Restoran Samy Bak Kut Teh (HQ) - Klang Bak Kut Teh @ Klang in Malaysia

The war between Malaysia style bak kut and Singapore style bak kut teh has continued for a long period of time, and the epitome of Malaysia style bak kut teh was said to be at Klang, which I happened to visit in my recent trip to the nearby Petaling Jaya! 

We met up with a friend who resided there and he brought us to this street known as Jalan Chan Ah Choo that was filled with bak kut teh eateries and the local recommendation was this Restoran Samy Bak Kut Teh (HQ) which operated only from 7am till noon. 

Seeing the heavily stained yet nearly empty pot piqued my interest and increased my expectation. Being accustomed to ordering bak kut teh in Singapore, I was looking forward to a hot bowl of pork rib soup. 

While there was pork rib option, it was unfortunately sold out for the day. Other options were not commonly seen in Singapore, like soft bone, pork belly, small bone, big bone, pork leg, pork heel; honestly, parts that I either don't know or don't like to eat. 

Whatever the case, I made a choice for big bone. Before it came, let's have some traditional Chinese tea in mini teacups. It's more a bak kut teh (BKT) ritual as I could definitely make do with a larger cup of teh o kosong. 

Didn't take too long for our BKT to arrive! What was the first thing I noticed from the above? The color difference between Singapore and Malaysia BKT was common knowledge but in this case, what was glaring at my face was the apparent lack of soup! Thank goodness our friend did mention we can request for free top up.

Another thing that caught my attention and something all BKT eateries in Singapore should adopt; having plain white rice that was mixed with fried shallots! They brought irresistible aroma to the rice, and I totally can't resist them! 

Now on the main star - the meat was tender with a thick layer of pork fat. Personally, I would still prefer pork rib as it was just something I had associated with BKT since fat and it just felt wrong to have other parts. Soup wise, it was savory although lacking the strong herbal flavor I had expected from Malaysia style bkt.

The soup was still nice though, although the refill was just as pathetically little. And I am leaving aside the layer of pork fat. I only love pork fats when they are deep fried. 

Now, my purpose here wasn't to compare both countries BKT. I like either one of them because in my heart, both have their strengths; I sometimes enjoy peppery soup and sometimes, herbal soup. So stop the war and let's have our BKT, as close neighbors.

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Address

164A, Jalan Chan Ah Choo, Pandamaran, 

42000 Pelabuhan Klang, Selangor, Malaysia

Map

As above. 

Pricing

Bak Kut Teh - RM 16.00 per bowl

Rice - RM 1.50 per bowl

Tea - RM 6.00 per pot

Homescapes - Level 10,000 #homescape10000

I was obsessed with Homescapes and could play with it for hours before work, after work, and before sleep! For reasons unbeknownst to me, I stopped playing for about half a year until I was on the long coach ride to Petaling Jaya! 

The addiction came back and before I knew it, I am barging the psychological 10,000 level! It's a must to document this although the max level now is nearing almost 13,000! God, I miss out so much on its developments. p.s. strangely, homescapes is now display in Chinese on my phone. 

The ten was noticeable but what were those biscuits and nuts on the ground? Was there something brewing along the line? Let's remove the blue kettles to activate the blue vacuums!

Noticed the three zeros at the bottom?! Clearing the deck was an ease with so many bombs even though the aim was to green up all the spaces.

Sub level was the one I didn't quite get with the design. Looks like the folder icon and I am guessing the heart balloons were symbols of celebration, once the ribbons were untied. 

Again, a breeze to clear. I think most, if not all, the thousand level games are not that difficult and are meant to be like a bonus for players. 

Just happy I managed to get my star, and to continue my addiction! p.s. I do hope to stop it as I am missing out on many things to read and videos to watch! double p.s. and playing the game in Chinese just make it so difficult for me. 

That Cute Mongrel Puppy at Klang in Malaysia

In my recent visit to Petaling Jaya in Malaysia, I took the opportunity to visit Klang, said to be to the hometown of Bak Kut Teh! But it's not bak kut teh I would be talking about today. 

We took GRAB over to a friend's house and chanced upon this mongrel puppy that was drinking water from a bowl outside. Now, I do love dogs and I guess any dog lovers could never resist a puppy.

Especially when it noticed us staring and turned to look at us! 

The bouncing bundle of joy literally leaped towards us; total strangers in a quiet neighborhood. Damn, I hope our friend has no intention to have it as a guard dog as it would totally fail its responsibility! 

My heart melted with such an adorable expression; smiling face, exposed teeth, wagging tail with one ear perked up. For that fleeting moment, I almost wanted to bring it back to Singapore! 

Even Alex was captivated by it! Sadly, we are aware that our lifestyle isn't suitable for keeping pets, unless my parents are willing to take the responsibility. Oh well, Klang isn't that far from Singapore and we can ask our friend to keep us posted on its growth. 

Twin Star Dim Sum @ Yishun Block 732 [Singapore]

Twin Star Dim Sum is literally just a 200-meter walk from my apartment but I resisted patronizing it as the queue was terribly long and Alex, who ate it with his friend, gave the food the thumbs-down. 

I realized the line seemed much shorter nowadays and invited my parents over for breakfast one weekend morning. Turned out the stall had a real strange ordering system; I was asked to return after ten minutes as they were too busy! 

Problem was; I didn't know how many people had been turned away the same way! And to be frank, I was pretty hungry for dim sum that morning! I turned up right at the front of the line when it was about ten minutes and without a hitch, I ordered, paid for it, and received a pager. Lucky 7, I hope.

