Thursday, 26 February 2015

Restoran Yut Kee @ Jalan Kamunting, Kuala Lumpur

Yut Kee is a restaurant that needs no further introduction. Having been around since 1928, these guy's have very much been dominating the Hainanese food scene in the Klang Valley for the past 87 years. The last I visited them was some 20 years ago and that was at their original restaurant that was located along Jalan Dang Wangi. Of late, sometime in August last year, they had moved to a new premise along Jalan Kamunting. This afternoon, I decided to bring my dad along for lunch here.

The New Restaurant Yut Kee In Jalan Kamunting

Sign Seen Near The Old Restaurant

Opening Hours

The Queue At The Restaurant

The Queue At The Restaurant
Since it had been some time that I last visited them, I was not aware of their relocation. I went over to the old place and fortunately, there was a sign, in fact multiple signs that guided me to their new premise which was a mere 100 meters away. This new place was much larger, probably three times the size of their old shop. We were here at approximately 12.30 noon and the place was crowded with a long queue waiting outside the restaurant for a table. I then walked up to the young boss who was behind the counter and registered my name along with the number of pax. Make sure you do this and not blindly wait in line and later find that you never end up getting a table.

The Young Boss

Much More Spacious Place

Crowded As Always

One Of The Many Write Ups

Some Of Their Signature Dishes
The young boss had fantastic crowd management skills and he was assisted by his dad and mom. The new place definitely looked much more rustic and I loved the ambiance. There was a summary menu outside the restaurant which listed their famous items and their prices. It is crowded like this everyday from about 11 am till around 3 pm. Nevertheless, it did not take us too long a wait, let's say approximately 20 minutes and then I heard my name being called out aloud and then we were seated at a shared table. This is another common scene here unless you come in larger groups where you end up waiting much longer for tables till the entire table clears. Sharing tables is a good way of clearing the crowd faster and we did not mind it at all. After all, we came here for a good lunch and not to have very private conversations and even if that was the case, I don't think anyone would be eavesdropping as everyone seemed to be enjoying their lunch. 

Cutlery

Sauces
Everything happened super fast here and all the staffs, including the bosses were constantly on their feet. The kitchen was mega busy, it was like a factory mass producing those dishes and they were constantly churning out dishes after dishes. Looked like a typical manufacturing plant to me and I was amused to see the speed at which everyone was working. One of the waiter's then handed us two laminated menus which listed all the dishes and their prices. The prices had not changed much over the years and I would still claim that the food here is very cheap when compared to many other famous restaurants in the Klang Valley. We then placed our orders and with that, the waiter disappeared in a blink. One thing that I like very much is their table spaces. Despite the fact that they were optimising the space utilisation, it was not up to the point where the tables were so close to one another. The spacing was still very decent. 

Chinese Tea @ RM 0.70

Hainanese Tea @ RM 1.80
The drinks were sent over in less than 2 minutes from the time of order and that's super fast. My dad ordered a glass of Chinese Tea and me, their Hainanese Tea. The Chinese Tea was served in a very tall glass and for the volume, the price of 70 cents was indeed very reasonable. My Hainanese Tea was priced at RM 1.80 and this too seemed a very decent price to me. The Tea was excellent! Really good stuff that would make you wanting for more. Loved it and I would rate their Hainanese Tea at 9.7/10 . Excellent stuff!

Hainanese Chicken Chop @ RM 9.50

Hainanese Chicken Chop @ RM 9.50

Delicious!

Potato
Believe me or not, the food arrived in exactly 6 minutes from the time of order. I was impressed at the speed at which these guys were working and not a single staff made a mistake of delivering the wrong dish. Perfect cohesion. Their Hainanese Chicken Chop came with a large piece of Grilled Chicken, some Fried Potato's and this was served in a light but delicious brown sauce. The Chicken was dipped into a thick egg and soy sauce dough and then grilled. The meat was perfect lean meat with not a single drop of fat. The Brown Sauce complimented the meat so well despite it looking light when seen at a single glance. The Fried Potato's too were perfect. Loved this preparation and it has to be one of the best Hainanese Chops that I have had in my lifetime. The portion was huge too and is good for a heavy eater. A perfect dish that deserves a rating of 9.7/10 .

Roti Babi @ RM 9.00

Mouth Watering Filling!

