Popiah S.S. Ali @ Seksyen 7, Shah Alam

As usual my days are filled with meetings and that is how as I travel, I discover new food places. Today was no different to that. I had a meeting at UNISEL Shah Alam campus and as I was returning, I came across this outlet that attracted me. Popiah S. S. Ali is located in Seksyen 7, Shah Alam.  I thought to myself, a full service restaurant selling only popiah, then it must be pretty good. That is when I detoured for a short stop to try this place.

Popiah S.S. Ali @ Seksyen 7, Shah Alam

Parking is not a problem here. I got my place right in front of the shop and went in. Everything seemed new and that was when I was told by the waiter that this outlet has been open now for 9 days. This concept is an old one though. They had the first outlet open in another mall in Shah Alam and this is the second outlet.

Interior of the restaurant

The interior of the restaurant was very clean. There were a few customers as they had just opened for the day.

The Menu & Prices

I initially thought that this was a self service restaurant based on the design but then was told for dine ins, they come up to the table to take orders. There is both inside seating as well as outdoor seating, specially for the smokers like me. The specialty dishes here are the Wet Popiah, Fried Pooiah and Curry Puffs. They also have a few main dishes but seems they are well stocking themselves for these specialty items. Those main items are only made to order.

Curry Puffs & Fried Popiahs

 There were loads of these Curry Puffs and Popiahs made and kept ready for the take away customers. From the way they were stocking, it seems that it must sell very well. Me, am still waiting for my orders. I ordered all three items to try. Initially I though that you can order one of each just to taste it but later I realized that it is sold by the sets. A set consists of three pieces and you cannot mix them. So I ordered a set of Wet Popiah, one set of Fried Popiah and one set of Curry Puffs. I surely know that I cannot finish them nevertheless, I could always have it later for tea time. A set cost RM 3.00 .

A Set of Wet Popiah @ RM 3.00

First came my Wet Popiah. Well, let me tell you, it was absolutely great. The fillings were fresh, sauces were rich and great in volume. On top of that, they have a layer of garnishing on top which is filled with eggs and fried dried prawns. It was heavenly with every bite. Excellent!!!

A Set of Fried Popiah @ RM 3.00

Secondly, the Fried Popiah arrived. This was good too but the popiah skin was a little too think. As it was deep fried to become crispy, it does hurt once you try to chew it. It is not bad though but the Wet version is much better than this.

Fillings of the Curry Puffs

 Then I tasted the Curry Puff. It had fillings of a half boiled egg and potatos. In my opinion, this was one of the best Curry Puffs I have had. The potato curry was spicy, the skin not too thick and it was filled to the maximum. You do not get empty pockets like most of the other places. If I would have to rate the three items that I had tried here, the Curry Puff comes first and close to it in score, the Wet popiah. The Fried Popiah stays third with a much bigger gap in terms of scoring from the second place. I strongly recommend you try these items here if you are nearby Seksyen 7, Shah Alam.

Address: 37, Jalan Plumbum R/7, Seksyen 7,
               40000 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia.

Opening Hours: 1000 - 2200 Daily

Telephone: +6012 309 5195
                 +6012 709 5195

ATC KOPI-TIAM Halal Duck Eggs Char Kuey Tiow @ Centrepoint Bandar Utama

I had a late afternoon meeting at Bandar Utama today. As the preparatory works took some time, I had to skip lunch and planned to have it after the meeting. The meeting was over around 5 pm and by then, I was already very hungry. That is when I ventured into Centrepoint Bandar Utama to look for some food. Most of the restaurants here had humongous menu and I wanted to try something simple. That is when I discovered this ATC KOPI-TIAM and the corner of the Ground Floor.

ATC KOPI-TIAM @ Centrepoint Bandar Utama

 At this hour, it seemed quite dull. That was understandable as it is neither lunch nor dinner time. Immediately there was this poster at the entrance that attracted me.

Halal Duck Egg Char Kuey Tiow

It was interesting to note that there was Arabic Writing on this poster and after checking with a few, it appears that though there is all Chinese stalls inside this small food court, it is pork free.

Quite A Number of Stalls Here

I walked in searching for this CKT stall but could not find it. Then I asked someone working there and they pointed me to the other end which is almost to the rear entrance. You can only see it if you walk opposite directions from where the majority of stalls are.

