SunWong the new favourite Hongkee Restaurant

I had many Hongkee food recently. This is because
1. Many KV people like to eat Hongkee food, I'm not sure it's a cultural thing (as in why we speak Cantonese and not Hokkien or Putonghua at this spot on earth) or a taste thing
2. It's everywhere. It used to be the Kim Gary and Mongkok franchise but now we have the 歡喜吃(Happyeat?) franchise and other Hongkee-like restaurants slotted in the everyday shoplot.

I do not particularly favour Hongkee food as its fusion style (cheese is not an ingredient in Chinese cooking, O.K.! So is 出錢一叮) and creativity (Russian rice?) do not make peace with my taste bud, however, I absolutely love Hongkee B.B.Q. pork and Wan-ton - but they are originated from Canton and not Angmoh's Hong Kong (used to be).

Today, my taste bud got a new friend in town - Sun Wong (新旺) in Jaya1, P.J. It's nearby UTAR, a corner of the city less explored by me. We were lucky to be at the right table with the right person so I got to sample its bakeries for free. The tart and pau are tasty! But most importantly its Wan-ton noodle is quite tasty, even though the prawns in the wan-ton is still not as juicy and big as those I tasted in Hong Kong and Shenzhen (At RM 8.90, the price is quite compatible with Shenzhen so I don't think it's the reason).


Fresh 'Vege' Apple Juice - great taste especially with the iced-bowl. Yea, so tasty I only remember to take picture after finished!

Nevertheless, I had good first impression with the place. I also think their customer service is good because even though they had initially miscalculated the bill (which I habitually disregard - very bad habit), they eventually corrected it with great attitude. Still, I wonder... why the Service Charge^note is 10% instead of the usual 5%? And why there's no 10% tax? POS system is a UTAR term project??

Restoran Sun Wong (Jaya One PJ)
No. 72A, Jln Universiti, Petaling Jaya
(03-79562911)

Note: Why are we charged 5% (or 10% in this case) service charge in Malaysia? If VAT (Value Added Tax) is enforced, will the service charge be removed? Any expert out there can tell me?

Shabu-shabu with Mizi@Mizi

I'm expert in steamboat. No kidding. You can boast about having tasted all kind of steamboat in Malaysia - Tomyum one, "yin-yong" one or even the porridge or soya-milk one, but it's only a vertical varieties you are talking about. I'm expert in horizontal varieties of steamboat. In fact, they are not called steamboat. In Northern China, it's called Shuan Yang Rou (涮羊肉), meaning you dip the sliced mutton or beef into the pot with chopsticks for only seconds, enough for the meat to be cooked but not overly, then dip it in the sauce of your choice and eat it. It's great way to dine during the winter of Northern China, and I believe it has its root from the Gengkhis Khan (ask Haanibal, it's her idea).



As Japanese copied everything from ancient China and then called it their own, Japan has Shabu-shabu (涮涮鍋 in Taiwan; note that the correct pronunciation is shuan-4 but stubborn Taiwanese insist it's pronounced shua-1. Never mind...). Being Japanese, the shabu-shabu must fulfill few requirements that Chinese version does not have:
1. It must be hygienic, so please, use your own pot (Mainland Chinese wants us to be 'on the same (steam)boat', so cannot discriminate by pot!)
2. It must be thrifty, so your quota of the food served is pre-determined (Mainland Chinese thinks they have abundant of rice and veggies and so there's no limit of the veggies, only the meat serving)
3. Japanese is conscious with personal safety so electric stove is used. (Mainland Chinese believe the meat taste best only if cooked using charcoal fire)
4. Japanese provide only sesame sauce because it's healthy and tasty and because you cannot have more sauce than what is offered to you. (Mainland Chinese and Taiwanese will let you mix your own sauce, not just sesame but chili sauce vinegar sauce, etc etc)



Anyway, the Malaysian one basically follows the Taiwanese style with a tad of differences:
1. It's expensive (RM 16.90 for bean curd set - no meat? what the 12345 - it's not typo, i like to curse in number)
2. Even if you got meat the slice is too thin and too few (my mutton is like got no taste). Besides I have no idea what part of the meat we got from the poor goat. The Shuan Yang Rou or real shabu-shabu will have fine categories of meat. For example, the meat from thigh is pricier than from leg because it's finer.
3. The soup (湯頭) option is limited. We got the 'high soup' (高湯), which is nothing more than your plain soup probably made from cooking the bones of the cow or goat... hopefully, I suspect it's from chicken! Then there's herbal sachet and ginseng sachet. In Taiwan we had the milk soup, the black-chicken soup (烏雞湯), the 'four-thing' soup (四物湯) - the real herbal ingredients in the soup that you can actually chew, not in the sachet, and many other soup options. Granted, these extra soup are not cheap, but they are real thing and it make your shabu-shabu super tasty.



