The Bubur Cha Kitchen @ Taman Cheras Indah

When I clicked into this restaurant named The Bubur Cha Kitchen @ Taman Cheras Indah on Shopee Food, I was expecting it to be selling some kind of sweet (dessert) soups (or tong sui).  Turns out it was nothing like that...but selling bubur (or porridge) instead of bubur cha cha...lol.

Hmmm, porridge isn't something I'd associate the Malays with selling as they're more known for their fare of nasi lemak or nasi campur, for example.  But they have been known to copy some of our Chinese fare like char kway teow, fried yau char kwai (Chinese crullers), steamed pau (steamed buns) and chee cheong fun to name a few although I can't say they've been very successful at it.  It's the same when we copy their nasi lemak but our Chinese version of nasi lemak just isn't the same, especially since our sambal is not quite of the standard of a Malay sambal.

The only Malay-style porridge I've tasted so far is Bubur Lambuk, a porridge cooked with spices and santan (coconut milk) from the Ramadan bazaar.  It's so different from our Chinese porridge that I think it needs a bit of getting used to with all the spices and santan in the mix.

So, you can understand my apprehension when I saw this porridge offered by a Malay vendor but decided to give it a go since it had a 4.9 rating on Shopee Food.  I ordered the Bubur Ayam + Cendawan Goreng (or Combo B of Porridge with Fried Chicken + Mushrooms) @ RM14 for my first taste test.

Let's start with the porridge.  First thing I saw when I opened the box was that the porridge had toppings of crispy batter bits, fried shallots, kacang (nuts) and chopped spring onions....all I like! ;)  But would have liked it even more if they had packed this separately for us to pour into the porridge ourselves when it arrives.  The porridge had the right consistency and was nicely savoury.

My initial apprehension of a Malay-style porridge was not warranted.  I thought it wouldn't be as good as a Chinese-style porridge but I was proven wrong.  I've not had anything remotely this good (from past experience) with Chinese-inspired food from a Malay vendor.

I was pleasantly surprised that the enoki mushrooms were still super crispy even though it had been steaming together with the hot porridge in the box.  This could partly be due to the fact that I'm staying nearby the seller and the food got to me within 10 - 15 minutes.

Encouraged by the good taste of the first combo, I just had to have it again and ordered their other combo of Bubur Udang + Sotong Goreng (or Combo A of Porridge with Fried Prawns + Squid) @ RM14 so that I can try their two other proteins to see which ones I liked better.

The udang goreng was another winner.  The batter that coated the prawns was probably the same one as the earlier mushrooms but somehow this one felt a little bit thicker and fried to adequate crispiness.  I don't know what prawns they used but it had this rather intense prawn flavour to it.

But I can't say the same for the sotong goreng as the texture was very chewy...not something I would want to have again.

Now that I've tasted all four proteins, it was time to order what I enjoyed the most here.....starting with the Bubur Cendawan Goreng (or Porridge with Mushrooms) @ RM8.  When the porridge arrived, I realised that they used the same (compartmentalised) packaging as before...meaning a two-protein combo would share the same (box) space as one protein.

As you can see, there seemed to be a lot more cendawan goreng that can fit into the smaller compartment of the box...hehehe! ;)  This was so good...the fried mushrooms were super crispy and the batter so crisp and light.

Based on this observation alone, it would probably be safe to say that it's more worth it to order the porridge with a single protein (as an additional RM4 can get you a second box of porridge already).  The portion size isn't very big, so those with a bigger appetite can definitely chow down two boxes of porridge...and that's what I did with this order.  I got another Bubur Ayam Goreng (or Porridge with Fried Chicken) @ RM9.

That said, these little cubes of ayam goreng were fairly tender and crispy (but not super crispy as one would expect or want fried chicken to be) but, at least, these little bites of chicken are the freshly made and fried kind (and not the frozen nuggets kind).

And no, I couldn't finish eat the second box of porridge (kept all of it for another meal) but have no problem polishing off the second protein if I really wanted to (but purposely kept some so that I have something to eat my balance porridge with later).  Wish they would just sell the proteins separately as a side dish so that we can choose to have two proteins with one porridge.  Yes, they have the combo for that but it's not quite the same.....just imagine two proteins sharing the same (box) space as a single protein (you get less...haha!). >.<

Next was the Bubur Udang Goreng (or Porridge with Fried Prawns) @ RM9 on its own as I had taken a keen liking to the prawns.  The same number of prawns were given (as in the combo with udang + sotong)...which was three.  They can't very well give anything less since we can count the number of prawns...lol!

The prawn bodies are deshelled (with just the tail intact), so eating it is super easy but you do get some with prawn heads intact occasionally (I think this happens when the prawns are smaller)...but no worries since they're fried to crispy perfection, you can chomp down the heads (and tails) as well.

I mentioned earlier that their prawns have this intensified prawn flavour to them, so much so that there was once I could even taste it in the cendawan goreng.  They must have fried the mushrooms in the same oil as the prawns...hah..hah! ;P

Initially, I was very tempted to drizzle light soy sauce over the porridge (as I would always do with any Chinese-style porridge) but luckily did not as it would change the taste of this Malay-style version.

I once ordered a side of Telur Masin (Salted Egg) @ RM2 (for half) as this is something we've always paired with our Chinese porridge so that it wouldn't be so bland.  Actually, it wasn't needed as the porridge itself had a nice savoury taste already.

