Teow Chew Meng @ SS2 PJ

I was invited to join a family lunch by my sister-in-law at this place, Teow Chew Meng @ SS2 PJ, which I've not eaten at before, so I (of course) answered in the affirmative.  My sister-in-law said that we have to get there early as the place fills up quickly during peak hours, so we got there before 12 noon.

From the name of the shop, it's quite obvious that the place specialises in Teochew food.  Just like most Chinese tai chow kind of restaurants, it has a no-frills interior but is, at least, air-conditioned for a more comfortable dining experience.

Their signature dish is the Mee Sua Tow @ RM14.50 per pax (this pot was a 2-pax portion) which contains mee sua (a type of very thin wheat vermicelli) served in a viciously starchy seafood broth with seafood gems like prawns, scallops, fish meat and processed crabstick (the seafood items are clearly not visible) before finishing with a good sprinkling of fried garlic bits and chopped spring onions.

I think I managed to fish out just about all the available types of seafood into my bowl (so that you can see)...lol.  Of these, I enjoyed the fresh, flaky fish meat the most.  The very starchy consistency of the noodle broth (however) will thin out as you eat and end up more like a soup.

On its own, the mee sua tow tasted very bland even for someone like me who likes subtle flavours.  The key is to add a dollop of black vinegar to lift up the flavours...but since I'm not fond of black vinegar, I didn't put any in.  It's similar to what you would do to sharksfin soup...which I never did unless someone adds it into the pot (like during wedding dinners or such) but these days people are more aware that it isn't to everyone's liking, so it's best left to the individual to add on their own).  That's probably why it tasted bland to me as it needed the black vinegar (I added soy sauce instead!). >_<

Some will even add a bit of the chilli paste available tableside to perk up the flavours (which I found out later when I read the reviews).  My sister-in-law clued me in on the Chinese words on the chilli condiment container (on the left) which says "lat sei lei" (which literally translates to "spicy die you").  There were also English words "super spicy chilli sauce" on the container to warn you just in case you don't read Chinese.  I tasted just a tiny speck of it...and my tongue was sent into spicy overdrive (they really mean what they say)! >.<  P/S: I'm assuming the other container of sambal is for the noodles.

No wonder it tasted bland on its own without the addition of vinegar and chilli though my sister-in-law seemed to enjoy it just the way it was.  Apart from the overly starchy consistency which I can't say I'm a fan of, I'll refrain from saying if it's any good since I didn't eat it the right way...so you be the judge when you try this.

The Oyster Mee @ RM17.80 was some kind of braised noodles in dark sauce with oysters, (small) prawns, fish cake slices and Chinese dried mushrooms.  This was probably a one-pax protion.

Unfortunately I didn't get any oysters (I think there were very few), so I can't vouch if they were fresh and juicy but the noodle texture (which looked like handmade noodles) was great and I enjoyed it with the pleasantly satisfying sauce.

The third noodle dish ordered was the Fried Lye Fun @ RM13.80 again filled with almost the same ingredients as before.  The noodle used in this dish was lai fun which is the type of noodle often served with assam laksa.

The noodle has a very soft, lightly starchy and chewy consistency...and it's not a noodle that's easy to fry but this was done very well.  It was fried with some curry leaves which gives off that wonderful perfumy fragrance to flavour the noodles.  Out of the three noodles we had, I thought this was the best of the three.

If there is one thing I wish to highlight, it's the rather crunchy texture of the prawns utilised in all the noodle dishes that showed signs that they were probably chemically processed frozen prawns as they didn't have that innate sweetness of fresh, good quality prawns that I know.  Seeing the prices of the noodles are all under RM20 per portion, I guess I shouldn't expect too much since seafood ingredients are pretty expensive these days.  I notice this has been the trend (using frozen prawns) since the pandemic.  Many hawker stalls use them in their fried noodles these days and the reason is obviously the cost.  I still wish that they would use smaller fresh prawns (and actually don't mind getting less prawns) as they taste so much better.

We ordered a couple of side dishes to complement our noodles meal starting with the Seafood Roll @ RM15 (small is 10 pcs, an eager beaver got to one...lol).  This seafood roll resembles a dish of Penang Lobak except (I believe) the filling is a paste made from seafood.  The chilli dip served with it tasted like those sweet Thai chilli sauce.

