It's been a while since I got around to accepting a food review invitation since I've been busy running around and when J Tean Kitchen extended one, I did - mainly because it's a stone's throw (well, make it 10 or so but who's counting? hahaha..) away from my home. Not only did the group of us had the opportunity to taste some delicious food but it was also that day that I was introduced to James Tean, the owner of J Tean Kitchen. I was glad as I finally met the man behind the wonderful Tean's Gourmet Malaysian Traditional Curry Laksa paste. I normally buy packets & packets of them for Mrs Pitt and friends who are residing overseas. It's always a hit with the food crowd. Well, Tean's other paste are all pretty good too as Mrs Pitt has tried several of the varieties and told me they are all GOOD! Malaysians overseas must have these in their pantry!
Anyway, back to meeting Master Tean himself (as he's popularly known by that name), we sat down with him and had lunch together. As we took photographs of the dishes, he brought us through the story of how J Tean Kitchen came about. It has much to do with the support and encouragement of his friends who mooted the idea of him doing a restaurant business using his over 30 years of expertise in the food manufacturing industry with his line of Tean's Gourmet products (e.g. like his famous Bak Kut Teh herbs & spices pack for instance). Hence, J Tean Kitchen was born ... and now begins our feast with some East meets West fusion dishes.
Ahhh...lovely. Braised Pork Bun - Tender braised pork slices sandwiched between a nice soft and fluffy steamed mantou (Chinese bun/bread). Well marinated and goes well with the mantou and julienned vegetable. One of my regular orders during my repeat visits here...
RM7.90 for three of these fluffy yummy babies!
And for soup lovers at (RM4.90 each), try out these two delicious range that are served with puff pastry....
J-BKT (Bak Kut Teh) Soup without the "Bak" (meat), lovely herb & spices soup with assorted mushrooms
I love the J-Pumpkin Soup (another favourite order of mine). It kinda reminds me of drinking a lighter consistency of some gravy that one can find with crab dishes. There's a bit of spice and it's creamy and has assorted mushrooms too. Delicious stuff!
For a heartier soupy meal with meat, try the J-Porky Pie (RM19.90), a rectangle puff pastry top covers pieces of pork (half lean and half fat), simmered in special herbal sauce that is a bit spicy. Yes, it's hearty enough to fill a man's tummy.
How about THE Bak Kut Teh? The meat were tender and one can tell that good cuts were used and I loved the mushrooms too. The mixed herbal soup (which to me is more important than the meat itself) tasted just right for me, not too strong and flavourful enough. However, I'm sure when it comes to Bak Kut Teh and its soup, it's different strokes for different Bak Kut Teh folks :o) A serving of Pork Belly, Ribs and Stomach goes for RM20.90 whereas a serving of of just Pork Belly or Pork Leg or Single Bone is RM10.90. Order some rice that's topped with fried shallots to go along with it and if you do, remember to make sure you have the BKT Essentials ...
Raw Garlic and Cili Padi (bird's eye chili)
Moving on to even more meatier stuff...
The J-Ribs (M34.90) was fork tender and marinated well enough with J Tean's special sauce (a.k.a. the secret sauce!) after being pre-stewed with special herbal spices. It's served with lovely potato wedges and a dollop of coleslaw salad and more special sauce.
The J-Curry Ribs (RM16.90) was lovely and had a familiar taste. Yup! Tean's Gourmet Curry Paste is used for this dish - no wonder it's familiar and tasty. Great taste and lovely powdery potatoes! You can opt for pasta to be added for an extra RM3.
The J-Knuckle (RM38.90) came in one solid piece and we asked for it to be cut up into smaller bite size. Once again another great dish, served with potato wedges, coleslaw salad on the side and their special sauce. I love the crackling skin and the tender meat, another well marinated job. Pre-stewed first in special herbal sauce, it was then cooked to golden brown.
Next ... burgers!
I adored the J-Porky Bun (RM16.90), served with potato wedges. A longish pork patty served on an equally longish fried mantou instead of the usual round bun. I usually share this and the staff knows that most folks would as this is a big serving. The staff comes with a pair of scissors ready in their hands when they serve this and will ask whether we would like them to cut it into smaller portions (usually four).
By now, you might ask - do they serve anything else apart from pork? The answer is YES!
They have the J-Chicken Burger (RM7.90) with a regular round bun. But if you love pork and would like to still have pork, they have J-Pork Burger at the same price too.
Potent stuff! Chinese Wine Chicken (RM19.90) was great. The portion here would be enough for two persons with a large appetite. Generous with Chinese Wine and ginger, this dish was really full of flavours and the gravy would go well with a bowl of rice (or two!).
I was informed that Fried Radish Cake Tempura is available for Tea Time Specials (2pm-6pm). At RM6.90 it comes with a cup of coffee. I have yet to try it again as I never dropped by within these hours. I am looking forward to eating it again, as it's yummy! They are running breakfast sets too (10am-12pm) though I've yet to check out their new items like Mee Suah (wheat noodles) BKT and Fried Radish Cake (to name a few) that comes with a cup of coffee too.
