WHEN you can’t dine out at a restaurant, you bring it to your home. Indeed, that’s what we have been doing with The Magic Wok, a Chinese restaurant in Damansara Jaya that’s close enough for us to pick up the food that we ordered.

It’s a restaurant that has been around for more than 20 years, where we used to go for birthday and other celebrations and meet-ups with friends.

We have ordered food twice from The Magic Wok and its takeaway menu is varied enough for us to have a few more meals.

The first time we asked for steamed San Sui chicken with Bentong ginger (half, RM46) but it was not possible as we had wanted an early lunch. We made an advanced order the second time and I’m glad we got it.

The steamed free-range organic chicken came with a large tub of finely chopped Bentong ginger with spring onions stirred with salt and sesame oil, and a zesty and garlicky chilli sauce. The chicken was sweet and had bite, and ate it generously covered with the pungent and fragrant ginger and hot and tangy chilli sauce.

Magic Wok truffle yee mee (RM27) was in our first order from The Magic Wok. It is Hong Kong yee mee fried in a dry style with lots of black truffle paste, shimeji mushrooms, yellow chives and egg. These HK noodles are flat and smooth unlike our coarser local yee mee.

I enjoyed these flavourful and springy yee mee fried with black truffle paste. They were a textural delight. Normally I would not pick a dish named “truffle” from a Chinese restaurant; it’s usually overpowering with truffle oil.

Deep-fried pork intestines (RM21) were skilfully done, well-seasoned and spiced, and cooked well. They made tasty, tender bites and were quite addictive.

The clay pot pork belly with salted fish (RM29), while not flushed with full-blown flavours, tasted good in a subtle, finer version of this well-loved dish.

There was heat from dried chillies and ginger, the fragrance of which embraced the meat. It was even more yummy the next day when I put it over rice and steamed it.

Braised ginger duck half (RM50) stood out from the fragrance from heaps of sliced young ginger in the dark braising sauce which had layers of flavours.

The duck fell off the bone and I was happy just eating the crunchy ginger like a vegetable. The sauce was made for eating rice with, and I imagine it would go well with white porridge too.

Other dishes in the takeaway menu that have caught my eye are: prawns with garlic in olive oil (RM46, six pieces), clay pot season curry fish head (RM60-RM120), braised chicken with yam (RM24), Nam Yue vegetarian pot (RM28), beef fillet Kwayteow Cantonese style (RM30) and seafood Wat Dan Yin Yeong (RM35).

The Magic Wok is at 32 Jalan SS22/35, Damansara Jaya, Petaling Jaya. Contact 018-363-3823 to order. It is closed on Tuesday. – June 19, 2021.

* 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.