Happy Restaurant a.k.a Oscar’s

If you have been following this blog for long enough, you would know that we've been patronising this restaurant ever since the new cook (Oscar) took over in 2016. In fact we wrote about the new cook taking over from the Old Man about 8 years ago (click the link here to go to that post).

Happily, the restaurant has prospered, thanks to consistent good food, reasonable prices and a relaxed vibe with abundant parking at night. This may be one of the hidden gems of Kajang and possibly one of my favourite restaurants at the moment.

Highly recommended (and consistent in taste since the start of their operations) are the Fried Fish with Garlic Sauce; their signature Tofu with Minced Meat and Stir Fried Four Angle Beans with Lotus Root. These dishes are a Must Try and are Highly Recommended. Here are some of the dishes we would recommend:

Must Try : Fried Fish with Garlic Sauce

Must Try : Stir Fried Four Angle Beans with Lotus Root 

Recommended : Smoked Chicken

Must Try : Tofu with Minced Meat 

Recommended: Kangkung in Claypot

Indonesian Glass Noodle in Curry with Prawns

Deep Fried Kangkung topped with Squid Sauce

Pork Belly with Salted Fish 

Generally, all the food here is good. Be prepared to wait, especially at peak dinner hours and on holidays as Oscar does all the cooking himself, although he has an assistant to help with the prep.

Dress casually (shorts are recommended) as there is no air-cond and it can get stuffy when there is no wind and on hot days.

My top 10 breakfast and lunch places in Bandar Mahkota Cheras

I've been frequenting the Bandar Mahkota Cheras (BMC) and Sg Long (SL) areas on Saturdays for the last few years and have had the opportunity to try various breakfast and lunch spots. BMC and SL are predominantly Chinese areas so the food outlets are primarily Chinese with some Western, Indian, Mamak (a unique Malaysian cuisine actually) with only a spattering of Malay stalls (no proper Malay restaurant I believe). 

There are many coffee shops and cafes , but most produce (with a few exceptions) average or mediocre food for the masses. I personally prefer the shops which specialise in particular dishes as they tend to make them well.

Here's my list of favorites in BMC in no particular order. Follow the links for location and other details on Google Maps.

1. Family Pho (Vietnamese)

Run by a Vietnamese family, this place has been around for some time. Besides the ubiquitous Pho, their Bahn Mi sandwich is worth trying too. Full meals with dishes are available too and what I've tried so far has been good.  

2. Yeng Kee Noodle House 2 

This is a branch of a noodles house from Taman Yulek Cheras. Their various fish head noodles are good and regulars even store their bottles of rice wine at the shop, to be added to the noodles for extra aroma and taste. My favourite here however are the Tendon Pork Noodles soup. The pork slices have an extraordinary texture and the broth is light and refreshing. Highly recommended.

3. Restoran Wa Bao Zai Claypot Chicken Rice 

This is a recent discovery and the Claypot Chicken Rice ticked all the right boxes - slightly burnt crust, tender well cooked chicken, pork sausages and add-on salted fish. Their Chicken Soup in Coconut was good and is recommended as well. The owner's wife is Vietnamese and she sells fresh Vietnamese tea and cashew nuts at the counter. 

4. SK Pork Noodles

A branch of the famous Seri Kembangan Pork Noodles, this is another regular go-to places for pork noodles in BMC.

5. Rojak Stall at 63 Food Station

A hard working Chinese guy runs this stall single-handedly and manages to serve a very good version of the Mamak style rojak. 

6. Beef Noodles at 63 Food Station

The chef at this stall is pretty old but his expertise shows in the flavourful beef noodle broth which has been boiled for hours. All the meat and innards are tender, and the slices of melon melt in your mouth. Highly recommended. 

7. Hock Kee Ulu Yam Loh Mee 

Their signature Ulu Yam Loh Mee is good. But my favorite here is their Hokkien Mee. Cooked with hand made thick noodles with generous amounts of pork lard, this noodle might be even better than the other famous speciality Hokkien noodles place down the road. Give it a try and tell me what you think.

