Taiwan BBQ Steamboat @ Yuan Yuan Restaurant, SS2 Mall

Today I brought my parents to SS2 Mall for an early dinner, which unfortunately is quite bare and does not have many choices for food.

After going round in circles, I suggested to try out Yuan Yuan Restaurant since the menu showed quite a decent choice of Chinese food.  Turns out, it was quite a good decision as we left feeling super satisfied.

The highlight was their Taiwan BBQ Steamboat, which has a very close resemblance to the Bar-B-Q Plaza concept, i.e. a combination of grilling and steamboat.  In fact, I prefer Yuan Yuan's version instead as it is more delicious and flavourful.

I ordered the Set A (RM 19.90) that has a choice of beef, chicken or pork served with udon, carrot, vegetables, pumpkin, chicken ball, brocolli and other varieties of seafood products such as seafood tofu, crabstick, seafood balls - all prepared into bite-sized portions.

What makes this BBQ steamboat so memorable is the soup base, which is all-vegetarian, mainly from cabbage.  We all love the soup as it was very sweet and flavourful, with a faint peppery taste.  Confirm no MSG.  The soup is served in a jug, so that you can refill into the pot as you wish (although I am not sure if you can ask for more or not).

Instead of giving pork lard, they served butter for the grilling.  The sauce is a sweet, oyster sauce with a strong sesame oil and if you prefer it spicy, a grounded chilli paste.

Overall, this Taiwan BBQ steamboat is very light and refreshing.  Even my quite-fussy parents were quite impressed with the quality of the BBQ.  The portion size, in my opinion, is quite decent and not too much for one person.

The other dish that we have ordered is the Kampung Chicken Rice (RM 11.90), which is mainly for my parents.

I find the chicken meat quite succulent and served in a nice sweet soy sauce.  The rice, unfortunately, is a bit too soggy for my liking and I must comment how small the rice serving is - not even filled to the brim.  The soup, according to my parents, it was quite good but definitely not as good as the one from the BBQ steamboat.

We will definitely come back again for the BBQ steamboat, maybe with KS next time.

Yuan Yuan Restaurant (园园風味館)
Lot G49-50, SS2 Mall
40, Jalan SS2/72
46000 Petaling Jaya

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

Handmade Oyster Mee Sua @ Shihlin Taiwan Street Snacks

When I think about Taiwanese snacks, the first thing that came to my mind is the mouth-watering Handmade Oyster Mee Sua  ( 蚵仔麵線) from Shihlin Taiwan Street Snacks.

Came to first know about this simple but delicious bowl of noodles when KS introduced it to me.  From then, I am totally hooked to it.  Each time when we feel like getting snacks in-between meals, I would begged to go to Shihlin.

Each bowl is filled with handmade mee sua served over a hot-piping flavourful soup, topped with generous amount of oysters & shredded chicken.  And the extra kick to this mee sua is the chilli paste, giving it a nice touch of spiciness.  It is also not too starchy, so every spoon of it just makes you keep wanting it without feeling bloated.

Oh no, I am already drooling for it now..

This popular franchise serves a variety of popular Taiwanese snacks, and another snack which I always order is the golden and crunchy Sweet Plum Potato Fries.  These savoury sweet potatoes are battered and lightly fried, seasoned with plum powder.  Not too oily & a definitely healthier snack compared to french fries.

You can find Shihlin almost everywhere is most shopping centres.  Perfect to stop to rest your tired feet while munching on the delicious snacks before continuing your shopping spree.