Delicious Dinner 33.

A series of home cooked dinner by my wife.

Deep fried big chunk Garoupa fish, garnished with deep fried ginger/garlic with a sprinkling of light Soy sauce-sweet, fleshy, well textured with no bones to pick- crispy and gelatinous skin.

Big onion Omelette-well fried with a nice aroma from the onion.

Pongteh Babi-cooked with sliced 3 layered pork belly, sliced mushroom and potatoes with gravy filled with lots of shallots/garlic/tau cheo (fermented soy bean paste)-perfect with the porridge.

Stir fried Lai Pak with white anchovies and garlic-juicy and crunchy.

Red sweet potatoes porridge cooked Hokkien style-suitable for the hot and humid weather.

Restoran Hua Xing.

Yesterday we went to Restoran Hua Xing for a quick and simple lunch.

As we were early, Chef Foo Yoong came over to our table to inform us that her husband Ah Tee passed away a few months ago because of illness.

My mum felt sad and sorry for her because Ah Tee was a jovial guy and one of her very old and close friend.

The food served here are Hokkien/Foo Chow style-very consistent, reasonably priced and are real gem.

Pork rolls-with mixed ingredients like finely chopped carrot, cilantro, yam bean..etc-steamed-sliced and deep fried-sometimes it can be quite salty.

Tapioca flour noodle-fried to perfection-filled with lots of beansprout, pork strips, prawn, crackling lard and cilantro.

Freshly chopped Garlic to go with the fried noodle.

Braised pork belly with sweet tasting Soy sauce-Heavenly !

Eat it by dipping the house made soft cubed Alkaline rice flour cake into the thick Soy sauce gravy with a piece of pork belly.

Location: 1-12, 1st Floor,
Plaza Seri Setia,
Jalan SS9/2, Seri Setia Sungei Way,
Petaling Jaya.
Tel: 03-7876-3288/016-376-7477.

Nineteen81 Rumah Rehat Tapah.

We went back to my wife's kampung in Tapah, Perak on the First day of the CNY festival.

The hot and humid weather with a popped up temperature of around 38 c was a big no-no for all of us.

Besides going for an occasional dip in the cool and surprisingly clean Tapah river.........

....firing firecracker...

.... and a spot of gambling like Blackjack

We have some cooling off tea-time snack at the air conditioned Nineteen81 Rumah Rehat Tapah that comes with free WiFi.

Cucur Udang at Rm3.50 was a steal with a generously sized shrimp, a crisp crust and lovely soft deep fried dough inside-better than Nyonya Colors.

Heart shaped Chicken nuggets was a good snack-Rm4.50/.

Banana Split was the right tonic for the hot weather-Rm5.50/.

Their signature Rest House Tower ice cream-Rm7.50/.

and iced COOOOOoooooL drinks like lemon juice, hazel nut, syrup Bandung and lemon tea to quench our thirst..

A group photo of my young followers-thanks to them for their artistic contribution, inspiration, photo shoots and eating out together.

Total bill: Rm52/
Location:Bukit Rumah Rehat,
Jalan Stesyen, Tapah,
Perak.
Tel:05-4032-981/982.

Ah Yat Abalone Forum Restaurant.

I attended my friend's lavish birthday dinner which was held at Ah Yat Abalone Forum Restaurant in Jalan Kemajuan, Petaling Jaya.

As the CNY was a just a week away, Yee Sang was part of the set dinner.

Parking is horrible with two other restaurants side by side of it but car jockey is available.

Name of the restaurant engraved on wood.

Glass display of Shark's fin and Abalone.

Salmon Yee Sang-with very fresh shredded ingredients-one of the best that i have eaten.

Braised Shark's fin soup with crab meat and bird nest-a notch above others!

BBQ Whole suckling pig-someone stole a piece before I could snapped the photo-crispy skin with a layer of fat and some lean meat-dip in brown sauce for added flavor.

Stir fried fresh Prawn with sliced white squid and sweet pea beans-a light and very refreshing dish.

Stewed fresh Abalone with goose web seated on blanched Bok Choy and delicious brown sauce-chewy abalone and gelatinous-like goose web.

