KAMPUNGBOYCITYGAL A MALAYSIAN FOOD & TRAVEL BLOG

Happy Chinese New Year!

KampungBoyCityGal wish YOU a prosperous year ahead. Gong Xi Fatt Cai!

Picture from: www.corporategiftscompany.com

We were wandering around One Utama last week. One Utama is buzzing with activities as many people started to do their last minute shopping as the Chinese New Year is fast approaching.

To avoid the crowd, we wanted to sit down and grab a quick bite somewhere. My appetite goes thru the roof staring at the attractive banner ad of the new zinger tower and the classic KFC smell leaded us into it. The next thing we know is that we were already queuing behind the counter.

The Zinger Tower Set

I (kinda) forced KampungBoy to take the Zinger Tower Set (RM 15.90) which comprises of  1 zinger tower, 1 pepsi max (R), 1 mango pudding & 1 zinger time watch. I needed a non metallic, i.e. plastic watch for my weekly hike but was too kiam siap to spend on one.

The burger looked impressive; with layers of soft bun, fresh lettuce, zinger fillet, cheese, hash brown and a dressing of zesty chili lime sauce. I slowly but surely devoured my zinger tower, and talk about hitting the spot! Personally, I love the refreshing and citrusy chili lime sauce (despite some thinks that it tastes like dish washer) and the oh-so-crispy hash brown.

My fat stubby fingers and my new outdoor watch in vibrant yellow. Nice?

Talking about putting my own waste-line at great personal risk to answer the question “is the zinger tower a total rip off?” Well, go for the ala carte zinger tower (RM 6.60) or the X meal set (RM 10.50) with an additional chicken drumstick and drink which give more value for money if you are not interested on the zinger time watch (RM 9.90 with every chicken meal purchased). KampungBoy, can I have another three colors of the zinger time watch please? One for hiking, one for running and another one for tennis.

A food crawl isn’t complete with only satays right? Our walking food guide, Simon suggested Kou Lou Chao Fern (Tall Man’s Fried Noodles) at Kepong Dai Gai (Jalan Besar Kepong) as the next destination. Our eyes lit up immediately, and everyone started to nod frantically because we were famished!

“Take us there, NOW!”

So here we are, at this nostalgic looking coffee shop name Seng Yuen. The coffee shop was full, with tables spilling out onto the corridor as well. We leave it all to Simon to take the orders while we found ourselves busy snapping pictures around.

Our food took forever to come, so we subjected our hunger to warm tea, and more warm tea which did not help one bit. We were here before 11 pm and we started eating only at 12 am!

Simon’s Expression – an hour before

Simon’s Expression – an hour later

My favourite – Kong Fu Yin Yeong (RM 6) was the first to arrive. Drenched in eggy starchy sauce, laden with generous helpings of vegetables, fishcake, pork slices and prawns, it sure looks good. However, I took a bite and was disappointed that the noodles tasted pretty bland. Down it with more chili sauce, says WMW.

Kou Lou’s signature noodles – Hokkien Mee (RM 12). This was alright; the only let down would be a lack of wok hei. Down it with more lards, says WMW. All were forgiven after I stirred in those deep fried greasy cubes into my bowl of noodle. The hokkien mee emerged as the best dish that night.

Braised Yee Mee (RM 6) – Palatable and nothing fantastic.

Guess the old uncle was too tired dealing with the massive crowd that night. Given Simon’s raving and witnessed the number of patrons that wait patiently for their plate of hokkien mee, it still warrants a possible future visit.

Despite feeling rather full from the food that we had, desserts always have an extra space. So, we dropped by Tim Pan Gor Gor (opposite Carrefour) for some sweet soups and desserts.

*shy*

almond sweet soup + black sesame sweet soup (RM 3.30)
almond sweet soup + red bean soup + lotus seed (RM 3.30)

I love the varieties this place has as they are not the usual things that you get, ie flavored taufufa, mango noodles, mochi and various mixed tong sui.No complains for the sweet soups as the combinations were really nice an special.WMW and Jason shared the mango noodles. The strands of noodles sure look like the usual hor fun but they were actually jellies.

We called it a night at 1 am and guess how much we spent? RM 15 per person! Pretty amazing isn’t it? Next food crawl – Seri Kembangan? Old Klang Road? Or Puchong?

Four crazy floggers embarked on a gastronomic journey to Kepong one night (for full story, read here). Without knowing every nooks and crooks beyond the Damansara/Kepong toll, it was an impromptu trip – we just got to know the destination after we hopped onto the car!

WMW and I dreaded to read the map. The reason? Read up “why men don’t listen and women don’t read map”. So we put all our faith and trust to Jason to guide us to (da dum!) Taman Ehsan Jaya for duck satay that was introduced by vkeong not long ago! Half way through, we picked up Simon who resides in Kepong and was told that we were heading towards the wrong direction! Jason ar Jason…

Makan Kaki

The spicy and creamy peanut sauce complements the smoky-sweet elements of the satays beautifully. Jason downed the sauce till the last drop.

