A local affair at CHYNIIS, SS2 Mall
Okay, so Ive been saying the name over and over again in my head. And Ive been saying it wrong!
CHYNIIS. How would you pronounce it?
Ok, no argument there, Im not the brightest cupcake in the box (unlike my good friend Fatboybakes, who loudly proclaimed to me in front of everyone, Its not Cheeeeee-neeees, laaaah! he bellowed. Its CHI-NESE!)
Haha. Name aside, this newly opened restaurant has a name that will definitely provide for some entertaining dinner conversation. Well, thats if you have time to open your mouth and speak between stuffing your face with some seriously good local Chinese food. I hardly spoke that evening, because my mother always taught me not to talk with my mouth full!
The name itself embodies the cuisine at the restaurant; keeping traditional Malaysia Chinese dishes alive, but putting a modern, creative, and sometimes even ambitious, twist on it.
There are obscure dishes coming all the way from East Malaysia, like the Tawau Fish Mau Soup and a Cactus dish from Sibu that unfortunately, due to the cost and travel time of importing cacti from Mexico, we missed out on.
Recognizable home-ground staples like Sang Har Meen (Freshwater Prawn Noodle) are on the menu, and we learnt from owner Mr. KH Saw (d Italianne Kitchen owner), that increasingly, River Prawns are harder to get locally so they source theirs from Indonesia.
Mr. Saw articulately spoke about how Chinese cuisine itself is so diversified, influenced by the different regions, the different traditions, and of course, the different people that cook it. It has wangled itself into our lives here in Malaysia, without much resistanc! e from u s. When I looked around the table, it dawned on me that what Mr. Saw was saying was true. Yes, we all have our own favourites.
New faces included Stephen, a freelance writer who graciously extended the invitation to dine at CHYNIIS, Nicholas, a fit-looking chef who chooses his food carefully, Sai Fun, a bubbly, creative type who helped with the name and menu design, and lovely, smiley Joyce, Mr. Saws other half.
The regulars included his royal highness and fellow Sang Har Meen lover Fatboybakes, the glowing IamtheWitch, her bashful hubby Saucer, and my fellow crab-lovin friend, Lexie of Red FM.
We nibbled on some crispy deep-fried shrimp, and watched the food roll out.
Crispy Pork Belly with Rolled Chargrilled Cuttlefish
Sticky, sweet and salty all at the same time. Use chopsticks of youll be licking your fingers for the rest of the night. The texture of the cuttlefish is chewy, but in a good way. Mingled with the crispy, caramelized pork belly, it was an interesting combination.
Ill be honest, it was hard to tell which is which just by looking, so youll have to wait to find out when you taste it.
With so much of the same texture on one plate, I gave up after a few bites because my jaw was getting tired. Great for sharing, and for me, Ill have it in small doses or with breaks in between!
Baked Giant River Prawns with Dang Gui and Butter
This was one dish that received almost a standing ovation from the entire table. Being so used to Freshwater Prawn cooked in the same Sang Har Meen style, this was a breath of fresh air! Sai Fun explained that Dang Gui actually means Cordyceps, a herb uses in another popular local dish called Bak Kut Teh (Meat bone Tea). It was such a winning combination! The shriveled leaves had unleashed all their smoky flavour into the prawn, and mostly, all over its shell.
It was almost as if the chef had drowned the prawn in the secret sauce, thrown in into a burning flamed and ripped it out again to get that beautiful, charred, sugary, herby layer on the outside. It was gluey yet crispy, it was salty yet sweet the balance was just right, and really, every shell was polished until they looked brand new.
I almost forgot about the prawn flesh itself
Tea Smoked Village Chicken
This is a dish that you need to pre-order. Well, you can turn up, and depending on your luck, there might be some left. But its SO GOOD, you NEED to pre-order!
The chicken is slow cooked to retain all moistness. Its juicy, its succulent, its everything you could ever want in a well fed kampung chicken that has led a good life. Whats so pleasant about it as well, is that you actually smell the tea! The hint of smokiness comes afte! r you bi te into it, but mostly you just taste the simple marinade thats soaked into every morsel of flesh. Loved it, almost as much as I loved the prawns!
Fish Balls with Japanese Potato Glass Noodles
This was interesting.
Well, the fishballs were outstanding, retaining all the bounciness they were supposed to have, whilst remaining just that little bit fluffy.
Potato Glass Noodles, well, to me they tasted like slightly more robust glass noodles, and definitely more slippery. Probably not something I would order again, but definitely worth a try. Hey, whos to argue with local delicacies right? Nothing a little pickled green chili cant fix!
CHYNIIS House Special Boneless Crispy Chicken
Everyone else was Oohing and aahing over this house specialty, and again, that just goes to show what Mr. Saw mentioned at the start of our meal. You cant please everyone in this business, he said. You have to streamlineto test and taste, and narrow it down to the 95% that like it, not the 5% that dont.
In this case, I was the 5%. Its not that I didnt like it, its just that I prefer (chicken) breast meat. Here, the team at CHYNIIS have painstakingly removed every ounce of other flesh, and replaced it all with thigh and leg meat.
I applaud them for effort, and appealing to the masses. And of course, as for all their other dishes, for the sheer superb skill in cooking the re-stuffed chicken to perfection. A crispy, golden skin tempted us to dig deeper and unleash the juicy, darker meat within.
Beef Squares with Beancurd Skin and Puffed Rice
This was my least favourite of the evening. I dont care much for tomatoes, especially when theyre large, warm and lacking taste. The tofu-like beef however, I found much better on its own. Imagine, your favourite Yong tau Fu ingredient, just better.
You can have it in soup, stir fried, or even with anything else, except tomatoes.
Just when I thought it was all over, and we were ending a fabulous meal on a mediocre note, out came the dark horses.
CHYNIIS Sang Har Mee
Ah. A Malaysian classic. A must have. Succulent, fat freshwater prawns, gleaming with roe, each chunk of white, bouncy flesh begging to be ripped out of its shell.
I do get a little barbaric when I talk about prawns
But seriously, as good as the prawns were, I was more impressed with how good the Me! en (nood les) were. Normally I completely ignore the noodles, and focus on the prawns. At CHYNIIS, the noodles were outstanding. They werent hard and brittle, like some other places. They werent soft and soggy, like some Ive tried. They were just right.
Soaking up just the right amount of the thick, roe flavoured gravy, yet retaining all their texture and taste.
Hot & Spicy Chili Crabs
A dish that the Singaporeans claim as their own I wont even start going down that path, but I have to say that CHYNIIS does a mean chilli crab. Sweet, spicy, not too eggy, and a plus point is that they specially order all the crabs with roe.
The crabs themselves are not that meaty, smaller than what Im used to, but still very fresh and tasty.
CHYNIIS Special Handmade Man Tou
Every great Chilli Crab dish needs a great bun to mop up the sauce, and the buns at CHYNIIS were just perfect. Warm and fragrant, with that freshly baked bread smell, crisp on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside.
Steamed Sweet Potato Cake Crusted with Crispy Oats
I was too full to try this one unfortunately, but you can see what Fatboybakes, Lexie and IamtheWitch have to say
Overall, the mall itself is nothing to shout about. SS2 Mall is quite deserted at the moment, and we were locked out of the carpark when we left at 1045pm. Apparently, you can valet on the restaurant side for just RM4, so thats a bonus, because walking around for 20 mins trying to get out is no fun after a great meal like that.
CHYNIIS does offer very tasty local Chinese cuisine from all over the country. With familiar favourites and even some adventurous new combinations and exotic dishes from corners of the country, theres something for everyone! Try it youll see what I mean
CONTACT
CHYNIIS @ SS2 MALL (NON -HALAL)
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