RESTORAN HAO YI LOU 2

This second dinner at Restoran Hao Yi Lou was more comfortable as we have it at the air conditioned dining area upstairs. The stair's landing were beautifully tiled and the the table's swivel was embossed with a motif of a Dragon and a Phoenix. There is a small stage for weddings, karaoke or any happy events.The place was clean and cooling with all the air condition on full blast and not a trace of stuffiness in the air.This dinner was at the invitation of Hling and her husband Chew, the owner of the most modern and upscale Cyber Cafe in Tapah.We started the dinner with the tossing of Yee Sang and then followed on with 7 others sumptuous dishes with Hling's mother losing her front teeth while biting on a Hawaii nut.lol! Overall tonight's dinner was better than yesterdays' and i will definitely come again to taste their other tasty dishes.

The chairs and yellow cloth tables in the air conditioned top floor area looks much more classy than the ground floor.

The motif of Dragon and Phoenix on the table's swivel.

Yee Sang or Fish Salad as a starter was most appropriate-lots of fiber and crackling fritters-rm23/.

Tossed River prawns with garlic-was tender, juicy and aromatic with some roe, too-rm42/.

Buttered Fish- the Tilapia Fish was fillet and deep fried -full of butter flavors-excellent nibbles-rm18/.

Stir fried Hawaii Nuts with Glaze Dried Shrimps-was nutty in flavor and the shrimps was crispy, Hling's mother broke a tooth while biting on it!-rm18/

Blanched Choy Sam with a toppings of Ham and Crab meat gravy-the Choy Sam's stem was big, fat and crunchy-would have tasted better with a thicker gravy-rm15/.

Braised Water Terrapin-just can't have enough of these- good anti- ageing properties!-rm20/

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Tung Po Rou with Bok Choy-was well marinated and braised, soft, meaty and lots of elasticity-rm12/.

Monk Jumps Over The Wall-a similar version with sliced abalone instead of a whole abalone-the superior soup was double boiled under a low flame for many hours with a whole chicken, ham, mushrooms, sea cucumber, shark fin and fish maw to produce a clear, sweet and delicious soup-i had 3 bowls of this soup!-rm120/.

Close up of the bowl of soup.

RESTORAN HAO YI LOU

Restoran Hao Yi Lou is a modern Chinese non- halal restaurant. As it is located in Tapah, Perak, I would rate it as a 5 star restaurant. From the Tapah interchange, turned left at the traffic light junction and drive for a about one kilometer, the restaurant is on your right just opposite of Kg Baru, Kg Pahang. It is a two units double storey shoplot with air conditioning upstairs. The restaurant is sparkling new, clean and well designed with aquariums for live fishes and crustaceans and an "island" for preparing beverages. The main kitchen is at the rear so that you won't get a smoky atmosphere while eating.The owner and Chef Mr.Leong constantly update and create new dishes to satisfy his hungry and loyal customers.Tonight, the second day of CNY my b.i.l. Chor and his family invited us here for dinner. We did not get to sit upstairs as it was fully booked. The place was packed with diners and was a bit chaotic as expected during CNY. Many people without reservations were politely turned away. The price were reasonable and not "cut throat" as in most restaurants! After the delicious dinner we placed another reservation for tomorrow's dinner (air-cond upstairs).

The front facade of the restaurant.

Aquariums filled with live fishes.

The Island for making beverages.

Chef Leong (center) with his team of chefs.

Hungry diners.

Stir fried Sliced De-boned Eel with dry chillies, scallion and big onions-fresh with a soft texture-lots of "Wok Hei".

Stir fried Water Spinach with sambal belachan-all times favorites.

Deep Fried Chicken with Thai sauce-garnished with sliced big onion and fresh lettuce at the base-crispy, hot and tender meat.

Stir fried Mixed vegetables-very well balanced dish- lots of nutrition.

Braised Water Terrapin-very rarely available-meaty and gelatine-like texture, my favorite.

Stir fried "Pak Koo Choy" (Wild Fern)-too salty because of too much anchovies-i'd prefer La La Cheong's version with tuna..

