Gai Ye BBQ Satay Lok Lok @ Cheras Business Centre

After our underwhelming experience at BBQ Garden Restaurant in the same area a while back, we went to Gai Ye BBQ Satay Lok Lok @ Cheras Business Centre looking for another barbeque meal at another time.

The typical shop-like air-conditioned interior has a few a tables inside though you'll hardly feel the air-conditioning since the shopfront is open.  There are a lot more tables at the open-air area in front of the shop.

Once you step in, you'll be confronted with trays upon trays of raw food on skewers, the variety of which makes your selection just that bit more difficult but you wouldn't want it any other way.

All kinds of processed meatballs, big or small (from pork to chicken, squid & fish)....

.....including lots of commercially prepared mini sausages & bean curd type items.

There are also fresh items like chicken, squid (head & tentacles), prawns, fish & cockles.

Dumplings, crab sticks, crab claws, more fish, squid & prawns.

Roast pork, dried barbequed meat & sausages.

All sorts of mushrooms, quail eggs & corn.

Of course, vegetables must feature at some point....

......and noodles too.

You also have a selection of more premium items (from the fridge) which looked a bit dehydrated to me (from being exposed uncovered in the fridge).  There were some premium fresh seafood like giant tiger prawns and crabs too.

Price-wise, it's very simple...the plain skewers are RM1, the black-marked skewers are RM2 and RM6 for the red-stained ones.

You start with the broth of your choice and I see six on the menu...satay, kimchi, assam laksa and three more written in Chinese.  I went with satay (of course, for that satay celup experience) and salted egg yolk (I know this one coz I've read about it online).  Broth bases start from RM10 (for one) or RM12 for a choice of two.

The salted egg yolk broth does have the taste of salted egg but probably not enough of it to cling to the skewers of foods you put in to cook.  You'll be given crushed peanuts to add to your satay sauce to thicken it...although, initially, it'd be quite diluted but it did thicken somewhat over time (especially towards the end of your meal) as the broth kept boiling (and reducing).

You can ask for more crushed peanuts if you prefer your broth thicker...though adding an extra bowl wasn't successful.  I'd suggest you spoon some of the satay broth into a bowl and then add your crushed peanuts to that to try and create a thicker, chunkier sauce.  Taste wise, let's just say it wasn't as great as some of the satay sauce I've had.

Luckily, there are other dipping sauces available to perk up the flavours of your sticks of food...like the more fiery fresh sambal sauce (bottom right) which I preferred.

Here were some of our selections.  You actually have a choice of how you want your skewers cooked....grilled, deep-fried or lok lok'ed (much like how you'd dunk skewers into a boiling broth to cook them like in a steamboat).

Some we lok lok'ed ^_*

Some were grilled :)

And some we had them deep-fried! ^.^

I actually enjoyed the lok lok items the least as the thin broth/sauce wasn't able to stick to the skewered items to give it enough flavour like a good and thick satay sauce can.

As for the grilled items of squid, dried barbequed meat, chicken and prawn, I liked them a lot more than the lok lok items....especially the squid tentacles and chicken wing for that smoky char deliciousness. ^_^

Some of the items were definitely better suited for deep-frying.  They were dipped in a dry seasoned flour before being deep-fried rendering them savoury and absolutely crispy.  I especially loved the squid tentacles and ham wrapped enoki mushrooms done this way. ^o^

We ended with some cooked noodles, of course...yee mee doused in satay sauce and egg noodles in salted egg broth (both a little odd tasting, nothing like noodles in a conventional soup).

And you'll need some icy drinks to wash it all down which you can order by glass or jug.  I say go with the jug as you'll end up needing more liquid than you think.  Our Honey Lemon @ RM6 a jug and Chinese Tea @ RM3 a jug.

#Side Observation

On a side note, I did make an observation that I'd like to share.  If you've noticed, some of the skewers of food already have blackened marks on them (prior to cooking) which leads me to think that some of them could be reused skewers.  I may be wrong though I highly doubt it.  Other than the black-stained ends used to denote the price of the RM2 sticks, how else can you explain these blackened marks at the tips or in the middle of the stick.  Sometimes, the entire stick is discoloured even before cooking.  We all know what a new stick looks like (and it looks like the prawn skewer!).

Some of you might not feel at ease with such a thought of reused skewers but it happens...probably more often than we know (like with satay).  With satay, we won't even know it they're recycled skewers as the sticks will be burnt already when they're served to us.  I'm sure they'll wash the sticks before reusing (hopefully! O_o), so think of it as washed chopsticks when we eat noodles outside...kekeke! ;D

Also, you have to be perfectly fine with hovering flies (not a lot but some) when you eat here since the sticks of food are laid out exposed (you'll see a worker trying to shoo them away whenever one of them is free).  Flies are something we constantly deal with when it comes to eating street food.

My Personal Opinion

Prices of RM1 - RM2 are certainly very affordable...and anything between 10 - 15 skewers per person (for an average-to-big stomach size appetite) should be more than sufficient for one to be fully satiated. 

Though the place seems better-known for its lok lok, it was the grilled and deep-fried items that ended up being the skewers that I enjoyed eating the most.  They need to rethink their satay broth base or rework it into a thicker, nuttier, spicier, tastier satay sauce that rocks! ^_~

Eat here only if you can get past my side observation and is not squeamish about re-used sticks! :P

Gai Ye BBQ Satay Lok Lok
No 20-0-3 Block C Jalan 2/101c
Cheras Business Centre
Cheras
56100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 012-790 0922