PENANG PRAWN MEE @ RESTORAN WOH, BANDAR SRI DAMANSARA

Restoran Woh is actually a coffee shop tucked in the neighborhood of Bandar Sri Damansara. It’s a hive of activity when the residents come out to eat, especially if it’s a weekend.
The Penang Prawn Mee stall is more popular than the rest and people from neighboring suburbs are known to purposely come here for it. I am an example myself.

The stall used to be manned by the owner who is a Penangite. However, do know that foreign workers have totally taken over since a few years ago. So whether you like it or not, that will definitely take some authenticity away from the experience. I can’t help but wonder if the most important part of the noodle – soup, is still being prepared by him.

The cheapest order is RM5.50 for the normal serving with the usual toppings. But if you feel like it, you can also opt to have it with additional toppings such as intestines, pork ribs, extra egg and prawns. If you do the math, the most expensive order with everything thrown in could easily cost RM15 or even more.

Since I am not a huge fan of intestines, I had the one with pork ribs and extra egg which came to a total of RM9.50. It’s not exactly cheap but considering the two large chunks of pork ribs given, the price is reasonable enough I guess. Moreover, it’s quite uncommon to come across a prawn mee stall that serves pork ribs as part of the noodle.

As far as prawn mee goes, this has got to be one of the best looking one. Taste wise, it did not disappoint as the soup was robust and flavorful (leaning to the sweet side) enough to make it stand out from the average ones.
Depending on the cut you get, the pork ribs could be tender or tough, in which I got one of each. That said, I think the pork ribs could be omitted because they do not really add to the overall flavor – it’s more like a touch of luxury.

Despite my earlier reservation, the prawn mee here is good and worth a try. It probably won’t blow your mind or anything, but I am sure you will walk away satisfied.
Lastly, I need to warn you about the hygiene here which is terrible even for a coffee shop. Flies were flying everywhere and we couldn’t wait to leave as soon as we were done eating.

Penang Prawn Mee @ Restaurant Woh
Jalan Cempaka SD12/2
52200, Bandar Sri Damansara
Business hours: 7.30am to 3.30pm

JOE WONG (AH JOE) BAK KUT TEH @ SEGAMBUT

Kepong has its fair share of Bak Kut Teh restaurants, but many of them have suffered a drop of quality recently. So those which used to be good are now average at best.
In order to have a decent dry Bak Kut Teh, now we need to make our way toSegambut instead. I actually got to know Joe Wong (Ah Joe) from their advertisements in the community magazines like Public Info and Media Focus.

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If you are not from around the area, then you will be surprised to find Joe Wong Bak Kut Teh next to a temple located deep inside Segambut’s industrial area. But for those who have been to the famous Tai Shue Tao fried chicken rice, the restaurant is in fact just a stone’s throw away.

Here’s what we came for. Joe Wong’s version of dry Bak Kut Teh @ RM13 (single pax) hits all the spots, not too wet nor too dry and most importantly, it’s delicious.
If you are not a big eater, you can share this with another person as it comes with generous portion of meat. The heat is there but I reckon it could be spicier, so next time I shall ask for more chilies.

The normal BKT here is just alright though, nothing to shout about really. Nevertheless, the pork ribs were meaty and tender so we don’t mind ordering it whenever we are here. Besides, we like to mix some of the mellow soup into the rice to enjoy with the dry BKT – it enhances the overall experience.

Another dish worth trying here is the Stir-Fried Sinew (pork tendon strips) @ RM13. Spicy, full of ‘wok hei’ and accompanied by an appetizing taste of dried shrimps, this dish is simple yet brilliant.

Joe Wong also serves a dozen of other non-pork dishes such as steamed fish, claypot duck and ginger chicken. You can refer to their full menu above.

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The restaurant is open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner. However, do note that they are closed for dinner on Mondays.

Joe Wong Bak Kut Teh 亚祖巴生肉骨茶
No 1, Jalan Segambut Tepi,
Segambut 51200, K.L.
Business hours: Mon (8.30am – 3pm), Tue – Sun (8.30am – 3pm, 6.30pm – 10pm)
Tel: 012-254 5194

QQ BBQ STEAMBOAT BUFFET RESTAURANT @ KEPONG

QQ BBQ Steamboat is a popular hot pot and grill buffet restaurant in Kepong. Our first visit here was a couple years ago and the experience was below par.
But a recent revisit showed that the variety and quality of the food have improved, so much so that I’d rank it as one of the better buffet restaurants out there currently.
The price for an adult is RM38 while it’s free for children under 90cm. There’s no time limit imposed on the meal, so you can eat and drink all you want until the shop closes, perfect for a gathering with friends and family.

