Chao Yen Teochew Cuisine @ Lot LG 311A, Lower Ground Floor, 1Utama Shopping Centre

It has been a while since my last post! I don't know whether I'm being lazy or I was too busy (distracted) with works lately... or maybe it's a mixture of both :P one thing for sure, the backlogs are getting even longer and some of them are as old as 8-9 months!

Actually I wanted to post something up yesterday but the Streamyx failed on me again for no apparent reason. So I am taking my own sweet time to draft a few posts at the moment, and then post them up once the internet is back to normal again. Two posts in a week should clear most of them in 2 months or so... I guess. I mean, that is, if I am consistent and determined enough to type the posts everyday... LOL!

Personally, I love Teo Chew cuisine - be it Teo Chew porridge, Teo Chew duck or even fish, but I have yet to try a full course of Teo Chew cuisine. that is, until I found Chao Yen. Located in the New Wing of 1Utama Shopping Centre right next to Otak-Otak and New York Deli, Jenn & I tried out their food one evening after finished buying groceries from Cold Storage.

Intriqued by their menu and also comtemporary interior, we stepped in only to be greeted promptly by the waiter who attended to us. Talking about good service :)

Braised pork ribs with bittergourd @ RM20 - yellow bean soup base was used to our delight because it was healthy to our body. The presence of bittergourd did not make the soup bitter at all and the pork ribs were braised until tender.

Crispy marinated duck @ RM20 - thinly sliced duck meat was the highlight as this dish was aromatic and it tasted even better once we dipped the meat into the accompanying plum sauce. however, this dish would be perfect if the meat was more tender.

Haidang steamed tofu with egg & dried scallops @ RM20 - another hit with us. The dish was served steaming hot and the usage of mushroom, dried scallop and spring onions enhanced the dish further.

Teo Chew sweetened mashed yam with ginkgo nuts @ RM6 - not every place is able to nail it right with this dessert but Chao Yen served a commendable version.

Leo's verdict - overall our dinner was satisfactory. No matter how busy the waiter/waitress was, they would try their best to accommodate to our request.. something which a lot of restaurants failed to do especially when they were packed. Not a cheap option to dine but then the food was good to say the least! Winning the Best Restaurant in 2009, this Teo Chew restaurant definitely deserves a rave review!

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.

Xin Jie Teo Chew Porridge @ Jalan Jawa (Java Street), Off Jalan Bunga Raya, Melaka

After my lunch at Long Fatt, I was brought to another Teo Chew porridge shop. Don't ask me on how to go here because my client just pointed here and there and I'd reached here in less than 10 min from Long Fatt. It is well hidden along a small one-way street. There is no signage in English, only Chinese. "Xin Jie" means New Street in English and I literally translated the name :)

Just to be sure, this restaurant is located next to the famous Lover's (Yin Yang) Bridge.

This place is normally frequented by the locals, office workers as well as well-informed tourists. Just like Long Fatt, you could only find the elderly people manning this place. Where has the younger generation gone?? Most of us prefer to work in office, wearing office attire and don't like to get our hands dirty.

The choices here were somewhat different from Long Fatt, where the latter was more towards traditional way of preparing... the dishes in Xin Jie looked more like home-cooked style.

The same fermented bean sauce and chilly sauce were given together with the porridge.

Wasting no time, I asked my client to order some of their most famous dishes. What??? I can't afford to try out all the dishes at one go. There were only 2 of us... starting with this, dark soy sauce chicken. The meat was tender with a hint of pepper which was not over-powering the sweetness of the soy sauce. Thumbs up!

Stir fried lala - another good choice!

Salted vegetable - same as Long Fatt

Bitter gourd with fermented bean sauce - Not really a fan of bitter gourd, which was slightly bitter but somehow I liked this dish. It was very soft due to the long process of braising.

Chilly fish - this dish was a clear winner for both of us. The fish was sliced open from the top and stuffed with chilly before deep fried. Just sprinkle with lime and as a result, sour and spicy all-in-one.

Leo's verdict - while both restaurants offer Teo Chew porridge, some of their dishes were different. I think Xin Jie is more suitable to the new generation's palate :)

Long Fatt @ Jalan Kg. Pantai, Melaka

As promised to thenomadGourmand, here is my posting on my Melaka business trip last 2 weeks... even though there are other blogs that I have not posted yet... Becky, you can plan your August trip now...

Sunday 5th July 2009, 10pm... somewhere in a small town in Pahang...

Leo: Wah!! Axian is introducing Teo Chew porridge this time... in Malacca! hhhmmm hhhmmm... looks delicious! I'm so there...
Jenn: Of course you can say that... you are going there on Wednesday mah (looked rather down)
Leo: It's business trip, honey! Since I'm going there, I might as well ask my client to bring me to the shop. Next time I'll bring you there ok?
Jenn: Hhmmpphhhh...ya right? (slightly disappointed and disgusted)

Fast forward to Wednesday 7th July 2009...

