The restaurant itself is rather small. It has room for less than 10 tables. But it extends itself out to the corner five foot way to accommodate another about 10 more tables.
The menu came in 2 thick volumes. Inside were big colorful pictures of the food that all looked very unique, appetizing and spicy.
The plates, cups and bowls were hygienically packed in plastic - the washing apparently out-sourced like the steamboat place Xiao Fei Yang. But unlike Xiao Fei Yang, this restaurant does not charge additionally for the use of the crockeries.
This makan place is not an off-the-mill Chinese restaurant that we normally find in Malaysia. The food here is not so typical. I could not make out what food type they serve even after our first 2 visits. Later the shop people told me that they serve a mixture of Szechuan and Funan food - which use a lot of chili, pepper and spices.
The pictures of the dishes were taken over 2 visits. I start with a simple dish of cabbage. It was served in a mini wok. In the vegetable were thin slices of pork belly meat and dried shrimps. It was spicy and delightful. The cabbage was lightly cooked and crunchy to the bite.
This was a dish of pork knuckle. It was served in a tiny barrel. The pork was deep fried. The skin was crispy. It was then cooked in dried chili, peppercorn, dried shrimps and some other spices. There were some ground nuts. The taste was very good. It was rather dry and meant to be that way. A great dish.
I had never heard of tea tree mushroom (茶树菇). So, it was a first time for me. The mushrooms were long and string-like and a little crunchy. They were cooked with the same thin slices of pork belly meat and some leeks; and served in a mini-wok like the cabbage. The taste was unique but not extraordinary.
The menu calls this plate "Homely Tofu". I guess they meant home-made tofu. It was cooked in a spicy sauce, also with some pork slices. Home-made or not, the tofu did not excel. It was just OK.
This lamb dish was excellent. Like the pork knuckle, it was dry cooked. The meat was fried, then cooked in chili, pepper and spices. The meat looked tough, but it really was very tender. The meat retained it's gamey flavor, which I liked. For meat (especially lamb) lovers, this is a must try.
Likewise this crab and prawn dish. Again, the dish is rather dry, but the blending of spices in the dish made it so very delicious. The crab and prawn were deep fried before being cooked in the spices. The sea (blue) crabs were absolutely fresh. You have a choice to have just crab or prawn. We opted for a mix of both.
The restaurant has a good selection of fish dishes. We tried 2 of them. The first was this steamed fish head. It was a fresh water fish steamed with chopped hum choy (咸菜 - pickled mustard vegetable) and lots of garlic. The fish was very fresh and I enjoyed digging into the soft tissues. However, I did not quite like the manner they steam the fish. The ingredients were a little too strong. I would prefer a milder flavor.
I liked this other fish dish better. This is apparently a signature dish of the restaurant. You have a choice of fish - grouper, snapper, tilapia, etc. They cook slices of the fish with lots and lots of big dried chilis. The dried chilis were not what we find in our local market. They were big and flavorful. I have not seen dried chilis like these sold in our shops. I think they were imported from China. In the dish were also peppercorns, spring onions, etc. It was a delightful dish. The flavor of the fish was mainly from the dried chilis. So it was rather spicy. I enjoyed the dish tremendous. Too many must-try in this restaurant; but this is definitely one not to miss.
The mustard rice in this place is very popular. In our visits here, I noticed it on almost every table. It was actually a fried rice - served in a mini barrel. The rice was very nicely done. It was fluffy. The taste was mild. It complemented the other spicy dishes very well.
Da Feng Sho is a great place to have an out-of-the-ordinary meal. They serve very unique dishes. The taste here is strong and spicy - and very delicious. But be prepared to wait. The food service here is very slow. On 2 of our visits, we had to wait more than an hour before we were finally served. One family brought along playing cards to make their wait more bearable. I suggest weekdays. Weekends are normally crowded. But if you are patient, I assure you a most unique and satisfying meal.
Delicious food and well worth the
ReplyDelete1 hour 45 minute wait. Foodies
will probably wear the waiting as
a badge of honour.
Do not try the wait if you are dining
with small children, or elderly family.