First, I must commend the excellent frying of the roll where the fried-to-order beancurd sheet came out piping hot and super crispy.  But, alas, the filling was underseasoned (another sister-in-law was in agreement) otherwise it would have been a better tasting dish.

Next was the very appetising Apple Beancurd @ RM15.  This was a simple-to-execute dish of fried tofu topped with slivers of shredded apple and dried prawns before finishing with a good drizzle of chilli sauce (over the fried tofu) that tasted similar to the earlier Thai sweet chilli sauce served with the seafood roll.

The apple shreds that have been pickled beforehand (with bits of torch ginger or bunga kantan, I believe) were crunchy and mildly tangy resulting in a very refreshing bite together with the crispy tofu and fragrant dried shrimps (but need loads more to impart some shrimpy seafood flavour into the dish!).  The kind of dried shrimps used in this dish are those widely used in Thai food especially in Thai salads.  Starting with this very refreshing dish will certainly open up your appetite for more.

The Teochew Oyster Omelette (or Orh Luak) @ RM15 (small) arrived true to its description...in omelette form and cut into 6 slices (like a pizza) and topped with lots of coriander (yin sai) and a drizzle of that sweet Thai chilli sauce again.

There were very few oysters in the omelette.  I only encountered one on my slice (not sure if there was more than one on the other slices).  Certainly this style of oyster omelette is quite different from the usual fried oyster omelette or oh chien that I know where you'd get lots of juicy, fresh oysters fried with a crispy and lightly chewy batter of sweet potato starch (or tapioca starch) and eggs.  That said, the Teochew oyster omelette had good flavours and a nice crisp apart from the miserly oysters (I'm just comparing this to the abundance of oysters I get from Ah Koong for RM10)! ;P

When I saw Steamed Octopus @ RM30 on the menu, I immediately knew I wanted it as I've been dying to try this delicacy I've seen mainly offered in Penang and Ipoh, not so common here in KL.  The steamed (or poached) baby octopus was served with some cucumbers and a special sweet chilli sauce with crushed peanuts and fried garlic.

Trying it for the first time, it didn't disappoint.  The octopus pieces were fresh, cooked just right, had great texture and were lightly chewy but crunchy to the bite.  However, the chilli dip for this dish turned out to be the same ones that were used in the earlier dishes even though they tried to disguise this one with added crushed peanuts and crispy garlic! :D  Nevertheless, this still ended up to be my favourite side dish from here (don't know how this compares to others since this was my first time eating steamed octopus but I think a more fresh, tangy and spicy dip would have been a better accompaniment for the octopus rather than a sweet one).

I feel I must make mention of the same chilli sauce served with the 3 dishes of seafood roll, oyster omelette and steamed octopus.  It didn't feel like it was housemade and (in fact) tasted rather similar to a Thai sweet chilli sauce (perhaps it even came out of a bottle!).  I personally felt that a spicier and more tangy sauce would have been a better fit for the side dishes.  The only dish that I thought the sweet chilli sauce worked well was in the apple beancurd which (incidentally) already had the sweet sauce drizzled over.

We finished with a plate of greens of Steamed Lettuce (regular) @ RM18 sitting on top of soy sauce (much like a dish of blanched lettuce you get at tai chow places) with some crispy silver fish, fried garlic bits and fragrant (Thai) dried shrimps.

Dessert was Orh Nee (or Teochew Yam Paste) @ RM6, a warm yam-based dessert made wth pureed yam and pork lard and topped with a few gingko nuts.  Again, since I was trying this for the first time (and have nothing to compare this with), take what I say with a pinch of salt.  It was good that the yam paste wasn't too sweet but I felt it wasn't too smooth either + it had a bit of that raw flour taste and something else (maybe the lard oil).  I'd say this orh nee is an acquired taste...and I can't say I'm a fan of this rich dessert.

I would have preferred something more refreshing to end our meal.  Luckily our pleasingly fresh drinks of Kedondong (Ambarella or Umbra) + Sour Plum Juice and Cucumber + Sour Plum Juice all @ RM6 did just that.

