Fish Head Noodle Cheras @ Cheras

I've no idea where this Fish Head Noodle Cheras @ Cheras is located (other than it's somewhere in Cheras! :P) or if they're a restaurant on its own or just a stall in a coffee shop since there's no mention of the name of the shop/business (only the address was provided) in ShopeeFood. 

Irrespective of whether they're a restaurant or a stall in a coffee shop, this turned out to be one of the best tasting fish head noodles I've had in a long while.  Since my family is not into fish, let alone fish with bones, my fish head noodles experiences have (so far) been limited to stalls I find in coffee shops as I can't dine in at fish head noodle specialists shops that have no other choice of noodles for my family to eat.

My first taste was when I ordered their Wine Fish Head Noodles @ RM16.  The soup and noodles (packed separately) were still hot when they arrived.  On opening the soup packet, I got a whiff of the distinctive smell of rice wine straightaway.  Oh good, we're off to a great start! ;)

Though I'd usually go for the clear soup (and ask for the milk to be omitted), it was not an available option here (actually I read in the reviews that one customer requested for no milk but it still came with milk, so I didn't bother to put any special request in).  Luckily so, as the milky broth was very good...and that coming from someone who prefers her broth clear says a lot.

The first time I had it, the Chinese wine taste was a bit subtle but the second time, I could really taste it (probably because I tucked in almost immediately).  The milk in the broth lent some sweetness but the wine helped make the soup lighter although the tomato wedges, shredded ham choy (salted vegetable), thickly-cut ginger shreds and a good sprinkling of fresh Chinese coriander also played a part to add freshness to the soup (there were some pieces of silken tofu too).

I was also delighted to be greeted by the sight of coarse beehoon (rice noodles that's slightly thicker than the usual thinner meehoon used by many fish head noodle hawkers).  Fish head noodles only works with coarse beehoon (as far as I'm concerned as the thin beehoon soaks up the broth too quickly) and the portion given was substantial.  Do note also that for all the photos, I didn't empty all the soup (at once) so that you can see clearly what's in the bowl (not that they were stingy with the soup lah).

As for the fried fish head pieces, they were fresh and so well fried that it was utterly fragrant and delicious.  I think there were at least 5 pcs of fried fish head (and 3 of them were big pieces).  When you dig out those little fragrant bits from all the little nooks and crannies among the fish head/bones, those are the savoury bits of awesomeness.  That's why I think fish head noodles is best enjoyed at home so that you can attack the fish head with your hands...lol.

Since I didn't dine in, I wasn't able to enquire (nor could I recognise) what fish they used for their fish head noodles.  A number of different fish can be used such as wan yue (grass carp), song yue tau (Asian bighead carp), grouper, snapper, mackerel, snakehead, ma yau (threadfin) or ling fish head are all possible choices.  If I were to make a calculated guess of the one here, I'd probably say it's song yue tau.

The fish head was so good I just had to dig out (yes, hands were used) whatever little meat there was on the fish head including sucking at the bones...wuahahahaha! ;D  Now, obviously, this is something that only a lover of fish (even with bones!) will enjoy.  If you prefer fish meat, then this is not for you as there's no option for fish meat here, only fish head.

Although the second time when I had it, there were more meaty pieces.  Actually, I prefer chewing on the bony fish head pieces over the fish meat as the meat tend to have lots of Y-shaped pin bones (and I really hate picking them out!). >.<

As you eat...and as the fried fish head pieces get submerged into the broth, tiny fried fragrant bits fall off from the fish into the soup and together with their own-made freshly fried shallots (some will use fried garlic), that was when the broth came to life! ;)  It was so good that I emptied the rest of the soup into my noodles and almost finished up all the broth.

The fish head noodle was served with a fresh chilli dip.....and it was one fiery bomb...super spicy and da bomb!  The dip is a bit similar to the ones you get with pan mee but this one was loads better although it wasn't needed as the noodles were great on its own.

Besides fish head noodles, they also offer steamed song fish head (song yue tau) in a few styles...traditional with soy sauce, Thai-style steamed, ginger steamed, hong siew steamed and braised.  Their steamed song fish head is priced at RM40 - RM48 depending on the style of cooking.

After being wowed by the fish head noodles, I decided to try the Single Set Fish Head Rice @ RM18 as I was drooling over the photos of their steamed song fish head which I recognised instantly (and that's why I guessed that was what they used for their fish head noodles as well).