Steamed River Prawns with egg whites-was the best of the night-fresh, juicy and succulent.

Steamed River White Whisker Catfish-flesh was fresh, white and fine in texture.

Total bill:rm120/
Location:1 & 2, Persiaran Tapah Indah 1/3,
Taman Tapah Indah 3,
Tapah, Perak.
Tel:016-532-8678/012-463-5590/ 05-401-8148.

CHOW YHANG RESTAURANT

I found out from a friend that the owner and chef, Ah Keong was formerly from the famous Cheow Yang Restaurant in SS2, Petaling Jaya. His signature dishes are varied and the couple of time that i have ate here, the food were always well presented, consistent, tasty and most important affordable! Tonight the waitress recommended the rare "Hoi Tai Kai" fish-done in Teo Chew style which was a disaster-overcooked!

Steamed Hoi tai kai-(Giant humpback wrasse)-Teo Chew style-garnished with sliced mushroom, garlic and coriander leaves-sourish and tangy- was a bit overcooked-turning the flesh into a rough texture-what a waste!

Clay pot braised eggplant with minced meat- traces of salted fish-very pleasant to the palate.

Garlic Sea prawns-with a lots of finely chopped garlic-big, fresh and succulent.

Stir fried bitter gourd with lean pork strips-green and sliced in a slanted angle-good bite pieces-delicate bitter taste.

Total bill:rm109/.
Location:135,Jalan SS2/6, Petaling Jaya.
Tel:03-7877-3850/012-325-7122.

CHINESE NEW YEAR EVE REUNION DINNER

Today is the eve of the Chinese New Year festival, and it is the time for our annual family reunion dinner. Reunion dinner is the time when the family and loved ones get together to eat a sumptuous and savory meal. Tonight, all the typical Prosperity dishes were cooked to perfection by my mother and my wife. The dishes are 1.Steamed White Promfret fish, 2.Tempura Prawns, 3.Braised Sea cucumber with Pig trotter and mushrooms, 4.Boiled free range chicken, 5.Stir fry Arrowhead with lean pork,6. Fish maw, Home made fish balls and Long White Chinese Cabbage soup 7. Mixed vegetables. 8.The salmon Yee Sang made by my s.i.l Hannah was crunchy, sweet and sourish-good effort for a first timer! The 15 of us were filled to the rim and the ladies did the cleaning up, after all the mess!

WISHING ALL MY CHINESE FRIENDS A HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR-:GONG XI FA CAI"

KILLINEY

Killiney is a Singaporean based Kopi Tiam, serving the usual local staple food like half boiled eggs, Kaya toast, freshly brewed coffee, juices and noodles. The place is sectioned into smoking and non smoking areas, furnished with old style wooden and cheap upholstered chairs and tables. The food was average and sloppily cooked and the staff was not knowledgeable about what was available. The only plus point, it was WI FI able, more like a place targeted towards the youths to hang around, have a drink and chat.

Poster by the side wall.

Penang Fried Kuay Teow-wanted it plain but came spicy hot with chilies-inexcusable!- rm5.80.

Local Fish Tempura Set with a free Roselle drink-the fillet was topped with Thai sauce and was crispy, the egg was well fried-some beansprouts and Choy Sam-average for taste- rm8.30

Roselle drink FOC-behind is a Mango juice for rm2.50/.

Total bill:rm21.90/
Location:D-6-1, Jaya One.
Petaling Jaya.
Tel:03-7958-5545.

DRAGON ONE

As most of the coffee shops were closed on the eve of the Chinese New Year festival, we opted to have our tea time at Dragon One, located at the same row with Sri Murni and next to a Maxis Center. Dragon One is a small and quaint air conditioned restaurant with the front sectioned up for smoking diners. The service was good and the food served was fresh and on par with big names restaurant. The toilet's walls were decked up with black and white square tiles-very creative! while the dining area, sidewall were fixed with ceiling high mirrors, giving the restaurant, an illusion of spaciousness. Parking during the weekend was O.K.

