Fish Castle @ Damansara Uptown PJ - Halal Chinese Food In PJ

Damansara Uptown is fast becoming a default makan place for me - merely minutes away from home and slewed with multiple eateries of choice.

This time round, without any recommendations to fall back on, I found myself circling the Uptown area once again, in search of somewhere to grab a bite.

Fish Castle

Many of my colleagues and friends have asked me to recommended a decent Halal Chinese restaurant that is worthy of visiting - a place that is not too mainstream and perhaps a little more simple.

It's not easy to serve dishes from the Chinese food tradition while still maintaining the Halal status, yet catering to the best of both worlds.

At Fish Castle, if you may - showcases just that.

The star of the restaurant is none other than fresh-fish, served mainly with noodles. Apart from that, there is also couple of local Nasi dishes as well as porridge. The place did reminded me of the classic yong tau fu joint.

Ambience wise, there isn't much to deliberate on - a typical Chinese eatery with simple stool-like marbled furniture, assembled alongside wooden structures and clean white flooring.

Halfway through my meal, I got a little annoyed at the staff who was mopping nearby. Not so much from the notion of moping, but more disturbed by the strong scent of chemical detergent.

When it comes to Chinese dining, sauces and condiments are a must.

This time round, I was craving for something more homemade and freshly brewed rather than the boring ice lemon tea I always order. Was I glad to spot a couple of my favourite Chinese classics in their menu!

What a refreshing treat to start off my meal!

Gingko Fu Chuk. Rm3.50-Rm5.

Served warm, I scooped a spoonful and was anxious to see what was hidden beneath.

Right at the bottom was thin flaps of melt-in-the-mouth Chinese bean curd skin, barley and a handful of gingko nuts. It was not too sweet and the texture not too thick - done just right.

Winter melon with Longan. Rm3.50-Rm5.

The chilled winter melon with longan drink is essentially a 'healing drink'. The plethora of winter melon shreds did sweet justice to cool me down from the scorching heat.

Fried fish noodle and Chee cheong fun. Rm7.50.

 

One look at the noodles and I thought - how is this different from the typical CKT?

The stir fried chee cheong fun was merely there. The noodles had a nice charred flavour, but no where near the CKT versions and it got a little too oil-slick and 'soy sauce' towards the end. Also, if fish meat was meant to be in there, I could barely taste any.

Home Land Mee. Rm6.50.

 

I had a hard time 'dismantling' my noodles. Albeit being a little dry - lacking in a drizzle of garlic oil I suppose, the handmade noodles are actually pretty good. Once pried apart, it was springy and had a nice garlic fragrant when tossed.

The combination of fish paste, fish cake, fried garlic, freshly chopped shallots, gave the noodles a much needed flavour-booster and worked fairly well together.

Tip: Have a spoonful of the tasty fish ball soup at the side first - it will definitely induce appetite.

Yong Tau Fu. Rm1.20-Rm1.50 per piece.

Amongst the lot, I would highly recommend the Wan Tan.

The superbly crisp wan tan skin was stuffed with fresh and tangy fish paste fillings. You'd definitely be able to differentiate this, with the frozen rubbery ones from Tesco. I was extremely tempted to do a dozen takeaway of this.

Overall Rating: 6/10. Unsure if I took too long photographing the noodles or it was plain dry, I would give the Home Land noodles another shot, as well as have another few of those tasty wan tan. If you're around the area, you should definitely give this place a go.

Fish Castle is located at:
106, Jalan SS21/39, Damansara Uptown,
47400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor