Hai Peng Kopitiam @ Kemaman, Terengganu

Yawn! I have been awake for the World Cup and it was amazing with Italy winning on penalties. No Italian pasta today even though I am sure I have a plain tomato and basil one in my archive but since the morning beckons, I prefer an ice blended coffee a.k.a Hai Peng's Special Coffee Breeze (RM6.50) to keep awake with! It's not mine but from Splashie Boy's recent trip to Terengganu. Whenever one goes around that area - three essential stops along the coastal road from Kuantan to Terengganu are the keropok lekor stalls dotting the side of the road, Kemaman or Chukai for seafood (stuffed crab) and coffee at Hai Peng. They are famous for their traditional coffee and of course breakfast items.

Breakfast was a feast - everyone was tucking into Nasi Lemak, toasted bread with kaya (RM0.90) and half boiled eggs. Their iced coffee comes in chilled plastic cups that are sealed on top. This place has been around for ages i.e. before World War Two and is very much an institution in Kemaman.

Other specialities are their Nasi Dagang and the charcoal toasted bun filled with kaya and ice cold slabs of butter. Splashie Boy took a picture of the ketupat daun palas as it was served differently from here. They had pan fried it hence the ketupat was slightly crunchy on the outside. Sorry for the short write up but I wasn't there to taste the great food! No pictures of the seafood they ate at night as someone forgot to snap any. Check the other reviews as they have lots of pictures of seafood they ordered including the famous stuffed crabs.

Hai Peng Kopitiam

3753 Jalan Sulaimani

Chukai

24000 Kemaman

Terengganu

Tel No: 09 - 859 7810

Other reviews:

• Having a Baby (Part II)
• Irenekay rambles....
• Gingerly Yours - the Wander Lust

Tagged with: Malaysian Food + Terengganu + Kemaman

Weekend Cat Blogging (WCB) 57

I was at Section 17 yesterday as we tried out Food Foundry's offerings. I found this little sweetheart at the side of the apartments looking so adorable on a bench hiding behind a cap. Once it saw me, it started clambering to me as it was lonely. Had to hold it down to snap a quick picture of it. We decided at the end to leave it there since it was safe from cars being within an apartment area. Was also hoping it's mummy was somewhere in the vicinity as it was so young that the eyes have not changed colour yet. Someone cruelly snipped off half of it's whiskers though but luckily, it didn't have any other signs of abuse.

Visit Clare at eat stuff for the round up of kitties. I think she must be very busy with her exams and still recovering from her nasty accident. Hope everything is fine over there.

Tagged with: WCB57 + Weekend Cat Blogging

Nasi Beriani @ An Nur Nasi, Kampung Baru, KL

I was in the Kampung Baru neighbourhood one afternoon and decided to give this Johor food stall a try which was featured in Robyn's blog previously. If you haven't been to Kampung Baru during lunchtime, do give it a try as the place is packed with people eating or packing lunch. If you come early, you can get a parking space or take the LRT to the Kampung Baru station as the eateries are within walking distance. The more popular joints along the main area, Jalan Raja Muda Musa are the Nasi Campur places which are Malay versions of the Chinese economy rice.

This little shack off the road serves up a variety of Johor food whereby Mee Rebus and Mee Bandung was featured. Deciding to be different, I opted for their Nasi Beriani and ordered the Mutton version (RM8.50). It was a huge portion - they gave me one whole shank! Although some parts were not as tender as JM Beriani, it was pretty full of flavours. My plate of Nasi Beriani came with crackers, pickled vegetables and vegetable curry on a seperate side dish. They also serve the Beriani Gam version which is available on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Quite a number of patrons were tucking into the Mee Rebus and Mee Bandung so I definitely will revisit this place for a taste of it to compare with Warung Aji Don in Plaza Damas. Incidentally I am a fan of Johor food especially Kachang Pol and Laksa Johor so I would love recommendations on where to get good versions. Sadly the Kachang Pol place I found at Plaza Damas has now dissapeared.

An Nur Nasi

Jalan Raja Muda Musa

Kampung Baru

Kuala Lumpur

*Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from the restaurant for writing this review.

Tagged with: Malaysian Food + Nasi Beriani + Kampung Baru

Snacks from Pudu

I know France has made it to the final but sorry, no French food posting today as I really don't have any in my archive. Now I am wondering if I should cook something ooh la la to celebrate this weekend's game. I'll see how as it depends on if I have the time. Instead I bring you snacks which I found when I last made a trip to the Pudu area.

I finally got lucky with my pursuit for egg tarts at Tong Kee Confectionery's headquarters. Usually, we get ours at their branch at Lai Foong on Jalan Tun HS Lee so it was my first time trying it out here. I spied a new variety - butter egg tarts but decided to stick to the original ones (RM1 each). Simply yummy and so flaky - best to be eaten when fresh. For me, these egg tarts have been the ultimate ever since I was a kid. I can still remember how I will always go to school with their coconut bun for teatime snacks.

