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Kim Gary (Avenue-K), KL

This week’s review is on one of the most popular restaurants in Malaysia. Kim Gary to date has opened six Malaysian franchises, situated in various locations in the Klang Valley: Sungei Wang Plaza, Sunway Pyramid, Mid Valley Megamall, Avenue-K, The Curve and Hartamas Shopping Centre.

The Hongkie owners initially opened doors to their customers in Hong Kong in 1992 and then another seven branches before they decided to make their way into the Klang Valley in January 2002. In fact Kim Gary is the first in Malaysia to adopt the Hong Kong styled coffee shop concept.

To my Muslim readers, Kim Gary’s dishes are non-halal.

My family and I thought we should try out one of their newer branches tonight. We decided on Avenue-K, the new shopping village opposite Suria KLCC. The restaurant is located one floor above the exit of the Putra LRT’s KLCC terminal.

It was considerably quiet on a weekday around 7:30pm. Mum said the Avenue-K branch is always ultra-packed during lunch hours.

As we entered the restaurant, it reminded me alot of the usual Hong Kong styled fast food cafes back in Brisbane. It was a breath of fresh air to be in a nice modern Chinese restaurant without the usual large caligraphy board and red table cloths. I did notice the unusually large number of standing young waiter and waitresses near the kitchen counter. Well I guess that means quicker service. The air-conditioning was just perfect on this cool rainy day.

A waiter brought us to our table and immediately passed us three ala carté and set dinner menus, along with a piece of menu-like paper and a pencil. The menu contains a brief description of each dishes. After deciding on our dishes for that evening, we marked it down on the menu-like paper and returned it to one of the waiters who walked past our table. He repeated our order while writing it down on his little booklet before running to the kitchen.

Unlike other restaurants in Malaysia, Kim Gary offers many various dinner sets. If I ain’t mistaken, there were no less than ten dinner sets listed in the menu. Mum and I decided to take on their set dinner. I took their Combo Hot Plate, while Mum went for their Rum Combo Grilled Hot Plate. Besides the featured dinner dish, our dinner set also included a bowl of soup (Borsch or Cream), garlic bread, dessert (or an additional RM1 for fruit yoghurt), coffee or tea (or an additional RM1 for a variety of juices or milk tea).

As usual, mango juice for me. My quest in search for the best mango juice in Kuala Lumpur is still on. I was not expecting much since mango juice was only priced at RM4.50.

Garlic Bread (included in dinner set)

After a few moments of contemplation, Dad finally settled for their Soup Noodle with Shredded Pork and Szechuan Vegetables AND Shredded Pork and Fried Egg with Shanghai Style Vegetable Rice. Mum reminded earlier that ala carté dishes in Kim Gary is rather small in portion. That explained why Dad went for two dishes. I’d like to believe he was very hungry then.

I swore that the drinks, soups and desserts came out from the kitchen in less than five minutes. It was that quick.

The refreshing sip on this restaurant’s mango juice astounds me. Kim Gary’s mango juice texture was very thick and concentrated. However I managed to taste a subtle cheat of mango flavoring syrup in their juice; but… Hands down, ladies and gentlemen! We almost have a winner here if you are into value for money. RM4.50 for an average-sized cup of mango juice was definitely not bad. Not bad at all. Madam Kwan’s cup of mango juice was significantly larger and their mango juice seemed purer. But let us not forget their massive RM8.00 price tag.

Dad’s bowl of noodles soup arrived soon afterwards. And I do mean soon.

Soup Noodle with Shredded Pork and Szechuan Vegetables

The noodles served with this bowl of soup was white in color. The texture was almost smooth as kuay teow, but it was shaped like the usual yellow noodles and not as fine as vermicelli. I attempted a quick taste on its soup and noticed a strong unique flavor. I have a feeling it was due to the nature of the Szechuan vegetables boiled along with the soup.

