I started the day thinking that I would have a lunch appointment with my boss and a client, but unfortunately, she had to postpone our meeting, and that is how my boss, Pretty Pui and I ended up at Siu Siu. It was definitely a very good substitute for the initial lunch appointment at Kottaram, a restaurant specialising in cuisine from Kerala (which will be the subject of another review).

I have worked in Brickfields for a number of years and have only recently moved out of that comfort zone. The idea of a comfort zone seems to cover many aspects of my life; my job, my personal life and certainly, my eating habits. We all tend to fall back on old favourites, so the idea of exploring beyond that boundary is sometimes unthinkable. As a result of that, Siu Siu Restaurant which is located approximately 2 km from my workplace, remained undiscovered.

Siu Siu stands in one of the small pockets of greenery in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. Finding it isn’t difficult – coming from KL on the Federal Highway, take the first left exit after Kuen Cheng High School, drive straight on about 200m and you’re there. There is also ample parking.

Apparently, one of the specialties at Siu Siu is the claypot rice with crab. We were not in the mood for crabs, so we passed, but we did see the dish. The rice looked very much like the claypot chicken rice, with the only difference in appearance being the crabs sitting on top of the rice.

We ordered another house specialty, Vietnamese Curry Prawns. This is best eaten with the mantou (buns). The curry is creamy, presumably due to the addition of milk (evaporated milk?). In addition to the prawns, the claypot contained lots of sliced brinjals, ladies fingers and long beans. I enjoyed this dish which reminded me of butter crabs, but with lots of curry.

The char siew (barbequed pork) took me by surprise. When you think you already know where the best char siew is, another one comes and rocks your world. Okay, so I’m exaggerating a little, but I thought the char siew was fantastic! It wasn’t too sticky and was sufficiently sweet, and it consisted of the right amount of lean meat and fat.

Vegetables consisted of a mixed selection of 4 different types – brinjal, long beans, petai and 4-angled beans.

Whenever the conversation at lunch turned to work, we quickly switched the topic by telling each other how good the food was. And that was no lie.

Restaurant Siu Siu

No. 15-11, Lorong Syed Putra Kiri

50450 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 016-370 8555/016-309 8038 (Mr Ng)

Open from 11.00am to 12.00midnight.

Closed on Mondays.