Thursday, December 20, 2007

Regal House Restaurant

I have found my fetish du jour.

Dining in Kepong, that is.

This old neighbourhood has been the playground for most of my childhood and is often the place for traditional, no-frills Chinese fare, be it in under the zinc roof of the wet market or nearby family restaurants. With so much development within the vicinity, such as Metro Prima, Bandar Manjalara and DesaCity Park, people (myself included) seemed to be only interested in the burgeoning eatery scene in those areas.

So, kudos I say, to Regal House for braving the stereotype by opening a restaurant in the now defunct Parkson Ria shopping center in Kepong Baru. In fact, it’s now occupying the whole building itself. Wet market by day, hawker center by night, this is one of the busiest areas in the whole of Kepong Baru. Not forgetting night markets on Sundays too.

I chanced upon this restaurant while driving around the neighbourhood after getting some egg tarts and kaya rolls from Tong Kee. The size of the restaurant itself spelt confidence and with that, I knew I had to give it a try. At least once.

Dining was comfortable on a Saturday, perhaps due to the large area (2 floors, by the way). We assumed that the locals are still unaware of this place as only half of the tables were filled.

We started off with the Stir-Fried Kuay Teow With Egg Gravy (RM12). The kuay teow was aromatic, thanks to the frying process while the egg gravy was not too starchy nor bland. Other ingredients in this dish included mustard cabbage leaves, prawns and pork slices. A simple yet appetising starter.

Next came the sinful-looking Braised Pork Belly (RM28). How much more luscious can that cut be? The meat was flaky while the fatty portion was soft. A great combination. The braising sauce, however, was quite a letdown. Sweet was the only adjective that I could find to describe it. I could not sense even a hint of herbs like star anise, cinnamon or peppercorn. A sliced mantou or steamed bun was included for dipping.

The Claypot Fish (RM35) was perhaps the most interesting dish of the night. It was basically fried fish cooked in a sweet sauce. With ingredients such as wood ear fungus, enoki or golden needle mushroom and ginger, I thought it was a close resemblance to Wong Zhao Gai (chicken cooked in Chinese wine). The thinly-sliced fish was well-cooked and tasted slightly sweet, thanks to the infusion of the sweet sauce.

Greens for the night came in form of Stir-Fried Chive Buds With Garlic (RM12). Quite a generic tasting dish, which I wished the stems were softer.

Probably the most photogenic dish of the night, the Tofu With Mushroom (RM10) was quite an interesting dish. The fried tofu was topped with finely chopped bo choi (spinach), cooked in oyster sauce and decorated with brown beech mushrooms. The tofu was very soft with a taste of egg while both the mushroom and spinach added interesting textures and tastes (mildly) to the tofu. I enjoyed the subtlety of it.

Wrapping up the night was a complimentary fresh fruit platter, consisted of watermelon, papaya and mango.

The dinner cost RM110.50 for 5 pax. Inexpensive, I'd say, as the ambiance, quality of food and service were on par with those typical air-conditioned, plate-changing restaurants in town. No government tax nor service charge were imposed to the bill too. Service was commendable at best and the staff seemed rushing to clear our table. What's the hurry?

For all the good points mentioned above and the convenience of getting a parking space, I'm sure I'll be back to savour more dishes.

Regal House Restaurant
Lot 491, Jalan 77 (Jalan Bangau),
Kepong Baru,
52100 Kepong,
Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: +603-6280 2119

22 comments:

Kenny Mah said...

Wahh... I really like the pic of the Tofu with Mushroom. Was the spinach just added on top of the tofu, or was it fried with it? It looks like it was "one with the tofu"... LOL

yammylicious said...

i heart the taufu mushroom!! love the sauce alot alot.. slurp!

Big Boys Oven said...

the pork and tofu look very interesting...... delicious!

Simon Seow said...

It's been a long time never been to that part of Kepong eventhough I only live like 5 mins drive away. Didn't even know now the defunct Parkson Ria was turned into a restaurant.