My Personal Opinion

If you come here thinking you'd find dishes commonly associated with Teochew food like braised duck (lor ark or lou ngap), braised pork belly (lou bak), Teochew porridge, kuey chap or Teochew steamed fish (just to name a few), then you may be slightly disappointed as their menu doesn't exactly showcase authentic Teochew cuisine.  It has a mix of Thai-influenced dishes like their apple beancurd and kerabu mango (mango salad) as well as local Penang-inspired dishes of lobak/seafood roll and steamed octopus.

But there are still a couple of pleasant tasting dishes you can enjoy here (even though the menu isn't very extensive) like the fried lye fun, oyster mee (for the texture of the handmade noodles), apple beancurd (for the refreshing and crunchy pickled apple) and steamed octopus (for the fresh octopus, not so much the chilli dip).  So, if you're looking for something different from your usual eats or something slightly more unique than what is offered by standard tai chow restaurants, this is worth a try if you're in the area. ^_~

Restoran Teow Chew Meng

33 Jalan SS2/30

47300 Petaling Jaya

Selangor

Tel: 03-7877 9298

My Air Fryer Joy Continues - Nuggets, Bacon, Burgers & Sausages

Wuahahahaha....my air fryer joy continues!  I'm having so much fun with my latest toy.  I'm still enjoying myself cooking frozen processed food for my family's snacking happy hours and becoming constantly amazed at just how quick and easy it is to churn out food in the air fryer.

Next on the list was to make a snack of chicken nuggets (our favourite).  I got me some Ramly Chicken Nuggets  to try for the first time.  I actually saw a buyer's photo on Shopee and she was able to fit 10 nuggets into the basket and that was the reason that swayed me to get this size of airfryer in the first place. Just 4 nuggets is sufficient as a snack for one (with portion control in mind)...lol.

Ramly's nuggets have a bit of a breaded coating on the outside and are probably bigger, so I could only fit 7 - 8 at one time.  The coating came out crispy and the texture of the chicken good (almost like the texture of real chicken), not soft and mushy like some.

Again, I used the magic number (for me) of 200°C and 12 - 15 minutes for most (frozen) food...so I don't have to bother remembering all the different temperatures and timing.  Leave it a little longer if you like yours with more browning and flip it once (or twice) around the halfway mark.

Of course we needed to get the First Pride Chicken Nuggets that's allegedly rumoured to be the same ones used by McD to test if they taste anything similar.  These nuggets were slightly smaller and do not have a batter coating, so I could fit more pieces in the air fryer.

Look...does that look like McD nuggets?  We were pretty happy with the end result and it did taste quite similar to McD's as far as the texture of the chicken is concerned, just that the outer coating didn't turn out as crispy.  Then again, it may due to us air frying the nuggets instead of deep-frying.

Of course I can't vouch how far all this is true but they did taste quite similar to me (though I personally prefer KFC's nuggets).  Even if they're not, it's still worth it to make these "almost similar" McD nuggets yourself at home (with the help of an air fryer) at only a fraction of what McD charges.

Another crispy snack that everyone would want to make in their air fryer is none other than bacon, of course! ;)  I put in 3 rashes of streaky bacon but as each piece is rather long, it had to be cut in half to fit into my small air fryer basket.

The first time I made these, I had a tiny little boo-boo.  I heard this noise coming from the air fryer (after just 2 minutes) and quickly opened the dawer just to catch it in time to see the edges of the paper liners starting to burn.  The reason for this is that the paper liners are very lightweight so there's a tendency for it to be lifted (or fly up) as your food cooks.  Luckily I didn't walk away as I wasn't sure how long the bacon would take to cook.  So what some air fryer reviewers said about not putting paper liners in your air fryer without food is true as the paper, due to its light weight, will get lifted up while inside the air fryer once it's turned on (even for food that's light in weight like bacon).  So be careful.

So, the second time round, I improvised and used a small (5-inch) steamer rack to add some weight onto the paper liners.  As you can see, laying the small bacon pieces on top of the rack isn't the most ideal as they curl/shrink when cooked.  Using a small wire rack would have been better (since it'll have a much closer/tighter grid for the food to lay on) but I don't have one small enough to fit into my airfryer.

