ronnycakes reviews: Min Huang, Jalan Metro Perdana Barat, Kepong

Whenever the both of us crave for dimsum, our goto is usually Kedai Kopi Mee Bon at Jalan Ipoh, where both of us have been eating at since we were tiny (not together of course), and which also gives us the best lo mai kai ever. The lo mai kai there is savoury and best of all, super juicy; none of that crappy dry generic lo mai kai you get at other places. But I digress.

On recommendation from vkeong, we headed over to Min Huang one afternoon; a little skeptical about the place because surprisingly on a Saturday afternoon, there were hardly any cars around and parking was aplenty.

Min Huang’s Steam Dumpling with Shrimp Roe (RM3.80 per basket) was springy, yummy and full of prawn meat, albeit being truly bite-sized and a bit small for our appetites.

The Pan-fried Yam Cake (RM3.80 per portion), crispy and savoury and full of dried shrimp. 

 
One of the recommended dishes at Min Huang was this Shanghai Special Fried Bean Sheet (RM6.80) which is very similar to kuey teow except that it’s more translucent, a little stickier and chewier. Fried with eggs, spring onions, carrots and egg, it was incredibly aromatic and delicious.

On another occasion we went for the Fried Yam Cake (RM4.80) instead of the pan-fried one and I have to say that I much preferred the pan-fried one to this one. The normal stir-fried one was lacking in crispiness and the yam cake was bland and soft.

The Special Steam Pork Dumpling was similar to the Siew Mai we had, but came wrapped all over. Delicious nevertheless!

Deep Fried Salad Prawn (RM5.20); a bit on the steep side but so yummy. I think it’s got something to do with the prawn marinade and the crispiness of the deep-fried skin. I always find myself ordering 2 plates of this whenever I come to Min Huang. :D

Wils loved this Steamed Black Pepper Dumpling (RM4.20) but I was less impressed because of the strange soft peppery sauce on top of each dumpling.

The star of the show for us! This Shanghai Steamed Herbal Dumpling (RM7.20) was full of herbal soup (a nice twist to a classic dim sum dish) and just super good. We tried the normal xiao long bao once but it did not satisfy us as well as this one with the herb soup.

Min Huang’s Oyster and Peanut Porridge (RM3.80) was run-of-the mill. I’ve definitely had better porridge elsewhere.

Min Huang has firmly planted itself on our list of dim sum haunts, and plus the fact that it’s relatively nearer (Kepong) and prices are not super steep, AND the food is yummy. You really have to come and try it for yourself!
Relatively few bloggers have blogged about this place yet so if it’s your first time hearing about it, don’t hesitate to go and have a taste of their dim sum because most of the offerings on their menu are seriously yummy. Stay away from the porridge though unless you must have porridge to go with your dim sum. Ramen and other fried rice dishes are also served but we haven’t tried those yet, so that’s another thing to add to the list!

Address:
Min Huang Restaurant
12, Jalan Metro Perdana Barat 3,
Taman Usahawan Kepong

Map *here*

ronnycakes reviews: Bali Hai Seafood Market, Kota Damansara PJ

Bali Hai Seafood Market is a restaurant that hails from Penang, and this Kota Damansara branch is their first one in KL. It’s a huge open air (but surprisingly cooling thanks to the bamboo-ish hut covering on the roof) seafood restaurant that has more than a dozen seafood tanks on one side showing delicacies like live Alaskan Spider Crab, Snow Crab, geoducks, lobsters, fishes and such.

Starting off with the Indonesian Style Deep Fried Chicken Wings, this was the one thing that stood out for me all night. The chicken wings were fried just nice, meat was tender and the skin was just a hint of crispy. Coupled with the sprinkling of chili salt on top, one was definitely not enough for me (was there with a large group so only managed one piece T_T)!

Super delicious fried chicken wings.

Venison Stir-Fried with Kai Lan was a twist to the classic veg dish, oyster sauce with garlic and slices of venison. There was no gamey smell to the venison and it paired perfectly with the Kai Lan.

Tofu with Chicken Floss, your run of the mill deep fried tofu with chicken floss and dried shrimps adding slightly more oomph to it.

Steamed Lala in Spicy Ginger and Lime Sauce was tangy and spicy and very fresh.

