Din Tai Fung Restaurant, The Gardens

Posted on August 14, 2008 by Lyrical Lemongrass

1.

The thing about creating expectations is that the possibility of falling is greater. Before Din Tai Fung (DTF) came to our shores (Singapore always gets to taste everything first), everytime we ate xiao long bao (XLB), someone would comment that the XLB at DTF was better. Then the girls would throw themselves to the ground, ranting like wretched women, bawling their eyes out and screaming for DTF. Being the lesser travelled of the lot, I’d nod my head sagely even though I didn’t know WTF they were talking about.

Like any good student, I made the journey to Singapore last year to acquaint myself with the cause of their hysteria. As I sat alone at DTF in Paragon, pretending like I understood Mandarin, I calmed my mind and allowed my body to be a vessel onto which the knowledge would be bestowed upon me. I bit into the XLB, closed my eyes for a moment to enable the other senses to take over, and waited. But like a Tom and Jerry cartoon where Jerry once again succeeds in getting away with a prank and the sound of a deflated balloon plays, similarly, my expectations were shattered. But believing that they deserved a second chance, I went there the next day with Bossman in tow, and again, it was a similar experience. None of the mind-blowing orgasm which I was expecting. I made a mental note to get new friends when I went back to KL.

So understandably, when DTF opened its first outlet in The Gardens, I wasn’t ecstatic.

2.

The opposite happens when you don’t create expectations. When I first visited DTF at The Gardens (DTFTG), I was there merely to fill my stomach and get it over and done with. No closing of eyes, no allowing of the twelve senses to take control of my quivering body, no witch’s rant.

Funnily enough, no obscenities spewed forth from my mouth. I attributed it to beginner’s luck. After my 15th visit to DTFTG, I had no choice but to acknowledge that *horrors!* I liked the food at DTFTG.

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On with the food…

Steamed chicken soup

So what do I really like in Din Tai Fung (DTF)? The steamed chicken soup is good to warm the body up and to just about fill the stomach when I know I’m having a heavy meal later in the day. It is a clear soup, and derives its nutrition from the chicken meat which is steamed for two hours together with ginger and shallots.

Xiao long bao

One of the best sellers in DTF is the xiao long bao. The meat is deliciously savoury and the soup encased within the 18 folds (approximately that – yes, we counted!) is not salty and blends in wonderfully with the rest of the ingredients. I figure preparing XLB is a science. After all, the skin has to be of the perfect thickness to hold all the ingredients within, yet not too thick that it feels like you’re eating flour. Each XLB is weighed, more or less 21 grams, to ensure that the steaming is perfect and consistent all around. The XLB is best eaten with vinegared julienned ginger. Incidentally, the Taiwanese do not drown the entire saucer of ginger in pure vinegar. The ratio they employ is one part soy sauce to two parts of vinegar.

Vegetable and pork dumpling

The vegetable and pork dumpling, shaped like a crescent, is also filled with mushroom, tofu and vermicelli. But it’s a green type of dumpling, and if you don’t like your vegetables, don’t try this. Let’s just say that I prefer my XLB to this.

Braised beef la mian

I have no complaints about the la mian at DTF, but I have to say that it is merely a foil for the braised beef soup which is outstanding. The soup is boiled for 8 hours, thus ensuring that the soup is flavourful and the meat (australian beef) is tender. Unlike their competitors, this bowl of noodles is brimming with beef and brisket pieces.

Shanghainese smoked fish

The shanghainese smoked fish (dory) tastes just like satay fish. It has a dry surface and is a bit chewy with sweet sauce and sesame poured over it. I love it, but at RM18.80 for this dish, I think I shall stick to my satay fish and indulge only when my pocket is heavier.

Prawns with salted egg yolk

When I first tasted this dish, I was hooked. (Now I know why my cholestrol level keeps going up.) The prawns are extremely crunchy and paired with the eggy sauce with crispy bits, it is a match made in heaven. It is probably one of the most expensive dishes on the menu, priced at RM24.80. Nevertheless, it is still worth the money spent.

Clockwise from top left: Sesame dumplings in red bean soup, Fragrant basil chicken, Golden Yam paste roll, Green beans with minced pork

Green beans with minced pork comes in a generous portion. The ratio between the two is almost 1:1! The Fragrant Basil Chicken (top right) is exquisite – tender pieces of chicken in a sweet sauce with top notes of cinnamon and basil. For dessert, the yam paste roll (bottom right) is crispy and coasted with sesame at the ends and filled with a sweet paste, but I find that the filling is scant and there are hollow bits – not my favourite. I prefer the sesame dumplings in red bean soup. The glutinous dumplings are filled with creamy sesame paste.

