Canton-i @ 1Utama Shopping Centre PJ

Canton-i needs no introduction - for those who are familiar with KL's dining scene, they would know that this restaurant is another offspring of the people behind the highly successful Dragon-i chains. While the latter offers Shanghainese cuisine (including xiao long bao), the former serves Hong Kong style cuisine. I've been here countless times until I lost count and I rarely blogged about it as this place has been blogged to death! Given the fact that I only ordered a dish or two everytime I came here (and most of the times the same dish all over again... yes I'm predictable), I didn't feel like writing any post.

Until now - when there were more than 2 diners (4 this time and in this case, my in-laws), it meant more dishes and not the same boring post. Its interior was mostly white with Oriental theme.

Most of the time when there's elderly around, a pot of Chinese tea is a MUST - in our case, a pot of Oolong priced at RM10 per pot.

A huge lemongrass fan - how could I resist ordering the lemongrass with iced jasmine tea? A bit pricey at RM10.80 per glass though!

Deep fried pork intestine and fish congee (RM11.80) was shared between all of us. The intestine and fried fritters were served separately to ensure their crispy-ness.. how thoughtful! As usual, the congee's texture was silky smooth and flavourful which won the elders' approval.

Apart from that, we also had the 3 combinations of roasted meat (RM32.00) - char siew, roasted duck and siew yoke. I found that all the 3 meats were good - just enough to be shared among us.

However, the siew yoke stood out from the other two - I love its crispy skin plus the 50/50 ratio of lean and fat meat. Crackling sound could be heard once I took a bite on the delectable meat.

Grilled eggplant with special meat sauce was definitely another dish worthy of mentioning. My love affair with eggplant started during my university years. I just loved how this aubergine plant absorbed all the flavours that are used to cook this dish. The sauce was flavourful but not too salty and I could taste the sauce with each and every bite of the eggplant.

Braised garoupa belly with garlic and pork belly (RM32.00) was another hit - the fresh & flaky garoupa meat combined very well with the sinful pork belly.

To balance our rather heavy dinner, we ordered the stir fried lotus roots with celery and macadamia nuts (RM16.80).

Leo's verdict - to be honest, I had better and if you asked me, I could even mention which place with the best char siew, siew yoke and roasted duck. But then, those good places are quite far from where I live. Plus you can get all 3 varieties under one roof. For the prices, the dishes are definitely not cheap but it's convenient (inside a shopping mall) because it's near my place.

Canton-I
G-208, Ground Floor
1-Utama Shopping Centre
Bandar Utama
Petaling Jaya

Disclaimer:
1) I'm not paid to promote/endorse any particular event, restaurant or person in this blog. ALL are based on my unbiased personal opinion.
2) My reviews are based on my personal taste and preference and therefore may vary for others.

Famous Seremban Favourites @ Aman Suria

"Dear! Do you know that the boss of this place is actually a MBA holder?" Jenn asked me as we arrived at the famous FSF one morning. "How do you know that?" I asked her. And she cheekily replied "Now that's the difference between a Chinese educated and a banana boy". She promptly showed me the newspaper cuttings pasted in front of the entrance.

I know that FSF (short form for Famous Seremban Favourites) has been around for quite some time now. Why not? This place (and another char siew stall in 747 which is also in Aman Suria) has been blogged to death by now. Just Google the name and you shall be rewarded with all the results.

For those who do not know this place, it can put a doubt in your head if you come here on weekends as it looked pretty deserted (just look at my picture). Plastic tables and chairs took up most of the space as normally this place would be packed during lunch time on weekdays.

Fret not! If you have second thoughts, simply look at the row of char siew hanging together in lines waiting to be chopped into pieces and you'd probably start drooling. The barbequed sauce (or was it oil?) was still dripping down as I took the pictures.

Other dishes that this place offers!

Our orders didn't take a long time to arrive as we were practically the first few customers of the day! My plate of wantan mee with char siew & siew yoke was the first to arrive. Compared to the 747 (or SFS to some people), the mee tasted much better here as it was softer and spring-ier. It even tasted better with the accompanying mix of sauces. Siew yoke was ordinary so nothing much to talk about that. The piece de resistance, of course, would be the famed char siew. Perfectly marinated and caramelised, it had the same melt-in-the-mouth texture as the 747. The slightly charred edges of the char siew provided the much-needed smoky flavour that I adore. This picture didn't do the char siew any justice as I requested for leaner part of the char siew but believe me, you will be sent straight to cloud nine if you opt for the sought after "half lean half fat" char siew (bun fei sau in Cantonese).

Being a Hakka, Jenn ordered the Hakka mee together with the char siew. While the noodle's texture and colour is similar to wantan mee, Hakka mee normally comes with minced meat and oil (almost no gravy although there are other versions of Hakka mee throughout the country.. such as the famous Chong Ko noodle in Kuala Lipis that Axian covered in his program). Paired together with the delicious char siew, these two were simply a perfect match!

