Pringles anyone? The Malaysian market has taken the initiative to add more flavours to the local favourites of original, cheese, barbecue, sour cream & onion etc lately but I still love keeping an eye for foreign offerings after discovering the Spicy Guacamole flavour last year. It is now officially my favourite flavour (*hint hint). The green chips taste awesome, and is not spicy for malaysian tastebuds actually. Light and crispy, its my perfect snack to being a couch potato. Heh.

Whilst shopping at Cold Storage recently, spotted more imported US Pringles and grabbed two, the Ranch and Blazin’ Buffalo Wing. Both had the signature light sourish tinge and it was good, good, good. But I still love the guacamole one best. Lol.

So if you too enjoy trying new flavours, head off to any nearby Cold Storage to get your fill. And apparently, the imported ones taste different to the local made ones. I haven’t tried any of the local ones after they revamped it to the newer, leaner packaging because I am not too keen on any of the flavours. But just google “Pringles Malaysia” and quite a few of unhappy posts come up. What says you?

OMG, I totally forgot all about this draft sitting there. This will be the last of my 2008 food travelogue of Taiwan which will see us visiting Hualien city, the gateway to Taroko National Park (太魯閣國家公園). The national park is a 19km long canyon consisting of marble & granite and looks really impressive and magnificent.

We had our lunch at Tiansiang (天祥), after a few stops along the stretch including the Shakadang Trail (砂卡噹步道), Swallow’s Grotto (燕子口) and Tunnel of the Nine Turns (九曲洞). Tiansiang is nothing more than a row of shops, a hotel with a convenience store.

We tried the Daylily Soup (金针湯) from one of the stalls and I wasn’t too impressed. Tasteless & bland.

We decided to try the Bamboo Rice (竹筒飯) which was basically plain red glutinous rice. I think we were all expecting something similar with the one we had in Jiufen, with bits of dried shrimp, mushrooms etc in it. As you can see, this was a little on the dry side.

Missing Malaysia a little, I ordered a stir fried fiddlehead ferns or what the locals call 炒过猫(蕨菜). Julienned carrots were added in, more for colour than taste, I expect. Tasted crisp and delicious.

Had the beef rice (红烧牛腩饭) which was served with some other vege side dishes. Not that nice as well as the beef wasn’t as tender as I hoped and tasted somewhat average.

Spent the rest of the afternoon around Taroko before making our last stop at Chisingtan (七星潭), a gorgeous beach around Hualien. Little rocks and smooth pebbles lined the beach instead of sand. The water of sea was a gorgeous cyan but we couldn’t stay as grey clouds hovering on the horizon signified an impending rainstorm.

If you’re ever in this area, you should also visit the Chihsing Tan Katsuo Musuem as there’s an adjoining shop that sells many dried processed fish snacks.

But the highlight meal of our trip would be the dinner that our tour guide treated us too at 来成排骨面 situated at 145 Zhongsan Road (中山路), Hualien. She mentioned that this is more of a local’s haunt than a touristy place which suited us just fine. Our guide also recommended some side dishes which she said was a “must-try!”

We had a portion of the “Golden Eggs” or 黃金(鴨)蛋. The whites are firm, but the yolk, about 80% cooked. The eggs are similar to the hot-spring eggs (溫泉蛋), and the cooking process is quite laborious as to achieve this soft yolk effect, one has to control the temperature of the water etc. so not many places offer these anymore, according to our guide.

We also tried the Smoked Shark Meat (鲨鱼烟) which I liked. The smokey taste lingers on the flesh, which bears the resemblance to eel meat, texture wise. The sliced cucumbers on the side is very crispy and tinged with a sweetness that compliments the shark meat.

Greens (龙须菜), lightly blanched and drizzle with some soy sauce based sauce. Simple but lovely.

The main dish, Pork Rib Noodles (排骨面). The deep fried pork ribs are tender to bite, and “melts” in one’s mouth. But the soup and noodles were nothing to shout about.

Another review here.

