CHYNIIS, SS2 Mall

The first surprise of the night was the sheer size of the SS2 mall. I hope to insert a picture here eventually, but I was so taken aback by the sheer size, I had lost all presence of mind to snap a picture. A road that was previously a dead end, (from Rothman Roundabout, you go past Greenview and go straight, instead of turning left to SS2, and just follow the road) now leads to this gargantuan structure that looks like a giant space ship that landed in an empty field. It is quite a spectacular sight.

The 2nd surprise was of course to find this treasure trove of culinary delights in CHYNIIS. (pronounced ...well, err..Chinese). When Aly first asked us to check out this place with her, my first thought was, CHYNIIS? Is that the people born in Chynna? (the Chinese restaurant in KL Hilton). If you think that was bad, Aly thought it was pronounced CHEE NEES. Hallo! Well, the restaurant wing of the mall actually faces the houses in SS2, in that road where the old Paris shack used to be. So it is better to access the restaurants from there, as there is now a valet parking service for RM4.

We were joined by the owner, and very gracious host, Mr KH Saw (who also owns D Italian Kitchen), Stephen, a freelance Star Reporter, Nicholas, a body builder chef, Joyce, wife of the owner, Sai Fun, a freelance copywriter who helped come up with the name, and our usual motley crowd, Aly, I am the Witch, Mr I AM THE WITCH, (Saucer) and Lexie of Red FM. With such a crowd, could dinner have been anything less than fun?

Sai Fun explained how the name came about. Due to the diverse-ness of Chinese cuisine, and the sheer number of dialects alone, each claiming their own specialty, and the varying chinese cuisine in different countries, its difficult to put a label or categorize the type of Chinese food, so really, the most logical name would be Chinese Food, but obviously, you can't spell it like that, hence the stylized CHYNIIS. (which incidentally is to be spelt in full caps).


There's something very empowering about swallowing these little shrimps whole, eyes, and all. Very V-like.... not to mention, addictive. Crispy and savoury, actually these are the perfect accompaniment for an icy cold glass of Tiger. (hor Aly).


Mr Saw very kindly explained to us the concept of Chyniss, which really, is to gather the favourites, and in some cases, lesser known cuisine from the various chinese dialects, from the four corners of the country. For example, the very interesting fish ball dish from Sibu, ...which we will see later. A lot of creativity goes into some of these dishes, while at the same time, maintaining old favourites like Sang Har Mee, etc.


Crispy Pork Belly with Rolled Chargrilled Cuttlefish. Lovely caramelised pork, layered with fat, and fried to a lovely cracker like consistency. I would have prefered more pork, and less cuttlefish. It's not that I didn't like the cuttlefish, its just that I loved the pork more. Actually this dish is another one that would go well with beer.





Baked Giant River Prawns with 'Dang Gui' and Butter - 'Dang Gui' is Tong Kwai in Cantonese, or cordyceps (no relation to biceps or triceps) in English. Cordyceps powder ground and infused into the prawn shells. How fabulous is that. You get a lovely flavour when chewing the prawn shell. The prawns are succulent and fresh, and the sauce accompanying it is fabulous. Cries out for rice though. Pity rice has such a bad rap and its become unfashionable to be a fan tong. (rice barrel)


Check out our shrimp. I think this pic was meant for Terry of Red FM, who is observing Lent and is abstaining from all good food.


Tea Smoked Village Chicken - Now the thing about Chinese cuisine is, most of this stuff, you definitely would not have the time and patience to make at home. There is an almost unbridgeable abyss between what Chyniss ..oops, Chinese flers would eat at home, and what you'd eat at a restaurant. Well, to me anyway. The idea of smoking a chicken, or anything else, for that matter, is just too mind boggling, but I am glad they DO do it in restaurants, because the flavours are just so complex and titillating to the palate. You get the charredness of smoke, without the carcinogenic carbon, the subtle tea flavour, (Pu Li tea I think they use), and the wonderful texture of Free Range Kampung Chicken, which imparts a kind of gaminess to the whole dish. I'd say this was one of my favourites.


Fish Balls with Japanese Potato Glass Noodles - I can imagine my kids would love this dish. Potato glass noodles are quite unique to me, I don't know if I've had them. Fresh fishballs made from ...well, fish...or Tenggiri to be precise. (Mackerel).





CHYNIIS House Special Boneless Crispy Chicken- Now, if only all chickens were made like this. This chicken is all dark meat (Aly heard this chicken is all duck meat). What they've done is made sure the entire dish , even the bits that look like breasts, are actually leg/thigh meat. I wonder if they have another dish that is all breast.





Beef Squares with Beancurd Skin and Puffed Rice - This is a rather unique dish as well. Beef patties sandwiched between foo choke, served on a slice of tomato, and topped with rice crispies. A myriad of textures. I enjoyed this dish too, (actually I enjoyed ALL the dishes) and definitely it is something different.


