[Travel] What I ate at Petaling Street during Lunar New Year - Part 1

Last visited in 2018, so let's go gai-gai and rekindle the Petaling Street experience! Here's what we had for Day 1.

Breakfast

Tang City Food Court

There were only dim sum, Myanmar food kiosk, fish paste noodles, prawn noodles, roasted meat rice, economic rice available when we visited in the morning.

No prize for guessing which was my choice. The coffeeshop staff are quick to come by to get your drinks order first. I ordered a kopi-gao but it tasted pretty much like regular ones.

kopi gao

One can order at the stall and they will send over the food when it is ready. Pay when food/drinks is served. Not sure how the food stall people know where to find the person who ordered but somehow they can.

bak kut teh for single pax

Bak Kut Teh @RM22

pork belly, pork balls, stomach, small intestines, pork ribs, enoki mushrooms, lettuce and tao pok

The bak kut teh was the herbal type and not too overpowering. I liked it. I think my brother had a shock for his order of 3 small plates of dim sum, and the lor mai kai. One small plate of dim sum (3 pieces) costs RM8, so one siew mai was like RM2.70. Taste wise, I tried the fried fish ball, and it was nice. The lor mai kai was good too.

A bowl of ban mian costs RM10 but it was a big bowl as compared to the dim sum.

What would you have ordered amongst the 3 options; dim sum, noodles or bak kut teh?

Dinner

Westlake Restaurant

This place is conveniently located near our hotel. We were there for dinner. Although it was a weekday evening, the vicinity was packed with tourists. 

menu

This is a zichar (煮炒) place and we were in the mood for some noodles. Specifically, the black black hokkien noodles. Hehe!

For noodles/rice dishes, the menu indicated the pricing for small and large portion. There was no in-between like medium. Large was equivalent to 2 pax portion (according to the staff) but I beg to differ. And it seemed like we were required to order the large portion. Ok, not a problem but I suppose if you're dining solo, then they probably won't ask you to order the large (I hope!).

普洱 (pu-er)

The food was served in just under 10 minutes after we ordered. Was pretty impressed by this actually.

Hokkien Fried Noodle (福建面) @RM28

sambal for the noodles

Their rendition of the hokkien noodles was pretty good. Well cooked and tasty. Adequate ingredients such as small shrimps, meat slices, cabbage, some sotong and there's lard crisps in there as well.

Furong Egg

stir fried lettuce with fermented beancurd (腐乳)

Hong Tu Noodles @RM30

looks like wanton noodles

To me, the Hong Tu noodles is like a distant cousin of lor mee. Has plenty of thickened sauce and to be eaten with vinegar. Speaking of which, we reminded the staff that they forgot to provide the vinegar, so out came an entire bottle of it! Hahaha. 

I ordered this dish as it was one of the noodles that I had eaten when I was young.

black vinegar

Obviously we didn't use the entire bottle...we poured out some into a small bowl.

must eat with vinegar

Onion Chicken

The onion rings were the best that I have ever eaten so far. Strongly seasoned, flavourful and crispy on the outerside and sweet on its inside. But, the chicken chunks were rather over-fried.

Overall, we spent RM152 in total for our party of 5 adults, which worked out to about RM30+ per pax.

Address: 40, Jalan Sultan, City Centre, 50000 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Business Hours: 

Daily: 11 am–2:30 pm, 5 pm–1 am

Contact: +60320723350

[Tasting] Delectable Feast @ Sichuan Alley Capitol Singapore

Sichuan Alley is now at Capitol Singapore! Here's an older post on its Telok Ayer outlet. Favourites such as ox tongue, President Noodle using its Mianyang rice vermicelli, black plum tea, alcoholic beverages are still available and there are new items to try!

Thank you Kris for the invite, and Chef Eugene with Sichuan Alley Capitol team, for your hospitality.

Sichuan Alley Capitol

interior

I liked that the staff are actively engaging potential diners at the entrance of the shop. Curious onlookers would stop by and staff would be attentive to answer their queries.

