vkeong loves good food, travel and photography!
Selangor
Happy City Steamboat Restaurant – Buy 1 Free 1 Live Tiger Prawns @ Kota Damansara
Apr 22nd
Based on Happy City‘s popularity and their ability to offer good value for money to steamboat lovers, it comes as no surprise to me that a new branch has opened in Kota Damansara (occupying the now defunct Dragon Gate Dim Sum) to expand their business. As a matter of fact, I had been wondering when a second branch would appear ever since my first steamboat meal at Happy City Kepong about 2 years ago.
If this is your first time hearing about Happy City, just know that it is a slightly upmarket steamboat restaurant that features live seafood in their set menus. Since most seafood like tiger prawns, clams and fish are kept in the live tanks and only served at the dining table upon order, freshness could also be guaranteed.
Cheaper and more affordable run of the mill steamboat sets are also available (RM33 for 2 pax)
Restoran Ayam Bakar Wong Solo @ Taman Sentosa Villa, Kajang
Jan 11th
Wong Solo is one of my favorite Indonesian restaurants in Klang Valley and you could find their outlets in major townships easily. For those who eat Indonesian food on a regular basis you will find their menu nothing surprising and comprises many common and traditional Indonesian dishes. I have tried their Penyet stuff before which is not bad but Wong Solo is also famous for their signature Ayam/Ikan Bakar.
They use ‘ayam kampung’ for their Ayam Bakar and it tastes very close to the normal barbecued chicken but a lot better – more tender and the taste leans towards sweetness because of the dark soya sauce marinade. Although I liked the Ayam Bakar, I am not too happy with the portioning. For RM6.90 at a normal establishment like this, I would have expected a larger portion. Seriously this is not even enough for 1 pax to go with rice.
Anyway, two condiments are readily available on each table – one thick, spicy and sweet soya sauce while the other (sambal ulek) is extremely spicy. And when I say extreme I really mean it, one small dip packs a big punch.
Tian Siang Hui Wei Hot Pot 天香回味 @ IOI Boulevard, Puchong
Dec 14th
I don’t always buy vouchers from group-buying sites. But when I do, I make sure it is worth it. Recently Groupon had a deal for Tian Siang Hui Wei – a restaurant that could be summarized as a fine-dining grade of steamboat/hot pot based on their pricing and service. I have heard a lot about them from friends who have dined there before and although all the feedback was encouraging, they all shared the same comment that it is not cheap too.
Anyway, the Groupon’s deal I mentioned earlier was that each RM50 voucher cost only RM25, which is equivalent to a saving of 50%. The catch is that it could only be used solely for food only while drinks and service charges must be paid in full. Regardless it was still a great deal and being a steamboat freak that I am, there is no better opportunity than this to try Tian Siang Hui Wei.
The restaurant looks like a proper Chinese restaurant rather than a normal steamboat place – clean, comfortable. Each diner is given a set of individually wrapped cutlery as well. Also, let me tell you about their “immaculate” service – it is quite extreme that we feel it was borderline intrusive.
At Tian Siang Hui Wei, you are expected to be seated and do nothing but pick food from the pot. I don’t know if that’s how steamboat is enjoyed back in Taiwan/China or wherever the waitresses come from, but I think part of the joy of steamboat is that you get to cook your own food at your desired pace. Here, the waitresses would help you dump everything into the pot unless you stop them. And boy do they look unhappy about it lol.
Other than that the meal was great and this is no doubt one of the best steamboat in town (if you do not consider the price factor) There are two types of soup base here – either spicy (Tain Siang Pot) or non spicy (Hui Wei Pot) like what you would have expected. We chose the latter because all of us don’t really like the spicy and numbing sensation. It cost RM35 for a pot and luckily any subsequent refills are free or else.
The reason they are charging for the soup, as opposed to most steamboat restaurants that provide it for free is that it was boiled with 60 all-natural ingredients (mostly Chinese herbs) without any MSG or food chemicals. I could vouch for that since I drank like tens of bowls of the delicious soup but did not feel thirsty at all. But make sure you consume a few cuppa of their specially concocted cooling tea later to reduce heatiness in your body.
We ordered more than 20 items from the menu so I am going to be brief and not going into detail for every one of them. But just so you know both the meat and seafood are very fresh so don’t worry about the quality. The most expensive meat we had that night was the 5 Cereal Beef @ RM48 – great marbling, tender and very flavorful.
Roast Duck @ Loong Foong Seafood Restaurant, Taman Paramount PJ
Dec 7th
When it comes to Roast Duck there are two already well-known restaurants to go for in Petaling Jaya and they are Loong Foong Seafood and Sunrise. They are open at different hours though – one for lunch and the other for dinner so I guess there is no conflict of interest between them. Not too long ago me and my makan buddies craved for roast duck and since we could all only meet for dinner, Loong Food was the natural choice.
It is important to pre-order your duck to avoid any disappointment especially if you are coming in a fairly large group. You would not want to come all the way here just to be told they have run out of duck, even though you could see some still hanging at the stall.
Given their fame, the roast duck here does not come cheap but it won’t burn a hole in your pocket either. For RM50 you get the entire bird, delicious with an expectedly crispy skin and juicy meat that justify its price and reputation.
All I can say is we got what we came for and satiated our roast duck craving alright. But sadly, the same could not be said for the some of the dishes we had that same night.