I also tried another snack called Taufuking - deep fried tofu pieces that is mixed with shredded vegetables, crushed peanuts and a sticky rojak like sauce. You can add different ingredients to the mix i.e cuttlefish, meat floss and crispy crackers. Depending on what you add, the prices vary - this one was the full monty for RM4.50. The sign says it's a franchise but I can't seem to find anything much about it but I suspect it's probably popular at the KL pasar malams (Malay for night markets) which I don't really frequent.

The snack was very nice and crispy. I love the deep fried tofu pieces coated in the rojaklike sauce What amazed me was when you pack it back, it's all sticky and gooey but when you add in the vegetables, the consistency works as the vegetables give the snack the liquid it needs.

Tong Kee Brothers Confectionery

8, Lorong Brunei 3

Pudu

55100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel No: 03 - 2142 9923

Taufuking

Along Jalan Landak

Just outside the coffee shop, Restaurant Hiong Kong and facing Pudu Plaza
Next to the stall, there are rojak and apam balik stalls. Opened from 1pm onwards

*Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from the restaurant for writing this review.

Tagged with: Malaysian Food + Egg Tart + Taufuking

Spaghetti Alle Vongole

Since Italy is going to the World Cup Final, I thought it's appropriate to post an Italian pasta dish today. Great goals at the end when everyone was expecting a shoot out penalty. On to the food! I have this small love affair with bivalves and when I see these kind of clams I will definitely stop and get some since they are quite rare.

Rather than make a Chinese dish out of it, I decided to try out the traditional Italian dish with clams which I have from the BBC Good Food magazine. It's really simple to cook and taste so great that you'll want to keep eating this.

Spaghetti Alle Vongole

140 grams spaghetti

500 grams clams in shells

2 ripe tomatoes

2 tbsp olive oil

1 fat garlic clove, chopped

1 small or half of a large fat chili, finely chopped

splash of white wine (about half of a glass)

2 tbsp chopped parsley

Put the water to boil for the spaghetti. Rinse the clams in several changes of cold water. Discard any that are open or damaged. Cover the tomatoes with boiling water for 1 minute and peel the skin. Deseed the tomatoes and chop into small pieces.

Cook spaghetti in boiling water as per instructions on the packet. Meanwhile heat up the oil and add the garlic and chilli, then fry gently for a few minutes. Stir in tomatoes, clams, white wine, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Cover the pan and cook until clams are opened i.e approximately 3 to 4 minutes. Drain pasta and tip into pan to mix with parsley. Dish up and serve.

Cendol @ Gerai Minuman Weng Kee, PJ

It's hot, hot, hot in Kuala Lumpur every day and there does not seem to be any rain in sight. Time to recontinue looking for things to cool down to survive this weather. Even the cats are suffering from the heat and they love to retreat into the air-conditioned room to sleep away the hot afternoons.

I often visit the Medan Selera in Petaling Jaya Old Town as it brings back nostalgic memories for me. I can still remember eating there when I was a kid as it was a favourite hangout for my dad and he used to take us to eat Thong Kee's "pai kuat wong" - super long ribs and the Nyonya tong sui and desserts was a must. Sadly both places are no longer there as Thong Kee had shifted to SS2 and subsequently to their current place in Paramount Gardens while the Nyonya desserts place has totally dissapeared.

Nowadays, my favourite hang out place is the chicken rice stall called Kie Kie - serves really reasonably priced chicken rice, only RM3.50 for a chicken leg rice. Whenever I am there, a must order used to be the ais kacang but I recently discovered the cendol in a glass (RM1.80). They pile a layer of cendol and red beans at the bottom of the glass which is topped with shaved ice. Gula melaka syrup (palm sugar) and evaporated milk is added to the shaved ice for taste. Slurp it down with a straw and you'll cool down instantly. What I love about this cendol is unlike the Indian version, their shaved ice is very fine so it's great to slurp down. The two drink stalls serve this cendol but I prefer the one at Weng Kee instead.

Gerai Minuman Weng Kee

Lot 46, Medan Selera Petaling Jaya Old Town
Jalan Othman

Petaling Jaya

*Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from the restaurant for writing this review.

Tagged with: Malaysian Food + Cendol

Restaurant Yong Tau Foo Khong Kee @ Petaling Jaya

We were recently introduced to this yong tau foo place which is at the same row of shophouses as Gold Dragon City, Restaurant Sorn and Hakka Goldview. It gets pretty packed during lunchtime and you walk to the back of the restaurant to choose which yong tau foo pieces (RM0.80 per piece) you want. We had a selection of bittergourd, brinjal (aubergine), tofu and lady fingers (okra). We also ordered a plate of deep fried bean curd skin (fu chuk). Basically yong tau foo are vegetables or tofu that is stuffed with a paste made from fish meat and minced meat. The Hakka version has salted fish in their paste. The stuffed vegetables or tofu is then pan fried or boiled and it's served with with a broth. This dish is extremely popular as it's deemed to be healthy with the fish and vegetables used.

