Comfort Food @ Esquire Kitchen

Restoran Esquire Kitchen
LG32 Lower Ground Floor
Subang Parade
No.5 Jalan SS16/1, Subang Jaya
Tel: 03-5632 9909

The Esquire Kitchen requires no introduction. I am sure almost everyone here knows and has been to this place. Since time immemorial (hmmm...like more than 30 years ago!), this family-type restaurant serving simple Chinese fare has been satisfying hungry stomachs of many who live in the Klang Valley. At that time, their Bukit Bintang main outlet was one of the "in" places to dine..."Tai Yan Charn Thaeng" (its chinese name) was the buzzword then!

They serve what I call "comfort food" - tasty, affordable, no-frills chinese dishes that won't burn a hole in your pocket. So, on one rainy Sunday late morning, what would be better than having a lazy brunch of my favourite comfort food, eh?

I'm pretty much sure many of you have eaten these dishes at Esquire...but anyhow, I'd like to share with you and perhaps have your tastebuds revisit them...

Their signature Woh Tip (Fried Shanghainese Dumplings) (RM5.80 for 6 pieces) needs no introduction. Minced pork with chives are stuffed in pieces of flattened dough, wrapped up and pan-fried on one side. Therefore, one side of the dumplings are fried crispy while the topside is left slightly chewy.

Eaten with sliced ginger in black vinegar and sour chilli sauce, these dumplings are great appetizers!

I always must have my shanghainese noodles whenever I go to Esquire. A big bowl of their Noodles with Char Choy (pickled veg) & Pork Strips costs RM7.90 and it is more than enough to fill any growling stomach! Their piquant chilli & beansauce dip goes very well with the noodles.

If you don't fancy noodles but still want to have your carbo fix, do order their Flower Rolls (RM5.40 for 6 pieces). These soft fluffy steamed buns go very well with...
...Tung Po Meat (RM16) - braised pork in black soya sauce. They use pork belly cuts for this stew as the fats in the meat add a special flavour to it! If you're picky about fats, well, just skim off the top layer of oil and dissect off the fat layers - then you're good to dip the buns in, haha!
For a more healthy alternative, their Pork Strips with Sweet Turnip (sengkuang) (RM12) is an excellent choice. Slices of chinese fungus are also added, and stir-fried with a special fragrant sauce, the still-crispy turnips are so yummy when eaten with the steamed buns!
Another tasty snack is the Sweet Sour Wantan (RM6.80 for 10 pieces). Fried crispy pork wantans are served with...
...a bowl of sweet sour sauce filled with slices of pork, cucumber, onions, capsicum and pineapples. You just dip the crispy wantan in like this...
Of course, the king of comfort food for LL is his Fried Rice! Esquire Kitchen serves a mean Fried Rice with Salted Fish (RM7.90). We could smell the fragrance of the salted fish even before the plate was placed on our table! The generous portion served was well worth the money!
LL commented that most of the serving crew of this restaurant are like "senior citizens"...haha! And that reinforces my statement that this good old restaurant has been around a very longgg time!

My rating: 8/10 (it has to be 8 because we keep going back to this place quite often!)