For those who didn't watch Axian's program, this shop has been around for a very long time. It is now managed by the second generation... but then, the 2nd generation looked very old as well! So how long do you think the shop has been opened for business??? According to Axian, it's more than 75 years! Apparently, there are 3 generations manning this shop.

Situated on a one way street filled with row of very old shophouses along the way, parking can be hard to find during lunch time as many people make their way here for a few bowl of porridge to go with traditional Teo Chew dishes. My client told me that this street used to be the busiest street during its prime... but has gradually lost its importance throughout the years. The restaurant also used to patronised by the workers of the nearby traditional groceries shop on the same street. If you see an old Chinese temple, Long Fatt is right beside it.

Everything looked exactly the same as shown in the TV... for example this food counter.

The shop was rather small and cramped with less than 10 tables.

The owner handled everything on his own... a rare sight these days where most people would employ foreign workers to do the hard work.

Assorted Teo Chew dishes to go with plain porridge. I felt hungry instantly :)

These are the Asam fish. Ever notice how systematic the owner lined up those fish?

Minced meat - up close and personal

MOst of the time, they will serve fermented bean sauce and chilly sauce together with the dishes. Contrary to cantonese version which is thicker, Teo Chew version is lighter and used as dipping sauce for the dishes. I'd seen some patrons actually mixed the bean sauce into the porridge.

These were what we ordered for our lunch... 5 dishes, 2 bowl of porridge and 2 glass of Chinese tea!

1) Salted fish - very crispy
2) Salted vegetable - mediocre
3) Asam fish - according to the boss, they use bokok fish which were cooked for good 12 hours. As a result, the bone was soft and you could literally eat it together with the flesh. The asam taste was light but good nonetheless. FYI, the fish were not gutted but somehow the innards tasted quite good. Perhaps it was just me :)
4) Minced meat - the meat was mixed with sting ray or shark meat for softer texture. Then the mixture was chopped using meat cleaver old-school way for 45 minutes before steamed... the meat was full of flavour and very soft indeed!
5) Prawn sambal or hee bee - this dish was a clear winner for both of us. It had a very distinctive taste which was different from others out there. Hard to describe in words but I loved a lot.

Leo's verdict - the bill came at RM12.20, which I was more than glad to foot the bill even though my client insisted to pay (he said that I'm a guest wor...lol!). It is hard to find such a traditional way of preparing the dishes these days. For Teo Chew porridge lovers, do find a time to visit this place whenever you are free. Initially, I wanted to add more porridge and dishes but my client said that there was another good places to eat Teo Chew porridge. That is why my trip to Malacca this time can be considered as porridge excursion!! LOL!!!

Restoran Makanan Mr. Claypot @ Jalan Desa Aman 2, Taman Desa Aman Cheras

Also known as Restoran Makanan Teow Chew, as this restaurant also whipped out famous Teo Chew dishes such as stewed duck, braised taufu and others for rice or even porridge. You can even notice that there are two (2) different names on their signboard. Even before they moved into this establishment, I'd been patronizing them from the days when they were still doing business by the roadside heading from Cheras Business Centre to Taman Desa Aman. The boss had to move its business entirely to nearby location to make way for development.

My objective coming here everytime is only one - claypot chicken rice, in which I still have yet to find a place that can match its taste. The food is so good that even so-called God of Eating, Tou Tou, from Hong Kong had come here before.

It was not lunch time yet, and therefore we managed to find parking and table easily. They normally start business at 11am but it's advisable to come around 11.30am.

There's one corner for claypot chicken rice...

And another one for Teo Chew ducks + side dishes...

Normally I'd order claypot chicken rice only, but this time I was quite hungry. Therefore, I asked for the Teo Chew duck, braised taufu and egg.

close up! The meat was quite tender & I love to mix my rice with the gravy from the stewed duck... simply delicious.

Main highlight of the day - Claypot Chicken Rice!!! Most of the restaurants out there don't give anchovies, but this one does. I love the crunchy-ness of the anchovies when I gulped down the rice and chicken. With the right combination of light soy sauce, dark soy sauce plus other flavouring, it brought out the best ever taste out of the dish. Let's not forget the waxed sausage and chicken meat, which were so delectable. And yes, with the salted fish... they are match made in heaven :)

Leo's verdict - the service is quite fast here. But parking can be a problem here, as this restaurant is located near residential area, ie. flats.
Don't forget to ask for their red bean dessert and also boiled chrysanthemum tea.