O.K., I have pretty much made Mizi or any other Shabu-shabu restaurants in Malaysian seemed like a rip-off. But this is my first shabu-shabu visit in Malaysia, so I probably should try out more first. But the meal is not always about tasting good food, or ranting about the bad one. It's sometimes about the people you have the food with. I'm 100% glad to have it with 3.5 Mizi (美子=美人) and their new experience with this dining style sure made my day. The bill is O.K. It's not the price that matter, it's the quality that is anticipated with the price tag.

In term of the decoration, I like its spaciousness and its effort of making it a nice restaurant to dine in. The lanterns are very fitting and bring out the entire Japaneseness of the experience, if only it's not a construction site outside the window... Nonetheless, grab a window-seat if you can. It's quite a nice backdrop for photo-taking.



Please visit Haanibal's well-written picturesque food review for Mizi, as mine is just some "what the fuckfood..." review. Nonetheless I encourage you to try out Mizi and be the judge, especially if you had shabu-shabu outside Malaysia.

Tai Chi Café & Restaurant

It was a work-holiday on weekday. The class sponsored by the company was finished early and so I made plan to find my way to Starbuck or some café where I could meet a friend, get online while waiting for the dinner appointment at night in Puchong.

I remembered there's a One Station in the Puchong Jaya where I could get online but to my disappointment, their Internet service was down. Could not think of any other nearby café, I was ready to explore the greater Puchong area. Chance had it that when I raised my head, I saw the little banner hanging out on the side-wall of the building.



The first two words indicates it's a Hong Kong restaurant , but the last two words suggests a tea house. It's the 'tea house' part that prompted me to check if this setup has what I wanted - a place where I can sit, rest my butt, sip on cold drink and surf Net.

It's located upstairs of a corner shoplot housing a Chinese Clinic. Upon entering the door, I saw the boss, Paul Kok. I inquired him about the Net-friendliness of the restaurant, and indeed it is. I walked in further to find myself a surprise.



First grabbing of my attention is the chandeliers, many of them. Against the ceiling backdrop of the painted blue sky and white clouds, the Café & Restaurant had an deja vu of the Venetian Casino! However, in split of the second I was brought back to reality by the furniture underneath the skies.



While the wall is decorated in tasteful drawings, giving a false sense of gallery, the tables and chairs are those you see in the typically retro-inspired Chinese restaurant. The menu itself confirms its Hongkee root with the listing of the typical Hong Kong dishes: Wan Tan Noodle, Roasted Duck, Honey B.B.Q Pork, Sweetened Ginko Soup, etc.



As I was looking only for a quick sip and surfing, I did not get the chance to check out if dishes are any good. On the beverage list, however, I was delighted to find the fresh fruit juice only cost a cheap RM 3.50. Chinese teas, English teas and typical soft drinks are also extremely affordable.



The layout of the Café & Restaurant is spacious, and it is quiet (probably due to the timing of my visit). The table I sat was close to a wall that provides nice backrest with sheep on its attached stool. The power socket is nearby the table I sat but as I checked out others, it seems that this corner is good for long-hour surfing, especially if one is not fond of heat (yes, it is air-conditioned).



In conclusion, this Café & Restaurant is an ideal place for a quiet afternoon surfing Net, especially when you do not have a deep pocket and live nearby Puchong. The OrangeJuice I had was freshly made and tasted great. This place can be an alternative to the One Station nearby if you rather want a Café with character than a generic Kopitiam.

Tai Chi Café & Restaurant
No. 11, Jln Kenari 6, Batu 8, Bandar Puchong Jaya.
(03-58824536)