KL Sedap 2014 Part 1: Nasi Ayam Hainan Chee Meng

So before we set out to KL, we asked our readers for some suggestions on makan places in KL that they'd like us to visit and review. Boy oh boy did we get a great response and a nice long list of makan places to visit.

Yeah we probably won't be able to fit every single one in because some are really far away from the city centre where we will be based and well technically we're only there for a total of just about 2 weeks. So we will try our best!!

So one of the places suggested by a few readers was Nasi Ayam Hainan Chee Meng.

At first, we thought that this chicken rice place was the one located just beside BB Plaza / Sungai Wang Plaza because we remember a chicken rice place from our past few visits. Well, apparently that's a different one and this one was a little further up the road.

Let us tell you that the Bukit Bintang stretch was under really heavy renovation when we visited. Guess they are re-doing the roads or something so it was quite a big turn we had to make on foot plus it was raining really heavily too!

Anyways we finally found the right place and we were ready for a nice hearty meal because the weather was cold and we were hungry!!

Half Roasted Chicken (RM33.00)

So we came all this way and no way were we gonna order just a small set.
We wanted to order half a Roasted Chicken and half a Steamed Chicken but they were all out of the latter so we settled on a whole chicken but it gets served in halves anyways.

You can also choose the Ayam Kampung version but it's a bit pricier at RM40.00 per half.
Rice is RM2 for a small and RM2.50 for a large one. Drumsticks/Boneless chicken is an extra RM1.
Bishop's Nose aka Tongkeng Ayam at RM0.50!!!

Quite a fair serving of chicken if we do say so.
But there was one problem... 5 of us all agreed on one thing about the chicken - it was tasteless.
It was pretty disappointing because we really thought this was gonna be the bomb.

Not sure maybe it was our bad luck to drop by on the wrong day?
The soy sauce was salty goodness in my opinion but then again a good roasted chicken should not have to rely on the soy sauce to give it flavour right? A good example is the Roasted Chicken at Tang Tea House in Singapore. Yeah the soy sauce is the bomb but the chicken on its own is power too.

But one thing is for sure. The chicken is really a big chicken so you're getting your money's worth in that respect. That picture above is a snap of the chicken breast part. Look at how thick it is!

The rice was also a bit of a let down. It was really grainy and actually it was close to being considered uncooked in some parts. Dry and a little bit hard to swallow on its own and also lacking the chicken flavour you'd expect in Chicken Rice.

The chilli seemed to be the saving grace here.
It was nice and spicy probably because they don't include too much garlic but more chillies instead (rightfully so) but still lacking in the flavour department. Yeah spicy... but not tasty.

But we guess that, in a way, the chilli was probably the best part of the chicken rice there.

Kailan Sos Tiram (RM14.00 Large)

There was a bit of the split decision on the veggies though.

We had the Kailan Sos Tiram (Oyster Sauce Kailan) which I personally thought was really good because the kailan was nice and cooked through as opposed to being too tough like some other places I'd been to before.

But a few others seemed to think some improvements were in order because it was a bit on the sweet side. I thought it was on the salty side which is probably why I liked it so much LOL. Well, anyways they also have a small serving for half the price in case you'd like a smaller size.

Wantan Goreng (RM6.00)

As a side, we decided to go for the Fried Wantons which seemed like nice and deep fried crispy goodness from the picture in the menu and I guess they were not that bad.

Nice and crispy fried goodies but a little lacking in the flavour department (as with most of the rest of the stuff we had there unfortunately).

They're packo full of minced chicken meat and good for dipping in the chicken rice chilli if you're looking to add a little kick into the wanton.

Other sides you might to choose from are the Kerabu Mangga (Thai Style Mango Salad) or maybe go for the Kerabu Kaki Ayam (Thai Style Chicken Feet Salad).

CHILD FRIENDLY FACTOR

Baby chairs are available upon request but a little crampy. Depending on the weather, might get a little stuffy too.

Overall Child Friendly Rating - 2.5/5

Adam's Verdict:
Roasted Chicken Rice 1.5/5 -- Kailan Sos Tiram 4/5 -- Wantan Goreng 2/5

Maryah's Verdict:
Roasted Chicken Rice 0.5/5 -- Kailan Sos Tiram 1/5 -- Wantan Goreng 1.5/5

Azim's Verdict:
Roasted Chicken Rice 2/5 -- Kailan Sos Tiram 1/5

Razali's Verdict:
Roasted Chicken Rice 2/5 -- Kailan Sos Tiram 2.5/5

Fateha's Verdict:
Roasted Chicken Rice 2/5 -- Kailan Sos Tiram 1/5

They actually have quite an extensive menu with items like Chicken, Prawns and Squid cooked in various styles like Salted Egg (!!), Sambal, Sweet & Sour etc and also a variety of vegetable dishes to go for as well but when a place has the words 'Nasi Ayam' in the name, you'd expect Chicken Rice to be the specialty there that can't go wrong.

