Ah Balling Peanut Shop @ China Town Singapore

During my vacation down South, I had tried a few spots around town but didn't really found any which worth mentioning. Maybe I just need a good guide to bring me over to the good one and not waste time trying everything I see. Anyway, we're over at China Town and babe told me she tried this stall before and it's worth mentioning. It's called Ah Balling Peanut Shop. No, they are not selling peanut, but rather desserts with peanuts in them. They have a few varieties which ranges from peanut, green tea, sesame, red bean, yam or go vegetarian with their ginger soup. 

Babe had ordered their sesame balls with peanut soup. As you can see, there's plenty of peanuts in the soup and according to babe, it's really nice. There are 5 balls in each bowl if I am not mistaken.

This is how the inside looks like for those who never saw sesame before. Did I tried? Hell no. I am so not into this kind of dessert. Too sweet for me. But again, babe assured me it's worth trying out. The whole bowl cost around SGD2 for 5 balls. Quite cheap I guess if you don't go and convert it to RM. So for those who like dessert, you can try this place out and let me know what you think. But babe and her friend did agreed that the same dessert over at Pappa Rich tasted better. Duh~! (Rating: 3.5 out of 5.0)

Hai Yew Heng @ Tanjung Sepat

Was having my breakfast during my trip when my friend said that she's gonna introduced me to the best 'bao' in her hometown. So what's so famous about this stall compared to the others I asked. She said that bus load of people came over to bought it back. The stall is located at Tg. Sepat, Kuala Selangor. Yes, you heard me right, Kuala Selangor. It's a small town next after Gold Coast Morib if you're coming from Klang. It's quite near if you're coming from Sepang side though. The name of the stall is Hai Yew Heng.

The bao are prepared everyday fresh from across the street in their factory before distributed to the other stalls to be sold. I had decided to try out their minced pork (Sang Yuk) bao. Since it's highly recommended by my friend. Sadly that they didn't have Siew Yuk Bao though cause I like the latter more.

So what do I think of it? Firstly, I am not so keen of the thick flour but heck I can peel it off I guess. The real deal would be the minced pork inside I supposed for any bao. The minced pork over here is a bit spicy sort to say. Spicy as in pepper spicy and not chili spicy. A bit dry for me but the meat are really packed. There's something which you don't really find anywhere else which is lard. Yup, there's fried lard inside to add some texture. Not the best I had but it's something new. And yes, there's an egg too inside. 

So what is all the hyped about? Maybe my taste is a bit different from the others. But babe told me that it's good though. It's good as I mentioned, but just not spectacular. I am not willing to drive all the way up there to get some bao definitely. But that's just my opinion. (Rating: 3.5 out of 5.0)

Lerk Thai @ Jusco Tebrau City

First thing came to mind when you say Thai food would be Tom Yum soup? Some would say Tom Yum fried rice or Phad Tai. So in my expedition looking for good (most of the time) food, I found this place which has a few branches across Peninsular. Not many but only 3 if I am not mistaken. The place is called Lerk Thai and from the name you would know by now that the place serve Thai cuisine. Walked in and there wasn't much people around and decided to get myself comfy before going through their menu. Standard appetizers and also soups like the one you would find in any Thai restaurants.

Iced Pandan Leaf - RM8/glass

There's a lot of drinks to choose from but I decided to go simple and ordered their Iced Pandan Leaf. It's sweet but not too much. Portion is sufficient for me and not too much ice.

Crispy Torpedo Prawns - RM12

The sizes of each prawns isn't as large as I thought it would be, but it's suffice. Price could be a bit steep but it's nice to have something crispy to bite on before the main. Not bad, but remember to get plenty of Thai sauce to go with the dish.

Boneless Chicken Wing - RM12

I asked the waiter if it was large, and he said it's small but when I saw the pair of rings, damn it's large. This is because the wings are de-boned and stuffed with lots of crab meats and lots of other ingredients. Very filling.

This is how the inside of the chicken wing looks like. I think the wings looks more like a drumstick after being stuffed with all the ingredients to me. Make sure to eat it while it's still warm.

Phad Thai - RM15/plate

Finally my main which I had been contemplating whether to go with fried rice or their noodle. At the end I had ordered their fried kway teow with prawns, Thai style of course. I had tried their Phad Thai previously in Bangkok and this doesn't really justify the real deal. The noodle is wet and the usual side ingredients such as chili flakes, crushed peanuts and dried small anchovies. Mixed all that with their own bland of Asam sauce and a small squeeze of lemon, and you got yourself an acceptable plate of Phad Thai.