There's also a side order of Sambal Bilis Lobak Asin @ RM2 which I initially thought would be a strange combo to eat porridge with a sambal but I remembered that I thought it strange also to eat porridge with something spicy like kung po-style frog (cooked with dried chillies) which turned out to be a revelation as it was so good eaten together! :O

So I gave this sambal bilis lobak asin (as in lobak masin or salted preserved radish) a try and it was a dynamite combination!  This sambal lobak asin is like a spicy sambal cooked with salty-sweet preserved radish (choy poh) though I didn't detect much of the ikan bilis taste.  Who knew a spicy sambal (the taste is unlike those sambal you get in nasi lemak) would go so well with porridge.  It was very good...but too small a portion given (some might think it's not worth paying RM2 for)! O_o

My Personal Opinion

The success and taste of this Malay-inspired porridge took me by surprise.  It's now one of my most ordered food delivery through ShopeeFood.  My favourite is the Cendawan Goreng followed by the Udang Goreng.  A new revelation would be eating porridge with a sambal...and it turned out to be an excellent combination (only a Malay vendor would think of pairing it with a sambal, after all, sambal is a mainstay of their cuisine).

Now, why didn't any Chinese food operators think of pairing something fried and crispy with porridge?  Our Chinese-style version always usually offers something braised.  Well, if you like something crispy with your porridge, this is it...but obviously not a porridge to have if you're feeling under the weather.

This Malay-style porridge has changed my perspective that porridge need not always be paired with something braised or boiled like duck, peanuts, pork innards or minced meat but can be with something crisply delicious...and you can enjoy it with a sambal too.

The Bubur Cha Kitchen

No 22 Jalan Indah 33

Taman Cheras Indah

56100 Kuala Lumpur

4Fingers Crispy Chicken @ Pandan Jaya

Well, I've blogged about how much I enjoy eating 4Fingers Crispy Chicken @ Pandan Jaya (usually via delivery) before (here and here) that there's really no need for further posts when I had them again (after all, this is my family's go-to fast food fried chicken).

But I had to in this case to let you know I had something good...and something really bad (so that you'll be alerted and hopefully won't have to experience what I experienced).  Let's start with the bad!

I had this a few days ago and felt compelled to fast track this post to the top of the list to publish so that you won't make the same mistake I did of ordering it.

I ordered the Fiery Rice a la carte @ RM15.90 after seeing this rather innocent-looking rice box promo pic on ShopeeFood.  Not sure when this was introduced...probably sometime in December last year (based on the pic I found in their Facebook).

The rice came with a crunchy boneless chicken bite (yes, one piece only), tofu nuggets (3 pcs) and mixed vegetables of lettuce, corn, chopped tomatoes and dried cranberries (but there weren't any garbanzo beans or chickpeas) drenched in a super fiery hot sauce.  So hot that my mouth was on fire after just one spoonful! O_o  I had to rush to the kitchen to gulp down a glass of cold water.  Took a second bite...and had to down another glass of water.

  

And that was pretty much it.  I had to discard the rice otherwise my other end will be on fire later (in fact, it already was...and I was still paying the price for it the next day)! >_<

Let me show you just how much sauce they poured onto the rice.....until it was an overkill!  Why did they put so much sauce in?  Was that to prove a point of just how fiery the sauce can be...by overloading the amount of it?  I distinctly remember that they were never that generous with the teriyaki sauce in their rice combo. Even in normal circumstances, we wouldn't want our rice to be flooded with so much sauce.

They should have drizzled a bit on the rice and packed the rest in a condiment container (to allow us to tweak how spicy we want it to be).  I tried to pick out the veggies to eat them but even that was very difficult.  In the end, I chucked all the rice down my waste disposal.  

I had to wait a while (for my mouth to cool down) before I could proceed with the rest of my meal.  The 6 pcs Wingettes & Drumettes a la carte @ RM19.90 is always a good choice.

I was thankful that I ordered only soy garlic flavour (and not hot & spicy) for the wings.  When I initially ordered the fiery rice, I thought it would be like their hot & spicy flavour for the chicken.  No-one would have thought that it would be that fiery hot.  If it was, it should have come with a separate "warning" like "insanely hot" or "I dare you to eat this" or at least not something as unassuming as "fiery"! :P

But the burning sensation in my mouth had already ruined my taste buds for the entire day.  I only managed to eat half the chicken wings (and ate the other half for dinner).  Usually, that wouldn't be enough but my appetite was screwed already.  Why someone would want to eat something so insanely hot that they won't be able to taste anything after that is beyond me.

Well, they say every cloud has a silver lining......and that came in the form of Fried Kimchi Mushrooms @ RM7.90 that I ordered....lol.

Not sure when these were introduced (probably quite some time ago) just that I've never noticed them before when ordering.  Only downside was that the portion was very small for the price (clearly false advertising of its promo pic of mushrooms piled right to the top).

The oyster mushrooms were nicely seasoned, had a bit of spice and some of the pieces were crispy (when they arrived).  Those that weren't were still good to eat as they were soft and juicy.  If you're lucky to get yours super crispy, then you're in for a real treat! ;)

My Personal Opinion

Why would someone want to torture themselves by eating something as crazy hot as this? >.<  The level of spiciness only leaves a burning sensation in your mouth and your tastebuds are pretty much ruined after that. Something as ridiculously spicy as this is probably best handled by those who enjoy the numbing sensation that mala flavours bring (I don't as I clearly can't handle the heat).

All was not lost.  At least I got introduced to some nice fried mushrooms which I'm sure there'll be repeat orders from now on.

So, for those who can't take spicy food (or even those who can), beware of this super fiery rice!  Don't order it is my advice!

4Fingers Crispy Chicken

No 22G Jalan 2/1

Pandan Jaya

55100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-9201 6484

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