Now, some basic info about the stall. Helmed by twin brothers, the stall's popularity spiked when they were featured on 8 days and appeared to be doing a roaring business nowadays. 

With over twenty dim sum items on the menu, it's fascinating that I secured my first batch of dim sum in only about seven minutes after ordering! Time for my review! 

Deep Fried Taro Dumpling - while it was a generous portion of yam filling, the sauce failed to enhance the original earthly flavor and increase its palatability. I guess there are some who would enjoy the original yam taste.

BBQ Pork Bun - even with its look, I must say these char siew bao looked delish, with the filling on the verge of bursting out of the buns!

I love them; the buns were pillow-soft and extra credits for the char siew filling which were both savory and sweet, a combination I found to be most desirable when it comes to BBQ pork buns. 

Runny Custard Bun - first thing that came to mind; they were too orangey! Were too much coloring used? Sometimes, too vibrant a color might not be a good thing when it comes to food.

Nonetheless, taste matters most and this didn't disappoint! The skin was a bit thick; however, the liquified custard was so sinfully oily nice! So yummy it was that I would have ignored any health warning! 

Siu Mai - one of the regular dim sum dishes, it makes for easier comparison across dim sum stalls, eateries and restaurants. Hence, you would see me ordering a basket every time. 

Not too bad; albeit, a bit porky.

Prawn Siu Mai - price differential with normal siew mai was just a mere 60 cents difference. Let's have a basket too since 20 cents a prawn was too great a deal.

Having the prawns made a difference to the taste and this was like a cross between siew mai and har gow. These would be something I shall re-order in the future.  

Crystal Prawn Dumpling - although also a regular for dim sum as a whole, my affection for this wasn't great as not many dim sum establishments have the ability to make them unforgettable good. And these ones at twin star were pathetically small. Taste was alright. 

Crispy Prawn Dumpling - you know what these reminded me of after I took a bite? The seafood dumplings from Chop Hean Kuan Dim Sum at People's Park Hawker Centre, although a less amazing version. Skin was crispy! 

Crispy Beancurd Skin Roll - forgot to take a standalone pic for this; although agreeable in taste, they were of room temperature; likely left out in the open for too long. 

Traditional HK Steamed Rice Roll - was it normal to have peanut butter drenched over chee cheong fun? I thought it was pretty nice even though my parents didn't find it acceptable. Maybe I should have gone with the original steamed rice roll instead.

Red Bean Sesame Ball - known as golden pile in Singapore, I loved the bite of aromatic sesame seeds as my teeth sank into its mochi-like texture! Best of all, the red bean paste was rather muted in sweetness, which I would prefer.

Pan Fried Radish Dish - waited the longest for this and they turned out to be disappointing. There was too much flour and only the top layer was crisp. You know where you can find extremely good pan fried radish? At Mongkok Dim Sum (旺角點心) along Upper Thomson (Next to Springleaf MRT)! 

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11 dim sum items, finished by three persons! In a nutshell, there were some misses but the prices shall be the main motivation factor as I only paid about S$42, plus the fact I am literally just minutes' away from home. I would know what to avoid in my next visit; definitely no har gow. And the twin brothers should consider improving their ordering system! 

Address

732 Yishun Ave 5, 

Within TST Coffeeshop,

Singapore 760732

Map 

As above.

Facebook Page

https://www.facebook.com/Twinstardimsum

Menu

As above.

Pricing

Deep Fried Taro Dumpling - S$3.90

BBQ Pork Bun - S$3.90

Runny Custard Bun - S$3.60

Prawn Siu Mai - S$4.50 

Siu Mai - S$3.90

Crystal Prawn Dumpling - S$3.90

Crispy Prawn Dumpling - S$3.90

Crispy Beancurd Skin Roll - S$3.90 

Traditional HK Steamed Rice Roll - S$3.60

Red Bean Sesame Ball - S$3.60

Pan Fried Radish Dish - S$3.60 

(Nett)

Saranghae Bridge @ 1 Utama in Petaling Jaya [Malaysia]

The immense popularity of Korean pop culture has resulted in the importation of many things; be it food, fashion etc. What I didn't expect to see in my recent trip to Petaling Jaya in Malaysia was the existence of a Saranghae Bridge! 

Saranghae means love in Korean and such love bridges are honestly quite common around the world, like Paris and even in China! What I took issue was more the word "bridge".

Simply because a bridge is a connecting structure and this was more the rooftop of a connecting passage between two sections of a shopping mall, and it led to nowhere! There was only a feeble attempt of a photo backdrop of a street in South Korea.

Since I was already there, might as well take some photos, including this interesting sculpture of a finger heart sign, which was said to originate from "actress Kim Hye-soo in 2010", lead actress for drama serials, Under the Queen's Umbrella and Juvenile Justice.

I guess this heart will light up at night.

Two structures were also placed for you to signal your love with your partner. From what I see, there didn't seem to be many love locks. Frankly, the location wasn't exactly giving out romantic vibes. A better location, in my opinion, at 1 Utama, would be the rainforest. 

To purchase the locks, you may proceed to customer service counter on the lower ground level of 1 Utama. Note the p.s. near the bottom of the poster; "don't throw the key irresponsibly", and that kind of defeats the purpose of having a love lock! 

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Location

Level 2 of 1 Utama, near Next Gen [Family Edutainment Park],

1, Lebuh Bandar Utama, Bandar Utama, 47800 Petaling Jaya, 

Selangor, Malaysia

Map

As above.