Restoran Xfrens — Restaurant in Subang Jaya

Set up in 2009, this place is located in a claustrophobic intermediate shop-lot along SS18/1B, right opposite the road from the Subang Bomba (fire-station). It is a typical run-of-the-mill, non-halal neighbourhood-type Chinese restaurant and you'll find six 6-seater, red-draped tables inside with two "overhead" air-conditioners that struggle to cool the semi-open place down. So comfort is not really great by any standard but at least you don't have to endure your dining session here as a stoic. Normally packed in the evening from 7pm till 9pm, it is fairly popular with the working class and families from the vicinity of SS14, SS15, SS17 and SS18 in Subang Jaya so you can't say the crowd here is a trendy lot. Come dusk, dining space is greatly expanded, in a "creative manner" to the adjacent "kaki lima" (the 5-foot pedestrian shoulder) and beyond, with extra 15 tables or so adding a lot more seats with "outdoor view" to meet increasing market demand but at the expense of both your health due to direct exposure to exhaust fumes of the on-coming traffic flow and your comfort due to the normally high humidity in this area. Mind you, these tables are usually occupied by 7.30 pm on a daily basis. However, you gain some level of comfort or respite, afforded by "improved ventilation" if you are lucky enough to get one of the two "kaki-lima" tables right outside the entrance which are served by commercial-grade air-coolers. As such, dining with young children and the elderly is not recommended in the evening! If you absolutely need to be here in the evening, slot this place in at 9pm as you should be able to secure an "interior table". It's closed at 10.30 pm daily. Despite the evening crowd, turnaround time is amazingly short, right about 15 mins.

You'll find all the usual suspects available on the menu, from sweet-sour pork-cubes, pork-rib cutlets, prawns of both the soy-cause and butter varieties, "pak-jam-kei" aka Hainanese steamed chicken in soy sauce, plus some dishes of fried vegetables. Most food items on their menu are decently good but not outstanding. If you love crabs, you're out of luck as this item is on pre-order basis with a day's notice! However, most of the fish varieties are mostly quite remarkable in gastronomic terms, such as their famous steamed "Nyonya-style" Tilapia fish with the exceptionally delicious sweet-sour-and-spicy sauce; steamed brown grouper in soy-sauce and oil and deep-fried brown grouper. If you are a noodle-lover, their cantonese-style "horfun with eggs" seems a crowd-pleaser here for those looking for a quick-bite, so is their "Yongchow" fried rice. As this is a typical neighbourhood restaurant, do not expect exotic fish of the grouper family on offer here, such as red grouper七星班 or tiger grouper 老虎班and certainly no 'loong-dan' 龙胆班鱼(giant grouper). The level of service is generally acceptable and you should be able to find a place to park here in the evening. Its popularity seems to stem from its wallet-friendly pricing structure which is really the main draw here. Ratings: 4/5* for fish dishes, 3.5/5* for non-seafood items, 2.5/5* for level of service and 4/5*...

We had a previous bad encounter with this restaurant quite some time ago. As no booking, we did a walk-in at 5.30pm to try our chance. But was told it was full and we have to wait, despite there were quite a few tables not occupied. We told them that we just wanted to have a quick dinner and we will be away. But they persisted and ask us to waited. We waited 10 min but the occupied tables, noone finished. Some were delaying and just drinking. In meanttime, noone came to take up the empty tables and tables remained empty. Other restaurants we went to, had a waiting time rule tjat if reserved tables were not filled up, they would be released to those already there and waiting. Obviously, this restaurant did not have this ruling and pamper and cater to their regulars even though they might be late. We left after 15 min wait, even though my sister is a regular customer with them. We went to another restaurant and had crabs there. This round, just this week, five of us went and my sister dod advance booking, so we had a table. It was a weekend and place was quite full. Ordered fish but order taker (not the bosses who will be more enterprising and accommodating) was not relaxed and friendly. She literally said the 2 types of fish names in a condescending way, like we are ignorant. It was pak so gong ("white whiskered grandpa"catfish) and/or sultan yu (carp fish). But when we asked again to reconfirm, she replied bluntly no sultan fish but only sek pan (grouper).

Ok, We order the sweet vegetable grouper fish which was ok in terms of cooking, but fish is ok ok. Picture attached.

The Pumkin Taufu is good as it was quite unique.

Nam yu Ribs is tasty and well cooked.

Ching Loong (green dragon) vegetable with gar choy (bean sprouts) ok as a bit overfried.

Portions are small.

RM220 for 5.

Overall, ok. But then later, after leaving, we had thirsty taste, indicating some...

Disappointing Experience with Poor Organization and Pricy, Small Portions at Restoran Xfrens

My group of over 10 people, including several children, visited Restoran Xfrens in Subang Jaya tonight and had a very frustrating experience. While previous reviews might suggest reasonable waiting times, ours was significantly longer than expected.

The restaurant's queuing and seating process was incredibly disorganized and lacked any flexibility. Despite arriving earlier, we repeatedly saw smaller groups who arrived after us being seated before our large party. This felt very unprofessional and frankly, quite inhumane, especially given we had young children waiting patiently. It's baffling that Restoran Xfrens would prioritize later arrivals over those who had been waiting for a long time.

A well-managed establishment would prioritize customers who arrive first, regardless of party size. Furthermore, there was no initiative to offer solutions like combining smaller tables for larger parties, even if it meant checking with customers about their preference. This lack of proactive thinking and basic customer service made for a very negative dining experience.

To add to our disappointment, the food portions were notably small for the pricing, making the meal feel expensive and not worth the cost. We left feeling undervalued, frustrated by the poor organization, and quite frankly, that the food was not good value for money at...