Tastewise, we thought the yong tau foo here was pretty good especially the bittergourd one. However it's not the best in Klang Valley as that moniker belongs to the Ampang stalls. We also made comparisons with another famous Petaling Jaya yong tau foo place i.e. the one at the Medan Selera in Old Town PJ and the other place is still much better since they fry their yong tau foo items as and when you order them. The only problem with the other stall is they start really late for business (12 to 12.30 pm) and their yong tau foo is priced at RM0.90 a piece.

We noticed the other patrons were ordering plates of fried meehoon to accompany their yong tau foo instead of chee cheong fun so we placed an order to try it out. Even though the fried meehoon is plain with just shredded cabbage and bean sprouts, it was very nice and full of flavours. Definitely a must order at this place.

Another popular item on all the tables at this restaurant was their peanut, Chinese mushroom and dried oyster porridge (RM3.30). This also got our thumbs up as it was nice and chunky plus extra yummy with the added ingredients. I'll definitely order this when I return to this place.

Restoran Yong Tau Foo Khong Kee
No. 22, Jalan 20/16A

Paramount Gardens

46300 Petaling Jaya

Tel No: 012-6520003/019-6109391

(Opened from 7.30 am to 4 pm. Closed on alternate Mondays. Non-Halal)

*Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from the restaurant for writing this review.

Tagged with: Malaysian Food + Yong Tau Foo

Weekend Cat Blogging (WCB) 56

This weekend, I'm helping Clare from eat stuff to host WCB who needs a break, so do leave your links in the comment boxes. There's two - the Haloscan on the left hand side for Non-Bloggers and Blogger on the right hand side. If not, just send me an email at boo_liciouskl@yahoo.com as we would love to see your adorable kitties.

On to Ms. G, the kitty cat who was caught in the act of playing with the curtain. She loves to hide behind the curtain and play hide and seek with the other kitties. Another thing she seems to extremely skillful in is catching lizards and birds! So far, all the lizards who cross her path are killed by her but not eaten or else she will be sick. Her bird catching skills are also amazing - she caught a sparrow once in her jaws but luckily I managed to save it from being chomped by her and the bird flew off.

I almost forget one important piece of news - remember the cute fluffy gremlin a.k.a the stray kitten I found last week. I am extremely happy to report that someone adopted it. Thanks so much to the lovely family who took it in.

Here's the round up:

• Check out the poor exhausted kitty in Jelly Pizza;
• Check out Le Gros Noir who has found the perfect solution to keep cool at Lali et Cie;
• Check out the cutie pie kittens taking a nap after a bath at Like to Cook;
• Check out Kamikaze who is confused on whether he's a cat at I Got Two Shoes;
• Check out Upsie who took time off to enjoy her catnip bush at What Did You Eat?;
• Check out the curious but seriously adorable Tiggy at Chefsarahjane;
• Check out naughty Pixel who found a new place to sleep at The Food Pornographer;
• Check out Baby Louis who love onions at Champaign Taste;
• Check out the adorable Tinies at Restaurant Widow;
• Check out Smoulder who is exhausted from a busy week at The Amazing Adventures of Kitty Blogstar;
• Check out Nooosh who is suffering from the heat (poor thing) at Passionatenonchalence;
• Check out Kashim & Othello who have a vet visit pending (oh! oh!) at Paulchens Foodblog?!;
• Check out Squirt who has found the perfect spot to watch those birdies at ....Slowly she turned;
• Check out Maruschka and Fridolin who are so sweet together at Rosa's Yummy Yums;
• Check out our first time participant, Diane who is so helpful in taking care of the plants at home at Alpineberry;
• Check out LB who tries to keep cool at The Sour Dough;
• Check out the Molly Doodlebug and adorable Cary the Lamb enjoying a meal at home at The Farmgirl Fare;
• Check out Harley who has taken over Daddy's chair at T.Bird on a Wire;
• Check out Aggie who finds comfort with the newspaper at Kayaksoup;
• Check out Glinda who is enjoying the heat at Anne's Food;
• Check out the inquisitive Velvet & Arty at Two Black Cats;
  

Tagged with: WCB56 + Weekend Cat Blogging

Nasi Lemak RA @ Jalan Raja Abdullah, KL

I have been a fan of Nasi Lemak RA ever since I tasted their yummy food at the last Fried Chillies Nasi Lemak Bash. It's pretty easy to get to this place which is just off Jalan Dang Wangi and you can drop by here before you head towards the office. In the mornings, there's a lot of people milling around the place to pack their nasi lemak to the office or to pick and choose which toppings they want. What amazes me is how you can get a mixture of motorcycles and luxury cars thronging this place to savour the nasi lemak. No wonder, nasi lemak can be considered as Malaysia's national food as everyone loves it.