Beverages were OK although not flavourful enough to my liking.

Leo's verdict - I have been coming back for a few times after my first visit not only because of the char siew but of the dining environment. to those who have gone to both 747 and FSF, you'd know by now that you have to sit by the roadside at 747 (as it was rather hot and stuffy to sit inside) but in FSF, the place was clean, comfortable and most importantly, airy! I was not sweating at all at the end of the meal (it's a different story in 747). Although I still prefer 747's version of char siew, the char siew in Famous Seremban Favourites is not far behind in terms of taste plus the noodle is definitely better than the 747!!! Other than char siew, FSF also serves meatball and fishball without any preservatives! coming here on weekends is a breeze but prepared for chaos if you come here on weekdays!

P.S: Non-halal

Restoran Famous Seremban Favourites
80-1 Ground Floor, Jalan PJU 1/3B
Sunway Mas Commercial Centre
47301 Petaling Jaya
Tel: 017-279 8582

Disclaimer:
1) I'm not paid to promote/endorse any particular event, restaurant or person in this blog. ALL are based on my unbiased personal opinion.
2) My reviews are based on my personal taste and preference and therefore may vary for others.

Char Siew Zhai @ Jalan PJU 1/3F SunwayMas PJ

In the past, Aman Suria area (part of Kampung Chempaka) or Dai Gong as the Chinese call it.. was famous for its gangsterism activities. By the way, I'm just saying what my friend (who lives in PJ all his life) told me. You would still notice the Chinese Village on the left and right before you reach commercial area of Aman Suria from Lebuh Bandar Utama. Just be careful while driving here, as most cars were driven by the aunties without looking left or right (they tend to zoom across the road despite I'm less than 10 metres from the junction) while the motorcyclists are still without helmet.

Nowadays, Aman Suria is famous for another reason - char siew!! Well, at least among the food bloggers. If you think that Ming Kee's char siew is the best, then you have got to come and try the char siew here. only then you can give the final verdict. I don't know about you but I think that 747's version of char siew is the one to beat (for now) followed closely by FSF's and Ming Kee's (but it's just me).

Since everyone was raving on Char Siew Zhai's noodle, it was only a matter of time before I came here. And since I live nearby, a drive to Aman Suria on weekend morning is a breeze. Parking is even easier!

Only a few tables were occupied and I got to choose a table directly under the fan (can't risk making my daughter sweats). Menu was simple with a piece of laminated A3 paper.

Didn't manage to take picture of the foreign workers tossing the noodle high up in the air though, as I was busy feeding Sher Ryn. From what I know, the noodle is boiled before going through a cold bath to retain its springy-ness. Then the worker will throw the noodle up in the air and catch as it falls down to make sure that the moisture is well-drained.

BBQ Pork Wantan Noodle @ RM4 - Jenn normally would go for light breakfast and therefore, a simple plate of wantan mee with char siew is enough.

Combo roast meat noodle @ RM7 - I asked for combination of char siew and siew yoke to go with my wantan mee. Frankly the noodle was great, perhaps one of the best I've ever tried. Their char siew was good & decent but far behind if they were to be compared to 747 and FSF. Siew yoke?? Forget it... maybe I'll try other offering next time.

Leo's verdict - Simply put it... the noodle was very springy and even those picky eaters would think the same. One thing that I love the most is that the place is air-conditioned which is a plus point. Pickled chilly was not good while the beverage was below standard so you can consider to bring your own drink :P lastly, if you were to ask me, I would still go back to 747... as I have yet to find a better char siew that can surpass 747's benchmark. 747's noodle even though not as springy, it was good enough. What I'm looking for is the slightly charred caramelised piece of pork belly that will melt in my mouth. Occasionally, I would order their curry mee as it was good too!!! Google 747 char siew and you would find many blogs on this place... even though I have to beg to differ on Becky's view that FSF's char siew was better :P guess that everyone's taste bud is different!

NON-HALAL

Best Char Siew ever!!!

You see... ever since I read about the potluck thingy from FBB's blog about this little known char siew stall located in Aman Suria, I'd been wanting to come for the longest time. There are not many places that serves melt-in-your-mouth kind of char siew. First of all, I had been to only one place.. Meng Kee in Jalan Alor KL but the place is too far from where I live and parking is usually a headache. Secondly, Aman Suria is like 5 min drive away from my house and traffic is a breeze on weekend morning.

One lovely Sunday morning, Jenn & I SNEAKED OUT of the house after Sher Ryn fell asleep. We had to be fast and finished eating our breakfast before Sher Ryn woke up from her 1 hour++ nap. We gave clear instruction to the maid to take good care of our little baby before both of us jumped into the car and headed to our intended destination. It didn't take too long before I spotted this sign.

