CRIZ BON APPETITE

It was another historic day for Texas Chicken Malaysia when it opened its door at 1st Avenue Mall, Penang, the first Northern region outside Klang Valley on 19 January 2017. Being the 34th outlet and with more expansion planning for Northern region in 2017, local franchisee, Envictus International Holdings Limited (Envictus Group – formerly known as Etika Holdings), Texas Chicken is ready to excite the taste palates of Penang residents with its signature menu items and bold flavors. Most popular are their Spicy Chicken which is double-marinated and hand-breaded to ensure spicy deliciousness in every bite and their scrumptiously delicious Honey-Butter Biscuits which are made from scratch and freshly baked all day long. Other customers’ favorites include the juicy crunchy Chicken Tenders, Mexicana Wrap, Tex Supreme Burger, Jalapeno Bombers, Strawberry Shortcake and more. The opening of Texas Chicken @ 1st Avenue Mall was officiated by franchise partner Envictus International Holdings Limited Chairman, Datuk Jaya JB Tan and Amarpal Sandhu, General Manager of Texas Chicken Asia-Pacific. The event ended with the directors handling over some donations, ang pows and gifts to the children from the House of Hope.

Of course the main attraction of Texas Chicken would be their Crunchy Chicken Pieces or Tender (Spicy or Original) and their signature Honey-Butter Biscuit, with the option to choose between BBQ and Honey Mustard Sauce. If you are unsure which option of the chicken suit you best, you could always try out their Tex Sampler (RM15.55+) which has a piece of chicken, a piece of tender, a piece of honey-butter biscuit, BBQ or honey mustard sauce, coleslaw and a glass of Coca-Cola.

I also managed to try out their Spicy Tex Supreme (RM8.90+). You would be surprise to find some added nachos for that extra crunch.

We also tried out their signature desserts such as Strawberry and Chocolate Shortcakes (RM5.90+ each) and Chocolate Volcano (RM7.90+). Definitely the Chocolate Volcano excelled amongst the 3 desserts.

Overall, I’m quite happy with the chicken products as they were indeed fresh and tasty. However, my favorite is still the Chocolate Volcano with a nice combination of hot and cold sensation.

Texas Chicken can be located at the LF Floor of 1st Avenue Mall.

Name: TEXAS CHICKEN @ 1ST AVENUE MALL
Address: LG-15, 16 &17, Lower Ground Floor, 1st Avenue Mall, 182, Jalan Magazine, 10300 Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: +604-370 5594
Business Hours: 10.00am-10.00pm
GPS: 5.413186, 100.331222

RATING:
Ambience: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 7/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 7/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7.5/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 8/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

About Texas Chicken: Founded in San Antonio, Texas in 1952 by George W. Church, Church’s Chicken, along with its sister brand Texas Chicken outside of the Americas, is one of the largest quick service chicken restaurant chains in the world. The brands specialize in Original and Spicy Chicken freshly prepared throughout the day in small batches that are hand-battered and double-breaded, Tender Strips®, sandwiches, honey-butter biscuits made from scratch and freshly baked, and classic, home-style sides all for a great value. Church’s Chicken and Texas Chicken have more than 1,650 locations in 25 countries and global markets and system-wide sales of more than US $1 billion. For more information, visit www.texaschickenmalaysia.com.

About Envictus International Holdings Limited: On July 2012, the Group signed an exclusive 10-year International Multiple Unit Franchise Agreement with US-based Cajun Global LLC for exclusive rights to develop and operate Texas Chicken restaurants in Malaysia and Brunei from 2013 to 2022. This marked the Group’s Maiden foray into the fast food segment. These restaurants serve American-styled, big juicy full-flavored fried chicken, French fries, honey butter biscuits, mashed potatoes, coleslaw, burgers and sundaes to name a few. Since the opening of the first flagship store, Envictus has leveraged on the robust demand for the Texas Chicken restaurant concept by growing its presence at a good place to reach a total of 34 restaurants at present, mainly within Klang Valley area in Malaysia.

If you ask any of the Malaysians what would be their most frequently consumed dish throughout any time of the day, it would always be the Nasi Lemak Bungkus, a packing of coconut milk steamed rice, with egg and nicely spiced up chili gravy.

HungryGoWhere (HGW), Singapore’s most popular food website and mobile app, with the support of SingTel Digital Media Pte. Ltd. (Singapore), made a grand entry into Malaysia by using Nasi Lemak Bungkus in an attempt to set a record in the Guinness Book of World Records at Sunway Pyramid Ice (Skating Rink) yesterday.

HungryGoWhere Malaysia managed to seal the record by arranging 11,315 packets of Nasi Lemak Bungkus in their attempt to set “The Longest Line of Nasi Lemak Bungkus”, verified by Guinness World Records adjudicator, Ms. Carim Valerio.

The official certificate was handed by Guinness World Records adjudicator, Ms. Carim Valerio to Singtel’s CEO, Mr. Allen Lew, who represented HungryGoWhere Malaysia, witnessed by local celebrity actress, Ms. Nora Danish.

Here’s a peep on the certificate.

You can download the HungryGoWhere Malaysia mobile app through IOS (version 5+) or Android (version 4.0+) or pay a visit to their website at www.hungrygowhere.my. Being a nation with rich and diverse food culture, HGW Malaysia users would get to gain new experiences in searching, discovering and locating the best dishes and eateries within a 10-30km radius. It would even be greater if you were to register yourself as one of the many users, a smart move to leave your tracks behind to recommend more new eateries to other users. After all, HGW Malaysia is a platform by users, for users, to archive pure and unbiased recommendations.

It’s time for us to paint the whole town red with HGW recommendations. Why not your finger nails too with the HGW Malaysia logo? LOL~

The record breaking packs of Nasi Lemak Bungkus did not go to waste after achieving the feat. Two thirds of the delicious all-time favorite packets were distributed to various surrounding charitable homes while the balance packets were handed out to the mall’s shoppers. It was a great event having to witness the record breaking feat and at the same time taking home some of the delicious Nasi Lemak Bungkus.

If you are seeking for cheap and good food around the central region of Malaysia, you should not miss out this simple and yet fulfilling food stall located within Rawang, Selangor, Malaysia. Goes by the name of Gerai Makan Fei Kee, this little corner lot food stall is just at the main road of Jalan Batu 18, leading to Kampung Dato’ Lee Kim Sai. Although quite secluded within the housing estate, their unique and down to earth dishes have not stop people from all walks of life to frequent their stall.

The husband and wife team, Lau Lian Kee and Lai Tsuey Ngoh, started this food business a few years back. Their signature dish which comprises of steam freshwater fish head had attracted many people due to its freshness, non-muddy taste and lastly its cheap pricing. Instead of the usage of Tilapia (非洲魚) as served by many restaurants within the KL/Selangor regions, they used another fish species known as the Chinese Carp (Tongsan/Song Yu). Thus, you have their signature Steamed Carp with Salted Black Beans (RM20 for a 10” long fish head). I have a phobia in taking muddy-taste fish but this dish turned out to be fine. Mr. Lau sure knows how to get rid of the earthy smell in the flesh. The dish had some salted black beans (douchi/豆豉), lots of ginger strips, sliced red chilies, mildly sprinkled with some quality soy sauce and shaoxing wine, followed with chopped coriander and spring onions as garnishing.

Another of the home cooked dishes that I like was their Steamed Pork with Salted Fish (RM16). The balance in the fatty and lean parts of the pork slices, mildly marinated in some pepper, soy sauce and corn starch, mixed with some quality salt fish slices and topped with some ginger strips and red chilies did impress me. Each bite just melted into my mouth. It was delicious indeed.

With such a big fish head and a pork dish, we needed some vegetables. We tried out their Fried Sambal Belacan Kangkung (RM9). The kangkung (water spinach/water morning glory/空心菜) were young and crunchy. The sambal belacan had the right combination of pounded chilies and toasted shrimp paste and it was not too spicy for us. I found some dried shrimps being used in this dish too. It was a refreshing dish for us.

We also had some Stir Fry Bean Sprouts with Salted Fish (RM9). I found this dish to be a bit pricey since bean sprouts were supposed to be dirt cheap but I’m not complaining. The bean sprouts were stir fried just right while maintaining their crunchiness and the usage of deep fried salted fish was just right.

On top of the above dishes, we also did order the Steamed Tofu with Garlic (RM5). It was just one of those boxed tofu you can get easily at the supermarket. I could easily cook that at home with the exact amount of fried chopped garlic, soy sauce and chopped spring onion garnishing but I was again fooled by the chef as there were some deep fried dried shrimps added too. This was another of those simple and yet delicious dish to go with our rice.

Overall, the total bill came out to RM70 for the 6 of us, excluding the special tea leaves we brought in for our beverages. I expected the meal to hit the RM100 mark for such a big fish head and dining in the central region where the cost of living is higher but it ended up so cheap. Unbelievable! No wonder The StarMetro and Dong Fan Ri Bao (東方日報) wrote about them in 2009 and 2008 respectively.

For those without a GPS or are not familiar with the Rawang area, you might get lost. But no worries, you could always ask those around the area how to get to Kampung Dato’ Lee Kim Sai. From there it would be real easy to find the food stall. If you are using the North-South Highway, turn into the Rawang Interchange. Drive all the way until a T-junction and turn right into Jalan Bakar Arang. Drive on all the way passed Jalan Ciku (right) and Jalan Kuala Garing (left) until you see a sign leading to Stesen KTM Rawang. Ignore that and drive straight until you see a cross junction below a flyover. Turn right into Jalan Rawang and take the first right turn into Jalan Batu 18. The food stall is just on the right, diagonally opposite Jalan Batu 18/3 (leading to Kampung Dato’ Lee Kim Sai). You can see a big Hino signboard at the left corner shop lot of the small lane and Poh Huat Auto Air Cond Service/Yik Lee Motor at the right side.

Name: GERAI MAKAN FEI KEE
Address:
No. 1C, Batu 18, Jalan Besar Rawang/Ipoh, 48000 Rawang, Selangor, West Malaysia.
Contact: 012-203 1938, 016-694 7309
Business Hours: 11.30am-8.30pm (Closed Wednesday)
GPS: 3.314804, 101.577191

RATING:
Ambience: 6/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 6/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 7.5/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 7.5/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

Name: RESTORAN SENG HUAT BAK KUT TEH
Address: 9, Jalan Besar, 41000 Klang, Selangor, Malaysia.
Contact: 012-309 8303, 012-385 5154 (Mr. John Lee)
Opening Hours: 7.00am – 12.00noon, 5.30pm – 8.30pm
GPS: 3.043566, 101.448441

RATING:
Ambience: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 7/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 9/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 8/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

Name: FATTY MEE HOON KUIH HOUSE @ RESTORAN SIN HOOI HUA
Address:
19, Lebuh Bangau, Taman Berkeley, 41150 Klang, Selangor, Malaysia.
Contact: 012-336 6183, 017-336 6183 (Mr. Choo)
Opening Hours: 10.00am – 11.00pm
GPS: 3.058158, 101.465113

RATING:
Ambience: 6/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 7/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 7.5/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 7/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

Name: I. V. RESTAURANT (ROTI CANAI PANDAMARAN)
Address:
117, Jalan Pandamaran Jaya 62, 42000 Pelabuhan Klang, Selangor, Malaysia.
Contact: 012-345 3636 (I. V.)
Opening Hours: 5.30am – 5.00pm Daily
GPS: 3.004779, 101.424869

RATING:
Ambience: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 8/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 8/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 9/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

Whenever Penangites think about Bak Kut Teh, it will always be the soup based type where they will choose whatever parts of the pork which interest them most. Recently, I was invited by a friend in Klang to try out one of the best Bak Kut Teh there. To my surprise, the Bak Kut Teh came in two types – the dry and the soup based. The soup based Bak Kut Teh was like those served in Penang except that the pork inside were meaty choice pieces. But the dry one made me want to go back there again to eat more.

The meats, mostly belly parts were cooked in herbal soup and then cut into smaller pieces. The meat were then fried in some yummy dark sauce, cuttlefish strips, sliced lady’s fingers, dried chillies and some mushrooms and brought to boil in a claypot to maintain its hotness. You should try out this yummy dry version.

The two claypots of Bak Kut Teh cost 3 of us only RM23 with 5 bowls of rice. Here are the photos on how the Bak Kut Teh looked like.

The restaurant is within the Taman Bayu Perdana area along the main road of Persiaran Pegaga. You would not miss the place as it has an airplane logo on the sign board. If you are not sure, just ask around as most of the Klang people would know the location of this shop.

Name: RESTORAN FEI KAY
Address:
95 (Tingkat Bawah), Persiaran Pegaga,
Taman Bayu Perdana, 41200 Klang, Selangor, Malaysia.
Tel: 019-340 8883 (Fei Kay)
Opening Hours: 8.00am – 10.00pm
GPS: 3.019970, 101.431875

RATING:
Ambience: 5/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 7/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 8/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 8/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

As you know, I was down in Selangor for a few days and I was brought by the boss/cook of Restoran Goh Teo Kee (Pg) to one of the best seafood restaurants that I have ever been to. I must admit that the food there tasted even better than most seafood restaurants in Penang. Kopitiam Soon Lee is just located a few minutes’ drive away from Mines Shopping Fair / Mines Wonderland / MIECC. The success for this restaurant lies in their secret sambal (chili paste) recipe.

Seven of us went and we ordered 6 dishes which comprised of Grilled Lamb Chop, Spicy Stir Fried Squids and Clams, Steamed Chicken with Ginger and Dong Quai, Grilled Sting Ray and Stir Fry Brussel Sprouts. In fact, the squids tasted so fresh and tender that we ordered another plate. I would highly recommend this Spicy Stir Fried Squids dish.

With the amount of food, the price paid can be considered real cheap. Here are the breakdowns of the total cost for the meal (RM144.30 including rice and drinks) for 7 persons. Grill Sting Ray (RM19), Steam Chicken with Ginger and Dong Quai (Chinese Angelica or Female Ginseng) (RM26), Spicy Stir Fry Squid (RM15 x 2), Spicy Stir Fry Clams (RM15), Grilled Lamb Chop (RM15), Stir Fry Brussel Sprouts (RM10) and 5% Government Tax.

The super nice shop is located about 5 minutes drive away from Mines Shopping Fair. Just follow the map towards Seri Kembangan and you will not get lost. Your effort in finding the place will surely be rewarded with the best seafood in Seri Kembangan.

Name: KOPITIAM SOON LEE
Address:
No.21-1, Jalan SP 2/1, Serdang Perdana,
43300 Seri Kembangan, Selangor, Malaysia.
Tel: 603-8941 5144
Opening Hours: 10.00am – 1.00am (Closed Tuesday)
GPS: 3.032387, 101.707853

RATING:
Ambience: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 8/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 9/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 8/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

I had a convention down at MIECC within Mines Wonderland vicinity recently and managed to get the opportunity to visit Restoran Esquire Kitchen. Due to time constraint for the lunch break and overcrowding of the place, I only managed to grab a quick meal. But from the look of the packed restaurant and plates after plates of food filling up to the max on most tables, I guessed this must be a great restaurant.

Until now, I am still wondering how I could have withstood the temptation of all the nice aromatic food passing me all the time. Haha. Anyway, I ordered a bowl of Fried Sauce Noodle which does not look like it has been fried at all and a glass of soy milk drink by paying not more than RM12. The noodles tasted great with lots shredded carrots and cucumber topped with some stir fried fermented beans minced meat. What a healthy meal for once. 😛

Luckily, I managed to borrow the menu from the waitress and took some shots of what are the rest of the yummy food to share with you.

Once you are in the Mines Shopping Fair, you would not miss this place as it is at the ground floor of the complex. They also have around 15 branches all over KL, Bangsar, Subang Jaya, Klang, Petaling Jaya, Cheras and Ipoh.

Name: RESTORAN ESQUIRE KITCHEN
Address:
Ground Floor, The Mines Shopping Fair,
43300 Seri Kembangan, Selangor, Malaysia.
Tel: 603-8944 1377
Opening Hours: 11.00am – 10.00pm
GPS: 3.028305, 101.718550

RATING:
Ambience: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 7/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 7/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 6/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

I have tried so many different versions of Pan Mee from all over Malaysia but this is the first time I had come across this unique version. Normally, Pan Mee will come with minced pork, green sweet leaves, mushroom, black fungus, anchovies, etc but this stall along the rural area of Seri Kembangan served the Pan Mee differently and simple.

Other than the normal kneaded dough for the noodles, it comes with three other options such as spinach, purple sweet potato and pumpkin. Each bowl will come with lots of sweet leaves (Sauropus androgynus, sweet leaf bush, sayur cekur manis, sayur Sabah), deep fried stuffed fu chok (soy bean skin) with fish paste and some garlic oil, accompanied by crunchy anchovies and chili paste. This is one of the best chili pastes I have ever tasted as it was cooked along with blended dried shrimps. Each bowl only cost RM4 which is considered cheap. Here are the three special noodles (we did not order the original version at all). My recommendation – The Spinach Noodle

It might be hard for those people from outstation to find this small coffee shop within the inner part of Seri Kembangan. The stall is situated in a village area and only locals will know how to find this place. Fortunately, I managed to get the address and search for a map that will lead you there. Happy hunting!

Name: PO CHOI PAN MEE @ LIN CHIN COFFEE SHOP
Address: No.6 Jalan SK 5/2, 43300 Seri Kembangan, Selangor, Malaysia.
Contact: 012-233 2498
Opening Hours: 7.00am – 3.00pm
GPS: 3.029634, 101.704302

RATING:
Ambience: 4/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 6/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 8/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 6/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 7/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)