Good Hakka Restaurant @ Bandar Bukit Raja Meru Klang - A delectable home style Hakka dishes

Setting up a Hakka restaurant in Klang does not seem like a good proposition as Klang is predominantly a Hokkien enclave. Choosing not to follow the crowd, the owner of the restaurant would like to offer a variety of food option by introducing some of her grandmother recipe of the popular Hakka dishes for the Klang folks.

+BestRestaurant ToEat was invited to taste these Hakka dishes at Good Hakka Restaurant located at 20 Jalan Rodat 4, 11 Avenue, Bandar Bukit Raja, Meru, Klang.  Although opened for business for more than 7 months, the spanking clean environment and brightly lit shop does has a plus point. With a simple and no frill set up in a new business area along the way to the Meru town, it is not that difficult to discover this place.

According to the owner, the dishes that are served here is a little tone down compared to the authentic version which tends to be more flavourful and has a strong taste for the Hakka folks and foodie like us. This is because of the feedback from customer which frequent this restaurant which they enjoy the tone down version.

For this review, we will list down by the favourite dishes instead of chronologically basis as what we normally does. My personal best has to be the Fried Tau Foo Pok with Salted Eggs; although this dish is not really a Hakka dish. We loves the crusty and crunchy feel as the Tau Foo Pok is cooked with salted eggs, it was heavenly and we had to order a second dish to fully satisfy our craving.

Next on is the Sizzling Sambal Petai Sotong (RM20.00). The sambal paste are in-house made to the right spicy flavour. Paired with the bouncy white squid it was a delight to be eaten with white rice. Cooked with Petai and onion this dish was very tasty.

Moving on the next dish is the Assam Prawns (RM25.00). This dish is cooked with Assam paste that has a slight sourish taste. The prawns which are sourced from Rompin; has a nice texture and the sauce was fully embedded to the prawn.

This is then followed by the Rendang Pork (RM24.00). The paste that used to cooked the ribs was very aromatic and the meat was cook to the right texture without being too soft or too hard. We have to order another white rie to slurp up the rendang.

Next is the Red Wine Chicken (RM30.00). The Red Wine is in-house made and usually takes about 40 days to brew to this level. I like the wine chicken as the aroma of the wine was very strong. Cooked with the black fungus, black bean (to give it a sweeter taste) and plenty of julienne ginger, we really like this dish as all the ingredient combined to extracted out a superbly strong wine and gingerly flavour.

Followed by the Pork Vinegar Trotter (RM30.00) - compared to the Cantonese version, the Hakka version is usually more on a sweeter note and lack the stronger vinaigrette taste that I like for this dish. If you are used to the Hakka version, you should be right for you.

One of the main dishes as far as Hakka cuisine is the Hakka Braised Pork (RM24.00); it is a must for most Hakka family. I personally would have like the pork pieces to be a bigger piece and should braised to a softer texture with a more pungent taste from the fermented bean curd. According to the chef, the taste was tone down a little to cater to the taste of the locals.

Another one of the favourite Hakka dish is the Yam Abacus (RM22.00). The yam abacus is in-house made and have a dough have a bigger portion of yam as to the flour, this makes the abacus chewy and have a strong yam flavours as compared to some which have the flour taste. It is then stir fried with minced pork, chilli padi, black fungus, dry shrimp and topped with spring onions.

For the fish dishes, we had the Braised Fish Hakka Style (RM30.00-40.00 depends on type of fish). You can order your choice of fish to cook with this style. In fact, they are quite flexible in terms of flavours that you can also choose to cook your choice of fish. This style is very village type as the fish is first fried and it is then braised with slice ginger and Chinese cabbage.

Another very popular Hakka dish is the Yong Tau Foo (RM 9.00 for 6 pcs and RM18.00 for 12pcs). The chef uses the mackerel fish paste with minced pork flavoured with salted fish and onions. Here you can choose from a choice of different vegetable like Bitter Gourd, Tau Foo, Ladies Finger, Chillies and so forth. This dry version comes with a bean paste sauce.

You can also order the soup version for your Yong Tau Foo.

To conclude we would say that the spicy food served here are really good and match to our taste buds. Being a foodie at heart we will always be on the look out to taste the authentic version of Chinese cuisine, although the taste at Good Hakka Restaurant has been tailored specially to customer from this area.

New Peng Wah Restaurant @Damansara Jaya Petaling Jaya - Authentic Village Style Home Cook Dishes

For those of you that stay in or near Damansara Jaya, you would probably notice the New Peng Wah Chinese Restaurant located at Lot 15 & 17 , Jalan SS 22/19 Damansara Jaya 47400 Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, just behind the Atria Shopping Gallery.