Within a few distance the sound of hot sizzling welcomed the main dish of my dinner set. Here is a picture of a complete overview of my dinner for tonight:

Combo Hot Plate

Here’s my personal verdict-or-opinion of each of the dishes:
a) The cream vegetable soup was pretty alright, but not excellent. However it did remind me of the mushroom soup served in Pizza Hut; just replace the mushroom bits with your usual everyday mixed frozen vegetables.
b) The garlic toast bread was pretty darn good. Though there were no garlic bits present in the butter mix, the garlic infusion has a very profound presence.
c) On to the mains. Along with some chips and cucumber slices, the hot plate came three pieces of meat fillets: pork, chicken and fish. On the four selections of sauce, I regretably chose their garlic sauce. The other alternatives were black-pepper sauce, ketchup-like sauce and white sauce. The fillet meats were marinated and grilled before the garlic sauce was poured on them to finish off the presentation. I found the sauce was a too heavy for the already well-flavored fillets. I would blame it on my choice of sauce; though I still believe that such heavily-infused garlic flavorings should be better off on beef steaks. The pork fillet, however, stood out best among the three grilled meats. My instinct suggested that the fillets were only lightly marinaded with pepper, salt and sugar: the combo that brings out the best natural pork flavors. The chicken was a little over-cook. The kitchen should have turned off the heat while allowing the sizzling hot pan continue cooking. The fish seemed to be fried beforehand. But I might be wrong.
d) The dessert jelly was just… well, lemon-flavored packet jelly along with some tin-can fruits.

Dad’s Szechuan Vegetables AND Shredded Pork and Fried Egg with Shanghai Style Vegetable Rice came out next.

Shredded Pork and Fried Egg with Shanghai Style Vegetable Rice

It was more like a plate of fried rice with some vegetables and eggs, finished with some fried pork pieces, the same marinade-grilled pork used in my dish. I somehow enjoyed this dish very much because the flavors of the grilled pork seemed to compliment very well.

I gleed with envy as Mum’s dish made a pretty grand entrance with its sizzling hot plate along with the huge piece of spare ribs, chicken wing and pork fillet.

Rum Combo Grilled Hot Plate

Rest assured this dish was not flamed with rum or whatsoever. It is just the name of the dish, signifying its glorious servings.

Like me Mum had the garlic sauce, which I was unsure if she enjoyed it. Maybe she did. The pork fillet, once again, was also included in her dish. The chicken wing seemed like it was grilled over coals of fire but I did not manage to grab a bite. Mum, being a light eater, gave me a strip of the rather huge spare rib.

As I lightly cut a piece of the meat off the rib with my steak-knife, I already knew the meat was juicy and tender. And it sure was when I grabbed a bite of it. It was very well cooked and simple lovely. My instinct told me that the rib was actually roasted/grilled in an oven since every part of the rib was cooked evenly. The sweetness came from the honey, which was used to baste the meat. Well done, Kim Gary!

Here’s the price breakdown for the dishes we ate tonight:
Combo Hot Plate (Dinner Set): RM19.90
Rum Combo Grilled Hot Plate (Dinner Set): RM19.90
Shredded Pork and Fried Egg with Shanghai Style Vegetable Rice: RM8.50
Soup Noodle with Shredded Pork and Szechuan Vegetables: RM5.90
Mango Juice: RM4.50

Kim Gary’s prices are very reasonable for a meal of typically Chinese food. That probably explains the humungus crowd during their lunch time. Since I have tried their Chinese-Western dishes tonight, I would probably be back to try their other more Chinese rice/noodle dishes. Whatever you do stay clear from their garlic sauce toppings on their Western set meals, unless you have a pack of afterdinner mints ready at your disposal.

For reservations:
Kim Gary Beyond
Avenue K
B1F/208 Jln. Ampang
50450 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: +603 2171 1618

For other location details, please visit here.

The Town Of Bidor

Welcome to the little town of Bidor, where girls are scarce. Looking for a bride in this little place is not adviseable. On the other hand, Bidor’s duck noodles soup (鴨腿麵) is pretty much the most authentic dish you could ever get in Malaysia, let alone the best.

Upon hearing the news of this highly-satisfying bowl of noodles soup, we took the Bidor exit, while enroute to Ipoh. Along the main road of this rather deserted town, motorcycles and lorries ruled the streets. Clusters of people only began to appear as we approached the only coffee shop visible in this entire town.

