she, the epicuriousgirl.

A friend suggested Leong Ya for dinner. When we arrived in the vicinity of the restaurant, found a few Leong Yas (operated by different siblings) but it was the Leong Ya (Daughter) that had more patrons while the others were swatting flies.

The signature dish is Paper Wrapped Chicken (纸包鸡), which is marinated chicken pieces wrapped in paper before being cooked. It can be either deep fried, steamed or baked. Their version is dripping with gravy when opened. A family recipe, the gravy (also the marinade) has a hint of ginger and chinese rice wine which really whets the appetite. My only grouse is that it was a little cold. I suppose it was prepared way in advance since business is rather good.

Yong Tau Foo is the other crowdpuller here but I wasn’t feeling like it that night. So we ordered fish. I can’t remember what style this fish is prepared in anymore but it tasted sweetish and spicy and the same. Ala Thai style but do remember it’s not cooked the Thai way. But did enjoy this dish, as it was very crispy and tasty.

We also ordered stir-fried sweet potato leaves but that was nondescript. Even though food was decent, I won’t be returning in a hurry as Seri Kembangan’s really out of the way for me. And I am sure, for most people too. But Leong Ya (Daughter) has a branch in Puchong Jaya (Jalan Kenari 23) which would be more accessible for some.

Restoran Leong Ya Indah 梁雅(女)茶餐室
26-1 to 28-1, Jalan Dagang 4,
Tmn Sg. Besi Indah SK 4,
Balakong,
43300 Sri Kembangan, Selangor

other reviews;
- bernsy
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- kampungboycitygal

Although a dim sum breakfast is not rare within the family, having it downtown in KL is. this particular restaurant was recommended to us by a client. there are of course many branches of “Chuai Hengs” in town, but this one was highly praised for its dim sum. it was already quite packed when we arrived.

We started off with a char siew bun (叉燒餐包), which is a baked soft bun filled with char siew filling and glazed with honey. Also, we had thai style chicken feet (泰式风爪), and braised pig intestines (猪大肠). I quite like the flavour of the chicken feet dish, which was had the right degree of sour and spicy. However, I wished they sliced the chicken feet skin a little more as the pieces were a bit big and felt like it was too much. Our entire family love innards, hence the pig intestines was a big hit with us.

We also ordered some mini “Bo Lo Bao” or Pineapple buns (菠蘿包) but I didn’t try any of that. It came with some kind of sweet kaya-based filling though. Also tried some honey glazed chicken wings, pig stomach and stir-fried radish cake. The wings were quite nice. The pig stomac was cooked with preserved mustard greens which gave it a slight sourish taste. It was alright I guess.

Also had the Deep fried shrimp shrimps with mayonnaise (沙律明虾饺), which is a usual choice for us. It was crispy and tasted nice enough.

I ordered rice congee cooked ala Hong Kong style (艇仔粥), which is a porridge with lots of ingredients such as fish, lean meat, peanuts, cuttlefish etc and mixed with thinly sliced yau char kway and spring onions to get the rich, sweet taste. In Hong Kong, it’s known as the “Boat Congee” (艇仔粥) because it was sold by people on little boats to begin with. Now it’s one of the most common porridge styles in Hong Kong.

Chuai Heng’s version is full with ingredients and I greatly enjoyed every bit of it.

Another common dish, Shrimp Dumplings (水晶鲜虾饺).

My uncle’s favourite, steamed minced fish balls (时疏蒸鱼卖). He finished all of them himself because he liked the fresh, bouncy texture so much.

We had the Shanghai Dragon Buns or Xiao Long Bao (上海小笼包) too. Not spectacular, but comparable to those in Dragon-i or such.

This was probably one of the more disappointing dishes of the meal, Phoenix Talons (鲜枝竹蒸风爪). A friend I used to eat dim sum with in the past used to like ordering this to ascertain the standards of the dim sum served. His “control dish” as you would have it. He judged the standards of the shop based on this one dish. And if this was the case, Chuai Heng would have failed miserably. It was salty and cold and I had to quickly wash it down with the tea. But luckily, the other dishes more than made up for this.

The redeemer came in the form of this rice roll. Made with pork and preserved vegetables (梅菜肉肠粉), it was a fresh difference from the usual prawn or char siew rice roll. Thoroughly enjoyed this.