The satay came piping hot in a short while after we placed our order. The duck satay is very similar to the usual chicken satay that we ate, being a little sticky, a little sweet and smoky. The distinctive difference would be the very interesting texture – grease free and extra chewy but with a crunch.

I love the chicken satay to every bit because it is full of flavor and the chewy texture of duck meat. The best thing is it costs only RM 0.60 per stick, which is slightly cheaper than my (old) favourite Satay Haji Samuti. WMW and me even ordered extra sticks to go!

When’s the next food crawl, fellow floggers? :p

Sen Kee Satay
Jalan 12, Taman Desa Jaya
Kepong
Tel : 019-218 7538/019-249 2572
Opens from about 6pm – 10.30pm
Close on Mondays

Teaser on Kepong Food Crawl Part II:

KampungBoy loves his meat and he is one of those who sneer at the idea of vegetarian food just like how some of us sneer at the Malaysian party of balance scale. To celebrate his pal YJ’s birthday, he has no choice but to make a reluctant move to Yishensu because the birthday boy wants to do vegetarian on his big day. Clean up the toxic waste in your body, my dear.

Yishensu is tastefully decorated and the restaurant’s interior has a refined and tranquil literary atmosphere. The restaurant was almost full by the time they arrived, with ½ of the restaurant having a wedding celebration for a Chinese couple.

To start off, Vege Bread Roll with Fruit Salad (RM15) made of vegetarian ham, cucumber, carrot wrapped with bread and deep fried is ordered. Appearance wise, it was a winner with the myriad of colors but taste wise, it was a let down.

Fried Rice (RM 9). Never judge a book by its cover. It turned out to be the best dish. Full of wok hei, the fluffy fried rice was very aromatic. A must order item in Yishensu, so said KampungBoy and the rest.

Abalone served with Mushrooms and Brocolli (RM 18). A simple dish, added with splashes of luxury – (mock) abalone slices.

Emperor ToFu (RM 16). The smooth silky home made tofus were stuffed with some mock meat. Even without a blindfold, it is often impossible to different the mock meat from the real deal.

Braised Mushroom and Chicken with Noodles (RM 9). The home made noodles are meant to resemble wantan noodles, but they’re way too starchy and soft for a braised dish.

The Dried Curry Fish (RM 22) is truly delicious. The curry was thick and creamy but not overly. Good to go with some white rice.

Fried Oat Prawn (RM 18). The outer layers coated with oats were really crunchy, while the mock prawns tasted a bit off which the guys did not enjoy very much.

Yishensu has certainly changed our perception towards vegetarian food because the only thing that we can relate to vegans is the conventional stuff such as greens and bean curds. If you are willing to try something new, do drop by but mind you that the prices are a little steep and there’s some hits and misses in their dishes. They are charging RM 3 each for green tea and white rice, so the total bill comes to about RM 150++.

The night ended with a drinking session at Long Bar, One World Hotel. Happy birthday to YJ. Wishing you another year of happiness and joy.

Yishensu – A Vegetarian Connoisseur
1 Utama Shopping Mall, Petaling Jaya
Telephone : +603 77294313
Fax : +603 56201150

Few months back, we stumble upon Wang Chiew Seafood Restaurant by chance and have never looked back since. Cheap, decent dai chow in a air-conditioned place is hard to come by nowadays.

The Indonesian Seafood Curry Tofu (RM 8 ) came in a beautiful hue of yellow was laden with chunks of seafood and long bricks of tofu. The creamy curry sauce was definitely flavorful and gives the tofu a spicy satisfying kick. To savor every bite of the concoction, drizzle the curry sauce over your bowl of fluffy white rice. Mmmmmm..

Here comes the porky goodness – Claypot Pork Ribs (RM 10). The ribs were coated with a glistening, sweet-tart, tangy sauce that is very appetizing as well. The pork ribs looked chunky and dry, which concerned me at first, but I was oh so pleasantly surprised at it’s wonderful flavor and tenderness.

The stir-fry kang kong (RM 6) was decent enough to provide interesting diversions from all thing meaty but some how it lacks the wow factor.

Total damage? RM 28 for two but the food can easily feed four because we ended up take away the leftovers. We think that Wang Chiew provides great food at a very reasonable price. This Indonesian Seafood Curry dish and Assam Steamed Fish (on a separate occasion) was excellent and worth going back for anytime.

Wang Chiew Seafood Restaurant
30, Jalan ss2/103
47300 Petaling Jaya,
Tel: 03-77223662
Business Hour: 11.30am-10.30pm

If you are coming from Damansara, turn left after the balai bomba ss2, go straight until you see Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan SEA. Wang Chiew (3 shoplots at the middle) is somewhere behind the school.