Family Gathering @ Soon Heong Restaurant, Menjalara

Family gatherings are norm during festive seasons; especially during Chinese New Year. It is a Chinese tradition to sit down at the dinner table and share a banter over a drink or two.
This year, it was a wonderful opportunity as my cousin and me were both in town to enjoy a family dinner since the passing of my grandparents.

We organized the dinner and proposed to have it at our usual haunt in Menjalara; Soon Heong Restaurant which serves nice Teochew-style dishes.


Of course, it was just the 4th day of CNY and my uncle and aunt had just returned from their family reunion dinner in Ipoh.

Opting for the normal rice and dishes instead of the dinner set, we ordered the Yee Sang as an add-on with an additional charge of RM28.


Yee Sang



Raw fish slices

Top view


The accompanying sauce


This must have been my 4th Yee Sang in a row since before and during CNY!





The aftermath


Prawns, done in their signature style.

I cannot remember the exact name; but this tasted really good with the huge freshwater prawns they served.
It was some unique Chinese sauce they used; Szechuan type I think.

Stir-fried Hong Kong Kale


Sunshine Beancurd

Homemade beancurd done in a plain sauce slightly peppered, and loaded with carrots, snow peas, enoki mushrooms and shittake mushrooms.
Don't you think the way they place the stuffs, it really looks like a big sun?
Mind you, even the serving plate is big to make it appear like a big sun in appearance.
It is one of our favorite dishes!~

Spare ribs in combo sauce

Spicy sweet and sour on one side; and mayonnaise covered on the other.


Steamed pomfret in Assam sauce

I do not know why the supposedly Assam sauce turned out to be this curry-like substance but it sure did not taste good and even made my stomach upset for the entire night.

I was a little annoyed with the orders/recommended dishes by the so-called lady boss that night who was just busy promoting all the high-end dishes.

I was expecting my usual serving of the fish in this assam sauce instead


I was quite bummed with the way most of our food turned out.

I don't know, but I think the usual waitress who took our order did way better than the lady boss who was trying to be annoyingly smart to introduce all the high-end fish, seafood and dishes to her customers without understanding what are her customers' preferences.
When she names one dish and we opted for another, she even had to cheek to mutter that it won't taste as nice.

I think she needs to improve her attitude or mannerism to maintain her business.

Anyway, the whole dinner totaled up to RM182.90; but I didn't think it was that good of a meal to enjoy, tastewise.

1st Day of CNY: Vegetarian Yee Sang @ Ba Xian Restaurant

On the first day of Chinese New Year, we attended the morning mass at the new church (read my Angelstar blog) to usher in the New Spring and the Lunar Year of the Tiger.

It was super hot in the church due to the weather and also the church being in renovation state, there was no proper ventilation.
Anyway, when we stepped out of the church, the temperature was not any better as it was scorching HOT under the sun as well.
I must say that this is one of the HOTTEST CNY I've ever experienced; although most CNY are hot due to the new spring, this CNY is really by far and in history, the HOTTEST.
It must be the effects of global warming, sadly.

Well, on the first day of CNY, it was not easy to find food anywhere, as some restaurants are closed. In recent years, it has been better as most entrepreneurs do not want to miss this chance to make profit and therefore, there will be a few restaurants open.
Those few will be packed to the brim too; and it goes back to the basics where you drive around in frustration, seeing each restaurant's crowd and even a queue out there.

We finally ended in Ba Xian Restaurant; which happened to be a vegetarian restaurant.
Usually most are vegetarians on 1st and 15th of the month; and so is mummy. We decided not to drive around anymore as we were hungry and it was so hot out there.
We settled for a short queue, and fortunately, we found a table almost the second we stepped into the human-infested restaurant.
Thank God for the invention of A/C as well!~ =)

Everything was in a hustle bustle and we could only choose from the set lunches available; RM59.80 for 2-3 pax.

Vegetarian Yee Sang (RM23) - exclusive from the set lunch and is an add-on ordered by us.


Raw vegetarian fish slices; not bad eh?


Colorful way to toss the start of the year towards prosperity, good wealth, health and happiness!

I must say that the person who invented Yee Sang is a genius; look at how much they earn from these ingredients which probably costs less than a bomb?

Look at the prices they charge you for a plate of Yee Sang?
Don't even get me started on how some restaurants play around with the auspicious number of 8 in their pricing! *rolls eyes*



Side view; seriously, there is no difference between the vegetarian and the non-vegetarian version, right?

Of course, because the only difference is the raw slices of fish placed atop the pile.

Yee Sang or without the fish, Lou Sang is basically a vegetable-based dish and is pretty healthy; sans the oil, sour sauce and the loads of nuts and crackers you pile onto it =P


Toss your way with all the good wishes and auspicious words; i.e.: Good Health, Lots of Wealth, Promotion at work, Prosperity, Happiness, etc
The belief is that the higher you toss, the better it is =)

The aftermath after everything is mixed ("LOU")


Second dish is the Vegetarian Braised Superior Sharks Fin's soup with crab meat

The soup was rather tasty; and it was corn-based soup with lotsa pepper.
As you can guess, the mock sharks' fin are basically glass noodles (i think though the texture was rather hard compared to the soft glass noodles)
I am against the consumption of sharks fin soup and this is probably the only time you see me drink it; since it is sharks-fin-FREE =P


Third dish; Fried Vegetarian Fish in Sweet and Sour Sauce

I was definitely impressed by the way the fish turned out as a whole fish on the plate.
It even smelt like a fish; due to the thick wrapping of the seaweed around the flour texture of the mock fish.

