Review: CNY Set Dinner @ Shark Fin House

**Non-Halal**

Before Chinese New Year ends, I better post this Chinese New Year set menu that we have partake for our reunion dinner. We have been calling Ming Room and Noble Banquet but they are either fully booked or we have to take the first seating at 5.30pm! After more calls, we managed to get a table at Shark Fin House which is a lesser known restaurant within the Oriental Group of Restaurants at 7.30pm. Perhaps people are shying away cos of the name of the restaurant? Anyway, their menu is quite similar to Ming Room and slightly cheaper :p

Capt'n Hook placed the order of the cheapest set menu available at RM738++ for a table of 10 pax. The menu we have that evening was:

新 年 齐 捞 生 (三文鱼捞生) 

Salmon Yee Sang

春 启 万 家 门 (竹笙凤展翅) （每人每） 

Double-Boiled Stuffed Shark’s Fin in Chicken Wing & Bamboo Pith

凤 凰 来 报 喜 (杏花鸡拼鲜虾捞Rojak) 

‘Hang Fah’ Chicken & Fresh Prawn Rojak

顺 利 庆 有 余 (香芋竹枝顺壳煲) 

Braised ‘Soon Hock’ with Yam & Beancurd Skin in Clay Pot

横 财 就 手 (蚝士发菜猪手蔬) 

Braised Pork Trotter with Dried Oyster & ‘Fatt Choy’

新 春 乐 满 堂 (生炒腊味糯米饭) 

Fried Glutinous Rice with Waxed Meat

甜 蜜 过 新 年 (冰镇雪梨白玉丹) 

Chilled Snow Pear with Sea-Coconut

双 星 齐 新 年 (千层马来糕拼脆皮窝饼) 

Thousand Layered Cake & Chinese Pancake

After the dinner, we did a count and realised that out of the 8 courses, one is the yee sang and 2 were desserts. So we only have a soup plus 3 dishes and a rice dish. Hmmmm... Capt'n Hook mentioned it's not really as worth it as Standard Chartered Bank's Extravagant 8 promo at Gu Yue Tien. I concur to that but we have a couple of old folks with us who can't climb stairs hence this was the alternative. 

Let's just see how did Shark Fin House fare then. The Salmon Yee Sang came with everything on the serving plate including the sauce which was placed on one side. We all noted that the amount of salmon slices is rather generous. We were given extra long chopsticks to toss our yee sang. This yee sang is tasty enough but a little dry here and there as the sauce was not throughly poured all over. Saved time for them but not so great for diners.

Next we have ermmm

Double-Boiled Stuffed Shark’s Fin in Chicken Wing & Bamboo Pith. This is a refreshing change indeed from normal starchy soup. The clear broth is filled with natural sweetness of the stuffed chicken wing, dried cabbage (choy korn) and bamboo pith. (OK pelt me with stones now!)

‘Hang Fah’ Chicken & Fresh Prawn Rojak consisted of 3 items on the plate. There's a plate of rojak, some stir-fried cubed chicken with bell peppers and onions and of course the hang fah chicken. 

The only weird combo here is the rojak lol cos the taste sort of like overwhelm the other 2 dishes but the rojak does tasted good though. There were thinly strips of turnips, cucumber, yau char kwai but I didn't manage to grab any prawns.

The hang fah chicken is basically having removed the chicken meat from the skin, fish paste is then spread onto the skin before covered in almond slivers. Lots of work and this version has crispy skin on top and crispy almonds at the bottom.

This claypot contains big chunks of marbled goby! Accompanying the fish are generous portion of yam, gluten puffs (mien karn), Chinese mushrooms and beancurd sheets. Thumbs up generally from everyone as the fish is fresh and the sauce was well seasoned.

The next dish that can't run away from Chinese New Year menu! Usually it's warng choi chau sau (pork trotter) or hoe see fatt choi (oyster with black moss) but this claypot has both combinations inside!!! Chunks of melt-in-the-mouth pork trotters indicated this dish has been braised for hours! Married with large dried oysters and black moss with a tasty gravy, this dish is screaming for rice.

Even though there were very little dishes BUT the portion of each dish is super huge. We have to packed most of the dishes back. Looking left and right of our table, seems like our neighbouring tables are doing the same too! And so we came to our last savoury dish,

Fried Glutinous Rice with Waxed Meat. Actually the rice here looked like steamed glutinous rice and the texture is soft whilst retaining just a wee bit of chewiness which went well with the older folks. Very very tasty but my only gripe is there's too little waxed meat and mushroom or rather they were chopped so tiny that we can't chew on them even though the taste is there.

We ended our dinner with 3 desserts. First was a chilled snow pear with sea coconut which tasted pretty normal but good as a refreshing end after a heavy meal.

