Gao Ren Guan, Jaya One - Simple Pleasures

NON-HALAL

Absent from the blogosphere during the whole month of February, the past month had been a fury of Chinese New Year meals, one after another.  At a time when one is constantly barraged with the usual rich good food, it was a pleasant change when we dined at Gao Ren Guan in Jaya One recently.  Not to say that the food was different but it was really food that not only filled the tummy but touched the heart.  If you check out their website...they have a tag line that says "...feels like dining at home".  Yes, though the restaurant was crowded and with the endless loud chattering (that includes even the usual "loud wishes" routine during the lo sang ceremony!), we really felt at "home".  I had the opportunity to dine at Gao Ren Guan twice during this Chinese New Year period and I gotta say, it has now become one of my favourite restaurants to go to.  With great tasting food that speaks for itself, the simplicity won me over ... Needless to say, my friends are of the same opinion too and we look forward to our next meal there again.  Here are some of the dishes we "connected" with ...

Having eaten about 8 times of Yee Sang during this Chinese New Year celebration, the group of us really like Gao Ren Guan's version.  The condiments were refine but what made it good was the sauce.  Subtle yet rich enough, it had a sweetness that was spot on and yet a pleasant sourish taste that gave a balance of all the right flavours.  Looking forward to this in 2014!

Another great yet simple dish was the Hakka Char Yoke (Small RM10, Large RM20) - lean yet tender pieces of sliced pork.  Each slice had a wonderful crunch as we bit into it...breaking the crispy marinated layer of skin. A real delight!

Gao Ren Guan dished out a good version of the vegetarian Chai Choy - a mix of mushrooms, beancurd skin, cabbage, cloud's ear with a mix of fermented bean and oyster sauce.  However, it loses out to my own aunt and mom's version.  So far, no one has come close to the same great taste that is churned out by my aunt and mom... :o)

Oh! Be still my heart...ever since Sim Hap Ke stopped operating, I had lost hope on ever finding a good dish of deep fried squid. Well, I need to look no more as I have found a worthy replacement right here in Gao Ren Guan.  I absolutely love their version of Fried Squid with Garlic (Small - RM16, Large - RM24). Topped with garlic bits, spring onions and chili bits, it was non-oily, crispy and full of flavours, we were sad that we didn't order a large serving! Hahaha... It was reminiscent of a familiar great taste of Chinese dishes done this style in San Francisco.  It's a taste that I have not tasted elsewhere while dining in Malaysia and missed whenever I leave San Francisco.

Tofu with Minced Pork was good too...the tofu pieces were fragrant on its own.  Topped with mince pork and spring onions, the tofu pieces were served sitting a a pool of gravy; a dish that goes so well with white rice.



Stir fried Pork Belly Grandpa Style (Small RM16, Large RM24).
This was another winner.  The tender slices of pork belly were coated with lovely caramelised dark sauce.  Go for large! Hahahaha....

Well, this meal at Gao Ren Guan was one of the highlights during my Chinese New Year celebration this year. While we have gotten back to normal routine (while some are still lamenting as to why we have to work! Hehehe...), the food gathering "frenzy" has somewhat stopped too, with a sigh of relief actually...it is a case of too much of a good thing!

Which brings us back to the simplicity of dining at Gao Ren Guan, one that I look forward to again and again ...

Gao Ren Guan

M-10-G, Palm Square,

Jaya One,

72A Jalan Universiti,

46200 Petaling Jaya,

Selangor

Tel : 603-7955 3266

(Also found in Puchong and Subang Jaya)

Check out their website HERE for more info