Stir fried Bean sheet with shrimps, beansprouts, eggs and sliced carrots-the sheets was soft and springy in texture-shrimps was fresh and succulent-similar to fried Kuay Teow but better in many ways-rm7.50/

Avocado with Kataifi-the Kataifi was like rice vermecelli and deep fried with the generous fillings of avocado-soft and sweet-rm5/

Prawn dumpling-just like Har Kow-the smooth transculent skin was filled with two fresh prawns and Spinach-really fine texture-rm4.80/

Shanghai Dumpling-oozing with the juices from the meat-eat with the finely sliced young ginger and black vinegar sauce-heavenly!-rm6/

Roselle juice-came with some preserved Roselle petals-sweet and fruity taste-good thirst quencher-rm4.90/

Location:59, Ground Floor,
Jalan SS2/75,
Petaling Jaya,
Tel:012-398-9803

PINEAPPLE TART

Today, my wife made some Pineapple tarts for the Chinese New Year festival, while the rest of the cookies and biscuits are bought from friends. The ingredients for making these tarts are all store bought. Just add egg yolk and salted butter to the blended flour and kneaded it into a soft dough. Meanwhile rolled the cooked pineapple into small balls and fold it with the dough. Next apply beaten egg yolk with a brush on top of the dough. Baked it in the oven at 180c for twenty minutes, for it to be cooked. Cool it and packed it into plastic containers. Simple and easy!

Cooked pineapple rolled into round ball shape.

Fold the dough with the cooked pineapple balls.

Apply beaten egg yolk with a brush on top of the dough.

After baking in the oven at 180c for 20 minutes.

Nicely browned crispy, powdery and a bit saltish outer crust while the pinapple was sweet and not to fibrous.

PUMPKIN-ASSORTED SEAFOOD.

Pumpkin are very versatile and most parts of it are edible. It can be cooked in many styles i.e: boiled, baked, steamed or roasted. It is high in vitamins A, C, and Beta-carotene too.
Last night I had dinner, at Loong Foong Seafood in Paramount Garden, Petaling Jaya, with my daughter, Mindy before she leaves for Penang to celebrate the CNY festival with her in-laws. We ordered Yee Sang which was a tad too sweet and not sourish, Snakehead fish slices cooked with ginger and spring onions, stir fry "Lai Pak" vegetable and Pumpkin with assorted seafood which was outstanding and the center of attraction on the table. Just thought of sharing it with everyone!

The steamed whole Pumpkin with the middle part hollowed out and filled with assorted seafood-rm50/.

It was filled with fresh white scallops, thinly sliced abalone, smooth and moist Shitake mushrooms, spongy fish maw, Pacific clams, and soft and thick sea cucumber in a thick gravy made from superior stock with traces of XO oyster sauce. Tasty, delicious and cheap at only rm50/. Imagine eating this dish with white fluffy rice by the sea side with the sea breeze blowing in your face.

PJ 19 FOOD PLANET

PJ 19 Food Planet was formerly known as 888 Food Planet. The change of name signifies a change of ownership, i think. It is airy, spacious and huge for a food court and very comfortable to walk and browse around without the fear of getting brush or knock by other people. There is a Cyber cafe located in one corner and a Snooker center upstairs. What i like about eating in food court is that i can sample more varieties of food in one go. Prices are reasonable and there is more than 30 stalls to choose from. Parking is partly covered and open air and is free after 6 p.m.

Their new logo perched on the rooftop.

Chicken rice with sausage and coleslaw-chicken was crispy and tender -rm6/.

Clay pot white porridge with sliced fish-topped with pepper and finely chopped spring onion-hot and savory porridge-rm 7/

Dry buckwheat noodle with fried chicken, braised egg-yummy-rm5/

Char kway teow(flat white noodle) with shrimp, cockles and lots of beansprout-fiery hot-rm5/

Clay pot chicken rice plus a raw egg-chicken was well marinated and the rice was fragrant rm7/.

Double boiled lotus root soup-lots of peanuts-dried squid-dates-soup was clear-good for health-rm4/

Location: Section 19, Petaling Jaya,
Next to TOC (The Otomotif College.)