Lunch @ Tang House of Fishball, SS15 Subang Jaya

These days have been getting pretty hot and with such a stuffy weather, we just need to find somewhere nearby and air-conditioned.  That was how we stumbled across Tang House of Fishball @ SS15 Subang Jaya.  Despite my parents commenting about its mediocre taste, I just wanted to try it myself since some bloggers gave quite a good review about it.

Their signature dish is the Tang Pin Mee Pok (RM 6.00), topped with minced pork meat, slices of fish cake and lard, drizzled with a flavourful sauce.  It is usually a spicy dish but I ordered the non-spicy version instead.  Tasted very much like Hakka noodle, what makes it different is the flat, yellow egg noodles which somehow reminded me of fettuccine.  The taste is pretty light and not very oily.  Unfortunately, the portion is quite small and the consistency varies in each visit.

KS ordered the Handmade Fish Noodles (RM 7.00).  Initially, I thought it was a soup noodle, but then again, the picture in the menu was not very clear.  Anyway, it was a bowl of vermicelli with fish paste noodles topped with minced meat and fish cake, drizzled with some fish broth.  It has a very light flavour - a taste that was hardly noticeable.  I guess it was not salty enough but KS found it quite bearable.  The springy fish paste noodles, unfortunately, didn't really taste like fish to me.

One worth-trying dish in Tang House is the Hock Chew Ball (RM 6.00) - 6 pieces of bouncy fishballs filled with tender pork meat.  While the fishballs are worth a mention, what makes it very memorable is the sweet and flavourful fish-based broth that was cooked with bitter-gourd.  The taste was simple and light, but bursting with flavours.  No bitter taste at all.  It was good.

We also ordered the Signature Pan-Fried Dumplings (RM 6.00 - 8 pieces) to snack on.  There is nothing exceptionally outstanding about these pan-fried dumplings.  The dumpling skin has a nice crispy texture while still juicy on the inside.  The setback - it was a bit burnt for some of the dumplings and slightly oily.  The vinegar was just so-so and didn't help to accentuate the flavours much.

Finally, comes the desserts.  No drinks were ordered as we are attracted to the range of hot or cold soup desserts that they offer.

The one I liked the most is the cold Double-boiled Winter Melon and Longan (RM 3.80) dessert.  Comes with a lot of dried longans, it was not overly sweet and works well as a thirst quencher.

Another nice dessert is the Barley Fu Chuk Gingko (RM 3.50) cooked in soy milk.  The sweetness is just right and the soy milk give it a nice smooth texture.  The only thing I didn't like was that there was no balance of the three ingredients - there were more barley than the fu chuk and gingko.

While the Black Glutinous Rice Porridge (RM 3.50) looked nice in the menu, the actual was, unfortunately, not very appetizing with the coconut milk unattractively combining with the porridge.  It was obvious that the porridge was quite diluted, but despite that, the flavour and fragrance of the black glutinous rice is still there.  Just the texture was missing.

Generally, there are some hits and misses, with consistency being quite a problem.  The first visit was really good and that made us come back for a second, but disappointing, visit.  I ate the mee pok twice and it didn't taste the same on my second visit.  Could it be because it was a weekday?  Maybe a third visit could confirm the consistency problem.

Tang House of Fishball
No.31, Ground Floor
Jalan SS15/4E
47300 Subang Jaya

GPS:  3.078001, 101.5873017

Dinner @ Tasty Porridge, Taipan USJ10

Weather has been scorching hot and stuffy last Saturday as compared to the gloomy and rainy days for the days before.  With such weather, it came as no surprise that I barely had much appetite for anything heavy or complicated.  That's why I suggested to have some light porridge for dinner at Tasty Porridge @ Taipan USJ10,  Subang Jaya.