Freshwater Prawns in Sweet and Sour Sauce were very fresh (and lots of prawn roe in the heads), and were priced at RM30 per prawn.

The obligatory Soy Sauce Steamed Fish at all Chinese dinners. The fish was very fresh but the sauce was quite forgettable.

Squid with Salted Egg Yolk was sufficiently savoury and rich. The squid pieces were tender and fresh too!

On to the star of the show! Large and juicy Meat Crabs in Kam Heong Style were delicious. Once again, the freshness of the meat was top-notch and the sauce was done very well. Kam Heong is my favourite style of crab! I especially love the intensity of the curry leaves.

All in all there were a few hits and misses at dinner, but all the seafood was very fresh. On the downside, food at Bali Hai is not what you would call cheap (the meal cost about RM1000 for 9 people) and the captain gave us a larger portion of prawns than she should have due to the amount of other dishes that we ordered. Maybe I’ll go back just for the fried chicken wings. :p

Address:
Sunsuria Avenue,  Persiaran Mahogani
Kota Damansara PJU5
47810 Petaling Jaya
Selangor
(nearby the Tune Hotel in Kota Damansara)

Map *here*

ronnycakes reviews: Putien; One Utama PJ

My mum and I are always very excited when a new Chinese restaurant opens up and we anticipated Putien after looking at the attractive scaffolds and the fact that it hails from Singapore.
Putien actually serves Xing Hua cuisine which can be traced back to a idyllic coastal town in China: Putian, and features home-style dishes that are hearty and comfortable.

 
We asked the waiter for a recommendation and he came up with Iced Bittergourd (RM6.50), a plate of finely sliced bittergourd amongst shards of ice and a small plate of honey for dipping. Certainly something different and refreshing at the same time. However, my mum found the honey and bittergourd to be a bit of a clashing taste.

Braised Homemade Beancurd (RM7.90) was exactly that. Homemade and familiar. The beancurd had absorbed all the gravy and biting into one piece released a myriad of flavours in the mouth.

 
The star of the show: Putien Lor Mee (RM15.90 for small portion) which is one of the signature dishes at Putien. One time when we were hovering over the menu, a couple informed us that the Lor Mee was one of the best they’ve tried over in Singapore and they couldn’t wait to have it again. The pork broth was incredibly flavourful, with fresh seafood and noodles that didn’t have the alkaline taste that we usually find in local-style Lor Mee.

Overall, we were pleased with the standard of food at Putien with the only gripe of it being a little on the pricey side for the portion of food served up. If you’re interested in trying Putien, do either make a reservation in advance or head there early because it can get quite packed and a queue will slowly start to form outside.

Address:
G213A Old Wing,
1 Utama Shopping Centre
(Right besides Johnny’s Steamboat and Dave’s Deli).

Map *here*

ronnycakes reviews: New Shanghai 新上海, Pavilion KL

Tucked away in the farthest corner of Pavilion’s food basement floor is New Shanghai (新上海); a tiny restaurant that serves pork-free dim sum. I’m always incredibly skeptical of pork-free dim sum somehow it just never tastes as good, but because New Shanghai is constantly patronized by throngs and throngs of people we decided to check it out to see what all the fuss was about.

An olden day bicycle complete with rattan baskets – vintage posters on brick walls – takeaway boxes?

Buns steaming away – New Shanghai’s open kitchen – a very Shanghai-esque dining interior.

At New Shanghai, you help yourself to the food, i.e. you queue up at the end of the line and pick and choose what you want from the fried items, baked items, steamed buns and dessert. As for steamed dim sum, you order it at the counter and they’ll deliver it to your table freshly steamed.

Our first plate of greed, Deep Fried Prawn Roll, Deep Fried Crab Roll and Pan Fried Fish Cake. Best thing for me was the fish cake, tasted hand-made and authentic. Not like those machine-made-bleached-white fish cakes.

Nyom nyom, look at that glistening oil…

The Pan Fried Lotus Root Pancake was one of the more unique items; lotus root blended with chicken paste.

Shrimp Dumplings (or Har Gau) were one of the highlights of the trip, with huge, fresh and juicy prawns in each delicately wrapped dumpling.

The never-missed Siew Mai (Pork and Prawn Dumplings, in this case chicken) was pretty good, almost good enough to forget that it was made of chicken.

