Oriental Pavilion @ Jaya 33

I had always heard good reviews from this restaurant and when a friend asked me for lunch, I quickly agreed to it. The name of the restaurant is Oriental Pavilion which was formerly situated inside Jaya Supermarket previously. It's located inside Jaya 33 right now. The place was quite busy during lunch hour but luckily we managed to get a table. We went through the menu and decided to go with dim sum rather than fried rice or noodle. My friend said something which caught my attention that day. He said that, a person averaging consume 3 sets of dim sum and that would just be enough. Anything more than that would be too much. Interesting~!

Steamed Siew Mai - RM7.00

It took some time before the siew mai was served. From the looks of it, it's not as I imagine it would be. It's a bit dry and not that good. Taste wise, it's just normal and nothing special. You can have this outside anywhere. The best I had would still be Grand Imperial. Their price are RM1 more expensive too over here.

Steamed Shredded Mushroom Dumpling - RM7.00

Again there are nothing special about this dish. The skin isn't that thick but maybe it's just the lack of taste and texture of the dim sum itself. Nothing special really. 

Shredded Bean Curd Roll with Thai Sauce - RM6.00

I was really looking forward for this but sadly when it arrived, I lost my appetite. As you can see, the Thai sauce isn't wrapped around the bean curd but spilled all over the plate. I think it's the way they prepared the dish is the main problem. A good dish gone wrong. Wasted~!

Steamed Imperial Har Kau - RM7.00

The name is so good. But I am not a big fan of Har Kau anyway. The prawns are fresh but if I remembered correctly, the dish isn't that hot anyway.

Char Siew Bao

I had high hope on this. My friends said it was good but the flour is too thick for me and the sauce isn't that tasty. Again, the one I had over at Grand Imperial is one of the best I had till date.

Chicken Leg in Sweet & Sour Sauce 

We didn't really ordered this but when they brought it over, my friend decided to give it a try. Again I am not a big fan of the dish. We didn't finished the dish at the end as it wasn't that tasty. The sauce was just normal and nothing particularly interesting. 

Steamed Fish Ball - RM5.00

Sorry, no comment since I didn't even tasted one. My friend tried it and said it was just normal. 

Roasted Pork (Siew Yuk)

The portion was alright and quite tasty. The upper layer are crunchy and the layer of fat and lean meat are evenly distributed too. This could be the highlight of my luncheon.

Loh Mai Kai - RM6.00

Surprisingly this is good. There are a lot of ingredients too. Namely mushroom, slice abalone, boneless chicken and scallop. This is one good dish.

Hokkien Noodle with Extra Lard

This is definitely something that I wouldn't imagine that I would eat during dim sum session, Hokkien Noodle. The waitress mentioned that it's one of their recommended dish over there. We ordered with extra fried lard too and extra it is. The whole plate was covered by lard when it arrived. Not the best I had, but definitely worth my money.

So how was the lunch? Overall, it wasn't that spectacular or good as I heard. The highlight of the luncheon would be the roasted pork and loh mai kai. Will I be back? I don't think so. Might be going back if someone bought me lunch. Maybe the a la carte are better. (Rating: 3.8 out of 5.0)

Thye Hong @ Singapore

Actually I'd my hand with Singapore Hokkien Prawn Noodle first locally but someone told me that I should try the one from Singapore. So I had decided to give that advice a try. It was dinner and I was walking around and there were a long queue and when I walked over, they were all queuing up for the Hokkien Prawn Noodle. 

I had been to numerous food stall which they called Food Republic over there and all of the stalls selling the noodle had a long queue. But sadly to say, I saw that the noodle are mass product. Which means that the chef would cooked up a batch and divide among the customers. But I won't judge the book by it's cover so I decided to give it a try anyway.

They offer three portion sizes which starts from $4.50, $6.50 and $9. I asked how does a small looks like, and it was large to me. A medium could feed two people. Even the small portion could be shared by two girls. It was really special as the noodle was served on some leaves and as you can see, the noodles are wet. I am not that fancy with that but I will give it a try. Prawns are plenty and large. Take a bite and it really do taste good and slightly better than the one I had over here. The chilly paste was really a match to the noodle. (Rating: 3.8 out of 5.0)

Kong Tai @ Lot 10

Me and my friend was shopping around the pink triangle area last weekend and my friend wanted to bring me to this place which served Singapore Hokkien Prawn Mee. According to him, it's very good and since I never a taste of it before, I thought why not.  Since he strongly recommended it. The place is located on the lower ground area of Lot 10. There are a variety of clean & hygienic hawker style stores at the level. So you can choose from local food to Singapore to even Taiwan snacks. The one that we went to is called Kong Tai. There are a lot of people already queuing up when we arrive and I thought, this should be good. 