New Peng Wah Restaurant has been around this neighbourhood for the past 3 years and one of the very few Chinese Restaurant that serves authentic village style home cook dishes. +BestRestaurant ToEat got the invitation to taste these special signature dishes which are only available at this restaurant.

The setup is very simple and minimal, no fancy decor and furniture to line up the restaurant to impress you but what is more important is the food that is served at this restaurant.

Our review started off with Signature Lala Soup (Small Serving RM16.00). This is a very different dish from the one that we normally eaten at other restaurant. The main difference is in the soup broth which is flavoured with Tong Kui and wolfberries. Love the herbal taste and the aroma of the wine. Here the Lala is of a special species which is from the Philippines; has a bouncy and chewy texture. Best eaten with white rice especially with the flavourful soup.

For those familiar or regular customers, one of their favourite dishes that is ordered is the Signature Deep Fried Ma Yau Fish Senangin (RM6.00 per 100gm). This fish is deep fried to a nice crisp and with the accompanied soya sauce was a nice match to a simple dish.

Next on, is a another village style dish; which is the Signature Potato Fried Pork (Large - RM 25.00). The potatoes are thinly sliced and fried together with the strips of pork. We like the texture of the slice potatoes and with the sauce that was used to stir fried this dish. Another one of the dish that are good to be eaten with white rice

The second fish dish that we had is the Stew Grouper Fish Head (Large - RM48.00). The fish head are cut to biteable sizes. Using garlic, old ginger, red chillies, green chillies, capsicum and soya sauce; the flavours of this mixture was delicious. We can't help ourselves to more orders of white rice to goes with this tasty dish although it was a little tad of saltiness - you can pre-empt the captain when you order this dish to cut down on the level of saltiness of this dish.

This is another dish which is difficult if not impossible to get from other restaurant; as this is very Temerloh village style. It is called the Homestyle Claypot Brinjal (Large - RM28.00). The brinjal are pre boiled and mashed to a paste. It is then cooked with minced pork and prawns in a belacan paste. This is a dish when you start eating; will be difficult to stop. Love the taste of this dish.

The next dish is a chicken based dish which is named as the Claypot Hua Teow Wine Chicken. The strong aroma of the Hua Teow wine was very nice and make this dish very tasty. Served on a claypot the gravy was slurped up to the last drop. 

The last dish for the night is the Fried Pork With Nyonya Sauce. A very interesting dish. According to the manager, you can ordered this nyonya sauce with steamed fish or chicken. Well, you guessed it; we really need to order another white rice to go with this addicted sauce.

If you love village style home cooked meal as much as we do, New Peng Wah at Damansara Jaya Petaling Jaya will definitely not disappoint you.

Pak Loh Chiu Chow Restaurant @Starhill Gallery Bukit Bintang Kuala Lumpur - Award Winning Chef New Teochew Menu

Pak Loh Chiu Chow Cuisine is a household name in Hong Kong which started in 1967 but little did we know that it has setup the first oversea restaurant in Malaysia which is located at Feast Village Starhill Gallery Bukit Bintang Kuala Lumpur for the past ten years.

+BestRestaurant ToEat was invited to savour the specially created dishes by its award winning chef Alex Au to celebrate this occasion that blends the traditional Teochew dishes that not only taste delicious and tasty but retains the authenticity of the original flavours.

In conjunction to this 10 years anniversary celebration of Pak Loh Chiu Chow in Malaysia, we were served 10 of the over 40 new dishes that will be introduced to customers starting 5th December 2015 for lunch and dinner.

Chef Alex Au have painstakingly taken more than 9 months to craft out these dishes using the much touted condiments, common ingredients to prepare the dishes using the fine art of preparing these famous and popular Teochew (Chiu Chow) cuisine;  which uses very little flavouring as compared with most other Chinese cuisines.

In traditional Teochew (Chiu Chow) custom; we were served the "Kung Foo" tea. It is a welcome drink that are customary served to guests before a meal; one of the reason for this tea is to whet your appetite. This tea is a very strong blend and a mixture of a few types of tea leaf; of which the main tea leaves used was the "Oolong or Ti Kuan Yin".

We then proceed to our culinary journey of Teochew cuisine; which leads us to the first dish which is the Baked Bombay Duck Fish with Plum Sauce (RM25.00). The thinly sliced fish fillet are battered with a special flour mix and deep fried to a golden brown; which is then cooked with plum sauce that caramelizes the fish. We loves the crunchy feel of the fish and its taste; if not for the name of the dish, we could have easily thought it was a piece of pork meat as it resembles the "Pai Kuat Wong" when the dish was laid on the table.

Next, the chef have decided to do a live cooking of this dish which is the Threadfish Fish Soup with Coriander and Leek (RM98.00). Using leek, pre cooked radish, coriander and a soup broth of threadfish bone boiled over a number of hours to extract out the rich full flavours of the fish.

