Candy Sistar Dessert @ Taman Putra

Ever since I jumped on ShopeeFood's delivery platform, I've discovered many good new eateries I would not have otherwised known or dared to venture into even if it stared me right in the face.  And that's because, when we look at a (new) restaurant signboard, most of the time we don't know what they'd be selling or how the food will taste like, so we hesitate to go in.

So, herein lies the beauty of ShopeeFood as you can check what exactly the restaurants offer by scrolling their menu on the app.  This is ideal especially when you have family members who are not open to eating some things...and you can do a taste test first (via delivery) before deciding if they're good enough to be explored further or for a dine-in.

One such discovery was this little gem, Candy Sistar Dessert @ Taman Putra (this place is probably owned by sistars, not sisters...lol), that was opened some time in October 2021 last year.  This place basically sells small bites (that's ideal for breakfast, light lunches or tea time snacking) like pre-packed nasi lemak, many varieties of kuih muih, sweet soups (tong sui), fried meehoon, yam cake, fried pastries and such.

I did my taste test by ordering delivery first (twice actually) before finally paying a visit to the shop for dine-in.  So the food showcased here is a combination of what I had via delivery and dine-in.

The surprise find was the Nasi Lemak @ RM3.90 (not sure of the on-site price since I didn't get to eat it at the shop) which I first ordered through delivery and it turned out pretty darn good.  The sambal was so good for a Chinese-style nasi lemak that I thought it was a bit suspicious as the Chinese is not (usually) known for putting out a great sambal.  I would soon find out that they didn't make the nasi lemak themselves but got them from a Malay vendor as the the lady working there (when asked) said it won't be available until after Ramadan. There you go...my suspicion allayed....hah..hah.

I liked that they use the tiny-type of ikan bilis as they were more fragrant and crispy.  The only protest most have would probably be the smallish portion of the nasi lemak compared to its price (that's why I was eager to find out the in-shop price but didn't get to).  Some will definitely think it's not worth it seeing the size is like those small pre-packed nasi lemak where one can easily whack 3 packets at one time (even I can do it!). For eaters like me, who values taste over portion size, I won't be complaining as much.

One of the things I wanted to try was the Fried Meehoon with Chicken Curry @ RM5 (RM6.90 via delivery). Quite a big portion for the price point I have to say.  It came with one piece of chicken (breast unfortunately) and two big chunks of soft potato together with some fried cabbage.

I thought the chicken curry had good flavours and was decent tasting but found the texture of the meehoon a little bit rough/dry (which my husband mentioned as well).  Thankfully, the curry was there to help soften the meehoon and together, it made it more pleasant to eat....on its own it probably wouldn't be as satisfying.

I also got us an order of Yam Cake @ RM2.90 (RM3.90, delivery price).  The texture was adequately soft but you won't find bits of yam cubes inside for added texture.  The sesame seeds and fried shallots gave it the fragrance it needed.  I didn't think much of it though but my husband particularly liked the saltiness of it.

I ordered their Kuih Teo Chew @ RM1.90 a piece, delivery price (RM1.20 at the shop).  This teo chew kuih (crystal dumplings or chai kuih, not to be confused with the peach-shaped teochew png kueh) comes in 4 flavours....sengkuang (turnip), chives, yam and pumpkin.  I wanted to try each flavour so that I can nail down the flavour I like best.  It's probably called crystal dumplings because of the translucent, crystal-like skin of the dumplings.

Kuih Teo Chew (Pumpkin) - liked the smoothness and light sweetness of pumpkin filling against the savoury flavours of the smooth and glossy, thin and translucent skin.  It was a great skin, some can be too thick and chewy but not this one.  Expect the skin to be oily as it has to be otherwise they'll stick to one another during the steaming process.

Kuih Teo Chew (Yam) - the yam filling had both smoothness from the mashed yam with a bit of textural contrast from some tiny cubes of yam together with the savouriness from dried prawns.  I also found tiny amounts of some sort of green vegetable (I think it was chopped chives) that made the kuih even more aromatic.

Kuih Teo Chew (Sengkuang) - loved the savouriness of the soft sengkuang (sar kot) together with the fragrance of tiny bits of good quality tasting dried prawns.  This one also contained bits of fragrant chives as the teo chew kuih with yam.  Simply awesome.

Kuih Teo Chew (Chives) - I finally got to taste the chives (gow choy) flavoured one at the shop (as they ran out the last time I ordered delivery and they replaced it with another flavour).  Terrific tasting as the chives were fragrant and well flavoured.  I've eaten some where the chives have a slight bitterness to it. 

All the teochew kuih were excellent....simply the best teochew kuih I've ever eaten! ^o^  Other than the pumpkin flavour, I was expecting the other 3 flavours to taste more savoury but I could also taste light hints of sweetness in them.  After tasting all 4 flavours, I liked the sengkuang flavour the most followed by chives.

