[Travel] What I ate at Petaling Street (Chinatown) during Lunar New Year Part 2

If you're in the mood for some airconditioned comfort without having to elbow to elbow with other strangers, then Waaron Kuus might be a good choice to rest the tired feets after a full day of walking around. 

Lunch

Waaron Kuus

entrance

We were there for a late lunch at 330pm and effectively, missed out on the Set Lunch promo where one could get a main course + drink + dessert for RM17.90++.

interior

The place gives cafe vibes and is pretty spacious. Staff is friendly. We ordered a couple of things to share and this place serves local favourites like toasted bread with soft boiled eggs, roti canai, nasi lemak. char kway teow etc.

Nanyang Teh (hot milk tea) @RM5.50+

Nanyang Kopi C (cold) @RM7.50+

I got myself something slightly more interesting to drink - Coconut Gula Melaka Coffee.

Coconut Gula Melaka Coffee @RM8.80+

My drink would likely to receive a grade E for being overly sweet. Had to ask the staff to add more ice to it to dilute and it was still sweet even after letting all the ice melt.

Nasi Lemak with Ayam Rendang @RM16.80+

Nasi Lemak with Lemongrass Chicken @RM16.80+

The chicken were well marinated and flavourful. However, the generous portion of rice was served lukewarm or somewhat room temperature, and hence, less enjoyable. Sambal was fragrant with shrimps and onion taste and not spicy. 

Char Kuey Teow @RM16.80

My dad loves the char kuey teow. Served piping hot, moist and delicious. Prawns though huge were overcooked and a bit tough for elderly folks. Noodles were great.

Sarang Burung with chicken curry @RM7.90+

charred and tasty

curry chicken with potatoes

There was some confusion over the sarang burong which translates to bird nest. It is a variant of roti canai but the dough would be shaped like a ring in the center, there should be egg(s). When it was first served to our table, there were 2 pieces of plain roti so we looked at the staff and before we can enquire, she sort of knew what was the issue and asked if I wanted egg for this. I said yes.. because sarang burong dish is expected to have eggs otherwise, it's just plain roti canai and the menu didn't indicate that we need to specify it with eggs. (One could google and see how a sarang burong roti canai looks like and it surely does come with eggs!) Anyway, she sent the roti back to the kitchen and when it came back out, it became one piece with one egg. Hmmm, pretty disappointing I must say.

Cucur Udang (prawn fritters - 2 pieces) @RM7.80+

Liked that the prawn fritters didn't skimp on the prawn but overall, it felt like the fritters had been sitting out for a while.

Expect to spend about RM25 per pax for food and drink. 

Address: 84, Jalan Petaling, City Centre, 50000 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Contact: +60102202767

Business Hours: 

Daily - 8am to 8pm

Dinner

Hong Kee Claypot Chicken Rice 鴻记 & Portuguese Grilled Fish

queue to order first

claypot chicken rice and portuguese grilled fish

menu

Don't go inside to chope seats unless you want to get a scolding from the staff. Simply queue up outside and staff will hand you a menu for you to think think and to place your order first. Then when you reach to the front of the queue, someone will guide you to your table. I think we queued for about 20 minutes.

interior

Previous visits saw us being seated outside at the walkway (alfresco) of another shop that has closed for the day. This time round, we were led to the main shop and this section has air conditioning.

Claypot chicken rice seemed to have a shorter cooking time when compared to the grill fish as the fish only arrives like 25 minutes after the rice was served.

RM30 (large)

Remember to mix well otherwise, one might get chunks of salted fish in one mouthful!

beansprouts for healthy balance 

The blanched vegetables consist mainly of beansprouts with only a handful of leafy greens. It tasted like blanched vegetables, so one can eat alot of this with the salted fish in the claypot rice.

grilled Tilapia (with added petai) @RM55

yummy

smooth flesh

The best thing was the grilled fish. Well cooked and the decision to add RM5 of petai was a good one. More vegetable, better no? We enjoyed the fish a lot. Did you know that the tilapia cost the same as seabass?

Our meal costs RM104 in total as we had 2 cans of coke as well. These fed 4 adults comfortably.

Address: 83, Jalan Sultan, City Centre, 50000 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Contact: +601136612838

Business Hours: 

Closed on Wed.

Thur - Tues: 5pm to 1130pm

[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