The day started out pretty blah.  Work was a-piling.  Schedules with a loved one seemed star-crossed at best.  And to top it all off, it was the Dumpling Festival and there was no Bak Chang (dumpling) in sight for me to sink my teeth into.

So I was one real glum girl.

To my delight, I realised that I wasn’t the only glum Bak Chang-deprived person in the world.  There were many, many more like me.  Quite a number of friends commiserated with my situation on Facebook.  Best of all, my kindred spirit Sharon was one of them and she was free for the night!  And so, we made plans to go Bak Chang hunting.

“Eh, where do we head to ar?” I asked.

Sharon replied, “Let’s go to SS2.  I’m sure they sell Bak Chang there.”

See, I never had to buy Bak Changs in my life before this because relatives and the neighbour back home will regularly supply for our needs.  So, this is what happens when a Bak Chang-loving kid moves out of home.  No more Bak Chang when Dumpling Day falls on a weekday.

Still, there’s always a first time for everything.  I had a car and a partner in Bak Chang hunting.  The hunt was on!

It was quite late in the night when we finally arrived at SS2.  I had to finish my pile of work first, remember?

We asked a restaurant owner where we might get Bak Changs and he suggested the hawker center near the field.  The hawker center did not look too promising.  It was dark and most of the front stalls were closed.

But as we came nearer to the middle of the building, there were a few stalls that were still opened.  And my heart leaped when I spotted some Bak Changs hanging enticingly at one stall.

My jaw dropped when the hanging Bak Changs led to this….

We felt like we were in a beautiful dream – the one thing we want had many, many clones!  So we made our choices and floated to our seats.  My bak chang tasted heavenly but Sharon’s was cold.  Meh.

Upon seeing us enthusiastically taking photos of the bak changs (we did act as if we never saw these heavenly morsels before … sheepish grin), the bak chang Uncle said that we can hold the strings of bak chang to pose with them.  And so we did.  And the Aunty gamely joined us in our antics.  Hee!  Sharon said they thought we were tourists!

We were so happy that night.  This unexpected hunt had really made our week!

Today’s lunch was special.  It was not the first time we visited this restaurant but every time we sink our teeth into their crispy duck, it truly and verily feels like the first time.  So Restaurant Soon Lok has become a rather special place to us lunch partners.

This is the shop with at least 20 ducks all arranged neatly in a row.

Behold the crispy Roast Duck!

The skin was crispy and covered a layer of translucent fat. As we bit into it, the oil oozes into our mouths just before we hit the tender duck meat. The duck was so good that the whole table fell silent throughout the lunch.  Normally, we chatter quite a lot during meal times.  So this is a big change!  Ed was sighing in contentment and his eyes were glazed as he consumed the duck.

FL happened to be nicely located behind the bowl of spicy and sour vegetables.  I thought it’d make a pretty picture and snapped him.  The acidic and tasty dish was the perfect accompaniment to the rather oily duck.

The total bill was RM31 (the roast duck, the spicy and sour assorted vegetables and tea) for 4 people.  Pretty reasonable for such an amazing meal, I thought.

I walked to the front of the restaurant to key in their coordinates into my GPS when a helpful lady who worked at the restaurant (probably the owner) handed me their business card.  According to Ed, they have another branch just a stone’s throw away from this location.  Business must be really good.

Details:

Restoran Soon Lok
77, Jalan Kenari 20,
Bandar Puchong Jaya,
47100 Puchong, Selangor
Tel: 016-3074960 (Lee Wai Seng) and 016-2903100 (Chloe)

Come lunch time, Celeste had a sudden craving for Bah Kut Teh.  I wasn’t really keen for two reasons – I wasn’t in the mood for something that heavy and for another, I hail from Klang.  As you know, Klang is the nirvana for all things Bah Kut Teh.  Klangites are the most discerning Bah Kut Teh connoiseurs and not many restaurants outside Klang can live up to our lofty expectations.

Unfortunately, since I was the only Klangite around, the six other fellow lunch partners overruled me.  So off to Kedai Makanan dan Minuman Kei Heong we went.

As expected, the restaurant’s Bah Kut Teh fell short of Klang’s glorious offerings.  The soup was not thick enough and lacked a certain oomph.  But the meat was quite tender and the portions were generous. I would give it a 7/10.

We ordered a pot for 5 pax which costs RM50

Yau Char Kuai – The perfect accompaniment to dip into BKT’s broth

The second dish was the Steamed Chicken which Billy mistook for steamed frog legs.  It probably did resemble frog legs from where he was sitting, LOL.  The texture of the meat was a little tough and the gravy was rather bland.  People who like healthy, non-salty food would appreciate this more than I.  I’ll it a 6/10.

The so-so Steamed Chicken

The best of the three dishes would be the Cabbage with Dried Shrimps.  I couldn’t get enough of this tasty, crunchy and oh-so-scrumptious dish!

Yummy cabbages

All in all, it was still a good and filling lunch. The challenge now is keeping ourselves alert in the office after such a hefty meal.

Kedai Makanan dan Minuman Kei Heong (21 Oct 09)
Address: 1-1, Jalan SP2/2, Taman Serdang Perdana, 43300 Seri Kembangan
Tel: +603-8941 5894/019-6607027/012=4518339
Opening hours: 9.30am – 10.30pm (daily)

Cost:
BKT (5 pax) = RM50 (7/10) Soup not as thick but the meat is nice and tender
Steamed Chicken = RM26 (6/10) Bland
Cabbage with shrimps = RM10 (9/10)
Meal cost (including drinks) = RM110 (7 pax)

It’s been a while since I last blogged about food.  I’ve been faithfully updating my Facebook account but there really is nothing like blogging, is there?  So here goes a brief update on what I had for lunch today.  Thanks, Ed for treating me to such a nice meal!  Presenting to you the scrumptious Ying Yong and Beef Hor Fun from Restaurant B. Happiness.

The yummylicious Beef Hor Fun

The Beef Hor Fun’s kuey teow was surprisingly minuscule compared to the extremely generous portions of tender succulent beef.  I would say about 65% of the dish consisted of beef.  It was a tasty treat and for RM8 or 7 per single plate, it’s truly worth it.

Unfortunately, I was happily digging into the Beef Hor Fun by the time the Ying Yong (RM5 or 6) arrived that I quite forgot to take photos of it.  Oh well.  Let me try to paint a picture of it for your benefit – with words, of course.  The gravy was oozing with the goodness of egg white, yolk and just the right amount of salt.  The fried bee hoon was not as crispy as I’d like it to be but the freshness of the chicken meat, chicken liver and prawns more than made up for it.

Service was good and fast, and the teh peng (RM1.50) is a delight to drink, too.

Address:

Restaurant B. Happiness
Jalan 1/127, Taman Gembira,
Kuchai Lama,
58200 Kuala Lumpur

Behold my latest kitchen gadget – the Egg Steamer Mini Ceramic Soup Bowl. Thanks to this cutie, I made my first quiche today. I used an egg, a big mushroom and some shredded cheese. There was something missing though – milk. So the end result was a little dry but I’m looking forward to more experiments.

And yes, it’s all cooked with the microwave oven. It must be the greatest invention ever! Hardly takes long to cook or heat up food. And when you are cooking for one, it’s not worth slaving over a stove top and spending all that time preparing a gourmet cuisine.

Eating out all the time is not really healthy either – you never know if they are using good quality ingredients or if their cooking oil has been recycled to death (for fried stuff).

So if you know of any proven microwave cooking recipes for one, drop me a word.

Image Credits