Jalan Bunga Raya, Melaka

How was your weekend break?
Had good rest or went out food hunting....like me? :p

Did an overnight trip to Melaka with my uni mates- they missed the food in Melaka and guess the time was right..all of us could make it for the food crawl.

We didnt want repeats of last year's eats, so we decided to check around town for other delicious food that we have heard, but have yet to try.

We found 2 tasty treats at Jalan Bunga Raya, so I decided to have it in one post.

Reached Melaka brunch time, we stopped by Yung Lai Siang for nyonya laksa..

The weather was cool, slight drizzle- makes an excellent match for piping hot nyonya laksa.

Yung Lai Siang's version looks thick, yet when I stir it, the soup seems diluted. But dont be fooled by the watery looking soup, it was flavourful and rich- the santan aroma was well balance and not too heavy. For RM3, we got noodles topped with prawn, see ham, bean curd, bean sprouts and lots of deep fried beancurd skin (which was tasty once soaked into the nice broth). Very satisfying indeed. I prefer YLS's version better than Donald and Lily's.

Yung Lai Siang also serves prawn noodles (RM3)

Average tasting noodles, better option would be the nyonya laksa.

Wash down the meal with a hot cup of kopi..

Smooth, not too thick and didnt leave any tartness in my mouth.

Granpa's curry puff sold at the shop was purportedly good, so we tried..

Nope, it was those sweet, sambal curry that I didnt like. Potatoes were soft though.

A couple of roads away, we looked for the first char siew- roasted pork stall in Melaka.

Our clue was it's the first stall in the lane- but when we reached, there were 2 stalls at the front of the lane.

Hmmm, should I try the left or the right stall?? Both serves char siew and roasted pork..

What other clues??

Cracked my head a lil and I recalled they serve lung yoke too- so I only found 1 stall (the one on the right) preparing that specialty :D

We tried the char siew, roaste pork, lung yoke and home made sausages..

The char siew was unlike those melt in mouth ones you get in Klang Valley. Theirs were compact, mostly lean meat. The interesting part was the exterior, marinated and barbequed to that texture and flavour of bak kwa while the centre was definitely fresh pork. The guys loved it.

While Andrew and Francis thought the roasted pork was normal, WF and I enjoyed it..

Again, dont expect melt in mouth, this roast pork was served cold, but compact with distinct layers of fat, meat, fat and slightly burnt but ultra crackling skin. Very old school of preparation but brought back wonderful memories :)

The lung yoke and homemade sausages..

My mum cooks lung yoke, but her version was different from what was being served here. The auntie explained that their lung yoke is prepared by mincing pork, liver and fat together- compressing it into flat patties and slowly roasted like char siew. Looks very much like bak kwa, the lung yoke was thicker in slice, darker in colour and had a distinct aftertaste of liver when I took a bite. I liked it as I always enjoy pork liver. :p

The sausage on the other hand, reminds me of a chewy, waxed sausage. It was pretty nice, but some of my friends thought it was just ok.

The barbeques meat rice was served with curry sauce and slightly spicy bean sauce. An interesting side sauce but I'd prefer my rice plain to savour the flavours of the roasts.

The char siew-roasted pork stall is located at Medan Makan Boon Leong (lane), of Jalan Bunga Raya, Melaka.

Yung Lai Siang is located at Jalan Bunga Raya Pantai, Melaka.

Room Eighteen, Tropicana City, PJ

Been neglecting my blog- not intentionally :p has been under the weather and then was rather busy..

But I have to update my blog, no? My back logs are stacking up super fast..hehe

We were darn hungry after watching MJ's movie, CC was sick and requested for some warm, bland food. I could only think of Room 18, we promptly made our way the restaurant. Since it's under Tai Thong Group, I would think that the food should be of acceptable standards...

Room Eighteen reminds me of Canton-i, it serves mainly noodles/ porridge with Hong Kong style roast, dim sums and some ala carte dishes.

CC decision was fast- he had fish congee (RM11.80)

He said it was excellent as the congee warmed his belly and soothe his sniffles. I did try abit, the congee was rather bland. Texture was smooth though.

The rest of us had noodles..

Jem had 3 combination noodles (RM15.80) while I had the Crispy Roast Pork Belly noodles (RM11.80)The noodles were springy, the QQ texture was just right. We all agreed that the roast pork was delicious, the skin was crackling while the meat was solid and nicely layer with bits of fat. Jem said the roast duck and char siew was very average though.

Gary had the suckling pig noodles(RM17.80)

Quite pricey for 4 slices of suckling pig. No, the extra wanton and roasted pork were from his wifey- not in the original combo :p. Though the amount of suckling pig was measly, it was still good. The skin was thin but crunchy. The meat was tender and well marinated, went well with the noodles.

Candy's wantan noodles with prawn wanton (RM11.80)

She said the noodles were too soft- lacking in Q-ness. The prawn wantons were pretty good though- plump prawns with springy texture.

We also ordered some side dishes to share..

The siew mai (RM7.80) was rather popular.

The guys said it was delicious. It was ok for me.

The steamed glutinous rice (RM6.80)

Quite a lot of ingredients in the rice. Rather tasty, the rice was moist, but some parts were rather salty. Uneven distribution of marination?