When the steamed fish arrived, it wasn't quite what I expected as it wasn't whole but in cut up pieces.  Then again, I probably shouldn't expect them to give half a song yue tau for the price charged.  Since the fish was cut up into pieces, I couldn't know for sure if the fish was indeed song yue tau (but I believe it should be with its gelatinous skin even though the pieces looked kinda small for a fish head).

The fish was certainly fresh but since it was steamed, there were quite a lot of pin bones to pick out.  The sauce was plentiful and fairly tasty but needed a bit more flavoured oil as well as fried onion or garlic bits to make it better.  I also didn't get any hint of Shaoxing rice wine which would have elevated the fresh flavour of the fish further.

Although the steamed fish came piping hot, it didn't stay long that way.  That's why steamed fish is best eaten on site where it's served piping hot immediately after they're steamed (some would have a burner underneath to keep the fish warm).

Complemented by (a small amount of) thickly shredded young ginger, chopped coriander (that was wilted, as expected, since it was steaming in a closed container) and fried shallots (that weren't nicely browned nor crispy), I added my own fried shallots (and wished I had some fresh coriander of my own too).  I also threw in some red bird's eye chillies (from the soy sauce/chillies condiment) that they gave.

Besides fish head noodles and steamed fish, they also have Curry Fish Head Noodles @ RM16.80 which I was curious to try as I've not seen it offered at other fish head noodle places.

When I ordered this, I envisaged fried fish head pieces (like the ones in the earlier wine fish head noodles) in a curry broth (like curry laksa).  The photo in the menu also showed vegetables of brinjal, ladies finger and tomatoes with fu chuk (beancurd sheets) but what came instead were just lots of onions, a bit of tomatoes and beancurd puffs.

The dish was nothing like I imagined...especially so when I received two packets, one with the coarse beehoon only and the other was a packet of curry.  I thought, "Oh crap, the fried fish head pieces are submerged together in the curry!"

It was only when I opened the packet of curry that I realised the curry fish head noodles is exactly like if one ordered a pot of fish head curry (with the fish head pieces cooked in the curry itself).  The taste was leaning towards more of an Indian fish head curry, full of spices with a predominant curry powder taste, which I didn't care for much.  The fish head pieces were also very bony with hardly any meat.

The broth was very thick and totally unlike the taste of a (less thick) curry laksa which has more santan taste.  And because of the thickness of the curry, it was quite cloying to eat that with beehoon. Fish head curry is best eaten with rice.  Needless to say, I couldn't...and didn't finish it. >_<

My Personal Opinion

After trying all three of what they offer, only the fish head noodles deserve praise.  I told myself that the portion of fish head noodles was too big to finish.....but, guess what?  I sapu (finished) it all....coz when it's that good, you just eat and eat until it's all gone (without even realising it)! ;D

This was an excellent bowl of fish head noodles....one of the better ones I've eaten in a long time.  They've got everything down just right....the tasty broth, the fragrant, savoury fish head chunks, the coarse beehoon, even down to small details, like the fried shallots and Chinese parsley.

This place will catapult itself right to the top of my list and when I feel like having me some good fish head noodles (and I really mean fish head!).  I'm on cloud nine since discovering this...it's the only thing I would make a repeat order of from here. ^o^

Fish Head Noodle Cheras

24 Jalan 5/89A 

Off Jalan Sekilau

Cheras

56000 Kuala Lumpur

Mother Porridge @ Pandan Perdana

I first tried Mother Porridge @ Pandan Perdana through the delivery platform.  So, herein lies the beauty of ShopeeFood as you can check what exactly the restaurants offer by scrolling their menu on the app.  This is ideal especially when you have family members who are not open to eating some things...and you can check out the menu beforehand or do a taste test first before deciding if they're good enough to be explored further for a dine-in.

Obviously, Mother Porridge passed the taste test with flying colours when I tried out their mixed pork, fish and salted chicken porridge previously via delivery.  If you eat their porridge on-site, they're served in claypots which is even better since they can retain heat and keep the porridge hot for longer.

Having had a positive taste test, I decided to come for a dine-in with family since I noted (from their delivery menu) that they do offer some other things besides porridge that my family can partake in since they're not fans of porridge (of any kind)! >.<

The very thing I wanted to eat here was their Frog in Claypot @ RM18.50 which isn't the most suitable thing to order via delivery (I guess anything claypot isn't...as claypot dishes are revered for being hot when served and best eaten that way too).