8. Nasi Kandar Pokok Cheri 

The most authentic Nasi Kandar or Mamak restaurant in BMC. It will not earn any points for the dark and dingy interior but the food, especially the curries, bring me back to Penang. Have your favourite dishes and don't forget to tell them to "banjir" the rice with "kuah campur".

9. Woo Pin Fish Head Noodles

Another branch of a famous fish head noodle shop from Taman Desa, this place lives up to the reputation of its original shop. Good fish head noodles which are well executed.

10. Ah Teo Pan Mee & Zhu Ro Fen

There are a few pan mee shops around BMC, some with queues for tables. But I personally like the pan mee here. Both the sop and dry versions are good. Also good are their Pork Noodles and Curry Mee. 

Do give them a try and let me know in the comments if you have any other favourites that are not on this list.

Ex Oldman, Restaurant Happy

To write or not to write, to share or not to share - the million dollar question we always ask. To be honest, I am reluctant to share this place as it is ‘damn good’ and I don’t want to end up waiting when I go there once he become famous, but.......what the heck!

Famous Oldman (retired)

Farewell Oldman, welcome Youngman and I am indeed happy to blog about Happy Restaurant - it’s kept me happy for the last month or so since they appeared on my food radar.

Located at the parking lot of Pasar Kajang where the Oldman Restaurant used to be, it is now renamed as Happy Restaurant and run by a young tattooed Chef and his Cantonese/Mandarin speaking and ever-smiling wife. Nice couple they are.

I was a bit skeptical when this new guy appeared about 2 weeks after Oldman Uncle decided to retire. He told us his son’s friend will be taking over after a quick renovation. Now I have been a faithful customer for the last 3 weeks or so and I have to admit, I am kinda addicted to this place, swearing to come back again next weekend!

'Youngman' Chef

Today’s dinner even inspired me to get back to my blogging, so here it goes - Kajang’s new secret food hideout @Pasar Kajang parking lot - Restoran Happy.

Husband wife team with a child in tow, the wife greets you with a big smile (every time without fail), she even remembers what you had there the last time and ever willing to recommend something new for us to try. Although a Myanmarese, she speaks Mandarin and Cantonese fluently and some Bahasa too.

What have we tried so far and recommendations: at the top of the list will be the simple fried Talapia topped with lots of fried garlic-chili-api mix - superb, will make your crave for more! Well executed for a very simple fried fish but full of flavour from the garlic-chili api sauce.This is a must have. (FYI: There is a guy under a tree in Sg. Way who does this style of frying Ikan Kembung for lunch, laced with similar garlic sauce - very famous - behind Cycle & Carriage, 200m from new Krishna Curry House - Federal Highway)

Fried Talapia with garlic-chili-padi topping

Next, pork ribs cooked with lots of onion and tomato plus some samsu (rice wine) - as normal as it look, has a fantastic aroma/flavour to it (reminds me of really good claypot musang from the good old days) - its a very 'old school' way of cooking with fantastic results.

The Bitter Gourd and Salted Egg came as the biggest surprise - we were expecting the normal stir fried green bitter gourd, but was completely surprised when it was served as deep fried and looked much different from our expectation - it was very tasty and strangely, not bitter! Makes a good appetizer. 

Retro-tasting Pork Ribs with onion-tomato & samsu

I also have to mention the pork ribs (or even fried chicken) topped with crushed peanuts sauce we had - very tasty and flavourful.

We had eggplant/brinjal with salted fish and this was also a winner - flavourful but a little oily (he admitted, he forgot to drain the eggplant after frying it - give him the benefit of the doubt this time - still new).

Fried Bitter Gourd in Salted egg

Other dishes we tried here were kangkong in claypot - not sure why the claypot but just average stir fried kangkong. It was ok, little different. The curry sea-food claypot of parwns/sotong/fish was very tasty, worth a try too. There is also a dry fish head curry - garupa fish with some vege - also tasty and worth the try.

