Great news. I’m now employed and I am also a freelance Social Media Strategist and Consultant, so that means more money to spend on food! My iMac’s harddisk has been upgraded from 250GB to 1TB, so that means more space for photos and videos now! My colleagues are planning a trip to Tanjung Sepat, so that’s exactly the next featured article. Who best to report on these nice but unknown locations, than the locals themselves?

So tell your friends. Share this blog with them. Get them to subscribe as well. We’ve got some good stuff coming your way!

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads This blog is on fire!.

Crunchy numbers

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 9,800 times in 2010. That’s about 24 full 747s.

In 2010, there were 7 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 15 posts. There were 15 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 4mb. That’s about a picture per month.

The busiest day of the year was March 7th with 103 views. The most popular post that day was Banting Infostreet.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were facebook.com, malaysianfoodreview.com, batupermataimpian.blogspot.com, google.com.my, and flickr.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for banting malaysia, banting selangor, banting, banting town, and kheng kopitiam.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

Banting Infostreet March 2010
4 comments

Photography December 2009
2 comments

Getting Here November 2009
1 comment

McDonald’s Banting December 2009
10 comments

Sayang Manis (I) November 2009
13 comments

First, let me clarify that the owner is not related to me. In fact, I have no idea how to name this post since this shop doesn’t have a business signboard. However, the place would still be thronged with people especially at night, enjoying the sumptuous BKT concocted by the ingenious owner simply known as “Ah Gan”. What’s unique is that the restaurant only opens at night, from 8pm to 8am.

Let’s face it, if I’m not wrong there are more than 15 shops or stalls selling Bak Kut Teh in the morning for breakfast. If you have been to a typical shoplot for Bak Kut Teh in the morning, do you still remember the kind of heat and sweat you have to go through, with the heat from the kitchen and the flames from the mobile stoves boiling water in the kettles? This man took a different approach selling only at night. Imagine, you are seated comfortably on a cool night (or early morning), sipping green tea while anticipating the piping hot claypot of soup. The experience can be pretty heavenly!

Fresh vegetables make excellent garnish

The photo above has not been enhanced or manipulated in any way. It really does look that good!

Soup

I would consider the soup as of medium viscosity. It’s not too thin that it’s tasteless, and not too thick that you don’t feel like tasting it after a few sips. Although it feels a bit oily (possibly due to the fried “Tow Kee” / soy sheets they put in). The soup is dark, with a balanced, medium-strong herbal taste but not bitter. Other ingredients include button mushrooms and fried “Tow Kee” which has a very good texture.

Meat

The problem with most Bak Kut Teh that you find in Kuala Lumpur is that the meat is in huge chunks and are not cooked long enough to allow the meat to soften. They are usually so tough and tasteless (the chinese call it “doesn’t absorb taste”). This version however has smaller chunks of meat and boiled to perfection. Most BKT in Banting is that good, anyway. My family and I was just about to leave at 6am to the airport, when we saw the chef already boiling 2 big pots of soup for the next night. Talk about determination!

Verdict

PROs: Relatively clean outlet, great BKT, cool environment (electric hot water dispensers only), situated in a quiet neighbourhood.

CONs: Soup is rather oily, only serves BKT (no greens, chicken, others), lack of parking spaces (shouldn’t be a problem at night).

Yes, you’ve read that correctly. Formerly known as “Green Palace” or something, it was renamed “Doraemon Food Court” when another person bought over the place. Despite the funny name, this food court offers perhaps the best (and CHEAPEST) food in town. Since this food court opens only late in the evening, parking is free. Now let’s dump history and get straight to the FOOD!

View Larger Map

This is one of the most popular Nasi Lemak stalls in Banting. It opens at 6.30pm, and if you want to have a taste, you had better be there before 8.00pm or else it’s usually sold out! It’s not that they’re not churning out enough fried chicken, fried eggs and rice, but it’s such a best-seller, forget about the term “selling like hot cakes”, even cakes won’t sell this well! It should be said as “selling like hot NASI LEMAK”!