This claypot frog was cooked in a thick and spicy sauce much like kung po style with the heat of dried chillies and flavours of oyster + dark + soy sauce.  It was really, really tasty. ^o^  Even my son who doesn't eat frogs scooped the sauce over his rice.

The frog thighs (actually hind legs lah) were meaty and super tender (they taste better than chicken if you ask me).  Just like chicken thighs, I love the thigh part the most coz it's the meatiest and there's only one centre bone to contend with.  It goes without saying that the bigger and meatier the frogs, the tastier and sweeter the meat is coz skinny/small frogs are just too bony with little meat (these you'd usually find cooked in the porridge itself, not separately). 

I've eaten frogs in porridge before (as in the frog is cooked together in the congee)...but not frog with porridge! ;P  I didn't know that a dish with frog (cooked in sauce) would work so well with porridge until I was recommended it years ago by a porridge specialist...and I've loved it ever since although this dish is not commonly found other than in porridge specialist shops (and some dai chow places).

The Plain Porridge in Claypot @ RM5 was of the right consistency and the spicy sauce tasted really good with the porridge.  You can get 3 Chinese rice bowls out of this serving (I had two and my husband helped finish the third).

I ordered the Claypot Stewed Pork Belly with Mui Choy @ RM18.50 for my family who chose to eat rice, of course.  The pork belly was tender and the mui choy (or preserved mustard) was nicely soft.  Another great dish to go with rice.

The meaty Deep-Fried Spring Rolls @ RM12.50 with a filling of chicken and seafood (as stated in the menu) were rather tasty.  The thin and light batter coating the rolls, probably from a combo of a rice flour and cornflour slurry (I'm making a guess here), was super crispy to the bite.

If there's a vegetable dish that's a must-order (for me) when eating porridge is certainly the Braised Salted Vegetables (or Ham Choy) @ RM6...and these were excellent, super soft and not overly salty.  We could have eaten a few more plates of this.

I also placed an order for Oyster Sauce Lettuce (or Sang Choy) @ RM10 to go with rice.  Great to see it topped with plentiful of fried (but unfortunately limp) shallots.

I remember that the Fried Dough Sticks (Chinese Crullers or Yau Char Kwai) @ RM2.50 (which I ordered through delivery) were light, airy and crispy (like they were freshly fried or house-made), so I got that as well.  Again, it didn't disappoint and certainly one of the better ones I've had with porridge.

There are also a number of dishes on the menu which are not in their delivery menu.  Although porridge is their speciality (with a choice of various ingredients), they also have Teochew braised dishes like pork belly, innards of pig ears and intestines, tofu and egg.  Besides frog in claypot, they also offer fish, eel, prawn, lala, pork, chicken, abalone and Japanese snails in claypot.

My Personal Opinion

As expected, this porridge is even better eaten on-site since it's served in a claypot which is ideal for retaining heat and help keep the congee hot for longer...and they have an endless variety of porridge you can choose from (that I've yet to try)....my favourite for the time being is their chee chap chuk (porridge with pork innards).

Prices are affordable although portions can be a little small for some of the dishes.  It may not be the best porridge out there but it's one of very few places where I can find this dish of dried chillies frog (near me) that I can eat with porridge, so it'll be a place I'd keep in mind when I want to have porridge. ^_~

Mother Porridge

61-G Jalan Pandan Perdana 4/6

Pandan Perdana

55300 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-9284 9226

Snack Attack - Irwins Salted Egg Products

I had my first taste of Irwins salted egg potato chips and salted egg fish skin some years back (you can read about it here).....and I was hooked alright.  They've since introduced more salted egg products and flavours.

The bag says it all......#DangerouslyAddictive...but they forgot to mention #DangerouslyExpensive too!

Irwins salted egg products are not only #DangerouslyAddictive, they're #DangerouslySweet as well.  So, don't go overboard with these snacks (harder said than done, right?).  I restrained myself and only had a few pieces (like less than five of each type) because of the sugar content, so my family finished the rest.  After all, I'm not the biggest snacker in my family (that accolade belongs to my husband) but crispy chips is my one weakness...although I prefer potato chips over other kinds of chips.

To start, the Salted Egg Fish Skin (which I had before) had more salted egg flavour, so the overall profile is also sweeter since you'll need more sugar to balance out the saltiness of the salted egg.

