Food Review - Ah Koong Eating House

Name

Ah Koong Eating House
Food
Chinese Fish Ball/Fish Paste Noodle/Mee
Location

Pudu (in the Berjaya Times Square vicinity)

They also have an outlet at the Subang Business Centre and another one at Taman Sentosa, JB.

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Getting there

There are various ways to get there depending on where you are coming from but if you just zoom in on a landmark (there are quite a few landmarks in the vicinity) such as the Berjaya Times Square or the Pudu Prison/Jail. Once you have located these landmarks, then, you just need to get your bearings and then make your way there as they are all within the vicinity.

Parking

There are lots of parking around the shop-lots or even at Berjaya Times Square itself which is located at about 300m away.

Ambience

Despite this place having the comfort of air-conditioning, this is strictly a no-frills dining place (hence I categorize it under "Street Food").

The place is relatively clean & well-lit, which is a plus point in helping it look clean & bright.

Variety

The process begins at the front door when diners are given an empty bowl and need to select the type of noodle they wish to have and whether they would like to have it dry or with soup. The standard noodle types  plus a couple of less common types are available:

- Bee Hoon (Vermicelli)

- Mee (Yellow Noodles)

- Loh Shue Fun ("Rat" Noodles)

- Kuey Teow (Flat Rice Noodles)

- Wantan Mee/Noodles (both flat & thin varieties)

- Spinach Mee/Noodles

There are simply too much choice in terms of the many types of accompanying items you can add on to your meal. They range from:

- Fish Cakes (this is a "must try" item when you are there*)

- Fish Balls

- Fujok (soya skin with fillings) items

- Tofu & Yong Tau Foo

- Prawns (or shrimps as the Americans like to call them)

- and many more

* The fish cakes are fragrant, springy in bite texture and it just looks fantastic! Can't resist this item!

Service

The place is mainly manned by Nepalese or Myanmarese workers. It used to be manned by local Chinese. Other than the occasional inability to understand due to their lack of command of our languages or strong accent, the service is quick & fuss-free.

You order your food when you arrive up at the front door, go find a table and the food will be served to you in usually 10-15 minutes. After you are done, just bring the order chit to the cashier counter located right behind the open kitchen, and you're done.

Presentation
Again, despite this place being a no-frills dining outlet, they have nicely branded themselves as all of their wares, from the white plastic plates & bowls to even the spoons have their branding. This helps make the place a lot more presentable than a mere food stall.

Nicely done.

Taste
I'd say that the food here is a little bit too savoury (salty-lah macha). However, I personally, quite like strong flavours in my food (despite my liver's silent protestations). 

I like my noodles dry while some may prefer their noodles in soup. Either way, you won't lose out on the soup as the goodies (fish balls, fish paste slices, sea-weed, etc) all come in a separate bowl soaked in the deliciously fragrant soup!

I usually like to add the finely cut red chillies to my bowl of Ah Koong noodles. However, they have recently switched from the red chillies to the significantly spicier Cili Padi (more commonly known as Bird's Eye Chili). And sadly, the red chillies are nowhere to be found! I guess the reason why they switched was because the Cili Padi is much cheaper when compared with the red chillies.

Overall

This place is a favorite of mine when I'm in the area and have run out of ideas as to where or what to eat. It's affordable and delicious at the same time. No need to worry about whether I'm appropriately dressed or not. As I had said, no-frills fuss-free quick bite kind of place that never lets you down.

Food Review - Tang Pin Kitchen

Name

Tang Pin Kitchen - SS2

Food

Chinese Street Food

Location

SS2/24

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Getting there

If you are coming from the BAT side, just keep heading in the direction of the Durian Stalls at the corner of the traffic lights. Just go slightly further beyond to the 2nd set of traffic lights. It's located at the cluster of shops on the left & diagonally across from the Petron (or what is used to be known as Mobil) Station.

Parking

There are lots of public parking right in front of the shops (provided you can find a vacant lot). Or, you can try  to look for one on the other side of the street (ie: the side with the houses)

Ambience

It's a typical small sized eatery (seating capacity of about 70) catering to the young and young at heart and those who crave the simple Chinese Street Food but would not want to brave the sights, sounds & scents of back-alley ways, uncovered drains and rats.

This place is clean, brightly lit and air-conditioned (inner section).

Presentation

For this type of food, I will say that the presentation is pretty good.The food is served in Chinese-Style decorated plastic bowls and plates.