Lyrical Lemongrass said...

You eat da babi
And you never call me?
My stomach is bising-ing
I feel like pengsan-ing

Faster get me dat pork
Before my maker I meet
At least I'll die happy
With da babi at my feet.

ling239 said...

your wat-tan-hor comes with mustard cabbage leaves... kai choi ? o_O i tot that veggie when fried will have a hint of bitterness....

HairyBerry said...

kenny - yeah, it was fried with it..."one with the tofu", yes..haha! kinda like stuffed beancurd on the surface...i like the subtle taste.

yammylicious - the sauce goes well with rice! i love the eggy taste of it too! nice, nice!

big boys oven - the tofu is nice but the pork was so-so. i like the one at overseas restaurant. but that was years ago lar..haha!

simon - 5 mins drive? that's near! you'll be surprised to know that just outside the restaurant is another stall selling chicken claypot rice! ironic, huh? haha.

lyrical lemongrass,

love the fat part
numero uno on my chart
though wont make me smart
a dish that i *heart*

the next babi i eat,
i make sure we meet,
sharing good babi meat,
is an absolute feast!

ling239 - it's actually sawi. there are many translations for this i.e. mustard leaves, cabbage green, chinese flowering cabbage..dunno which is right! haha! perhaps i should just use sawi next time! haha! thanks for the info, ya!

~Christine~Leng said...

the pork belly looks stunning ;P
I would definite;y love the tofu with mushrooms as I liked both so much! ^^

~Christine~Leng said...

you're a good poet!! ;)

Unknown said...

the pork belly looks good!!!
haha..

backStreetGluttons said...

we will bet that you are some kind of cooking( or eating or drinking ) specialist, unlike gluttons like some people
LOL !

HairyBerry said...

christine - very sinful yet delicious looking pork belly, right? haha! thanks so much for the compliment! :)

keropok man - hey, thanks for stopping by! yupe, the pork belly does look good...why do hazardous food always look so tempting? haha!

team bsg - nope, me no cooking/eating/drinking specialist. in fact, i'm in a totally different industry. just a glutton who gets high on food...haha!!

Big Boys Oven said...

This is one pork dish which is very lovely in KL at RM18 per plate, fantastic!!!!!

Meery Christmas & a Happy New Year!

Bernsy said...

tak habis habis singing praises of Regal Hse all... lol... I really like the way you decribe those dishes... and those pictures are really nice too..

The price is very good there. Hey nic, have you looked at their special menu yet... they have this RM989 set... solid food there...

Sugar Bean said...

The environment of the restaurant looks pretty. The tofu looks interesting to me. Is that nameko mushrooms?

Anyway, have a merry Christmas!!

HairyBerry said...

Big Boys Oven - yeah, i tot the price is good...merry christmas and happy new year to you too! :)

bernsy - no lar, baru first time..haha...thanks for the compliment...

havent seen their special menu yet...must check it out...u going to? let me know if it's any good, ya? :)

wenching & esiong - i'm not sure the correct japanese term but i think it's called brown beechwood mushroom...here's the source i used... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shimeji hope it helps :)

Celine said...

Quite a fruitful meal. Just the pork belly too fat, not healthy ler...

"Joe" who is constantly craving said...

i think the pork was the killer lar..

HairyBerry said...

celine - haha, that's what I thought too...but a little indulgence once in a while is ok lar...haha!

joe - yupe, it was. i wished it was more savoury though. gosh, miss the ones from overseas rest. they used to serve really good braised pork belly....

Unknown said...

did i read RM989 set???
wah.. makan apa kat sana?

HairyBerry said...

keropok man: haha! i'm also not sure...will check it out on my next visit..which wont be long, btw...haha!

传播者 said...

hihi... from Kuala Lumpur to Regal House Restaurant, please visit this video MAP

coming soon from LDP

saehow
saehow@gmail.com
http://www.friendster.com/saehow