The next time I made these, I just left the bacon pieces whole...much easier to lay on my makeshift rack. Cooking bacon in the airfryer is really quick (much easier and faster than in a pan I'd say and you don't have to keep flipping and watching over them).  It only takes about 5 minutes in the airfryer (depending how charred you like your bacon) flipping once.

The clear advantage I see cooking bacon this way by laying the bacon over a rack is that the oil will drip down and away from your bacon pieces resulting in really crispy (and less guilty) bacon...hehe!

The bacon in this big breakfast platter was cooked in the airfryer...which is now my favourite way of cooking bacon.  If only I can find a wire rack small enough to fit into my small air fryer.

This insanely crispy bacon in between a buttered, toasted (not in the air fryer!), crispy wholemeal bun with raisins makes an insanely good snack! ^o^  Sometimes it's difficult to just have one (bun, I mean), so I would have two (with 3 rashers of bacon cut in two) for a light dinner instead.

My son asked if the air fryer would be successful in cooking burger patties, so I bought some Ramly (Chicken) Burger Patties to experiment.

I cooked it from frozen state (you'll need a good 15 minutes) and (as you can see) the two pieces were too big to lay flat in the small airfryer.  So I flipped them a few times during the cooking process to expose the parts that were overlapping.

Do note that you'd find quite a bit of oil oozing out from the patties (just like what is seen at the roadside burger stands scrapping away the oil on their iron grill plate).  So the best way round it would be to put it on a rack so that the oil can drip down (but that also means you can cook only one at a time).

My son said it tasted exactly like the roadside Ramly burger except without its sauce but both father and son agreed it didn't taste as pleasurable without the added seasonings/sauces that the roadside burgers come with.  I tasted one and found it rather bland too.  That's probably the reason why roadside burger stalls slice the meat in the middle and add soy, pepper, mustard or whatnots to the centre of the patty to perk up the flavour....and I guess a more bland patty can hold up the sauces (like chilli, tomato and mayo) that'll eventually go into them much better.

I was determined to make the patties taste good...so I did the same....on both sides of the patty-lah (not in the centre as I won't have the skill to slice through the already thin patty!).  I tried them with a few types (or a combination) of seasoning...black pepper, smoked paprika, garlic powder and/or soy sauce (use a pastry brush for a more even brushing).  All tasted a lot better than an unseasoned one but our ultimate favourite was the one with soy sauce.  Note that if you want to add seasonings, you'll have to defrost the patties first (but the air frying time will also be shorter).

Look at the amount of oil that oozed out of the patties (this amount was left after cooking 4 patties!).  It's both a negative and positive sight.  Negative that there's so much oil in the patties but positive that at least most of it came out of the patty which makes the guilt of eating it just a little bit lesser? ;D

If you can cook burger patties, you can (of course) cook sausages too.  These are just some common (processed) sausages I got, NutriPlus with Honey & Chilli Sausages.  Not too bad with a hint of spice.

You can cook them whole from frozen state...but the sausage skin is known to burst/split when heated. That's why you'll need to cut little slits in the sausages to prevent that from happening.  To do that you'll have to defrost first obviously.  Leave it in longer for better browning.  If you have (visiting) young nephews and nieces, you'll be their favourite aunty in no time when you make them these snacks of nuggets, bacon, burgers and sausages...lol.

After all this cooking (of frozen foods), let me show you how clean the underside of my air fryer still is.....and I've had it for more than 3 months now (and I've wiped it only once).  Perhaps the real test is yet to come...wahahahaha!

Many young adults of today who are too lazy to cook, don't want to cook or just don't know how to cook will find the air fryer a rather useful gadget in their kitchen to make quick meals as the frozen food aisle in the supermarket is a favourite aisle of theirs (and there are a lot more varieties nowadays).  They're not worried about consuming processed food and saturated fats coz, at their age, they can afford to.  They've the liberty to eat whatever they want until age catches up with them before they even start worrying about their health.

