Restoran Al Amin Xinjiang Lamb Baked Buns

Post by Chiefeater RQ

Another weekend, another moment of trying to figure out where to go, so I decided to check out a previous takeaway favorite of mine in the SS2 area of Petaling Jaya. Restoran Al Amin Xinjiang, run by a Muslim family from China, serves up gobsmackingly authentic halal food from the western regions of China. If you’re a fan of strong and spicy flavors from Gansu, Sichuan and Xinjiang, then this is the place to go to.

The shop was open only for delivery and takeaway orders during most of the pandemic. Now it’s open for dining in but I still ended up packing a big order for folks back home. It’s located behind a row of stalls so the signage isn’t easily visible from the main road – trust Waze to get you there.

The Good

My favorite dish is the baked lamb buns or 羊肉烤包子 (quite a bargain at RM3 each). The golden pastry is soft and flaky, the generous meat filling redolent of cumin and pepper.

The oiled meat noodles or 油羊拉面 is my usual noodle order. It’s a pulled noodle dish with strips of lamb, peppers and black fungus mushrooms in a spicy ma-la sauce. There’s more than a hint of rendered lamb fat in the sauce that gives the al dente pulled noodles a lovely mouthfeel.

The lamb skewers are of the breaded and fried variety. It’s different from the stacked kebab skewers of meat and fat sprinkled with copious amounts of spice powder and dried chilli powder more commonly seen in Sichuan and Gansu. There are also platters of beef and lamb more suited for large groups but I haven’t tried those.

Restoran Al Amin Xinjiang also takes catering orders and takeaway orders by phone. I would recommend calling them up if you’re making a big order because some dishes can take a while to make. I would dare say this is the best Xinjiang food place in the PJ area.