Restoran Ga Onn @ Tanjung Malim, Perak

Restaurant Ga Onn is one that we have been dining for more than a decade now. Being one of the famous Chinese restaurants in town, it has it's own group of loyal followers (including us) and they are located in Taman Anggerik Desa, right opposite the Thandayuthapani Temple. There was a point in time when we used to come here every weekend but recently, I have felt that the quality of cooking is not consistent anymore. On some days, it is extremely good and on some days, kind of bad. That alone had made us shy away from this restaurant for some time now. As a matter of habit, I don't usually stick to any one particular restaurant over a long period of time and would usually rotate among those in town. As such, we were here today for lunch. Since my brother was back for the weekend and this being his favourite place, we decided to give them a try once again.

Restaurant Ga Onn in Tanjung Malim

The Lady Boss....A Very Nice Person She Is

Crowded Day

Usually this place is only crowded for dinner but surprisingly today, it was full house even for lunch. Fortunately, we managed to find a table quite close to the entrance. The restaurant is quite standard in it's design. I would not say that this is a seafood restaurant, it is merely a Chinese restaurant that does the usual dishes. Seafood is selectively available but do not expect the qualities of a seafood chef here. Cooking is done by the husband and the wife manages the restaurant front.

Chinese Tea @ RM 0.80

Coca Cola @ RM 2.00

Cutlery In Hot Water

Garlic

Ordering was straight forward as she (the lady boss) is quite familiar with our taste buds. Besides the usual, my brother had also brought a fish which he had caught when he went fishing a day ago. After consultation with the cook, we decided how it shall be prepared and after which, we were just waiting for the dishes to arrive. As they were full house this afternoon, it did take some time for the dishes to arrive but that was fine with us as it was our usual family time over the weekends and we had loads to catch up on.

Sizzling Tofu with Minced Meat @ RM 10.00

Sizzling Tofu with Minced Meat @ RM 10.00

The preparation of this dish was good but it slacked as they had used the common Tofu instead of the Japanese Egg Tofu. When I enquired, she informed me that they were out of the Japanese Egg Tofu and had to replace it with this. The minced meat gravy just did not gel well with the common Tofu and that made it to taste quite ordinary. As such, I would only rate this at 7/10 . Price wise, the portion was quite good for the price charged.

Petai Sambal with Shrimps @ RM 10.00

Petai Sambal with Shrimps @ RM 10.00

This was an excellent preparation. The volume of Petai was simply lavish and they had added a lot of Belacan and Chili Paste to make the dish taste really good. A few pieces of medium sized shrimps were also added to the dish along with some diced onions and chilies. The Petai was still crunchy and it was coated with thick spicy paste. Absolutely good and I would rate this at 9.4/10 .

Butter Prawns @ RM 12.00

Butter Prawns @ RM 12.00

The Butter Prawns were nice but I was not thoroughly impressed. Firstly, there were only five pieces of small prawns and the price of RM 12.00 for this is definitely on the high side. Secondly, they should have used at least medium size prawns as that would have been much better. The prawns used were peeled but that is up to the individual. Some would like them with the skin and some without. I am generally okay with both. Taste wise, it was nice but I would still say that it would have been definitely been better if they had used medium sized prawns instead. For me, I would rate these at 8/10 .

Deep Fried Fish with Vinegar @ RM 15.00

Deep Fried To Perfect Crunchiness

Lavish Amounts Of Vinegar Too

RM 15.00 is only the cooking charges as the fish was provided by us. Even this cooking charges has never been fixed here. Previously, it used to be only RM 8.00 . After some time, it went to RM 10.00 where it stayed for a number of years and now, it is RM 15.00 . Pricey but still acceptable. I think that they had done a good job to the fish with the best of their ability. Of course I know that those Seafood restaurants in town would have fared better, nevertheless I was still happy with this guy's preparation. The fish was very crunchy and that was a must as this fish is famous for it's tiny bones that just seem to be everywhere. Deep frying it to such a crunchiness is the only way to eliminate that problem. Having it with vinegar, was definitely good. I would rate this preparation at 8/10 . Good but not great!

Bill For The Day

Despite the happy dining experience that we had today, I was still not contended as I have tasted way better food at this very same restaurant. And it's the very same chef who does the preparation. Why does it not be consistent is something that I have no idea about. Probably should have a chat with the chef sometime and discuss this. After all, he is a good friend on mine. As for now, I can only hope that the quality improves to what it was.

Address: No. 10, Jalan Cahaya, Taman Anggerik Desa, 35900 Tanjung Malim, Perak, Malaysia

Opening Hours: 1130 - 1500 & 1800 - 2300 Daily

Telephone: +605 458 2323