SEAFOOD restaurant Yan Wo is tucked away in the exclusive neighbourhood of Sierra Mas in Sungai Buloh, Selangor.

It offers a well-lit, airy dining area and a wide range of reasonably priced dishes.

We have been there twice and are thinking of yet another visit for more Chinese and Thai dishes.

On our first dinner there, we were bowled over by the yam ring with mantis prawns in salted egg (RM38). The yam ring was crispy on the outside but smooth and creamy inside. It paired deliciously with the sweet mantis prawn meat coated with salted egg and deep-fried.

Chinese dishes here take a different slant as the steamed siakap with pork lard (RM6 per 100g) showed. Crispy lardons were sprinkled over the fish that had been steamed in a sweet, sour, hot and garlicky sauce. 

Next we had the pumpkin with spare ribs. It was a whole fruit filled with pork cooked in a hot bean sauce. We scooped up the sweet orang flesh to eat with the spicy and tender ribs (RM42).

We couldn’t resist the deep-fried pork intestines (RM20). They were crispy, springy and tasty and served with hot and sour chilli dip.

As there were children with us, we asked for sweet and sour pork. It was a dish of thin slices of pork belly, fried till crispy and finished with onions, tomato and pineapple in a sweet, tart sauce. 

Soup with spinach was our vegetable dish for the meal.

At our second dinner at the restaurant, we picked the ‘larb moo tod’, or pork balls fried Thai style with basil and dried chillies, squid in butter sauce, home-made tofu with preserved radish, signature deep-fried chicken with home-made sauce and eggplant with ikan bilis.

The signature deep-fried chicken (RM28) was boneles and completed with a sticky, sweet sauce and crushed peanuts; the sweetness of the sauce was balanced with a little tart lime juice.

We liked the homemade, deep-fried tofu with preserved radish (RM22) in a dark sweet sauce. The beancurd was soft and smooth and well matched with the preserved radish sauce with crispy dried prawns.

The deep-fried squid in butter sauce (RM30) stood out for its creamy and delicious sauce with curry leaves and chilli.

The pork balls in the ‘larb moo tod’ (RM25) was minced meat with lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves fried with dried chillies and basil. Although the dish was fragrant, it was in need of a good sauce to bring it all together.

The roasted eggplant with ikan bilis was so good. The peeled, soft eggplant was a little spicy with chilli and the crispy ikan bilis gave it a tasty lift.

Yan Wo Seafood Restaurant is at Jalan Desa Aman 6, Kampung Desa Aman, Sungai Buloh, Selangor. It opens daily from 10.30am to 10pm. Call 017-777 7531, for enquiries.

* Eu Hooi-Khaw has been writing about food for the longest time, covering all aspects, from restaurant reviews to cooking and recipes, as well as the healthy side of it. She has written for major newspapers and magazines, published the cookbook Fresh Ingredients, and also writes for her website hooikhawandsu.com.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.