Cheng Jing Steamfish

 July 31, 2023

There’s a rather out of the way MBPJ foodcourt in SS3, the type that was once popular in residential areas, with a variety of stalls selling various types of food.  This one, the Medan Selera Wawasan, looks like it’s in a small town, with a separate building for the toilet and common seating on tables in the verandah beside the stalls.  Something vaguely nostalgic about it.

Cheng Jing Steamfish opened in the second quarter of 2023 and occupies one of the stalls, but in the evenings, it has an outsize presence in the number of customers occupying tables in the common dining area. 

Medan Selera Wawasan, SS3

The stall is operated by Joe and Chee, in their first such venture, although it’s obvious they’re no newcomers to the food business. It’s a simple, no-frills business with the entire menu written out on a whiteboard behind the counter where orders are taken and payment is made.

Chee (L) and Joe (R) - thumbs up!

The menu is simple, with only steamed dishes, available in a single size. There’s Soong Yue (carp) steamed with soyasauce (Rm36) or with fermented bean paste (jiong jing) sauce (Rm38).

Steamed prawns are RM38 a plate, Steamed lala is Rm25 per plate, steamed yau mak (a type of lettuce) at Rm10 per plate. Each table is provided with a small insulated container of white rice.

It’s advisable to go early on weekends. There is plenty of roadside parking in the street in front of the food court, as the motor workshops that operate in the shops there are closed in the late evening.

This is open-air, food court style dining, airy with good ventilation, basic Malaysian informal eating style. Nearby stalls sell drinks and other types of food, but most of these were closed in the evening when we dined there one weekday evening.

It takes a while for the food to be steamed, but the dishes arrive quickly one after another per table. Since this a food court, the bigger tables only accommodate four persons, the smaller ones just two, so larger groups will have to spread over more than one table.

Steamed freshwater prawns

We had the steamed fish, lala, vegetables and prawns. The food was served hot, and portions were generous, with about a dozen prawns and a good chunk of fish with the head. Served steaming hot, what impressed most was how fresh the food was, with simple garnishing – a few sprigs of spring onion and fried garlic.

Steamed soong yue

Steamed Lala

Sometimes, steamed dishes like these can have overly strong sauces, but these sauces were neutral and tasty, and great for ladling over hot rice.

Freshness is essential with lightly steamed dishes, as is the steaming process. Either under or overcooking destroys the integrity of a steamed dish, especially delicate seafood. An overcooked steamed dish is simply beyond redemption, and re-steaming an undercooked steamed dish is just not on, while casting aspersions on the kitchen’s skills. As with much of life, the simplest things are the hardest to excel in!

These were done just right. The prawns were sweet and firm, the fish meat moist and flaky, separating easily without a hint of pink, even near the bone. The lala, larger than the usual variety, were firm and easily separated from the shell – neither shriveled (overcooked) or gelatinous (undercooked).

The food is best eaten with rice, and it was good enough to warrant second and third helpings of rice. What I liked was the no-frills approach with just a few basic dishes, done excellently with the emphasis on freshness.

The bill for three of us at RM113 was more than reasonable, given the quantity and quality of the food. If you don’t mind the frills-free setting, Cheng Jing Steamfish is certainly worth adding to the list of places for its excellent steamed seafood.

Cheng Jing Steamfish

Lot 5, Medan Selera Wawasan, Jalan SS3/33, Petaling Jaya

Business Hours: 6-9pm daily, closed on Tuesdays.