Stadium Negara Restaurant @ Jalan Yap Kwan Seng

Stadium Negara Restaurant @ Jalan Yap Kwan Seng is a Chinese restaurant that specialises in steamboat but also offers a typical Chinese meal of dishes eaten with rice (very much similar to a dai chow kind of place), only difference is that the dishes here are pork-free + you can find more premium dishes (also at more premium prices lah) than those offered in a dai chow eatery.

If you're wondering why the restaurant is named Restoran Stadium Negara, that's because they used to operate near Stadium Negara before moving here (hence the name) and they were very well-known for their old-school steamboat (using charcoal) at that time.  I've never been to the original one but I've been here before...usually on the invite of my sister-in-law as it's one of their family's frequented restaurants.  Because it's pork-free, you do see Malay clientele here and gwai lo (it's quite popular with expatriates and foreign tourists due to its proximity to KLCC).

So, the place was a venue for a family dinner one evening.  Please excuse the "not so stellar" photos as it was a round table seating without a turntable (or lazy susan), so some of the photos had to be zoomed in from afar + I wasn't planning to write about it initially (hence there weren't any photos of the place) but decided to since the food turned out pretty good, pricey but good. ^_~

Now this first dish of Sweet & Sour Crab Meat Sauce @ RM45 (for M, RM60 for L & RM35 for S) is rather unique in the sense I've not seen it offered elsewhere.  It's actually the sweet and sour sauce for the crabs but you can have it without the crabs (especially when crabs cost RM175 per kg when I had a quick glance at the menu...ouch)!! O_o

Never mind lah, this one poor man's dish....lol (above is an archive photo from 5 years ago)!  The first time I had this here (my sis-in-law ordered it and I didn't see the menu, so I didn't know the price), I thought they were crabs that have their meat extracted and cooked in the sauce (how nice, I thought, for lazy people who don't like to go through the mess of picking through the shells).  I took the photo then coz I was fascinated by the fact that a restaurant would offer just the sweet sour sauce without the crabs.

And no, there's no crab meat in it (not that I can taste...perhaps if there were, probably only a little), it's just egg bits cooked in a sweet-sour sauce.  You have to watch out for the bits of cili api (bird's eye chillies) in the sauce which gives it more oomph!

And just like any sweet sour crab dish, you must get a side order of fluffy, soft, crisp on the outside Fried Mantou @ RM16 (10 pcs) for which these deep-fried buns are known for...and that is to dunk them into the sauce to absorb all those lovely flavours (you can have it with steamed mantou too).  It's just like eating sweet sour crabs....minus the crabs!

This next dish of BBQ Chicken Wings @ RM48 (for 10 wings) is a must-have (it's super popular) as it's really, really good.  I've eaten my fair share of delicious BBQ chicken wings and this one ranks right up there with some of them.

Grilled the traditional way over charcoal, it comes with that sought-after smoky taste while the meat remains tender and succulent.  If everything is better with bacon, I'll have to add everything is better cooked over charcoal.  The well charred chicken was very tasty with its skin lightly sticky from the honey in the marinade.  I have just two words for it (or is that three)....finger-licking good! ^o^

My sis-in-law did most of the ordering but this Sizzling/Hot Plate Beef @ RM90 (I'm assuming this was L) was my pick.  The beef slices were cooked with onions, green bell peppers and carrot and served on a hot plate. Both my husband and brother-in-law thought it was "ngan" (chewy) but it was acceptably tender to me seeing that they were sliced thinly.  I would describe it as not "wat" (smooth) enough (thereby making it feel chewy) as it didn't look like the beef was velveted (more chef-y term) or tossed in a cornflour slurry (more layman term) to yield a more tender texture.

I was given the receipt at the end of the meal (the bill was shared among 3 families) since I would need it for my blogpost.  If I had been more aware of the price, I would have refrained from ordering it. >.<  Although the taste was still enjoyable (for me), I thought it was way too pricey for the small portion given.  Jing Hoe Mei's version for a fraction of the price (RM25 to be exact!) instantly came to mind as a comparison.

The Fried La La with Chillies @ RM60 (for L, RM45 for M & RM25 for S) had fresh, plump lala cooked with lots of garlic and bird's eye chillies.

I loved the heat the fiery chillies brought to the dish.  Overall, the dish was well flavoured and very tasty from loads of garlic.  It was one of my favourite dishes here. ^.^

Next was this dish of Tow Foo (so indicated in the receipt which I aptly renamed Homemade Bean Curd with Vegetables) @ RM35 (for L, RM30 for M & RM20 for S) coz that's what it looked like to me.  You see, I don't have the proper names of the dishes...and can only assume the names since I can't find any latest menu online (as this is such an old/long established restaurant that's no longer a hype...lol).

A homey, comforting dish of fried, soft, silky tofu (housemade, of course) cooked simply with prawns, mushrooms, broccoli and carrots that was executed well but, again, portion is on the small side.  If that is a L-sized portion, I shudder to think what small would look like.

Our vegetable dish of Stir-Fried Kangkung with Belacan @ RM35 (for L, RM25 for M & RM16 for S) looked as if it needed more belacan and chillies but, surprisingly, the flavour was alright.

We ordered (Yong Chow) Fried Rice @ RM39 (this is a 3 pax portion) for our rice component since most of us weren't having white rice with this meal.  This is a highly popular order here judging by its many orders (we know how foreigners love our Chinese fried rice, don't we?).

Fried with the simplest of ingredients of just small prawns, egg and spring onions, the skill of the chef in frying this is at the forefront.  I actually like my fried rice cooked with only a few ingredients for the taste of the rice to shine...and shine it did! ;)  The texture of the nicely separated grains of rice was just right...with a bit of that sought-after wok hei detected.

Our final dish was an order of Fried Meehoon @ RM45 (this is 3 pax portion).  Not sure what this noodle is called but it's meehoon fried in black sauce with small prawns, minced meat (chicken), mushrooms, onions, sugar snap peas, beansprouts, red chillies and egg.

Another dish that looked simple but the flavours turned out better than expected.  It was the texture of the nicely separated strands of meehoon (not lumpy, soft or mushy) and those crunchy, fat beansprouts that won me over.

The 2 Honey Lemon @ RM9.50 each, 2 Fresh Coconut @ RM8.50 each, a Jug of Watermelon @ RM45 and 2 Plain Rice (RM5) the nine of us had made up the balance of the bill which came to a total of about RM550. Pricey or not?  At a glance, RM60 per head actually sounds reasonable...but looking at the type of dishes we had, the price might not seem that value for money (note that there's no fish or prawn dish).  Steamboat (RM35 per head) is still offered here but it's now done over a gas burner instead of the old-school method of using charcoal (this one is fast becoming a past relic).

My Personal Opinion

All in all, the food tastes pretty good but prices are rather steep (further compounded by the small servings) for us locals especially if you order seafood items...apparently not so for foreign visitors (of course not-lah with their favourable exchange rate!) who come for the crabs, so do be prepared or forewarned.  Prices and portions are the main two grouses in the reviews I see for this place...and I can see why. >_<

I thought the fried la la, fried rice and especially the BBQ chicken wings stood out in terms of flavour and were my favourites.  So, was the food good enough to warrant a revisit?  Sure, if I get an invite for a family dinner gathering (or even if we split the bill) coz food always taste better with more people.  Would I come here with my family on our own though?  Probably not (I can get a better bang for my buck with RM180...lol)!  But, hey, if you're ok with the prices, don't let me stop you from trying out the place. ^_~

Restoran Stadium Negara

Jalan Yap Kwan Seng

50450 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-2161 8557