Tong Shin Hokkien Mee @ Bukit Bintang in Kuala Lumpur [Malaysia]

Despite the comparisons between hokkien mee in Singapore and Malaysia, I actually see them as two different dishes; both of which I enjoy. p.s. sorry, not talking about Penang hokkien mee. 

Given that Malaysia hokkien mee is said to originate from Kuala Lumpur, I decided to check out Tong Shin Hokkien Mee when I was in the capital of Malaysia recently. Its setup so reminded me of the epic Lian Bee Hokkien Mee that I was hoping I would be equally impressed here! 

Seating at the back, underneath a temporary tentage. More tables might be put up, provided the weather was okay. Almost all the tables were already taken 30 minutes before the stall started operations at 6pm; my expectations were obviously hyped up. 

Eating at street stalls in Malaysia is a challenge for me as I had suffered two bouts of food poisoning in the past. I can only pray that my stomach has been strengthened in the past few years although it was on concern that my nose picked up the rotting stench from drain water.  Note: I didn't have any stomach upset.

Seeing the smoke made me happy; bet the noodles would be full of wok hei! By the way, only one cook so you would have to wait patiently for your food. It appeared to be noodle dishes and we went with two basic versions; the fried bee hoon and the signature hokkien mee.

Fried Bee Hoon - fried till almost dry, I would say this was similar to those fried bee hoon you can get from those Chinese breakfast stalls in Singapore, albeit saltier. The game changer, however, was the sambal chilli which carried a rich punch of spiciness! 

Hokkien Mee - aroma was on point, color was right and I can see how slurpy the thick strands of noodles were! Only thing - how come I don't see any crispy pork lards?! That's like the soul for any KL hokkien mee! 

This was good but I would say Restoran Uncle Pou Wok at JB was tastier and packed with intense wok hei! Given that I can compare, I was actually a tad disappointed as I was hoping the KL hokkien mee, in KL (pun unintended), would be ranked higher on the taste bar. 

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Address

1951, Tengkat Tong Shin, 

Bukit Bintang, 50200 Kuala Lumpur, 

Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, 

Malaysia (Red Arrow)

Map

As above. 

Pricing

I forgot to take notes!

KafeiDian - Jalan Panggong @ Kuala Lumpur [Malaysia]

The hope to have breakfast at the popular Ho Kow Hainam Kopitiam was dashed when we were faced with a long line that like would keep us waiting for an hour or so, without any shade! 

A local friend suggested the nearby KafeiDian, which appeared to look like a colonial house but was in fact a post office built in 1911. With a review score of 3.9 on Google with over 2,000 reviewers, I guess it's worth a try, especially when we weren't keen to wait in line for Ho Kow.

Entrance to the local coffee shop seemed out of sync with the vintage look of the building although it bore resemblance of Chinese shops in kampongs before the 1990s. 

Revealing a large space that can hold a lot of diners; I was utterly impressed with its retro interior design that had pockets of greenery! And I kid you not, such cement screed flooring was common in the old days. 

There was even a second floor, with lesser tables, that had wooden sheets as floor covers! Only thing was that I got the feeling I would fall through should I make a few jumps! 

Sometimes I wonder - would people generally go for decorations or for food? Of course, it would be perfect if both were ranked high but life is seldom that perfect. For me, it's a no brainer that the items that go into my stomach have a higher priority.

My eyes lighted up when I saw the boxes of nyonya kueh! Unfortunately, Alex doesn't share my love for the Peranakan desserts and I had to decide carefully as one box was the most I could stomach. 

Nyonya Kueh - sometimes, prettier things have no substance and that's what I concluded after taking a bite of this colorful kueh lapis; it was dry, sticky and tasted like jelly starch with sugar. 

Half Boiled Kampong Eggs - been a while since I last saw the above device! This was for Alex and while he didn't have any bad comment; he is a lazy ass and very much prefers half boiled eggs that were already cracked for him.

Penang Prawn Paste Chee Cheong Fun - I thought this would be quite a refreshing take on chee cheong fun! It was unique for sure although I personally feel that the strong tasting prawn paste overwhelmed the palate that was more attuned to sweetness.  Maybe I should stop being so adventurous.

Margarine Sugar Toast - looking so promising, I was disappointed when I took a bite. It may not seem charred but taste wise, there was that unmistakable bitterness that was off-putting. And the sugar and margarine combination failed to save it.