The nasi lemak here suits me fine as I am not a fan of fiery hot sambal which burns my tongue. The sambal is also not too sweet and has the right chilli balance for me. Most importantly the rice has a lovely coconut aroma and is al dente with the rice grains seperate. Choose from the curries available but my favourites are the sambal sotong (calamari) or their fried chicken.

Nasi Lemak RA

No. 15, Jalan Raja Abdullah

Kampung Baru

Kuala Lumpur

They are open in the mornings (Monday to Sunday) and evenings (Monday to Fridays).

*Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from the restaurant for writing this review.

Tagged with: Malaysian Food + Nasi Lemak

IMBB27 + SHF20 = The Joy of Soy

Recently, I have been really slack in participating in food events probably due to the themes which I was not too keen on. However, when I read this month's joint food event was hosted by Reid from 'Ono Kine Grindz and the theme was "The Joy of Soy", I knew I had to try and make this one even though this time round, I did take some shortcuts. I'm glad Reid is still taking in entries up to June 30th as I am one of those stragglers who can only submit now. He's already posted part one of the round-up if you want to start viewing the entries.

On our side of the world, soy plays a huge part in our daily lives. You can get all sorts of soy variants everywhere you look - fresh soya milk and soya bean curd in hawker stalls, soya sauce in everything we cook, tofu in almost all our dishes, bean curd skin in tong sui ( soupy desserts) and etc.

My savoury items for this event are teeny weeny tofu bites to whet your appetite. First, we start off with tempeh sushi that marries Malay and Japanese influences together. Tempeh is made from fermented soya beans which is sometimes used as a vegetarian subsitute for protein. It's extremely popular in Malay and Indonesian cuisine. Some people tend to avoid the freshly made tempeh as it kinda stinks but don't be alarmed as once you cook it, the smell goes away. Tempeh is usually added into vegetarian curries or coated in batter and deep fried as a teatime snack.

My favourite way of eating it is deep fried with anchovies (ikan bilis) and peanuts coated in a sticky chili sauce. I confess for this item, I took a short cut - I didn't make the tempeh myself but assembled the sushi instead. Sorry for that but since it was mid week when I made this, I was running out of time to make it from scratch. If you wish to recreate the tempeh, email me for the recipe which I have. In making the sushi base, I also had some problems as I originally wanted to make it with a cucumber wrapping but since I had bought the wrong cucumbers in my haste, I had to settle with not so crispy seaweed for the wrapping. Taste wise, was it good? Yeah, it was very good as the tempeh topping was nice and crispy that went well with the sushi rice. Would have been much better if my seaweed was crispier.

My second teeny weeny tofu offering are green mango salad stuffed tofu puffs. Stuffed tofu (tahu sumbat in Malay) is a popular snack where it's usually stuffed with bean sprouts, shredded cucumber and shredded yam bean. It's then served with a black rojak sauce made from prawn paste or chilli sauce. My version uses green mango salad instead which I had tossed in a mixture of fish sauce, lemon juice and sugar to give it the sweet, salty and sour taste.

It's quite simple to assemble as you need to shred the green mango and carrots. I also added shredded kaffir lime leaves for additional fragrance. Toss the salad in the sauce taking care to drain it a bit when you stuff it inside your tofu puffs. Down these healthy tofu snacks with chilli sauce for additional spice.

Finally we have dessert as it wouldn't be a Sugar High Friday event without something sweet. I didn't want a soy milk dessert so I decided to hit my recipe books for inspiration. After flicking through a few - soya milk curd, soya milk pannacota and etc, I finally settled on this unusual dessert i.e. the soya milk skin and strawberry millefeuille from Shunju:New Japanese Cuisine.

I was amazed with this dessert as it tasted great and was definitely my favourite among all my soy entries. It's extremely simple to make too. Although the recipe uses fresh soya milk skins (better known as yuba or fu chuk in Chinese), I used the dry version as the wet version is difficult to get. I got mine from an organic shop as it's less oily. I followed the recipe to crisp my soyamilk skins and they browned in the oven. For my cream, I did not whip it since I had bought heavy cream which did not need whipping but mixed in the yummy strawberry preserve. Incidentally the strawberry preserve is a great idea as you can use it for not so sweet strawberries. It's advisable you assemble the dessert as soon as your soyamilk skins are crisped and don't load too much cream on each layer or your millefeuille will be soggy.

Soymilk skin and strawberry millefeuille

16 yuba (soymilk skins), approximately 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches

2 teaspoons sugar

30 large strawberries
60 ml water
1 tablespoon sugar
200 ml heavy (double) cream

Preheat the oven to 180C. Place yuba on a cookie sheet and sprinkle with sugar and bake for about three minutes. They should be brown and crispy. Put 18 of the strawberries, water and sugar in a pan. Simmer for about 30 minutes until you have a preserve. Cool and reserve. Whip the cream until it starts to form peaks. Mix in the cooled strawberry preserve. Spread one sheet of yuba with strawberry cream, then repeat till you have 4 layers of yuba per serving. Garnish with remaining strawberries.

