No Frills Dinner at Taiping Lang
It’s a sunny Wednesday morning today and a prelude to a holiday tomorrow! Let’s do away with all the Chinese New Year reviews that have been bombarding my blog lately, shall we? Today I’m going to share a short post with you regarding some authentic and home-cooked grandma’s dishes in a restaurant called Taiping Lang. Judging from the name and the dialect of the restaurant, this shop is owned by some Hokkien descendants from Taiping, Perak. What struck me once I entered the restaurant was how similar it looked like my grandmother’s place last time! The myriad of ladles, spoons, strainers as well as the grandfather’s clock hanging on the wall. Uncanny!
The homely feel of Taiping Lang restaurant, with the assortment of kitchen utensils hanging on the wall
Taiping Lang also has quite an interesting concept of rotating their menus once every 2 days. There are a total of 3 menus, labeled as Menu T, P and L (Short for Taiping Lang I’m sure). I liked their way of marketing their dishes as this meant the customers would be in for something new (most probably) in their subsequent visits. The menu that was given to me that day was labeled as P, and it was just one page – simple and straightforward. There were 4 sets available that day (as with every other day) and each set was cleverly mixed and matched to provide the wholesome combination of spicy, savoury, sweet and sour blend of taste. Depending on the number of people dining, one could ask for a set for 2 persons, 3 persons and so on. Also, there is a short list of Daily Side Dishes that one could order a la carte.
Menu of the day
We ordered the Set D for 2 persons (RM28) and topped up a dish of Hu Pau or Otak-Otak. This is a dish primarily made from fish paste with a mixture of spices and wrapped in banana leaf. The result was a piece of fish cake with a soft and smooth velvety texture that was fragrant with the hints of coconut milk, lemongrass, shallots and turmeric. This was definitely one of the better ones I’ve had, steamed to perfection and must be eaten warm.
Otak-Otak (RM5)
Following that, our dishes from the Set arrived. The first being the Kiam Chai Buey (Mixed vegetables stew) which was sour and appetizing. This dish is traditionally made from mixing of leftover vegetables (chai buey) and meat, and lots of mustard greens. It is hard not to fall in love with this because of the multitude of flavours that it projects, especially after being stewed for long hours. The one at Taiping Lang had a slight nutty taste that complemented the sour base really well. I would have preferred it to be a little bit more spicy but still it was decent and moreish.
Kiam Chai Buey (Stewed mixed vegetables)
The next one in the set was Gulai Hu, or translated to be Fish Curry. This came in a clay bowl with lots of curry and a generous portion of stingray in the form of fish fillets. The curry was thick, slightly spicy and extremely fragrant from the coconut milk. It’s the type of gravy that you could mix with your rice and end up finishing 2 bowls of it. Oh and may I add, rice is free flow with the set! Amazing isn’t it? 
Gulai Hu (Fish Curry)
The fish fillet was rather sizable, fresh and smooth especially when drenched with curry. Yum!
Fish fillet in curry
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Comments (19)
eh nice la if rotating menus every 2 days, ppl oso wont feel bored eating at there!
Caroline recently posted..MM – I See The Light by Mandy Moore ft Levi OST Rapunzel
but if that person eat there every 2 days, then that person might be eating the same dish woh
Not true, each menu (T, P, L) has 4 sets to choose from. So even if you get the same menu, you still have 4 choices!
kiam chai buey really look very appetizing!! yums!!
Caroline recently posted..Happy SIX-Monthsary- Love!
Cheap. Not bad.
Do you know that the ah Mah actually planted some herbs & spices on top of the shoplot???
Been here once and it really tasted like home-cooked food – a trait that I absolutely adore!
Leo (thule) recently posted..Day 2 – Tanjung Tualang & Ipohs Wedding Dinner
Really?? That’s fascinating! I should have requested to go to the top and take some pictures then! Hehe..
No popiah? This is Taiping’s famous food…
khengsiong recently posted..Recycle with Tzu Chi
wooo..seems like you found somethng cheap and nice eh
Wow! Nice food! And reasonable price too! When are you bringing me there? : D
foongpc recently posted..Food I Ate During My Bangkok Trip
the fish fillet played tricks on my eyes! I was wondering if u used the chopstick to hold it or poke thru it?! ahahah..
but that aside… yummy food!!!!
Merryn recently posted..Toilet Paper Roll Rabbit
Hah!!! The type of restaurant that I like…and the type of food I love too! None of those classy pretentious joints for me. Food looks great, price reasonable…but Puchong! So far from KL… Why all the nice places, all in Puchong one?
super affordable! even simple steamboat for 2 pax can set u back at RM40+-. i love kiamchai buay too, esp if got chicken feet inside. YUM!
xin recently posted..New Affordable Japanese Restaurant- Hokkaido Ichiba in The Gardens- Mid Valley Megamall
hey, really all those traditional home style food!! haha, i thot you really went to Taiping for those food.. it’s Puchong again, how come Puchong got so many things to eat one huh??
[SK] recently posted..17012011 陰男陽女
Very homely indeed. Yeah, I get what you mean by imperfection = perfection. I love how my grandma cooks braised pork with hard boiled eggs. Very, very homely.
Now she’s one of my designated makan kaki, prefer to eat out instead.
J2Kfm recently posted..Zing @ Grand Millennium Hotel- Kuala Lumpur – A Touch of Contemporary Zest to Life
Oh yea my grandma cooks braised pork with hard boiled eggs too! Lovely! Maybe I should suggest for Taiping Lang to do the same! hehe
the braised pork n soup does look good *slurps*
Yea! It would be even better with some Hard boiled eggs like what J2Kfm suggested *wink*
That otak otak is like a tamale =)