Signature Small Plates 风味小菜

Chilled Cucumber 清爽黄瓜 @$3.90

Mala Black Fungus 麻辣黑木耳 @$5.50

The taste profiles for the small plates were pretty much on-point. Cucumber with its yummy garlicky refreshing light taste and the black fungus for its crunchy spiciness.

The next small plate, usually we get 口水鸡 (mouth watering chicken) but here, we are trying the King Prawn version. Aesthetically pleasing and lovely to eat.

Mouth Watering King Prawns 口水虾@$8.90

Yup, the sauce was appetizing and there's plenty of those Sichuan peppercorns.

My favourite small plates, is the Sichuan Pepper Ox Tongue. Thinly sliced ox tongue, neatly arranged with a good heap of chopped green chilies and some crispy shallots on top. Loved the texture of the tongue. So tender! The spice level of this dish is lower than the black fungus~ so no worries here.

Sichuan Pepper Ox Tongue @$11

closer view

Let's have some fried food! And, was happy to see they have fried spicy chicken 辣子鸡 on the menu. If you're having alcohol, this would be one of the top 3 favorites accompaniment to the drinks! Well, at least my top 3, hehe~

B-52 Fried Chicken 辣子鸡 @$16

Was surprised that the chicken was tender and needless to say, the rest of the spices in there were to our liking. Oh, and I dare say that I can finish one whole basket on my own. But I didn't lah, since this is to be shared amongst the group. Next time!

Sichuan Sour Vegetable Fish 老坛酸菜鱼@$19

The Sichuan Sour Vegetable Fish has strong flavours and goes well with a bowl of hot steaming rice. Not too sour but enough to whet the appetite. There was a hint of spice but not enough to work out a sweat.

soft silky fish fillet

In line of soft food, we tried the braised pig intestine with tofu, beautifully presented in a stone pot. I was wrong when I thought I wouldn't like the tofu. It was flavourful and delicious! Intestine was well braised and no funky-ness in them. Spice level in this dish is slightly higher but still manageable.

Braised Pig Intestine with Tofu @$17.30

Another dish with a stronger sour profile, is the Yu Xiang Shredded Pork.

Yu Xiang Shredded Pork 鱼香肉丝 @$7.90

I always gets amused when I see "水煮" something on the menu as literal translation means "water cooked" but it's far from being bland. This method of 'boiled beef' resulted in tender pieces of meat that's enveloped in strong spicy flavours to tease the tastebuds.

Sichuan Hot Red Beef 水煮牛肉@$19.30

food enjoyed, the communal way

Beverages

And yes, as evident from the photos above, some of the dishes were undeniably laden in chili oil. What to do? I like to wash it down with a good pot of hot jasmine tea.

Chengdu Jasmine Green Tea

lovely scent

 

cheers~

Flask of hot water is available at the table, so one could enjoy the tea continuously. Initially, the green tea was mild in flavours with a prominent Jasmine fragrance. Later on, when the tea was steeped for a while, the taste had an ending note of slight bitterness but still very floral.

Or, when the weather is hot, I'd get a Black Plum Tea as well.

Rice Noodles / Noodles

The President Rice Noodle have ingredients such as fried egg, vegetables, braised intestines, braised beef and braised pork ribs in a light meaty broth. We tried the less spicy version and the soup was rather mild.

President Rice Noodle 总统米粉 @$24.50

with rice noodles

Dry Noodles

Sichuan Alley Dan Dan Noodle 川港炸酱担担面 @$13.50

Scallion Oil Noodles

Rice

Sichuan Soy Sauce Fried Rice 四川酱油炒饭 @$8.90

Chicken Cutlet Egg Fried Rice 鸡扒蛋炒饭 @$14

For the dry noodles, one would enjoy the al-dente texture of the noodles. The version that we got was non-spicy. For fried rice, I enjoyed the egg fried rice more due to its egg fragrance. As for the soy sauce fried rice, it was a miss as  the seasoning seemed a tad too mild for me.

