Tag: food review

Festive CNY dining at Ti Chen, Saujana Golf & Country Club.

I had my first lou yee sang at Ti Chen, Saujana Golf & Country Club. Fresh, succulent salmon with a variety of freshly julienned vegetables and colourful crispy yam strips, peanuts, crackers and many more, topped with a delicious concoction of plum sauce and sesame oil.

Absolutely beautiful, absolutely auspicious!

# – The manager of Ti Chen explaining to us what Yee Sang is eaten for.

If you’re not a salmon person, you could also choose to have abalone, jellyfish or even a vegetarian version. Price of the yee sang dishes start from RM38.

# – Tossing yee sang, higher the better. HUAT AHHHH!

Ti Chen recently underwent a refurbishment and what a transformation it has made!

# – Entrance to Ti Chen.

# – For those that can’t read chinese ;)

The new look is a breath of fresh air – modern & elegant and yet still very oriental. Plush seatings dotted the establishment with luxurious wooden panels segmenting the space for more privacy and large windows allowing a lot of natural light in.

# – The waiting area is comfortable.

# – Part of the dining area.

Of course, the view of the golf course was also very welcoming. Green, calm and tranquil.

# – Good view.

As for the food, Ti Chen did not disappoint at all.

# – The Roasted Chicken with Dong Guai was divine. With crispy aromatic skin and juicy, flavourful & silky flesh. Even the chicken breasts were tender, something I believe only a very skillful and experienced Chef could achieve.

# – The Stir-fried Prawns with Seasoned Salt was so good, I had more than one helping. The prawns were so crispy I could practically devour the entire thing – head, shell and all.

# – I really enjoyed the Steamed Red Snapper with Superior Soya Sauce too. The fish was fresh & flaky, with the delicious soya sauce delicately permeating the flesh. It’s a very clean-tasting dish, tasty and healthy all at the same time.

# – Next on the table – Braised Sea Cucumber with Fish Maw, Dried Oysters and Fatt Choy. The fish maw was of premium quality so they are very different from those that are normally deep-fried into puffs. According to the manager, this kind of premium fish maw is very good for the health of the lungs and for people with asthmatic symptoms. I of course, had quite a lot of them…hehe. Flavoursome and not at all cloying. Absolutely luxurious & befitting of a celebratory meal.

# – Of course, chinese new year must eat rice also so always have rice in life :) This is Chef Special “Loh Mai Fun”, basically glutinouse rice steamed with dried shrimps wrapped in aromatic lotus leaves. The rice was cooked just right, it was neither grainy nor too pudgy (for lack of better word). I absolutely enjoyed it, it was really delicious eaten with the Braised Sea Cucumber with Fish Maw, Dried Oysters and Fatt Choy too.

# – We ended lunch with a soft mochi filled with red bean paste. The skin was thin and the filling was not too sweet. It was a nice finale to a superb lunch.

All these dishes are packaged into the Pearl Set with 8-course dishes, which at RM888++ comes with a complimentary bottle of Misterio Cabernet Sauvignon.

There are also other sets; The Jade Set at RM988++ comes with a bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label 12 years while the Golden Set is priced at RM1,398++ and comes with a bottle of Hennessy VSOP. Lastly, the Emperor Set at RM2288++ comes with a bottle of Singleton Single Malt Whisky 12 years.

So looking for a nice place to have a good CNY feast with your loved ones? Check out Ti Chen.

It is open Tuesday – Sunday from 12.00pm to 2.30pm (lunch) and 6.30pm to 10.30pm (dinner). For reservations, call 03 7840 5502 or email dine@thesaujana.com.

Ti Chen,
The Saujana Golf and Country Club,
Jalan Lapangan Terbang SAAS,
40150 Selangor Darul Ehsan.
Tel: 03-7840 5502
Email: dine@thesaujana.com

A review on Hailam Kopitiam, SS2

After raving about Paparich to a friend, she recommended Hailam Kopitiam in SS2 as an alternative. According to her, the food is on par, if not better than Paparich and is much cheaper. I had to find out whether it’s true.

A little background, I only like Paparich for its range of steamed bread. It’s very hard to get that kind of light, pillow soft bread in KL nowadays. I could eat dozens of them in one sitting (although I have not tried it). As for the other dishes, I really can’t be bothered. Just the bread and yes, the soft boiled eggs.

So I went to Hailam Kopitiam determined to try the bread.


#1 – Hailam Cafe

I scanned through the huge menu (about 60 different dishes) and was a little disappointed that they did not serve steamed bread, only toasted ones. I ordered the toasted bun with kaya and butter anyway.


#2 – Toasted bun with kaya and butter.