There's also other desserts like the Melaka Rainbow - sweet stuff; gula melaka & coconut milk with chewy jelly and sago. There's Golden Beach Dessert too which is milky pumpkin cream that has bits of water chestnut and sago.
Tel : 603-7954 0819
How about THE Bak Kut Teh? The meat were tender and one can tell that good cuts were used and I loved the mushrooms too. The mixed herbal soup (which to me is more important than the meat itself) tasted just right for me, not too strong and flavourful enough. However, I'm sure when it comes to Bak Kut Teh and its soup, it's different strokes for different Bak Kut Teh folks :o) A serving of Pork Belly, Ribs and Stomach goes for RM20.90 whereas a serving of of just Pork Belly or Pork Leg or Single Bone is RM10.90. Order some rice that's topped with fried shallots to go along with it and if you do, remember to make sure you have the BKT Essentials ...
Raw Garlic and Cili Padi (bird's eye chili)
Moving on to even more meatier stuff...
The J-Ribs (M34.90) was fork tender and marinated well enough with J Tean's special sauce (a.k.a. the secret sauce!) after being pre-stewed with special herbal spices. It's served with lovely potato wedges and a dollop of coleslaw salad and more special sauce.
The J-Curry Ribs (RM16.90) was lovely and had a familiar taste. Yup! Tean's Gourmet Curry Paste is used for this dish - no wonder it's familiar and tasty. Great taste and lovely powdery potatoes! You can opt for pasta to be added for an extra RM3.
The J-Knuckle (RM38.90) came in one solid piece and we asked for it to be cut up into smaller bite size. Once again another great dish, served with potato wedges, coleslaw salad on the side and their special sauce. I love the crackling skin and the tender meat, another well marinated job. Pre-stewed first in special herbal sauce, it was then cooked to golden brown.
Next ... burgers!
I adored the J-Porky Bun (RM16.90), served with potato wedges. A longish pork patty served on an equally longish fried mantou instead of the usual round bun. I usually share this and the staff knows that most folks would as this is a big serving. The staff comes with a pair of scissors ready in their hands when they serve this and will ask whether we would like them to cut it into smaller portions (usually four).
By now, you might ask - do they serve anything else apart from pork? The answer is YES!
They have the J-Chicken Burger (RM7.90) with a regular round bun. But if you love pork and would like to still have pork, they have J-Pork Burger at the same price too.
Potent stuff! Chinese Wine Chicken (RM19.90) was great. The portion here would be enough for two persons with a large appetite. Generous with Chinese Wine and ginger, this dish was really full of flavours and the gravy would go well with a bowl of rice (or two!).
I was informed that Fried Radish Cake Tempura is available for Tea Time Specials (2pm-6pm). At RM6.90 it comes with a cup of coffee. I have yet to try it again as I never dropped by within these hours. I am looking forward to eating it again, as it's yummy! They are running breakfast sets too (10am-12pm) though I've yet to check out their new items like Mee Suah (wheat noodles) BKT and Fried Radish Cake (to name a few) that comes with a cup of coffee too.
There's also other desserts like the Melaka Rainbow - sweet stuff; gula melaka & coconut milk with chewy jelly and sago. There's Golden Beach Dessert too which is milky pumpkin cream that has bits of water chestnut and sago.
Let's hope more folks will visit SStwo Mall with the slight increase in tenants, especially one like J Tean Kitchen. I know that I go there more often nowadays because of J Tean Kitchen and also there's a Chatime outlet there now :o); the latest drink fad (it's nice but don't know why some folks are so into it). It's been pretty quiet, I hope business and tenants will pick up with increasing foot traffic to the place. So, why not go over to SStwo Mall since there's a good reason to now? ;o)
J Tean Kitchen
Lot G-58 Ground Floor
SStwo Mall
40 Jaln SS2/72
47300 Petaling Jaya
Tel : 603-7954 0819
oink oink oink, hubby's must love it!!!
ReplyDeleteInstead, I prefer Gong Cha! Haha ... okay, back to the topic at hand, erm, kinda small portions no?
ReplyDeleteThe ribs, especially.
I can do 2-5pm for the tempura n coffee.
te pumpkin soup...looks so delicious...and so wana try te pork bun...alot of pork-y here
ReplyDeleteI find the food here quite nice and affordable too. It's a pity that the mall has yet to see an increase in traffic. Hopefully it'll be better in time. It'll be a pity to see a place like J Tean folding up.
ReplyDeleteChoi Yen : You would too!?
ReplyDeleteJ2Kfm : heheh...ok, ok...2-5pm tempura and coffee! ;o)
meichi : Yes, go try the pumpkin soup, one of my fave items!
qwazymonkey : Yup, really hope things will pick up.
this is awesome.
ReplyDeleteExtremePower : It is, try it!
ReplyDeleteDO not know what has happened to Jtean Restaurant. Somehow Chinese/European fusion does not catch on. Also so sad the SStwoMall. So many outlets 'cap lap' or closed (not really sure) including Urban Fare supermarket.
ReplyDeleteWhen was the last you went there?
Backlane chef
I went there a couple of months back...J Tean was still there and is still there I hope! Must drop by and see what's going on. Yes, sad to see the mall that way.
ReplyDelete