There were two main chef in the kitchen. As you can see it's an open concept kitchen with the customers able to see how their food is prepared. The one on top is showing how the Singapore Hokkien Prawn Mee is prepared.

Next to the noodle is the Fried Oyster with egg chef. They had dedicated each of the the chef to cook the individual dish. So they don't need to wash the wok that often and able to retain the essence of dish (I think). Or they just wanna save time and water to put it plain and simple.

 

Singapore Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee - RM7.90

So this is the famous Singapore fried prawn mee. First impression of the noodle is that it's a bit sticky and a whole bunch of ingredients being tossed together to prepare. Well, as always, don't judge the food by it's outlook, and so I take a bite and it wasn't half bad. Like I mentioned, it's a bit stick to each other maybe due to the fact that they are using vermicelli and thin noodle. There were bean sprout, pork, squid and some sliced chilies in together. As you can see on the bottom, there are pork lard. But too little. The taste wasn't that strong so the chili sauce which they provide is really important. Not bad and the portion was generous too.

 

Fried Oyster with Egg - RM9.90

There are only two type of dish which they served and this being the second. The portion is moderate, just enough. Oyster was really fresh and plenty too. I like my fried oyster with a bit of charred egg to add to the taste and they did just that. Really like this dish. Nice and simple. Enough for 2 -3 pax.

 

Overall, the dinner was alright. I mean it wasn't bad till I can't finish it off. I haven't had the chance to try the original Fried Hokkien Prawn noodle from Singapore before so I can't compare. But a friend told me this doesn't really justify the real thing. So let's see what the other readers had to say bout this. For me, it was moderate. But for the price you're paying and the environment, it's worth the money. Clean and with air condition. (Rating: 3.8 out of 5.0)

Restaurant Mei Yin @ Sea Park

Me and my friends are looking for a place for dinner after our movie rendezvous at 1Utama. I had initially wanted to visit Kokopelli Traveler's Bistro but I am afraid that they we won't have enough time to enjoy our dinner once we had arrived. So I had recommended another restaurant further down the road. Since all of us had craving for Hokkien Noodle, so we the place I had recommended is Restaurant Mei Yen. It's located at Jalan 20/7 if I am not mistaken. It's just further down Kokopelli if you know where it is located.

Hokkien Noodle (3 Pax)

Since the place is famous for their Hokkien Noodle and it's our objective that night, so we had decided on 3 pax for the portion. As you can see, it's really black and not that wet. It's something which I like. Plenty of meat and also some squids too in the noodle. It's really nice and we all agreed on the dish. Or maybe we're just too hungry at that time. Nevertheless, we had this finish up clean. And their belacan tasted really nice too as mentioned by my friend but it's not spicy at all.

Layered Pork with Vermicelli (2 Pax)

This is another of their famous dish over at the place. The smallest portion was for 2 pax. As you can see there were a lot of pork on top of the noodle. But if you look carefully the pork are 80% fat and 20% lean. So if you can't take fat pork then better stay away. But you can always eat the noodle which was really nice and the scent and taste of pork was so strong and nice. That is if you like pork as much as I do.

Kam Heong (Sweet & Spicy) La La (2 Pax)

Yet another must order dish of the restaurant. This is their Sweet & Spicy clams but it's rather sweet than spicy for us. Plenty of gravy for the clams and most of the clams are clean and there are meat in them. This is in some places, you can only find a few clams with meat in them and half of them are empty. The taste of garlic are so strong. As you can see, there are a lot of garlic in the gravy. We all agreed that it would taste better if it's more spicier. 

Overall the food are good and price are reasonable. Well that is why the place had so many loyal customers all this while. My first visit to this place would be 8 years ago maybe and it's been awhile since my last visit. As I visited Ah Wa or Damansara Hokkien Noodle more often these days. Other recommended dishes would be their Loh Mee, Dried Mee Hoon with Fresh Egg and Pork Soup. The damage for the night is RM38. I think it's definitely reasonable and we are all full that night. Left and continued for second round after that at Old Town. Again, it's not the location of the restaurant but the quality of the food. Although we're eating next to the drain but that is what make it so Malaysia. (Rating: 3.8 out of 5.0)

Restaurant Hong Ling @ Subang Jaya

Called up my ex-colleague for lunch and we are thinking of a place to eat around Subang Jaya. Bak Kut Teh? Curry Chicken Rice? Crispy Fried Chicken? JM Briyani? But we wanted something not that hot, so he recommended a place called Hong Ling which served Ulu Yam Loh Mee. It's located at SS14 facing SS15. 3 shops away from the bak kut teh shop. My first visit over this place and I am starving. So I am in for anything they have to offer.