First of all, I must clarify that the bun would have been quite awesome if I hadn’t yet tried the steamed bread in Paparich. I’m not saying it’s not worth a try but if you’re looking for a cheaper alternative to steamed bread, then Hailam Kopitiam is not the place.

The toasted bun was just a toasted bun, normal with no attributes that particularly stood out. That said, I must note that they serve must tastier kaya than Paparich though. It’s more fragrant and less fluid. If only I could combine Hailam Kopitiam’s kaya with Paparich’s steamed bread :P

The drinks were pretty good. I had the lime juice and Boo the iced coffee. No giant servings but your wallet won’t feel so stretched ordering a 2nd glass as you would in Paparich.


#3 – Lime juice and iced coffee.

Hailam Kopitiam’s interior and atmosphere is not much different from all the modernised kopitiams that have mushroomed recently. It operates out of one shoplot so at peak times space is limited but still comfortable…as long as you don’t get to sit next to a spoilt, screaming brat through lunch.


#4 – This picture could have been taken in Old Town, Old Taste, Kluang Station, Paparich, and more recently – Lorong Seratus Tahun Curry Mee.

We also ordered other dishes.


#5 – Hainanese style chicken chop in mushroom sauce. My Nokia N97 for size comparison.

The chicken chop was average at best. It’s a pity, because everything from the portion to the chicken chop was right except for the mushroom sauce, which was bland and kind of tasted like coagulated starch. Perhaps I should have stuck to the classic Hainanese tomato-ish sauce. If you’re there, avoid mushroom sauce at all costs. As for me, I’d still head to Kluang Station for the perfect Hainanese chicken chop.

My babber ordered tom yam beehoon which he liked. I tried it too and it was pretty good. The vermicelli was properly cooked through and the taste of the fragrant tomyam was even throughout. I wouldn’t go all the way to Hailam Kopitiam to eat it though.


#6 – Tom yam beehoon.

In conclusion, for steamed bread I’d still go to Paparich. For Hainanese chicken chop, I’d still go to Kluang Station. For things like asam laksa and curry mee I’ll stick to my neighbourhood REAL kopitiam.

As I have mentioned earlier, Hailam Kopitiam has a huge selection of dishes including rice dishes that seemed attractive. And the pricing is very reasonable for its modern setup. So if you’re in SS2 and craving for that kind of food, Hailam Kopitiam is the place to go.

    Hailam Kopitiam Sdn Bhd
    No. 20, Jalan SS2/67,
    47300 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
    Tel : 03-7875 5652

Will review Paparich soon, been too busy wolfing down food than take any picture :P

Food tasting at La Gourmet House, The Curve

I’ve always passed by La Gourmet House at The Curve but never tried out the place. It used to operate in Ikano Power Centre, but later moved to The Curve to capture markets other than the family crowd.

La Gourmet House.
La Gourmet House.

La Gourmet House serves Mediterranean food and some fusion too. Here, I present a dish by dish review:

#1 Non-alcoholic Sangria.
Non-alcoholic Sangria

Non-alcoholic. Tangy. Very delicious with ice. At room temperature, the taste was a bit overwhelming.

#2 Sicilian seafood bisque.
Sicilian seafood bisque

Absolutely excellent. Creamy with chunky seafood to top. I could have this over and over again. Must order.

#3 Andalucian style tiny meatballs in almond sauce with salmon pikelettes & stuffed aubergine with rockets, cherry tomatoes and walnuts topped with berries and lemon dressing.
Andalucian style meatballs, salmon pikelettes and aubergine

I’m not sure if they were meant to be served at room temperature but I couldn’t help but think that they would taste better warm.

#4 Paella Luzonia with mixed seafood, vegetables and salted fish
Paella Luzonia

Excellent taste, but was served at room temperature. Rice was fluffy and saturated with the taste of the ocean. Filled with prawns, crabs, fish and other seafood. Just pity it wasn’t warm enough.

#5 Shepherd’s Buglidicce
Shepherd’s Buglidicce

Some kind of mini savoury pancakes with creamy sauce. My favourite of the night. Very addictive!

La Gourmet House is a humble looking restaurant with pretty good live entertainment. If you’re lucky, you could even catch the Chef himself singing an Innuendo’ number.

Chef singing.
Singing Chef.

Basically, I think that this place has a lot of potential. The taste of the food is generally good but they they were not all served in right temperature. I don’t know any restaurant in PJ that is serving Mediterranean food, so I would recommend giving this place a try as this is the only restaurant I know serving affordable and almost authentic paella, but be sure to remind them to serve them at the right temperature!

Lot G-52, Ground Floor, The Curve
Jalan PJU 7/3
Mutiara Damansara
47800 Petaling Jaya
Tel: 03-7725 4279