What was amazing, my kaki makan friends all kept telling me, this place is like an addiction, we keep wanting to go back there week after week for his cooking! Must be good. He is open from about 10am in the morning to about 3pm after lunch, then a break till 5.30pm, then to 9.00pm. Youngman has taste and can dish out some awesome dishes, tell us what you think. Keep up the good work Chef Youngman! 


GPS Location 2.990527, 101.793127
Address: 824, Jalan Changkat, 43000 Kajang, Selangor
(Pasar Kajang Car Park area)
 
(more photos to whet your appetite below)

Garupa Fish Head

4-angled beans with lotus root - very good!

Fried nam yee pork - simple, nice

Steamed brinjal - yes, white in colour! nice.

Fried squid/sotong with salted egg - nice

Pork ribs in special peanut sauce

Signature fresh fried talapia & loads of garlic-chiliapi! RECOMMENDED!

Live & Fresh Talapia in 'Samsu' - sorry, only for regulars ;-) (1/3 bottle of samsu!)

Fried Ikan Kembung with young garlic-chilipadi - also for regulars only, sorry ;-)

Wan Fatt Restaurant - Revisited

This is probably our favorite restaurant in Kajang at the moment. Almost everything they churn out is good and they keep innovating and adding new dishes too. See our previous post on this restaurant in 2009 and 2010 They've moved to a new premises now, not far from their old place. This location is easier to find - it's just behind the Maybank Kajang branch and located in the compound of a large Taoist temple there.

 

The fascade of new premises

 

We had a leisurely Sunday lunch here today. For a Chinese restaurant, they do a pretty tasty and satisfying fish head curry. You'll find plenty of brinjals, ladies finger, long beans and tomatoes in the curry. 

 

We tried a new dish - pork ribs with purple dragon fruit sauce. It needs more work though, maybe a touch more lemon piquancy. 

 

This was described as a 'midin' kerabu. We've only had midin or a type of fern shoots  in Kuching, Sarawak before. It had all the elements of a good kerabu - sweet and tangy, although we would have liked some chilli heat and more deep fried shallots. It's served cold which is great for an afternoon lunch. Give it a try.

 

Deep fried soft and smooth tofu served with broccoli.The tofu is topped with deep fried shrimp powder and drenched in a light salty soy sauce.   

Location : Bangunan Tin Hong See, Jalan Belakang, Off Jalan Mendaling, 43000 Kajang

Contact : 012 6566 553/0122469169

Facebook : Kedai Makanan Wan Fatt Kajang

Yoke Heng Restaurant @ Serdang Raya

I've heard about this rather famous restaurant from many people in the past but never had the opportunity to try it until now. It's actually famous for it's claypot loh shue fun (rat's tail rice noodles). Here's the verdict:-

First up is their signature claypot loh shue fun. Unlike other restaurants, the loh shue fun here is not dry or dark in color. It comes in a pale eggy gravy, not unlike the ubiquitous Cantonese style noodles. Topped with a spoonful of chee yow char (fried pork lard) which provides a crunchy contrasting texture to the soft chewy noodles. Fragrant and tasty, it is recommended to be eaten with a dash of black vinegar which is found on all tables. We tried it with the vinegar first and found it to be rather ordinary. But ditch the vinegar and add a dash of the sambal belacan (shrimp paste sambal) and the loh shue fun is taken to a new taste level. Very good indeed.

Ask for the sambal belacan to add to the loh shue fun

Next, we tried the sang har sang mein (fresh prawn with fresh noodles). One large prawn, split in two and quickly braised in an eggy gravy.

This gets my vote as the best sang har mein in the South of Klang Valley. Yes, it's that good. The eggy gravy had drawn the flavors from the prawn in the quick braising. The gravy was so tasty that we practically scraped the last drops from the dish with our spoons. The sang mein was fried until crispy and then topped with the gravy. Some parts had soaked up the gravy whilst other parts remained crunchy which provided nice contrasting textures when eaten immediately. Green scallions provided a nice aroma and some vegetable cruch to balance the richness of the dish. The noodles with just a single prawn was RM35 but it was worth every sen. Highly recommended.

