Happy Family

Shah Alam would probably be the last place I would go to for a Chinese meal. The place we went was very near Setia Alam and close to Klang. I had never been to that part of Shah Alam before and surprisingly, it was very vibrant - very unlike staid Shah Alam. There were several Chinese restaurants in the vicinity. The one we pick was Restoran Happy Family (新乐天海鲜楼). It is located on Jalan Setia Prima L (U13/L). You may not be able to find Jalan U13/L on Google Maps. But Jalan Setia Prima K (U13/K) is findable. L is just adjacent to K.

We were there for a simple commemoration of Mothers' Day. There were 3 mothers in our group. The place was packed when we arrived there. Presumably they were also there for the same reason. We did not get to go into the restaurant. It was full house and we had to settle for a table outside, which was really not that bad. I like outdoor dining. But I did make my way inside for some pictures.

We made our orders and then waited and waited. Fortunately the company was good.

The first dish was a great fish soup. It was the first time I ever had Chinese style fish soup. And it was superb. It came in a big clay pot with large chunks of really fresh fish meat. It was cooked with herbs with dried wolfberries (枸杞) floating on the surface. The soup was so very sweet. It was worthwhile to drive all the way there just for this bowl of soup.

Then it was a herbal chicken, cooked in a paper wrap. It was good. Not extraordinary like the fish soup but still delicious.

The tofu with minced pork was an ordinary dish. The tofu was "home-made". But it tasted like any.

The fresh scallops were stir fried with french beans and plenty of macadamia nuts. I liked this dish. The nuts were crunchy and nice. The dish was mildly cooked and tasted very good.

Next was the butter prawn. It was rather oily and I decided to give this a skip.

Finally it was the pork knuckle braised with some mushrooms and sea cucumber (海參). It looked very appetizing but because of the sinfulness, I did not have very much of it.

It was a sumptuous meal. It might not had been a typical Mothers' Day do, but we enjoyed it all the same. I did not know Shah Alam had such a vibrant Chinese area. And the food there certainly did not disappoint. I heard there are even better makan places in the vicinity. I may be back there, if for any reason, it is for the fish soup again.