Desserts

Unique desserts such as Sweet Fermented Rice and Speciality Ice Jelly. Out of these two, I preferred the jelly dessert as the fermented rice dessert was interesting but more of an acquired taste.

Speciality Ice Jelly 雪山红糖冰粉 @ $5.50

Sweet Fermented Rice @$4.50

Once again, thank you Eugene, Serene and team Sichuan Alley for the delicious food. Will be back again for some drinks and small plates.

Lunch with Kris, Ivan, Hence, Alvin, Tiara and CK.

Sichuan Alley 川港 @ Capitol

Address:  13 Stamford Rd, B1-29, #B1-30, Singapore 178905

Website: https://www.facebook.com/sichuanalley

Contact: +6591555244

Business Hours:

Daily: 10:30 AM–9:30 PM

Lunch at Um Yong Baek @ 27 Boon Tat Street

What birthday girl wants, birthday girl gets. Um Yong Baek seemed to be the trendy place to dine at, somewhat. Rumors of long queues seemed true from the recent experience. The two outlets; Telok Ayer and Boon Tat Street are pretty close to each other.

Telok Ayer outlet

before the shop opens

One should go online on the day of visit, and get a queue number. Thanks to Tiara, we were lucky to be placed in the first batch of diners to go in once the shop opens at 11am. Perhaps that was because we visited on a weekday.

At approximately, 10:45am, Tiara received an email notification that our table at Boon Tat Street outlet is ready. We headed over on foot as we were around the Telok Ayer area. Reached by 10:55am but the shop didn't open its door till about 11.10am. 

queue at Boon Tat Street outlet

queuing instruction and opening times

The staff will ask the patron to display the email notification of the table number and will check that all parties in the group are present before being let into the restaurant.

 

tables nearer to the entrance

We were led to the inner section of the restaurant where there were more tables available. The traditional types at the outer section near the entrance gives the cosy aesthetics but it does take up more space in the shop.

As all tables seemed to be meant for 4 pax, so we shared it with another patron whom is dining solo.

open kitchen view

The tables have been setup with the side dishes, flask of water prior to the guests arrival. 

pickled green chilies and vege stem

onions/chives kimchi

kimchi

bean paste, sliced green chilies and sliced garlic

water, self-service

salted shrimps

salt

Um Yong Baek offers dwaeji gukbap 돼지국밥 (Pork & Rice Soup) for lunch and there's two types; Busan style Daejigukbap and the Milyang style Daejigukbap. For dinner, its menu offers BBQ aged pork and makguksu (buckwheat noodle).

Ok, so we ordered the pork and rice soup, one each. Best of both worlds!

(top) Busan style Daejigukbap and (bottom) Milyang style Daejigukbap

Was happy with the generous amount of meat in the standard bowl and the meat is of quality. Tried the soup for both and the Busan style broth has a more pronounced porky flavour while the Milyang style broth is richer but less pronounced porky taste. 

Busan style Daejigukbap @$21

large piece of pork slice

Usual practice is, one can add the salted shrimp, or salt, or the bean paste to enhance the flavour of the broth. Recommend not to add all at once but one and a little bit at a time, to see which one you like more. My favourite was the bean paste as it changes the profile of the soup quite a bit.

Milyang style Daejigukbap @$21

beautiful layers

Perfect for cold weather, and it was quite filling at the end of the meal. It was enjoyable to match the spoonful of rice, some soup and a piece of kimchi. One could inform the staff to refill any of the side dish. We had another round of kimchi because we enjoyed the crunchy texture, and the juicy-ness of the kimchi here.

To my lunch companion Tiara, thank you for your company and Happy Birthday!

Um Yong Baek

Address: 27 Boon Tat St, #01, Singapore 069623

Website: https://umyongbaeksgeng.creatorlink.net/

Contact: +6588435968

Business Hours: 

Closed on Sun.

Mon-Sat: 11 AM–3:30 PM, 5:30–10 PM