The only problem I had was with the chop-sticks and spoons. It looks as though the restaurant staff had neglected to properly clean them as there are stains on almost ALL of them. I literally had to go through almost 20 chop-sticks before I found a pair that I could tolerate. Same thing with the spoons.

Taste

The food is tasty, although I cannot say if it's free from taste enhancements. But honestly, these days, most people don't really care as long as the food tastes good. And I must say the food here tastes good =)

Service

Strangely, having a very Chinese image & Branding, there wasn't a single Chinese Staff member at the restaurant at all. I had difficulty getting my order processed because they could not really understand me when I spoke English or Chinese. I had to use my hands a lot and point.

However, having said that, they are quite responsive to customers.

Variety

I have to say, despite a relatively simple menu (only 4 pages) but it was pretty good. It had enough choices that had enough variation to warrant a subsequent visit. For example, as a main item, there are items from Fish Noodles to Fried Porridge to Curry Mee.

And for add-ons, they items are pretty varied too. For instance, they have Hock Chew Balls (Fish Balls stuffed with pork) to Yam Cake and fried Chue Cheong Fun.

As for the drinks, they offer the usual suspects from the Tong Sui range - Black Glutinous Rice (Hak Lor Mai) to Barley Fu Chok and the standard Coffee, Tea, Soya Milk, etc.

Value For Money

The prices are pretty reasonable and can be even compared with street stall prices. But here, you have a fairly nice place to sit down for some Chinese styled Tapas with friends or family without causing a dent to your wallet.

Overall
Above average fare at very affordable prices but in a clean and cozy environment. I think that's a winning combination that explains why the place is usually packed, especially on weekends.

Give it a try, it may even bring you back some nostalgia of the good times from that small town you grew up in.

Food Review - Ampang Foong Foong Yong Tau Foo

Name
Ampang Foong Foong Yong Tau Foo (Lunch only)

Food
Yong Tau Foo

Location
Ampang, KL.

Getting there
I usually go there from Jalan Ampang towards Ampang Hulu (away from KLCC). At the Spectrum traffic light junction (just before Taman Kosas on the left), make a right turn. Go right to the end of the road where there is another traffic light junction, turn right. The shop is the 3rd consecutive Yong Tau Foo shop located side-by-side on the left.

ParkingParking can be a bit of a challenge as diners need to find a spot on their own. Altho’ there are a few parking spots right in front of the shop, you’d be pretty lucky to be able to get a spot there. There are quite a number of parking spots in front of other shops in the vicinity. All of these are guarded by their respective “parking attendants”.

ServiceThis place is almost like Chinese-styled self-service fast-food as you have to place the orders on your own at the front counter where your orders are then “broadcast” to the kitchen via an in-house mike (this is a feature quite unique to this place). Hence, you need to remember your table number before you order. Veterans also know what their orders would be before placing the orders at the counter. This is because the pace is frenetic and you do not want to be the one holding up the order line when others are waiting impatiently behind you.

Ambience
Typical for eateries of this nature – pretty no-frills. It’s clean enough but don’t expect restaurant-style ambience.

TasteFor me, this is one of the YTF places in KL that is considered “up there” among the best. The pieces are smaller than my all time favorite YTF stall (at KL Chinatown). However, this place makes up for it with the variety it offers.

The Juk Jey (sugarcane) drink is also pretty good. Have to try it.

PresentationPresentation is typical YTF, ie: fried ones (fujok* & jow sui-gow) are kept separate from the wet ones. Some like the sui-gow, come with soup in a bowl with some choy sum as garnish.

* please see Variety section for translations

VarietyThe standard items incl:
- YTF
- Jau YTF (Fried Tofu)
- Jau Fujok (Fried Bean curd skin)
- Sui-gow (Chinese meat dumpling in soup – but some may call them “water-dogs” loosely based on Cantonese pronunciation )
- Jau Sui-gow (Fried Sui-gow)
- Yong Kok Tow (Ladies’ Fingers)
- Ai Gua (Brinjal)
- Lat Jiu (Chillies)
- Yue Dan (Fish Balls)
- Fu Gua (Bittergourd)

I usually order rice to round off the meal but some prefer to just go for the YTF.

Value for MoneyIt’s RM0.80/pc now. There was a time when this place charges slightly lower than the other places because the pieces here are smaller than some other places.

It’s pretty decent for what would be considered a fairly healthy meal.

OverallGood value and quick service. You won’t be disappointed.