Restoran Sin Chua Kee 新蔡記海鮮飯店@ Kuchai Lama

It was a cold dark stormy evening, amidst the strong  thunder and lighting , suddenly there was s growl, and it grew stronger and stronger…err..it was only my stomach growling lahh..

Wikipedia Lim spoke highly of  Sin Chua Kee , smacking his lips as he mention the beer pork ribs  and with a reminder – go early, best to be there by 6, if not, be prepared for a long wait… as the clock was already showing 6:45 pm-I wasn’t so keen to go to SCK , but considering that  it was a rainy day – not that many people might ( should)  be out guarr, with that in mind we headed towards Taman Lian Hoe.

It must be our lucky day as there was one small  empty table available and the rest of the restaurant filled to the brim with noisy happy diners ( I assume they were happy lah)

One comment I would like to make is that the lady who took our order was very pleasant…like this maaa…service with a smile, you happy, I also happy! We ordered Assam fish ( house special) , beer pork ribs and also one vege, smiling lady also recommended the house special tofu, but we decided not to be greedy and stuck with  the 3 dishes.

While we were waiting and looking at the food at  the other tables, saw that most of them ordered steam fish ( not asam fish worr)  and also pork ribs. A chap came around our table and asked if we want some good quality/ guaranteed good, durian…err…does this mean we are in for a long wait ?

It didn’t took that long for the dishes to arrived ( another plus point) . The Asam fish arrived, covered with parsley leaves , there were long beans and pieces of tomato too. And the taste..Oh la la..yummy, the fish was fresh  and cooked just nice and and the asam gravy..ahh… perfect ..

The pork ribs…what can I say about the pork ribs except that  it was very good pork ribs, they were deep fried and covered in some thick sticky gravy, the flesh came away easily with each bite,  the meat wasn’t dry and didn’t stick to the bones, and I really really really wish there were more of this..

The stir fried vege with garlic was tasty, the vege was succulent and not overly cooked ,this simple dish was a good compliment for the ribs and fish both of  which had pretty strong flavours.

 

The meal, plus 2 rice and a pot of chrysentimun tea cost us ~RM45, which was quite reasonable for a very satisfying meal. Hoorahhh for Sin Chua Kee !

As we were preparing to leave ( also noticed this while we were eating)  there were a dozen of people standing around waiting for the tables..maybe they should have some durian while they wait ? ( this was not helped by the rain, which meant that they couldn’t ‘open’ the tables by the roadside)

Address and Location :

Head towards the Old Klang Road Market, turn into road leading to Jln  Kuchai Lama, about 500m away ( FYI i am a bad judge of distance, so don’t take my word for it ) look out for SCK on your left ( row of shop houses on a small slope).

Pakli Steamboat Restaurant 旺角台湾后头火锅店 @ Taman Desa

Nowadays, when we talk about steamboat, it might not necessarily be the ‘traditional’ meal where  the  diners get a free sauna as well as the food….having steamboat in an aircond-ed area is like eating fried ice cream in an igloo….err..i am not sure what analogies I am driving at..but it does sound a bit profound..

Pakli is a place where you can enjoy steamboat minus the sauna , minus the noisy crowd. There are 2 different seating arrangements, you can sit at the counter, where each person will get their individual ‘pot’ (good for  purist , who does not like the seafood to mix with the pork or the beef to tango with the lamb or those that do not like other persons’ chopsticks poking into their meals ) or, you can sit at the tables, where it’s a matter of ‘one for all, and all for one’ i.e. everyone get to share-share, kongsi kongsi one big ‘pot’ .

There are a few sets available : the standard set ( RM13.80), Pork set (RM 18.80), Lamb, Beef or Seafood set ( RM 29.80) , or you can also order the 2-in-1 ; Seafood + Beef / Seafood + lamb / Seafood + pork. There are also side orders like : pork, lamb, prawn, sotong, fish dumpling, vegetable, sweet corn, golden mushroom etc.

We opted for 1 standard set and 1 pork set.

At Pakli , you get to ‘flavour’ your own sauce/ dip , what is at your table will be the basic, and you will proceed to a little side table where the condiments are placed, and you get to add whatever you want into the sauce : spring onions, coriander, chili powder, soya sauce, oil, vinegar, garlic etc etc. I added some coriander leaves, soya sauce, dash of chili powder a bit of oil ..in one of my earlier visits, I asked the waitress to help me prepare the sauce and it taste so very nice.. ( there is a charge for refilling the sauce, so- use your sauce wisely)

 

For the standard set : you get filament stick, various types of fishballs, one mussle, slices of yam, Chinese cabbage, bee hoon, tofu, corn, golden mushroom.