CKT Stall Tucked Behind The Fridge

Once I found the stall which was tucked behind the fridge, I was looking for a Chinese guy who may be manning this but was surprised to see that the cooking was done by an Indonesian lady. I was not sure how it would taste but then decided to proceed on. Placed my orders with her and specifically mentioned that I wanted the Duck Eggs version.

Then I took my place and a Burmese guy walked on to get my drinks orders. Requested for a Iced Coffee.

Iced Coffee @ RM 2.00

The coffee was thick and good but RM 2.00 was a little pricey. But hey, I guess thats the rate for 1 Utama.

Duck Egg CKT @ RM 5.80

Okay, now the verdict. The CKT was good, less oil, right taste with the right oomph. But it was not spicy despite we asking her to make it extra spicy. There were very few additional items bing placed here. For example, the cockles were limited to three of four, just two small prawns that were not so fresh. Otherwise if you rate it for the CKT itself, it was good and worth the price. This Indonesian lady has surely learned to make it right like a Chinese.

Address: Lot G-28, Centrepoint Bandar Utama,
               3 Lebuh Bandar Utama, Bandar Utama,
               47800 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.

Opening Hours: 0730 - 2000 Daily

Heng Heng Yong Tau Foo @ Tanjung Malim, Perak

Being in my hometown, I am able to try all my favourite food outlets since childhood days and this is one such outlet too. This Heng Heng Yong Tau Foo stall is located inside another restaurant called Restoran Kar Kui. It is located on Jalan Loke Yew, right beside the old Rex Theatre. Just ask any local and they would be able to guide you here.

Heng Heng Yong Tau Foo Stall inside Restoran Kar Kui

I have been eating at this stall for the past 30 years. He has become so famous that nowadays he starts his business as he likes, usually around 1930 and it closes by 2130 as his food is all sold out. When he first started, his stall operates from 1800 - 2330. I still remember that very clearly. Sometimes, even past midnight.

Just starting business for the day

There is usually a long crowd that comes in by around 2000 and people would be literally fighting for their food. His Yong Tau Foo is so delicious that every time a tray of items comes in, in less than 5 minutes, its sold and people just keep waiting until the next tray of their required item comes and they just pick it up.

Chung Kin & Fish Balls

The unique thing about this stall is that most his fillings are pork and not fish. For example, there is no Sui Kau here but Chung Kin. And per piece of the large items are only RM 0.90 . Even the tofu has pork filling and not fish.

Food Being Prepared

Many years ago, this stall was manned by him, his wife and his late mother. Today, his son helps in and business is surely good for him. Loads of people come from Kuala Lumpur just to try his Yong Tau Foo.

A Daily Scene

As you can see from the above photo, customers are queing here just to get their orders. Sometimes, it takes up to 45 minutes to get all that you want but people still do not mind because it is really good.

Mostly Take Aways

As this is inside another restaurant which is just an old wooden structure and seating is limited and not so comfortable, most locals take away the food. We too did the same. Finally after waiting for 40 minutes, we got our full orders.

Fried Chung Kin

The Fried Chung Kin that you can see above is one of the best that I have ever tasted. This is not an overstatement and is a true fact.

Fried Fu Chok in Soup

Bittergourd, Brinjals and the Steamed Chung Kin

Tofu with Stuffed Pork @ RM 0.90

On the whole, the food here is delicious and is surely worth the wait. I have heard many of my Kuala Lumpur friends mention about this Yong Tau Foo in Tanjung Malim as they have tried it through recommendations. It is definitely worth a drive from Kuala Lumpur to Tanjung Malim to try this dish. However, do give him a call first to check if the stall is open and make sure you turn up early to avoid dissapointments.

Address: Jalan Loke Yew, (beside Old Rex Theatre)
               35900 Tanjung Malim, Perak, Malaysia.

Opening Hours: 1930 - 2130

Telephone: +6012 272 1401

Restoran Ga Onn @ Tanjung Malim, Perak

Today I would like an entry about this famous restaurant in my little hometown, Tanjung Malim. As I am here today for the weekend since earlier today, we decided to go out for dinner. This restaurant is quite famous with both the Chinese and Indian community in Tanjung Malim. It is called Restoran Ga Onn. Compared to many other restaurant here which are quite posh and caters to tourists, this one in retrospect caters to the local community. They offer good food and at a very reasonable price.

