ChicKing Fried Chicken

ChicKing Fried Chicken
L1-11 Tropicana City Mall
No 3, Jalan SS20/27
47400 Petaling Jaya
(Coordinates: E101° 37' 37.4" N3° 7' 50.9")
+60377251799

Tropicana City Mall is our new favourite mall! There’s something about this mall that makes us feel at ease, not as hustly-bustly as say, Mid Valley and the like. We were here last week after having brunch at Auntie Gemok to look at a particular brand of smart phone I fancied (Huawei). We eventually had to spend the whole afternoon here when Gwen (our humble ride) decided it was time her battery needed replacing. Thank goodness our insurance provider provided an efficient auto assist system and the battery was soon replaced. In the time it took for the assigned mechanic to arrive and replace the battery we had a pretty good look around Tropicana City Mall and was soon smitten with its overall unhurried and 'unharried' environment.

Auto Assist to the rescue!

 

hard at work

 

our heartfelt gratitude to Ah Pheng!

Turns out the shop that we came looking for (that sold Huawei smart phones) was closed for their annual dinner (of all the luck), hence our quick return to Tropicana City Mall this week.

We stumbled upon ChicKing last week (the bright and cheerfully coloured restaurant caught our eye) and so we decided to have our lunch here this time around. This was taken off their website: “Established in the United Arab Emirates in 2000, under Banquet Foods International (Part of the highly reputable and renowned Dubai based Al Bayan Group of Companies), ChicKing® is a rapidly growing fast-food chain in the region specializes in serving the tastiest crumb fried chicken using a secret recipe which includes a unique blend of the choicest herbs and spices.”


 

self-proclaimed Chicken King?

 

a franchise from the UAE

 

worth a try, eh?

 

the counter

 

despite the appealing decor, it was deserted

The place was deserted even during lunchtime and we were in fact the only ones dining here. Brendan and I ordered the Royal Snack (2 pieces of fried chicken with coleslaw and mashed potatoes) while Cat tried the Value Meal (1 piece of fried chicken, 2 strips of chicken and rice). Cat and I shared a Pepsi while Brendan had a Pepsi all to himself.

 

the fried chcken

 

Cat's fried and stripped chicken set with rice

 

Pepsi for a change?

 

bon appetit

The verdict? While I thought the fried chicken (I had the breast) was quite moist and not nearly as dry as its main competitor overall the taste still was not enough to sway us away from Colonel Sanders. And the damage? It came to a reasonable RM35.40, well within the domain of the everyday food for the everyday person. Question is, would we come again? With the fine assortment of eateries to be found here we would be hard pressed to find a reason to come to ChicKing again, especially with Ninja Joe at Lower Ground... just so you know, we ain't chicken!

Auntie Gemok's Char Kuey Teow

Auntie Gemok's Char Kuey Teow

Restoran Jamal Mohamed

24, Jalan SS5A/9 Kelana Jaya

47301 Petaling Jaya

(Coordinates: E101° 36' 19.8" N3° 5' 43.3”)

Brendan’s been hankering for ¹Char Kueh Teow (CKT) these days, a dish that is usually thought of as not being kosher in Malaysia (what with the voluminous slices of Lap Cheong or Chinese Pork Sausages in the Penang variety, as well as the customary deep fried lard). It was therefore a novelty for us to be able to find CKT that is considered kosher. Indeed, Auntie Gemok’s CKT (which literally means Plump Auntie, in a politically-correct sense of the word) has been stirring up quite a mention online.

¹flat rice noodles stir-fried over very high heat with light and dark soy sauce, chilli, a small quantity of belachan, whole prawns, de-shelled cockles, bean sprouts, chopped Chinese chives and egg

right across the FAM building

  

doing great business even at brunchtime

 

the diminutive stall

 

the not so diminutive Auntie?

 

the stall at the corner

The main premises, Restoran Jamal Mohamed is right across from the Football Association of Malaysia’s building in Kelana Jaya and was doing rip roaring business even during the twilight hours between breakfast and lunch (or brunch, as some would call it), and safe to say at least half the patrons were there for Auntie Gemok’s CKT. Brendan and I had ordered the large plate (minus the bean sprouts, of course) while Cat asked for the medium sized portion (bean sprouts and all).

 

our beverages

 

Brendan's large (bean sprout-less) plate

he could hardly wait

Cat's medium portioned plate

My large (bean sprout-less) plate

let's dig in!

We’ve had kosher CKT before, and in all previous occasions the CKT usually resides in a pool of gravy. Though not to be compared with the original article, we all agreed that Auntie Gemok’s CKT is as close as it gets to emulate the non-kosher variety in texture and form. And the damage? With a round of Iced Lemon Tea for everyone it came to a pretty modest RM19.40, well within the realms of the everyday food for the everyday person.

Restoran Istilah (formerly Sri Paandi)

Restoran Istilah

36 Jalan Tun Mohd Fuad 1

Taman Tun Dr Ismail

60000 Kuala Lumpur

(Coordinates: E101° 37' 45.8" N3° 8' 28.0")

All done gallivanting with his new friends, we picked Brendan up and headed to Taman Tun for dinner. We had meant to try a food court called Plaza Rasta located along Jalan Datuk Sulaiman but parking proved to be a challenge. We drove on and ended up along Jalan Tun Mohd Fuad.