Tagged with: IMBB 27 + SHF20 + Soy

Beef Noodles & Curry Laksa @ Jalan Brunei, Pudu

I'm still exploring Pudu as the place is huge and peppered with so many food stalls. This part is off Jalan Pudu at the turn off where the Caltex petrol station is and pretty near the wantan noodles. Underneath this huge tree, there are three stalls which serve curry laksa, chicken with noodle soup, beef noodles and kampung chicken rice. There is also a drinks stall which serves the patrons of the three stalls.

I ordered a small beef noodles (RM4) - dry style as I liked the look of the noodles. I love the noodles that came tossed with a little minced meat and fried garlic on top. Very crunchy and so nice especially when you add a bit of soup to loosen up the noodles.

The beef soup which accompanies the noodles had an assortment of beef balls, tripe, beef slices and preserved vegetables (ham choy in Chinese). The soup is unlike the other beef noodle places which is usually clear colour but this was pretty tasty too.

The other stall serves curry laksa and chicken with noodle soup. We tried the curry laksa which everyone was eating and it was pretty good. The curry sauce is quite thick and not too spicy. For added spice, you can add their sambal. You have a choice between boneless shredded chicken or chopped chicken which the stall owner will chop for you on the spot. The two ladies who run this stall seem to be having a whale of a time and once when things were not too busy, I even caught one of them singing away.

Another must have at the stall which I observed everyone having is their chicken feet curry. This wasn't my favourite as I prefer the Indian kind as they cut up the feet in smaller parts and somehow theirs is more tender. The chicken feet was also difficult to eat and quite fat. Besides these two stalls, there is also a chicken rice stall which we did not try out.

Stalls underneath the big tree
Along Jalan Brunei
Off Jalan Pudu

Kuala Lumpur

(If coming from Pudu Jail, take the first traffic light and turn left at the Caltex petrol station. Drive down the road and you will see the tree and stalls on the left hand side. Parking is found around the area but can be difficult during lunchtime.)

*Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from the restaurant for writing this review.

Tagged with: Malaysian Food + Curry Laksa + Beef Noodles + Pudu

Bumbu Bali @ Bandar Puteri Puchong, KL

I'm sure most of you have heard about this restaurant which serves Balinese food in Puchong as I have seen so many blog entries about it. I can't claim to be an expert on Balinese food since it's one of the places I have never been so whatever little knowledge I have is garnered from my reading. Although this restaurant bears the same name as the famous Bumbu Bali located in Bali, it has no connections whatsover to the original place. The original Bumbu Bali is famous for it's cooking school and if you go to any bookshop in KL, you'll be able to see the recipes from the book, The Food of Bali.

The restaurant in Puchong has a very extensive menu which offers Balinese food and Western meals with a Balinese twist to them. My only complaint about the menu is I thought it didn't have enough Balinese food items and the emphasis was more on Western items. After a while, everything is the menu tends to taste the same as they predominantly use the same kind of marinade for the meat, poultry and seafood which is barbequed over a coconut husk fire.

We tried to pick the more genuine Balinese food items hence I ordered the Nasi Ayam Betutu (RM19.50++). My chicken was roasted with numerous spices such as turmeric, ginger, galangal, onion, garlic, kencur salam leaf and chillies. Traditionally it's served at wedding ceremonies. I liked the chicken which was full of flavours. Only problem was my portion of chicken versus the rice served was disproportionate hence after a while, everything was too salty for me when I ran out of rice.

To get a taste of all their specialities, Splashie Boy had their Nasi Campur Special(RM28.50++) which came with Sate Lilit, Grilled Chicken, Grilled Prawns, Grilled Fish and Grilled Cuttlefish. You have a choice between two types of rice, the sweet potato rice and Nasi Kuning (Yellow Rice). I had the sweet potato rice which was nothing special as they had just mixed the cubed sweet potatoes in. We both liked the Sate Lilit which is minced seafood paste wrapped around lemongrass skewers. Theirs definitely look much better than my version. We thought the fish was very nice and tender while the prawns were not that fresh.

To read more about the place, see other reviews:

• Kampungboycitygal
• Pasankia
• Eatinout
• Life of a Food Lover
• Zoeliam
• Welcome to ping's life

Bumbu Bali
18 & 18-1, Jalan Persiaran 1
Bandar Puteri
Puchong

Tel No: 03 - 8061 8699

(Halal)

*Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from the restaurant for writing this review.

Tagged with: Balinese Food + Puchong

Fish Head Noodles @ Goon Wah, Off Jln Kuchai Lama

I was introduced to this place by my mother whose friends brought her here one day. It's pretty easy to find this place which is just off Jalan Kuchai Lama. They are famous for their XO Fish Head Noodles which is a must order when you visit here. Unlike the other fish head noodles in town, this one is tangy as they add sour plum, preserved salted vegetables (Ham Choy in Chinese), sliced chillies and sliced tomatoes. They also add fried yam which is a must for Hokkien people. On the XO sauce, it seems it is a sauce they add in which gives the soup an extra oomph but you can't really see it.

