Emperess Lunch at Wan Sin.

Ewwww...What is this???? Gross!!!

Woke up early this morning, Thursday 20 Dec 2012. Am taking a long drive down south to Seremban to pick up 2 good friends and then head to Kuala Pilah (KP), Negeri Sembilan to meet yet another good buddy. We have arranged to meet up for lunch 3 days earlier. We had to pre-book our lunch. WHAT? 2 days notice? Hah! Wait till you see the dishes then you would know why. Worth it? Stay tuned to find out then :)
By 11.30am we were at our KP friend's house. She had a guest with her to join us in our journey to dine like Empresses. We chatted awhile before heading to Batu Kikir. The special lunch is at Wan Sin Restaurant. It is situated on the way from KP towards Bahau, about a kilometer away from the junction to Juasseh. From KP, Wan Sin will be on the right side of the trunk road

Restoran Wan Sin
104-A Jalan Besar
72200 Batu Kikir, Negeri Sembilan
Tel : +606 4981680

Operation hours : 12.30pm - 4pm & 5.30pm- 10.30pm. Closed on Mondays.

(L) : Wendy, Me, Philo & Christina. Camerawoman : Joan (behind : chef's award)

We placed a special order 2 days earlier for their seafood platter which consists of oyster, abalone, scallop, sea cucumber and fish maw. The dish had us all eating in awe with the exquisite taste with each flavourful bite. Each item retains its original taste, cooked to perfection and ohhhh so delectable and best of all, no heavy seafood smell. Yuuuuuumy!! It was definitely the highlight of the entire meal. 'Yat lau"...or No 1 in Cantonese.

Seafood platter that is Superlicious!!!

But before that, we had appetiser, fried cuttle fish with fried macadamian nuts. This was quickly cleaned off. The cuttle fish was thinly sliced, well marinated and fried to crisp. The Macadamian nuts were addictive!!! Verdict = Numero UNO!!!

If you don't know which is nut and cuttlefish...boy, you are in trouble!!!

We also had 'farm fish' meehoon...HUH? Farm fish? What's that? Hehehhe...that is Wendy's direct translation of frog legs cooked in vermicelli. Hahhahaha.... It was 'chopstick licking good'.

 
The frog legs were tender and sweet. And it was flavourful with the meehoon's gravy. Despite it's simple cooking, the meal was worth every bite. 

We were intrigued with the numerous pictures of food framed on both sides of the wall. We insisted on taking a picture of it to remind us that we are only savouring a small portion of it.

(L) : Christina, Blogger, Philo & Wendy from KP

 Next, we had this dish :

This fish is called 'liem fish'. Don't know what it is called in English but it looks ferocious!!! Dish wise, the soya sauce gravy was light and tasty. The fish very fresh and cooked just right. Lots of fleshy meat and the skin was silky and jellyish...lots of collagen, Omega 3 & 6!! After that dish, our faces went 'toing, toing' i.e. full of buoyancy!!! Hehehehe.... 

By now we were bursting in our seams - with the fabulous spread of food and much laughter from Wendy's anecdotes after anecdotes of hilarious incidents. She is just so funny. Our chains of laughters caused major vibration to the restaurant and perhaps Batu Kikir as a whole!!!
The 5 empresses also had this in the menu :

Guess what this is? Read on to know more.

I liked this dish very much. Eel cooked in 'Kung Poh" style i.e. bombay onions & dried chili & tad of honey for sweetness to masked the spiciness. The eel was deep fried then mixed in with the sauce. Spring onions to finish off the dish. AWESOME! The meat was flavourful, tasty and crunchy. I relish this dish very much. The meat tastes like a combo between fish & chicken :)

And then, yes...more food!!! Wendy wanted to dis-stress herself but in the process, she "stressed" us out with the over abundance of glorious mouthful after mouthful of fantastic food. Her warm hospitality sure went HOT with so many servings!!

Yes! Finally, we managed to convince her to cancel the vegy dish as we have wild chicken 'un-clucking' soon in Chinese rice wine and ginger. I love this dish (mainly served during Chinese confinement) but the thick sauce is different from normal but it was just as good as the rest of the other dishes. 

Wild chicken in Chinese Rice Wine & ginger...Good.

 
Are we done yet? Nope! Wendy's hospitality knows no ending...It is 8 dishes loooong....The Empresses are now unbuttoning and unzipping because we need more stomach room to try the next dish....

What is it?

Terrapin cooked in claypot style!!! EWWWW....hey, this dish is supposedly good for the skin & many other uses. I find the meat tender and tastes between beef & chicken mixed, very tasty. The soft shell part was very chewy and tasteless apart from the slight flavors it derived from the stew. I had a good jaw exercise chewing the soft shell part. I think my double chin is smaller after that good 1 minute chewing exercise!!! Consequently, I just ate the flesh - tastier and oh so much easier to eat. 

Frankly, we had over indulged and I regret that I did not get to finish all the dishes. I prefer not to waste but lo and behold, all is not lost when Wendy decided to pack the left overs home - Thank you, Wendy. I dislike having to see good food going to waste when many go hungry across the planet. Now, you know one of the reasons why I've remained plump and chubby apart from the fact that I "live to eat"! Wakakakakaa....

Sooooo, what is the bill like? Well, I seriously cannot tell you because Wendy REFUSE profusely to let us pay!! Accordingly to her, she has a standing instruction with the owner!!! She is such a wonderful host. But, in a small town, the price will definitely not make you fall from your seat...that I can assure you!  

The day isn't over. I will share with you where we went next....follow me on our trail in KP....remember to catch me soon, ya.

Meantime, I will end this wonderful Empress eating experience with a poem created by Philo :

I went to Batu Kikir,
A small town in Negri.
We planned an eating spree,
5 friends including me.
We had a sumptuous meal,
that's worthy of an Emperor.
The bill was such a steal,
It couldn't be any better.
Here's a sample picture,
This fish we had, a monster!
 

Happy Winter Solstice to all Chinese readers!