This being their very first salted egg product, it's immensely popular coz everybody just wants the original.  This one must get the big packet lah since it was so good the last time.

 

As for the Spicy Salted Egg Salmon Skin, the salted egg is more muted but the spicy flavour (medium spiciness) more than makes up for the overall taste.  Although their fish skin snacks aren't fishy in taste but I will say you can't taste the fish as much as the previous salted egg fish skin probably because this one has a spicier profile.

I also liked that this one had a more savoury overall taste since there's less salted egg and you don't need as much sugar to balance out the saltiness.  I also felt that this somehow had a lighter and crunchier texture compared to the earlier salted egg fish skin, again probably due to the use of less of salted egg.  So, depending if you like more salted egg flavour which comes with more sweetness, then the salted egg fish skin will probably be a better choice for you.  For me, I definitely preferred the spicy salted egg salmon skin to their original salted egg fish skin.

If you're thinking along the lines of thin, light and crisp chips, then I'm afraid you'll be disappointed with the Salted Egg Cassava Chips.

These chips are thick, so they're crunchy rather than crispy, with an unbelievable salted egg taste that Irvins has come to be known for together with the fragrance of the curry leaves.

For the Black Pepper Salted Egg Salmon Skin, the fish taste in this salmon skin comes through more than the earlier salted egg fish skin and because it's salmon skin, expect the crisp to be thicker but it's still super crunchy nevertheless.

There's a light heat from the black pepper but not overly peppery.  This being the only one that didn't have salted egg in the mix (or maybe there was a little), it was also the first one that tasted more savoury than sweet.  This wasn't as impressive.

The Salted Egg Gyoza Skin had the thickest crisp among all the ones I tried, so it had a harder but still crunchy bite compared to the rest.

The taste of the salted egg in this one is also pronounced as the bland gyoza skin will need every little bit of help to bring flavour.  This was the least endearing to me.

Overall, there's nothing negative to say about Irwins salted egg products except for the price.  As a Malaysian eating it, the price translates to three times (we can't help but convert since we're not earning SGD)....and S$8 - S$10 (or around RM30) for just a (small) bag of chips (however good) and so little of it (about 100g only) is just too much to pay for a snack.  It can be a once in a blue moon snack or, better still, if we don't have to pay for it (like these were)....lol!

After tasting six types, the Spicy Salted Egg Salmon Skin and (the earlier) Salted Egg Potato Chips turned out to be my favourites and the best ones for my palate.  The long weekend's here...time to bring out the snacks.....lol! ^.^

Street Hainan Chicken Rice Shop @ Pandan Perdana

I remember reading a post on Street Hainanese Chicken Rice Shop by choiyen.com and being attracted by the photos of the yellow-skinned poached kampung chicken which is one of my favourite things to eat.  What was even more tempting was the colour of the soup I noticed from photos that I googled.

So, one day, when I happened to tekan-tekan my phone, I was pleasantly surprised to see this shop on ShopeeFood...good, good, they have a branch near me in Pandan Perdana.  From ShopeeFood, I gather that they've branches in PJ, Selayang and Kepong besides the one in Pandan Perdana.

Of course I must do a taste test first, so I ordered the Set A (Lucky Box) + Drink @ RM12.80 as my first introduction to their chicken rice.  As the name implies, it's some kind of a surprise box where you don't get to choose the contents but leave it in the hands of the shop to give you what they wish.  It's far from a surprise anyway coz what else can you get if not roast chicken, char siew (barbeque pork) or siu yuk (roast pork).  What would be a surprise would be the cut of the randomly selected chicken part if you ask me! :D

So, my lucky box came with roast chicken and siu yuk.  Not so lucky though was that I got roast chicken breast (which was alright with me as they were not too dry).  The siu yuk had crunchy skin (no complaints on that) but flavour-wise, it was just passable. 

I enjoyed the consistency and taste of the rice which had a good dose of chicken broth flavour.  I was thrilled to see the plentiful yin sai (coriander) in the rice box too.  

The free drink that came with the rice box was a Watercress & Honey Date Tea which was really good...and very refreshing too.  The ingredients of watercress, honey dates and jujubes (or red dates) are the very same ingredients we'd use if we were making a soup.  If it wasn't cold, you might think you're drinking a soup coz I definitely tasted the flavours of watercress and red dates but, of course, the drink had a sweeter profile with natural sweetness coming from the honey dates.  The drink is RM5.50 if ordered separately, so the price of the rice box including the drink I'd consider it good value.