I normally love ordering the soup dumplings but I know that my aunt can order quite a lot of food so it was best to share with my cousin. The soup dumpling here features shark’s fin and seafood (鱼翅海鲜罐汤饺) and takes about 20 mins to prepare. Apart from the sharks fin, it had a scallop, some fish slices, crabstick etc in it. At RM12 each.

Even though this restaurant is always crowded on days we come for dim sum, I do think that it has some hits and misses with the selection. However our captain was very friendly and knowledgeable which was a plus point. Prices are higher than average as well so be prepared to pay anywhere between RM150 to Rm200 for a family of 5.

Chuai Heng Restaurant (Jalan Bukit Bintang) 翠恒酒家
231, Jalan Bukit Bintang,
55100 Kuala Lumpur
W. Persekutuan, KL

having heard great things about this restaurant, we decided to search for it when we were in the neighborhood. It’s not difficult to locate and many people know the stretch of hawker stalls across it for the famous porridge. Alas, I’ve not tried the porridge before so that’s something else I want to try when I am in the neighborhood next.

Tuck Kee’s well known dishes include the salt baked fish and black pepper venison. The fish was unavailable hence we settled for the black pepper deer ribs. It was served with a fruit & vege salad on the side. The black pepper taste was subtle but the gravy was really flavourful. Liked the fact that they served ribs which had a bit of fat lining the meat so that it was tender and juicy at the same time. Very well marinated indeed. RM 20 for about 5-6 ribs.

Since we couldn’t have their signature fish dish, the waitress recommended this other fish. I can’t remember what it’s called, but it’s steamed with various ingredients such as shallots, chillies, ginger etc. The fish’s texture was firm and nicely flavoured by the soy sauce based seasoning. Cost us RM30 for about 6 chunky pieces.

Finally we asked for a vegetable dish to balance out the 2 meats and we were recommended this stir-fried baby bok choy with mushrooms. RM 8 for our portion.

Food is above average here, in my opinion. They also have a very extensive menu so there’s loads to discover. Some dishes that caught my eye was “Braised Shark Lips”, “Garoupa in 3 flavours”, “Yin Yang Codfish”, “Claypot fish head” etc. Instead of serving peanuts, they served deep fried keropok (crackers) which was quickly eaten off by us. This place is also famous for their dim sum.

Restoran Tuck Kee 德记海鲜点心酒家
39, Jalan Burung Jentayu,
Taman Bukit Maluri,
Kepong,

other reviews;
- mochii
- babeinthecity (on dim sum)

even though this coffeeshop is somewhat near to my office (5-10 mins drive), we rarely consider eating here due to the long wait time. however this time we were feeling generous, and decided to go brave it out together with the rest of the crowd. As soon as you order, you are given a cardboard with a number on it. we were coolly informed that it’s going to take more than 30 mins this time. and then the wait begins.

so whilst waiting, we can only stare at them preparing the pan mee (板麺) dough and pinching off bits into the boiling stock in the saucepan and salivate. even the chilli took a while to get to us, about 20 mins later. but i sure love this chilli padi mix of theirs which truly compliment the hand-kneaded dough bits. spicy and tangy, the green chilli’s fresh taste is accentuated by the lime’s sour kick.

approx. 40 mins after we have warmed our seats, the indonesian helper heads our way with a tray ladened with 4 bowls of pan mee. finally! ( i half expect to hear angels sing. lol) despite the clear looking broth, it’s brimming with the tasty goodness of ikan billis (anchovies) stock. Bits of cangkuk manis leaves floated next to the slices of meat, minced pork, thinly sliced mushrooms and deep-fried ikan billis which adorned the bowl of hand-kneaded “noodles”.

the “noodles” are actually pinched off this silky wet dough, which gives the pieces a unique chewy texture. as it’s hand-kneaded before being hand-pinched, it’s neither as thin or as smooth as those rolled out by a noodle-making machine, but somehow the slight thickness of the dough adds to the bite making these hand-pinched dough pieces my preferred method of preparing pan mee.

it’s apparent that the noodles are the star attraction of this coffeeshop as only two other stalls (one selling economy rice, the other coconut & sugarcane juice) share the limelight. but be prepared to wait.

Ho Kien Pan Mee
Restoran Lian Heng
22, Jalan SS19/6
Subang Jaya

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