I rather enjoyed the char leong (RM6.80)

This shot was taken before I poured in the sauce. The crullers were crunchy and warmish, but the chee cheong fun wrap was rather cold. Would have been perfect if it was served warmer.

The Green Onion Pie (RM3.80)

Bad. Dont like. Dont order.

Room Eighteen is located at G-35, Tropicana City Mall, PJ.

Chan Weng Kee, SS2

Amy was craving for Ho Weng Kee some months back- and we decided to pop over to SS2. But to our surprise, Ho Weng Kee was no longer there, but taken over by another wantan mee shop called Chan Weng Kee.

With her cravings doused, we went somewhere else for lunch instead...

One fine day recently, Amy suggested to try Chan Weng Kee- she was craving for wantan mee. With or without Ho Weng Kee.

The shop was still packed with patrons, a rather good sign that the wantan mee should still be good..

Amy and WF had the wantan mee with char siew and pork wantan..

The wantan noodles were springy and had a firm bite to it. The char siew and wantan was quite nice- the char siew was not melt in mouth though, but chunky, solid ones. Still quite tasty nonetheless. I prefer Ho Weng Kee's sauce base though, something was lacking in Chan Weng Kee's, making it less aromatic.

I had the beef brisket noodles..

The wantan noodles had the same springy consistency, while the beef was tender to the bite. The brisket was ok though I felt that the beef tendon was overcooked- it was sticky and soft, rather that the slightly bouncy texture that I prefer. I find the star anise flavour over powering too, dominating the beef and sauce flavours.

We shared a plate of roast pork and char siew..

For me, the roast pork was better than the char siew, the skin was crackling, the meat was firm yet had the subtle flavours from the spiced marination.

Overall, CWK's noodles were definitely decent, but I still prefer HWK's.

Chan Weng Kee is located at No 32, Jalan SS2/66, Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

Betty's Midwest Kitchen, Aman Suria Damansara

Sometimes, we tend to ignore the eating places nearest to our homes. Since it's always there, no harm trying it 'one day'.

Betty's opened its doors some time back, but somehow, I just didnt make my way there..until recently.

I was there for dinner, and the place was rather packed already.

Luckily for us, there's still 1 table available :)

Some homemade lemonade (RM2.50) to quench the thirst.

Refreshing with a nice balance of sourness and sweetness.

There were quiet a selection of mains- we finally decided on ..

Country fried chicken (RM13)

The chicken was very crunchy, but slightly over fried. The fried chicken was served with a generous amount of mash and lots of mushroom sauce, the combo was creamy smooth. The sauce was rich and thick, the pork bacon bits added some bite to the mash. Dragon girl, who dislikes frozen peas gave her thumbs up for the peas- it was sweet and moist- the 'freezer' taste was not there :)

We decided to have some porky goodness, so we order the Grilled Baby Back Ribs (RM28.50)

There were 2 large slabs of ribs, served on a bed of chips and sides of coleslaw. The ribs was pretty good, marination had seeped into the meat. The meat on the other hand, was tender at some parts but somewhat dry on other parts. I liked the sauce though, it's thick, aromatic and slightly grainy- a blend of BBQ sauce with spices perhaps? There were also another sauce served on the side- had beer in it. I find it ok, I still prefer the BBQ sauce.

Overall the meal was satisfying, I'll be back to try other dishes soon.

Betty's Midwest Kitchen is located at AG40, Jalan PJU 1/43, Aman Suria Damansara, 47301 PJ, Selangor.

Kiat Seng Restaurant, Puchong

We were supposed to have dinner in KL..but due to some delay, it was late and my dad dont like late dinners.

So a switch of plan and we were at a restaurant nearby.

Since bro and shirley has been here a few times, they did the ordering..

The homemade tau foo with seafood (RM16)

The thick slab of tau foo was at the base of the claypot. The top was filled with seafood and chopped vegetables. The homemade tau foo was quite solid but smooth, the seafood sauce was light- pretty satisfying in a simple way.

The herbal kampung chicken(RM25)

Very tender chicken with light herbal sauce. By now, I noticed that Kiat Seng serves food that's less salty, which I feel is good. The chicken was quite tasty, but the sauce was rather starchy.

The star at Kiat Seng, the house special steamed tilapia (RM26)

The steamed tilipia was topped with generus amount of preserved vegetables (choy poh) and fried shallots. The combo goes well with the steamed fish (slightly oversteamed though), an interesting yet delicious match.

But the winner to me, was the hong xiu pork (RM18)

When I saw the rather garish red, I thought this will not be a nice dish. The redness of the sauce aside, the braised pork was excellent- the fat melts immediately, the meat was fork tender and had absorbed all the marination. A terrific braised pork indeed.

And to balance the high protein diet, we had a plate of fu yu yau mak (RM12)

Fresh, sweet yau mak with fragrant fu yu and bits of chilli padi. Nice.

Kiat Seng Restaurant is located at 19, Jalan Puteri 4/1, Bandar Puteri, 47100, Puchong. Located next to a few seafood restaurants. Kiat Seng also serves quite a number of seafood (crabs) dishes, guess that would be another meal..