Restoran Ga Onn @ Tanjung Malim, Perak

Restoran Ga Onn is one of my favourite Chinese Restaurants in Tanjung Malim, Perak. I have been a loyal customer for over 15 years now. This used to be a place where we would head at least once weekly for our Sunday family lunch until recently, when we started trying out other new places that have opened up recently. Nevertheless, we still do visit them at least once a month. One of the many reasons for this loyalty is simply the good food that we get here along with the reasonable prices and the lovely hospitality. This restaurant is located in Taman Anggerik Desa, right opposite the Hindu Temple in town. Today, we had some visitors from Kuala Lumpur, a large group indeed and without having got to think much as I am so confident with this place, we brought them here for lunch. 

Restaurant Ga Onn in Taman Anggerik Desa

Quite Crowded The Afternoon

Us Waiting To Order

Ginger & Bird Eye Chilies

My Dad and I arrived first while the rest were to follow my brother and would be arriving in a matter of minutes. Despite being a weekday, the place was crowded. There's not much of a menu here and all ordering is done with the lady boss, a very humble and friendly lady and the husband is the chef himself. This lovely couple is one very honest couple and it's hard to see such kind of people these days. We mentioned the number of people and she gave her suggestions as to the dishes and portion sizes. Never had I had to worry in the past that they may overcharge and even today, I let her do the portion adjustments based on the number of pax. Once the ordering was done, our guests arrived and now, just waiting for the dishes to enjoy them.

Kangkung Belacan @ RM 8.00

One of our all time favourite dish here. Though it may seem like a little, it was a heap of spinach and when it was spread over the platter, it very much covered most of it and I was happy with the portion.Very fresh Kang Kung used and they were lavish with the Belacan and that gave it just the perfect flavours. Taste wise, it was quite good too. I would rate this at 9.3/10 .

Sizzling Tofu with Minced Meat @ RM 10.00

The Sizzling Tofu was done excellently. No complaints on this dish. Lovely Japanese Tofu were cooked in a deep and dark broth along with some minced pork andwith some egg at the base. If you do not eat pork, please inform them and they would substitute this with chicken. I would rate this at 9.5/10 .

Butter Prawns @ RM 15.00

Butter Prawns @ RM 15.00

There were quite a number of Tiger Prawns in this dish but it is not clearly visible due to the angle of photography. She had calculated one each as we had ordered a number of dishes. The prawns were once again excellent. They were generous with the batter and the prawns were fresh and sweet. Loved them. I would rate this at 9/10.

Tiger Prawns Steamed with Egg and Rice Wine @ RM 15.00

Another lovely preparation! Fresh Tiger Prawns had been steamed with egg and a dash of Chinese Rice Wine had been added to give the dish a zing factor. Delicious! I would rate this at 9.2/10 .

Petai Sambal with Shrimps @ RM 10.00

This was an excellent preparation. The volume of Petai was simply generous 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 .

Deep Fried Fish with Vinegar @ RM 22.00

Crunchy Till The Core

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 preparation.  In fact, everyone loved it! 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 8.5/10 .

Bitter Gourd Soup @ RM 10.00

This is one of my favourite soup's and this would be the first time that we are trying this dish here. I first tried this soup at a restaurant in Batu Pahat, Johor and immediately fell in love with the dish. The preparation here was good but it was not as good as the one that I tasted in Johor. The portion was decent and fitted four small bowls to the brim. Of course, we ordered more of this and they were served  in a number of large bowls. For the price of RM 10.00, I think that the quality was very much acceptable. I would rate this at 8/10 .

Stir Fried Fish Paste (Yee Huat) with Sliced Ginger @ RM 18.00

This Fish Paste is one of their homemade variety. I love the Fish Paste here at this restaurant as their preparation is quite fresh, thus making the fish paste soft and sweet tasting. The overall dish was well prepared and the taste of the ginger emanated well from the entire dish. A good preparation and I would rate this at 9/10 .

Homemade Bean Curd Steamed with Soy Sauce and Dried Shrimps @ RM 10.00

This again was another well prepared dish. The Bean Curd was soft and delicious and it went well with the Soy Sauce and Dried Shrimps. Soft tasting bean curd and the salty crunchy dried shrimps were a perfect combination. The Dried Shrimps too were generous in amount. A healthy and delicious dish! I would rate this at 9.2/10 .