Super Good Dish!
We also ordered a Roti Babi which was to be shared between us. The Roti Babi came perfectly prepared, not like in some places where the toast gives way and all the fillings starts to drop all over the plate. This was perfectly sealed. The bread itself tasted of butter and had been dipped into an egg batter before being toasted. Don't forget to add a dash of Lea & Perrins Sauce when having this. In fact, they would also send a bottle of Lea & Perrins Sauce over when delivering this dish to the table. Just a dash or two would just be lovely. The fillings were super delicious and this is for sure the best Roti Babi that I have tried. The fillings had multiple flavours to it and I could not identify what they had added into it. At some point, it tasted like Sambal, then Luncheon Pork, Minced Pork, Crab Meat etc etc but for sure, it was a true delight. Heaven in every bite as some would say.  Absolutely loved this and I would rate this at 10/10 . A must try for Roti Babi lovers! This would set a new benchmark in your taste buds. After having tried this, I feel that the price of RM 9.00 is very reasonable as it was such a filling dish. In fact, some people were having this alone as their mains.  

Hainanese Pork Chop @ RM 11.50

Hainanese Pork Chop @ RM 11.50

Two Huge Meat Cuts

Potato's On The Sides
The Hainanese Pork Chop was priced at RM 11.50 and this was slightly more than the earlier Chicken Chop. Nevertheless, this came with two huge meat cuts, each about the size of my palms (fingers included) and once again came with the same brown sauce and Fried Potato's. At a glance, both their Chicken Chop and Pork Chop may look alike but a thorough look at the dish was teach us to differentiate the two. The Pork Chop was prepared similarly to the Chicken Chop, dipped into an egg and soy sauce batter and grilled and this too, was literally fat free. Lean thick cuts of meat. The meat was so tender and juicy and along with the brown sauce, tasted heavenly. This is the best Pork Chop that I have tried till date, beats all the rest that I have tasted. And it was a combining factor of everything on that plate that made me come to this conclusion. Perfect dish and I would rate this at 10/10 . An excellent preparation!

Dedicated Smoking Area As Smoking Is Not Permitted Indoors

The Bill

Contact Details
Every single dish and drinks that we tried today were mind blowing and not giving me any room for complaints. The prices were cheap, the portions humongous, the taste excellent and I have not seen a restaurant that works in a more organised manner than this place. In fact, Mc Donald's should learn the ABC's of speedy service from these guys. Keep up the great work guys! Would be coming soon on a weekend to try your lovely Roasted Pork and Marble Cake which I have heard so much about! Not to miss those in this lifetime!

Address: No.1, Jalan Kamunting, 50300 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Telephone: +603 2698 8108

Opening Hours: Tues - Sun  0730 - 1630
                             Closed On Mondays 

Saturday, 21 February 2015

Restoran Ayam Kampung @ Tanjung Malim, Perak

Another restaurant that has opened it's business in Taman Universiti in the recent months is this Restoran Ayam Kampung. This restaurant is located on the far end of the road facing row of shops and is easily visible from the main road. I usually pass this way quite late in the evenings and always observe them to be closed fairly early. Since it is the holiday season, I decided to head here for lunch today. 

Restoran Ayam Kampung In Taman Universiti

Simple Interior

Simple Interior

Outdoor Tables Are Available Too
I had planned on coming here around lunch but somehow, things got delayed and I only managed to land here sometime around 4 pm. Even at that time, they had a number of tables that were occupied and all these were 'meal eating' customers and not those that were just sitting here chit chatting while having a drink. The restaurant had a very simple design, not one of those grand looking places. Both indoor and outdoor seating were available. Despite the weather being hot, I decided to sit outside as there were ceiling fans that kept the place cool.

The Menu On The Wall

The Menu On The Wall
The waiters here were very efficient but they serve customers without a smile on their face. Not only the guy that served me but also everyone else in the restaurant did not smile even when one smiles at them. What a weird practice. When I was there, I was attended to by a guy and he too was absolutely the same. Just came up to my table and asked me what I would like to eat. I asked if they had a menu and he pointed to the wall. Then he mentioned that they only had Set A remaining as all the others were sold out. Just that, beyond that, not a word came out of him. I could not even peek clearly to see what Set A was as it was a little far and I had to walk closer and observe what it was as he didn't seem like wanting to reveal any more information on the Set. I then returned to my table and told him that I shall go ahead with Set A and then also mentioned my drink. With that, he just walked off. Well, I am okay with this as long as no one is rude and the food is good. With that, I continued to just wait for the food to arrive. 

Teh O Ice @ RM 1.60
Their Teh O Ice was served very fast. The drink was well prepared and mildly sweet, just the way I prefer it. Prices were slightly on the high side for a restaurant like this but I was fine with it. I would rate the drinks at 8/10 .

Set A @ RM 7.50
Their Set A, priced at RM 7.50 comes with some White Rice, some diced Cabbage & Long Beans, a decent sized Fried Kampung Chicken, a bowl of Chicken Gravy and a small concoction of Onions, Chilies and Sweet Soy Sauce. 

