What to Eat

It was a hot sunny day and we were at the Dragon-i Restaurant in The Curve for a late lunch after shopping. Dragon-i is a Shanghainese restaurant, tastefully furnished with shades of imperial red and black. There are some Cantonese, Szechuan and Beijing dishes featured in the extensive menu but we wanted to try their Shanghainese cuisine which is known for its slow ‘red cooking’.

So instead of having their signature dish, Xiao Long Bao (Shanghainese steamed meat dumplings), we had their signature springy and light La Mian (hand-pulled noodles). We could watch the chefs who are mainly from China “pulling” the noodles in an open kitchen.

La Mian with Sichuan Hot & Sour Soup (RM12.00). This is a mild, spicy and vinegar-flavored soup noodle dish.

My Fried La Mian with Mixed Vegetables & Mushrooms is a fine blend of taste, and texture.

Before you enjoy a bowl of hot delicious La Mian, don’t miss out on their most famous dish Xiao Long Bao and be careful of the lovely hot soup inside!

I just returned from a dim sum breakfast in Damansara Jaya. We arrived at the restaurant around 7am today and it was less crowded obviously. We have seen the lines outside the restaurant where people were queuing up to get in during the weekends!

Our table this morning featured these “little heart” (Dim sum literally means “touch the heart”) and a pot of Tikuanyin (Iron Goddess) Tea (RM3.00).

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Well, I prefer dim sum that comes mainly in the form of steamed than fried.

We had three medium bamboo baskets of dim sum for RM3.50 each and three big bamboo baskets of dim sum for RM4.00 each.

They serve excellent dim sum and everything was really fresh!

Do you know any authentic Hainanese dishes? As for me, I know nothing of Hainanese cuisine except their chicken rice.

So, we went to this new outlet of Hailam’s Kopitiam in SS2 last month (just days after they opened).

Cafe’s interior is tastefully done to reflect a traditional kopitiam.

Hainanese Si Hui country stewed chicken rice (RM8.20).

Hainanese special white coffee (RM2.90).

Hainanese chicken chop (RM10.50).

By the way, all their dishes are pork-free.

About Hailam Kopitiam:

Acknowledged for their culinary skills and specialty dishes, the Goh family, like their peers from Hainan Island, started the Foh Heong Kopitiam in Kuala Pilah, Negeri Sembilan. Popular in colonial times, the restaurant was favoured and patronised by the British and also catered for the parties and official functions of the Negeri Royal Family. Together with Tunku Kudin, they set up the Sinaran Restaurant Cafe in 1944.

The transition from colonial times to the present has seen a third generation of Gohs in the business. The Hailam Kopitiam, a concept cafe, serves the original Hainanese tastes and flavours that the Foh Heong Kopitiam is noted for and now serves a new generation of Patrons in Kuchai Lama, Kuala Lumpur. This is especially true of our signature home-made kaya that is undoubtedly the most sought after item on our menu.

Consistently though, the cooking style of unique and distinct flavours that the Foh Heong Kopitiam has undergone a little change. Patrons will be familiar with such authentics foods like home made kaya, half-boiled eggs, hainanese chicken rice and all the all time favourite foods.

Well, another version of folk history has it that the Hainanese men ended up as cooks because, traditionally, it was their womenfolk who toiled in the fields back home, while the men stayed indoors!