Wednesday 30 September 2020

Pre-Birthday Dinner with My Lahling


After a scrumptious lunch with my brother, I had another pre-celebration with my partner. We were undecided where to go. Surely not Chili's again hah..hah.. 

So when we got to 1 Utama we decided to re-visit Madam Kwan's. It has been a long time since we dined there.


We noticed a change in the decor and service appeared to have improved (or so we thought). It did not take long for us to be seated.

The menu is still pretty much the same, I think. 


I ordered the Lychee & Lemon Cooler to share. It was nice but terribly sweet. I was still quite full from lunch and I was having some tummy issues. Oh dear... But I made it through dinner with no untoward incident heh..heh...

I got myself the Cantonese Fried Beef Noodle. It was a very generous serving.


I have had this dish before and I'm afraid I was very disappointed with this one. There was no wok hei fragrance and the whole thing was just salty and flat. The beef slices were very tender but bland.


My partner's Cantonese Fried Noodle was served some 10 minutes later (I waited before starting on mine) and he too complained that it did not taste good. But on a positive note, the prawns were fresh.

Eh? Where is our starter? I guess service has not improved as we had thought.

Halfway through our mains, our satay was served.


Six generous skewers of Chicken Satay (Beef Satay is also available) served with satay sauce.


It did not taste like regular satay as it had a very strong curry flavor. The satay sauce also tasted like curry. It was nothing like the satay we had before. But I have to say that the chicken satay was tender and moist. Very good chunks of chicken but a pity about the taste. 

It was the Ais Campur that saved the evening. 


Look at that, so loaded with ingredients. A major improvement from the one we had before. The shaved ice was still very coarse but this ais campur is a lot more enjoyable, not too sweet and the toppings provided all sorts of textures and flavors.


By this time, my tummy settled somewhat and the dessert cheered me up. It was a wonderful dinner, though our noodles were a big let down. All was not lost thanks to the lovely dessert.

19 comments:

  1. Hmmm...makes me think of my girl's birthday dinner, so disappointing...and expensive. I've never been to Madam Kwan - there's one at Mid Valley. Saw some not so nice reviews before by my blogger-friends so that put me off.

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    1. Standards have dropped a lot. I'm not sure if I am keen to return.

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  2. So pity the noodles were not up to your expectation. The satay and ais campur looked great.

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    Replies
    1. If only the satay tasted like satay! LOL!

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  3. I haven't tasted the fried noodles before at Madam Kwan.. I normally order this fried chicken which was very nice last time, not so sure about the present.. guess this year, everything seems to have changed, change of chefs sure will have change of taste.. it happens in Ipoh here as well...

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    Replies
    1. I suspect there is a change of chef. Same thing happened with Esquire Kitchen and I never go there anymore.

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  4. I was not even aware that Madam Kwan has Cantonese fried noodles on its menu. >.< I guess a dish like that really depends on the skills of the chef of that branch (especially in getting the wok hei and seasoning right). I suppose dishes like beef rendang or assam prawns would probably be easier to replicate based on the exact recipes given to all the branches. I've only eaten at their branches in KLCC (the most, I think it's the best one of the lot), Pavilion & Mid Valley (and it was alright then, don't know now), so I don't know how the 1 Utama one compares.

    From the looks of the satay, I can know already it wasn't going to be good...it looks nothing like grilled-satay but more like sauced-satay..lol! I've never had ais campur (I think I had the cendol only once) as my default dessert here (if I'm having dessert) has always been the sago gula melaka :) P/S: Will we be reading posts on pre-celebrations, actual celebration and post-celebrations? ;)

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    1. Maybe it is best to stick to what Madam Kwan does best - the Nasi Bojari. I saw many plates being served that evening.

      Oh! There has not been a post celebration as yet hah..hah... And no, there was no celebration on the actual day but you will still get to read about it.

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  5. Both Wat Dan Hor looked good from your photos. I thought you will order the signature Nasi Bojari. :P

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    1. Looking back, I should have ordered the Nasi Bojari. LOL!

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  6. ok la....at least one item passed! lolx! yea, I no longer dine at Madam Kwan since my disappointed curry noodles & kangkong belacan meal on last year. I think the food quality has declined a lot!

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    1. Judging from that evenings meal, I might not go back there again.

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  7. Looking at the comments here, looks like madam kwan does not have much good reviews, lucky that the ice kachang saves the day.

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    1. Perhaps a new management took over and is not doing things right. So sad because the food used to be good.

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  8. Sorry that the noodles were disappointing. I love beef wat tan hor and haven't eaten it for a long time. Love the ice kacang with so much ingredients.

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    1. The chef must have left and the new one lacks experience. It is a pity since they used to be so good.

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  9. I would be ok with the beef wat tan hor as I don't care for wok hei. The abc sure looks good. I would want to order that at the Midvalley branch but I am scared it would be like your visit 1 since their food is inconsistent.

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    Replies
    1. It is sad that the food was not as good as before. Who knows the Midvalley branch could be better.

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