Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Food Around Jalan Alor/Tengkat Tong Shin, Kuala Lumpur

As locals, playing "food host" to guests especially from overseas is quite the norm. So, what more as food bloggers? Usually, the first place that we can think of where visitors can get to try several varieties in the same vicinity would be Jalan Alor/Tengkat Tong Shin area. Doing just that on one occasion a few months back, it was indeed a night of the best of the best!

First up is Wong Ah Wah, a restaurant stop that's usually a must for newbies in the area. Of course apart from ordering the mandatory yummy grilled chicken wings, the 6 of us ordered a few other dishes here (taking care not to earn stares from the staff there by ordering just one dish and yet not overeat as we had a few other food stops to make).
Shellfish
La La (shellfish) in Kam Heong style (dark sauce and curry leaves), a sweetish spicy dish that Wong Ah Wah cooks pretty well consistently.
Shellfish
We also tried another shellfish variety, the Bamboo La La. However, after trying the Kam Heong style, this dish tasted rather normal as it's just cook with oyster sauce and wasn't spicy. And I love spicy food ;o) Masak-masak's review on the same outing at Wong Ah Wah can be read HERE.

Restoran Wong Ah Wah
1, Jalan Alor,
50200 Kuala Lumpur
Tel : 03-2144 2463/2148 3413

Read more about Wong Ah Wah (and other dishes) in my previous post way back in February 2007 when I first met up with some famous food bloggers. Sweet!


We had then wanted to try grilled fish further up along Jalan Alor at Meng Kee but the stall was close. Thrown slightly off, but definitely never lost for ideas, we then decided to head towards Tengkat Tong Shin and try out something new for most of us - food at Restoran Muar. Recalling Babe In The City - KL's post on this place, we ordered a few of the items that were given the thumbs up.




Deep Fried Egg
The crispy deep fried eggs were simply scrumptious. Looking almost like an edible Jackson Pollock artwork, this dish came drizzled with dark soy sauce and wasn't that oily as one would think.
Deep Fried Egg
The hidden gems (egg yolks)
Deep Fried Kai <span class=
Another deep fried dish recommended by the staff there, Deep Fried Kai Lan (Chinese Kale/Broccoli). It was a night that could well turn us into Orang Minyak (oily person in Malay) like the P. Ramlee movie. LOL! However, this dish was another tasty one, especially when accompanied by steamed rice! Lip smacking good.
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We then ordered a small bowl of Cendol. It wasn't a lot and we thankful for that for once :o). This icy dessert (it had red beans in it too) was fragrant and quenched our thirst well.

Restoran Muar
6G, Tengkat Tong Shin,
50200 Kuala Lumpur
Tel : 03-2144 2072

The last stop for the night was located across the road (almost directly opposite Ngau Kee's Beef Noodle stall; read my post on Ngau Kee and also at food.recentrunes.com).

I have been eating from this stall since I was a kid and Man Sook's fried noodles are great stuff. I love his version of Hokkien Kway Teow, Cantonese Kway Teow & Vermicelli and Fried Mee Suah (fine wheat flour noodles) especially. Located in a dark alley where the only source of light is from a single bright flourescent light at the cooking station, Man Sook (Slow Uncle in Cantonese) cooks up a storm almost every night. No worries though, for those who don't fancy in dimly lit alleys, Man Sook has some tables and chairs put up near the brighter five foot way at the shops nearby.

He's known as Man Sook as he cooks up a storm slowly but surely. One must be prepared to wait a fair bit before he gets the order done ;o). But for this, it is surely a case of "good things comes to those who wait". When dining here, remember that patience is a virtue. Ha ha ha....

Looking at Man Sook, I get a warm feeling of familiarity and the memories I had living in this area for 25 years before shifting away (hence, thinking about my dear old Dad too). I get that feeling everytime I patronised Man Shook's, Ching Hai's and Ngau Kee's stall actually :o).
Man <span class=

Man <span class=
Man Sook in action; assisted by his son
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As it was the first time here for everyone else, I was given the liberty to order for them. The Hokkien Mee was nice and had no alkaline taste to it. However, this was average in comparison with the following noodles.
Fried <span class=
The Fried Mee Suah was a hit with everyone. The Mee Suah is deep fried till crispy first and is then fried together with lots of cabbage, beansprouts, a few eggs, prawns, sotong and pork slices. Crunchy, crispy and fragrant with wok hei, each bite was delightful and bursting with flavour! Best accompanied by a hot pot of Chinese Tea ....

It provided the end to a perfect night...we were full and happy but most importantly our guests were too. So, the next time you have some visitors in town; bring them to this area for some cheap and good bites if they are game for some street food especially. There are also lots of other restaurants like Restoran Muar and some of fine dining too like Max! Kitchen & Wines in this Tengkat Tong Shin area. One would be spoilt for choice....


I'm trying to eat better. And, I do feel wise after drinking tea. After eating vegetables, I just feel hungry. ~ Carrie Latet




32 comments:

Anonymous said...

I like both La La...after eating these....I can go DEck the Hall during Xmas and sing Fa La La la La, la la la la....:D

k.t.x said...

coool, this "man sook" is one of my firm favorite place to dine when we run out of ideas where and what to eat in and ard BB. btu we call him "ah chor".

guess we must hv bumped into ech other b4 we moved huh? lol.

"Joe" who is constantly craving said...

haha the only concern is that my overseas guest can never stomach the "clean" food in this area..

Rasa Malaysia said...

You are killing me with these shots...I just don't think that I have time to go down to KL this time, but Wong Ah Wah and Jalan Alor are calling my name I could hear it from here!