Knowing that I liked the crispy, fried intestines, KS insisted to order the Authentic Pork Mix Porridge (RM 6).  The porridge is smooth and has enough flavour, i.e. not bland.  However, I felt the porridge is not watery enough and it gets quite starchy when it cools.  The fried intestines were indeed nice and crispy, and without too much saltiness in it.   On top of that, there are a lot of meat in the porridge.

To go with the porridge, we definitely cannot leave out the Deep Fried Dough Stick (RM 1.30) or yau char kwai.  The yau char kwai is quite fresh, not oily and very crispy.  Goes very well with the porridge.  Sorry, no pictures of the yau char kwai as I couldn't wait to dip into the porridge :P

We also ordered the Claypot Kung Po Pork Belly Slices (RM 13) as KS wanted to have rice instead.  The flavours were quite intense with the hotness from not only the dried chillies but also the cut chillies.  However, despite being a kung-po dish, it tasted nowhere near because it is lacking the acidity of the vinegar.  Also, the dish is pretty salty but should be fine as long as it goes with rice.  Nevertheless, the dish is still reasonable as the pork slices were not too fatty and are quite tender.

Finally is the Chinese lettuce (RM 6).  A pretty standard plate of nicely-cooked vegetables.  For this price, it was quite big portion.

On any hot day, a good cup of herbal tea would be the best antidote to cool down the body.  For that, we ordered the chrysanthemum tea (RM 2.30) which has a nice flowery taste and the right level of sweetness.  Tasted like how we would prepare at home - not too diluted.

Overall, the food and the price it charged is quite reasonable.  Service was very fast and so, you don't have to wait very long.   Place is clean and well-conditioned.  However, getting a carpark in Taipan is, as expected, pretty difficult but there's always the multi-storey carpark building opposite Tasty Porridge as an alternative.

Tasty Porridge

19-G, Jalan USJ 10/1C

47600 Subang Jaya

GPS:  3.048385,101.584821

Hainanese Lunch @ Gastro Cafe, Subang Jaya

Right after attending my cousin's wedding ceremony at The Saujana Hotel, we set off for a late lunch at Gastro Cafe @ SS15 Subang Jaya.  I always wanted to try this Hainanese place out since it was opened, but I just never had the chance to set foot there.

Me being a huge fan of nasi lemak, I had to order the Nasi Lemak with Halua Chicken (RM 7.80), served with sambal, ikan bilis, egg and stir-fried long beans.  The halua chicken or sweet chicken was a bit over-cooked and hence, a little bit hard, but it was seasoned pretty good.  Eaten together with the sweet and spicy sambal, it was just right.  Plus, they were very generous with my favourite ikan bilis!  The portion is a quite big and worth the price paid.

For KS, he ordered the Gastro Chicken Chop (RM 11.50) served with original Hainanese sauce and a piece of white bread to sweep up the sauce.  The chicken chop was quite succulent but unfortunately, was just soaked in too much sauce, making the crispy outer layer going soggy.  The sauce was a bit bland, and so, didn't make the dish stand out very much.  As compared to the nasi lemak, the portion is a bit smaller but still good enough.

To end, we ordered the cendol as desserts.  The portion was amazingly large and they have put enough gula melaka to sweeten the ice.  The filling were pretty standard - cendol jelly and red beans.  Overall, an enjoyable cooling dessert to end.

Generally, Gastro Cafe is quite a decent place for a quick simple meal at an affordable price.  The service was quite good and quite accommodating to our specific requests to remove peanuts from our servings.

Gastro Cafe

No 4 & 6, Jalan SS15/4B

47500 Subang Jaya

Organic Meal @ Medifoods, Subang Jaya

Last weekend, I brought my parents for a dinner at Medifoods @ Subang Jaya a very nice, quiet and relaxing restaurant.  Medifoods, which have its own farm, serves mainly organic produce.  But, if you decide to go meat-less, they do have a dedicated section in the menu that is purely for the vegetarians.

