Jiu Jiu Szechuan Restaurant @ Autocity Juru

Was around the Autocity Juru area for work recently and decided to try one of the fancy looking restaurants at the new phase of the Autocity. Actually you can’t really see Jiu Jiu Szechuan Restaurant because its located on the first floor, but its bright interesting looking logo beckoned…

The interior was cosy with red walls and dark wooden chairs. My brother originally thought it was some fast food szechuan place with cheap set lunches…but oh boy, were we wrong!!

Upon walking in, we knew this was no RM10 per set lunch place. I do not know much about Szechuan food but would equate it to hot and spicy tastes. People who can’t really take spicy food will like the fact that the menu advices the customers of the spiciness of each dish, indicated by the number of ‘chilies’ next to each item. After browsing through the rather extensive menu, the 2 of us ordered a “Ant climbing up a tree”, Jiu Jiu’s signature pork ribs, “Xiu long bao” and a long beans stir fry rice set.

The “ant climbing up a tree” (translated literally from the mandarin name) is actually a spicy vermicelli dish that’s stir fried with minced meat. It was really tasty and I loved it! Some might find it a tad bit too oily though.

The signature pork ribs came with chili powder on the side. The taste was rather bland to me (probably overshadowed by the vermicelli dish?) Still, the meat was very tender. And what impressed me was the fact that the waiter actually gave instructions to the kitchen to half the portion, since there were only 2 of us. Very sensible indeed!

Next came the “Xiu Long Bao” or mini steamed meat dumplings. Having tried this dish before in Dragon-i in KL, I must say that I prefer Dragon-i’s version to Jiu Jiu’s. The “Xiu Long Bao” at Jiu Jiu is a bit bigger than normal and the dumpling skin was a tad bit too thick. But biting into the dumpling, you can still taste the burst of flavorful meat inside.

My brother’s favourite is the long beans stir fry with mince meat. This dish has always been a family favourite and I must say that Jiu Jiu does this popular dish justice. The long beans were crunchy enough, salty enough, with just the right amount of mince meat. Yummy!

Jiu Jiu also offers a range of teas either by the pot or by the cup. I love trying out different types of tea combinations and was spoilt for choice here. In the end, we ordered a Pu Er Rose tea and a Long Jing Chrysanthemum tea. Both were lovely.

In the end the bill came up to about RM60++ which was quite reasonable for the service and the food. Like I mentioned before, the waiter was sensible enough to instruct the kitchen to half the portion of the pork ribs (and of course the cost!) to ensure that we didn’t end up with too much food!

I would definitely come back for a second visit!
Jiu Jiu has another branch on Penang Island, at i-Avenue (next to Bukit Jambul Complex).