One Dish Meals (or Siu Chow) @ Various Places

Siu chow and tai chow are probably two of the most common lunch or dinner choices among Chinese families.  Where tai chow is considered more premium as it involves a number of cooked-to-order dishes eaten with rice, siu chow (literally translated as small fry) on the other hand are one-dish meals with rice (also cooked-to-order) which are regarded as a more economical lunch or dinner option.

Siu chow usually involves a meat fried with a small amount of vegetables and it's popular with many patrons coz it's viewed as a complete/balanced meal which one can have that's freshly cooked and served hot at an affordable price.  These days I rely on such meals rather frequently too.  It's great when I don't have to cook (or too lazy to cook)....and sometimes it can even end up being cheaper than cooking.  The beauty of it is each of us can then order exactly what we like...and all I need to do is fry up a big plate of vegetables (sometimes) to supplement our greens intake.

There are many of these siu chow places on ShopeeFood (where some of them are also tai chow places). Although most of them cook almost the same well-known dishes, we order them from different eateries so that we don't get bored with the taste...and here are some of them.

#1 - Pandan Jaya World Restaurant, Pandan Jaya

Marmite Chicken Rice @ RM12.90 - Pleasant flavours of a well-loved marmite sauce with tender, boneless chicken chunks.  This one obviously wasn't mine though I actually don't mind the sweet flavours of a marmite sauce once in a while but try to stay clear of something sweet.

Speciality Black Pepper Pork Chop Rice @ RM15.90 - Fair (some will say small) portion of about 4 chunks of delicious and lightly crisp, cut up pork chop cooked with slices of carrot, green bell peppers, red chillies and onions in a black pepper sauce that you can definitely taste.  I'm guessing that speciality means their signature dishes.  I did love the taste of this hot and super peppery black pepper sauce but if you can't take the heat, you better stay clear of this one.

Speciality Sliced Pork with Preserved Mustard @ 13.90 - Ordered this thinking it was mui choy but turned out it was cha choy.  There are so many translated names (from Chinese to English) of these salted vegetables that they can be quite confusing (only the Chinese names are precise).  These Chinese tai chow/siu chow restaurants usually do have the names of the dishes in Chinese but they're lost on those who don't read Chinese.  Cooked with sliced pork, cha choy and tomatoes, the preserved vegetable was very soft but also too salty for me as expected.

Spare Rib with Fragrant Sauce Rice @ RM12.90 - Turned out to be boneless pork chop (instead of pork ribs) and there were also just 4 (slightly) thick slices...what to do, pork is expensive these days...but so is seafood....even chicken has gone up in price.  Well, is there anything that hasn't risen in price?  Cooked in a sauce that resembled a cross between kung po and marmite but not as sweet.  I guess that's their fragrant sauce.  I quite like it actually.

Sliced Fish with Ginger & Spring Onion @ RM13.90 - A frequent order of mine at any siu chow place as it's a lighter meal for me than meat.  I was glad to see that they weren't frozen dory but fresh fish slices (about 5 fairly big slices, I think it's toman) that were soft and flaky + the sauce was nice too.

Sweet & Sour Sliced Fish Rice @ RM13.90 - Ordered sweet and sour fish next but (unfortunately) got a wrong order of the same ginger and spring onion fish again. >.<

Pork Belly with Salted Fish Rice @ RM12.90 - Another good dish that came with a tasty sauce although I was looking for a bit more salted fish and dried chillies taste.

Concluding Thoughts - Nothing we tried disappointed.  Standouts were the black pepper pork chop and fragrant spare ribs.  Portions were acceptable.  Prices among one of the lowest.  Pleased to see compartmentalised packaging of the dish separate from the rice.

#2 - Wong Chao, Taman Shamelin Perkasa

Sweet & Sour Pork Rice @ RM14 - Usually, sweet and sour pork will be one of our first tries to gauge if a shop is any good.  Unfortunately, the pork nuggets were dense in texture coupled with a sweet/sour sauce that was underwhelming.