The fried chicken is really good, and many people go to this stall just to order the chicken. As you can see at the bottom-left of the photo, the equally great Rendang Chicken is limited and are usually sold out within the first 30 minutes of business.

This is how busy it can sometimes get!

Nasi Lemak with Fried Chicken and Fried Egg. Price: RM3.50. Nasi Lemak from Old Town Kopitiam tastes like it’s from post-World War 2 Poland compared to this.

There are a couple of other stalls selling good food as well. You can get decent fried stuff from the corner stall.

These two stalls are owned by the same owner. They have quite a good variety of noodles, kuey teow and yee-mee.

One of the best is the fish-head meehoon. Can’t really describe the taste here, but you have to try this!

This Tom Yam stall has quite good fried rice and though I’ve never had the soup, it should be good judging from the fragrant fried rice.

The usual suspect in most food courts: Char Kuey Teow.

This particular stall sells pretty decent Claypot Chicken Rice, but the porridge is heavenly! Definitely a MUST TRY!

Fortunately, ordering all of the food recommended in this page should cost less than RM20. So go ahead and stuff yourself. Like we Malaysians would always say, “once in a while only mah”!

This is one of the many shops that my parents and their close friends frequent almost every morning! One of the main reasons is that the chef – whom we call “Pui Kia” (Fat Boy in Hokkien) – is one of the most versatile chefs around. Besides Bak Kut Teh, he also prepares some very good Bitter Gourd Pork Soup (Sak Bak), fish and green vegetables. This is perhaps one of the greatest strengths of this shop, since most shops selling Bak Kut Teh only serves, well, Bak Kut Teh!

For those of you with a certain fear of such shops in Banting, it’s nice to know that the owner of this shop keeps the utensils and surroundings clean. You’d be surprised that the kettles are very well-scrubbed, you’d think they are new!

Pui Kia keeps many claypots with various sizes, some of which are reserved to cook only specific kinds of soup.

The vegetables look relatively fresh, with a good variety for you to choose from.

When I asked Pui Kia what the name of this soup is, he had no idea! It’s a recipe he just thought of trying. There’s minced pork and fish fillet in the soup which is enhanced by tomatoes, some vegetables, beancurd, a few slices of bitter gourd, slices of green chilli for added aroma, and a special ingredient which really made this soup a unique treat – lime juice! The soup has a good aroma yet not overbearing, and my family practically licked the pot clean (most of which is my job)!

The fish looks fresh!

As a conclusion, this is a shop worth going to on a daily basis, since you can just ask the chef to “cook up something new”. Some of the stuff that my family – and many others – have tried before, and RECOMMEND:

• Chicken Soup (Herbal)
• Sweetcorn Soup
• Bitter Gourd Soup (Signature)
• Seaweed Soup

You may need to reserve/pre-order (except for the Bitter Gourd Soup) with the chef a day before to allow him to obtain the ingredients needed for certain soups. Prices are of course, very reasonable, since we’re talking about Banting!

Banting already has a few higher learning institutes, like Institut Latihan Perindustrian (ILP), Kolej Mara Banting, Kolej Komuniti Banting, and the upcoming matriculation college which has a super-large real estate! I will do a fair coverage of all these places soon, and hope the young leaders of tomorrow will see an opportunity of a good, affordable education in Banting, even when they may not do so well in school.

Happy New Year 2010, and may the year turn out to be the best!

For no apparent reason, some of my friends have been bugging me to write a post about McDonald’s in Banting, just to show that Banting is a fast-developing town. Below is a map that will guide you to Banting Business Centre, which is too new that it’s not shown on the aging Google Maps. Just follow the directions there, and the destination would be on your left.

Since it has already been many months since I’ve dined here (I usually prefer the drive-thru), I was really hoping that the service has improved, and there would be no such silly mistakes as:

• Forgetting to issue a receipt (drive-thru)
• Packing the wrong stuff to a customer
• Forgetting packets of chilli sauce for take-away orders
• Extremely slow service

I have no idea why this outlet practices this system, in which:

1. The cashier keys in an order for customer 1, then pushes the customer’s tray aside;
2. Keys in an order for customer 2, then does the same thing;
3. Repeat steps 1-2 for customer 3;
4. And then 2 employees (or more) would work on the 3 customers’ orders simultaneously.