I really love their version as the tangy taste cuts through the richness of the dish which comes from the addition of evaporated milk to the soup. Mash the tomatoes in the soup and slurp it all up including the thickish noodles they serve it in. A small claypot (RM14) can probably feed two hungry individuals.

This place is also famous for their version of Claypot Loh Shue Fan (i.e. Rat Tails Noodles). Unlike the extremely notorius dish found at Seng Kee, Petaling Street or their branch, Mama's Kitchen in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, this version is less oily, the minced meat topping is drier and has lots of fried dried prawns. The Seng Kee version has minced meat, chopped liver and prawns which makes the topping have less bite to it. At Seng Kee, they add a raw egg on top of the minced meat topping to be mixed in while this place adds the egg in the claypot first before topping it with the noodles which cooks it thoroughly. A small claypot (RM4) was ordered to test it's taste while the rest was packed back. Even after a few hours, the noodles still tasted great.

The restaurant is well known for catering to special functions and they have a pretty extensive menu. You can also get tong sui here i.e. fu chok yee mai. Other popular dishes are their Kow Yoke which looks like the Esquire Kitchen's Tong Po Yoke that is served with steamed buns, fried noodles and fried rice.

Restaurant Goon Wah

G13, Jalan 3/115C
Block KP2, Taman Kuchai Jaya
Off Jalan Kuchai Lama

58200 Kuala Lumpur

Tel No: 03 - 7982 0048

(If you are coming from Old Klang Road, turn into Jalan Kuchai Lama. You'll pass a traffic light and a school known as Sri Setia Primary School on your left and on a bend. Once you round the bend, you will see Shell and Esso petrol stations on your right hand side, turn right after the two petrol stations. Go straight down the road and there will be a row of shophouses on the right hand side which is where the shop is.

Alternatively you can use the NPE. Take the Jalan Kuchai Lama/Sg Besi exit and you will end up at a traffic light near Ajinomoto. Take a right turn and drive down the road, you will pass by KFC and Six Happiness but turn left only when you see the Esso and Shell stations,)

*Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from the restaurant for writing this review.

Tagged with: Malaysian Food + Fish Head Noodles

Other reviews:

• Babe in the City - KL
• Jaded and lovin' it
  

Weekend Cat Blogging (WCB) 55

We had a pretty exciting week in the kitty world. For a few days, the grey and white fella decided to take a hike from home. Not sure why but maybe he overheard us saying we wanted to take him to the vet on Monday to do that "snip snip deed" which all male kitties dread. I went around the whole neighbourhood including all the back lanes calling him until the neighbours thought I was crazy. Thankfully he appeared on the doorstep one day looking tired and slightly bruised up. It was then straight to the vet for his session as we were worried his hormones had gotten the better of him - maybe a pretty girl cat walked past the house hence he went on a walk to convince her to be his mate. Ever since he came back, he has been quiet and extremely attached to me. I keep giving him hugs all the time to reassure him he is safe.

Then, I found a stray kitten in the middle of a public road. A teeny weeny thing which looked extremely lost and would have been a flattened kitten if I did not rescue it. We sent it to the Taman Tun Dr Ismail pet shop where the little one is now residing, pending adoption. We tried to take nice pictures of it yesterday but it loves to wriggle and would not keep still at all so we have lots of wasted shots. Best one I could find was this one where I had to manhandle it to keep still. It looks like a Persian mix as it's extremely fluffy and has such a sweet pointy face. If you know of any friends who want a kitten, do drop by the pet shop and visit it or better still, take it home. It loves people to cuddle it. The pet shop address is below.

Winners Pets Plaza
No. 3, Jalan Tun Mohd Fuad 3
Taman Tun Dr. Ismail
60000 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03 - 7727 8469

(The shop is next to KFC and faces the old Jaya Jusco supermarket and now the new pasar malam area.)

Do head over to eat stuff for more kitty pictures this weekend.

Tagged with: WCB55 + Weekend Cat Blogging

Bahulu Classiq

Last weekend when we were at 1 Utama Shopping Centre, we stumbled upon the Agricultural Fair. It was pretty good as they had lots of stalls selling local fruits from the government run farms. We bought rock melons which were nice and sweet. Besides the fruit stalls, there were also stalls selling local food i.e roti arab, cakes, snacks and etc.

We were extremely attracted to the Bahulu Classiq stall as they had brought in an oven and was whipping up fresh bahulu that smelt great. For those who have never heard of Bahulu, it's made from a mixture of flour, eggs and sugar that is cooked in brass or iron moulds. You can get them in different shapes, the traditional flower or button shape and even goldfish shape. Texture wise, it's spongy on the inside with a slightly crunchy crust. Traditionally it was cooked under a kerosene fire but nowadays everyone bakes it in an oven.