Red bean dumpling

Red bean has never been my ingredient of choice, but I have to say that this is such an amazing dessert, simply because the red bean paste is so creamy and fragrant. Upon inquiring, I was told that the red bean paste comes from Hong Kong. Interesting that you can’t find the same quality paste in Malaysia. If you’re a food blogger, don’t spend so much time photographing the dumplings. The skin hardens up pretty fast, so it is advisable to eat it the moment it is put on your table. (The sacrifices I make for the sake of research.)

4.

In conclusion…..

I keep returning to DTFTG for lunch. Over and over again. Not for a lack of choices, but because service is quick and efficient and the food’s good. Of course one can’t expect to enjoy all the dishes there. There are some which I may not want to try again (like the vegetable and pork dumpling, for instance), but there are still my usual favourites. I don’t have all the pictures, though, but if you like spicy soup, you have to try the hot and sour soup (a small bowl is enough for one). Another favourite is the Shanghainese Drunken Chicken (which is, surprisingly, classified as an appetiser), a cold chicken dish in a wine sauce – very mild, but allows the flavour of the chicken to dominate. The Pork Chop Fried Rice is also good, and definitely better than the Egg Fried Rice which I find too plain and lacking in flavour.

Dumplings are priced from RM9.80 for 6 pieces, noodles from RM8 for a plain la mian, fried rice from RM9, and desserts from RM6. Be prepared to pay about RM50 for two.

DTF has a policy of reviewing and revising its menu every 6 months.

Din Tai Fung Restaurant
Lot LG-207, Lower Ground Floor
The Gardens, Mid Valley City
Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03-22832292

Subang Teow Chew Claypot Bak Kut Teh

Posted on August 6, 2008 by Lyrical Lemongrass

They serve chinese tea just like in the bak kut teh (BKT) shops in Klang. An assortment of tea sachets is presented, badly colour coded with writings in a language I can barely read let alone understand. Pick a card, any card. Thankfully, there are some familiar romanised words and I reach for my usual favourite. There are kettles of boiling water on the side, placed on gas stoves for us to fill and refill our teapots. The location of a longkang beside the tables is ideal as one can pour any used water directly into the drain. It is a thoroughly efficient and practical system. Drinking chinese tea is, of course, important when consuming BKT as the chinese believe that it can help wash away the oil and ease digestion.

But we’re not here to talk about tea. Neither are we here to talk about the dusty road (before the straight and glossy Guthrie Corridor Expressway came about) which heavy vehicles ply on their daily trade. This is the story of one bak kut teh place, just 3 minutes away from Bukit Jelutong, a little obscure and quite easily overlooked if one caught some dust in the eye from a passing lorry (in an attempt to save fuel by turning off the airconditioning). Finding it is easy if one looked for the right signs. No, not the well camouflaged signboards along the way. If you’re ‘lucky’ enough to see them, you would be led straight to the new highway and in a blink of an eye, you would find yourself in Rawang where you’d be wondering why you didn’t wind down those damned windows to save fuel. Take the old road instead and after passing a couple of traffic lights, you will see an Esso petrol station on the left. You will find Subang Teow chew Claypot Bak Kut Teh directly opposite the petrol station. As I said, 3 minutes from Bukit Jelutong.

The claypot BKT here is uncomplicated. There are two types of items in it – pork meat (and the requisite amount of fats) and foo chuk (bean curd sheets). Garnishings don’t count, of course. The meat is tender and flaky, indicating a long period of preparation, and the soup is light and slightly peppery and a little salty in flavour, unlike the hokkien version which has a stronger herbal taste. It all boils down to personal preference. Me? It depends whether it’s Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday. After all, why should one be so rigid?

In his blog, KY highly recommended the foo chuk. He was right. The foo chuk still retained its crunch and was not soggy despite the soaking in the herbal BKT broth.

The bill for 2 came up to RM29 (together with tea). Not bad for a weekend breakfast, a reminder of my days in Klang and the numerous weekend breakfasts with my parents and my brothers and our regular guests – uncles and aunties who knew how to start the weekend with a delicious traditional breakfast.

Other writeups can be found here: Masak-masak, Julie the Biscuit and Small Kuching.

Subang Teow Chew Claypot Bak Ku Teh
Lot 653 & 655, Jalan Subang, Cherakah Subang
40150 Shah Alam.

Tel: 019-261 5303, 012-335 9219

Open Tuesdays to Sundays, breakfast and lunch only.

Fish Cuisine, Hicom-Glenmarie Industrial Park, Shah Alam

Posted on June 25, 2008 by Lyrical Lemongrass

Taking the lead from Kenny Mah’s blog with his lyrical rendition of breakfast with his better looking half, I am inclined to share my experience with you, because breakfast with the one you love is the best feeling in the world.