Homemade Tofu @ RM18 - This was a hefty portion of at least 8 pcs of deep-fried house-made tofu with a crisp exterior.  The dish was passable though I thought the tofu texture wasn't as soft or smooth as some I've eaten before.

Concluding Thoughts - This place used to have a very limited menu (though they've recently added a few more options).  After trying two dishes that didn't really tickle our tastebuds, suffice to say we won't be ordering from here anymore.

#3 - San Tai Thong, Taman Tenaga

Kong Fu Yi Mee (or Cantonese-Style Noodles) @ RM15.50 - This one was pretty forgettable as the eggy sauce wasn't great and the noodles were a bit too crispy.

Fried Roasted Pork in Dark Sauce with Rice @ RM17.50 - Not my order of cuts of pork belly stir-fried with dark soy and lots of garlic.  From just the looks of it, it should be tasty.

Stir-Fried Fish Slices with Ginger & Spring Onions with Rice @ RM19.90 - Loved the plentiful spring onions cooked just right but the fish (I think it's toman) was just lightly fishy with a rather rubbery skin.

Sweet & Sour Pork Rice @ RM16.50 - One of our least favourite rendition of sweet and sour pork as the pork chunks had too much batter which turned out soft rather than crisp + there was way too much sauce on the rice since the dish wasn't packed in a separate compartment from the rice.

Braised Pork Belly with Mui Choy Rice (or mui choy kau yuk) @ RM21 - Thick slices of pork belly (three, I think) cooked till super tender together with mui choy (preserved mustard greens).  Portion was small for the price (and it definitely needed more mui choy) but tasted great.  This happens to be my son's favourite dish from here. ^o^

Braised Pork Belly Meehoon @ RM21 - This order was inevitable since the braised pork belly was so good. The meehoon was tasty as it soaked up all the flavours of the sauce.  Now this portion was big (big enough to satisfy two small eaters)....but don't be too happy first coz it's the meehoon portion that's big, not the meat...haha! ;)

Braised Pork Belly with Preserved Vegetables (a la carte) @ RM34 - Still smitten by the flavours of this ultra soft mui choy kau yuk, we ordered a serving of it on its own.  Portion was still small and the mui choy was still too little (haiz).....but the sauce went great with rice.

Salted Egg Yolk Pumpkin (a la carte) @ RM25 - we ordered this to go with the dish above (and boiled our own rice) and were very pleased that the dish travelled so well, reaching us as if it was just served at the restaurant.

The salted egg yolk pumpkin knocked it out of the park with its softened (but yet crispy) pumpkin slices and robust salted egg yolk taste with bits of fragrance from the crispy curry leaves.  The dish was rich in flavour, so sharing is crucial...lol.

Concluding Thoughts - Most of the dishes we tried were satisfying and some were really good.  Portions are decent (except for the braised pork belly) but prices are certainly on the higher side.  Standouts include the braised pork belly dishes with mui choy and salted egg yolk pumpkin.

#4 - Wah Kee Stir-Fried (Restoran Ma Bao), Taman Maluri

Kung Po Prawn Rice @ RM13.90 - Found 6 - 7 smallish prawns with sliced onions, ginger, spring onions, dried chillies, cashew and ground nuts in the dish.  Since prawns are expensive, one can't expect to get much for RM13.90, so they tried to load up the dish with more dried chillies to camouflage the few prawns given.  But the vast amount of (inedible) dried chillies they used was just ridiculous that it made it too spicy in the end which also made it difficult to eat as I had to pick out all the chillies. >.<

Nestum Cereal Fish Rice @ RM12.90 - Nestum-coated deep-fried fish pieces (probably dory) cooked with fried curry leaves.  The Nestum coating was fragrant and crispy with further aroma from the curry leaves.  It was an ok dish but overall feels dry when eaten with rice.  My son is fine with a dish that's dry but I need some sauce with my rice.