We eat a lot of Chicken Rice (have you read The Chicken Rice Chronicles by the way?) and we have to say this was pretty disappointing. Sure this might appeal to some peoples' taste for sure but this wasn't for us.

PS the staff were really unfriendly too. Maybe it really was a bad day for us to visit.

Nasi Ayam Hainan Chee Meng

50 Jalan Bukit Bintang
Kuala Lumpur Malaysia

www.cheemeng.com.my

Operating Hours:
11.00am til 10.00pm Daily

Makan In Malacca Part 1: A&W

My earliest memory of A&W as a kid was having it in KL.
My Dad's brother was working for KTM and we took the train down to KL one day to visit. There was an A&W right at the train station.

The last time I had A&W in Singapore was at the Lau Pa Sat outlet.
I think that was probably around... 2000 or 2001 maybe?
It had become so unpopular (for some reason) that they resorted to gimmicks like selling Nasi Lemak and Chicken Thigh Rice (seriously!) which was actually really sad. A&W was always a place we could go and have waffles and chicken wings and Coney Dogs!

Well alas, there's no more A&W in Singapore but you can hop over somewhere nearby (like Malaysia or Indonesia) to get your fix if you'd like. So my darling wife and I could not resist when we spotted an outlet near our hotel in Melacca.

Chicken Coney Dog (RM11.65 for the combo)

Actually, A&W automatically loses points from the start because my wife asked for the BEEF Coney Dog and for some reason we ended up with the Chicken version instead... Tsk tsk...

Well anyways. The Coney Dog has got to be a fan favourite with most of you am I right? A nice, soft, tender sausage covered in beef chilli and onions all resting in a nice soft bun.

YUMMY!

In this case, we opted to pay an additional RM1.00 to get a small tub of Coney Sauce to add on to the sausage! Genius!
Anyways it's really cheap so it's well worth it to get that little bit of extra Coney kick! You can also use it on your fries!

I personally would have asked for more onions but hey maybe that's just me?

But I'm very sure most of you will agree with me - The Coney Dog rules.

Golden Aroma Chicken (RM12.65 for the combo)

 As for me, I decided to have something else that A&W was pretty famous for - Fried Chicken.

I'm actually not sure how many of you might have had back in the days in Singapore.
I remember seeing it but most of the time it'd be Coney Dogs and Waffles for me. Maybe once in awhile can whack some Chicken Wings but not very often I'd have to say.

Well let me say this - the Fried Chicken is good!
If you're not looking for any burgers or hotdogs then go for the chicken. It's tasty and it's got a nice coating on it. Nice chilli sauce to go along and you're set.

Curly Fries vs French Fries

With your combo order, you actually get fries to go along with your main.
A&W is definitely an icon when it came to the Curly Fries. In fact I think they might have actually pioneered the Curly Fries movement because I don't remember anyone else having it.

And they're still pretty curly today of course!

But.. don't let the normal French Fries fool you.
They may seem unsuspecting and you're more likely going to go for the Curly Fries but those normal French Fries are actually pretty tasty too!

Root Beer Float (RM2.00 top-up with combo)

And last but definitely not least - The Root Beer Float.

Well it's still refreshing but I have to say that a lot of the kick is lost when it's not in the frosty mug.
In fact, the last few times we've had A&W Root Beer Floats (in KL and Bandung), they've all been in paper cups. So I guess the signature frosty mugs have gone bye-bye and perhaps so has some of the appeal of the good ol' Root Beer Float.

Adam's Verdict:
Chicken Coney Dog 4/5 -- Golden Aroma Chicken 3/5

Maryah's Verdict:
Chicken Coney Dog 4.5/5 -- Curly Fries 5/5

I wonder how the Beef Coney dog would have fared...
Oh well. Maybe we'll go back again. On Tuesday. Because Tuesday is Coney Day!

A&W

Dataran Pahlwan Megamall (South Entrance)
Jalan Merdaka, Melaka, Malaysia
www.facebook.com/awmalaysia

Operating Hours:
10.00am til 11.00pm (Sundays - Thursdays)
10.00am til 12.00am (Fridays and Saturdays)

Image from Google Maps