Restoran Ga Onn in Tanjung Malim

This restaurant is located in Taman Anggerik Desa which is right opposite the main Hundi Temple. Can't really miss the Hindu Temple regardless if you use the old state road or the North South highway and exit at Tanjung Malim. However, I shall furnish the address at the bottom of this entry as always.

It is usually decently full both for lunch and dinner. Once we got our places, the owner came to us as usual to take our orders.

Steamed Garoupa Fish @ RM 30.00

The first dish that came from our orders was this Steamed Garoupa Fish. We usually order Tilapia but wanted to try this dish as it was out of our norms. If it was a Tipalia, then it would have been much cheaper but still I find the price pretty cheap. As there was five of us, it was sufficient. The taste was good and the fish was well done. There was no smell whatsoever as my mom is very particular with that. The only setback I feel is that they had used shredded ginger on the fish and it would have been better if it was ginger paste. That is my only comment, nevertheless it is a good dish.

Yam Cake @ RM 22.00

This was the second to arrive. I felt that this dish was good too. The fillings were an assortment of vegetables and pork and it was rich. The Yam Cake itself was of the right thickness, but the sauce was a little less and that caused the filling not to seep in well into the cake. On the whole, a good dish.

Home Made Fish Paste & Ginger Soup @ RM 10.00

As for this soup, there is nothing bad to say of it or no comments whatsoever. It was the right taste with the right amounts of ingredients. A well balanced aromatic soup.

Buttermilk & Black Pepper Prawns @ RM 18.00

This dish I believed has room for improvement. The buttermilk was limited, more would have been better and the prawns should have been slightly bigger. The amount of black pepper however was just the right amount.

Sambal Petai with Prawns @ RM 18.00

This dish was good taste wise. Only complaint that I have was that of the belacan used. Should have used a better belacan as there was some sand in some of the bites, but very minimal. I encountered it only once but still, that is room for improvement. I know this is not the issue with the restaurant owner and it is of the belacan seller but still, it is worth mentioning.

Angie & Mom at the restaurant

My Family Enjoying The Meal

My Dad & Brother

That was our initial set of orders and as we finished the dishes, felt like ordering one more last dish just to fill up that little gap in our tummy.

Egg Fu Yong @ RM 7.00

This was a later add on dish. It was good, no complaints about this dish. The filling was abundant and the egg was not oily like in some other places that I have tried. A good recommendation here.

Interior of the restaurant

By the time we finished our dinner, the restaurant was almost vacant. It was quite late anyway. The peak hours for dinner at this restaurant is from 1800 to 2100. Pretty much after that time, it has just a few customers. The restaurant is also reasonably clean and as you can see, it has a Class B Cleanliness from the local council.

In total, today's bill came up to RM 112.50 which includes the rice and the drinks. Rice is charged at RM 0.50 per big bowl which is cheap. If you happen to be in Tanjung Malim and want to try the restaurant where the locals go, this is a place that you must try for decent Chinese Food. If you are a vegetarian, they can also prepare vegetarian dishes but they may not have the vegetarian specialty items like mock chicken as so forth.

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

Telephone:  +605 458 2323

Opening Hours: 1100 - 2330 Daily

Frankie Duck Egg Char Kuay Teow @ Damansara Perdana, Petaling Jaya

Damansara Perdana is an area that I am very familiar with as I had been working here previously for almost 4 years. However, I had not heard of this Frankie Duck Egg Char Kuay Teow stall until I read about it in some of the food blogs and decided to head there myself. After a week's attempt, today was the day that I had managed to do it as I had a meeting just after lunch in a nearby area.

Restaurant Four Eight at Damansara Perdana

To my surprise, it is located at the very same coffee shop that I used to go every day couple of years back. Coming here surely brought lots of memories. Once I reached the shop, immediately the Chicken Rice stall guy recognized me and came up to me. I used to eat at his stall almost every day for years.