Steamed Tiger Garoupa with superior grade Soy sauce and peanut oil and garnished with cilantro and spring onion-fresh and fine textured.

Deep fried crispy Chicken-well marinated -crisp skin with moist and tender meat.

Fried glutinous rice with preserved meat garnished with egg omelette and chopped spring onion-wrapped in Lotus leaf-fragrant and fulfilling !

Red bean soup with glutinous rice ball-fine and smooth and not overly sweet.

Sweet pastries of beautifully designed red bean paste rolls and Wolfberries/Longan jelly.

Location: Lot 98-3, Jalan Kemajuan,
Section 13, Petaling Jaya,
Tel:03-7960-4988.

Betty's Midwest Kitchen.

Betty's Midwest Kitchen is a place for those who like to eat pork done in the traditional American heartland style .

The first thing that greet you is a framed photo of a cute pig with pricked ears greeting you oink! oink! on the left side of the entrance.

My son Mike and his colleagues are regulars here and he raves about the food every now and then.

So tonight we decided to have dinner here.

Service was efficient but the tables are too small for my comfort!

House Salad-chopped fresh iceberg lettuce, sliced red tomatoes and cubed apple-topped with mayonnaise sauce-Rm8/

Sloppy Joe-toasted crispy sesame bun-buttered on both sides, french fries and a bowl of sweet and tasty tomatoes sauce minced pork-I ate it by spooning the ingredients onto the bun-Rm12/.

Beer Boston Butt-meat was very tender and well marinated served with mashed potatoes, blanched unevenly sized green peas and matchstick carrot-and "intoxicating" brown sauce-Rm25.50/.

Pork chop-served with two pieces of inviting meat which were tough but the cheesy sauce was good, sauteed onion, blanched unevenly sized green peas and mashed potatoes-Rm20/.

Total bill:Rm86/
Location: A-G-40, Jalan PJU 1/43,
Aman Suria, Damansara,
Petaling Jaya.
Tel:03-7880-0196

Reunion Dinner @ Dragon Star Seafood Restaurant.

This year's reunion dinner is the first time that we are eating out.

The two ladies chefs of the family are getting old by the year and the hassles of preparing and cleaning up for my family of eighteen, is no laughing matter !

We choose Dragon Star Seafood Restaurant over others was because of their food consistency and reasonable pricing.

This dinner set menu is their top of the range.

Service was not as efficient as normal and the staff were running all over the place.

Prosperity Salmon Yee Sang-we added some cashew nut to it-the plum sauce was not overly sweet and the shredded fresh and pickled ingredients were crunchy with every bite,

Shark's fin soup with scallop & crab meat-not much of shark's fin to be found - the broth was smooth and of the right density even though it's was thickened with corn starch-generous amount of crab meat and tiny bits of scallop..

Steamed Pomfret fish-star of the night-fresh and fleshy bathed in superior grade soy sauce and peanut oil-garnished with scallion and cilantro.

Half roasted Chicken & half roasted suckling piglet-pig's skin was crispy with a thin layer of fat while the chicken meat was tender and muscled with a real crisp skin-served with some prawn crackers.

Stewed Abalone with sea cucumber & mushroom-felt cheated with such mini abalone-Shiitake mushroom was of inferior grade while the sea cucumber was crunchy and thick-served with blanched brocolli and smooth gravy.

Baked crystal prawn with lemon sauce-the sea prawns were fresh, juicy and of above average sized with a sweet and zesty lemon sauce.

Bailing mushroom with vegetables-mushroom were sliced into small sizes served with blanched broccoli, "wu har" (konnyaku) and tied tau kan (soft and smooth beancurd sheet) and smooth gravy.

Fried rice with waxed meat-glutinous rice was not too sticky served with waxed duck, Chinese sausage and duck's liver sausage infused with wine-very fulfilling ! my mum's favorite dish.

Chinese new year fancy duet-was basically yam/sweet potato/nian guo-lightly batter and deep fried together-very good textures.

Sea coconut with Longan with some lemon juice-the sea coconut was too tough and the canned longan was passable-a refreshing touch to end a great reunion dinner.

Total bill:Rm781/
Location:54A & 54B, Jalan SS1/22,
Kampung Tunku, Petaling Jaya,
Tel:03-7877-6673.