Armed with a favourable taste test, I dropped by with my family to Street Hainan (or Hainanese) Chicken Rice Shop @ Pandan Perdana for a dine-in.  We couldn't find it at first as we were expecting a restaurant on its own (just like the Kepong branch that choiyen dined in) but it turned out to be just a stall inside a coffee shop by the name of Restoran Hou Wan Loi.

From the stall's name, it's obvious that their speciality is Hainanese chicken rice, so I placed an order for Poached Kampung Chicken Rice.  The kampung chicken (or choy yin kai) was tender and had good flavours....the most successful meat option here in my opinion.  

I requested for chicken thigh but noted that the layer of meat was rather thin.  I'm fine with the kampung chicken being lean with a less fatty skin.  The soy sauce accompanying the poached kampung chicken wasn't too salty and I detected a very faint hint of Chinese wine in the sauce.

The accompanying fresh chilli and ginger paste tasted good as well.  The blended chilli dip was fairly spicy, zingy and appetising while the ginger paste was nice, lightly oily and not too spiced.

We also ordered a plate of Roast Pork (or Siu Yuk) Rice since that's my husband favourite roasted meat.  But unlike the crunchy skin siu yuk that I got via delivery, the dine-in siu yuk that day (unfortunately) wasn't as that was the first thing my husband commented.  I did tell him that the one piece I had was crunchy but looks like the rest weren't.

So, this obviously didn't meet his standard in terms of flavour or crispiness (he did notice that the slab of siu yuk hanging at the stall wasn't sizeable)...and that's usually a tell-tale sign that perhaps it's not so popular/saleable as we were there just after 9am when they opened!  There was no drizzling of soy sauce over the siu yuk as the chilli + soy dip (which tasted a lot saltier than the soy that accompanied the poached chicken) came separately.

Since I didn't get char siew in my lucky box, I wanted to try that and ordered a serving of BBQ Pork (or Char Siew) Rice too.

The char siew had a fair ratio of lean-to-fat, so it was certainly tender with a well caramelised, sweet aftertaste.  Those who like their char siew sweet would enjoy this.  The char siew was a much better tasting meat than the siu yuk for sure.

The one unique differentiation I found with this roasted meat stall was definitely the rice itself!  There was no doubt that the rice had a good dose of chicken flavour but the texture of the rice was quite different from the usual ones I've had.  The nicely separated grains had more of a bite and a surprisingly sticky texture (which I didn't realise when I ate it the first time).  If you were to ask me to guess, I'd probably say there was some glutinous rice in the mix.  So, those who like their rice al dente (like their pasta) would appreciate and enjoy this texture more.  Those who don't would probably find the texture a bit on the firm side.  I'm not overly excited about the texture though I don't mind it as long as the rice has enough flavour.

The soup turned out very ordinary (just like any soups at chicken rice stalls that deserve no mention), certainly a far cry from the tempting soup photos I saw online (from their other branches).  

I was also happy to see that they were not kedekut (stingy) with the serving of chopped coriander topping on their meats.  I was disappointed to be told that the fat, crunchy beansprouts I saw in choiyen's blog weren't available...and neither were their handmade pork meatballs.  I don't know the individual prices of the rice meals we had but the 3 plates cost RM27.50 in total (a very decent pricing of about RM9 a plate although my husband commented that the portion was rather little).

My Personal Opinion

After trying all types of meat at this chicken rice stall, the well-flavoured and tender poached kampung chicken is the best tasting thing here followed by the sweetish caramelised char siew.  The siu yuk, on the other hand, needs work.

Having said that, although the kampung chicken was decent and the char siew satisfying, it isn't wow enough for me to recommend that you come from afar just to eat this (if you happen to be in the vicinity or if you live in the area, then perhaps).

Personally, I doubt I'll be patronising on a regular basis just because I've other better alternatives near me when it comes to poached chicken and char siew that I find more enjoyable...and a few comes to mind immediately (some even in my own neighbourhood). ^_~

Street Hainan Chicken Rice Shop

(Stall inside Restoran Hou Wan Loi)

40 Jalan Perdana 4/8

Pandan Perdana

55300 Kuala Lumpur