Food, Receipt and Restaurant

2010/05/08

TAN BEE HONG
phoenixbee@nst.com.my

Room Eighteen celebrates its first anniversary with the opening of its fourth outlet in the Klang Valley, writes TAN BEE HONG

IT was just a year ago that Room Eighteen opened at Tropicana City Mall in Petaling Jaya.

In mid-April, it opened its fourth outlet at Hartamas Shopping Centre, with two more restaurants in Berjaya Times Square and MidValley Megamall.

Under chief chef Chai Tuck Cheong and dim sum chef Louis Liu, Room Eighteen is becoming popular for its Hong Kong cuisine and dim sum.

Its newest outlet is small though clever arrangement of tables and use of bright lights and white furniture makes the place look more spacious than it really is.

The nicest thing about Room Eighteen is that the menu caters to all tummy sizes.

Whether you’re in a big group, having an intimate dinner for two or dining by yourself, there’s something to suit your appetite. There are main dishes to go with rice, or individual rice dishes and noodles.

Dim sum is always popular as a meal or as appetisers. There are enough items to select from.

We start with Green Onion Pie (RM3.80). The pastry is rolled with lots of browned shallots and chopped scallions. It’s then sliced and pan-fried to a golden brown on the outside.

Though the flavour of onions is pleasant, I find it tastes best when dipped with some of the chili sambal from the condiments tray on every table. The name, World’s No.1 Baked Bun (RM4.80), is intriguing.

After one bite however, I think Liu’s a little over-confident. Not that the bun’s not tasty but the char xiu stuffing in the baked bun falls far short of its tag. Happily, the Deepfried Papaya Custard Puff (RM5.80) is deliciously creamy, with chunks of papaya to give it a fruity feel. We’re eyeing xiu loong bao, a Shanghainese dumpling stuffed with minced meat and soup.

Then we notice Room Eighteen offers a herbal version (RM6.80). This comes with a red kei qi (boxthorn berry) on top. Make a small puncture in the pastry skin and lap up the delicious soup that has an explosive aroma of herbs like tong sum, pak kei and dong guai.

The minced meat is lovely too, having taken on the full flavours of the herbs.

Sadly, the rather thick pastry skin itself leaves much to be desired.

For a dim sum finale, we have Custard Bun (RM4.80). Be careful when eating this. The extremely hot and fluid filling inside the spongy bun has been known to burn lips and fingers. But it’s worth every bite. Adding salted egg yolk to the smooth custard gives it so much more taste and texture.

Room Eighteen offers roast meats like duck, suckling pig, roast pork and char xiu. These can be ordered individually, as a combination plate or over rice and wantan noodles. I find the roast pork a little on the dry side but the roast duck and char xiu are extremely succulent and full of flavour.

Roast meat is an excellent addition to a bowl of noodles and we’re having Fresh Prawn Wantan Noodles (RM11.80).

I love prawn wantan. Fresh and crunchy with just a hint of sesame oil, these make the perfect accompaniment to the noodles for those not keen on meat.

Of course it’s not all wantan noodles. There’s also hor fun (flat rice noodles) and we manage to find a Thai-style Noodle Soup (RM14.80) in the menu.

Reminiscent of tom yam, the bihun is covered with hot and sour clear soup is sweet from the addition of seafood like prawns, squid, fish, abalone and himeji mushrooms as well as tomato.

Unlike tom yam, it’s not fiery hot, so even children can slurp this up with no problems. Otherwise, they will love the congee and rice selections. Seafood Congee (RM12.80) comes with lots of garoupa fish fillet, prawns, squid as well as meatball, crullers and century egg.

The rice is simmered enough hours to render the congee smooth as silk. All it needs is a dash of pepper to make it perfect.

Restaurant manager Tan Chia Hong says the Steamed Rice With Spareribs (RM12.80) is popular. I can see why. The rice is steamed in individual china bowls with the spareribs on top.

The flavours are strong from the use of minced chilli, ginger, salted black beans and salted brown beans. Chopped tomato give it a perky edge. But do leave room for dessert like sweetened sago with watermelon and aloe vera, blueberry ice blended with ice-cream and sweetened black jelly with mixed fruit.

As for me, I’m totally contented with my glass of hot almond milk. The aromatic, creamy and nutritious drink makes a great ending to the meal.

Room Eighteen is celebrating its first anniversary. From now till end July, spend RM38 in a single receipt entitles customers to one stamp.

With 18 stamps, you can redeem up to six delicious rewards! Or you can stop at Room 9, Room 12 or Room 15 for cash vouchers redemption.

ROOM EIGHTEEN (non-halal) G18-19, Ground Floor Hartamas Shopping Centre Sri Hartamas, Kuala Lumpur Tel: 03-6205 2886