When I first saw the delivered teochew kuih, I thought they looked rather familiar...and when I ate them I thought they were as good as those famous teochew kuih (that I remember eating).  Then I noticed the chilli packet and the wording looked exactly like the famous one from Taman Muda (that has since shifted after their old shop was razed by fire).  So, when I dined in, I confirmed they were indeed the same ones (the shop gets their stock from them).  By the way, the chilli sauce packs a punch (and some love to eat it together with the kuih) but I prefer it without as I wouldn't want something so spicy to tarnish the original taste of the chai kuih.

They also sell an array of other kuih...all the common and popular ones like angku (with different flavours), kuih talam, kuih seri muka, kuih ubi, kuih lapis, kuih koci, ondeh-ondeh, heepan, malaiko, kuih ubi sago, pulut panggang (mostly priced at RM1.20 dine-in or RM1.90 delivery), pastries like fried sesame balls (or bom bijan with different fillings), siew bao, curry & kaya puff (RM1.50 - RM2.50 dine-in or RM2 - RM3.50 delivery).  I hope to try some of my favourites on my next visit.

Although I may not have much of a sweet tooth when it comes to desserts, cakes and ice cream but where tong sui is concerned, I go weak in my knees...and my no. 1 favourite is Bubur Cha Cha @ RM6.60. Not only is the dine-in price cheaper @ RM4.50, you also get a bigger bowl than what the (usual round) plastic container can hold! >.<

The sweet dessert was made with a combination of orange, yellow and (dark) purple sweet potatoes, yam and tapioca jellies in sweetened coconut milk (or santan).  The tapioca pearls (in dark purple) I initially thought were purple sweet potatoes until I bit into them and found them chewy and stretchy in texture.  I love the inclusion of these tapioca jellies and they aren't that easy to make (I once tried making them and failed...it turned into a gummy mess).  The only thing missing (for me) were the sago pearls.

I found this to be really good as it was not too sweet (and not too thick) with the ratio of goodies to the santan nicely balanced.  I hate it when there's too much liew and not enough of the santan broth.  I also prefer a more watery broth as I'd feel jelak if the santan is too thick and rich.  Now, if only there were some sago pearls, it would have been perfect....hee...hee.

I tried the Mak Chuk @ RM4.60 (RM3.50 at the shop) which is usually served warm for the next delivery.  It's usually referred to as wheat porridge or bubur gandum because of its direct translation from mak chuk but this is no savoury porridge but a sweet dessert.

Again, I liked that it wasn't too sweet with a good enough dose of santan flavour.  I enjoyed the chewy texture of the wheat pearls against the sweetness of the coconut milk.  I also appreciated that the santan broth wasn't too thick but more diluted which made the dessert that much lighter to drink.

If you like your tong sui cold, you can always stick it into your fridge (if you wish to enjoy it that way especially in our hot weather) but I actually don't mind having my tong sui warm (but not room temperature), so I'd put it into the fridge if I'm not eating it immediately.

Other tong sui available include hak lo mai (black glutinous rice), hong tau sui (red bean), sweet potato ginger, green bean, ginkgo yuba barley, longan taufu and peach gum with white fungus & longan (all reasonably priced between RM3.50 - RM4.50 dine-in or RM4.60 - RM6.60 delivery).

My Personal Opinion

Hmmm, I don't know what to conclude.....they don't make their own nasi lemak (it's from a Malay vendor), they source their teochew kuih from a famous supplier (who incidentally also sells other kuih that perhaps their other kuih are also from them?) and who knows what else is not from them (even the yam cake, my husband noticed, came already pre-packed at the counter shelf arousing our suspicion even further coz those that make their own, we usually find them served in a metal round tray after steaming).

But I have to give it to them for being enterprising and having the resourcefulness to start a business where most of their food is outsourced (though some might look at it as the easy road to doing business).  I believe they do make their own fried meehoon, curry chicken and tong sui as these were served from large portions stored in metal containers.  (Disclaimer: This is just my hunch and not a confirmed fact).  

Having said that, I would return in a heartbeat for the nasi lemak, teochew kuih (even if they didn't make it) and bubur cha cha coz they're good.  Just so you know, they're selling the teochew kuih at the same price (RM1.20 in-shop) as their famous supplier (without any mark-up), so that's good (for us) but not so sure if they can get a good enough profit margin (from outsourced food) as it would notably be lower.  I can see this being a regular breakfast spot when I need a fix of tong sui and kuih (specifically teo chew kuih). ^_~

Candy Sistar Dessert

No 33 Jalan Bunga Tanjung 8

Taman Putra

68000 Ampang

Selangor

Tel: 010-280 1350