There were only 2 of us on this visit, so we could not try many dishes. However we had to try their chiew pai (signature) house made taufoo. We tasted minced pork, salted fish and some crunchy vegetables in the taufoo. It was tasty enough to eat without the light chilli sauce that came with the dish. Highly recommended as well.

The verdict - this is a restaurant that lives up to the hype and we will definitely be back for more. Watch out for future posts on this restaurant.

Location : No. 33, Jalan SR 8/4, Taman Putra Indah, Seri Kembangan, Selangor.
Contact : 03-89438753/ 012-6533915

Yip Sheng @ Bandar Teknologi - Revisted

A friend (IB Tiong) mentioned some time ago that Yip Sheng had the best Hokkien Mee in Kajang. We've been going to Yip Sheng for ages but always for rice and dishes and not noodles (see our previous posts on Yip Sheng). So we had to satisfy our curiosity and we finally found an occasion for a light dinner here.

First up the Hokkien Mee. Suitably greasy with pieces of fried lard between the fat noodles. Bits of green vegetable, squid, pork and a few small prawns - a good if rather standard mix. No liver though. The batch we got had a distinct burnt aroma. Not the wok hei (breath of the wok) but the aroma of something that had been left a tad too long in the wok. Despite the aroma, the taste was faultless - a top class Hokkien Mee all right. Ask for some sambal chilli and mix some in for extra heat. Recommended.

Fried rice (sorry - half eaten already)

Jeremy had his usual fried rice and this was again truly good. Lots of carrots, long beans and shallots with bits of char siew and a few plump prawns. This had the right wok hei. One of the best we have had in some time. Recommended as well.

Our selection of a meat dish, pork ribs with a Marmite sauce. Tasty, but the meat was a little over-fried and a tad tough.

So now you know where to go if you are in the mood for a little supper of noodles and fried rice. Give this a try. And thanks to IB for the note.

Location : No 73-79 Jalan Seri Baiduri 1, Taman Seri Baiduri, Bandar Teknologi Kajang (it’s on the right hand side of the road after you turn in from the traffic light).

Contact : 03-87237805

The best places to eat in Kajang for 2012

As we come to the end of 2012, we would like to list our favorite restaurants. These are the places that we keep returning to. These are listed in no order of priority. Click on the links to take you back to our earlier reviews.

Chinese Restaurants
1. Wan Fatt behind Jalan Mendaling, Kajang -they are scheduled to move from their current location soon as the premises will make way for the MRT project. We will keep you posted on their new location.
2. Sing Kee at Bandar Teknologi, Jalan Semenyih
3. Min Kee at Broga – our regular family gathering place, great for the braised eight treasure duck
4. Fook Loy in Sg Chua
5. Sin Tai Mah in Semenyih, famous for their ‘lai sar yee’

Indian Restaurants
Unfortunately, we are still looking – please send us your feedback if you have found any worth mentioning.

Malay Restaurants
1. Satay Haji Samuri, the flag bearer for Kajang satay
2. Satay UK in Bandar Baru Bangi, good not only for satay but also for their signature Urat Ketin (UK) soup and Malay dishes.

Thai Restaurants
Only one worth mentioning - A’Wet Thai at Sg Chua

Indonesian Restaurants
These are sprouting up everywhere now, mostly selling Ayam Penyet. But our pick is Rumah Makan Cibiuk at Taman Putra, Sg Chua – possibly our best new find of 2012.

Japanese Restaurants
Koya Japanese Restaurant in Bandar Mahkota, Cheras. Pretty decent Japanese food at reasonable prices.

Happy eating and do keep the suggestions coming. Happy New Year!

Min Kee Restaurant, Revisited 2011 (CLOSED)

UPDATE AS AT JUNE 2014 - CLOSED.
Chef Loo has decided to call it quits. It was good while it lasted. Will live in our memories. Yum.
 