Lunch

Kampung Fried Chicken
They do not fry their Kampung Chicken earlier and only do it when there is a request which is a fantastic practice. My piece of chicken was decently huge, hot and extremely delicious. The spice coating too were perfect. I really loved their Fried Kampung Chicken and it was so tender and literally fat free. A perfect Fried Chicken and I would rate this at 9.4/10 . I wouldn't mind having another one of this with today's lunch. 

Diced Cabbage & Long Beans
Well, as this is a typical Malay dish, this is a common sides that is served at most Malay restaurants. The only setback with this would be that they did not provide the Sambal Belacan to go with this. If only that would have been provided, then this would have been better; that;s just my personal preference. Nevertheless, they were fresh and good. 

Chicken Gravy
Their Chicken Gravy was just an average tasting dish, very oily and could have been anytime better. I just had this as I needed some curry to go along with the rice. I would only rate this at 5/10 .

Lime, Chilies and Pickled Vegetables in Sweet Soy Sauce
This was a good accompaniment and went well with the rice. Another common sides found in most Malay homes. I would rate this at 9/10 .

Overall, I was very happy with my Fried Kampung Chicken as it was marvelous. Everything else were just ordinary to me. Nothing fantastic otherwise including their sour faces. Service was super fast though. I do wish that I tried more of their dishes this afternoon but it was unfortunate that I was late to arrive. Business must surely be good and I am sure that most customers come here predominantly for their chicken and I would be definitely surprised to be wrong with this prediction. Prices too were slightly on the high side and could have been cheaper despite the fact that I understand that Kampung Chicken is more expensive. A place that one could try every now and then.

Address: No. 51, Jalan U1, Taman Universiti,
                35900 Tanjung Malim, Perak, Malaysia.

Opening Hours: 0800 - 1800 Daily

Thursday, 19 February 2015

Restoran T.K Muhammed @ Tanjung Malim, Perak

Restoran T.K Muhammed is located in Taman Wangsa Setia, Tanjung Malim which is where the old Billion Supermarket was located. With the closure of Billion Supermarket, the parking problem that was prevalent in the area has been resolved and the place is now a convenient location to run a food business as customers have the ease of parking. I believe that this may be a branch of a restaurant in Kalumpang as there is a restaurant in Kalumpang that goes by the very same name. Nevertheless, this is not a verified fact, just a hunch. Coming back to today, It was quite late in the afternoon and I was in the mood for some Mee Goreng. Having tried a number of restaurants in town, I was in the mood to try out another new place and that is when I remembered this restaurant.

The Restaurant In Taman Wangsa Setia

The Restaurant In Taman Wangsa Setia

Small But Clean Place

The Restaurant

Price List On The Far End
The restaurant was not a huge one but the place was quite clean. The staffs were efficient and were quite fast to attend to me. I just glanced at their price list and it seemed that some of their prices were much cheaper than other restaurants in town. For example, a plate of Rojak is generally priced at RM 3.50 and this was priced at RM 3.00 at this restaurant. Items like Mee Goreng remained the same. They seemed to have a decent selection of food items at their curries station but I was not in the mood to go for rice and curry today. Hence I just ordered a cup of Teh Tarik and a plate of Mee Goreng. 

Teh Tarik @ RM 1.20
Their Teh Tarik was nice but it was quite sweet and not 100% to my liking. It would have been better if the amount of sugar was reduced. Nevertheless, a good cup of tea. Not great, but good. I would rate this at 7.5/10 .

Mee Goreng @ RM 3.50

Mee Goreng @ RM 3.50

Mee Goreng @ RM 3.50
Their Mee Goreng was mildly on the oily side but it tasted nice. Not the kind of soggy type that put's me off. The Mee Goreng was spicy and came with Chicken Bits and there were quite a bit of these in the dish. Do note that this is the normal Mee Goreng and not their Mee Goreng Ayam and it was nice to observe that they have given a bonus by adding Chicken bits into the dish. The portion was very decent too and for the price, I would say that was very reasonable. Not a fantastic plate of Mee Goreng but nevertheless, a good one and I would not mind having this again in the future. I would rate this Mee Goreng at 8/10 .

Overall, a good restaurant! Not the best one's in town but the food was tasty, reasonably priced and the service was decent. A suitable place for a quick meal. 

Address: No. 40, Jalan Setia Utama, Taman Wangsa Setia, 
                35900 Tanjung Malim, Perak, Malaysia.

Opening Hours: 0730 - 2100 Daily