I try not to be tempted by 2 minute food review videos that always show multiple thumbs-ups for good reason - food that may look good on camera does not necessarily taste good. Gold Chilli has probably been around for umpteenth years but was recently made popular again when it appeared as the top places to have buttermilk chicken in KL, PJ & Subang.
Buttermilk chicken or lai yao chicken is a Chinese originated dish so you probably can imagine my doubt when presented with a famed Non-Chinese lai yao chicken - skeptical, at the least.
At first glance, the menu was like any dai chao menu, leong sui included which got me a bit confused. The restaurant is pork-free with plenty of Malay clientele.
We ordered their specialty - a large buttermilk boneless chicken set (rice + soup + teh o ais), a large kangkung belacan, an Indonesian fried rice and a set of deep fried chicken wings. Service was swift and food arrived at the table within 10 mins of ordering.
The buttermilk chicken sauce tastes as good as it looks - thick, creamy, fragrant and a tad spicy, it was good dai chao standard! The boneless chicken was entirely chicken breast and was sadly overcooked. Stick to the in-bone version.
The kangkung didn't have wok hei but was spicy and tasty. Still pretty good.
Indonesian fried rice, I'm not sure what constitutes as Indonesian fried rice but I ordered it out of curiosity and it was surprisingly good! Enough wok hei here!
The deep fried chicken was what we imagined the in-bone chicken would taste like. The chicken was quite alright.
I can see what the fuss is about considering that the place serves pork-free dishes that tastes as close as it can get to Chinese cooking. There were plenty of Chinese when we were there so Gold Chilli does appeal to all folks. It's nice to have a place where delicious pork-free Chinese food can be enjoyed by all at decent prices.
---
Restoran Gold Chilli
5, Jalan SS 15/8b, Ss 15, 47500 Subang Jaya, Selangor
Open Monday to Saturday, 12 noon to 12 midnight