Puchong

I'm #teamnoodle some of the time, but I'm #teamchickenrice ALL of the time. You know something’s good when you can’t. stop. eating. and Kong Sai poached chicken rice totally got me hooked! Huge heaping pile of silky golden chicken and that is the bare minimum. Look at the generous amount of coriander! I love coriander. But the best bit? Their signature sauce of finely-chopped ginger, coriander and scallions doused in soy sauce, chicken and sesame oil. Don’t overlook how good the chilli is too. Mix them all together and cue drools. It’s a bit spendy but worth trying, at least once.
—
Pro tip: Get the rice cooked in chicken oil. Non-negotiable.
#burpple

An accidental find but glad I made the walk-in. The first item on the specials list is this hot peppery, gingery soup boiled with pork offals and chicken meat. Simple, soul-warming soup, done well and for a reasonable price. Perfect for rainy days. Ordered plain rice and top it with steamed egg. Add the soup. Now I miss my mum.

Free ice-cream for everyone. Jackpot.

Offering standard tai chow fare to the Puchong masses, Leong Ah stands out with their addictive Butter Silk Fried Sotong (RM20/small). Crispy, tasty and sweet in every bite. Delicious. Would’ve been great with the chilli dip if only it weren’t diluted beyond taste. Got a little ambitious and ordered two other favourite dishes of mine; Sizzling Hot Plate Tau Fu and Steamed ‘Three-kind’ Eggs; which I could do with either one as they were both taste-wise and texturally similar. Nice tasting dishes but potentially sickening after a few mouthfuls. The restaurant is apparently popular for their ’Ji Pao Kai’ (paper-wrapped chicken) which I’m not keen on but those who love this protein may want to give this dish a try.
—
Come in the evening for better chances of parking.

I would highly recommend the Salted Egg Yolk Squid (RM20/small) here. Fried to crisp perfection with balanced batter seasoning. Mildly salty and sweet, yet rich in every bite. ReAlLY good. This dish is what I look forward to in every Chinese restaurant and I’m happy this one did not disappoint. As I was alone, the waiter recommended to get a single dish set which comes with a plate of rice for RM9. I ordered the lightly fried tofu with ground pork in thick soy gravy to balance out the texture of my meal. Also good. Although the restaurant's located slightly out of main Puchong, the dinner was worth the drive. Love that there’s a diverse mix of both Chinese and Indian locals in the restaurant. Makes one feel right at home.

There’s nothing that soothes the soul better than porridge. Pop in here for a dose of rice porridge with various side dishes. From braised pork and duck to bbq pork and spare ribs, the choices are ample and will have you coming back again. Food in frame — the requisite chai poh omelette, kiam chai boey (stewed sour/spicy vegetables) and my favourite tau fu with minced pork. Most of the dishes here are prepped early in the morning and will be heated up upon order, just like how it’s done when Ah Ma takes over the kitchen. Free refills of rice and porridge, but it’s so filling you’ll probably get two meals out of just one bowl. Truly, it’s the simplest things that taste the best.
#burpple

The mutton varudal here is excellent-ay! Located right next to Giant Hypermarket, Rathaa’s earned a rep among the locals for tasty banana leaf rice though with a slightly premium price tag. The basic banana leaf rice will set you back about RM6.50 and the mutton at RM7.90 extra. Definitely not an Indian meal you would want to fork out RM15 everyday, but the mutton curry is pretty worth indulging once in a while. Try this: take a spoonful of curry covered rice (I’d recommend combining both dhal and chicken curry), top it with a chunk of mutton, followed by some of that crispy fried bitter gourd and poppadom chips, and get ready to explode your brains off. Seriously, you ain’t doing banana leaf rice justice if your spoon ain’t got at least 5 layers of stuff on it. This order is essential guys. Their masala tea is said to be equally amazing so go try if you can.
Disclaimer: I don’t eat a lot of rice so the portion may look small. Don’t worry, you can tambah a lot of rice with no extra charge!! Don't be scared to ask them okay.
#burpple

Tucked away in a quiet street near popular hiking spot in Puchong lies one kool kopitiam that could easily be anyone’s favourite hidden gem! It’s got the look of a modern cafe sans the hefty price tag, serving up local breakfast favourites on the cheap. A meal here will set you back for less than RM10. You can belanja your parents here and earn approving nods from them. Mum would love their nasi lemak bungkus (RM2) for their spicy sambal. I love love love the roti goyang (RM4.5), hainanese toast lathered in margarine and topped with kampung half boiled eggs. Damn. Just died and gone to Heaven. Anything with good eggs make me soft on the knees. Their exposed concrete floors and open doors invite lots of cool morning air, making this place a really chill and all round nice place to sit back, relax and enjoy your breakfast in the morning.

The Rachel (RM18.9) — Espresso, Salted Caramel Ice-cream, Chocolate PB sauce, Cookies, Roasted Peanuts. A damn indulging affogato that satisfies. Coffee from Typica Roasters.