Recently I had some of my childhood friends who are settled in the UK visiting us in Malaysia and we were supposed to do dinner together. They grew up in Tanjung Malim and practically have visited all the famous restaurants in town and so for a change, I decided to introduce them to this stall located in Kg. Kilang Papan on the Hulu Bernam side of town which comes under the state of Selangor. This stall is famous for their Ikan Bakar (Grilled Fish) but not many know that they also have all the other dishes that you would typically get in any other Chinese restaurants. Honestly, no one knows the name of this stall. It is just a shack without any signage but the place is crowded daily and in the weekends, if you get your food in an hour's time, that' considered to be very fast. That should give you an idea as to the kind of crowd it draws. The stall is located just along the main trunk road (Jalan Besar Ulu Bernam), just before Restoran Vanan that's also around the Kg, Kilang Papan area. Ordering here is quite easy but don't expect anyone to come over to your table to take your orders. It's not that they don't want to do so, it's simply because all the men are busy cooking and the lady boss is the one who goes around sending the dishes to the tables and that makes it difficult for them to attend to customers at the table. Moreover, many come here for their Grilled Fish and for that, people tend to prefer to check the fishes out themselves, pick the fish of their choice and order directly at the counter and that is exactly what we did this evening.
Thai Style Chicken |
Luckily we came on a weekday and the crowd wasn't too bad and since that was the case, we managed to get our dishes in about half an hour. The first dish to arrive was the above Thai Style Chicken. Bite size chicken chunks were dipped into a batter, deep fried and topped with a sweet and spicy sauce. That sauce also came with lots of diced onions and chili's.A fairly good preparation it was and the kids were just enjoying the dish as it wasn't too spicy and at the same time, sweet and juicy it was and not forgetting the chicken chunks that were friend to a golden brown perfection. As for this dish, I would rate it at 8/10.
Kam Heong Prawns with Lady's Finger |
The Kam Heong Prawns with Lady's Finger was again a good preparation. This came with medium sized prawns and they were just perfect. Though it may seem quite spicy, I felt that it was just right, medium spicy so that it's goes well with the majority. The lady's finger that they have added surely enhanced the taste of the dish. This I shall rate it at 7/10.
Deep Fried Squid with Salted Eggs |
Deep Fried Squid with Salted Eggs were excellent and the dish disappeared so quickly. Everyone loved it. The squid was fried just right, crunchy on the outside and juicy on the inside and they were quite generous with the salted eggs. They had added curry leaves and bird eye chilies as well which went very well with the overall flavours. A good dish this was and I would give this a 9/10.
Grilled Nyonya Style Stingray |
Besides the usual dry style grilled fish, another one of the favourites here is the Nyonya Style Asam Grilled Stingray. A huge cut of stingray is at the base along with some veggies and topped with some sour and spicy gravy, and then it's covered up in a foil and then grilled over the charcoal grill. The end result is a delicious dish that's irresistible and addictive. I would give this a 9/10 and one that should not be missed at this stall.
Kangkung Belacan |
Kangkung Belacan was another good dish here that we all enjoyed. The Kale was fresh, lavish shrimp paste added and minimal oil used. I would give this a 8/10.
Marmite Pork Ribs |
The last dish that we had this evening was Marmite Pai Guat or Pork Ribs. I loved the portion size and to my surprise, the pork ribs came with lots of meat. One setback however was that the Marmite that they had used had not seeped in well into the meat and that gave it an artificial coat of flavours. It would have been much better if this would not have been the case. My guess is that the pork ribs must have been frozen and they would have just taken them out from the freezer before cooking and did not allow it to thaw. That being the case, the flavours didn't gel well. I would give this dish a 6/10.
Overall a good place for dinner with a wide variety of dishes. And yes, if you do come here, please also do try the Yong Tau Fu as well. That again is simply awesome and very different to those that you get in Kuala Lumpur.
Address: Jalan Kilang Papan B, Kg, Kilang Papan, 35900 Hulu Bernam, Selangor.
Opening Hours: 1800 - 2300 Daily