“Pun Chun Chicken Biscuits and Restaurant” proudly displayed their business sign on their two-shoplot restaurant. Car parking was a little bit difficult to find initially, but a few rounds of search-and-drive and a little luck you will find a parking spot a few feet away from the crowded shop.

Pun Chun Chicken Biscits and Restaurant.
Yes, bicycles are still very much used in Bidor.

Pun Chun, as expected, was very packed on a Saturday morning. The breakfast crowd was at its peak in the unearthly hour of 8am. You would wonder, “who on earth would wake up that early for their breakfast?”. Well, be surprised. The crowd were mainly from nearby cities like Ipoh (30 minutes drive). And perhaps a few from KL.

Besides their infamous chicken biscuits (雞仔餅) which were sold nationwide, their duck noodles soup was the encore for the morning. Won Ton Mee (雲吞麵) and Yam Pastry (芋角) were also available; but they weren’t Pun Chun’s signature dishes.

Our long awaited duck noodles soup finally arrived after a 20-minute wait. It was still fast considering the huge crowd thronging the restaurant, where first-come-first-serve attitudes were never heard of.

The Deliciously Tasting Duck Noodles Soup

The type of noodles used were the same ones used for your usual everyday Won Ton Mee. Pun Chun was very generous with their duck meat. The soup was made with a variety of Chinese herbs. At Pun Chun, the soup was steamed along with the duck meat and herbs; not conventionally boiled as one would usually do. This helped further develop the available herbs to create a very complex but well-flavored soup; and as expected, the tasteless overtenderness of its duck meat was due to the very long steaming hours. A slice of ginger was also present to not only enhance its flavorings but for Chinese medicinal purposes. The Chinese believe that certain foods (e.g. duck meat) release excessive “air”, which could upset the human body balance of the ying and yang. Ginger is traditionally used to reduce the “air” (推風) in daily food intake.

Overall I have to agree that this is the best duck noodles soup I have tasted in Malaysia. I made sure my bowl was completely dry before I left my seat to pay the bill. If you by any chance keep a dog at home, save the bones. They will love you for it.

Here’s the important bit:
Pun Chun Chicken Biscuits and Restaurant
38-40 Jalan Besar
Bidor
35500 Perak

Phone: +605 434 1554

It’s funny how EVERY Malaysian would associate Ipoh with its girls. Those KL suckers would scream, “Ipoh mali” after I told them I’m a full-blooded Ipohrian.

For your information, Ipoh has much more to offer than just its girls. We know Penang is famous for its classic Hokkien-hawker-style food. Ipoh, however is a little different - the food has a closer resemblance to of Cantonese origin.

The drive back to Ipoh this weekend was a breeze. Only because we left KL at 6am. On a non-working Saturday.

Kong Heng, the infamous eating outlet in Ipoh Old Town

The first stop was at the infamous Ipoh Old Town, the origin of Ipoh Sa Hor Fun/Kuay Teow. Kong Heng, also known as the House Of Mirrors (because of the infinite number of mirrors on the wall) and their direct neighbor, Thuen Chun, serve this popular dish. “Which of these two is better?”, you might ask. Frankly speaking, both have the same amount of customers. Taste-wise, I can’t really tell. To avoid their tradesecret from being compromised, Kong Heng initially did not allow any takeaway orders. Thuen Chun, however allowed takeaways; and they were even more than happy to give you more soup if so desired. Ironically it is quite safe to say that the locals here choose between both shops based on customer service and not food quality.

I am usually at Thuen Chun because the stall that serves the popular Ipoh-style Chee Cheong Fun is located there. Chee Cheong Fun in Ipoh, unlike KL and Penang, is served with mushroom sauce. And again, that’s the way all Chee Cheong Funs should be eaten.

Many Malaysians flock to Thuen Chun to have their dessert custard pudding, served with caramel. I can’t comment on their custards as I’m not really into it. When you’re there, you’ll also bump in to this extremely friendly Chinese satay man. He would usually just push you a plate of about ten satay pieces; and only charges you for the number of sticks you’ve eaten. I believe that the Malays make better satays than everyone else. Or maybe it’s just me.