What was extremely unusual with this stall even though there were others selling the traditional Bahulu was their version with Pandan flavour and chocolate chips. They had cut the bahulu to small pieces for people to try and it was really good hence we bought two boxes. There was a small assembly line at the stall with a mixer to make the bright green batter and a lady sitting at a counter spooning the batter into the moulds. The moulds will have a bit of oil in it that is dabbed with the pandan leaves brush. Not sure if you can see the guy behind with the glove but he is in charge of putting the trays in the oven and taking them out later. Once they are done, the bahulu is knocked out from their moulds and placed in a basket to cool down.

If you eat them when they are hot and fresh, they taste fantastic. Leave them for a while and it's still yummy especially with a cup of coffee that you can dunk them in. Splashie Boy calls them Malaysian Madelines as they have a similar crusty exterior even though they don't have any butter inside them. The stall was doing brisk business and besides the Pandan flavoured bahulu, they also had a capuccino flavoured one and the plain ones. It seems their factory in Hulu Langat can churn out 30,000 bahulu a day which is for export purposes.

Bahulu Classiq
I.A.D.Z Enterprise
Baru 18, Kampung Jawa
43100 Hulu Langat
Selangor

Tel No: 03 - 9021 1131

*Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from the restaurant for writing this review.

Tagged with: Malaysian Food + Bahulu

Hon Kee Porridge @ Jalan Hang Lekir, KL

I'm finally over my flu bug but it got me hankering for porridge for breakfast. I'm partial to the porridge found in Cecil Street (or Jalan Hang Lekir as it's known now), Petaling Street which is my standard of great porridge since it's the place my parents took me since I was a kid. I love wandering around Petaling Street in the early morning as it's nice and quiet without the bustle of the stalls that sell their fake luxury goods.

Sorry for the not too nice picture of my bowl of porridge. I had added everything in: i.e. minced meat balls and the raw fish slices as seen below. Usually the porridge comes with only one item but it's been a tradition with my parents that we add an extra plate of raw fish slices in the hot bowl of porridge.



The raw fish slices (Wan Yue in Chinese) is always served with a dash of sesame oil and lots of shredded ginger, spring onion and coriander. Just plonk it in your hot porridge and they'll cook themselves. Accompany this with a plate of sliced yau char kuai (Chinese crullers) and you'll be in heaven. I love the smooth texture of the porridge as they cook it on slow heat hence it's nice and smooth.



Of course there will always be changes with time and nowadays when you have your breakfast, you can be entertained with live music. It was quite strange to see a busker early in the morning since they usually play at night but this fella was happily strumming out oldies like Rod Stewart's Sailing and even old Malay songs.

If you're feeling very adventurous, take a walk after your breakfast. Turn right at the first alleyway after the porridge stall (where they are frying the yau char kwais) as you will see fresh wantan mee being made in a small factory. They don't really allow you inside the place but you can peek in but they sell the freshly made wantan mee, pan mee, yee meen outside. Walk further down and you'll see lots of foreign workers hanging around make shift stalls where they are said to peddle stolen goods. You'll see items like shoes which have been pinched from people's backyards, clothes, electrical items and all sorts of things. However, be warned that it's not exactly a very safe place so be cautious when you walk through there. If you walk the other side of the stall towards Malaya Hotel, you will find Madras Lane market inside the alleyways where you'll see all sorts of fresh produce and items especially those enormous fish heads sold to steamed fish head stalls.

Hon Kee Porridge
Jalan Hang Lekir (Jalan Cecil)

Off Petaling Street

(Next to Koon Kee Mee, opposite Hong Leong Bank Berhad. Opens from 5am to 1pm)

*Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from the restaurant for writing this review.

Tagged with: Malaysian Food + Porridge

Other reviews:

• frozen in time
• Jackie's Site
• 2 cents worth
• Daydreamer at work
  

Wantan Mee @ Jalan Brunei Utara, Pudu, KL

As I am totally unfamiliar with Pudu, I was not sure what to have for lunch when I was around the area. Following my instincts, I found this Wantan Mee stall at the corner of a walkway which looked like it was doing brisk business. Since it looked good, I decided to give it a try. I ordered wantan mee with soup instead as everyone around me was going for the soupy version. Also added two Siu Kaw (large dumplings) and two fried wantan after observing my neighbours slurping down theirs. Each standard order comes with two wantans and a shredded chicken and minced meat topping.

I liked the wantan mee which was a lovely texture but I thought the wantans were only okay. What blew me away was their siu kaw - full of minced meat, water chesnut, crunchy black fungus and prawns for RM0.70 each. Very yummy and definitely a new favourite for me.

