Min Huang Restaurant

...爱情像一本游记
我会找寻它的谜语...
...看月牙湾下的泪光
在丝路之上被遗忘...

...Love is like a travelogue,
the riddles of it that I will solve...
...Gazing the shimmering teardrops on the crescent moon bay,
forgotten on the steps of the Silk Road...

It was only until earlier today, when MTV China was showing a Mid Autumn Festival special, that I began to rediscover F.I.R. Their catchy, oriental tune called 月牙湾 (crescent moon bay) caught my attention, as I was reading about the turbulences surrounding us.

It’s funny how we tend to stereotype certain things in life, isn’t it? When F.I.R. broke into the scene a few years back, I was not a bit excited. Wannabe, I thought. Too much resemblance to Do As Infinity. Even Every Little Thing. And as 月牙湾 keeps playing in my mind now, I realize that they do have a musical direction of their own. And it’s brilliant. Silly me.

Oh, and lead singer Faye’s pretty pretty too, don’t you agree?

Just like the eateries in Taman Usahawan Kepong. To a point, I believe I described all these colourful restaurants bearing interesting names as kitschy. Then, came along a lovely blogger called Mimi who started introducing mouth-watering restaurants in this area, one after another. It was then I came to know what I’ve been missing. Thanks, Mimi.

First on my list was Min Huang. I must say that it was their steamed bun with custard/salted egg filling (RM3.60 for 2 buns) that attracted me. Not exactly runny, but it was definitely flavoursome, the filling. The richness of the salted eggs is worth mentioning.

A 5% service charge aside, the complimentary salad consisted of cucumber strips dressed in soy sauce and sesame oil was refreshing. Beats having peanuts, anytime.

Ask me not why of all the noodle dishes, I had chosen the Shanghai-style fried mung bean sheets (RM4.20). But if you ask me how it tasted, I will say ho jiak (delicious)! Being Shanghainese cuisine illiterate, I couldn’t help but find it similar to our beloved char kway teow. Perhaps that’s what globalization is all about. The mildly charred sheets were absolutely aromatic. Loved it.

Another Shanghainese dish, the xiao long bao (RM6.00 for 3 pieces) was surprisingly good as well. The skin was rather thin and the melted, jellied lard oozed with a subtly sweet and savoury flavour. Let’s not make comparisons and just enjoy these tasty morsels since a meal at the nearest branded xiao long bao restaurant costs another RM1.60 (one way) more for just using the LDP.

The only disappointment perhaps, was the steamed char siew bao (RM3.20 for 2 buns). Though came steaming hot, the bun was slightly crumbly while the filling was bland, despite the moist texture.

For dessert, the fried avocado paste wrapped with kataifi (RM5.00 for 2 pieces). With the crunchy kataifi strands complementing the sweet, smooth avocado paste, it was nice. Like how 月牙湾's melancholic music video motioned to the beautiful melody of the song. It’s good to know that there are desserts beyond lotus paste puffs for dim sum.

I’ll be back to try a few more signature dishes. As for F.I.R., there’s always YouTube.

Here’s wishing everyone a Mid Autumn Festival of peace and joy.

Min Huang Restaurant
12, Jalan Metro Perdana Barat 3
Taman Usahawan Kepong
Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: (+603) 62587996

Check out Mimi’s review here.