The breakfast ritual which we practice dates a-a-a-l-l-l-l the way back to 2002 when we first moved to our current residence in Shah Alam. Being the morning person that he is, Bald Eagle would set out into the wild country (Shah Alam ain’t KL, after all) at 7.00am to hunt for breakfast to feed his wife who would still be curled up in bed with dreams of char siew and siu yoke. When he chanced upon Chicken Cuisine, he knew he had hit the jackpot. It was there that we discovered our favourite curry mee and curry chee cheong fun, and that, my dear friends, is the secret of marital bliss (only if you take non-halal food lah). After making me a steaming hot cup of coffee, he’d wake me up, and I can assure you that there is no better smell than the heady aroma of spicy curry and coffee as I open the bedroom door. And the sight of a hairy well toned chest.

Six years later, Bald Eagle is still a regular patron at Chicken Cuisine where the owner is already familiar with his order of either two CCFs or two curry mees and a copy of Saturday’s New Straits Times. About a week ago, the owner announced to Bald Eagle that he had opened a new restaurant next to Chicken Cuisine, named, quite unsurprisingly, Fish Cuisine. It is just like when you name your children, isn’t it? The first child will be Peng Eng, the second Peng Beng, the third Peng Chee, the fourth Peng Yee (yes, I can go on). With very few possibilities left, I bet I can guess what the next outlet will be called.

If you look close enough at the picture above, a chopped garoupa head may suddenly materialise. Ok… I screwed up. Shit happens when your hubby’s wearing an expression that says My Wife Doesn’t Let Me Eat Hot Food. Served in a claypot, this curry is not very thick, but is sufficiently flavourful to be eaten with rice. Priced at about RM15 (or RM16?), this portion is enough for two. Like all the dishes served here, there is a generous amount of fish (both head and flesh) in this dish.

Let’s see if we can spot any fish in this photo. No? Remind me to tell you about my honeymoon pictures of our Safari expedition in South Africa one day. (Hint: All the pictures have foliage. Lots of it. You can play Spot Simba and win RM100.)

Another specialty here is the Fish Head with Tofu dish. The garoupa head is chopped and cooked in a dark sweet sauce and then cooked with firm tofu and other vegetables. Not bad, but nothing exceptional like the drink-worthy fish head curry above. Again, this dish has quite a lot of fish in it, and the portion is enough for two as well. Priced at about RM15.

The soft tofu in this dish is cooked with minced pork and an egg is broken into the dish while it is still hot. It looked quite different from the picture on the menu, but aside from that, this was quite delicious.

I really liked this sliced lotus root, beans and capsicum with fermented red bean curd (nam yue) dish. The intense flavour of the bean curd enhanced the flavour of this dish and was wonderfully fragrant, especially when eaten with steaming white rice. Talking about steaming, on the flipside, the restaurant is airconditioned and I found that the food turned cold pretty quickly.

There are one-dish meal options as well. The fish head noodles is cooked with a type of fish called leng yue (dace?) which is a seawater fish and which lacks the muddy smell. There are also less bones, so one can order this dish even if one were in a hurry. (I know how I sometimes painstakingly remove one bone after another before I ingest the fish, and by the time I’m done with one piece, my makan companion would have finished his plate of wantan mee and started drumming his fingers impatiently on the table. Tsk tsk. Anyway.) The soup is slightly sour and tasty with a mild chinese wine flavour. You can also tell them to hold the milk if you’re lactose intolerant.

The garoupa fish fillet noodles is cooked in the same soup base as the fish head noodles above sans the milk. This is a rather exceptional bowl of noodles as the fish fillet is just so fragrant and firm and delicious. Both noodles above had bits of pork lard for the X-factor flavour too!

I’m beginning to enjoy living in my neighbourhood where I can get superb fish head noodles, curry mee and char siew and still manage to smell the roses and enjoy the odd hot air balloon that gets snared in the trees. (So I’m consoling myself about the petrol price hike and the extra hundred bucks I have to fork out each month for living in Shah Alam and working in Kayell….but what price happiness, eh?)

Fish Cuisine
8, Jalan UI/36, Seksyen UI
Hicom-Glenmarie Industrial Park, Shah Alam

Open daily 8.00am to 10.00pm

A Whiff of Lemongrass

NOT a food blog

Category Archives: Food Type: Chinese

Din Tai Fung Restaurant, The Gardens

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Subang Teow Chew Claypot Bak Kut Teh

Fish Cuisine, Hicom-Glenmarie Industrial Park, Shah Alam