Aman Seafood @ Hulu Bernam, Selangor

In my quest to taste and review all the Tomyam restaurants in Tanjung Malim, here's another entry from Aman Seafood. These guy's have been around for about three to four months now. They are located in a bungalow in Taman Goldenwood on the Hulu Bernam side of town and that has given them the advantage of being in a garden like setting and an upper hand compared to the others who are located in restaurants. Originally this was a private residence that used to be occupied by a close family friend of ours. That dentist had then migrated overseas and now this house has become a homestay concept and the outdoor side kitchen along with the garden area has become an ideal place for these guy's to run their business. 

Aman Seafood in Taman Goldenwood

Beautiful Garden Themed Dining Area

A Small Private Dining Area For Large Families

The place is beautifully maintained and the layout is just fabulous. They do have their usual customer base but I felt that given a set up like this, a lot more can be done to attract people. Besides the garden area, large families can also sit in a somewhat semi private dining area. Unlike other Tom Yam restaurants, this place has a WiFi connection that is offered to customers. Parking is also not a problem as there is a huge piece of land right in front of the house. 

The Menu

The Menu

The variety offered is good and so are the prices. From my observation this evening, one major setback here is the customer service. All their staffs which I suppose is a single family from Kelantan work as if they do not have any more energy left. I don't think they have had a long day as I am here just an hour or so after they have opened and the crowd is just starting to come. Try calling someone to attend to you and that's a challenging task. Once they sight you, it would take them another two minutes before they can get up from the chair and walk towards you. That was seriously something that was very annoying. In any eatery, customer service should always be excellent and that should be followed by the taste. Some how, with great difficulty, I had managed to register my orders. 

Mihun Goreng @ RM 4.00

Compared to the other similar restaurants that I have been to, it did take these guy's a while to prepare the dishes. My wait time was close to 25 minutes and I was the sole customer waiting for my food then. I wonder what it would be like if they had a few more tables occupied. The Fried Noodles were just okay. The good thing was that it tasted reasonably decent and the portion was huge. The setback however was the over usage of MSG. That was evident by just looking at the dish. One did not even need to taste it to identify this. Would I order this dish again? I don't think so. It wasn't one that was exciting to eat. I ate it solely to satisfy my hunger and for the fact that I would have to pay for this later on. If I were to rate this dish,  I would give it a 5/10. 

Telur Dadar @ RM 1.00

Telur Dadar was again quite disappointing. It was soaked in oil and there wasn't much of a diced onions in it. It's definitely cheaper but then, it should at least taste decent. Nah, not one that I enjoyed and I would only rate this at 3/10. 

Kailan Ikan Masin @ RM 4.00

Their Kailan Ikan Masin dish was much better than the earlier ones. Though this too had a lot of MSG added, the base sauce was quite good and they had lavishly used salt fish which definitely is a plus point. The veggies were reasonably fresh as well. Taste wise, this was like a boon given by God after the last two not so great dishes and as such, I would give this a 7/10. 

Ayam Masak Pedas @ RM 4.00

A way better dish compared to all that I had tried thus far. The Ayam Masak Pedas was quite good and it had lots of chicken bits along with a rich and delicious base sauce. Good utilisation of spices that truly lifted the flavours. This I would definitely give it a 8/10. 

Kangkung Belacan @ RM 4.00

Kangkung Belacan was again quite good and I was surprised to see the volume as opposed to the price. And above that, they have also added squid in the dish which is something that we would not usually get. Fresh Kale and great tasting dish. This I would give it a 8/10. 

Overall, the only two dishes that I basically liked from this evenings dinner would be the Kangkung Belacan and Ayam Masak Pedas. The Kailan Ikan Masin was decent but the other two were just not there. Would I come back to this restaurant? Maybe.....just maybe. Another thing that annoyed me today was the stray cats in this restaurant. There were so many of them and they keep jumping on you and scratching you while you are having your meal and despite having told the owners, not a single soul did anything about it. In fact, one cat actually jumped on to my table a tried to snatch one of the dishes as well. Luckily I managed to chase that fellow off.  It was totally an annoying experience in that sense to the extent that I just could not enjoy the garden like ambiance. 

Address: Taman Goldenwoon, 35900 Hulu Bernam, Selangor, Malaysia.

Opening Hours: 1800 -  0200 Daily

Telephone: +6011 3255 4499