Madam Kwan's Mid Valley Southkey — Restaurant in Johor

(Update 5th Sept 2024) 2nd experience here was worse. Came here for a weekday lunch, place wasn't very full, could see several empty tables but they really took their time to seat the people. Lots of staff walking around but totally ignoring the queue, leaving it to the poor manager who's a one man show handling the cashier duties and seating people. Asked for plain water a couple of times, 1 of the waiters (who looks really depressed like he just broke up with his gf) acknowledged my request and 2 secs later completely forgotten about it and went to fiddle with the cutlery drawers. After 5 mins he caught my death stare and suddenly something clicked in his brain and he begrudgingly shuffled (yes he really did shuffle at a glacial speed) to the drinks counter and brought us the drinks. Asked another guy to serve our dessert, waited for 10 mins, nothing came until we chased again. Seriously Mdm Kwan, u got to hire better staff. Your prices ain't cheap and it's not just about the food. The food is good but I expect way better service. Also tried the ice cream with the fried banana fritters. The outside of the bananas are not even crispy, it's soft. Super disappointed. Interestingly the inside of the banana is hotter than the outside, not sure if it's just precooked and then microwaved when someone orders. The ice cream also didn't taste like the premium type of ice cream. For something that costs RM 16, I'd expect much better. Downgrading my initial 5 star rating to 3 stars.

Came here based on the high Google rating and it really fits the bill. I can see why the rating is so good. Firstly, it's not cheap but is it value for money? I'd say yes. The chicken cutlet portion is huge for RM30, 2 pax can easily share 1 if they are not big eaters. The satay is big, chunky and soft. It comes with the rice, pineapples, onions and cucumber. The satay sauce is full of crushed peanuts. Lastly, the Nasi Lemak is supposedly famous, it's not bad. It comes with a side of onions and ikan bilis which is quite interesting. Service was also good. Overall I'd come here...

Was expecting a queue especially it being a Sunday afternoon but was seated as soon as we arrived. This is Malaysian food in a restaurant setting. You will get the common fare of Malaysian food in under one roof. The interior & decor is standard of Madam Kwan in all the other places but with an outdoor seating area.

Order was placed via QR code and surprisingly the fried kueyteow arrived before the entree. We got all our orders in under 20 minutes. Staff was attentive when we asked for extra chilli & soy sauce.

Verdict Mix appetizers plate - The otak otak tasted really bland with just a small hint of fish, unfortunately. Fried chicken wing was not fully cooked and had some blood, taste was of average quality. The satay on the contrary, was delicious. It had a heavy taste of spices and strong scent of cumin, just how Malay satay should be! The chicken was also juicy and despite no sambal in the peanut sauce, it paired well. Another win in the platter is the dumpling. The fried skin was crunchy and prawn fillings were generous. Came with a white sauce which I had no idea what was it (and forgot to ask). Next time, I would order only the dumplings as the entree. Cantonese beef kueyteow - This dish is usually of seafood but here, it's a different twist and with beef instead. I'm not sure if I'm being biased or what but my tongue doesn't agree with the beef as I'm used to having it with seafood where its flavor seeps into the egg gravy, I find this missing in the Madam Kwan's beef version. The portion was huge and fair to say can be shared by 2 pax. Another observation worth noting is that the beef was tender, meaning they used fresh beef instead of the frozen ones. A win if you're a fan. Fried Kueyteow - Small portion but wok hei fried to perfection with an adequate combination of dark & light soy sauce. Prawns were big & plump. High on my recommendation list.

I will try out other dishes for my next visit instead of sticking to the safe ones. All in all, the food...

In the span of one week, I've frequented this outlet of Madam Kwan together with my spouse on an almost daily basis. My spouse loves the nasi lemak with beef rendang. Without fail, she'd tell me to order for the same dish over and over again. However, last week, when the dish ordered for her arrived at our table, she was shocked to say the least. The amount of beef rendang given was too little, it was akin to a very lousy prank. I summoned the Manager on Duty. After explaining to him about the paltry amount of beef rendang given to my wife, the Manager shocked me with his idiotic reply: "I'll bring the plate back to the kitchen and have the beef rendang weighed". I lost my cool and blasted him off: "You can see with your naked eyes how pathetic the amount of beef rendang there is on the plate! Just give my wife an extra beef rendang to make up for the mistake that your kitchen staff have made!" The dense Manager continued to ramble on, "Still, we have to weigh it before giving your wife the extra rendang. " Alright, I relented. "Go weigh the rendang and get it done and over with." A few minutes later, the Manager returned and finally gave my wife the actual portion of beef rendang she's supposed to receive in the first place. "Your kitchen staff gave the wrong amount, right?" I asked the Manager sarcastically. "Yes, sir. It wasn't the correct amount." That final point brings me to the conclusion of this review. This outlet at Mid Valley Southkey is obviously staffed by a bunch of amateurs. Their level and quality of service are severely lacking, unlike their counterparts in the Klang Valley. The worst part is, the staff are unaware of how lousy they are at performing their job. The big orang utan manning the cashier counter is another menace that needs to be mentioned. He'd simply tell you the amount that needs to be paid without handing over the bill for you to go through first. If you happen to pay for an item that you didn't order, well, it's...