Then came BoiBoi's favourite Chinese Pancake and my favourite of Thousand Layer Cake but the waitress said it's Malai Goe (Malay kuih). Both varieties are good especially the steamed cake. Not sure how we managed to wiped the plate clean! 

Since the elders have rather good feedback on the food, I reckoned this place can be added to our list for future family gatherings. Service was surprisingly good and prompt even though it's jammed packed. The only thing is there's always Imbi Palace, across the road, in competition!

Shark Fin House is located at where the first Tai Thong Restaurant used to be and it's opposite Imbi Palace. Parking is fairly easy as there were a couple of open air carparks opposite and besides Imbi Palace. Else valet parking is available at RM5. 

Since today is St Valentine's Day, wishing everyone a very happy Valentine's Day! Love from all of us at Babe in the City - KL ;-)

Shark Fin House No. 51, Jalan Barat,
Off Jalan Imbi ,
55100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 603-2143 9966
Business hours:
Open daily (including Public Holidays)
11.00 am – 3.00 pm
6.00 pm – 11.00 pm
Map

GPS Coordinates: 3.143409,101.715379





I'm submitting this for Muhibbah Malaysian Monday blog event. This event is the brainchild of  Shaz (Test With A Skewer) and Suresh (3 Hungry Tummies). Read more here.

Review: Weng Hing @ Imbi Is Now Win Heng Seng

**Non-Halal**


I've read a while ago boo_licious had posted about some changes over at Kedai Kopi Dan Makanan Weng Hing. Just like her, I hate changes but there are so many things going on with the eateries in the Klang Valley that it's so hard to keep up with. One day they are open, the next day they're gone!

One evening, Capt'n Hook drove to this corner shop hoping to eat the delish Hokkien Mee and I kept my fingers crossed that the stall would still be operating there. After gotten a very nice parking space right in front of the shop, I looked around... phewwww... thank goodness the stall is still there. I checked inside, the shop was given a new coat of paint and broken tiles were replaced on the walls and floor. Looked like a good clean up was done too but most importantly, the stalls operating are still intact! Thank goodness, otherwise it's hard to find a one-stop shop to savour pork ball noodles (sarm kan chong style); char koay teow; chicken rice; ccf and egg tarts. However, the only change was the management of the coffee shop and the shop has been renamed to Restoran Win Heng Seng.



We have our standard order of Hokkien Mee (I think it's still the same price at RM6.00 for one single portion). We liked this dry version, full of wok hei (breath of the wok) and as usual filled to the brim with ingredients.



This round, I asked for Loh Meen (thick noodles in thick eggy soup). Loved it with a squeeze of black vinegar. Just like the Hokkien Mee, this loh meen is laden with the same amount of ingredients. We slurped up the noodles plus soup until the bowl went clean.



Boy, I'm really glad the stall is still here!!!


Review: Pork Ball Noodles at Kedai Kopi Dan Makanan Weng Hing
Review: Fried Noodles at Weng Hing


Restoran Win Heng Seng
183, Jalan Imbi
Kuala Lumpur


Psssttt those of you who were asking what was boiboi's fave car, here's one to refresh your memory :P





Technorati Tags: malaysian food + noodles

Review: Pork Ball Noodles at Kedai Kopi Dan Makanan Weng Hing

**Non-Halal**

I had always liked the Pork Ball Noodles here at Weng Hing since I was a kid. This coffee shop used to belong to a relative, hence my dad would normally take us there almost once a month. Other than this, I also liked their chicken rice and char kuey teow for lunch. For snacks, there are deep fried fritters (available in the afternoon) ie banana, sweet potatoes and kuih bakul; and Seremban siew bao (the ori one) and mini egg tarts. At night you can find delicious hokkien fried noodles. How wholesome to find all these under one roof!

Back to my noodles, the dry version that is. The reasons I loved it...

1. the just right black sauce coating my choice of yellow noodles and slippery kuey teow, not overly salty with a slight tinge of sweetness,
   
   
2. the mountain of tasty minced meat,
   
   
3. the bouncy self-made pork balls, and
   
   
4. the self-made siew cheung is so full of flavour.

Enough said... just wished I could have a bowl now!


Kedai Kopi Dan Makanan Weng Hing
183, Jalan Imbi
Kuala Lumpur

Technorati Tags: malaysian food + noodles

Review: Soo Kee Restaurant

**Non-Halal**

Soo Kee Restaurant is one of the older institution in Kuala Lumpur. It's so famous in its hey days for beef noodles (ngau yuk hor) and fresh water prawns noodles (sang har meen) that Soo Kee is mentioned in many foreign travel guide books. Hence it's not surprising to find westerners, Koreans or Japanese looking for this place these days.

Our visits however have dwindled down over the years as we felt they're not as good as before. Anyhow, we decided to drop by again since we have no idea what to eat one evening.

