Bhai Jim Jum @ Aeon Maluri

In my restrictive way of eating, Thai cuisine is probably one I shouldn't partake in too often as we know Thai cooking is renowned for its tantalising blend of salty, spicy, sweet and sour flavours, especially the latter which would need sugar to balance out its tart flavours.

We've passed by this restaurant, Bhai Jim Jum @ Aeon Maluri, many times when I'm here grocery shopping looking for a place to eat and finally decided to walk-in to try since I haven't had Thai food for ages.

I chose the Steamed Tilapia Fish Fillet with Thai Chilli Lime Sauce Rice Set @ RM22.90 that came with sides of a fried egg, rice with braised minced chicken and a small salad.

I found the photo and description of the food in the menu a little bit misleading.  The sauce turned out to be more like a soup and it was also more broth-like in colour instead of the orangy colour depicted in the menu. Thankfully the Thai chilli lime sauce soup was quite appetising with a nice tangy flavour from the lime.

Not only that but the fish slices were protruding from the little wok (in the menu)...quite unlike what I got as the fish was submerged in a pool of soup and not very visible at all.  Let me dig out the fish pieces for you...luckily the steamed tilapia fish fillets were soft and very flaky without any fishy taste though I suspect they're probably frozen tilapia slices.

The main was supplemented by rice with braised minced chicken (that tasted decent enough) topped with some crispy rice that gave it a crunchy element, a fried egg and a salad comprising of finely shredded cucumber, carrot and onion with a dressing of Thai sweet chilli sauce.

My son's Green Curry Chicken Rice Set @ RM21.90 was served with a typical green curry chicken that Thai food is renowned for with the same sides of the earlier rice set of braised minced chicken with rice, fried egg and salad.

The green curry chicken with some softened pieces of eggplant was well executed, thick and tasty with a favourable coconut-forward creamy taste of green curry.

The Thai Mama Noodles with Honey Sriracha Chicken Wings that my nephew had was like one of those Thai Mama instant noodles type with the chicken wings served separately.

The bowl of Thai Mama instant noodles was garnished with onions, tomatoes, chopped spring onions and lime topped with a raw egg to go.  I'm not sure what flavour the instant noodles was but it was slightly spicy according to my nephew.  I've eaten this brand of instant noodles and have probably eaten this flavour before too.

The honey sriracha chicken wings was lightly spicy from the sriracha and sticky-sweet from the honey as described.  The taste of the fried chicken wings (3 pcs) obviously benefitted from the seasoned glaze.

Seeing that we enjoyed what we had, we returned for a second meal here a month later.  This time I had the Tom Yum Beef Noodles @ RM21.90 served with the typical Thai flat rice noodles with some straw mushrooms and green vegetables.

I thought this tom yum soup was on point with its appetising balance of spicy and sourish flavours.  I liked that it wasn't too spicy or overly sour like some can be.  It also seemed to have a much thicker consistency than the usual thinner and clearer tom yum soup bases we commonly encounter. 

But found the beef to be on chewy side....luckily they were thinly sliced to help negate the not quite as tender and juicy texture.

My son had the Seafood Tom Yum Rice Set @ RM18.90 that came served with seafood tom yum in a mini wok with the same accompaniments as the earlier rice sets.

The seafood tom yum had chunks of fish, squid, mussels and a sizeable prawn somewhere in there too cooked with some enoki mushrooms and tomatoes.  The tantalising flavours of the tom yum soup (just like my tom yum beef) with its moreish tanginess beckons you to slurp up more of the soup.

Drinks of Cala-Cooler (of calamansi juice & assam boi) @ RM6.90 each for them and my son's Thai Lemon Tea @ RM5.90 on our second visit.  Haiz, none for me (of course) other than iced mineral water...so very boring! :'(

My Personal Opinion

Sad to report that at the time of writing, this place has since closed.  I'm not sure why as I thought the food we had was decent enough...that was why there was a second visit.  I still decided to post this anyway as they have other branches elsewhere (in MyTown Shopping Centre, Wangsa Walk Mall in Wangsa Maju, IOI City Mall in Putrajaya & DPulze Shopping Centre in Cyberjaya) that you can try.

