Landed in SFO and felt really hungry as I slept all the way to the States. We decided to beat the traffic by dining in Millbrae downtown close to the airport.
The owner and chef are Malaysians, but the service staff are Mainland Chinese. They were only able to understand basic English, and when I asked for a plate to eat the rice a la Malaysia/Singapore-style, they were not able to comprehend why we wanted to do so.
Buk Kut Teh (Chinese Herb)
I didn’t expect to get Klang-style bak kut teh here in the US. The name literally translates from the Hokkien dialect as “meat bone tea”, and it usually consists of pork ribs simmered in a broth of herbs and spices (including star anise, cinnamon, cloves, dong quai, fennel seeds and garlic) for hours. Wonderfully warm for a cold evening.
Lala Clam
Venus clams aka Lala clams sautéed with basil and onion with an in-home special sauce made from chilli and fermented black beans.Not quite the freshest clams I have eaten.
Big Three Belachan
Sautéed okra, string beans and eggplants with spicy Malaysian shrimp paste sauce. Delicious.
Ikan Bakar
Mackerel fish wrapped in banana leaf and grilled with home special shrimp paste sauce. I wish the sambal was spicier and the fish used was stingray. But this is as close as it gets.
This restaurant has seen better days. Not sure if the chef is still Malaysian although the food was alright but did not quite hit the spot. But still a decent place to have bak kut teh if I have a craving.
Ipoh Garden Malaysian Cuisine
100 El Camino Real, Millbrae, CA 94030
Tel : +1 (650) 652-9588
Visited Dec 2024
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