I think I would be more happier if I had ordered their Thai fried rice or any other fried rice but at the end I had to settled with the noodle. Maybe you can try it out and let me know how it is. They also serve authentic asam fish and array of appetizers too. Isn't the best I had but quite pricey on the dishes though. (Rating: 3.8 out of 5.0)

Kin Kin Curry Pan Mee @ Jalan TAR

I heard that this is one of the oldest Chili Pan Mee in town. It's located off Jalan T.A.R. Just turn in when you see Pizza Hut. I think the road is called Lorong Tunku Abdul Rahman 2. Don't make any mistake here as there are two Chili Pan Mee opposite to each other. One is called Kin Kin which is the one I am writing now. I can't find my post on the other restaurant although I am sure that I am there before a few times if I may add too. Anyway, Kin Kin is regarded as the older more original in terms of taste and ingredients. And so is the environment, as it's not air condition but I can see the the place had been clean up and looks more cleaner now. It was a weekend (Sunday) but still the crowd was so high when I arrived. Luckily I managed to get a table and there is a rule in the place which all customers are required to share table among others.

Walked over and ordered directly from the boss for one dry and one soup chili pan mee. As always, there is only one size so no point asking for a larger portion. So I had ordered two bowl of dry noodle for myself. I think it's a sales gimmick as they can earn twice the value as customers had no choice but to order an extra bowl rather than just adding the portion. But that is just my opinion though.

I saw a lot of people still waiting for their food to be served and decided to start off with something light. A mixture of fish balls, meat balls and foo chuk. Nothing special. Just your usual balls. Just to get you through your waiting process I guess.

Portion for the noodle is moderate. Well that is why I saw a lot of customers ordered 3 bowls for two person. So I followed and quickly ordered a second when I saw the portion. As I mentioned earlier, the shop are famous for their originality. So don't expect good outlook on your bowl of pan mee like the other stalls. Well at least the ingredients are fresh. The boiled egg is a bit poorly done though. Don't get me wrong it's perfectly boiled but maybe it's the way it's being place onto the noodle was a bit too rough for me. You have the usual minced pork and also anchovies on the side and also some spring onions and fried onions. 

I think the most important part of the whole bowl of noodle would be the chili. Heck, I drove so far for this bowl of noodle and I would assumed that this must be good. Well, it isn't that bad. Not that spicy. On my rate of 1 to 5 with 5 being the spiciest, it would be 3 I guess. Maybe to some it's spicy but this is nothing to me. Mixed everything together and off we go. A bit too wet for me. Cause after mixing all of the eggs and chili, I would assumed it to be dried up but it's not. Sad~ Noodle is a bit rough and hard too. Maybe undercooked? I had better with Jojo's Kitchen where their noodle are soft and so springy too. Not my best bowl of chili noodle but it's still passable.

Overall, it was alright. The environment is a bit hot and not air condition. So better go early and beat the afternoon sun. The soup pan mee was really large in portion. But I didn't take a photo of it as I was too busy tasting mine at that time. Will I return? Well, if I am in the neighborhood of course. As mentioned, not my best bowl of chili pan mee for the time being. (Rating: 3.8 out of 5.0)

Restaurant Fu Kua @ Taman Megah

I know, not another bitter gourd restaurant again. But it is. I am so amazed of restaurant owners kept opening this type of restaurant. But I can't blame them since it's so popular. Bitter gourd or Fu Kua (Cantonese) has a lot of advantages.So let's go through them and maybe you will start testing one like I did few months back. Yup, I stayed away from it till last year and now I am a believer. It's said to help digestion and constipation. Some even believed that it cures malaria. It is also a cure for asthma if you mix it with some honey and basil leaf. Yes, I wiki on all of this of course. Let's get back to the restaurant now. The name is a bit lame, Fu Kua. No money for guessing what the place sells right? But it's so popular around that area at lunch hour. It's fully packed when we arrived. Guess, I have to try it for myself.

My friend had ordered their famous bitter gourd soup with sliced chicken, tomato and also pork balls. Yes, pork balls. I totally love this soup. It's so bitter and you must drink it when it's warm. You can also opt for intestines and spare parts which we declined.

Bitter Gourd with Chicken 

All the food are simple but yet the taste are not. It's really tasty and not too salty in this case. The portion was small but still generous on both the bitter gourd and chicken.

Pork Ribs in Salted Egg

This is totally my favorite dish of the day. It's also recommended by my friend. The ribs are tasty and the salted eggs wrapped around the ribs are just so good. Since it's ribs, we can suck on the bones after you finish sinking your teeth on the meat. Juicy babe~

The vegetable (other than bitter gourd) is simple and nice. Sorry but I can never remember the names of all the vegetable. I can only remember Yau Mak and Broccoli only. And yes, those are my favorite green.

Overall, the food are really good and price isn't that expensive too. The whole meal cost me around RM34++. Not that expensive for a lunch with the dishes that we ordered. But make sure to come early to beat the rush hour from the office workers nearby. I heard that their steamed fish are pretty good too. Remember to try that out and let me know how it is. (Rating: 4.0 out of 5.0)