The place also offers Jim Jum (Thai Hot Pot) and dishes you can order to eat with rice besides their rice and noodle sets which are obviously more value for money.  Thai food (as we know) is never cheap and the prices for the single dishes you eat with rice coupled with its small portion size may have lent a hand in its demise at this location perhaps as the restaurants here mostly offer very affordably-priced food with good portions which Aeon shoppers are after.

I guess if I want eat this again, my nearest alternative will be the one in MyTown which incidentally happens to have a very good rating of 4.9, a testament that the food is of a respectable standard with reasonable prices.

Bhai Jim Jum

Level 2-S20 Aeon Maluri

Jalan Jejaka

Taman Maluri

55100 Kuala Lumpur

I Cheated on My Birthday!!

I cheated on my birthday (which fell on a weekday...and this was some time last month)!!  For some reason, I craved for cake...which is so unlike me.  Those who have followed my blog long enough will know that I don't even fancy cakes all that much.  I guess not being able to indulge in carbs...and sweet stuff (or choose not to in my restrictive diet) made me crave for it even more. >_<

I reassured myself that since I was so kwai (obedient) to follow my restrictive diet for the past 10 months, I was entitled to give myself a little treat on my birthday, don't you agree? ;D  I wasn't even looking for a special or good meal on my birthday (like we do every year) but something forbidden.  You know the saying, the forbidden fruit always tastes sweeter! ;P

So, I went out and got myself these from my neighbourhood bakery (Grab Bread Bakery or GBB) in short)...a bun (not one but two!) and a cake (again, not one by two slices!) + a pastry (ok, this last one was an Ikea curry puff left over from the day before).  I was greedy obviously...and I thought I could finish all these in one meal.

Those who know me will know that I love bread (or buns) more than anything else...they're the most difficult carb to give up (I can even give up rice but find it extremely difficult to give up bread).  This is the ikan bilis bun (RM3.80) and sardine bun (RM3.80), two of my favourites from the bakery...which I used to patronise regularly! T_T  I love (some of) the buns and cakes here.

I thought I could eat all in one sitting but, having cut back on carbs, it looks like I don't need that much carbs to make me full.  In the end, I managed to eat just one of the buns (the ikan bilis bun), half of each slice of cake and finished it with a glass of iced coffee as my cheat meal.

I wanted to get the pandan layer cake (which I had before) as you know I like simple cakes without all that fancy cream and toppings.  But alas, they didn't have it that day.  So I got these two slices instead...a tiramisu and a sesame & red bean cake.

I've always liked the taste of black sesame (evidenced by the greyish colour of the cake), so decided to try the sesame & red bean cake (RM7.80).  The black sesame taste was very subtle but I could not taste any red bean.  I scrapped away the excessive cream on top to find the cake very fluffy and moist to eat with light sweetness.  I really enjoyed this one and would buy it again if I've another cheat day.

Who new another cheat day would come sooner than expected.  I got another sesame & red bean cake (again)...oops!  I'm sorry but I've been deprived of cake for s...o......l...o.....n........g that I was really longing to eat the cake again (and this, incidentally, was only my third slice in 10 months).  I asked the bakery staff if there are any red beans in the cake (since I didn't notice any the first time, either that or I ate too fast to notice...hehe) and she said the red beans are studded in the cream layer in between the cake (no wonder lah, I thought the red beans was infused into the cake mixture).

This time you can see the cake looks slightly different...the top layer of cream is much thinner (I bought this from another GBB branch) but the cream layers between the cake much thicker (and the red beans were more visible in the layers).  There were a lot more red beans too because of the thicker cream between the cake.  I ended up having to scrape off some of the cream in between the cake but was able to taste the red beans this time.

The tiramisu cake, on the other hand, was just acceptable...not as good as some of the really great ones I've had in cafes (which is understandable since this one is from a bakery) but when you haven't had a tiramisu cake for so long, any will do...lol!

This one is less sweet of the two simply because of a layer of bitter coffee (I presume, in between the cake) which tasted almost like a dark chocolate crumb as well as the cocoa powder dusting (on top).

