Gourmet Garden

On the 30th September 2008, I revisited Hai Boey Sea Food Restaurant at Teluk Kumbar with my sisters and brother-in-law. Because there were about 6 of us, we had the opportunity to order for more dishes and variety. We actually placed the orders without asking on price, which is very big mistake for a smart consumer, but the total bill for the night was still acceptable.

Fresh oysters, half dozen of them and it cost RM 8 per piece. They were fresh and creamy, but because they have placed ice on top thus causing the oysters to loose their ‘sea’ taste.

The Stir Fry Hor Fun with Egg was sweet but was not as good as when had it during my first visit. It did not have the ‘wok hei‘. I was there alone during my first visit there and thus ordered the single person serving only. I really enjoyed it that time.

We also had he the Ying Yang Stri Fried Hor Fun without egg. This dish was more fragrant than the Hor Fun with egg. The fragrance is from the addition of rice vermicelli, which brought out the ‘wok hei‘ during the stir frying of the hor fun and rice vermicelli. And the rice vermicelli also gives the dish the extra texture apart from the smooth feel of the Hor Fun.

One of their signature dish is the Stuffed Egg plant(Brinjal). The stuffing’s are of pork, prawns , spring onion and water chestnuts. It was deep fried to perfection, crispy on the outside and moist and juicy on the inside. It would be best enjoyed with the accompanying sweet chili sauce.

The Steam Stuffed Bitter Gourd, is something different from the common stir frying with either egg or black beans. The bitter gourd was not too soft but still manage to fall apart in your mouth. The meat stuffing was sweet and tasty but I can’t put my finger on the reason.

Stir Fry Crab with Salted Duck Egg Yoke, something different from the usual chili crab or black pepper crab, etc. The crab dish taste was, what we Chinese call, ‘ham heong‘ (fragrant and salty rich) and full bodied, and yet still able to feel the sweetness and freshness of the crab meat. But the chef might have went over board with the sugar/sweetening, it was a bit dull at the end.

Then there was the Crocodile Tail Dish, which was not that special. May be the dish was over sold by the waitress, and have given us high expectations. The texture of the croc tail was something like cooked sea cucumber, the skin was very soft like jelly and starchy and the meat was smooth like between chicken and cod fish meat. Something new for us!

The fish we had was ‘Soon Hock’, is a fresh water fish. It was cooked in their signature way in clay pot, with Chinese wine and their own sauce concoction. The end product was like steam fish, but in clay pot. The meat was very tender and smooth, but I rather prefer a firm full texture fish meat. Too soft for my liking.

The Balacan Chicken we had was not special in any way, just an ordinary dish. The 77 Fish Head Curry Restaurant on Gurney Drives serves the best balacan chicken so far from all my experience with this dish.

The desert that we tried was something made of lycee and coconut blended with ice and served in the a coconut shell. It was something refreshing after a heavy feasting. Cooling, thirst quenching and not too sweet.

On average, I would give Hai Boey Seafood at Teluk Kumber:

• 3.5/5 for value (the total bill for the night was Rm 353)
• 3.5/5 for taste
• 4/5 for service (but if too many patrons, then don’t expect too much)
• 3.8/5 for cleanliness
• 3/5 for atmosphere (at least your eating by the beach, not by the sea)

Popularity: 17% [?]

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