Kedai Makanan & Minuman 163 @ Selayang, Selangor

I was looking for a place to have lunch with my Dad in Selayang Baru. This is an area that I am rather unfamiliar with and it's going to be pretty much trial and error. Of course, I have come across some great eateries in this very area which I have blogged about in the past, and those too were discovered simply by walking into unknown and unfamiliar restaurants. Feeling rather bold to experiment new eateries, we walked into this restaurant called Kedai Makanan & Minuman 163 which was located along Jalan Len Omnibus. 

The Restaurant Along Jalan Len Omnibus

This place was very much a food court concept and seemed to have a decent crowd. The restaurant had a number of stalls, all of which were selling a variety of Chinese dishes. It wasn't too crowded to the extent that it was impossible to find a place to sit. There were quite a number of tables that were still vacant and having secured a place, we took turns to discover the place and placed our orders at the respective stalls. To be honest, the variety was just okay, just those day to day hawker food and the number of stalls were approximately ten. 

Prawn Mee Stall

Penang Prawn Mee (Har Mee) @ RM 6.00

Penang Prawn Mee (Har Mee) @ RM 6.00

My Dad being a fan of Penang Prawn Mee ordered this dish from a stall that was located right at the end of the restaurant. Besides Prawn Mee, they also had Lam Mee and Loh Shi Fan. For the portion, RM 6.00 was definitely a tad too expensive. Anyway, if it was good, then it's fine by me. When the dish was served, I immediately realised that it was a mistake. It looked not so great and the usual aroma was missing. The dish came with some thinly sliced Fish Paste, two small (not so fresh) Shrimps, and noodles. Pretty much that's it. There weren't dried shrimps or even spinach added to the dish. Of course I am not expecting pork ribs (Pai Kuat) to be added like what is found in Penang but this surely was a let down. The broth was even worse. It was the diluted version and the prawn stalk was almost non traceable in it's taste. What was even more odd was the taste of MSG that was evident in the dish. A huge mistake ordering this and is surely nowhere to the Prawn Mee found in Penang. Perhaps, we should call this Singapore Prawn Mee..... that was how far it was to taste from the original. I would only rate this at 3/10 . Edible but not recommended!

Char Kuey Teow Stall

Duck Egg Char Kuey Teow @ RM 4.50

Duck Egg Char Kuey Teow @ RM 4.50

Duck Egg Char Kuey Teow @ RM 4.50

The Char Kuey Teow stall was located somewhere along the side entrance to the restaurant. The moment I saw that he had Duck Egg Char Kuey Teow, I was excited as I am a huge fan of this dish. This was the 'small' portion and it was priced at RM 4.50. Pricing wise, very reasonable if not cheap. One would be able to get Char Kuey Teow for that price but not Duck Egg Char Kuey Teow. I would say that it had all the essential ingredients.... eggs, fish paste, cockles, bean sprouts and shrimps. Taste wise, it was nice but surely there is great room for improvement. There was surely something lacking in this dish that did not deliver the intended taste despite having all the right ingredients in place. I would rate this at 7/10 . Not a dish that is worthy of the effort of driving all the way from the city. There are many other places in Kuala Lumpur that serve 'such excellent' quality but this surely isn't one of those. If you happen to already be in Selayang Baru, then no harm having this. Decent but not great!

In summary, the Duck Egg Char Kuey Teow was alright but the Har Mee was a huge let down. Would I return? Maybe....just maybe for the Char Kuey Teow and that too, only if I was in this area for some other errands. Otherwise not.

Address: Along Jalan Len Omnibus, Taman Selayang Baru, 

                68100 Batu Caves, Selangor, Malaysia.

Opening Hours: 0800 - 1500 Daily

                            Off Days Aren't Fixed

                            Generally Most Stalls Open Around 10.30 am