Restoran Uli @ Tanjung Malim, Perak

Towards the end of last month, I posted an entry about the Indian food stall in Restaurant Uli. This time, I shall be doing a review of Restaurant Uli itself. For those who have not come across this restaurant before, this is located in Taman Intan Setia, Tanjung Malim and they have been in operation for about six months now.

The Restaurant Along Jalan Intan Setia 1, Tanjung Malim

Clean And Spacious Interior

Larger Tables For Big Families

The restaurant may be new but not the chef. If you are from Tanjung Malim, you would surely not have forgotten Restoran Sin Hong Hin which was the main place for Chinese food in Tanjung Malim right from the early 80's till mid 90's. They used to be full house daily for lunch and dinner. Unfortunately, the boss passed away due to kidney failure and they had to close the business. At that time, Ah Lai or Panjang as we would fondly call him was the main chef at that restaurant. Unfortunately, the business was wound down and that was when when he just got married. Having had no other option, he was forced to go to the UK in search of employment. Having been there for two decades, he is back to Malaysia and has opened this restaurant. That said, the usual crowd that used to be there in Sin Hong Hin have all come back to this restaurant. When I first met him a few months back, I was surprised that he still remembered my Dad and me, including our names and this is like after 20 years. Moreover, I was still a teenager then and have changed a lot appearance wise over the years. That was one that took me by surprise. 

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

The above is the full menu. Besides this, you may request a dish that is not in this list provided he has got the materials. Do note that squid is not available in this restaurant as well as live fish. I guess, he is keeping his overheads low based on popular demand. The prices seemed very reasonable to me. Now, let's have a look at some of the dishes that we had for dinner. 

Fried Petai Mee Hoon @ RM 7.00

Fried Petai Mee Hoon @ RM 7.00

Fried Petai Bee Hoon is a dish that was introduced by him to Tanjung Malim and I am a huge fan of this dish. After he left, there was another stall that did the same but that too had closed down some time in the year 2010 after the owner fell ill due to old age. Ever since, I have always been craving for this and I am glad to see that this is now available here. Being a dish that was prepared by the Master himself, can I comment anything. It was just perfect. The noodles, Petai, Belacan and everything else were just perfect. For me, I would give this a 10/10. If you are a fan of Petai, please do not miss this dish. You would surely get hooked on to this. 

Kangkung Belacan @ RM 5.00

Kangkung Belacan was quite good and very reasonably priced. If I am not mistaken, this would be the lowest priced Kangkung Belacan in Tanjung Malim. The Kale was fresh and he surely did not skimp on the Belacan. I would give this a 9/10. Surely another one that you should try here. 

Mee Hoon Soup @ RM 6.00

Mee Hoon Soup was just okay for me. He had added rice vermicelli, some shrimps, sliced pork and veggies to the dish. Those were all fine but the core ingredient here is the soup itself and in this case, it tasted a little bland. Moreover for RM 6.00 , it's expensive. In town, I could get a much better one for just RM 3.50 . Well, I can't blame him. This is a core restaurant item and we tried it at our own risk. The only reason I ordered this was because it was on the menu. Taste wise, I would give this a 6/10 only. This would be one to skip at this restaurant. 

Pork Spring Rolls @ RM 12.00

Pork Spring Rolls are another one of my favourites since childhood days and it's solely because of his preparation at Restaurant Sin Hong Hin. And now, after so many years, I am tasting the same flovours and it was just heavenly. I've never tasted one that's close to this in terms of taste. This is just setting a new standard for this dish and as such, it would just be unfair if I rated this anything less than a perfect 10/10. Highly recommended!

Sweet & Sour Pork Rice @ RM 7.00

For those who are on a budget, you could go for these kind of rice sets. The Sweet & Sour Pork Rice set was priced at RM 7.00 . One look at it, I know for sure that it's a high profit item but who cares as the taste was good and for one who wants to have his favourite dish with rice but is on a budget, these sets come in handy and wallet friendly. Crunchy, deliciously chewy, sweet and sour, the dish was awesome and I would rate this at 8/10. On another occasion I did try his Dried Chili and Chicken Rice and in my opinion, that was better than this one. Ultimately it's all about one's preference. 

Sambal Petai with Shrimps @ RM 6.00

Just like the Petai Mee Hoon, this Sambal Petai with shrimps was awesome too. He had used larger Petai's for the dish and was generous with the amount of Belacan used. The only setback would be the overuse of oil. Otherwise, it tasted great and I would rate this at 9/10. 

Loh Mai Kai @ RM 3.20

This is one of the items that they have for breakfast daily and is made by them and not those frozen ones. Their Loh Mai Kai is really good and comes with minimal oil. I would give this at 9/10. 

Overall, the food is great and I felt the prices to be reasonable. The restaurant is open from breakfast till around midnight and for lunch, they have a few stalls that operate from 10 am till 2 pm. Panjang's kitchen starts from 5 pm onwards. Open daily but his off days are not fixed. He usually takes two days off after a fortnight. Fans of Chinese food in Tanjung Malim should not miss exploring this restaurant. 

Address: No. 87, Jalan Intan Setia 1, Taman Intan Setia, 35900 Tanjung Malim, Perak.

Opening Hours: 1700 - 0000 Daily