The ladies that run this extremely compact stall work at the walkway of the road while tables and chairs are placed around. There's also another area i.e. a shoplot slightly away from the stall that is located at the corner of the road. You find a place to sit and one of them will take your order. They also serve a refreshing cincau (grass jelly) drink.

If you have any other food recommendations for the Pudu area, do drop me a comment as I would love to explore more places. I tried to get egg tarts from the nearby Tong Kee Confectionery but sadly they had sold out.

Wantan Mee Stall

Along Jalan Brunei Utara
Off Jalan Pudu
Kuala Lumpur

(Closed on Wednesday and Sunday)

*Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from the restaurant for writing this review.

Tagged with: Malaysian Food + Wantan Mee

Restoran New Yew Seng Seafood @ Kelana Jaya, PJ

The weather is driving me crazy - one minute it's super hot and then it starts to rain. Not good for me as I have caught a cold which does not seem to be going away. Since I have been craving for lots of liquids, I decided to have the steamed rice and soup one day. This corner coffee shop located behind the Giant supermarket in Kelana Jaya is always packed during lunchtime since it's full of varieties plus it's the only coffee shop around the area. One of the more famous stalls is this Ipoh Steamed Rice stall which has been featured in Flavours magazine and Chinese magazines.

They serve a variety of steamed rice dishes whereby small metal plates with the ingredients are steamed seperately. Once ready, they are placed on top of the steamed rice. I like their steamed rice as it's nice and fluffy. There are different varieties of steamed rice to choose from i.e chicken with chinese sausage, chicken with salted fish, chicken with mushroom and etc but I had the chicken with ginger (RM4) that was full of flavour.

I also ordered the steamed soup with dried vegetables that is cooked with chicken legs. (RM3.50). They also have a few varieties of soups i.e. herbal soup, old cucumber soup, peanut soup for you to chose from. I like their soup as it's not as oily compared to the steamed soups you can also get at claypot rice outlets.

Restoran New Yew Seng Seafood
18, Jalan SS6/8

Kelana Jaya

(Location map - refer to KY Speaks per link below who has an excellent map)

*Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from the restaurant for writing this review.

Other reviews:

• KY Speaks

Tagged with: Malaysian Food + Steamed Rice

Honey Glazed Chicken with Ginger

Recently we had an excellent dinner at Chynna, KL Hilton for my mother's birthday. Sadly I could not snap any pictures since my family members would have been mortified if I whipped out my camera since they're regulars there. Despite all the kitschy kung fu costumes the wait staff have to wear, I must admit food here is very good.

To celebrate, we had the Beijing Duck, Mongolian Beef, Prawns with Salted Egg, Honey Glazed Chicken with Ginger, Birthday Noodles, Stir Fried French Beans and Spinach in Soup and Wolfberries. We finished off sharing the Lime Sorbet, Lemongrass Jello with Aloe Vera. My favourites are definitely their Mongolian Beef that came in tender beef cubes and the chicken.

Since I could not take any pictures, I decided to make my version of honey glazed chicken with ginger. It's unlike the one at Chynna which is ten times better especially with the crispy waferlike ginger slices they serve it with. I tried making the deep fried ginger flakes but failed as they just could not stay crispy. Think I'll need to dust them with flour the next time. This version is actually from the bilingual Yum Yum magazine. For my version, I have deboned chicken legs and removed the skin to keep down the fat levels since it is deep fried. If you don't like deep frying, pan fry your deboned chicken instead. Although it's not the same, I would say this dish is excellent and simple to make. Hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did.

Honey Glazed Chicken with Ginger

4 chicken thighs, cut into serving pieces (You may debone them if you prefer)

1 tablespoon light soya sauce
1 tablespoon corn flour
150 grams young ginger

Marinade

1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon white rice vinegar

Sauce

3 tablespoons honey

1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon soya sauce

1 tablespoon of marinated ginger

Cut the young ginger into small cubes and add in the marinade. Mix well and leave for one hour. Combine chicken with soya sauce and corn flour. I usually leave it to marinate for 1 hour that I am waiting for the ginger. Deep fry in hot oil till golden brown. Drain excess oil on paper towels. Pour sauce into a pan, ginger pickles and cook on low heat until the sauce thickens. Add the fried chicken and mix thoroughly. Dish up and serve.

Tagged with: Chicken + Kuala Lumpur Hilton + Chinese Food

Weekend Cat Blogging (WCB) 54

This little sweetheart was fast asleep at the pet shop I frequent in Taman Tun Dr Ismail. Although she's a stray kitty, she's very tame and the pet shop owners have taken her in temporarily until someone adopts her. She's really adorable as she was happily sleeping right in the middle of the pathway inside the shop. Everyone who went to the pet shop to buy items had to either step over her, walk around her or give her a quick pat as she looked so cute. If you want to adopt her or if she's a lost kitty, let me know at boo_liciouskl@yahoo.com

Do visit eat stuff for more kitty pictures including the resident cutie pie, Kiri.

Tagged with: WCB54 + Weekend Cat Blogging