Shanghainese Dumplings were served with chili oil and spring onion. This was pretty average and tasted exactly like what it was made of: chicken.

 
I think this is Shrimp Wanton (the result of having too many backlogged reviews T.T) but I distinctly remember it as tasting quite similar to the Shanghainese Dumplings.

We finished off our meal with a refreshing Osmanthus Cake, a blend of jelly with Osmanthus flowers and wolfberries. Sadly the flowers were not aromatic enough and all we tasted was sweet jelly.

All in all, dim sum at New Shanghai has its hits and misses but our experience was generally a good one. Pork-free dim sum is done very well, sometimes one even starts to forget that everything is made with chicken…
If you’re planning to come by New Shanghai, do come a little earlier or a little after lunchtime as it can get quite packed and chaotic, not to mention service definitely drops a couple of notches during peak times.

Address:
Lot 1.02.00, Pavilion KL,
168, Jalan Bukit Bintang,
55100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel:03-2142 2833

Map *here*

ronnycakes reviews: Serai @ Empire; Empire Shopping Gallery, Subang

On strong recommendation from a friend, we decided to check out this Thai/Western/Malay fusion place in Empire Shopping Gallery all the way in Subang. Before I even stepped into the compound, I did the obligatory research and found myself drooling over the menu on their website and pre-deciding all the things I already wanted to try.

I pre-booked a day in advance since many other food bloggers noted how packed it gets during lunchtime and were they right about that! At 12pm literally 80% of tables had been occupied and we were ushered to a small table at the brighter end of the restaurant. Forgot to take a photo of the interior, but I loved the ambience and deco; all whites and wood and modern minimalist.

In the background is Serai Iced Tea (RM12) – Lemon sorbet, lemongrass extract and a hint of fresh mint, and in the foreground is Minted Calamansi Soda (RM10.50) – Soda with crushed mint leaves and calamansi. Personally I preferred the Minted Soda (I’m a sucker for anything minty and fizzy!). The Iced Tea was just the right amount of sweetness and very refreshing.

How could we ever pass up a chance to have Tom Yum Seafood (RM8) in a Thai place? Serai’s version was a bit sweeter than usual and the taste of lemongrass was a tad overpowering.

The portion might look small but if you’re ordering a few dishes to share then one bowl is enough for two people.

The Deep-Fried Brinjal with Serai Spice (RM12 for standard portion) was fried to a crisp with a hint of lemongrass, generous amounts of scallions. Very crunchy!

We seem to be having a thing for squid lately… Hot Chilli Basil Squid (RM20 for standard portion). Tender pieces of squid fried with chilli and basil is one of my favourite combinations. Abundance of sauce went well with rice; love the aroma of basil so a thumbs up from me!

Wils had a long time craving for fish so we had a Garoupa Steamed with Lime Sauce (RM49 based on market price).

The dish came with fresh lime, but sauce-wise it was still a little too much on the sweet side for me (I love anything sour, the sourer the better!) but the fish was very fresh. My only gripe would be that portion seemed to be a bit small for the price we were paying.

Serai’s signature dessert is it’s Berry Pavlova (RM14) and it is a definite looker. I fell in love with it seeing the photo in the menu and just had to try one at the end of the meal no matter how stuffed I was. And I absolutely didn’t regret it!

It consists of a meringue base with layers of whipped cream, strawberries and grapes. It was very refreshing with the mix of tanginess from the strawberries and grapes, even for someone who was stuffed to the brim and sweetness of the dessert was controlled very well.

Layers of meringue and whipped cream!


The Chocolate Banana Parfait (RM10) on the other hand was quite disappointingly average.

Chocolate and vanilla ice-cream with layers of crushed oreos, honey cornflakes and sliced bananas.

All in all, I had a pretty satisfactory experience at Serai even though the bill came up to about RM160 for just two of us (must be the fish!!). Serai’s menu is pretty extensive, with fusion pastas, western food, Malay fusion dishes and even Chinese style dishes! So I can’t wait to make my return trip and try one of the delicious looking pastas or the nasi lemak which was given good reviews by other food bloggers.

If you’re looking to head down here for lunch or dinner do call in advance as it can get really packed.

Address:
LG37, Empire Shopping Gallery,
Jalan SS16/1, 47500 Subang Jaya.
Tel: 03-56370706

Map *here*