According to chef Alex, the Threadfish Head which has a strong taste and texture is used for this dish. One of the selection criteria of this fish; is to use a deep water fish which must weigh at least 5kg and above. Cut to a bite sizes, the Fish Head is pan fried before adding the flavorful broth and then followed by all the other ingredients.

 From the look; it resembles the First Head Noodles that we are accustomed to; but there is no milk that was added into it. The rich milky look of the broth (collagen) is from the painstaking process of boiling of the fish bones for hours before hand.

The next dish is the Authentic Top Shell with Preserved Vegetables (RM108.00). Due to the proximity to the sea of the Chiu Chow province, seafood are normally used to cook most of the dishes in Teochew cuisine. High quality Top Shell are associated to the likes of Abalone, which are premium seafood dishes. With that, the Chef butterflied these Top Shell to a very thin slice and cooked with his special preserved mustard. Loves the glistening texture of the Top Shell which has a springy and bouncy sweet natural taste.

After which, we had the Traditional Steamed Tiger-Toothed Croaker with Pork, Ham and Garlic Wrapped with Aromatic Chinese Cabbage (RM98.00). The fish is first wrapped with a big piece of Chinese Cabbage while the pork meat and ham flavours are intertwined to make the special taste to the gravy. It was a little challenge for us to eat this fish as the small size of the fish poses a challenge of the separating the bones. But nevertheless, the taste of the fish white meat was a delight to be eaten.

This is then followed by the Classic Chiu Chow Wok Fried Assorted Seasonal Vegetables (RM32.00). For Teochew (Chiu Chow) people, this dish is usually served on the 7th Day of the Chinese New Year as it represent family harmony; there are 7 different types of vegetable used for this dish with the careful selection of each of the vegetable which rhyme with a prosperous or lucky sound.

Moving on is the Braised Spring Chicken Stuffed with Glutinous Rice, Garlic, Ginger and Straw Mushroom (RM45.00 per chicken). The Glutinous Rice is first fried and then stuffed into the Spring Chicken with the mushroom and the other condiments. It is then slow braised to extract the full flavour of the chicken together with the stuffing. The end result is that the Glutinous rice has a soft texture and was nicely matched with the braised stew with the soft peeling meat of the spring chicken.

After which is the Authentic Smoked Bacon Cooked with Yellow Chives (RM45.00). The salted bacon are made inhouse by the chef; It is smoked with a special tea to gives it a special aroma and taste. Combine it with the imported Yellow Chives which has a crunchy feel together with the bacon was a perfect match to the white rice that we ordered to go with it.

This is then followed by the Braised Pumpkin Bean Curd with Wild Mushrooms and Dried Scallop (42.00). The bean curd are made with a blend of soyabean and pumpkin paste. Getting this right texture is a painstaking process that enable the proper setting of the bean curd. After that; it was fried to a golden brown before being braised with wild mushroom and dried scallop sauce.

Rounding up the food review, we then had the Flat Rice Noodle Soup with Threadfin Fish and Preserved Vegetables (RM35.00). On the first slurp, we can really taste the slippery and thin layer of the flat rice noodles. We love the texture of the flat rice noodle and also the Threadfin fish meat which was accompanied by the broth which has a slight sourish taste extracted out from the sour plum that was used to give it a very distinct flavours.

For dessert, we were served the special Authentic Crispy Bananas with Golden Cream (RM24.00). There is a story behind this dessert;  Legend has it that during a cooking competition the two finalist has ran out of ingredient to cook after a gruelling competition and one of the contestant saw some bananas hanging from a nearby house and decided to use it as the main ingredient, which then became the winning dish. When interviewed, the Chef could not think of a proper name and just utter the dish name as "not in time".

As Chef Alex relates; the batter used to coat the bananas are from a mixture of five different flour and this gives the crust a super light crispy texture which literally melt in your mouth. Combine with the sweet flavours of the bananas, it was the perfect end to our delightful journey to explore the Teochew cuisine at Pak Loh Chiu Chow @Starhill Gallery Bukit Bintang Kuala Lumpur.

Gossip Time Restaurant @ Paramount Garden Petaling Jaya - Malaysian Street Food and Steamboat Review

If you have been to Cameron Highlands, you would probably come across Gossip Corner which serves its' popular wantan noodles and Big Burger Challenge. After more than 3 years operating in Cameron Highlands, they decided to spread its wings to Petaling Jaya and with that, they started Gossip Time 3 months ago which is located at 5, Jalan 20/14 Paramount Garden 46300 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

For those that are not familiar with what Gossip Corner serves, then this blog post will highlight some of these special offering to the PJ folks. The only difference is that at the Cameron outlet; no pork are served there whereas here at Gossip Time - pork are served.

