vkeong loves good food, travel and photography!
Kepong
Yakotaya Japanese Dining @ Metro Prima, Kepong
Jan 14th
For an area that is surrounded by BBQ steamboat restaurants and sleazy massage parlours, you’d be surprised to find a nice Japanese restaurant such as Yokotaya in Metro Prima Kepong. Looking at their menu, there are two things for sure: the selection is very wide but price is on the higher side.
Unfortunately for us they were out of Unagi during our visit so we had to stick to other things especially salmon. And boy did we order a lot of that. First, it was a portion (~10 slices) of Norwegian Salmon Belly Sashimi @ RM28.80. It was fresh with a silky smooth texture, absolutely loved it despite its expensive price tag.
A unique looking platter that caught my eye is Salmon Zukushi (Salmon Favorites) @ RM34.80, which is basically made up of sushi, rolls and sashimi all entirely based on salmon only. For salmon lovers it is worth trying if your intention is to try a variety of stuff instead of ordering them separately.
Min Huang Restaurant – Shanghai & Hong Kong Style Dim Sum & Desserts @ Kepong
Dec 17th
After coming back from Hong Kong I have been shunning our local dim sum joints because I feel they are not up to the standards anymore. If you have been to Hong Kong and tasted some of the best dim sum in the world, I am sure you can relate to this. The last time I had dim sum was at Foh San 2 months ago and I found myself not enjoying the food at all. Everything just tasted uninspiring and dull.
Now, based on a reader’s suggestion, I went to Min Huang Restaurant in Kepong. They serve plenty of Shanghai and Hong Kong style dim sum and desserts which I find to be good enough to earn a recommendation from me. And yes, even after comparing them with those I had in HK.
Among the many dishes we had here, the Shanghai Special Fried Bean Sheet @ RM4.80 (small) would be the most recommended one. The bean sheet is very similar to koay teow but appears a lot thinner, more translucent and with a slightly chewy texture. The chef sure cooked the dish right by infusing a lot of ‘wok hei’ and egg fragrance into it, it tastes just delicious.
A special variant of Xiao Long Bao seasoned with Chinese herbs is served here @ RM7.20. It tastes exactly like the normal Xiao Long Bao, just that it has an extra pleasant herb flavor to it.
Ah Di Flying Wantan Mee @ Kedai Kopi Peng Kee Baru, Taman Usahawan Kepong
Nov 3rd
This has got to be the nicest Wantan Mee I have had in a long time. It is a small stall in an inconspicuous coffee shop at Kepong, operated by a husband and wife team. Well if you remember, I blogged about the Flying Wantan Mee in Seapark where the cook would literally airborne the noodles after he runs it over cold water. That is also somewhat practiced here. I have to admit that is the main reason I went to check this out, to see the stunt for myself. But never would I have expected the Wantan Mee to taste so good, in fact even better than the Seapark one.
- Basically, it has fulfilled all my criterias of being a good Wantan Mee:
- The noodle is thin, crisp with a QQ texture and doesn’t stick together. Nice for slurping.
- No funny alkaline taste.
- Uses lard so got that nice fragrance.
- Not oily at all.
- Each shrimp wonton has a whole succulent and fresh shrimp inside. Soup does not taste heavy of MSG, really has the sweet shrimp flavor.
Now I can’t say much about the Char Siew since I didn’t try theirs but as far as noodles and wanton go this is definitely better than Seapark’s.
Claypot Pepper Bak Kut Teh @ Sekmechoy Restaurant, Bandar Manjalara
Oct 30th
Sekmechoy, a restaurant that has its roots at Salak South specializing in Claypot Pepper Bak Kut Teh is the latest addition to the huge list of Bak Kut Teh restaurants in Kepong. But first let me just say that if you do could not afford to be the earliest customer or wait for at least one hour during peak periods, you can forget about eating here because they are currently understaffed as well as overwhelmed with customers. Getting a table would be the least of your concerns, as the food is getting out of the kitchen really slowly. Luckily the food was very good and quite worth the wait, else I would have been cranky.
I know I have said some bad things about pepper based Bak Kut Teh in the past. But after trying Sekmechoy’s I have to take back those words now. Although it tastes very different from the herbal version, there is no doubt it is still delicious in its own way. I find the clear broth’s peppery flavor spot on and not too overpowering, which I think is why it tastes acceptable for me. Each portion costs RM11.