Butter Kaya Toast - there's one pet peeve I have when it comes to food; deconstructed. Hence, you can imagine my displeasure when I saw this plate of deconstructed butter kaya toast placed on my table. It's literally butter, kaya and toast! 

Even though the toast was better than the one for margarine sugar, the thing was I had to spread the butter and kaya myself and obviously, I had to use more butter and kaya, which means I didn't have enough to go around. That's downright frustrating! 

Kopi - the best thing I had at KafeiDian.

Enough said.  

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Would I be back? My short answer: no. 

Okay, maybe for the kopi. 

p.s. service was good though.

Address

16, Jalan Panggong, City Centre, 50000 Kuala Lumpur, 

Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Map

As above. 

Operating Hours

7.30 am to 10.30 pm

Pricing

Nyonya Kueh - RM 4.00 

Half Boiled Kampong Eggs - RM 3.50

Penang Prawn Paste Chee Cheong Fun - RM 5.90

Margarine Sugar Toast - RM 3.50

Butter Kaya Toast - RM 3.50

Kopi - RM 4.20

(Subject to Tax)

Dan Ji Dumpling, & Noodles @ Kuala Lumpur [Malaysia]

With the hot sun shining on our heads and we were at the end of a 10-person line, we decided to give Restoran Wong Mei Kee a miss and explored the surrounding for potential eateries to have brunch on our first official day in Kuala Lumpur!

Dan Ji Dumpling stood out for being almost full house and it's hard not to notice that a high proportion of customers were locals. Praying hard we would make the correct choice.

Do note to order and make payment first! 

The cashier would assign a table only after you pay.

Iced Milk Tea - first sip and I noticed a taste similar to Hong Kong milk tea but this wasn't as thin. Nevertheless, the inclusion of ice on a hot day just made this extremely soothing for the throat, and head. 

Was the above to much for two persons?! Wait was about 20 minutes but the good thing was that the food came together, making it easier for me to take a photograph of all the dishes while they were still "fresh". 

Juicy Pork Rib - this tasted like braised pork, albeit with bones. I would say this was pretty good although without bones was very much preferred for ease of eating! I hate picking the bones to get to the meat.   

Noodles - this came with our orders of dumpling and fried dumpling noodles. Typical of Malaysia's black sauce noodle, there was a palatable sweetness, Noodles were more the thin ramen type which I enjoyed but when it comes to local noodles, I am a bigger fan of mee kia. 

Dumpling - before we talk about the dumplings, let me highlight the soup! It had that rich, intense vegetable flavor that seemed to be a result of being cooked for a long period of time; simple yet giving strong homely vibes.

Four dumplings in the soup but there were two types; the above was the one with chives and to be frank, it was a large piece! Doubt the two of us would be able to stomach so many dumplings! 

The other one had no chives. In Singapore, such dumplings usually had prawns but the ones here were purely meat based. Taste wise, it was average and nothing to scream about. I am okay with them but not for Alex, who is pickier than me! 

 

Fried Dumpling - now on the fried version! It's literally the same dumpling with chives, that I shared earlier, and was deep fried. Would they fare much better than the boiled ones?

Featuring the same generosity when it comes to the filling, this was again nothing to scream about. I am happier with the deep fried version, given the crunch, and the only thing missing was maybe saucer dish of Thai chilli sauce to enhance the flavor! 

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Do note that I ate most of the food! Alex wasn't impressed although both of us did wonder why this eatery appeared to be so popular with the locals. Maybe it had to do nostalgia amongst the locals. 

Address

295, Jln Pudu, Pudu, 55200 Kuala Lumpur, 

Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Map

As above.

Operating Hours

9.00 am to 2.00 pm

5.00 pm to 9.00 pm

Menu 

As above. 

Pricing

Iced Milk Tea - RM 3.50

Juicy Pork Rib (S) - RM 8.00

Dumpling Noodle - RM 11.50

Fried Dumpling Noodle - RM 12.50

Day Five (including review of Transtar First Class Solitaire Coach): Ipoh - Cameron Highlands - Kuala Lumpur Trip 2013

Phewwwwwww. It is with great relief that I am finally concluding the trip i took last year! Hopefully, i would not take THAT long to cover a 9-day trip that i am making in April!

Back to the last day of the Ipoh - Cameron Highlands - Kuala Lumpur expedition, i was once again dragged out of the lovely, comfortable bed by the parents at 6am! $%@^$%#^#$%#Y

We were out on the streets (to be specific, it was the famed Jalan Bukit Bintang) by 7 am; the appearance of lighted street lights was a simple testament of how early we were.