While this system may be more efficient for the workers to work on 3 orders simultaneously, it keeps the 4th customer waiting (along with everyone in the line), and if you’re customer 1, God bless you! Once in a while, they would screw up a customer’s order by packing the wrong stuff. I’m not sure whether or not McDonald’s Banting is the only McDonald’s outlet in Malaysia that does this, but many of us in Banting agree that this is the SLOWEST McDonald’s, at least in Klang Valley!

It could be that the place is understaffed. Only 2 worked in the kitchen, 4 in the cashier-cum-food preparation, 1 for drive-thru. This was 4pm, although I know that by dinner time, there would be 2 persons handling the drive-thru, otherwise someone might report to Hitz.fm that we have a major traffic jam leading to McDonald’s Banting!

At least for KFC, a cashier would key in an order for a customer, and then would go straight into working on the order. This simple system keeps the service time of each customer consistent, and that orders would not mess up.

Thank God I was customer #2 today, but guess my waiting time? I would be rather pissed, if it weren’t for an adorable cashier Fieza who worked on my order.

The interior deco was rather unique, and at one corner there’s a small “playground” for your kids, and a small section that can accommodate larger crowds or celebrations. I reckon it could fit around 20+ people.

There’s an open-air section for smokers or for those simply prefer the cool night breeze.

When it first opened, there were so many houseflies that I ended up writing – in their feedback form – that this place would fail it’s cleanliness tests by Majlis Daerah Kuala Langat, unless they install some of these stuff to kill the bugs. It’s nice to see they listened, and installed not 1, but 4 of these. Occasionally you would still see a few houseflies, but nothing serious.

When will we Malaysians learn to be more civic minded like the Japanese? I recall taking the Japanese high-school students for a tour around KL, and they would clear up their own tables as they leave.

If not for the small sign there, I would not have noticed that they’ve finally installed the “Holy Grail” of cafes and restaurants: Wi-Fi! Alright, now there’s 4 places that I know of offering wireless Internet connectivity.

Just recently, I decided to do a more complete coverage of the new commercial area in town, Banting Business Centre. It says “Pusat Perdagangan Banting” at the front, which is what you’ll see when you reach here, but at the back – hidden since it’s a car-park space – it says “Banting Business Centre”. Another “brilliant” job done by the civil engineers at Majlis Daerah Kuala Langat, who screwed up on a simple job enlarging a drain near my house, and end up having to redo everything again because “the elevation of the new drain does not allow water to flow in the proper direction”. That was 3 weeks ago, and it’s still not completed today.

Anyway, let’s go to the more positive side of this area. As you take a left turn into the centre, this is what you see on your left:

As I mentioned in some of the posts before, My Taste Kopitiam is situated right below the UMNO Kuala Langat office. My recent visit there confirms that My Taste is no longer dependent on UMNO’s wireless Internet connection, as they now have their own, although the line drops rather frequently.

On your right is an extremely large area dedicated to McDonalds. Yes, Banting has McDonalds, apart from Pizza Hut, Marry Brown and 2 KFC outlets. From its launch in late 2008 until recently, it’s the slowest McDonalds outlet in Peninsula Malaysia, and possibly the whole world. I will do another visit soon to photograph the interior and do a more comprehensive coverage. Hopefully the service has improved.

This is basically the entire street. The other street which is on the other side facing the main road doesn’t have anything much yet, although there is a new Bank Islam right behind My Taste Kopitiam. You can see Kheng’s Kopitiam at the end of the street, with a huge round signboard on top. Parking is still free so far.

After some photographing and walking around, I decided to settle down for dinner at a humble-looking mamak shop, which I’ve noticed to be quite popular at night. I was not disappointed.