Ipoh Sa Hor Fun

How times flies. Before you realize, it’s already time for brunch. So, we headed to a street off Kampar Rd. to buy their Curry Chicken Bun. This was my first time eating them, even though I’ve spent more than 20 years in Ipoh. Mum told me the bun was so huge before, that you need to have someone to share it with you. For dinner.

If you’re from out of town, you’re most likely to stuff the bun into your gap… like what every Malaysians would normally do. Well, this is the only time when civilized Western bun-eating habits pay off in Malaysia.

You are NOT to bite the bun.

 

The hidden jewel in a Curry Chicken Bun

Now that the alluminium foil is out of the way, it’s time to savor the chicken curry. After staring at the mean little bugger, you peel a piece of the bun and dip it into the curry sauce. There’re bits and pieces of chicken meat (with bones intact) and potatoes. The curry is fragrant. And it seems to go exceptionally well with the bun. This combination, however is different from the remaining overnight curry you used to eat with Gardenia bread loaf.

Let me introduce you to my friend, “Wong Fei Hung” (黃飛鴻). His trademark is in his clothes: bright red-colored shirt and baggy green pants. Proudly flaunting two newspaper cuttings of his famous kachang puteh and few giant bags of various deep fried crackers and peanuts behind his motorbike, this friendly Indian man, who by the way speaks Chinese better than you and me, has been selling kachang puteh for many many years. In fact he’s the second Wong Fei Hung generation that sells kachang puteh in Ipoh Garden. Mum and Dad used to get their dose of kachang puteh from his dad when they were kids. He generously gives away kachang puteh samples to everyone who walks past his little stall; and it’s difficult resisting as they are really tasty and most importantly, crunchy. Oh, he fries the kachang puteh himself.

Wong Fei Hung and his infamous kachang puteh

The Salted Baked Chicken (鹽烤雞) specially sold in Aun Kheng Lim is not easily found in many parts of the world (including Malaysia). Universally, the chicken, wrapped in grease-proof paper is baked on a clay filled with salt in a flame oven. This shop, however introduced Chinese herbs (mainly Chinese Angelica Root a.k.a. 當歸) into their recipe, giving it a more glamorous twist to an already popular dish. The natural flavor of the chicken is not compromised in this unique infusion, as the roots were still heavily flavored when I took a bite at them.

They also serve a variety of chicken types such as the sweeter and leaner textured kampung chicken, which of course is priced higher. Aun Kheng Lim’s infamous Salted Baked Chicken starts from $15 for the entire bird.

 
Salted Baked Chicken

I’m finishing off my little eating tour of Ipoh by revealing a well-known area where “Chicken Beansprouts” (芽菜雞) is served. The sight of tour buses is very common here as tourists throng the streets to discover the hidden secrets of Ipoh-grown beansprouts. The beansprouts here are noticeably “fatter” in shape (and crunchier). It is believed that the hardness of the water in the state contributes to this “natural phenomenon”.

There are about 4-5 shops along that junction. The most popular shop is Lou Wong. This is where all tour buses would take their tourists to. The alternative is Ong Kee. Personally I prefer Ong Kee. There was a history of complaint to the newspaper that Lou Wong delibrately charged a customer about RM100+ for their meals on a Chinese New Year.

Ipoh-grown Beansprouts

The other half of the menu… Steamed Chicken in a secret combination of soy sauce and sesame oil.

That concludes my little eating tour of Ipoh. I’d like to suggest this site if you require further reading on the activities to do this little city.

Here is my parting advice: If you’re planning to drive here, please be careful as the roads are rediculously-filled with reckless motorcycle riders.

If any special information is needed on the whereabouts of the red light district in Ipoh, please leave a message on my Chatterbox.

Happy Eating!

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IMPORTANT ADDRESSES TO REMEMBER

Aun Kheng Lim Salted Baked Chicken
24 Theatre Rd.
Ipoh
Phone: +605 254 2998

Kong Heng Sa Hor Fun
75 Leech St. (Jln. Bandar Timah)
Ipoh

Lou Wong Chicken Beansprouts
49 Yau Tat Shin Rd.
Ipoh