Hor Kitchen, Russell Street CBD

I have heard many a good review about Hor Kitchen, a Malaysian Chinese restaurant in the city. One of the dishes I was interested in was the yin yong, so called because of the two different type of noodles used in the dishes - fried rice vermicelli that provides the crunch, and the silky smooth flat rice noodles covered with egg chiffon sauce. 

I went with a Vietnamese friend who loves beef, they even asked me to cook beef rendang but as I had no experience cooking rendang and even less experience cooking with red meat, it was a dismal dish. Much better to order it at a Malaysian restaurant. 

We ordered the Yin Yong ($17.80) and Beef Rendang Nasi Lemak ($19.80). The yin yong came with aplomb in terms of presentation. Look at it below, the fried rice vermicelli 'stood' erect by the side of the dish. It was impressive looking but the fried vermicelli had been pre fried and had lost its crunchiness. The sauce was a little gluggy and did not taste like the thickened, garlicky, clear looking sauce I was used to. The hor fun was nice because it had wok hei and was the best component of the dish.

I am not sure what it is with the people I mix with but they are not fans of wat tan hor! Oh, how can they not admire the wok hei of the charred flat rice noodles and the smooth egg chiffon sauce that is so easily slurped down the throat like a soothing nectar? Nothing wrong with them of course, everyone has their own tastes in food. My dining companion did not like the yin yong, and this time, I could not blame them..

 They much preferred the nasi lemak which came with a bull's eye egg and papadum. The sambal was not great because it lacked the depth of flavour, consistency and sweetness but we found a delicious chili sauce on the self service stand to substitute. The sauce was a mixture of chopped up coriander, red and green chillies and I think lime. A free flow of this chili sauce soon flooded our table, since we were sitting so close to the self service stand it was not an imposition. It had a spicy and acidic kick that made us yearning for more. 

The rendang beef was delicious. I am not sure which cut of beef was used, but it could have been beef gravy that was cooked long enough to still have a bite but doesn't completely melt away on touch. This should be how a beef rendang is.