For the Pork set – you get the standard set ( as above)  +  slices of pork .

You also get an egg for each set.

The waitress came over, light up the fire beneath the pot, and when the pot start to sizzle, she add some oil ,  fried the garlic and added some cabbage, after a few swirl of the ladle, she  poured some soup into the pot and it’s our turn to take over the cooking .

Some people are very knowledgeable about  the sequence of things you put into the pot you know la, the miss/ mister-know-all where ‘..the filament stick can cook very fast one mah..drop that last la, and the longer you boil the  Chinese cabbage the more tender they get..’ – thus known as  ’the sequencer’   and there are some people that just dump everything into their pot at the same time -aka ‘the dumper’. Yours truly is a ‘sequence dumper’

The pork slices were thinly sliced and just need a short dip and it’s cooked – it was tender and tasty. The fishballs were average. My fellow diner was very kind and generous in having me finish up all the yam pieces..yumyum. If you manage to create a good sauce, then your enjoyment of the meal would have been tripled, but as I did a miserable sauce..so, no one to blame lah..( if you are not sure,  suggest you get the waitress to prepare the sauce for you lah. Let them know your preferences e.g you don’t like it to be too spicy, no spring onions, etc etc )

After we have finished  cooking / can’t find anything left to cook , the waitress came by and asked us if we want  porridge. We nodded and she came back with a bowl of rice, pour the rice into the pot, add more soup and broke both the eggs into the pot and continuously stir the contents. The rice soaked up the sweetness of the soup and the resulting porridge was pretty yummy.

Steamboat-ing is such a suitable meal to enjoy on a cold rainy day lorr…

¿Hablas Español ? Of Il Divo and Isabel

I am currently hooked on the Il Divo’s song -  Isabel. I have liked that song for sometime although they are singing in some language that I do not understand, I guess that’s the power of music huh.. ? I have no idea what they are singing about, except that it’s about someone named  Isabel…for all i know, the song could be about Isable the  garbage collector or Isable the Ahlong

Il Divo- 4  good looking guys in Armani suits,  singing operatic pop vocal style. From Wikipedia - Il Divo means divine male ( performer) Their official website is here . The pix below is copied from the official website (ahhh..so good looking one ).

A few days ago, I Googled for the lyrics and I found the lyrics here

Isabel   

Volar
Caer
Al fondo el dolor
Sonar
Perder
Imperios de ilusion
Hoy no tengo nada
Si no estas
Mi corazon se apaga

Isabel
Si te vas
Tu Dios se enfadara
No dejes que este amor
Muera asi
Llorare
Iloraras
Sufriendo en soledad
Vuelve a mi y yo te hare
Feliz
Isabel

Buscar
Sentir
La gran pasion de amar
Tratar
De huir
A ese tiempo que vendra
Escapando del pasado
Tu y yo
Siempre enamorados

Hoy no tengo nada
Si no estas
Mi corazon se apage

Isabel
Yo te amaré

Isabel
A dónde irás sin mí
Yo no sabré vivr
Sin ti

Isabel
A dónde irás si mí
Yo no sabré vivir
Sin ti

Isabel
Si te vas
Tu Dios se enfadara
No dejes que este amor
Muera asi
Llorare
Iloraras
Sufriendo en soledad
Tu vuelve a mi y yo te hare
Feliz
Isabel.

errr….still dunno what they are crooning  about, googled for the translation ( turned out that it’s Spanish)….some sites have the translation- but basically giving the same text but finally managed to find a site  which gave i guess the most sensible translation, ( i didn’t copy the translation 100% though, but mix that with a bit from what i found from some other sites ( as if, i would know if i got that correct !!)

the song is about – Isabel ( no mention about occupation, still could be Ahlong) : and it goes something like this.. To fly , To fall ..Into the depths of pain, To dream, To lose, Empires of hope, . Today i have nothing if you are not here, my heart is dying …Isable If you go away…the gods will be annoyed  ( that is what the translated text tell me !) Do not let this love die like this, I will cry, U will cry , Suffering in solitude..Come back to me, and I will make u  happy..To Seach for , To feel, ..the great passion of loving..To try to flee , to escape  that time which will come.. Escaping the past, You and I, always in love……Isabel..i will love you…Where will you go without me..i won’t know how to live  without you…

After having some idea of what the song is about..it appears more beautiful, although I am having a hard time trying to memorize the lyrics lahh.. Volar…Caer…Al Fondo el dolor…