Golden Valley, Melawati Mall
We were recently invited to Golden Valley at Melawati Mall. The last visit we had to Golden Valley, the restaurant was still located in TTDI. But that outlet has since closed down and it now only has one outlet in Melawati Mall. Sporting a similar interior, the restaurant is bright, well-decorated and welcoming.
It looks like a classic Chinese restaurant, feels like a Chinese restaurant, but the best part of this Chinese restaurant is that it is pork-free! Not only so - but the owners of the restaurants only buy from halal suppliers. So everyone can dine at this establishment without worries. Most of the staff are even Malay, so you can rest assured.
We had a huge feast of seafood the last time we visited Golden Valley and were incredibly impressed with the quality and freshness of their produce. This time was no different. For starters, we tried their crispy salmon skin coated with salted egg sauce. This reminded us so much of Irvin's Salted Egg Fish Skin chips - but better because it's SO SUPER FRESH! The light and airy texture of the salmon skin was the perfect complement for the salted egg sauce.
For a classic Chinese dish, we would recommend trying the kung po chicken yam basket. This is an easy favourite that can be enjoyed by the whole family. A must-try here at Golden Valley.
Next up, upon the recommendation of the manager, we tried the stir fried beef. This dish is on the peppery side so if you're not inclined to take something as "spicy" as this, we're confident the other beef dishes are sure to impress as well. The beef is cooked to tender perfection and each slice is coated generously in sauce. I would say this was one of the most well-executed beef dishes we've ever tried in a Malaysian restaurant to date!
Because we're such huge fans of salted egg, we simply had to have their salted egg squid. The squid was cooked perfectly - something not many restaurants can achieve. We enjoyed every bite and it was super moreish, we polished off the whole dish in minutes.
Next, we got to sample their Murray perch in sweet and sour sauce. I actually enjoyed this fish dish very much - seeing as how one of my favourite Chinese sauces is sweet and sour. The fish was cooked perfectly and you could taste the freshness in every bite.
Surprisingly, the crowd favourite for the day was the kangkung belacan. We ordered a medium portion for this dish (while the others were small/standard sized) knowing it was our only vegetable dish for the day. No regrets there! We couldn't get enough of this dish! The belacan sauce is actually thicker than the usual ones we get out there, and that makes this dish so good.
Next, we had their mixed seafood nyonya Assam curry. I actually could finish this whole bowl by myself. The curry is a bit on the sweet side (perfect for me, actually!) and even if you're on a diet, you will be asking for extra rice just to enjoy more curry.
Next, we had the buttermilk de-shelled prawns. I am actually very pleased that de-shelled prawns is an option here at Golden Valley (especially for lazy folk like myself who hate de-shelling prawns). You also get to choose the shelled options if you're hardworking enough but I like it de-shelled better since every inch of the prawn meat is coated in the sauce.
Finally, to cap off the meal, we had their version of sang har mien (Cantonese tiger prawn yee mee). This is actually quite a generous portion considering the price and can be shared by 2-3 pax, especially if you have other dishes at the table. The eggy sauce is flavourful and thick and complements the crispy yee mee.
Overall, I would say the experience at Golden Valley was a satisfying one. I would definitely want to come back to try their chilli crabs (unfortunately they had sold out the day we went!), attesting to its popularity.
Golden Valley Melawati Mall
Third Floor
355, Jalan Bandar Melawati, Pusat Bandar Melawati,
53100 Kuala Lumpur, Selangor
Open daily from 10AM - 10PM