Inside the restaurant

The restaurant layout and stall had not changed at all. I met with the lady boss who owns the unit and she recognized and acknowledged me too. We had a short chit chat talking about old stories and then we both got on with our stuffs.  Most of the stall operators were the same except for the Char Kuay Teow guy. Previously there used to be a guy but his CKT was not up to the mark.

Frankie at work

I immediately recognised this guy as Frankie from the numerous blogs that I have read. He speaks basic English besides Cantonese and Hokkien. He is from Penang and was told that he was the man behind one of the famous Penang CKT stalls. I walked up to him and ordered a plate of Duck Egg CKT. Lucky me, it was the last duck egg he had. He mentioned that he usually buys limited amounts of duck eggs as not many people would try it. Most would still go for chicken's eggs.

Price of the CKT

The above price is the price that he quotes for the usual chicken's egg CKT. For CKT using Duck Eggs, it is RM 6.00 per plate. I can surely see that he has great numbers of orders. His offering is not limited to CKY and he also serves Fried Mee, Noodles and Fried Rice. Should try those too one of these days.

Duck Egg Char Kuay Teow @ RM 6.00

I just loved the dish the moment it arrived even before eating it. The aroma was great. It had cockles, relatively huge prawns and lap cheong. This is the type of CKT that you can eat quickly and wish you can have some more despite being full. It was lovely.

Picking Out The Lap Cheong

The prawns were very fresh and so were the cockles. The Lap Cheong was added in decent portions too. The CKT was good and it did not taste weird with the Duck Eggs, but tasted much better. However, it was not spicy despite me telling the guy to make it spicy. I guess, his style is to make it little bland in spices but the rest of the juices were intact.

I have tried Char Kuay Teow many places in the Klang Valley and this is not the best but surely one of the best.

Address: Restoran Four Eight,
                Jalan PJU 8/5C, Bandar Damansara Perdana,
                47820 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.

Opening Hours: 1000 - 1500

Madam Chiam Curry Noodle House @ Taman Connaught

Cheras, one of the few places in Kuala Lumpur that I can still get lost very easily. I had a meeting earlier today at UCSI and as such, had to skip lunch. By the time the meeting was over, it was still a fair time to have a quick meal and my stomach was already making grouching sounds. I started surfing for good food in this area and this place came up but it stated that they close at around 4.30 pm. Having wasted no time, I immediately head off to this Madam Chiam Curry Noodle House, of course with the help of my GPS and was delighted when it was still open as I reached there.

Madam Chiam Curry Noodle House

Parking was a little problem here and I had to park illegally. I thought since I may not be long, so why not as most of the cars there were parked illegally that evening. With that said, I quickly rushed into the restaurant as I saw the workers already stacking up the stools.

I was greeted by the boss who must be Madam Chiam's son and I asked him if he was still serving and he obliged. Madam Chiam was there too but she was busy preparing some cakes and stuffs.They seem to be selling lots of the Chinese Fried Cakes too which are stored in bottle jars and consumed over time.

The Menu

I was handed the menu card and as the majority suggest, I ordered the Dry Chilli Pan Mee, except that I requested for the usual yellow mee. With this I added the Dumpling Soup and Curry Laksa to take away. Since I was alone, I surely can't try everything that has been recommended at one go so the Dry Chilli Noodles + Dumpling Soup for now and the Curry Laksa for dinner, which I have already tasted when writing this blog.

Dry Chilli Pan Mee with Egg (Big) @ RM 5.50

The service here was very fast. After I placed the order, I walked out for a while to have a smoke and when I returned, my meal was ready with my drinks. Most of the workers here are Indonesians. They do not serve pork in their menu but it is not a Halal restaurant. Now, this dish was heavenly. A simple dish made to taste absolutely delicious. I ate like a glut almost licking the plate once it was done. Not too bothered if anyone saw me too.

Complimentary Spinach Soup + Chilli Dry Flakes

The above dish comes with this Spinach Soup that you can see above and a small serving of the Chilli Flakes which we add into the Pan Mee according to taste. I added the whole thing as I love it to be super spicy. The spinach soup was good too.

Dumpling (Sui Kau) Soup @ RM 1.00 per piece

Though this was recommended by many bloggers, I did not find this to be tasty. In fact, I have had much better ones elsewhere. The size was also too small and not worth RM 1.00 each. However, you could still try it and decide if you want. I also found it to be not very fresh, it was not stale, but just wasn't fresh.

