A New (Formosa) Experience

First up let me wish all Dads around the world a Happy Father's Day! What's that you say? Father's Day isn't until the 15th of June? My mistake...whoops! Well, anyway, here's to all the Dads around the world...thank you for your dedication, patience and love!

As for me, I treated my dad to an (early) Father's Day dinner at New Formosa, SS2. New Formosa is located in a quieter part of the neighbourhood actually. In fact I've never came over to this part for dinner...although several famous eateries are located here. New Formosa is just further down the road from Sri Siam (located at the corner), opposite a Mobil station.

I remember passing by New Formosa countless times way back when I was still a school student. A restaurant that can survive for so long must serve some real tasty food...don't you think? This place is renowned for it's authentic Taiwanese cuisine (the lady owner is from Taiwan). A nice change from the usual Japanese or Western food that one usually haves for a special dinner no?

We settled for a steamboat set (RM39 per person, minimum order of two persons) and some fried large pork intestines ('tai cheong' in Cantonese) in batter with sesame seeds. The steamboat (which is one of their specialties by the way) comes with both clear (enhanced with bonito flakes) and spicy (ma-lat) stocks, something different from all the usual clear chicken (or MSG) and tom yam stocks outside. They also offer a different steamboat set which is priced at RM19 per person, but with a minimum order for four. Dessert was their signature 'mua chi' which is basically some sort of dough rolled in crushed peanuts and sugar.

Portable gas stoves are used here

'Ma-lat' (spicy) soup at the top, bonito flake soup at the bottom
Note the abundance of vegetables which adds to the taste

Stuff for the steamboat!
Note the oysters at the bottom most compartment,
and the pork intestines and stomach at the upper left...tasty!

Fresh large prawns, noodles, vegetables and eggs

Fried large intestines in batter and sesame seeds

Let it boil! Let it boil!

Large prawns? Oh yeah!

Hot and spicy: a view from the 'ma-lat' section

Eat! Eat! Eat!

A juicy Pacific clam

A wholesome bowl of noodles indeed

Nicely done egg, cooked by my dad! =D

Close up of the bonito soup

Close up of the 'ma-lat' soup

And we end with dessert!

One word describes the entire dinner: Great! While the bonito soup was sweet with a hint of the bonito flakes used, the winner was clearly the 'ma-lat' soup which really hit the spot. To quote my dad, "It's got a kick!" People who can't take spicy food...you have been warned! =P

The steamboat ingredients were all fresh and the portions were just right for us. The freshness was most evident in the prawns (very sweet and crunchy) and the innards (very clean). The fried large pork intestines was also given the thumbs up by all, the light crunchy batter making it a very addictive treat. Big eaters on the other hand might want to add a few more dishes, or maybe extra steamboat portions? I didn't find the 'mua chi' to be extraordinary though, it was just...average.

No complaints about service here. But please check your bill before paying. I had the unfortunate experience of being billed for the towels and tidbits (peanuts) which we did not have! A minor oversight on their part (and not a very expensive mistake) but be careful. I expected more prudence on their part though, this being a famous restaurant and all.

Minor bill discrepencies aside, I'll definitely return to try more authentic Taiwanese cuisine. And you should to!