Thursday, November 05, 2009

ZLS, Sentul

It is the dawn of the festival of lights.... I eagerly grab my phone to see if there are any invitations to any open house, but nah leh.... how oh how was I going to spend this lonely public holiday. Oh, wait, it's a Saturday, and every Saturday IS a public holiday. For most of us anyway. The ever efficient Agent Cikay has managed to muster the troops. YAY. And guest starring Hairy Berry, all the way from Singapore. Whenst once upon a time, his trips back here used to be a weekly affair, they are now reduced to rare appearances, because (official version) he is doing his masters and has classes (unofficial version) we think he has a girlfriend there in the republic...who wont let him come back. Dang you girl, we want our Hairy Berry!!!

The Five Fine Outers, ie, Cikay, Kenny Mah, DevilWearsPrada, Hairy Berry and Me, bundle into the hot red Honda Civic, and head to Sentul. The entire landscape of Jln Ipoh has changed so drastically over the years, I no longer recognise it. It's more botoxed than the First Lady, and almost as beyond recognition.

Time travels at the speed of light when you are busy yarning with friends, and before we know it, we're there, in a route that I am not sure I can replicate, as I wasn't paying attention. I only remember Hairy Berry mumbling something about his old school being in the neighbourhood. La Salle Sentul la, must be.

Nothing like beer before 12 noon to make one feel one is REALLY on holiday.



Hairy Berry, the expert of this place, orders the dishes with the familiarity of an obese kid ordering at Macdonald's. Before we know it, its Bon Apetit.


The duet of kailan, leaves deep fried and stems sauteed. I wonder which innovative chef first thought of this. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, the pioneer of this dish must be flattered to death by now.


Beer with lovely chicken wings. They go together like
rama lama lama
ke ding a de dinga a dong
remembered for ever like
shoo bop shoo wadda wadda yipitty boom de boom.

It's the kind of food you could eat all afternoon while downing several pints of beer, over good conversation.


Ooooh, look at the pig.


Pork Knuckles. Is it a misnomer? Is it really the knuckles? I thought the knuckles are the joints between the fingers and fist. That reminds me....
Man walks to a farm, and sees a pig with three legs. Asks farmer what happened. Farmer says, oh, I was in a fire once, and Wilbur there saved me. Man says, oh, he lost a leg in the fire? Farmer says, Nooo. In fact, later on, I almost drowned, and Wilbur saved me. So he lost the leg in the river? Noooo, farmer says. And again, Wilbur saved me once from barbaric burglars. So he lost the leg to the burglars? Noooo, says farmer. SO HOW DID WILBUR LOSE HIS LEG??? Farmer says, hey, a pig as good as this, you can only afford to eat him one leg at a time.
[running away from the pelted vegetables and tomatoes]


Now, I reckon no one does Pork Knuckles, or Trotter or whatever they're called, like the Chinese. I find the German ones usually a bit too dry. This one is not only moist and succulent, but swimming in a delicious gravy.








Four of the Five Fine Outers in Action.


Fish head curry. All these dishes scream out for rice don't they. Lovely rich curry sauce. I didn't really try the fish though, but judging by the fact that there was none left, it must have been good.


I LOVE this squid dish, presented on banana leaf. Not sure what its called, but its damn good, and apparently has the option of prawns as well. The squid was not fishy.



We weren't full after all that, so decided to add another dish of Oooh Lala. Gorgeous fresh clams steamed in a rice wine sauce, with wolfenberries. Loved the soup.

What can I say? Deepavali or not, it was good fun. Good food, good company, and beer with ice. How not to be happy?

Oh, the restaurant is called Zhen Liew Shiang, No. 30, Jalan 14/48A, Sentul Raya, Off Jalan Sentul, 51000 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 603 4041 3781

19 comments:

"Joe" who is constantly craving said...

the squid is awesome stuff..long time ago, one of the chef from here worked at a dai chow which was a 3 minute walk from my house in cheras..needless to say, the squid and the chicken wings were confirmed orders!

ToyGirl said...

Yes. The chicken wings was to die for!! But i reckon your Kak's fried chicken is as good. :p

Paranoid Android said...

OK. Now you've got me all slobbering and kicking myself in the butt for attending Diwali somewhere else. The pork looks absolutely sinful. Kneel down boy, and let me flog you with the Kailan Combo and scald you with the fish curry.

If you were on Xenical, you would have left a trail of grease all the way from Sentul to Bangsar!

Lyrical Lemongrass said...

I was gonna say something else, but got distracted by PA's Xanical joke. Quite an intelligent friend you got there, hor. I laughed till my piss almost came out. (no grease, coz not on Xanical)

Ciki said...

harhar.. u farnee ahpa.. farnee!

HairyBerry said...

HAHAHA! i got class on saturdays, really one. this december, u can see my face in kl until u jelak! haha.

great outing that day! missing everyone in kl more and more with each passing day! :(

u r right about the knuckle la. it's more of the thigh than the knuckle. good to know!

J said...

Poor Wilbur! Haha....

Tummythoz said...

Those pics oozes so much fun!

thule a.k.a leo said...

one of the best place for chinese dai chow in Sentul area... sadly I have never been here before

worldwindows said...

Really good-looking stuff. Always get lost in Sentul. But now with Duke it may be easier.

Rebecca Saw said...

love the knuckles! They do it better thn Robson's.

sigh..dont think i knw how to get there either. My GPS took us thw wrong way the last time & I got the "look" frm Unka. Jeezz..

gfad said...

No prizes for guessing who the brilliant Fatty Trotteville is.. :D

J2Kfm said...

flattered to death? LOL. hou yeah woh .....

qwazymonkey said...

wilbur, poor wilbur.

Babe_KL said...

the squid dish can be a mixture of squid and prawn ;-)

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UnkaLeong said...

*looks at TNG* Never trust the GPS completely ;) Loved the food there. The curry fish was one of the best I've ever eaten.

Innovativebaker said...

HEy hey........... I know of another restaurant at the Subang Hi-Tech Industrial Park that serves up good pork knuckle too. The chef used to work in Germany and has combined some of his german culinary skills into chinese cooking. The restaurant is called Sin Leong Huat. Exact Address can't give it to you but its easy to find. Exit the Subang Toll and keep left. Immediately go up ramp but keep left. Turn right means you're going to MAKRO or now Tesco Extra. Turn left and go two traffic lights. The first set would have CSR Sugar on your left. As you approach the second set of traffic lights turn left into a tunnel like road. Follow the road. Pass a green factory called Lewre International (Yes that's where the shoes Lewre are made). Turn left and turn right immediately. The restaurant is 3 shoplots combined. Excellent Pork Knuckle. Oh and try the fish brewed in special chinese herbal soup. This I tell you is divine.

I've added you on my blog too. Hope the cheesecake turned out for ya!

jason said...

I think I would react the same way as Hairy too when the knuckles arrive.... "Oooo"