Concluding Thoughts - Although we've only tried two, the flavours did not impress especially the smallish kung po prawns.  Even though prices are reasonable, we doubt we'll be ordering from here again.

#5 - Ah Keong Steam Fish Restaurant, Taman Lembah Maju

Cantonese Fried Kway Teow + Meehoon (or better known as kong fu chow yin yeong) @ RM12 - My most favourite stir-fried noodles and my very first order from this place.  Came in a very good portion size (that may satisfy even a man's larger appetite).  Liked that the meehoon was crispy and the kuey teow well fried. The gravy isn't the best tasting, neither too thick or too watery, but still decent.  The liew (ingredients) were a little lacking with just lean pork (not much of it though), fish cake slices and lots of choy sum but no prawns.

 

Sweet & Sour Grouper Fillet Rice @ RM16.90 - Always love sweet and sour fish but to get grouper (sek pan or kerapu) is a bonus as most would use the least favoured dory, many do it with toman (snakehead) while some (very few) do it with sang yue (also known as snakehead) which I think is the tastiest option.  Got 6 - 7 good-sized pieces of lightly battered grouper that were fresh and flaky but would have liked a bit more crisp on the exterior.

Cooked with onions, tomatoes, cucumber and (fresh!) pineapple cubes together with garlic slices, the sauce had a nice balance between sweet and sour, slightly more sourish than sweet which I prefer.  When the fish of choice is garoupa (and not frozen dory), it tastes so much better (even better than toman).

Mixed Vegetable Rice @ RM15.90 - Fried with aromatics of ginger and garlic slices for better flavour with a variety of vegetables (may be different depending on what they have) consisting of pak choy (napa cabbage), celery, carrot, cauliflower, sugar snap peas together with abalone mushrooms, black fungus, lean pork slices and prawn (yes, singular!).  Cooked to the right doneness and finished with good dash of Shaoxing cooking wine (that I could taste) which just lifted up the taste of the vegetables and sauce.

Kung Po Chicken Rice @ RM15.90  - I've always liked things cooked kung po style with its slightly spicy sauce due to the dried red chillies.  The menu said chicken but the pic showed pork but what came was definitely chicken.

Kung Po Grouper Fillet Rice @ RM16.90 - Ordered this after being encouraged by the earlier Kung Po Chicken which didn't disappoint.  Cooked with thinly sliced carrots, onion wedges, dried red chillies and spring onions with some ginger slices, I really enjoyed the taste of the sauce.

Ginger Pork Onion Rice @ RM15.90 - The menu mentioned the inclusion of a fried egg but there was none. Flavour-wise, it was ok but definitely preferred the sweet-sour and kung po versions.

Kari Pork Rice @ RM15.90 - They do a decent rendition of curry with pork slices with onions and curry leaves.  The curry is fairly thick with quite nice flavours.

Braised Pork Rice @ RM15.90 - Fatty pork belly cooked in dark sauce with onions and bird's eye chillies (for a bit of heat).  This one obviously was not mine.

Concluding Thoughts - Tasty, subtle flavours.  Fair portions.  Prices slightly higher than the rest.  One of our favourites.  Standouts were the simple mixed vegetable rice and sweet and sour grouper.

My Personal Opinion

With very limited siu chow and tai chow places in my neighbourhood to rely on for our weekday (and sometimes weekend) dinners, we had to seek out more of such places (near us) since dishes with rice (or be it just a one-dish meal) is the preferred choice of dinner for my family.

We found one recently in Fun OK Seafood Restaurant (that has now moved to a bigger space in Ampang) and can now add Pandan Jaya World, San Tai Thong and Ah Keong Seafood to our list of tai chow places to eat.