Besides QQ, there are also some other similar concept restaurants in the area but they have always been the busier one. It’s a good idea to come here early when the pre-cooked dishes are still fresh and warm. But if you are only going to focus on the steamboat and BBQ, anytime is a good time to drop by.

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Since we were early and the restaurant was not at its busiest, we had a short chat with the boss. From what we were told, the restaurant features up to 200 kinds of ingredients, in which more than a dozen of them alone are seafood.

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No surprises when it comes to the soup base: it’s the usual clear, tomyam, herbal and a few more which we did not bother. After choosing your soup, you need to make your way to the ice cream counter to get some margarine for your BBQ later. The staff can get them for you too, just ask. They are some of the most helpful and workers I have seen.

There’s a small corner in the restaurant where they place a few rows of cooked dishes such as fried noodles, chicken curry, stir-fried clams and clams in superior soup. We sampled a few of them and found them to be surprisingly good to munch on while waiting for the raw food to cook.

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The seafood is reasonably fresh and we liked the prawns the most. Shellfish is a hit or miss depends on which you take, but I’d suggest you to avoid the clams with flimsy shells because they are really gritty. The rest like scallops, bamboo clams, cockles, white clams and mussels are much better and don’t leave a weird taste in your mouth.

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While you’re busy eating or grilling your food, do keep an eye on the food counters for dishes like crunchy fried chicken wings, kam heong crab and chili crab. I observed that they are sent out of the kitchen every hour or so, and even though the serving is large, it’d be gone in minutes due to the large crowd.
At first, people will be willing to queue for it. But when it became obvious that there’s not enough crabs to go around, things will start to get slightly ugly. They start swarming the spot and scoop the crabs with plates instead of the tongs provided.
Unless you feel really squirmish about situations like this, I think the crabs are worth “fighting” for because they are that delicious. In fact, they taste as good as what you’d get at normal ‘dai chao’ restaurants, which probably explains why people would “fight” for their share. After all, everyone wants maximum value for their money so I don’t blame them.

Some other dishes that I found interesting; albeit not great are imitation sharks fin soup, herbal eggs, sushi and cakes. Beverage wise you are pretty much spoilt for choice as there are a handful of soft drinks, juice, tea and coffee for your drinking pleasure. Ice cream is available in multiple flavors too, which will surely delight both the adults and kids alike.

Overall, QQ is a value for money restaurant worth going for the lively ambiance, good food choices, above average seafood quality, efficient and friendly service and clean environment. I’d totally spend my money here rather than on Mitasu‘s, and that’s one thing I am damn sure of.

QQ BBQ Steamboat Buffet (QQ 铁板烧火锅店)
D-G-2, Fortune Avenue
Jalan Metro Perdana 3
Taman Usahawan Kepong, 52100 KL
Business hours: Mon – Fri (5pm -12am), Sat – Sun (4pm – 12am)
GPS coordinates: N 03’12’973 E101’38’558
Tel: 010-204 3388, 019-366 8880

Adult: RM38.80
90cm-140cm: RM19.80
Below 90cm is FOC

KASIM SATAY PASAR SENTUL @ SENTUL, KL

Kasim Satay is probably the busiest satay stall in Sentul. The stall operates in Sentul’s wet market (Pasar Sentul) at night and most customers take away because the location is not so conductive for dining in.

Three people man the stall, one to take order, one to grill and another to pack. During the entire time we were there, I think our order of 15 sticks was the smallest and kind of sad compared to what the others were buying.
Orders of 50 sticks were commonly heard and one guy even bought the satay in boxes for his kenduri. So my point is, this is not for those who are in a hurry because you will have to wait.

Kasim Satay’s menu also features satay kerang (cockles), it’s one of the reasons why we were here. Unfortunately it was not available and only chicken and beef satays were left. As you can see, the prices are reasonable and worth it considering the high ratio of meat to fat content on each skewer, it was close to 70-30.

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The big flame is definitely fun to look at and makes the waiting less boring. Despite the high heat, the satay manage to come out decent without a lot of charred parts.