It was really delicious and it even had a tangy touch to the texture when you bite it!~


4th Dish: Braised Vegetarian Pork in soy sauce

This is done in the "Kau Yook" style; with rather thick sauce and generous serving of the shittake mushrooms.

5th and final dish: Mixed Stir-fried vegetables

I think this dish was simple and plain-tasting; which was a rather good change from the rest of the dishes.
At the same time, I felt that the theme of this dish was rather overloaded and in confusion as there seemed to be a combination of plain vegetables dish to a combination of ingredients in a pot of soup.
For instance, there were those Chinese herbs and wolfberries, and vegetarian prawns, and even mock pork belly!~


Overall, the dish was quite good though =)

The total bill came to about MYR74++; inclusive of the Lou Sang which was priced at MYR23.
The set lunch was MYR59.80.

I think it was still reasonably priced; albeit a little on the high side but it is after all, the first day of CNY.
Another thing is; I am pleased to mention that the staff were really friendly despite being rushed and working in a hectic environment and furthermore on the 1st day of CNY, and they still smile and responded to each of our request so politely that I think they deserve a mention here =D

Claypot Cat Fish @ Soon Heong

Soon Heong restaurant is a corner-lot shophouse-restaurant located in the quiet neighborhood of Menjalara and I have blogged about it before; if you still remember the unique double-flavored pork ribs.

At RM12, this is one of their recommended dishes which can be found on the front page of the menu itself!~
Well, I have more dishes tried which I would like to share =)
This is after all one of the family haunts and their cooking style is influenced by the Teochew gourmet style.

This Claypot Cat fish is one of their recommended items on the menu (RM16)

The cat fish was cut up into fillets in the claypot with a very thick brownish gravy with lots of ginger slices and garlic.
The sauce had a hint of soy beancurd taste in it.

My verdict?

Well, I have to admit, much as I love having fish for my meals, this is somehow not my cup of tea.
I was a little overwhelmed by the gravy and also the slimy texture of the fish's flesh which was rather, ermm, unappetizing for my taste buds.
Sorry to those cat-fish fans, it happens to disagree with me on the taste, that's all.
However, if you are game to try anything new or adventurous, or better still, if you are a cat fish fan, you might want to try this.

As usual, double flavored pork ribs as mentioned above is ordered (my family just loves this)



For veggies, their stir-fried potato leaves with sambal belacan (RM8) was not too bad either.

I love the aromatic scent of this dish and also the fact that it is less oily compared to some other places serving this very dish too.


Mixed vegetables for those who do not want to have anything spicy for their greens (RM8)


The best part about this place; besides its location with ample parking space and their unique cooking style, is the fact that they serve complimentary desserts...Jelly (or fresh fruits of the day sometimes)

I love the jelly!~ =P

For 4-5 people, the bill would usually approximate to ~RM50 for 4 dishes?
Not a bad place, right? =D

Desserts @ Aman Puri

Afternoon tea is enjoyed by the English, with a cup of Earl's Grey or Darjeeling in their hand and a hot scone in the other, flipping through their hobbies magazine or chit chatting with their friends who are equally with as much free time in their hand.

In Malaysia, we also enjoy the local variation of the teh tarik with bites of nyonya kueh while spluttering with the bits of pastries' flakes during the conversation.
Typical, ain't it?:)

How about something hot and sweet; out from the normal convention tea practice as mentioned above...say, a bowl of sweet and nutritious sweet dessert soup which you scoop spoonful by spoonful and sip it slowly?

Kei Tak Sek is definitely one of the popular dessert hangout place in KL; but there are also a number of 'unsung' heroes out there.
For instance, this little dessert cum snack stall in Desa Aman Puri tucked away in one of the Kepong neighborhood.

For a cool and invigorating taste to the throat and the taste buds, a bowl of double boiled water chestnut with gingko nuts, longan and snow fungus is definitely inviting

Not too sweet for taste and yet pleasant to the buds, it is definitely a nutrition-packed and a beauty option for ladies at an affordable price of RM3.50! :)

Opt from the usual desserts such as the Barley with gingko nuts is also not a bad idea.

Sip from the boiled sweet soup cooked with the beancurd sheets and laden with barley and sliced gingkos, it is a simple bowl of everyday dessert we can get anywhere:)

Who doesn't know red bean soup?

Who could resist the little red beans bobbing up and down in the dark maroon and thick soup?

And if you are pretty healthy and have no fear of sore throats or prickly heat, a bowl of peanut paste may be too tempting for you to resist;)


Now, who says desserts are only for night time after dinner? *winks*