Now that the 2022 World Cup has finally descended, these are good options since I'm foreseeing little to no cooking during this period...kekeke! ;P  The weekend's here...my snacks are ready.....C'mon England! ;)

Pandan Jaya World, No 1G Jalan Pandan 3/6, Pandan Jaya, KL

Wong Chao, No 1 Ground Floor, Lorong 6B/91, Taman Shamelin Perkasa, KL

San Tai Thong, 13 Jalan Selimang, Taman Tenaga, Cheras.

Wah Kee, No 1 Jalan Jejaka 3, Taman Maluri, KL

Ah Keong Steam Fish, 21 Jalan Maju 3/1, Taman Lembah Maju, KL

NineS MaCao Chicken Rice @ Pandan Indah

I've noticed this NineS MaCao Chicken Rice @ Pandan Indah on ShopeeFood delivery for quite some time but have never ordered as I didn't know what MaCao chicken was.  I actually read/pronounced MaCao as Macau....and thought it was some kind of Macau chicken (as in chicken from Macau) similar to the well-known Wenchang chicken (from Hainan, China).

Apparently, I got the pronunciation wrong! >.<  It's not MaCau chicken but MaCho Kai.....MaCho as in Ma (horse) and Cho (grass).  I was told this by a restaurant owner (a place I frequent for breakfast on a weekly basis for their kai see hor fun, not because it's supremely good but because the people manning the place is extremely friendly), that this specific type of chicken is fed with grass eaten by horses! :O  Ooo, grass fed chicken...like grass fed beef lah! :D

Well, this was the first time I've heard of such a thing.  Intrigued, I placed an order for their Signature MaCao Chicken Rice (Single) @ RM14.90 just to see what it's all about.  This is a stall within Kafe Cahaya Bulan in Pandan Indah that's probably more well known for its sam kan chong noodles (pork ball mee with siew cheong or roasted pork sausage) and chao cheong (deep fried pork intestines) which is what I'd get if I'm here.

Their packaging is one of the nicest and neatest packaging I've seen chicken rice come in...lol.  The package contains their signature poached chicken with condiments of pickled carrot and radish along with cucumber slices and sauces.

First things first, the poached chicken is free range, so you can expect the flavour of the chicken to be better than broiler chickens or those raised in confined spaces.  I asked for the thigh portion but got the wing section instead.  I actually don't mind since I like that the meat is much leaner with visibly no fats underneath the skin, so I was able to eat the skin too.

Although the chicken is tender, it does not have that smoothness like poached chicken or wat kai.  The taste and texture of the chicken is more like eating a good steamed choy yin kai (free range chicken).  The meat has a bit more bite but with more flavour and sufficiently tender too.

I really liked the rice as it had tons of flavours from being boiled in a good chicken stock, one of the better ones I've eaten in recent times.  The only tiny disapproval was perhaps it was a little oilier than I would have liked.  The stock is usually made with frying chicken fat with some aromatics and boiling the stock with chicken bones as well. 

Three sauces were given, packed in separate tiny containers.....soy sauce, chilli sauce and ginger paste. The soy sauce for the rice had hints of sesame oil but was a tad oily but so were the chilli sauce and ginger paste.  I know some chicken rice sellers would add chicken broth to their chilli sauce and ginger paste to make them more flavourful.  Actually all three of their own-made sauces tasted great if only they were less oily.

Luckily, the crunchy sliced cucumbers and the refreshing carrot and radish pickle offered some relief to an otherwise oily chicken rice.  I especially enjoyed the pickle which isn't something commonly offered by chicken rice sellers.

I added on a Braised Egg @ RM2.80 just o bump up the total in order to qualify for a ShopeeFood discount voucher.  Nothing about the egg that deserved special mention as it was hardly braised (very obvious from the colour).  Other options here include Roast Chicken Rice (RM14.90), Vietnamese Fried Chicken Rice (RM18.90) and Handmade Chicken Paste Soup (RM7.90).