Our tour guide was also very kind to give us Hualien’s famous snack, freshly made mochi (麻糬) in various flavours including, peanut, sesame, rice wine, green tea, red bean etc etc from their most famous shop - Tzen Zi Mochi (曾記麻糬) before we boarded the train. As they were freshly made, they had to be consumed within 2 days so it became our supper that night. Soft and sticky, these fresh mochi were a delight. The flour-dusted glutinous skin was tinged with a fragrance that was so inviting. Definitely a must-try should you be in Hualien.

If it’s the packed mochi (souvenir types) that you are after, Hualien has a lot of shops selling all these, and the variety available is quite astounding. They also have a good range of tarts apart from the usual pineapple tart.

So with this post, this brings us to the end of my gastronomic adventures in Taiwan. Even though my high expectations (from watching all the food recommendation shows on telly) were not always met, it was quite an eye-opener trying all the various Taiwanese snacks and dishes. Where next, I wonder?

I have heard of Chilli Pan Mee (辣椒板面) for a long time but had no idea what it tasted like or where to have it. So my friend wanted to introduce me to the most famous place serving this particular dish, but Kin Kin wasn’t open when we arrived as it was quite late in the afternoon. But all was not lost as opposite the closed shop was Super Kitchen, also serving Chilli Pan Mee.

This shop is air-conditioned and the food preparation area is partitioned to one corner and you can actually watch them make it, if you’re inclined. As it was quite late, only a few tables were taken but service was still quite prompt.

The dry pan mee was served within minutes, and the handmade noodles were topped with poached egg, anchovies, minced meat, shallots and spring onions. The crux of the dish is of course the chilli paste, which are placed separately in containers on every table. Feel free to spoon in whatever amount you feel you can handle, but of course the wise one will try the spiciness levels before really heaping it on. Better to add to your desired level instead of having to endure mouth numbing and stomach warming throughout the day.

After mixing in the slow-roasted dry chilli paste, the noodles starts taking on its fiery colour. But the spiciness doesn’t hit immediately, it starts with a slow burn. But no worries as the accompanying soup with cangkuk manis , egg white swirls and pork balls will provide a quick, albeit temporary reprieve. The chewy texture of the noodles is well complimented with all the ingredients and I was a convert immediately. More Chilli Pan Mee!

Having not tried the original, I’m quite pleased with this version. And I think the reviews are quite promising as they mostly say that it’s comparable, and with a better ambience too! So give the underdogs a chance! Lol. They have a branch iin Kota Damansara if that’s more convenient.

Restoran Super Kitchen 名厨辣椒板面
33, Jalan Dewan Sultan Sulaiman 1
Off Jalan T.A.R
50300 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-26970998

other reviews;
- kyspeaks
- ah phen
- the yat

As much as my dad loves food, nothing calls to his heart like chinese cuisine. So for Father’s Day, I decided to treat him to a good old-fashioned yum cha session. Chose Ah Yat Abalone Forum Restaurant in PJ as I wanted something that had a nice ambience with food that was above average.

The captain recommended the Pork Trotters in Black Vinegar (猪脚醋) and knowing that my dad loves pork trotters we did have some. It was served with one whole egg and the sweetish vinegar sauce has seeped in well.

I opted for Century Egg Porridge (皮蛋粥) which was very fine and smooth. I love this type of porridge so needless to say, after giving some to my dad, I licked the bowl clean! The portion is bigger than the usual soup bowl size in restaurants, and was served with crispy dough crullers and sliced spring onions.

The Braised Beef Tendon (牛腩煲) was added later as I didn’t spot it in the beginning. We both love tendons so we were delighted to see quite a bit of it added to the beef slices. The meat wasn’t as tender as I liked it, but tasted quite ok lah. Quite a few cubes of white radish were also visible and those has a nice bite to it.

Steamed Cheong Fun with Prawn (鲜虾肠粉). The rice rolls were a bit thick but prawns were fresh. No chilli oil on the side though. Had to ask for it on a side dish.