CHYNIIS Sang Har Mee - There seems to be proliferation of places offering this particular item on the menu, but given the close proximity this place is to "Verdant Vistas" I guess it makes sense for them to serve it too. I almost fainted when I heard Joyce say they had purposely reduced the noodles as she thought we might be full from all the other stuff which is of course true, BUT, me and noodles, we go a long way, and its a love affair that has not ceased. I am one of those that wouldnt mind half a prawn with a LOT of noodles. And, the noodles here were GOOD!!! Springy and "song". Loved it. Of course the prawn and the sauce speaks for itself....rich, and artery clogging.


Wah, so long ah!


CHYNIIS Special Handmade 'Man Tou' With Hot & Spicy Chili Crabs - I forgot to take a picture of the Mantou because I was telling Lexie a silly Mantou joke (which I thought was hilarious), but them mantous (pronounced Man (as in "Mon-ey") Tau ) were gooooood! Dip them into this chilli crab sauce, ah, heaven on a bun. The crabs were chock full of roe.


Dessert was Steamed Sweet Potato Cake Crusted with Crispy Oats. Not too sweet. Just right.


Three pretty maidens all in a row.



Well, another place to bring family and friends for a good Chinese dinner. I can imagine the conversation. What shall we have tonight? Chinese? Yeah, CHYNIIS. Where? CHYNIIS la. Where la, not what. No no no, CHYNIIS. In SS2 Mall.

Thanks again Mr Saw, for having us, and to Aly for inviting me.

G 45, 46 & 47, SSTwo Mall

No 40, Jalan SS2/72

47400 Petaling Jaya
Tel : +603 7956 7288

For larger and fuller pics, go to the PHOTOBUCKET ALBUM HERE

Causeway Bay Crabs

What a difference one word makes. If it were not for the "BAY" there, and it was Causeway crabs, we might have thought it is was from the Johor Causeway, and would have fleed faster than a trollop in a JAKIM Raid. But of course, its from Causeway BAY, which is from Hong Kong, so of course, it sounded appealing.

Buildings mushroom up in the Mont Kiara/ Hartamas area faster than fungus in a humid lavatory. I had no idea when this multi storey building with basement car park sprang up, behind Souled Out. Easy location to find.

Invitation was courtesy of Ciki, who had also called Alilfatmonkey, and Chaokar.




Cumi and Ciki studying the menu intently, as they were given a free hand as to what to order.


Their signature garlic crab. Recent news of garlic shortage, and prices of garlic shooting up to RM 10 a kg could not possibly augur well for this dish, as it is drowned under a ton of garlic. The garlic is delicious, fried to a crisp, and really puts paid any plans for a night of long osculating. It really seems to be saying garlic with a hint of crab.


However, having said that, the crabs are mutantly huge. Priced by size, I think the one we had are approximately RM110 per crab. They come in RM60, RM90, ...something like that.


Just look at that claw, in relation to the soup spoon. Reminds me of the days of yore when Sri Lankan crabs were all the rage. Whatever happened to them Sri Lankans? Are they still available here?


Their chiew pai mee... the noodles themselves were adequately flavoursome and song, but those little shrimp are devoid of taste.


The other way of serving crab. Egg yolks...salted egg yolks, to be precise. Tons and tons of it. The statins companies must rejoice at the creation of this dish. The egg yolks are crispy, so in addition to yolks, crabs, its probably deep fried. The very epitome of health food...not...but oh so good.


Sweet and Sour pork. Well, it doesnt blow the mind away, but it is edible.



What delights await us on this platter? Duck's tongue!!! I wonder how many Donalds and Daisies had to sacrifice themselves for this dish. A quack quack here and a quack quack there.... I can't remember if I've ever had duck's tongue before, but I cant really say I am a fan. The texture is like a chewy tendon, unlike ox-tongue, which is melt in the mouth...


Check out the awesome roe within the crab shell.... why are all the unhealthiest things in life so delicious!

Scallops with garlic and rice noodle. Sweet and refreshing... swimming in a pleasantly clear broth.





Phoenix Claws, or less glamorously, Chicken Feet. It must have taken a brave or hungry man to discover that chicken feet are edible. I don't like them done this way, I prefer the dim sum way, which makes the skin soft; this version is a tad chewy. Kind of feels still alive....


We couldn't resist trying their version of Sang Har Mee. I personally like the noodles, all crispy, but the gravy was a bit to thick, and didn't seem to get less thick as we worked our way through.


To finish off, dessert of honey sea coconut, a refreshing concoction.


One guy and two monkeys....

I think the prices are yutt fun cheen yutt fun for..you get what you pay for. Those large crabs are not cheap. So carefully select your favourite method of cooking. You wouldn't want to waste those mothers of crab to some cooking style you do not like.

I'm now curious to taste the original Causeway Bay crabs in Hong Kong. Anyone heading there soon?