We ordered the signature fresh prawn noodle (RM15/pax for medium sized prawn) which we find it's drier than the eggy gravy found in Green View's version. It's not something we would have prefered.

Hubby liked their paper wrapped chicken (RM4 per parcel) though since Soo Kee's version is the dry one and not laden with gravy unlike Leong Ya's. I had a small piece and found the meat flavourful from the marinade they've used.

We asked for a customary plate of vegetable which they recommended this choy yuen (a type of choy sum) stir-fried with garlic. This is a total disappointment for the vegetables are too OLD which are tough and fibrous!!!

Now that was my boring review about our latest Soo Kee makan trip but my main reason posting this up is that I have a huge nugget of information to share. I've obtained them from Friedchillies' Kopitiam. In one of the threads, there was a discussion on the origin of our food. Biingo had contributed quite a lot of interesting information that we never have known.

Check out what Biingo had to say about the origins of Sang Har Meen...

So we start with Sang Har Mee and with that usually come wat Tan Hor, Nagu Yoke (beef) Hor, Chow Yin Yeong, Kong Foo Mei (bee Hoon).

We all know that the best comes from the famous SOo Kee of Imbi. Some will say Life Centre, Imbi old Tai Tong, Pandan Indah, Behind Kotaraya etc...

The fact is all of them originated from Soo Kee (Tai Sue Tow - or big tree) Imbi. He was the one who founded cooking the noodles via toasting it over charcoal fire. Thus brings out the fragrance of the noodles. Works very well for bee hoon and Keow Teow. The Sauce has to be cooked with pork base stock whilst adding in Intestines, liver and sang har (river prwans) to bring out the sweet taste.

Both combine makes it a very good aromatic dish... That is why in those days the boss will scold u if you order yin yeong (mix of kt & BH). The beef keow teow is cooked differently esp the sauce which is cooked heavily with spring onions and good slices of beef premarinated.. the sauce is darker and has a heavier beef and ginger taste.

whislt the sang har noodles same style of cooking the gravy with the bigger prawns whilst the nooldes they go for yee mee (pre fired egg noodles). However, some ppl like the fresh egg noodle (wan tan mee noodles) fried and complimented with the Sang Har. The roe of the prwans complements with the eggy saucce.

Now Soo Kee had one disciple and his sons were learning too. That one discple deecided to try his luck on his own staring a stall under a big tree beind the lanes of kotaraya. Named his stall tai sue tow also... Both him and his apprentice (his brother no 2) mended the stall.

During the late 80s and early 90s this place is extremely popular... Big borther continued to cook and educated his other sblings. All in all there are 13 brothers and sisters.... All learned to cook this sang har mee.

Brothers number 4 Ah Keong and Ah Fook numebr 3 ventured on their own. Ah Keong started at the corssroads of Changkat BB and Nagasari... he then moved to Taman Tun and now he is in Imbi next to the old Tai Thong (Now its called Yujia). To me Ah Keong is the bestcompared to 1&2 but he is very inconsistent and shouts too much at the wife... so when goes gila the food too.

Ah Fook was more stready and had better location expertise. He started in Life centre smack right in the middle of the golden triangle... he got famous becos of locale and lotsa biz ppl. He used to own a porsche... But of the lot of the bros... he is the worse. but then the riches...

Then came Ah KOw (#9) he began in kotaraya in the morning... when nite came he moves the stall to the main road...thats during the ealry 90s... He then shifted to pasar road near the old ocbc.. and then vanished and reapered 6 mths later in Pandan Indah now known as Ah Kow Siew...

He cooks just as good as Ah Keong and is more consistent... the more drunk (due to guiness) he gets... the better the food is...His wife is equally as good assisting him when it is busy. Now his son learns from him and cooks during the day. Ah Sap Sam (#13) also learns from him.

#13 used to cook at Ah Kow Siew place.. but now the son is taking over the afternoon shift, sap sam is looking for a new place. I have treid #13 cooking... he is just as good and the most patient of the lot.

all 13 brothers are also noted for their chow intestines, chow intestines with prawn claws... fantastic.

Ok Soo Kee died and handed the biz to his eldest son (4 sons 1 daughter). Eldest son runs the current shop whislt # 2 runs the shop opposiate. Both these son prefer not to cook and hire assistance to do the biz... Sister opened a shop in PJ near fatty crab. She doesnt cook either.

So that ends the reign of cooks for Soo Kee but he did managed to have a few good apprentice thogh...

A good cantonese fired noodle must be cooked with patience.. Most places would fry (lietrally fry) the noodles or precook earlier in the day. As a result it becomes soggy or burnt and chewy. THE NODLES MUST BE TOASTED OVER CHARCOAL FIRE.

The gravy has to be served with generous amounts of egg, pork (or beef) and prawns..