Parking was relatively easy to find so I expected my brekkie to be a breeze and quick one... my joy was shortlived and instead greeted with this sight! Unbelieveable!!! I looked at my watch and it showed 8.15am... and I thought that we were early enough to beat the morning lazy Sunday crowd that normally came out around 9am. Sigh!! Jenn & I went separate ways to wait for tables and it took us a good 10 minutes before finding one. well, it's normal for any kopitiam to have brisk business if their food is good, we thought.

Only when I ordered the wantan mee with char siew that I realised that almost... I mean ALMOST everyone came to this kopitiam for the same stall! If that ain't bad enough... I had to queue behind the beeline just to make my orders as there were about 5-6 people in front of me.

After placing my order, I looked at Jenn who was seated 5 metres away who then nodded approvingly for me to continue taking pictures. Last time she used to complain that I always spending time to take pictures while she just sat there and did nothing but after a while, she finally understood my passion and gradually accepted it. The caramelised char siews were places in a stack of trays nearby the stall. FYI, the char siew which were hung at the stall ran out pretty quickly and had to be replenished from the those in the trays... a good indication on how good the char siew is :) I was drooling at the sight of those delectable stuff.

A simple oven were spotted next to the stall which was used to reheat the char siew...

The stall owner was very busy and never stopped preparing the orders which seemed neverending. He had his wife to take orders and 2 Indonesian maids to help out.

It took about 30 minutes before our orders finally came.. starting with the curry mee. This dish came highly recommended by the lady boss. They used egg noodles which was also used to make wantan mee. At first sight, the mee didn't took appetising as the broth looked diluted. One sip of the broth was all it took to WOW me. Even though it was not as thick as my favourite curry mee in Glenmarie, it still packed with flavours.. thumbs up! Apart from that, generous amount of cockles, long bean, taufu pok and of course.. char siew were given. Don't judge a book by its cover!

Wantan mee with char siew - frankly, if you came here for the noodles then you would be disappointed because the noodles even soft, was not springy compared to Char Siew Zhai's version. For me however, it was good enough.. more over my main purpose was for the char siew! As for the char siew, it was the BOMB! For health reason, I asked for lean meat with slight fat. Definitely the highlight of the meal...

Char siew up close

The wantan that came with the mee...

Leo's verdict - apart from the wantan mee stall, other stalls were seen swatting flies (just kidding but the business was not as good). I don't know whether the other food is good or not but so far we had tried their nyonya kuih and nasi lemak while waiting and we were disappointed. Even the coffee and tea were very dilute and bland. Expect to wait for tables during lunch time. Weekends? Pray hard :P however, the lady boss is very nice and she even tried to answer my questions.

The Place : SFS Kopitiam (747) @ Sunwaymas Commercial Centre, Aman Suria PJ

Meng Kee Char Siew @ Tengkat Tung Shin, KL

Char siew is one of my favourites. I could never get enough of char siew... if not for health reason, I think that I can eat it almost everyday! Anyway, it is always hard to find a place that can whip out great char siew... I'd been in KL for a few years and yet, I couldn't find a place where I can give my thumbs up to... call me picky but then, I have my certain expectations on this particular dish.

The first time I heard about this place was through my friend's word of mouth but I didn't pay any attention because the place was quite far from where I stay. Until I saw Ah Xian's program introducing this place... so I didn't wait long and quickly planned a day out to KL city centre with Jenn to give it a try.

Parking is not easy to find especially if you come here during lunch hour, not to mention that it's even harder to find a table to sit... as the lunch crowd keeps on coming in non-stop, supposedly for the famous char siew. We were lucky to find a table as soon as we walked in, as someone has just paid the bill and leaving.

Situated in a old-style house turned shop, there is no sign board but there are 2 stalls in front of the shop... one mainly for take-away and the other one for dine-in...

Ah Xian had been here...

The condition was quite stuffy and noisy.. you would hear people shouting here and there... lol! They even washed dirty plates and cups outside!

We ordered char siew and chicken for 2 pax...I had to say that the char siew really lives up to its expectation. It was really good! It felt like the char siew melted in my mouth once I put it in. The only downside was that the fat layer can be quite a turn-off for those who are health-conscious, but then... it's the fat that makes the char siew so darn aromatic!!!

Complimentary soup will be given once you are seated... and please decide on whether you opt for white or oil rice, as they would serve the latter if you didn't request.

Barley drink is just nice to cool your body down...

Leo's verdict - Getting here can be frustrating at times due to the lunch traffic. My suggestion is that you come here before 12pm and you will be able to find yourself a table easily. As for parking, you can either park at nearby open carpark or try your luck to park nearby the restaurant. But it will be very well worth your effort, as the char siew lovers will find this dish delectable! Thumbs up!!!