It's been more than a year since we first posted about Min Kee and we are glad to report after a recent visit thatChef Loo is still producing top class food. A testament to the quality of their food is the popularity of this establishment with many local market traders. Most market traders are particular about freshness of produce and 'clean' taste of the food. Min Kee scores pretty high on both counts. On most visits here, we've seen various market traders having their dinner here and also celebrating special occasions. During our last visit, we met a family of traders from the Kajang wet market who had brought their own terrapin to be cooked by Chef Loo. The wafting aroma of the terrapin cooked in a claypot with ginger (and some rice wine?) was enticing enough for us to enquire with the operator about the dish. A pity that terrapin is not easily available in Broga these days.

In our last post, we did not include their signature dish (which requires prior booking). The braised eight treasure duck alone is worth the 20 odd kilometer drive from Kajang to Broga. The duck is cooked until tender and almost melts in the mouth.

 Stuffed with nuts (lotus and gingko), mushrooms, carrots and some other nutritious goodies, the stuffings add more depth of flavor to the dish. I ended up literally licking off all the goodness from the bones! Highly recommended and still a steal at RM48 for a bird.

Another must have that we did write about previously is the crispy butter fried tilapia. The fish is filleted, sliced and deep fried with butter. Lip smacking and finger lickingly good to the last bone.

The braised pork dishes here tend to be good. We had the char yoke the last time and this time we had the pork and yam. The pork was melt in your mouth tender and had well absorbed the five spice flavored sauce. Thumbs up.

Green vegetables are grown around Broga so you can be assured of fresh and crunchy vegetables here. The yau mak was cooked with fermented bean curd (and some intensely hot chilli padi). Thumbs up, but be warned about the chilli padi!

The fern shoots (pakis) cooked with sambal belacan packed a punch too. I guess they like their vegetables with a kick here ? I found it very good actually.

It was a very satisfying visit to Min Kee and we can confirm that this is a place that will remain on our Top 10 list for some time to come. Do give it a try, but make sure you call in advance and book the braised duck.

Location : Lot 2788, Kg Baru Broga, Pekan Broga, 71750 Lenggeng, Negri Sembilan (it's a few kilometers after the Nottingham University campus)
Contact : 016-381 8038

Bukit Mewah Restaurant

We just realized after we published our Top 10 Best Restaurants list that we have not posted a review of this place. That's a mortal sin for a place that we frequent on a pretty regular basis in Kajang. Our apologies for our tardiness, but better late than never. Since we've tried most of their dishes over the years, we'll stick to their specialties and also our favorites.

Their signature dish, and one for which they were featured on the Ho Chak TV show, is the lotus leaf wrapped fried tilapia fish. A deep fried tilapia fish is smothered in a hot spicy sauce with lots of onions and wrapped in a lotus leaf. The lotus leaf imparts a wonderful aroma to the dish. 

A definite 'must-try' here. Make sure you squeeze the calamansi lime on the fish before eating for an added tangy taste.

The lotus root fried in a batter with century egg is pretty good here, although we have had it a little soggy once. The century egg adds a salty and tasty dimension to the plain tasting lotus root. Cripsy on the outside and crunchy and juicy inside, it's a dish we would recommend here.

The pai kuat (pork ribs) here comes in various popular varieties such as Guinness, marmite, cheese or plain fried. They allow you to choose 2 varieties of your choice to be served on a single dish. The Guinness and cheese varieties are worth a mention.

Another signature dish is the fried special taufoo (soy bean block) topped with a minced meat sauce on a sizzling hot plate. It's just a jazzed up taufoo dish but done quite well.

Vegetable dishes are generally well executed here and these include the baby French beans with garlic and the sei tai tin wong or four beans in a spicy sambal.

Standards have dropped a little of late (new chef?) but the place is still pretty crowded, especially on weekends.

Location : Taman Restu, Off Jalan Semenyih, Kajang