So thats it.

Thanks Biingo for sharing such valuable and interesting information!

Soo Kee Restaurant
14, Medan Imbi
Kuala Lumpur
Tel No: (603)2148 1324
Closed on Mondays
Tue - Fri 12.00pm - 3.00pm; 5.30pm - 1.30am
Sat & Sun 12.00pm - 3.00pm; 5.30pm - 2.00am

Technorati Tags: malaysian food

Review: Mui Hiong Salt Fish Delicacy

**Non-Halal**

I first read about this Mui Hiong Salt Fish Delicacy in the papers a couple of years ago but somehow never got round to Imbi to check them out even though hubby is a big fan of salted fish. Sad when Lilian even ate here on one of her trips to Kuala Lumpur!!! I told myself I must make it a point to come by but still...

Next I saw the delicious post by Lyrical Lemongrass, wahhh must definitely put this a few ranks up in my long long list of "To Eat". We were determined and went one day but alas the shop was closed! *pout*

Opportunity came again the following week when we arrived at the million dollar question of where to eat one evening, hubby was gamed when I mentioned the salted fish place again. We went round the block twice but can't find any car park but was delighted they were at least opened, anyway, we eventually got into the paid carparks which are aplenty besides Imbi Palace Restaurant. Mui Hiong is located at Medan Imbi, same row as Lo Hong Ka.

Lo hold behold, don't be misled by the plain black and white signboard, elegant Chinese styled marble topped tables and chairs will greet you upon entering the glass door. A lady whom we found out was the wife of propriety, George Lai. She made some recommendation to us and shoot off to the kitchen to hand in our order.

Whilst waiting, we looked around and couldn't helped but to noticed a children playpen beneath the stairs. Hubby was curious and went over to have a look, and he waved me over to check out the cosy pen filled with mattress, toys and telly. There is a little boy came over and hubby held out his palm. The little boy then proceed to place his palm over hubby's... awwww very sweet. We later found out that the little boy is one of George's son, same age as our boiboi but he's autistic. Mrs Lai was surprised at how her son reacted to hubby as she said he's usually very reserved. Many words were exchanged and shared since one of hubby's friend had an autistic child. Mr & Mrs Lai seems frustrated and at all ends but upon hubby's adviced to show more compassion rather than resort to scolding and caning, it was then George realised that he noticed that his son would listen to him whenever he asked him to do things nicely. Well, we hoped we could drop by one day with our boiboi to play with him and see how the child had progressed after his horse riding sessions which is a form of therapy. Wish all is well ;-)

By then our soup came. We ordered a single portion of Ngau Chat Soup upon strongly recommendation from Mrs Lai. Errrmm I know, it sounded a bit foul haha but apparently ngau chat is a type of Chinese herb and not beef part *ahem*, double boiled with a few other Chinese herbs and chicken meat. It's our first and we both loved it. The soup is very ching timm (clear with natural sweetness). Had wanted a second bowl but decided against it, otherwise we would be over stuffed.

We have a Steamed Minced Pork with Yau Yue (dried squid, ) which abosolutely tasted homemade just like Ma's!

Next came this delicious Stir Fried Bittergourd and Prawns in Salted Eggs. There were 3 HUGE prawns in our portion since we asked to have a smaller portion, otherwise Mrs Lai would have given us 2 prawns each. I guess the prawns were pre-fried before stirring in thinly sliced bittergourd. A thick gravy made out of salted egg yolk is poured all over, stir till melded before serving. We licked and sucked the creamy gravy from the shells before digging into the firm and fresh prawn meat. Who would think prawns, bittergourd and salted eggs could lived under one roof harmoniously??

A steamed white pomfret with salted fish was highly recommended by Mrs Lai...

... but where is the salted fish??? LOL... the treasures were hidden underneath the fish!!! George told us to drizzle the broth onto our rice but aduiii so little broth on the plate which we both fought for them. After tasting the fish, I totally understood why George had placed the salted fish beneath. By doing so, one can taste the natural freshness and sweetness of the fish without marring the taste with the strong and salty salted fish. Ohh how clever!

This restaurant seems very popular as we see the crowds trickling in as the clock ticks and we were told to reserve should we decided to visit on weekends. I guess I know why... the food here not only reminds one of mother's or maybe not, more like hometown (ka hiong) cooking but they're genuinely good.

For the above dishes, two bowls of rice (they used good quality rice which I liked) and a pot of tea, the meal came to RM65.00. Prawn and fish are at market rate.

Mui Hiong Salt Fish Delicacy
4 Jalan Medan Imbi,
Off Jalan Imbi,
55100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 012-299 3331
Opening Hours: 12 noon - 3.00pm; 6.00pm - 10.00pm
Closed on last Monday and Tuesday of the month

Technorati Tags: malaysian food