Over time, I'm sure I'll be experimenting and discovering a few new recipes or new ways to cook a certain dish or ingredient with the air fryer.  But for now, I'm happy to just use it for the very purpose it was bought for.....reheating fried food and making crispy fried snacks (with ease and speed) for the habitual snackers in my family...and if that ends up as the only two things it does, I'd still be happy with what I got out of my air fryer! ^_~

Hien Kee Fish Ball Noodle @ Jalan Loke Yew

I've noticed this shop (under a block of public flats) from the main road whenever we pass it enroute home or to other breakfast stops after church.  So, one day I took note of the shop's name and googled it when I reached home.  Turns out it's a fish ball noodle shop and since that's one of my favourite noodles to eat, we (more like I) decided to pay a visit to Hien Kee Fish Ball Noodle @ Jalan Loke Yew to see if it's any good since reviews mentioned that this is the popular Loke Yew flats fish ball noodle stall that have been around for many years.

From afar, the signboard looked new but the shop was the complete opposite.  It was pretty old and run down.  The place is rather tiny as there's only about 3 - 4 tables inside the shop (which the stall shares with the drinks shop) but they set up more tables outside along the pavement (and across the road under some trees).  Besides limited tables, parking here is also very limited.

Even though there weren't that many tables (probably 10 or so in total), our food took a while to arrive as it's a small operation run by 3 people, a lady who does the cooking, an elderly lady who helps + sends out the food and a guy (in a wheelchair) that takes orders and collects money (from what I witnessed).  The menu (written in Chinese) and prices are displayed inside the shop.

Luckily, they're a fish ball noodle specialist and I can pretty much guess what they offer (since I don't read Chinese).  I ordered a bowl of Fish Ball Noodle Soup @ RM8 for myself.

The bowl of noodles (I chose kuey teow) came with fish balls, fish cake slices, fish wantans (only one piece) and beansprouts before finishing with a few lard crisps, fried shallots and a sprinkling of chopped Chinese celery (daun sup).  The latter is a bit of a deal-breaker for me as I prefer it with Chinese parsley (yin sai), not daun sup! >.<

Whenever I try new fish ball noodle stalls, I would always compare them to my curent no. 1 favourite in Yin Kee (that one is gold standard for me).  The fish cake was alright, nothing outstanding, and just a few miserly thin slices were given.

The fish balls, on the other hand, won't be among my must-have anytime soon.  Their texture was a little bouncy and much denser than my favourite ones from Yin Kee.  But I must give credit to the very likeable beansprouts as they were the fat and crunchy ones.

My husband had his Fish Ball Noodle, Dry Style @ RM8 with a combo of mee + meehoon.  Luckily there's a choice of dry noodles since my husband isn't into any type of soup noodles, more so if it's fish ball noodles.

As you can see, the bowl of (same) ingredients on its own looked even more scarce.  Taking a sip of the soup, the flavour didn't impress although I expected it to be subtle tasting like all other fish ball noodle soups but even so, some would have more depth of flavour by whatever they use to boil the soup base, one of which is toong choy or dong cai (I think it's referred to as Tianjin preserved vegetable).  This one didn't seem to have that preserved vegetable in the mix.

One of my most favourite things to eat at a specialty fish ball noodle shop is their fish skin wantan (also known as fei tip or flying saucer) but, as always, you usually get just one piece in each bowl of fish ball noodles.  No matter, that's why it's always available as an add on or a side dish.

The Fish Skin Wantans @ RM9 (for 10 pcs) were certainly decent tasting with the thickness of the fish skin just right.  The minced pork filling however was lacking (or missing) that fragrant taste (of dried sole fish powder) which would have made the wantans a lot tastier.  Some would even add this sole (also known as flat/flounder) fish powder into their soup to perk up the flavours even more.

My Personal Opinion

It's difficult for me to visit (and eat at) shops that specialise only in fish ball noodles since it isn't something my husband would choose to eat if he has a choice though he's still willing to accompany me to some of these places knowing how much I love to eat fish ball noodles.

Luckily, this turned out to be a fish noodle speciaist that I can safely skip since the noodles (as well as the environment) failed to live up to my standards.  This is not to say it isn't decent, I'm sure it is to many (based on the fairly good reviews/ratings they've received), just that I've eaten better ones than this.  I'm sure my husband would be happy to know that I have no plans to revisit....lol!

Hien Kee Fish Ball Noodle

24 Jalan Loke Yew

Pudu

55200 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 017-252 5012