Dine on dim sum and Hokkien mee from Kuala Lumpur’s Restaurant 195

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Create your own ‘yum cha’ session in the comfort of home with Restaurant 195’s BBQ pork buns, ‘siew mai’ and Hong Kong-style glutinous rice. ― Pictures by Lee Khang Yi

KUALA LUMPUR, July 9 ― Savour refined Chinese food in the comfort of home with Restaurant 195’s frozen Meal, Ready-to-Eat (MRE) selection of dim sum and noodles.

Previously known as Restaurant Chef Choi, they have a stellar reputation as the place for fine Chinese food.

With the pandemic, they offer a takeaway menu of their signature items such as roasted crispy duck marinated with Chinese herbs or sweet and sour Iberico pork. These items are cooked upon order and delivered to your doorstep.

Then there is their MRE selection. With these, you can eat anytime and at your convenience. 

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Relish these fluffy steamed buns with BBQ pork cut into chunks and coated in a balanced sauce with sweet and savoury notes.

There’s a selection of dim sum items which are perfect for lazy weekends. You can enjoy a leisurely breakfast of their BBQ pork buns, siew mai and the Hong Kong-style glutinous rice. Sip on some Chinese tea and you have your own yum cha session at home.

The BBQ pork buns come in a packet of six for RM30. Just defrost and steam to reheat. You get fluffy steaming hot buns generously filled with char siu cut in chunks and coated in a sweet sauce.

What I like is that the sauce is a nice balance of sweet and savoury so much so that one bun is simply not enough.

If you like chunky siew mai, these ones will satisfy with their pork and prawn filling. The filling is moist and juicy so that it doesn’t need a sauce to boost its flavour. A box of eight pieces of siew mai is priced at RM48.

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Their Hong Kong-style glutinous rice is fragrant when steamed in the lotus leaf.

My favourite is the rarely seen Hong Kong-style glutinous rice parcels. Wrapped in lotus leaf, the soft glutinous rice is fragrant and filled with goodies such as salted egg yolk, dried scallops and meat. It’s not too oily and well seasoned on its own. You get two parcels for RM18.90.

The MRE selection also includes two types of noodles. One of them is their signature Hokkien mee (RM98 for one packet). I reckon this portion feeds about four to five.

Hokkien mee may have started out as a hawker eat but with rising costs of ingredients, it now tastes better as a restaurant dish. There’s always something lacking with the stall version.

Occasionally it’s the lack of depth from mishandling of the wok. Or they just don’t braise the noodles enough. Many stalls also skimp on the much-needed dry flounder powder to give those smooth strands that oomph.

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Their rendition of Hokkien mee is a delicious one where noodles are slick with sauce that you cannot resist.

Restaurant 195’s version is one I relish. Since Hokkien mee tends to be laden with so many calories, I don’t eat it often. However, I make an exception for this version.

Of course it tastes better, served piping hot from the wok but reality (or more like the pandemic) bites and I have to settle for eating it as a takeaway. The restaurant has discovered a nice middle ground to ensure you get your Hokkien mee piping hot.

The noodles are packed in a bag hence you either defrost it to reheat, or if you prefer you can also heat it up immediately from its frozen state.

That method works well as you can have your Hokkien mee fix any time. What I liked was how the noodles were tasty and slick with sauce rather than oil.

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Get this beef brisket noodles that pair tender beef and tendons with springy egg noodles.

I would have been happy with just noodles and lard fritters but this version is given a deluxe treatment. You get shelled prawns that are crunchy, whole scallops, sotong and pork slices.

As the portion was way more than two people could finish, it was also kept for dinner. All I needed to do was reheat it.

They also have beef brisket noodles (RM113) that can easily feed four or five people. The beef is placed in a separate packet so reheat that first. Halfway through, just add the noodles to reheat.

They use egg noodles that are nicely seasoned with soy sauce already. The thin strands have a nice bouncy texture that pairs well with the tender beef chunks and gelatinous tendons.

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Your purchase is packed in a special insulated basket to keep the frozen items cool.

Your purchases are packed in insulated bags. If you get more items, they pack it in a basket that makes it easier to transport. You can either pick up the items or ask for delivery using a third party whereby you pay for the delivery charges.

Restaurant 195, 195, Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur. Tel:03-21435866. Open daily: 10.30am to 10pm. You can WhatsApp Chong Pee Yan at 012-3285111 or Sim Zhao Yee at 012-6111403 to place your order. Website: https://www.restaurant195.com Instagram: @restaurantchefchoi