Precious Pea said...

I don't quite like mee suah but the one we had at Man Shook is good! I am tempted to try Man Shook's Cantonese Fried noodle since i heard it's good too. So when sista?

Christina Kim said...

Wow...great pics...nice cam ya!:D
I have heard so much about this Jln Alor and last time, my ex-colleagues wanted to bring us there during our internship and I never did get the opportunity...this seems like a food-infested area ya...haha:D

New Kid on the Blog said...

this post sounded very sentimental....
i used to visit jalan alor whenever am in kl... will definitely walk over there for food... :)

Sze said...

omg la la...

Anonymous said...

Woh, I love lala, long ones, short ones, round ones....all sorts of lalas I love.

Everything looks so delicious but so many fried food. How?

I want to go here to ok? :P

Anonymous said...

lipsmacking food indeed! the fried mee suah must be good... can't wait to put down my "to go" list.

Lyrical Lemongrass said...

Love the crispy deep fried egg!! Time to visit the restaurant again.

Anonymous said...

What a glutton night!! Me still yet to try the Restoran Muar.

wmw said...

tigerfish : I'll sing together with you!!! :o)

k.t.x : Hmmm...hey, we should do dinner at Man Sook a.k.a. Ah Chor one night! Who knows...maybe we did ;o)

joe : Well, some guests are quite adventurous...like I said, if they are game for it!

RM : The roads are calling out to you..."Come and eat here...Come and eat here...." LOL

Precious P : Yes, the Cantonese Fried is good too....Yah! When?

christy : Well, in you're ever in KL again make sure you pop over to this area if you are a food lover.

wmw said...

Sze : For a second there...I thought you were singing! Hahaha....(like tigerfish)

judy : You stay in town for two months okay? ;o)

jackson : You know this place too? Ok, you bring your ex-binis here next time. LOL

jasmine : Starting a list? Hahaha...Make sure it's a long piece of paper. Lots of good food around this area. :o)

Lyrical L : Yup...eat with steamed rice. Yumz!

tankiasu : All small portions leh...6 of us. Restoran Muar? Go try...

Anonymous said...

Aiyo....must do similar food crawl when WWS comes home lah....must try all these. Hmmm....better go solid gymming before that or else can die man!

Big Boys Oven said...

oMg! you are exploring the food jewel of KL without us! :( ....lol

boo_licious said...

Yeah, must visit Man Sook again,I love his fried mee seen and can't wait to try his fried cantonese noodles.

KopiSoh said...

Aiyah every time i kam here i lau nuah (drool). Now I hungry again.

wonda said...

At first glance, the crispy deep fried eggs look like okonomiyaki. I'll go for the fried mee suah though I love the seafood too.

Cynthia said...

Everything is so appetizing!

wmw said...

Glorious J : No need to die one...if I know I will die ah...no need to exercise, just eat! LOL...

bbo : You probably enjoying eating at some other place while I was eating here also ;o)

Boo : You know the magic word ... When???

firehorse : Your kopitiam surrounded by food 24/7 but until now it still affects you ah? LOL...

wonda : Oooo...the fried mee suah is very tasty leh. Lovely stuff.

Cynthia : Hahaha...good eats definitely.

MeiyeN said...

oh no... am so hungry now!!!!! really craving for those clams now... but am currently on a very strict diet due to my injured toe :( i really wonder how long more i have to wait... sigh! and i shall make sure to come here once my toe is recovered! :D

Anonymous said...

Must say that the chicken wings and ikan bakar are really good ;)

teckiee said...

wow! that crispy deep fried eggs looks to good. How many eggs did the chef use?

wmw said...

meiyen:Better take care of your toe well, then heal faster...then can eat faster! :o)

jason : From where? Meng Kee in Jalan Alor? I like the grilled sotong.

teckiee : I think 3 wor...not sure.

CuteJoey said...

hi dear food blogger, the pic u took at the Rest. Muar right, u shud give urself a try at the mamak-like middle eastern food just right opposite it. The food is rated thumbs up with very generous portion and the price is very reasonable, so much more cheaper than those in class and grand restaurants, u will get the same quality from that restaurant i recommended. Why pay more??

wmw said...

cutejoey : Hello there! Thanks for the info, will drop by that place when I'm in that area for a try :o)

Anonymous said...

Drop by to say a BIG thank you! Your blog quench my thirst for Malaysian food!!! I really miss the food! Thanks for sharing!

marc - abstractfunk@yahoo.com.sg said...

hi,

need some advise. im making a trip down to KL and would like to visit wong ah wah and man sook.

may i ask, are they open only in the evening? if yes, what time they do start operating?

thank you very much
marc

wmw said...

Marc : Yes, only in the evenings. Wong Ah Wah probably starts about 5pm onwards till 3 a.m.! Man Shook starts about 7p.m I think. But both have off days which I'm not too sure which day of the week it is.

marc - abstractfunk@yahoo.com.sg said...

Thank you very much for your reply!

I'll be there for one night only on a Sat so I guess they should be open. There is a blog I saw which says that Ngau Keep is open for lunch, is that true?

If I have time to eat only at 1 stall in jln alor, would you recommend Meng Kee or somewhere else?

1 last question, can I take away chicken wings to eat at Meng Kee where I intend to have a big dinner? Would they mind?

Thanks again for ur help!

Marc

wmw said...

Marc : Yes, Ngau Kee is practically 24/7. If you only have time for 1 stall, it would be Wong Ah Wah! Stick to the simpler dishes as prices can be on the high side. Not sure about bringing food over as i've not done that before ;o).