My Personal Opinion

Overall, it was a pretty good chicken rice.  If they can dial down on the oiliness in the rice and sauces, it would be even better though prices are also a little bit more expensive than the usual chicken rice but that's acceptable since this is macao chicken after all and not the normal broiler chicken.

NineS MaCao Chicken Rice @ Kafe Cahaya Bulan

26 & 28 Jalan Pandan Indah 1/18

Pandan Indah

55100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 014-969 6803

An Update on my Part Time Furry Friends

Just an update on my part time furry friends, the bushy-haired female and the ginger-coloured male cat, to let you know how they're doing.  And yes, the female cat has no name (and I don't intend to give her one) coz if I do give her a name, it kind-of becomes my cat (and a bond develops).  So, these two cats, I just call them Girl and Boy.

I've been feeding them regularly and they appear, like clockwork, everyday (in fact twice a day) at exactly the same time).  Every morning when I wake up, I find them waiting at the porch already.  The same scenario in the evenings.  On the few occasions when they're late (or I'm late), I just shake the food container and they'll come running.

Sometimes they'll hang around in the porch after their meals and in the nights (especially when it's raining), I'd find Girl sleeping in the box I prepared for her.  Lately though, Boy has claimed the box as his, so I had to set up a second box.

One fine day, I opened the door to see this scene unfolding before my eyes.  Omg, this Girl is on fire heat! :O  I actually suspected this already since I've seen her behaving strangely...like walking with her butt slightly elevated or rubbing herself on the road (I believe that's to leave her on-heat scent to prospective males in the area).  And soon enough, the male cats descended!  When female cats are on heat, they take on multiple partners (that's why their kittens come in a multitude of colours depending on which male cat has the more domineering genes).  Well, you can pretty much call female cats a whore...but that's natural in the animal kingdom.

Even her so-called best friend, Boy, wants to get in on the action.  Unfortunately, he's too young and didn't quite know what to do (very inexperienced lah as this was his first rodeo)...hah..hah.  Instead of doing it, he ended up just massaging her...lol!  There's no privacy in the animal kingdom, suitors even watch...and wait their turn! :D

But two other experienced/of age males cats knew exactly what to do.  This mating actually goes on for days (or as long as the female is on heat).  I used to think they'd mate once and be gone...but no!  It's quite agonising to see the female cat going through this mating process as some of these male cats can be quite aggressive in the act...they need to bite down on the females' necks while doing it (not sure if that is to keep the female in place so that they don't run away or for some other reason).

It was then that I decided enough is enough...I looked around for a vet (I didn't want to use Cookie's previous vet for a reason) and managed to book an appointment (two weeks later) with another vet to have her neutered.  The cost was from RM150 (or RM120 with snipped ear) for female cats (I didn't have the heart to snip her ears).  In the end, I paid RM180 (extra RM30, that's why the price says 'from') coz there were some complications (as she was already pregnant).

This was her after the surgery with part of her belly fur shaven off (now I know why females are fatty bom-boms even if they eat the same amount as males coz they put on belly fat easily...lol).  You can see the little incision (I'd say probably about half an inch) all stitched up.  She was kept indoors (in a cage) the night before the surgery (as she needed to fast) and the night after the surgery (as she was still groggy from the anesthesia and couldn't walk straight).  It was quite a funny sight to see her head bobbing up and down, left and right (you know, like a bobblehead).  I didn't see this when Cookie had his snip snip as it was done in the morning and the anesthesia had worn off by the time he was picked up from the vet.