Gossip Time @ Petaling Jaya is a very simple no frill cafe style setup; its' key mission is to deliver quality food at very reasonable prices as attested by our food review session.

We started off, with the Special Curry Chicken Set (RM8.90) which is served with a bowl of rice, papadum, fried eggs and soup of the day; touted by some of its customers as the No 1 curry in Petaling Jaya; we definitely have to give this a try. According to the chef, the curries serves at Gossip Time does not contain any santan (coconut milk); so for those who are particular about cholesterol and the bad effect of santan, you will now be able to enjoy a nice curry. The curry is cooked with a spices, lemongrass and fresh milk which is very fragrant and was a perfect match to the white rice which is served with the curry. Loves the potatoes which was cooked to a soft texture.

Next on is another house specialty, which is the Gossip Prawn Wantan Mee - Dry  (RM8.90 Small, RM9.90 Big). We find the texture of the noodles to be firm and have a bouncy texture. A check with the Chef reveals that the wantan noodles is specially made by its master (more than 40 years noodles making experience) and does not contain any boric acid. The wantan noodles are mixed with soya sauce and topped with minced meat.

For those that prefer the soupy version you can order the Gossip Prawn Wantan Mee - Soup  (RM8.90 Small, RM9.90 Big). We like the soup based as the chef uses pork bones which is boiled for a few hours. The creamy based look of the soup attest to this claims and it was very delicious. We love the big size wantan which has a prawn in it and was perfectly matched with the meat filling. For RM8.90 a bowl, it is very reasonable price considering the 3 chunky wantan that comes with the mee.

For those that love a little spicy taste on their wantan mee, you can try out the Curry Chicken Wantan Mee  (RM8.90 Small, RM9.90 Big). Unlike the earlier curry chicken, the soup based has a lighter broth and less spicy. Gossip Time also serves a Dry Curry version too.

Another specialty noodles that are served here is the Spicy Noodle King - Dry (RM9.90 Small, RM10.90 Big). This is not for the faint hearted but really for those seeking a real thrill of spiciness in their noodles. It has a very strong after taste of spiciness that lingers around your mouth and throat long after you finish your meal. According to the chef, he uses 7 special ingredients with chillies of different type to concoct this special spicy sauce.

Next on is the Special Satay Sauce Chicken Chop Rice (RM14.50). The chicken chop is fried to a crisp and then topped with an in-house made special peanut satay sauce. If you are a real fan of satay, this dish is just for you.

For the less adventurous, you can have the Mushroom Chicken Rice (RM8.90). This dish is similar to Braised Chicken with potatoes but here the chicken meat is braised with an add on of mushroom and fried potatoes.

The next specialty is the Gossip Pork/Chicken Burger King (RM24.90). This burger has many layers; Sandwiched in between the big bun are slices of tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, onions, pineapple, omelette and a piece of chicken chop with mayo dressing.

Started from Gossip Corner in Cameron Highland, Gossip Time continued; a new legend to find the quickest Gossip Time Burger King Champion. Herewith are some of the past challengers.

The current Champion in Gossip Time is 5 minutes and 21 seconds. If you are ready to take this challenge, then you can head over to Gossip Time. Tell the manager that you want to take up the Burger King Challenge. The record breaker will be given to order anything on the menu for that day absolutely free of charge.

For some light snack, you can also order the Chicken Wings (RM8.90/serving of 4 pieces)

The chicken wings are pre marinated with special ingredients and fried to a crispy golden brown while the meat was still juicy on the inside.

For dinner, Gossip Time also offers a special steamboat offering of 2 soup base which is the Pork Bone and Special Spicy Broth.

The price for a per pax steamboat set is RM24.90 - minimum order is 2 pax. The Pork Bone soup is of a clear type and was flavourful to slurp at it is. Once, the delicacies are simmered into the broth, you can start to taste the flavourful broth.

The set cor 2 pax comes with prawns, slices of chicken, slices of pork meat, fish, meatball, enoki mushroom and etc. For the steamboat set, you can order unlimited vegetables of the day. So, for those that loves vegetables in their steamboat, you can eat your heart out with the accompany broth.

The other broth is the Special Spicy Broth - this is quite spicy for me but is a welcome change from many steamboat restaurant that offers Tom Yum broth. Nevertheless for those that loves the spicy level can opt for this broth which goes well with the beehoon; as it will absorb the spicy flavour into the beehoon.

Gossip Time also offers a special set lunch from Monday to Friday during this period. Each set comes with Free Soup, Drinks and Fruits; a real value deal; from as low at RM9.90 onwards. Now, you don't need to cramp at coffee shop at Paramount Garden during lunch as Gossip Time is fully air conditioned to offers you a comfortable dining environment without burning a hole in your pocket.