Fried Crullers in Salad (RM10 - Small)

My friend had recommended this dish as he had tried it a couple of time and it's not bad. We had ordered a small portion to try it out. Testing the water that is. It wasn't that bad actually. The crullers are still crunchy with mayonnaise wrapped around it. Nice way to open our taste bud.

Fried Bean with Pork (Medium-RM10 / Large-RM15)

This is also one of their recommended dish from the restaurant. It's their fried bean with crispy pork. Damn the pork is so crispy and delicious. The bean looks a bit old but trust me it's very crunchy. I can still hear the crunching sound when I bite into them. Nice.

Ulu Yam Loh Mee (Small-RM5.50 / Medium-RM10 / Large-RM13)

How can we have lunch without ordering their famous loh mee. It's thick and the noodle is just right. Not that dark like the one from Ulu Yam but acceptable. Portion really generous. There's even fried lard in it. Delicious. For a small portion, this is really filling.

Fried Mee Suah (RM5.50-Small / RM10-Medium / RM13-Large)

Surprisingly I like this plate of fried mee suah a lot. It's sort of like glass noodle but better. It's quite wet so the noodle won't stick to each other like glue. Plenty of bean sprout and eggs all around the noodle. Really nice. Trust me, it tasted better than it look.

Special Homemade Shu Fun Kan (Small-RM5.50 / Medium-RM10 / Large-RM13)

Last but not least the special homemade tapioca starch stick noodle. My friend wanted to give this dish a try and it wasn't as nice as it was supposed to be. I had the same at Klang's Boston and it tasted better. The texture here is different from the one from what I had before. This is too salty for me. Not my plate of noodle. But the rest was alright.

This is definitely a place that I will return again with my friends and family for a good plate of noodle. Price is reasonable and parking is still possible to find around the area. There is still a lot of noodle they offered in their menu which I wanted to try like the Hokkien Noodle and Fried Glass Noodle. Maybe another round of lunch with my friends next week. For your information, we had ordered all the small portion for all the food above and there are only three of us to finish off all the above. Total bill comes to about RM38 inclusive of 3 herbal tea. (Rating: 4.0 out of 5.0)

PS: Thanks to blog ed. for teaching me a new word today, crullers. I trust a lot of you never come across this word similar to me, right? : )

Restaurant Ah Wa @ Jalan 223

It was Saturday night and me and my babe decided to have a late dinner since we have an early lunch. Ya, I know it doesn't make sense. Anyway, our initial plan was to go Medan Selera @ 223 for some Kak Siti's nasi lemak panas but decided to have Hokkien noodle instead. The place? Where else but Ah Wa which is just nearby Jalan 223.

I had ordered a two pax Hokkien Noodle as we had some Penang Lobak while waiting for the dish to come. Tonight it was extra delicious as it wasn't that watery and the taste was just superb. The control of the fire and wok is really important to cook up with such a delicious plate of hokkien noodle. (RM12/plate)

What is the most important food to go with Hokkien noodle? Fried Lard of course. I had asked for extra and the good fella brought me a whole lot of it. I was really surprised as it was one whole plate full of fresh fried lards.

Why another same picture? Actually we had decided to ordered a second plate as the first was so delicious. And the second plate doesn't disappoint us too. But we had ordered a single pax for this plate. (RM 6/plate)

I guess the best time to go over for their Hokkien noodle or any of their noodle would be around 10pm or later as there won't be that much of people waiting or queuing for their order. So the chef do not need to rush for the food to go out hence a better quality of food being deliver to us. Don't get me wrong, the place was almost full when I arrived just now but not over crowded like dinner time. So please plan your time and make it trip over. Definitely better than Damansara Hokkien noodle and also Kim Lian Kee at Jalan Petaling and maybe even Weng Hing at Jalan Imbi. Two thumbs up. (Rating: 4.5 out of 5.0)

Restaurant Kim Lian Kee @ Jalan Petaling

I wanted to go to Petaling Street to look around as it has been few months since I was there. Babe was hungry so I had decided to go eat Hokkien Noodle at Kim Lian Kee which is located at the heart of Petaling Street or to be exact the cross road. I think most of the people should have eat here before or at least heard of this place before this.

I had waited for about 10 minutes before getting a table and it was just 7.30pm. What a small world as I was eating half way, I saw MD. Small small world. And he was looking for a table at that time, so we shared. Sharing is caring right.

The belacan here is really nice and is not that spicy too. Add a pinch of lemon into it and it's perfect.