Knowing breakfast was of utmost importance to my folks, i brought them to Jalan Alor, where i am sure we could find some decent Chinese food. In the past, the budget hotel along this stretch was my favourite choice for accommodation; hence my familiarity with the area.

Sight of the homeless along the street; it's kind of sad to see such scenario but we are not at liberty to assume or dictate the "story" behind this man's plight. Every family has their own problems, their own story, including mine. :)

Restoran Gou Lou with its tagline of "famous fish head noodle" caught my mom's attention. 

She ordered a serving (RM 8.50) and following was her comment after cleaning up the bowl: the broth was delicious while the fish swimming in the soup (not literally of course) was fresh and chunky! *like*

Dad and i were not keen in soupy stuff and proceeded to have prata in a corner shop along a different street; they were pretty normal in my opinion although they did help to satisfy my craving that started in Cameron Highland the day before. 

View of the KL Tower.

Gourmet Bak Kwa! Under the watchful eyes of the dad, i had to forgo any intention of even buying a small quantity to check them out!

Notice anything amiss from the above photograph?

We checked out shortly after reaching the hotel as mom had an appointment for Thai massage while i wanted to do some last minute shopping! Dad was dumped at Krispy Kreme with two donuts and a Chinese daily since he wasn't keen on either! 

A snaking long queue was found outside an attraction within Berjaya Times Square.

It was none other than the largest indoor theme park in Asia! Ticket prices have almost doubled since its inception; i remember paying around RM 25 in the past (which, by the way, was a long time ago). 

Time to move over to the Transtar shop (135, Jalan Imbi) where we would take the 12 noon coach back to Singapore! 

One of the reasons why i chose to stay in the NS Golden Green Serviced Suite @ Berjaya Times Square was because of its proximity to the Transtar outlet. By foot, it took us no more than ten minutes. Picture above was taken right outside the Transtar.

Grand arrival of Transtar First Class Solitaire; their top range model that was often showcased in Malaysian travel fairs. I had the pleasure of checking it out in the last fair together with Vanessa and it was just so impressive; so much so that i decided to book with Transtar for the 4-5 hour ride back to Singapore! 

Instead of the common two plus one seating arrangement, this was pure luxury at one plus one for each row! There were cons of course; for example, i tend to spend my time talking to friends / family members when i am seated next to them, instead of being separated by an aisle in this new coach.

Every chair was fully reclinable and this is extremely important for me as i am the kind of travellers who find it hard to sleep if i am not on a sleeping-on-the-bed position. 

Compared to my coach i took (also from Transtar) to Ipoh, this was pure luxurious! There was even a massage functionality even though i had to admit it was a far cry from "real" massage chairs.

What i love most was how roomy the seat was; I can even turn to my side comfortably to catch a wink without the need to crouch like a baby!

I am not even halfway done! For those who could not stand the cold temperature on the bus, fret not! A cozy blanket would be provided for your personal usage should you feel chilly. 

Video on demand on a 10-inch LCD screen! I think i can spend a few days on the coach as there were so many options to select, including Japanese, Korean and even Hindi movies (yes, i enjoy Bollywood movies too)! 

The movie list was updated frequently and i could not wait to watch as many as i could! 

Unlike other coach companies, food was provided and there was even a stewardess stationed on board who would come by to pass you coffee / tea and check on your needs / wants.

The halal bento was seriously quite good! Please keep in mind that there is only a vegetarian option and i am not sure if you could request for other meat / carbo.

For S$36 per person, i am delighted with the service and comfort level and should have strongly recommended Transtar First Class Solitaire Coach to friends and family members. I am having second thought here because the "nothing's perfect in life" jinx decided to wreck havoc two hours into our journey; battery for the chairs and LCD monitors went dead. 

I would have taken it calmly in my stride but it pissed me when the stewardess didn't follow up promptly upon our checks with her! I had to check with her three times before she finally admitted that the problem could not be resolved. Hallo! At least tell me lah! From my conversation with a few frequent travellers, this is supposedly a common problem. 

Now, that's hardly comforting news! 

Reached Singapore Custom (2nd Link) in approximately 4 hours! If you are still interested to check out the Transtar First Class Solitaire Coach for your Genting Highlands / Kuala Lumpur trips, you may book online here.

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For Day One (Ipoh), click HERE. 

For Day Two (Ipoh), click HERE. 

For Day Three (Cameron Highlands), click HERE. 

For Day Four (Kuala Lumpur), click HERE. 

For an overview of my trip, 

Click HERE.