I took the Mee Goreng, which was quite spicy and dry, which really suits my taste since I love spicy food, and I prefer my noodles dry a la Penang Char Kuey Teow style. At night, I went out for a drink with an old friend, and we ended up in the same place. Photos below are what we took for supper, just 2 hours after my dinner!

There’s nothing much for me to comment on the Pros and Cons of this shop, since most people already know what to expect from a mamak shop. If you love spicy food and the usual mamak-stuff, this is one of the best Banting has to offer! Price is reasonable, and the drinks are not overly sweet. A perfect place to start – and end – your day.

Banting.Wordpress.com will continue to add quality content related to not only Banting, but also the areas around it, which includes Jugra, Sungai Manggis, Jenjarom, Telok Panglima Garang, Sijangkang and Morib.

Because the author would like to keep this blog sensitive to all Malaysians, the homepage will only display Halal food and places, while non-Halal materials will be posted in the Non-Halal page which you can click at the top of the homepage.

Since there is a growing number of budget hotels in Banting, they will also be featured in new pages above.

Stay tuned!

With the Kopitiam-craze in Malaysia, this is actually the first “Kopitiam” to open in Banting. It is situated quite strategically in the heart of the busiest and oldest commercial centres in town. Finding it wouldn’t be hard, as you can refer to the map attached below.

One of the most interesting thing about this particular cafe is the price. The food and beverages are so cheap, and the restaurant is so huge, you wonder if they actually make any money at all. For your information, there are many chinese businesspeople here in Banting who deal with gambling and lottery business, as well as smuggling. Therefore there are many businesses that act just as an establishment to avoid suspicion of the authorities. I’m not sure whether this is one of them.

However, I think charging such low prices for quality stuff is something like charity. You make money out of shady activities, and then you please the community. Hey, I’m OK with that!

The one thing you notice when you enter is that the restaurant took 2 shoplots combined, and it has an outdoor section and an indoor section. There are many power sockets available for you to charge your laptop as you surf, though you need to pay a flat rate of RM1 to use. The wireless Internet connection is speedy, and business has been gaining ground since the last time I paid a visit here! The restaurant has been at almost full capacity since my 2 recent visits this month. They have also introduced new creations into their menu.

I bumped into my former secondary school teacher, Mr Lim Meng Kooi here. He was meeting with his students to discuss a trip somewhere.

Although it says “No Alcohol. No Beef. No Pork”, it doesn’t mean that it’s 100% Halal. For those of you who don’t mind, I highly recommend you to try the drinks which should be halal anyway.

Christmas came early!

This is their “Creamy Nesnila”, which is a basically Nescafe with a touch of vanilla. It’s actually quite good. Price: RM2.50

They call this “Milo Choco Rich”, which is a mix of Milo and quality cocoa powder. It tastes better than Alicafe’s Oligococo, to be honest, and it won’t make you feel bloated like Oligococo. The frothy top makes it look really classy. Price: RM2.50

This is one of their older creations, “Chicken Chop with Emperor Noodles”. It’s quite plain to be honest, and rather too light on taste. Suitable for those who prefer light meals. Price: RM4.50

I saved the best for last. This is one of their latest creations, “Hainan Chicken Chop”. What’s special is the sauce. It is tomato-based sweet & sour sauce, with lots of onions and mixed vegetables. The side-dishes are typical. Traditionally, this sauce is used for pork-chops. I feel that it fits just great with chicken as well!

VERDICT

Uncle Yam Kopitiam offers perhaps some of the most unique food and beverages here in Banting, at an unbelievable average price of RM4.50 for food and RM2.50 for drinks. According to the certificate by the local authorities (Majlis Daerah Kuala Langat), this is a restaurant with Grade-A cleanliness. The washrooms are huge, clean and comfy. The wireless Internet connection is fast, since they change the password everyday to avoid unauthorized users outside of their premises. It is spacious, and you can have conversations comfortably here.

PROs: Quality, unique food; Clean premises; Spacious environment; Air-Conditioned; Fast Internet connection; Unbelievable prices.

CONs: Is this a non-profit restaurant???