So this is the main course of the night, Hokkien Noodle. I had ordered their Hokkien Noodle mix with vermicelli. Hence the whole dish was a bit dryer than the normal Hokkien we ate else where. I like my Hokkien noodle to be dry and not black. But still, Ah Wa Hokkien noodle is still the best.

This is the pork with cabbage soup which my friend had ordered. The special part is that the sliced pork is dipped with flour and then boil in hot water. So the meat is a bit spongy or tangy when you bite on it.

This is the Sing Chow Mai or Fried Vermicelli with eggs, minced pork, onions and bean sprout. The dish came 30minutes late but it's surprisingly nice.

Word of advice when you order your food, Hokkien noodle is their best seller, so you won't have to wait long for the food to be serve. If you wanted something else like what I ordered, you will need to prepare to wait for it. They are also famous for their Loh Mee, Yin Yong and also Kon Chow Hor. Extra lard is on request but it's chargeable. (Rating: 3.8 out of 5.0)

Weng Hing Hokkien Mee @ Imbi

It has been years since I last visited Mr. Sin's Hokkien Mee. During the day the place served Pork Noodle, Egg Tarts and Char Kuey Teow to name a few. It's located at Weng Hing Kedai Kopi at the intersection opposite Honda showroom. I don't think you can miss this shop.

I read some where that the Hokkien Mee is cooked with specially ordered tender noodles which absorb the essence of the flounder powder. To me the sambal chilly that come with the noodle is really important. It must be spicy and not too dry.

As you can see their Hokkien Mee comes with big fresh prawns, squids, fish cake and cabbages. The noodle that they used are rather thinner compared to the one I had at Ah Wah and Damansara. It's not that watery like the other two which I like. Definitely another good stall for Hokkien Mee. (RM6.50/plate)

A good plate of Hokkien Mee is determine by the good control of the wok and also fire during the cooking process. One good thing bout Mr. Sin is that they do not mass produce the noodle like Ah Wah and Damansara Hokkien Noodle. Other then Hokkien Mee they are also famous for their Cantonese Fried Mee with thick sauce, Loh Mee with steamed egg custard and vinegar. (Rating: 4.0 out of 5.0)

Address: 183, Jalan Imbi,
55100 Kuala Lumpur
Operating Time: 5.00pm - 12.00am (closed on alternate Monday)
Contact: 012 - 387 6002 (Mr. Sin Lee Huat)

Soo Kee Mee Stall

Was deciding between Soo Kee Beef Hor Fun or Mr.Sin's Hokkien Mee at Weng Hing. Since both of them are nearby to each other. Finally decided to go try out Soo Kee as I never been to the place and I managed to get a parking right opposite the restaurant.

From what I know, the place has a history over 60 years and is already a house hold name in the local (Sorry, but I never heard before this). It's not only famous to locals but also celebrities from overseas ranging from Jackie Chan, Maggie Cheung, Jay Chou, Alan Tam to name a few. The secret ingredients in their dish was passed down from one generation to the next. And the place is famous for their River Prawn Noodle, Beef Hor Fun and Paper wrapped chicken.

So when I arrived, I straight away ordered their Paper wrapped chicken for appetizer. Each of us had one and straight away unwrapped the paper and sink out teeth into those juicy meat. It was a bit hard but I am alright with it. Taste was just nice. But my babe told me Seri Kembangan's version was more better. Sorry for the bad picture quality as the lighting was a bit bad at that time. (RM4.50/piece)

Second dish was their famous Beef Hor Fun. As you can see it's really starchy and you can still see the eggs on the side. What a sight. Taste was alright but not much to brag about. It's above average but to me as I am not so into Cantonese style. I am not sure what is the hype about other than their generosity on the beef portion. It's really too much to the extend that there is still a lot when I finished the hor fun. (RM9/pax)

The last dish was their Pai Kut Yee Mee. I didn't ordered their River Prawn Noodle (RM16/pax) as the portion was really large for the two of us. The Pai Kut was tender and I love Yee Mee so I like this dish. But one set back on this dish was it's too salty. Other then that, it's just one normal Yee Mee with Pai Kut. (RM10/pax)

Other then noodle, they do served lala, vegetables, bean curd and other dishes to go with rice. But from what I saw, most of the table had either ordered their River Prawn Noodle or Beef Hor Fun. There is also a satey stall inside if you wanted something light to bite.

I think business was good that the son decided to open a new stall just across the street from the dad. And they even name the place Soo Kee's Son (Meng Chuan) Prawn & Beef Noodle. What a good publicity stunt. But for me, Hokkien noodle is still No.1 in my ranking compared to any other noodle. (Rating: 3.8 out of 5.0)