Many thanks to New Formosa for a no-holds-barred extravaganza of a meal. With food like this, it's no mystery why this place has kept faithful fans coming back for three decades.
Dinner kicked off on a sweet note, with natural Ai Yu jelly served with fresh lemon juice. Boasting no additives or artificial flavouring, this refreshing treat perked us up instantly, both quenching our thirst and whetting our appetites.
The highlight of Formosa Combination was the butter eel, a savoury, slippery temptation that had me licking my lips. Cholesterol non-watchers will revel in the deep-fried pig intestines with sesame seeds _ addictively crunchy and odour-free. Less sinful but equally scrumptious were the three-cup top shell and stuffed lotus roots.
I had two helpings of the simmered winter melon with diced chicken, pork, mushrooms, gingko nuts, wolfberry, red dates, lotus seeds & lily buds. This warmed my stomach and soul, reminding me of the robust, nourishing soups that were my grandmother's speciality.
The Taiwanese-HK-style crispy roasted suckling pig shattered whatever illusions we still had of a healthy meal. Meaty and fatty but not oily, this should satisfy most carnivores.
Stir-fried shelled prawns with deep fried kailan, yam paste and sweet potato dressing. Divinely dip-worthy, this is one of New Formosa's more recent additions to its menu. Dubbed a "President Ma Banquet Dish" and presented in colours like orange, white and green that are meant to represent healthy food.
Braised snapper with Sichuan hot bean sauce received the thumbs up from fans of fresh fish. The thick sauce was too spicy for me but worth mopping up with the silver-thread bread.
Taiwanese Sichuan Crispy Duck and Herb-marinated Longan Pipa Duck. Best eaten with one's bare hands and wrapped in lettuce. This kinda dried out after we left it on the table for too long. Even while piping-hot, it fell short of succulence but was still satisfactory.
The stomach-buster proved to be the steamed crabs on top of unpolished rice, onion, scallions, shallots, mushrooms, dried shrimp, minced meat and Chinese sausage. Comfort food for carb lovers, the rice was the best kind of mushiness.
Am not a desserts fan, but the steamed yam paste with mashed pumpkin and gingko nuts was irresistible. A soft, not-too-sweet but not-too-bland blend.
On the other end of the textural spectrum was the hot yam coated in crunchy caramel honey sauce. A must-order if you're here with children.
The perfect finish to a near-perfect feast. A quartet of puddings _ mango, green tea aloe vera, custard caramel and honey herbal. Puddings can't get any more pleasurable.
New Formosa,
46, Jalan SS2/24, Petaling Jaya.
Tel: 7875-1894, 7875-7478
There's a lesson to remember when visiting My Elephant: Go early; otherwise, everything that you want might not be available.
We ordered the roast duck curry with avocado, but it came with lychee instead. The curry was thick and tasty _ though they were less than generous with the meat _ but we couldn't help wishing they had served it with avocados instead.
If only we had known the duck curry would come with lychee, we wouldn't have ordered the Panang Gai (chicken curry with lychee). This was inferior in every way _ watery, bland and utterly uninspiring.
We tried ordering the salt-baked fish, but that was out of stock too, so we settled for the steamed fish with lime-garlic-chilli padi dressing. Admittedly, this was one fabulous fish _ fresh, tender and flavourful.
A mix of jasmine and brown rice that went well with the curries.
Pandan Coolers and KraChiap Cooler (Thai Roselle Herbal Tea).
My Elephant,