The regular, Steamed Prawn Dumpling (阿一虾饺皇) was also ordered. I don’t really see the usual translucence I’m used to but it tasted pretty decent. Instead of using whole prawns, they used marinated prawn chunks which does add to the flavour.

The Pan Fried Turnip Cake (香煎萝卜糕) had shredded turnips in them. A little too soft both on the inside and outside than what I prefer but tastewise it was delicious. I like it crispier, esp. on the outside.

Deep Fried Yam Dumplings (炸竽角). Now this I heart. The yam pastry was light and fluffy and utterly delectable. So good that I can’t remember the filling, Lol.

This is Steamed Pork Ribs with Bitter Gourd (凉瓜蒸排骨). The bittergourd flavour was not that prominent so no worries about bitterness here. Most of the ribs here had cartilage in them, which I liked.

The Steamed Mini Shanghai Dumpling (上海小笼包) looks so inviting, with the soup all pooled within. Steamed on sliced carrots, the skin had a slight tinge of the carrot’s sweetness. Best eaten while still piping hot.

Steamed Fish Balls (香蒸鱼卖) are not normally my favourites during a dim sum meal. But these were quite good as it had bits of stuff in it, which I think is celery.

I asked for the Mango Pomelo Dessert (杨枝甘露) after all the other food. This is one of my favourite Hong Kong style desserts as the creamy and milky sago, balanced with the soft mango and slightly tart pomelo pulp tastes incredible. I quite like the version here but thought the mango milk tasted a lill artificial.

The service here is quite good, with the waiting staff filling your cups almost every 5 minutes. And they have this ongoing discount promotion of 50% on weekdays, 30% on weekends, which does make the food quite affordable. So worth a visit for those wanting a more luxurious ambience than your usual dim sum restaurant.

Ah Yat Abalone Forum Restaurant 阿一鲍鱼富临酒家
Lot 9B, Jalan Kemajuan
Section 13
Petaling Jaya

Tel no: 03-79604988/79604288

other reviews;
- masak-masak

Looking at this bowl of seafood noodles, recollections of my love affair with it slowly surfaces. the most famous place serving this has to be Yu Ai, a nondescript looking restaurant in the Segambut town, merely a stone’s throw away from the city.

However I discovered its branch in SS2 first without any knowledge of its fame, being the ignoramus I was then. But then, a bowl of seafood noodles only cost RM10. From what I hear, the prices go up RM1 every year so it must have been 5 years since as a standard bowl costs a whopping RM15 now. And fine dining it’s not as the original establishment sees more people sitting outside under colourful outdoor umbrellas where it’s cooler in comparison the the inside which was as hot as a furnace.

Their specialty of noodles come in 3 soup bases - the original clear soup, the sourish tom yam and rich curry. Even though I’m generally more of a tom yam lover, their version tips the balance of spicy and sour more towards the latter as it tastes too heavily of the tamarind. I tried the clear soup probably once but it was too bland for my liking.

Hence the soup base of my choice has become the creamy and flavourful curry, which goes perfectly with the given fiery chilli paste. The accompanying chilli paste packs quite a punch and I probably love it more than the noodles itself, so that’s saying something. Portion size is substantial and I must admit they don’t skimp on the seafood. Clams, prawns, mussels, cuttlefish and fish fillet are piled high till you can barely see the noodles anymore.

I’m inclined to believe that these noodles taste better at the original shop, evident by the better crowd. It’s actually more comfortable eating at the SS2 branch. But when people are willing to brave the odds of the heat and dirt to get their hands on a bowl of noodles and lick the bowl clean, it’s a testament of the deliciousness. So imo, if you want to taste the real deal, head off to Segambut. Be prepared to fork out more though.

Restoran Yu Ai
42J Jalan Segambut Utara,
51200 Kuala Lumpur.

SS2 branch is at 58, Jalan SS2/10, 47300 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

other reviews;
- eatingasia
- lotsofcravings
- kampungboycitygal
- boredworkers
- we ate this