We ordered the 1/2 free-range roasted chicken as the main dish.  The chicken is very succulent and the skin is roasted until crispy - the crispiness is very similar to the Peking Duck.  It is well-marinated with just enough spices and dipped with some of the not-so-hot chilli and ginger scallion sauce, it is truly delicious.  I like the chilli sauce because the acidity gives a very refreshing and appetizing feel.

Next is the organic kailan, which is blanched and served with soy sauce and shallot oil.  The vegetables are cooked very well and presented beautifully.  The vegetables are not too hard until you need to chew a lot.  But despite the softness, the vegetables still look very green and fresh.  The soy sauce is just nice - not too salty.

The handmade pan-fried organic tofu is very smooth and soft.   You can taste the soybean, so you know it is made of the real thing.  The gravy is actually sweetened soy sauce, and goes quite well with the tofu.  Although quite plain, but the tofu is quite flavourful.

It also comes with a bowl of superior chicken stock soup with lots of mixed organic vegetables.  The soup of the day was salted vegetables soup with tofu.  The soup is quite sweet with all the vegetables, although it is slightly salty (well, salted vegetables, what do you expect).

To go with the roasted chicken is the chicken rice.  Cooked using unpolished green rice and chicken broth, the rice is very tasty and not oily at all.  Eating the rice alone is very nice.

For drinks, we ordered the pot of mixed floral tea to share.

After the meal, we felt it was a little not very filling, so my parents decided to order another dish - the vegetarian claypot yee mee, served with a lot of mixed vegetables and beancurd puffs.  The gravy is very light, and even without the use of meat-based stock, it is very sweet.  But I find the noodles a bit overcooked.

One thing we like about Medifoods is that the owner has grown a lot of plants in the restaurant.  It's like stepping into a garden - very cosy and cooling.  There's both outdoor and indoor seating, and beside the restaurant, is the shop area selling organic goods.


Medifoods
59-61, Jalan SS18/6
47500 Subang Jaya
Selangor

Taiwanese Desserts @ Queen of Spades, Subang Jaya

Not wanting to go to a super crowded place, we opt for a newer, lesser known Taiwanese dessert shop, Queen of Spades @ Subang Jaya for desserts.

Signature Taro Q

This sweet dessert is totally loaded with lots of cincau flavour. What I love about Queen of Spades is that their taro and sweet potato balls, although not QQ enough, but they actually tasted like taro and sweet potato.  I'm pretty ok with the not-so-QQ-enough as I don't like it being too chewy.  Also, it has lots of sweetened red beans which I love very much.

I like how they presented the deesrt in a wide bowl so that you can see nicely each different ingredient.

Milk Tea with Red Bean

They were very generous with the sweetened red bean.  Together with the milk, it is very nice although could barely taste the tea.

In my opinion, I actually prefer Queen of Spades than Snowflake, especially on the sweet ice dessert.  The taste is better and doesn't feel too commercialized.   Price-wise, it is pretty decent.

Queen of Spades 

No. 84G, Jalan SS15/4,

47500 Subang Jaya

Open:  Monday to Saturday, 12pm-7pm

Dinner @ North 28' Restaurant, Subang Jaya

This is one stall which I strongly feel has been maintaining the quality of their food.  Since my younger days, I have been going to this restaurant for dinners, and until now, I never fail to crave for their food.

Previously, this Chinese "tai chow" stall sits in the restuarant that sells the famous pan mee during daytime in SS19, Subang Jaya.  But since a few years back, this stall has moved.  Now, you can find this stall at North 28 Degree Restaurant, USJ 4.

During the weekends, it can be very packed and sometimes, we need to wait quite a while for the food to be served.  If you don't like waiting, you better not go during the peak dinner time.  Otherwise, it is worth waiting.

The one dish that I love very much is their Fried Onion Chicken (洋蔥雞).  Until now, I have not found one that taste as nice as theirs.

