Fong Lye Taiwanese at Gardens Mall - Kuala Lumpur
Come meal time, people congregate at Fong Lye, on the third floor of the Gardens Mall in Kuala Lumpur. What makes the restaurant tick, and what makes people, old and young, patiently queue outside its entrance for lunch, dinner and between? The Taiwanese concept of a set meal on a tray, borrowed from the Japanese bento concept, offers a main dish, usually steamed, grilled, braised, stewed or deep fried concoctions, accompanied by a small bowl of soup, pickled and stir-fried fresh vegetables and a bowl of steamed rice. Popular mains include fish fillets, deep fried chicken and stewed pork.
The variety of side dishes, though small morsels and portions they may be, are worth checking out.
Try their wu kok (Cantonese), or battered yam with savoury pork inside as fillings.
Apart from traditional smoked teas, there are those milk-laden teas with tapioca flour made bubble balls and accompanied with your choice of fruity falvours. This cuisine model has been a hallmark of Fong Lye, although they do offer other dishes like coconut milk toast; barbeque chicken drumsticks; meat balls (rou yuan in Mandarin); fried squid and pepper; and fresh tomato garnished fried egg with fish.
I loved my smoked tea duck slices (photograph above) - they were juicy moist, full of flavour and yet with a subtleness from fine cuisine, with the skin not overly fatty and still crispy. This mains of mine was complemented by a clear soup with bites of colourful and crunchy vegetables inside.
The setting at Gardens is spacious with striking ceiling lights, although tables can be arranged to the max. (image above).
The smoked duck came with mung bean glass noodles and bean sprouts in a tasty stock soup (picture above). I enjoyed the Fong Lye version of the ice kacang (image below), with a generous dollop of ice cream, red beans, corn, jelly beans and more all clinging on to rather fine shaven ice. It has a different twist from the Malaysian or Indonesian versions. I have been recommended to try the "peanut snow mountain" should I return to Fong Lye.
Atmosphere: A sense of good table turnover.
Location: City side, shopping mall.
Service: Quick. The staff even asked if dessert is to be served after the mains, or what would be preferred?
People Engagement: Satisfactory.
Fav Dish Experienced: Tea smoked duck.
Best Time to Visit: Try to beat the anticipated - and real - crowds.
Would I Return?: A definite yes!
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