurant and so I shall be skipping the usual lengthy introductions and just keeping it short. This is a place that has been around for more than a decade now and the first Chinese Halal restaurant in town, in fact they are still the only one. A place that has been patronised by many celebrities including three of our Prime Ministers. Under the pretense of dieting, I have not been eating out for a while now and that's the reason for my brief sabbatical from blogging. This afternoon, since all of us were back at our parents place, we decided to do lunch at this restaurant.  

Ample of Parking Bays Available

The Restaurant

Us At The Restaurant
It is an air-conditioned restaurant and they occupy three shop lots. Antiques can be seen adorning the walls along with photographs of celebrities who have visited this restaurant. For those who are keen on having a private functions, a large private hall is available on the first floor that could easily seat 300 people.

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu
A fairly comprehensive menu with a dedicated basic number of dishes for vegetarians. Being a seafood restaurant, that thoughtfulness for vegetarians is a rare quality and indeed one that I very much welcome. Most of the dishes except for certain seafood which go by the daily market prices have the prices listed in three different portion sizes. This is another excellent practice that would give an idea as to how much one's total meal would cost. Being a university town, there would be many students who would love to have a meal here and this would tremendously assist them with their budgeting while dining here. Ordering is quite straight forward. Once you are ready, just call on any one of their waiters and they would assist with the orders. Order taking is strictly kept to two of their senior staffs while the rest handle just the serving and clearing of the tables. 

Baling Mushrooms with Beancurd Skin @ RM 12.00
One of our all time favourites here. Do note that this dish is listed under the vegetarian category and not under the Tofu section. For RM 12.00 , the portion is good and they are quite generous with the Baling Mushrooms and Bean Curd Skin. The ingredients are fresh and the dish is truly delicious. If I were to rate this, I would give it a 10/10 . Highly recommended!

Butter Prawns @ RM 28.00
To be honest, I wasn't too happy with the Butter Prawns. It was a little too dry and for the portion size, that price was a premium. I can have the similar dish at any other Chinese restaurant in town for under RM 20.00 . Having been too dry, the butter did not seep in well to the prawns thus tasting rather bland. Not a dish that I would recommend. I would only give this a 5/10 .

Honey Sotong @ RM 12.00
The Honey Glazed Squid was good..... really good. Not only have they used honey, they have also added some Marmite to give it a burst of taste. The squid was crispy and it was a dish that we enjoyed. Rating wise, I would give this a 9/10 .

Fresh Scallops and Asparagus with Belacan @ RM 22.00
We are all aware that scallops are expensive and so, there's nothing to complain about the price. And the good thing is that they were generous with the amount of Belacan used. The asparagus too was cooked to just the right length of time leaving it still crunchy and tasty. Yes, this would be one that I would recommend here and my rating for this shall be 7/10 . 

Salted Eggs Soft Shell Crab @ RM 43.00
The Salted Eggs Soft Shell Crab was another dish that did not excite me. It was just average tasting and I have tasted way better preparations. Not that they were stingy with the ingredients, but it just didn't click well. If it was me alone, then I would have not come to this opinion but the entire family were of the same opinion. So, clearly it wasn't a great dish. I would perhaps rate this at 6/10 .

Bill For The Day
In summary, I have been dining here since the day they started. After all, the owner is my schoolmate and there has been ups and downs taste wise. Today too, there were some dishes that we felt were great and some, not so great. Again, this is solely based on my taste buds and can and may differ to the masses. For first timers, I would suggest to go with their famous dishes and this you could easily pick up from my previous entries on this restaurant. Still, a good place for some Halal Chinese meal and way better when compared to the famous ones in the Klang Valley. Yes, definitely a place that I would recommend and worth travelling the distance from KL. You still end up saving quite a bit.

Address: No. 7, 8 & 9A, Jalan Wangsa Utama, Taman Wangsa,
                35900 Tanjung Malim, Perak, Malaysia.

Opening Hours: 1200 - 2230 Daily

Telephone: +605 458 3398