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

Veoveoana Sika Deer Park of Tsou Veoveoana Cultural and Creative Park in Taiwan

The bowing deer of Nara in Japan is a huge attraction but I understand you can experience the same thing in Taiwan, at the Veoveoana Sika Deer Park of Tsou Veoveoana Cultural and Creative Park! 

With an assigned park guide, we were given information that this particular plant that bears leaves well liked by the deer in the sanctuary. There was an impulsion to pluck some leaves for the deer experience later but we were assured we would be given some later on.

Stepping into the building connected to the deer park. 

It's also a souvenir shop but we were not given sufficient time to check out the items since there was a cultural performance we were scheduled for later in the same attraction.

Each of us was given a box of leaves; this differs from the situation in Nara where visitors would have to purchase crackers to fill the over 1,000 free roaming deer.

Rules and regulations, in Chinese. In essence, no horsing around, don't use too much force while patting the deer, don't feed the deer food that wasn't from the park, don't hit the butt (apparently that's the signal to shit) etc. 

Area beyond the gates didn't appear big and definitely not on the scale as Nara park. According to our tour guide, there were a total of 27 deer. Again, incomparable to the 1,000 over deer at Nara.

Some information; the area used to have a lot of wild deer but due to overhunting, they went extinct around 1894 and what we see now were imported to help to revive the species in the area. 

Scary thing is that the deer were conditioned to humans stepping past the gate as it infers food! Some will come rushing towards you and that can be quite scary, especially for young kids.

Known as Sika Deer, this adorable species is considered as a medium sized deer, and weighed from 70 to 100 kilograms. Its coat changes with seasons and has white spots that were more pronounced during summer. I presume the coat thickens to conserve energy and prevent heat loss as the weather cools. 

 A cute and shy fawn!

Strategy to feeding them the leaves; hold them high above their head and see them bow before you give to them. In the short time I was there, I didn't see them jumping up to snatch the leaves.

Dad appeared to enjoy the interaction!

Video for your viewing pleasure.

Once we were done with the leaves, the deer will just leave us alone although they would still mill around, with the hopes we are able to make more leaves appear in our pockets! p.s. just in case you are wondering, the area doesn't smell of poop. 

Another star for the deer park. 

Minced Garlic; click here for more info! 

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Address

車埕51號, Fanlu Township, 

Chiayi County, 602037, Taiwan,  

Map of Deer Park.

As above.

Click HERE for the Summarized Itinerary for Our 8 Days 7 Nights See Iconic Taiwan Anew Tour Package via Chan Brothers

Old Airport Road Fried Hokkien Mee @ Old Airport Road Hawker Centre [Singapore] #oldairportroadhawkercentre

In case you haven't heard, Old Airport Road Hawker Centre would be closed for renovation from 01 June 2024 for four long months! That sparked an immediate craving for food like chicken chop, char kway teow, hokkien mee, cheng tng etc!

   

Unfortunately, two of the stalls were closed and I couldn't help noticing that quite a lot of customers were waiting for their orders in front of this boringly named Old Airport Road Fried Hokkien Mee. It shall be you then!

With just hokkien mee on their menu and options for S$5 or S$8, I ordered a small and received a queue number that was kept, safely, in a ziplock. This is the time when I realized how much I missed the food pager system. 

What cheered me most was the huge container of deep fried pork lards. As expected, I requested for more and was ecstatic when the young lady boss gave me two generous spoonfuls. 

At S$5, I would say the portion was way bigger than I expected and judging from how wet the noodles were; I honestly can't wait to slurp them up! p.s. this wetness was in stark contrast to the dry hokkien mee from Nam Sing. 

The thing about pork greaves is that there's always a risk they might not turn out well and personally, I dislike them if they are not crispy. Strangely, these were delicious even though they had gone a bit soft. 

Slurping in the noodles, which were more bee hoon than yellow noodles! And boy were they swimming in a grave so chockablock full of seafoodness! It's rare to find me quietly enjoying my food as I was simply savoring each and every bite! 

Don't discount the red, hot chilli which was sour and spicy; resulting in beads of sweat rolling down my face! Aside from fresh prawns, you can also find strips of pork belly, mock abalone and squid. So luxurious! 

It's been a while since I last had such an amazing plate of hokkien mee, and this counted as as one of my favorite at the moment. I am seriously hoping the stall would be back after the 4-month renovation! Maybe I should just pop by to eat again before the hawker centre closes in June. 

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Address

51 Old Airport Rd, #01-99,

Old Airport Road Food Centre, 

Singapore 390051

Map

As above. 

Pricing

Hokkien Mee - S$5.00

Minced Garlic - Name of the Domesticated Wild Boar that Charmed Us @ Sika Deer Park of Tsou Veoveoana Cultural and Creative Park in Taiwan

Our objective was to check out deer at a conservation park of a cultural park in Taiwan but from another gated section; a lone, black figure caught our attention. A wild boar! 

It's not any wild boar; for one, it's comfortable with humans and has already made friends with all 27 deer in the park! At only one year of age, it has a most cute name! 蒜泥, which means minced garlic, and ironically, an essential ingredient for a popular pork dish.

Strutting confidently amidst camera / handphone toting humans, she had an elegant gait that drew more attention than the deer! Many people were just screaming "so cute"! 

My selfie with 蒜泥 before she took off! 

Damn, I was well fed in Taiwan. 

Given her popularity, I think she would have a long life in the deer park. Do say hi to her the next time if you happen to be at Tsou Veoveoana Cultural and Creative Park. p.s. I think she will grow bigger. 

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Click HERE for the Summarized Itinerary for Our 8 Days 7 Nights See Iconic Taiwan Anew Tour Package via Chan Brothers