We were in the neighbourhood some time back looking for a restaurant called Sri Paandi only to find out later that it underwent a change of owners and with it, a change in name.

we're back!

 

what used to be known as Sri Paandi

 

cold cold dishes

 

she didn't know it at the time

 

her spiced fried chicken cutlets

 

I spy with my little eye.. a banana leaf beckons?

 

cold fried chicken?

 

the variety of curries

 

the vegetable section

Still trying to maintain some semblance of a low-carb diet, Cat and I decided against having the banana leaf experience. Brendan who had his fill of pizza earlier during his outing with his friends prematurely pronounced that he will not be joining us for dinner. Cat had Spiced Fried Chicken Cutlets with white rice while I sampled the Chilied Sardines with a smattering of Fried Bitter gourd and Tofu and a modest serving of white rice.

my chilied sardines with tofu and bitter gourd

 

Cat's spiced fried chicken cutlets with cabbages

 

the usual beverages

 

bon appetit (he eventually succumbed to the call of curry!)

Oh, and the lure of curry was too great for Brendan to resist so he ended up having a plate of rice with (what else) Chicken Curry. The verdict? Taste wise it is comparable to most other Southern Indian type restaurants but we had issues with the distinct lack of temperature in the dishes. In other words, the dishes (including the rice) were served cold! Oh well, at least we warmed up to the fact that the bill came to a pretty miserly RM24.40, well within the reach of the everyday person.

Subway @ Amcorp Mall

Subway @ Amcorp Mall

18 Jalan Persiaran Barat

Seksyen 52

46150 Petaling Jaya

(Coordinates: E101° 38' 48.8" N3° 6' 18.5")

Brendan’s got a get-together today with some friends he made during debate camp last month. After dropping him off, we ambled aimlessly around Petaling Jaya before finding ourselves at Amcorp Mall. Our stomachs were growling and seeing that it was hardly lunchtime (and I was still intent on keeping a low-carb diet) we decided to have brunch at the local Subway here.

outdoors for a change?

 

someone's chirpy

It was ‘Dreamy Saturdays with Seafood and Crab’ for the both of us, wrapped in a couple loaves of 6-inch Honey Oats and we decided to share a soft drink as well.

seafood means tuna, we gather

 

still chirpy?

our shared Coca Cola

 

we had identical sandwiches

 

digging right in

It all came to RM18.55 for us, and since its Subway taste-wise we had no complaints.

Fei Lou Bao Kau Dim Sum

Fei Lou Bao Kau Dim Sum

(beside Restoran Kian Wah)

Jalan Batu 18/3

B&G Komersial Sentral

48000 Rawang

(Coordinates: E101° 34' 38.9" N3° 18' 52.0")

Our pillows were getting a little lumpy these days, and we made a trip up to Bukit Beruntung in Rawang looking to buy a few Kekabu-filled (Kapok/Silk Cotton) pillows, which apparently is resistant to dust mites and mildew (?). We each got a pillow and I added a bolster (or Dutch wife, a term I’ve been using since I was a child) for good measure.

silk cotton pillows, anyone?

We then headed back down to Rawang town looking to sample the local delicacy, which is steamed fish. Although we got the coordinates right, we could not locate Gerai Makan Fei Kee which we read served pretty good steamed fish. It being late and all, we settled for the nearest available restaurant which served dim sum.

not visible from the main road

 

beside Restoran Kian Wah

Located next to Restoran Kian Wah, we suspect that both eateries belong to the same proprietor since the personnel seemed come back and forth from both. I let Cat pick out a few plates of dim sum, while I added a plate of ¹Lo Mai Kai. Brendan ordered a plate of ²Char Kueh Teow from next door which to his horror, came filled with bean sprouts. To salvage the situation Cat took over while Brendan ordered a second bean sprout-free plate.

¹glutinous rice filled with chicken

²flat rice noodles stir-fried over very high heat with light and dark soy sauce, chilli, a small quantity of belachan, whole prawns, de-shelled cockles, bean sprouts, chopped Chinese chives and egg

 

traditional Chinese breakfast

 

pretty much the same everywhere?

 

pork cutlets?

 

presentable

 

pleasing to the eye

 

I enjoyed this

 

Brendan ordered from here

 

bean sprout laden CKT (the horror!)

 

Brendan's bean sprout-free plate

 

the usual

 

there goes my low-carb diet

The verdict? To be honest, and not being much of a dim sum person I did not know if this restaurant’s dishes were any different from the ones found along Jalan Ipoh. On the other hand, Char Kueh Teow is one dish that seldom disappoints so Cat and Brendan were fairly contented with their meals. And the damage? We were pleasantly surprised (the dim sum joints along Jalan Ipoh are not cheap by any stretch of the imagination) when the total came to a somewhat inexpensive RM23.70 which definitely qualifies Fei Lou as an eatery serving the everyday food for the everyday person. We guess it does make a difference where eating out is concerned whether you’re in the city or in the suburbs. Case in point, the Char Kueh Teow here costs RM4.00 while you would be hard-pressed to find anything below RM5.00 nowadays in Kuala Lumpur, that’s a whopping 25% difference for a dish so basic.