As for the taste, the satay did meet our expectations and they were quite delicious with chunky and tender meat, while the peanut sauce was alright. In fact, it could have tasted a lot better and juicier if it wasn’t sitting around in my car for 20 minutes to reach home.
And as usual, the beef satay fared better because it had a stronger and more flavorful rub of spices. Recommended, and I will return again to try their satay kerang.

Kasim Satay Sentul Pasar (wet market area)
83, Jalan Sentul, 51000 KL
Tel: 019-226 3248 / 012-200 9053 / 011-2319 7988
Business hours: 4pm to 11pm daily

TUCK CHEONG DIM SUM RESTAURANT @ PUDU

If you want to eat at Tuck Cheong, you need to come early before they run out ofdim sum. Tuck Cheong opens as early as 6am and it was and still a haunt forPudu‘s senior citizens to enjoy tea and mingle. Most of the customers here are regulars and some of them even have their breakfast here on a daily basis.

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Anyway, let me just begin by saying Tuck Cheong’s homemade dim sum is not great by today’s standards. What they serve are traditional dim sum prepared with old recipes.
The current generation (those who are accustomed to eating at Jin Xuan/Kam Hin) will undoubtedly find the dim sum here bland and similar tasting since they share the same meat base. A lot of sauce dipping is required to get flavor out of the dim sum, which are mostly steamed items.

That said, keep your expectations low and just go for the sake of nostalgia. Everything is almost self service here – there’s no one to carry the baskets of dim sum around for your choosing pleasure.

Instead, you will have to queue at the steamer where the owner or worker will retrieve them for you. Chili and sweet sauce are here as well and you will have to scoop them into the small plastic saucers provided.

Although we did not find the dim sum any good, we did not regret eating here because we can’t really complain for the prices they charge. In total, our breakfast cost only RM17.30 for 5 plates of dim sum (RM3 each) and a pot of hot Chinese tea.

Tuck Cheong might not be the best place to have dim sum but I am sure glad they are around to cater to the older generation. At least they have somewhere to gather and spend their mornings, so for me that’s the bigger picture.

Restoran Tuck Cheong 德昌饱饺茶餐室
Jalan Kancil, 55100 Pudu
Kuala Lumpur
Business hours: 6am till finish

PENANG CHAR KOAY TEOW @ SS2 HAWKER CENTRE

If I counted correctly, there are at least 5 to 6 Penang Char Koay Teow stalls inSS2‘s Wai Sik Kai. Believe me, I would love to try all of them to find out which stall fries the best CKT but I can only eat so much. So I let the customers decide and picked two of the busiest stalls in the food court for my little experiment.

First stall, No.8 Penang Fried Kueh Teow, which I already knew was quite good because I have already tried them a couple of times. A husband and wife team fries the noodles and yet they could barely cope with the amount of orders that kept pouring in.
One thing I notice about their frying style is that the ‘lap cheong’ is fried separately, and is used to garnish the CKT. The Bangladeshi worker who takes the order and sends the food is blur sotong and seems to find no joy in his work. Luckily the bosses are friendly and approachable.

I asked for extra toppings so this plate of CKT came with eight prawns and you can barely see the noodles underneath. Prawns are getting expensive recently so I was not surprised that it cost me RM10. I specifically asked them to omit the ‘lap cheong’ too because I think the smoky sweetness alters the CKT’s intended flavor.
Now you should probably know that the CKT here is at least decent and meets my expectations, otherwise I wouldn’t be ordering it again and again. The amount of ‘wok hei’ packed in the CKT is slightly lower than my favorites here and here, but it’s still delicious with a strong seafood flavor.

The other stall I chose was stall no.48 located right opposite stall no.8. I also asked for extra prawns and it cost the same @ RM10. The CKT had the same amount of prawns as no.8’s, but they are evidently bigger and more succulent.
You can also tell from the extra-charred appearance that it has more ‘wok hei’, but flavor wise it was a let down because there was a nagging sourish aftertaste. I suspect that was caused by the chili paste they use.

Penang White Curry Mee is also available in the food court at stall no.42 right by the exit. It’s not bad but I noticed there seems to be a quality control issue, as it tastes better on some days compared to others.

Stall No.8 Penang Fried Kueh Teow
Business hours: 1pm to 11pm, closed on Tuesdays

Stall No.48 Penang Fried Kueh Teow
Business hours: Mon, Thurs, Fri (4pm to 11pm), Sat & Sun (12pm to 11pm), closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays