Chic-A-Boom Fried Chicken @ Taman Ehsan, Seri Kembangan

Street Food Favorites of Golden Crispy Chicken & Nasi Lemak

Who doesn’t love a good crispy golden fried chicken? First in line to such comfort food would have to be me!

Words were out that a good fried chicken stall opened recently in Seri Kembangan area and so I grab some foodies and head out to explore one Sunday morning for brunch. Not hard to locate as it is quite a busy area filled with lots of shop lots, Chic-a-Boom is a stall set in Café Hero Kopitiam.

Nothing fancy but just comfort food stalls in the kopitiam. Chic-A-Boom is barely few months old but we can see them doing a brisk business already when we arrived. Since they do have delivering for lunch box orders, I can see why they are pretty business. Menu is straight forward and simple, lots of variations of fried chicken and Nasi Lemak.

Since our target that day was their fried chicken, we went overboard and ordered their fried chicken and nasi lemak only. Gluttony is serious to a foodie, in this case, I chose to focus on my love for fried chicken and nasi lemak… LOL…

For those who prefer boneless fried chicken, there’s the fillet where long strips of chicken fillet are crumbed and fried to golden deliciousness. We tried their Garlic Fillet (RM5.50- 3 pieces) and Spicy Fillet (RM5.50 – 3 pieces)

One has a slightly more garlicky note while the other has very subtle hints of heat. Barely differentiable if you ask me but both are nicely crunchy and tasty. Can’t go wrong with fillet as they are tender and the ones here are tasty and crunchy, great for little ones too since they are boneless.

Go ahead and order the Fried Chicken Whole Leg (RM7.00) because a piece of thigh or drumstick won’t be enough! The fried chicken here is deliciously golden, crispy and tasty. Juicy and tender, we really enjoyed the fried chicken a lot.

There is also the Chicken Rempah Whole Leg (RM7.50), a variation of marinated fried chicken. This one is made more aromatic with additions of kaffir leave, soy sauce, spices and other aromatics. Flavours are decent but there are room for improvement to boost the flavours on a heavier note. Chicken is still nicely tender and juicy.

One can enjoy the classic no frill Nasi Lemak (RM3.00) on its own or if you are truly a foodie like me, you’re simply not going to settle just for the rice alone when you can elevate it with juicy fried chicken. The Nasi Lemak is passable here though I wish for more coconut flavour in the rice. The sambal is decent and tasted different from the Malay sambal but it has moreish notes that makes this nasi lemak quite unique.

Needless to say, I opted for the Nasi Lemak with Fried Chicken Thigh (RM6.80) which I enjoyed with the extra Fried Chicken Whole Leg… a piece of thigh is not going to satisfy me for sure when it is this tasty.

Nasi Lemak with Chicken Rempah Whole Leg (RM10)

Ask for their super yummy curry sauce for extra flavours!

It’s nothing fancy but food one can enjoy daily. If you’re ever around that area, hop on over to Chic-A-Boom to try their juicy and succulent fried chicken. Now only if they served mashed potatoes and coleslaw… one can’t help but to wish for this since their fried chicken is delicious!

CHIC-A-BOOM FRIED CHICKEN

Cafe Hero @英雄茶餐室

No.16 , Jalan PDR 4

Kawasan perniagaan Desa Ria at Jalan Balakong ,

43300 Seri Kembangan,

Selangor

Tel: 012-983 0285

Facebook: www.facebook.com/Chicaboom-Fried-Chicken-125263684544697/?fref=ts

Business Hour:

Tuesday to Saturday       10am – 9.00pm

Sunday                          9.30 am – 4.00 pm

Closed on Monday

Café Aroma @ Dorsett Grand Subang

A New Refreshed Kopitiam at Café Aroma!

To finish the year with a big bang, Dorsett Grand Subang’s Café Aroma takes on a refreshed new concept of ‘Kopitiam’ through its menu and its ambiance. Starting this December 2015, Sous Chef Shabani Md. Akhir and team has whipped up a new kopitiam menu with a 5-star twist of classic street food favorites.

Café Aroma is set with small touches of kopitiam décor and diners can even catch actions of bread being toasted before butter and kaya are slapped on. Enjoy light snacks, quick lunches as well as dinner of Kopitiam faovrites served every Monday to Friday from 12.00 noon to 10.00 pm at Café Aroma.

Light snacks are great at any time of the day. Glad to also say that our Malaysian cuisine has a large array of snacks that I always enjoy whether it be breakfast, lunch, tea or any other time of the day. Café Aroma has quite a few Malaysian favorite snacks such as Homemade Egg Curry Puff (RM12) and Deep Fried Spring Roll (RM12).

The Homemade Egg Curry Puff is big in size. Stuffed with lots of spiced potato and chicken filling and boiled egg, the curry puff has got decent flavours. My only grip would be that I would wish for a thinner skin. The Deep Fried Spring Roll was stuffed with lots of vegetable, give the crispy rolls a fresh and delicious sweetness. Both makes decent snacks any time of the day!

Some classics just never go out of demand. Simple as it is, toast or steam bread is always a crowd favorite, especially during breakfast or tea time or supper. At Café Aroma, diners can also enjoy these with cups of hot coffee or tea. Enjoy their Roti Apollo with Kaya and Butter (RM7) or go for the standard toast or steamed White or Whole Meal Roti sandwiched with creamy butter and eggy kaya jam. There is also Half Boiled Eggs (RM4) to go with the toast or steam roti.

For a fancier sandwich, go for the Hong Kong Style French Toast (RM12). Sandwiched with chicken ham and cheese and dipped in egg batter before being fried, this one also makes a nice light lunch.

Our nation’s all-time-favorite dish of coconut rice with sambal is also available. Chef Shabani uses three types of rice in his Nasi Lemak Bungkus with Sotong Sambal (RM9) to achieve the light, fluffy and creamy grains. Served packed in banana leaf, the whole package is deliciously authentic.

The rice is very ‘lemak’ yet not heavy and the sambal has a good balance of savory and sweet with strips of brown squid. A wedge of boiled egg, roasted peanuts and fresh cucumber slices completed the package. This one is so good that one packet may not be enough!

There are also plenty of noodle choices at Café Aroma. Chef Shabani and team whips up a mean bowl of Mee Rebus Mak Limah as well as Nyonya Curry Laksa.

The Mee Rebus Mak Limah (RM12) has a bowl of yellow noodles topped with cucur, boiled egg, taukua, sotong sambal, fried shallot, spring onion, lime and a thick rich unctuous kuah mee rebus. It’s the gravy that make this bowl so piquantly delicious. It’s savory with hits of heat as well as lots of spices that gave the gravy the punch of flavours. Yum…

The Nyonya Curry Laksa (RM25) had a spiced laden gravy that is also decently creamy. There’s lots of beancurd puff, blanched vegetables with chicken char siew, boiled egg and mint leaves together with noodles that goes into this bowl. Add a squeeze of calamansi lime and savor the noodles with the side of robust and pungent sambal.

There is also the northern hit of Penang Asam Laksa (RM18). It may not be perfect but the rich fish gravy with sour notes is decently close in flavours. It has got a good hit of tangy notes from the tamarind with lots of fish flakes. Add on a drizzle of prawn paste to boost up the piquant and bold flavours of this classic dish.

For diners seeking more comfort food, a bowl of Claypot Loh Shi Fun (RM15) might just be the bowl. Drenched in aromatic dark soy sauce and other seasoning, the Loh Shi Fun is also topped with minced meat, mushrooms, fried shallot, spring onion and an egg. Mix them all together to create a slippery and smooth textures of soft and chewy noodles with a sweet and savory taste.

Café Aroma is perfect throughout the day for bites of Kopitiam favorites as well as a place to unwind with cups of coffee or tea. Enjoy Chef Shabani’s signature dishes set in a posh kopitiam ambiance today…

For reservations, kindly contact: +603 5031 6060 ext 1919

CAFÉ AROMA

Dorsett Grand Subang

Jalan SS 12/1,

Bandar Sunway,

47500 Subang Jaya,

Selangor, Malaysia

Tel: +60 3-5031 6060

Fax: +603 5031 8686

Email: info.subang@dorsetthotels.com

Website: www.dorsetthotels.com/malaysia/subang/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/DorsettGrandSubang

Business Hours:

Lunch: 12:00 noon - 2:30 pm

Dinner: 6:30 pm - 10:30 pm

Surisit, The Thai Kopitiam @ Paramount, Petaling Jaya

Your Neighborhood Thai Home-Style Kopitiam

Talk Thai to me anytime and I am happy camper! I love the cuisine that evokes all savory, sweet, spicy and sour flavours and harmonizes them on one plate. Most Thai restaurants here are pork free so when I heard of Surisit, The Thai Kopitiam who serves pork in their Thai cuisine, I was ecstatically jumping with joy. Surisit first outlet in TTDI was a smashing success and has gathered quite a following for their dishes. Owner Rivon Gill has recently opened the second Surisit in Paramount area, Petaling Jaya to bring Surisit’s home-style Thai cuisine to the neighborhood.

With our ravenous stomachs in tow, we paid a visit to the newest outlet for a taste of Surisit. The outlet is dressed with minimalist and focus more on the rustic home-style food through a kopitiam concept.  It is still bright, clean and neat so it’s a good sign that the owner chose to let their food shine in this simple no-frill kopitiam. The menu is quite extensive and many dishes are familiar while some looks to be really authentic plus there is quite a delicious list of pork dishes which I am dying to try.

We had quite a good choice of dishes for the seven of us that evening. Thai Otak Otak (Hohmuk Paphraw) is served in a coconut shell and looks pretty yum at sight. It’s got seafood steamed in a spice laden thick custard sauce. It’s got a good balance of spices and coconut cream, rendering lovely savory and moreish flavours with some heat. The seafood is nicely cooked too with pieces of tender coconut flesh as well.

Though it didn’t won our hearts, the Prawns Fried with Long Beans & Thai Shrimp Paste (Thaw Fahgam Phat Khapi Kung) was still sufficiently decent with its just cooked long beans and bits of onions with prawns in a piquant Thai shrimp paste sauce.

I love Thai salads, any for that matter of fact because I love the distinctive flavours and textures. One of my all-time-favorite Thai salad has to be the Catfish Mango Salad (Yam Pla Duk Foo Ma Mung). This one is very satisfying with lots of flavours and textures in tow. The mango salad is fresh, vibrant and filled with lots of sour and sweet notes while the crispy catfish and cashew nuts gave the salad lots of crunch factor.

Crispy Fried Pork with Shrimp Paste, Kaffir Leaves & Chilies (Moo Thod Kapi) is superb in my books. Well-seasoned pork with bits of fats is beautifully savory and moreish. I tasted the distinctive shrimp paste taste and thought this dish is pretty much lethal as the pork slices are very addictive. Pork is moist and tender too. The deep fried kaffir leaves added aroma to the pork. Super shiok!

The Fried Prawn Cakes (Thod Man Kung) is pretty good. Golden breaded prawn cakes have a good bouncy texture with sweetness from the prawns. It’s crispy and also tender. Dip these in the sweet Thai chili sauce and it makes great snacks.

Our Tomyan Spicy Lemongrass Flavoured Soup (Tom Yam Thalay) soup, clear version, looked deceivingly mild. The sour and spicy soup actually packed quite a punch in heat. Good dose of sourness and there is plenty of seafood to keep me happy. Surisit also offers the red version for a fiery option. I had two bowls of this very spicy and sour soup and loved it…

The next dish of Claypot Glass Noodle Prawns (Kung Op Woon Sen) came with fairly large prawns neatly arranged on glass noodles. Though it looked good, the glass noodles were a tad bland. The prawns were good though as they were firm and had a light sweetness. We still enjoyed this with rice.

Thai-Style Deep Fried Squids with Salted Egg (Plamuk Phad Khikhem) rocks! These luscious squid are lightly battered and coated in a sublime salted egg yolk sauce together with some aromatics of onions, kaffir leaves, chilies and coriander. The dish has savory and sweetness all nicely balanced while the squid is pretty tender too. May not be good for the heart but so good for the soul… must order!

I have always enjoyed this dish of Minced Pork with Thai Basil (Phat Krapao Moo Sap). It’s practically available in most Thai places and is comfort food. Minced pork is sautéed with lots Thai basil to create that distinctive aroma and flavour. The version here included onions, spring onion and chili in addition to the usual ingredients. It’s got lots of moreish flavours and is perfect with steamed rice and fried sunny side up egg. That’s what I usually order when I see it on a menu because it’s practically a meal all by itself.

I hope I got the name for the beef dish right for Stir-Fried Beef with Chilies & Thai Basil Leaves (Neua Phat Bai Grapao). I didn’t see basil but instead saw it was crowned with kaffir leaves. The beef is flavourful and has a good firm bite. It is another dish that one can snack on happily. Surisit manage to nail their meat dishes with good dose of marinades and also kept their meat juicy and delicious.

Our last savory dish was another classic Steamed Fish with Lime (Pla Nueng Prik Manau). The fish is smothered with loads of minced garlic, chili, coriander soaked in a pool of lime sauce. This one was less impressive than the other dishes as there seemed to be some kick missing in the usual sour and tasty soup.  Nevertheless, it’s still a passable dish which just needed some tweaking of flavours in soup and the fish was fresh.

Dinner ended with more classics of Red Rubies with Coconut Milk (Tap Tim Grop) and Mango Pulut with Coconut Milk (Khaw Niau Ma Muang). Both are just a perfect sweet ending to our Thai home-style meal that evening with their lovely and fruity sweetness. I can never say no to Thai desserts…

I like Surisit for its no-frill Thai home-style kopitiam vibe. The menu is filled with a long list of Thai favorites and many are hits despite very few misses. Serving a list of Thai porky dishes is also another plus point. I am pretty sure many will be sniffing out this outlet soon following it pursuit of its popular TTDI outlet.

SURISIT, THE THAI KOPITIAM

No.3 Jalan 20/14,

Petaling Jaya, Selangor

Tel:  03-7865 7507

Website: www.surisit.com.my

Facebook: www.facebook.com/SurisitThaiKopitiam

Business Hours:

Mon to Fri: 11am – 3pm, 6pm – 10.30pm

Saturday and Sunday: 11am – 10.30pm