Uncle Prawn

When you blog late, all the best punchlines are taken. I think Alilfatmonkey's "PRAWN STAR OF GIZA" headline is impossible to better. A slew of prawny puns ensued, on tweeter, between Alilfatmonkey, Ciki and me. We finally concluded that Alilfatmonkey was a Crusty Asian who was on prawn roll in his blogging flair.

So, yeah, we were invited, courtesy of Stephanie, and Alilfatmonkey, to sample the marine offerings at the newly opened UNCLE PRAWN in Sunway Giza. Like essay writing, a good essay is determined by the first paragraph, where you know immediately where its leading. Likewise, the name UNCLE PRAWN immediately tells you, well, no prizes for guessing, it is a prawny place. Unlike vague names like say, "Pomegranate"... It's like playing food russian roulette. What cuisine will it be? But with Uncle Prawn, no such room for doubt. Speaking of nomenclature, Sunway Giza is the sequel to Sunway Pyramid, and I am shocked I did not get that immediately. I guess the next would be Sunway Luxor or Sunway Aswan.

Brightly lit, conspicuous in that amazing atria which houses a whole cornucopia of restaurants, Uncle Prawn was already crowded when we arrived.




Uncle Prawn himself, the amiable Tony, who graciously played excellent host.


Aunty Prawn, who incidentally makes fabulous wedding cakes. But, they don't come cheap, AND, even if you HAD the money to pay her, she takes orders on a very selective basis. She handles her prawns with great aplomb.


Alilfatmonkey and S. Thanks monkey for inviting us.


Look at the size of those prawns. However, those weren't destined for our table. All the more reason to return to try them.


Lovely strips of pork belly deep fried with honey. Simply heavenly. Went perfectly with the lovely Malborough savignon blanc that Tony generously served us.


Buttered squid. Apparently this dish had a lot of people guessing. Some thought it was chicken. Ahem, yours truly managed to guess just by looking. It's like butter prawns, except with squid. Again, this seems to be a delicious accompaniment to wine or beer. I liked the texture of the squid, though someone found it quite tough and chewy.


An amazing claypot of assorted stuff, bathing in a sublime curry sauce. It contains frog's legs, a meat (pork) pattie at the base, (AHHH, divine), crabs, (in case you cant see in the picture), prawns, mussels....representatives from the United Nations of the Sea. Seriously, the sauce was excellent.


Frog's legs revealed.


Pork pattie beneath revealed. The correct name for this dish is actually Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and is priced at RM118 for a pot for 4 people.





Undoubtedly the star (yeah yeah, prawn star) of the show. Swimming in delightful orange roe, one can't but help burst into song at that gorgeous sight. Its only RM25/prawn!
Roe Roe Roe down your throat...makes you smile and beam
Merrily merrily merrily life is but a dream
(To the tune of Row Row Row your boat)


Oh, the noodles arent your ordinary noodle, but CIN-TAN mee (not Cintan, the instant noodle), but Pure Egg in cantonese. It does give the noodle a different texture, and makes it very flavourous on its own.


The humble tilapia, with a makeover. Deep fried, similar to the dried butter prawns style. It is to dispel the notion that tilapias are ordinary boring fish. Quite frankly, done this way, I can't really tell what fish it is when you eat it.


And yet ANOTHER dish of prawns. Boy, the restaurant really does live up to its name. Angled Loofah and River Prawn (RM30 per prawn)... in a lovely broth, almost like a bisque. Also highly recommended. The prawns were fresh, and succulent, and not overcooked.


Of course by now, we were like having food coming out of our nostrils, but our gracious hosts insisted we try their signature Braised Sweetened Pork Ribs. Tender, falling off the bone meat, which screams for rice. Anti Carbo people, beware.


Just look at those fabulous fatty layers.Repeat after me, , ANIMAL FAT IS GOOD FOR YOU!!! MARGARINE IS BAD FOR YOU.


Crispy homemade tofu with mushroom and brocolli. Comfort food at its best. Can imagine it being the major hit with my kids. Some semblance of vegetables in an otherwise protein packed meal.


Lemongrass Jelly (I love this jelly, I always order it at Shang Palace and Iketeru at three times the price, chis!) and Guai Lin Gou. I find in my old age, I am increasingly partial to bitter foods... I am taking a serious liking to the stark bitterness of the black herbal jelly.


Uncle and Aunty Prawn


Cumi & Ciki




Marian and Ciki

Plagiarised from Monkey's Post:
Note: From now till 31 July 2010, spend RM50 at Uncle Prawn and you will get a tilapia for just RM1. If your bill exceeds RM80, you will get 300g of tiger prawns at just RM1.

Great, another sang har mee place to frequent. Parking for now is free at Giza, and the atmosphere in that atrium is rather pleasant.
Thanks to Tony & Teresa for having us, and to Stephanie for organising it.

Uncle Prawn Restaurant
Unit A-15, Sunway Giza,
Jalan PJU 5/14 Dataran Sunway
Kota Damansara, 47810 Petaling Jaya
Tel : 61481998