As with any sweet desserts/cakes/pastries, you need to wash it down with a cup or glass of coffee (no sugar) to enjoy it to the fullest.  This was only my third glass of coffee in the past 10 months.  Giving up or staying away from coffee has been the hardest...and this is coming from someone who used to have at least 2 cups a day....to zero now!! T_T

I ate the sardine bun and the balance half of the cakes for dinner (and returned the Ikea curry puff back to the fridge)....but with a cup of hot Chinese tea instead (haiz, so not ngam...and boring! >.<).  Ok, bread/sweet craving satisfied.....for now......until the next time! ^_~

San Tai Thong @ Taman Tenaga, Cheras

A typical dai chow meal is a very common choice among Chinese families when the home kitchen is closed. Obviously eaing dai chow is now a preferred makan choice too due to my restricted diet since I can order 4 dishes (for the 3 of us)...some of which I can eat and some my family can eat.  This dai chow place, San Tai Thong @ Taman Tenaga, was first discovered when I ordered food delivery from them.  Seeing that the food turned out decent, I was confident enough for a dine-in visit.

On reaching the place, we were greeted with a typical-looking shoplot (as it's expected with many dai chow places).  An advertising board inside the restaurant shows that they've been in business since 1987 (!) before moving from Taman Permata, Cheras to its present location (where we found them in 2022 and have been patronising since).

Suffice to say that everything we ate here have been pretty decent, of course some are better than others. All of them don't need introduction or much explanation as they're common dishes we'd find in any dai chow eatery.

Braised Pork Belly with Preserved Vegetables (Mui Choy) - This was one of the first dishes we tried that was part of a set meal (since I've tasted this via food delivery) and have since had it at the restaurant numerous times.  This is one of their signature dishes.

Black Sauce Roasted Pork @ RM20 - This is just siu yuk being fried with lots of garlic and dark soy sauce (a dish we can execute at home easily with good market-bought siu yuk). ^_~

Aluminium Foil Wrapped Pork Ribs @ RM20 - Comes with a bit of visual flamboyance (flames) when the foil is unwrapped.  The sauce tastes sticky-sweet like marmite but the ribs need quite a bit of bite.  Didn't quite wow us (other than its visual presentation)...lol.

Salted Fish Pork Belly Pot (Ham Yue Fa Lam Poh) @ RM20 - A favourite of my family for its fatty thinly sliced pork with a salty aftertaste (although the salted fish is always never enough).

Sweet & Sour Pork @ RM18 - Nicely crispy without being heavily drenched in sweet & sour sauce.  Liked that it had the addition of fresh (not canned) pineapple cubes.  However, there can be inconsistency in the sauce on some days (this was on a good day)! ;)

Ginger & Spring Onions Pork Slices @ RM18

Nyonya-Style Steamed Tilapia @ (around) RM30 - The Nyonya sauce is a bit like an assam sauce, just that the sourness is not as sharp.  You can taste hints of lemongrass, tamarind and kaffir lime in the sauce which is lightly tangy with just a little heat.  The fish was accompanied by long beans, ladies finger, brinjal and pineapple cubes.  Absolutely appetising and refresing to eat as the sauce was so good that you'd want to load up on the rice.  The fish was also steamed just right with a nice, soft texture.

Spicy Tom Yam Siakap @ (around) RM85 - We had it with sea grouper (also known as ikan kerapu or ikan siakap/barramundi/Asian seabass) that was deep-fried first before being drenched in tom yam sauce which turned out just ok (the earlier nyonya sauce was loads better).  Maybe because I was looking for flavours closer to a tom yum soup but in a much thicker sauce.  Fish prices are based on type and weight of fish.

Sweet & Sour Fish Slices @ RM25 - Fish slices (with no bones to contend with) is always a favourite of many (and my family is no exception).  But sweet & sour fish has to be ranked as probably the most preferred way of eating fish slices coz what can beat crispy slices of fish in a sweetish sauce, right?

 

Salted Egg Fish Slices @ RM25 - Anything coated in salted egg is always good though this was the first time we had it with fish (it's usually prawn or squid).  This one turned out far better than I anticipated and you can bet we'll be ordering this more regularly.