As a young girl, I always pestered my parents to order this dish so much so that my Dad now treats this dish as a must-order dish on any special occasions for me (encouragement dinners, celebration dinners or even after-get-well-treat dinner..haha).

This juicy fried chicken is topped with generous amount of fried onion rings, drizzled with BBQ-like sauce.  The chicken is very tender and the plus point is that the chicken is not coated with a thick layer of flour/batter, so you get to fully enjoy the crispy skin.

Given the hot weathers recently, we were also craving for some soupy dish.  So, we ordered the Chinese Spinach in Superior Broth (上汤菠菜).

Served in a claypot, the vegetables comes with a very flavourful soup, topped with fried silver anchovies and slices of century egg.  I cannot stress how nice the soup is.

One thing I like very much about this stall is that the taste is not commercialized - a lot of old flavours and homey feel - something hard to find nowadays.

*****UPDATE*****

The Thai-Styled Fried Chicken is also something I liked very much too.  Topped with a lot of shredded cucumbers and onions, this dish has a very refreshing feel.  Not too spicy or too sour.

The Kung-Po Sliced Fish is also nice.  Unlike most Kung-Po styles, this is a bit less spicy, which I prefer since it does not masked the sweetness of the fish.

North 28' Restaurant

Jalan USJ 4/9G

47600 Subang Jaya

Selangor

(corner shop fronting the Persiaran Tujuan, opposite the USJ 12 secondary school)

GPS:  3.045361,101.575609

Traditional Afternoon High Tea @ Grand Dorsett Hotel

Lately, afternoon high tea has been a quite hit between me and KS.  Whenever we saw any cafes offering afternoon high tea, we will just want to sample them.  Looking at the tiered trays filled with mouth-watering cakes & tarts, just make us both melt.

I think the craze started by accident on the Chinese Valentines Day last year (七夕節).  KS decided to treat me to my first ever afternoon high tea at Delicious after an afternoon movie.

That experience totally changed the way we view high tea.  I totally fell in love with high tea.

****************************

Today's high tea experience brings us to Piano Lounge @ Grand Dorsett Hotel , Subang Jaya.

Scones:  Not the usual buttery scones.  They served two types, wholemeal scone & raisins scone.  Didn't like the wholemeal scone - a bit too wet for a scone & missing the flaky texture.  The raisin scone is slightly better & nicer.


But a plus point is their fresh double cream & passion-fruit jam.  I love their jam, not too sweet & jelly-like while their cream is very light & smooth.

English chicken curry puff:  Not sure what makes it English, but it tasted like any curry puffs.  Nothing special but a bit disappointing especially coming from a hotel.  The pastry did not even stand out - it has gone soft.

Fruit tartlets:  Strawberry custard tarts & raspberry tarts.  The strawberry tarts is very nice.  Too bad they only give one small bite-size tart.  The raspberry tart, like the scones, was a bit too wet for my liking.  It qualifies more as a cake than a tart.  But luckily, the raspberry jam inside the tart saved it from further disappointment.


Cakes:  Chocolate mousse & carrot cake slices.  The cakes are very nice especially the mouse cake.  The carrot cake has just the right level of sweetness & not too dry - never liked carrot cake before as I always find the cake not sweet enough while the icing is too sweet.  Here, it found the right balance.


Sandwiches:  Smoked salmon & egg sandwiches.  The sandwiches are quite nice - very generous with the filling!  I find two slices of smoked salmon on mine :)  If it had been more smokey, it would have tasted even better.


Coffee & tea:  Standard black coffee & Lipton tea.  Would have expected something more different though.

****************************

Overall, the portion is quite small.  Really is just enough for an afternoon treat.  But the ambiance is very cosy & relaxing.  A very nice place to unwind & slowly enjoy the pastries while sipping tea/coffee.

 

 

Piano Lounge

Grand Dorsett Subang Hotel

Jalan SS 12/1

47500 Subang Jaya

Selangor.