She's all fixed now...and her belly fur has grown back.  Neutering I feel is the best thing to do for a stray female cat.  I wish that more people would come out and neuter stray cats rather than just feeding them.  Once females are neutered, the cat population can be controlled and there won't be as many strays.  Anyway, stray kittens born on the streets usually don't make it to adulthood (if they're lucky, maybe one in each litter might survive).  Imagine if they did, there'd be so many more strays on the streets since a female cat gives birth at least 3 times a year (and with a litter of 3 - 5 kitties each time)! :O

Now that she's fixed, she's a happy-go-lucky girl (with no disturbances from would-be suitors).  As you can see, she and the ginger male have now become bosom buddies (more like friends without benefits).....lol!  He can even bury his face in her private parts without sexual tendencies in his mind...wakakakaka! :D

Girl now comes in and out of my house like it's hers!  The first time she came in she went straight for the cat bed that I laid out (which Cookie avoided like the plague) though she has now given up on the cat bed too.

She likes to sleep all stretched out on the floor...

.....and on the dining table

......or under a side table.

But her most favourite sleeping place is a plastic basket I left on my dining table.  The first time she jumped onto the table, she went straight into the basket and slept there for hours (she can even sleep up to 8 hours in it at one time).  I think cats feel protected with the basket (or box) encasing them.

She would come out occasionally to stretch before getting back into her basket again.  I've tried putting the basket elsewhere (on the floor, chair and side table) but she won't use it.  She only wants it when it's on the dining table...haiz.  I guess cats love (and feel safe) on high(er) ground.  That's why I've also set up two boxes (for her and the ginger male) outside that's elevated on top of a cupboard.

She also has a good time playing with (more like destroying) Cookie's old toys which (incidentally) Cookie didn't find any amusement with.  I've come to know that different cats really have different demeanour and personalities.  This Girl likes to be touchy-feely, cuddled and belly-rubbed, play with cat toys, don't meow incessantly for human food and listens to commands...totally unlike my dearly departed.

But she does have a few similarities to Cookie, like how she likes to play hide and seek when she's in the house.  Now where is this naughty Girl hiding, ah? ;D

She also likes to hide inside cabinets.  There was a time we closed the door on her when she hid in our TV cabinet.  We could see her as it was a glass sliding door but she was frantically trying to find a way out...lol.

And like Cookie, she seeks out high vantage points.....and has made it to the top of my decor, storage and kitchen cabinets as well as the fridge.

 

I'm always amazed at just how well behaved she is (her previous owner taught her well).  She don't jump onto our sofa or beds...and on the very few occasions that she did, she'd listen and come down when I said "No".  She would even come out of my room when I tell her to.  If it was Cookie, you can tell or yell at her till the cows come home and your words will fall on deaf ears.

I can eat comfortably in her presence as she doesn't meow incessantly (like Cookie used to) hoping for a handout.  The most she'll do is to peek at what I'm eating (sometimes standing on her two hind legs for a better view).  I also found out that she doesn't like chicken (as much as my Cookie did).

I once tested my theory by giving her two plates of food, one filled with (Cookie's leftover) chicken-flavoured canned food and the other with dry kibbles (and she went for the dry food though she'd eat fish-based canned food).  I guess that's why she's peeking at my fried fish with curry rice from the mamak.  The ginger male eats anything.

To show her appreciation, she brings me gifts (only birds so far, luckily no rats or monitor lizards..yet!)...many times (even more than Cookie ever did).  Thank you, Girl, but...seriously, I don't need any gifts! >_<  I once saw the ginger male playing with one like it was his kill but I know better who is the more efficient hunter-killer here.

As for the ginger male, I'm afraid he's not allowed in the house since unneutered males are known to spray to mark territory.  I guess he'll just have to be contented with being outside but with food and shelter available.  I've yet to decide if I want to snip snip him as male cats living on the streets need to have their balls to fight and survive the altercations with other male cats to dominate territory.  Once they're neutered, they're usually more docile and lose in fights (like Cookie used to).

I, too, have to be contented...having a part-time furry friend is better than having none! ;)  These two kitties have brought a certain measure of happiness since Cookie's passing...especially the girl, who knows just how to amp up her cuteness factor when I'm around.  Providing food and shelter for these two strays (without that 100% bond and responsibility) is all I can offer for now...and I hope that's enough for them.