Deep Fried Nyonya Style Fish @ RM 22.00

This fish was heavenly! When I say heavenly, I absolutely mean it! The fish was deep fried to perfection and the Asam Sauce toppings were just great! Came with loads of sliced vegetables too. Perhaps the best that I have tasted in Tanjung Malim. As for this fish,l I would rate it at 10/10 .

Marmite Pork Ribs (Pai Kuat) @ RM 12.00

Another excellent preparation. The Pork Ribs came with just the right amount of meat attached to it. Coated with flour and cooked with Marmite, the dish was simply delicious. The meat was still tender and not overcooked and the Marmite seeped in to the meat perfectly well. I would rate this dish at 9.1/10 .

Mantis Prawn with Salted Egg @ RM 18.00

This is one of my brother's favourite dish and he just loves the preparation here. Sometimes, he even goes to the extent of ordering another helping of the same. The Mantis Prawns are fried to a perfect crispness and is coated with salted eggs. Definitely a very good dish. I would rate this dish at 9.3/10 .

Sin Kong Tofu @ RM 15.00

The Sin Kong Tofu was a lovely dish. Everything was just about right and tasted good. No complaints on this dish. They definitely must maintain this recipe as it would definitely score high among their customers. I would rate this at 9/10 .

Steamed Tilapia Fish with Chili Paste (Cheong Cheng) @ RM 25.00

Steamed Tilapia Fish with Chili Paste (Cheong Cheng) @ RM 25.00

This steamed fish was a good choice. The last time here, we tried it steamed with ginger and it wasn't quite up to our expectations and this time decided to try with the Chili paste. The dish was well prepared and much better to the one we tried the last time. The fish was fresh and again it was cleaned well, thus eliminating any smell that is common in fresh water fish. I would rate this dish at 8.5/10 .

Homemade Bean Curd with Minced Meat and Served in some Pumpkin Sauce @ RM 8.00

Minced Meat Was Good

This was a new recipe and the owner recommended us to try it. The homemade Tofu was deep fried and cooked along with pumpkin paste which is the orange thing at the base of the dish and is topped with minced meat. The Tofu, though being deep fried, was very soft on the inside and it went very well with the pumpkin paste and minced meat. Something different here and it was good. I would rate this at 8/10 .

Mantis Prawns with Dried Chili @ RM 15.00

Having also ordered the Mantis Prawns with Salted Eggs earlier, we also wanted to try a different preparation and decided to go for this. Slightly spicy and sweet, this was a good preparation but the one with salted eggs is better at this restaurant. Nevertheless, this was still a good dish. The only setback was that the mantis prawns were a little soaked and soft as it had been topped with the spicy sauce.I would rate this at 8.2/10 .

Sweet & Sour Fish @ RM 24.00

This was really a fantastic preparation. The fish was coated with a super crispy batter and the sauce was wonderfully prepared. Heavenly is the word! I would rate this at 10/10 .

Claypot Tofu @ RM 10.00

The Claypot Tofu's price has been consistent with their other Tofu dishes and the portions were satisfactory as well. A good mix of vegetable and meat were added and served in a delicious broth. Good but not great! I would rate this at 7/10 .

Fish Paste (Yee Huat), Ginger and Egg Soup @ RM 15.00

This soup was one of the best dishes of the day. It was very nice and there were loads of Fish Paste (Yee Huat) and other ingredients added into the soup. The taste of ginger was also strong and it tasted nice. From the big bowl, we got to scoop up into 5 small bowls and for the price of RM 15.00, that's definitely a good deal. I would rate this soup at 10/10 .

Seafood Curry @ RM 20.00

This came in a very slim container which was only perhaps 2 inches deep. For the quantity, the price of RM 20.00 is definitely steep. I had the same about a month back in Kampung Baru Sungai Buloh in a high end restaurant and for the same price, we got a large pot filled with seafood and curry. The amount of seafood in the dish too was very minimal, just some fish slices, a few prawns and some squid and the rest were vegetables. The curry however, tasted very good and for the curry alone, I would rate this dish at 9/10 .

Overall, all of us were very happy with the food that we had this afternoon. Most of the dishes were good with a few being excellent. If you happen to be in this part of town, I would strongly recommend you to give this restaurant a try. Just look at those prices too. That's like RM 320+ for 20 dishes. Would we be able to enjoy such low prices in Kuala Lumpur? Worth the drive to enjoy such lovely food.

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

Opening Hours: 1130 - 1500 & 1800 - 2300 Daily

Telephone: +605 458 2323