Dry Chillies Mantis Shrimps @ RM25 - Very crispy and you do taste a bit of heat of the dried chillies in this kung po-style sauce (others we had before is usually on the sweeter side with no spicy taste at all).

Yam Basket @ RM20 - For lovers of yam (of which we are) with a filling of mixed vegetables.

Fried Beancurd with Dried Radish & Minced Meat @ RM18 - The sauce of minced pork, fragrant dried prawns and savoury chopped radish over their braised tofu was a hit.  The dried prawns they use is really fragrant and fried till crispy.  The combo of dried prawns and radish was a good pairing to bring savouriness to the otherwise bland tofu.  The best (and our favourite) tofu dish here.

Sizzling Beancurd with Minced Meat & Egg on Hot Plate @ RM20 - Again a regular staple (and most ordered) tofu dish you'd find at any dai chow place.  I guess it's regularly ordered coz food on a hot plate is not something we can replicate at home.

Spicy Minced Meat Tofu - this one we won't be ordering again.

Tofu with Broccoli @ RM20 - We usually find a tofu dish cooked with vegetables on the bland side or having a subtle taste but this one turned out to be more savoury which surprised us.  We found very fine bits of something all over the dish which I suspect is finely blended dried prawns which brought it that added umami flavour.

Foo Yong Tan or Fried Omelette @ RM12 - Typically a fried omelette dish with small prawns (sometimes there's bits of char siew) and some vegetables (usually onions and chillies but this one had Chinese chives also).

Stir-Fried Cabbage with Dried Prawns @ RM15 - Their dried prawns are chopped very finely which give the dish the added fragrance.  One of our favourite vegetable dishes here as they sir-fry it expertly without the cabbage being too soggy or too hard.

Belacan Kangkung @ RM12 - was hoping for more belacan taste.

Curry Mixed Vegetable @ RM20 - At first look the curry didn't have much of that requisite red, fiery oil on top but the curry flavours turned out far better than it looked.  Would definitely order this again.

Sizzling Eggplant with Minced Meat @ RM18 - The flavours were good but (unfortunately) this eggplant dish came stir-fried with that dredded herb - Thai basil which we don't like! >.<

Stir-Fried Yau Mak @ RM15 (L)

Salted Egg Pumpkin @ RM18 - Just like the salted egg fish slices, this was excellent with the softened pumpkin slices.  One thing I can say is that they do their salted egg dishes very well here...not too salty nor too sweet.

Stir-Fry Sweet Potato Leaves @ RM12 - Even a simple stir-fry veggie like this can be inconsistent.  When done well (quick stir-fry on high heat) not much water will be released (and not overly soft), then it's perfect like this one.

If it's your first time here and you don't know what to order, just go with any of their pre-arranged set meals like we did (you simply can't go wrong with any set) + they're also good value.  I've had 3 of their set meals here...Set Meal 1 @ RM63 (Braised Pork Belly with Mui Choy, Salted Egg Pumpkin & Tofu with Broccoli), Set Meal 2 @ RM92 (Nyonya Steamed Tilapia, Braised Pork Belly with Mui Choy again & Homemade Beancurd with Dried Radish & Minced Meat) and Set Meal 3 @ RM168 (Tom Yam Fish, Aluminium Foil Wrapped Pork Ribs, Yam Basket & Stir-Fried Yau Mak) including rice and Chinese tea.

My Personal Opinion

 

As mentioned above, all the dishes we had were decent in terms of taste and we like that they're very reasonably priced and affordable (from around RM12 - RM40 a dish minus fish & prawn dishes).  They're also well-known for their crabs which I see quite a lot of people ordering (they're pricey, of course) but I'm too lazy (my family included) to deal with the mess of eating crabs.

Just like phonghongbakes has found her regular dai chow place, similarly this one is ours at the moment until we can find one that's right in (or closer to) our neighbourhood.

San Tai Thong Seafood Restaurant

13 Jalan Semilang

Taman Tenaga

Cheras

56000 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 016-274 5355