Friday, February 03, 2006
A return to the homeland
Last Sunday was Chinese New Year's Day. We welcomed in the year of the dog by having Malaysian food.
Oversea Asian Restaurant is run by Chinese-Malaysians (apparently, the owner is originally from Kuala Lumpur) and has been identified as one of the best Malaysian restaurants in Manhattan. I've read reports that Flushing has the best anything-that-is-asian-restaurants, including Malaysian, but because it takes so long to get there by subway, I'll have to save those restaurant visits for a day-trip just to sample all the food out there.
This restaurant has produced the best Malaysian food I've tasted in Manhattan. I tend to crave Malaysian hawker food, which is characterized by food being sold out of stalls and/or carts--like hot dog stands in NYC. Oversea Asian does a good job with these types of dishes.
Some things stand out, especially the appetizers. One dish, young tofu, is, I think, the best appetizer on the menu. Young tofu involves stuffing various tofu/bean curd products or vegetables with a fish/shrimp paste, and frying these pieces. It is then served in soup, which comes in two flavours--clear chicken broth or in curry soup (left, shown here in broth). I prefer the curry soup; it is one of the few dishes I've found that I can say has the perfect amount of flavour--salty and spicy and just plain good. The chicken soup is also full-flavoured, so it is by no means the lesser choice. The young tofu soaks quickly soaks up the soup it's served in, so consuming it as soon as the bowl arrives at the table showcases its crispy deliciousness, but waiting until the young tofu soaks up its soup results in a whole 'nother taste explosion!
The other dishes that warrant mentioning are the roti canai (pictured right) and the satay, both also appetizers. The chicken curry that accompanies the roti is definitely something to talk about. It has a mild heat, creamy coconut taste, and compliments the light layers of the roti well. The roti here is much less greasy than I am used to, but I think I like this "low fat" cousin of the K.L. roti.
The large selection of noodles dishes is impressive and I have yet to try all of them. The fried noodles have proven to be pretty good in general. I enjoy the seafood scramble egg chow fun, but I'm not a fan of the fake crab meat that's included. I think the dish would do better without. The Hokkien chow mee (see left) is one of my favourites (complete with fried pork fat...mmm...), although it's got nothin' on Grandma's version!
Oversea Asian Restaurant is run by Chinese-Malaysians (apparently, the owner is originally from Kuala Lumpur) and has been identified as one of the best Malaysian restaurants in Manhattan. I've read reports that Flushing has the best anything-that-is-asian-restaurants, including Malaysian, but because it takes so long to get there by subway, I'll have to save those restaurant visits for a day-trip just to sample all the food out there.
This restaurant has produced the best Malaysian food I've tasted in Manhattan. I tend to crave Malaysian hawker food, which is characterized by food being sold out of stalls and/or carts--like hot dog stands in NYC. Oversea Asian does a good job with these types of dishes.
Some things stand out, especially the appetizers. One dish, young tofu, is, I think, the best appetizer on the menu. Young tofu involves stuffing various tofu/bean curd products or vegetables with a fish/shrimp paste, and frying these pieces. It is then served in soup, which comes in two flavours--clear chicken broth or in curry soup (left, shown here in broth). I prefer the curry soup; it is one of the few dishes I've found that I can say has the perfect amount of flavour--salty and spicy and just plain good. The chicken soup is also full-flavoured, so it is by no means the lesser choice. The young tofu soaks quickly soaks up the soup it's served in, so consuming it as soon as the bowl arrives at the table showcases its crispy deliciousness, but waiting until the young tofu soaks up its soup results in a whole 'nother taste explosion!
The other dishes that warrant mentioning are the roti canai (pictured right) and the satay, both also appetizers. The chicken curry that accompanies the roti is definitely something to talk about. It has a mild heat, creamy coconut taste, and compliments the light layers of the roti well. The roti here is much less greasy than I am used to, but I think I like this "low fat" cousin of the K.L. roti.
The large selection of noodles dishes is impressive and I have yet to try all of them. The fried noodles have proven to be pretty good in general. I enjoy the seafood scramble egg chow fun, but I'm not a fan of the fake crab meat that's included. I think the dish would do better without. The Hokkien chow mee (see left) is one of my favourites (complete with fried pork fat...mmm...), although it's got nothin' on Grandma's version!// posted by mc @ 12:20 AM 