Curry Laksa Noodles @ RM 5.50

This dish was another fantastic dish here. There was loads of cockles, chicken, potato's, long beans and a half boiled egg in this. The curry was very delicious too. I would strongly recommend this dish too.

On the whole, it is a value for money place to eat. I loved the Dry Chilli Pan Mee with Egg and the Curry Laksa here. The Sui Kau, very average and a little dissapointing.

Address: No. 20, Jalan Cerdik, Taman Connaught,
               Cheras 56000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Opening Hours: 0730 - 1630 (Closed on alternate Mondays)

Tel: +6016 210 7559 

Restoran Chung Sun Bak Kut Teh @ Sungai Buloh

The past few days, I was having the thought of eating Bak Kut Teh but did not get the time to head out to Sungai Buloh where I usually do. Today however, I had that opportunity and immediately head out to Sungai Buloh New Village area to my usual Bak Kut Teh joint.

To my surprise, the usual place I go to where there were three adjoining Bah Kut Teh restaurants were all demolished due to the road expansion works. That being said, I had to make a U Turn and head back a little to Taman Megamas to another place called Restoran Chung Sun. Sad to know that those wooden shops have been demolished. I am sure they have relocated elsewhere but need to do some research finding their new place.

Restoran Chung Sun Bak Kut Teh

Parking was not a problem here as this was a planned commercial area and parking was in abundance. Once I arrived and parked the car, head into the restaurant.

The Interior of the restaurant

They operate from two shop lots and really it did not look like a typical Bak Kut Teh restaurant. Cleanliness was a high priority as I could see the staffs incessantly making sure the floors and tables were clean. They also had a Grade A cleanliness certification from the local council.

I went up to the boss, a Mr. Lau who was preparing the dishes at that time and asked him what he has to offer. He was quite helpful and explained to me the various dishes they have here.However his first question was ...how many people and I responded with...one. Then he said that I have no choice but to try the standard Bak Kut Teh and perhaps another vegetable.

My Bak Kut Teh being made

A Write Up on the Varieties

I was told that they serve the standard Bak Kut Teh, Pork Trotter in Deep Soup, Black Pepper Bak Kut Teh, Drunken Chicken as their favorites. They also have a dry spicy chicken dish that is reasonably famous too. Since I was alone, I could not try the other dishes today but they surely looked good.

Braised Pork Trotter Being Cooked

This restaurant was mainly manned by the boss and son at the kitchen and his wife less friendly wife at the cashier. Then they have a number of Cambodian staffs too. I also noted one of the Cambodian staffs who assisted at the kitchen.

White Rice

Finally time to try the food. They did not have the Yam rice as it was sold out and hence had to make do with the white rice.

Mixed Bak Kut Teh

Then came the mixed Bak Kut Teh. It was already mixed with a little mushrooms and tofu's. The sauce was light coloured and not the dark one that I prefer. This was more of the Kuala Lumpur style. The last time I tried the dark base soup, was at my hometown and next time I head there, I would surely post an entry from there for you to be able to compare the soup. However, this was okay too and satisfying, by Kuala Lumpur standards. The natural flavour of the pork was nicely drawn out into the soup.  I asked for lean meat and I got lean meat. That I must thank him for serving what exactly what I asked for. The meat was quite soft and tender too.

Lettuce With Oyster Sauce

This was okay too and was prepared by one of the Cambodian waitress. No big rocket science to prepare this anyway but the vegetable was fresh and nice.

Side Dish of Yau Char Kui

This is a must dish for the KL Style Bak Kut Teh and is dipped into the broth and eaten. It was nice, but a little hard.

Mixed Green & Red Chillies

This is a must for me when I have Bak Kut Teh.

On the whole, the place was great and I would definitely come back again with a larger group to try other dishes. On the whole, for todays entries, it cost me RM 17.00 in total.

Address: No. 17 & 19 (Ground Floor), 
                Jalan Gelen JU/19J,
                Pusat Perniagaan Megamas,
                47000 Sungai Buloh, Selangor, Malaysia

Opening Hours : 0830 - 2100 (No afternoon closure)

Telephone: Mr. Lau +6012 368 0776