Korean Food @ Haeun Khon Restaurant, Amcorp Mall

Last weekend, we finally tried out this Korean place which a few bloggers have reviewed recently. I say finally as I've known about this place for the longest time since Splashie Boy used to work in Amcorp Mall but surprisingly he never took me to eat at this place whenever I ate lunch with him. I think it was because he wanted something quick and this place gets pretty packed during lunchtime. I've seen this place move around the third floor throughout the years: they originally started out with one lot, then expanded to two lots which weren't next to each other then they managed to get two lots together and now it seems they are back to one lot. It's kinda strange they cut down on their space as they were packed on Saturday night.

The menu features mainly sets - Korean, Japanese and Chinese are available. Prices are reasonable and below RM20 for a set. I ordered the Beef Bulgogi set (RM13.90+) which came with beef slices, onions and oyster mushrooms. They also served me spring onion kimchi, spring onion pancake, a small piece of tofu with a sauce made from chillies and soya sauce, an egg drop soup, white rice and watermelon for fruits. Everything is served to you on a tray with the rice being stored in the traditional Korean metal round box and metal chopsticks. The bulgogi beef slices are nice and tender. I like the sauce they cooked it in which is slightly sweet from the sugar and honey they use.

Splashie Boy had their Pibim Pap (Vegetables Mixed with Rice in Korean) with beef slices (RM12+) that came with the same appetizers minus the spring onion pancake. Not sure why they omitted the pancake. This version came with a fried egg, sunny side up on top and they had sprinkled the red pepper paste on top of it. This irked Splashie Boy a bit as he likes to have the sauce seperate so he can adjust the spiciness of the dish himself. They had added shredded vegetables like bean sprouts, carrots, cucumber and cabbage for this version.

Although this place offers great value meals in terms of their sets and I must admit their selection is the best Korean budget food I tasted so far, bear in mind their Korean food has been adjusted to suit the Malaysian tastes. This is evident as that night, only Malaysians were frequenting this place. Genuine Korean food tastes slightly different and if that is want you are hankering for, head towards the Korean Villages in Ampang and Desa Sri Hartamas for a taste of it instead.

Haeun Khon

Lot 336, Third Floor

Amcorp Mall,

No. 18, Persiaran Barat,

Off Jalan Timur

46050 Petaling Jaya

Tel No: 03 -7957 2181

*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: Korean Food

Other reviews:

• KY Speaks
• wAntAn Productions

Teh Kulafa @ Restoran Khalifah, Kota Damansara, PJ

We discovered this drink during the weekend when we were around Kota Damansara looking for curtains for the new house. Believe me, it's stressful searching for curtains! Restaurant Khalifah seems to be the mamak around this area as we counted two outlets within Kota Damansara. I saw a picture of this unusual drink on their restaurant hence I decided to try it out.

It's just teh tarik except they have done the layers nicely with the hot milk at the bottom, the tea portion in the middle with milk froth added on top. For those of you who are unfamiliar with teh tarik, they pull the tea by using two glasses which will create a froth on top of the tea. I suspect this version doesn't use the teh tarik principles but they froth the milk seperate in a jug just like how they make cappuccino in any coffee place. Do give it a try as it's a steal at only RM1.20. If you don't like it too sweet, please ask for "kurang manis".

Restaurant Khalifah

Dataran Sunway

Kota Damansara

(If you are coming from Ikea, go through the underpass and drive straight. Before the traffic lights which will lead you towards Sunway Damansara and the golf course on the left hand side, take the right turn before the traffic lights. There will be a row of shophouses which has Lorenzo furniture and you will see Khalifah, at the corner behind the first row of shophouses)

Updated on 8 Aug, 2006: A nice blog reader also highlighted to me that this drink is available in Lotus Restaurant in Damansara Jaya and Jalan Gasing. It's known as Teh Special.

Tagged with: Malaysian Food

6 to 10 Grill @ Section 17, Petaling Jaya

If you live around Section 17 in Petaling Jaya, you would have heard about this place that serves nasi lemak and western grill food during night time. I first came across it long long ago when I was taken to this place by some friends for a New Year's party as they knew the owner's son, Eric who now runs the place. Previously their outlet used to face the field but now they have shifted to a more prominent spot in front which attracts a lot more business. It's at the same row as Food Foundry which is at the other corner facing the trees.

I decided to have the famous Nasi Lemak - you can order a variety of Mutton Curry, Beef Rendang and Chicken Curry. I chose to have the chicken curry with my nasi lemak (RM6) that came with hard boiled egg, cucumbers, peanuts and sambal. The sambal is just nice for me as it's not too spicy. Although the chicken curry was pretty good, I would have preferred it with more lemongrass taste.

My dinner companion decided to try their Red Wine Lamb Special (RM21.90) which was enormous as it had five pieces of lamb shoulder. This came with french fries and mixed vegetables that were drowned by the huge lamb pieces. What's great about their lamb is they have trimmed down the lamb shoulder pieces from all the fat you usually get and it's nice and juicy on it's own that you don't really need to add the mint sauce it's served with.

This place was quite packed on Friday night but like all ugly Malaysians, parking around the place was haphazard with some people double parking. I'm sure the residents in the flats above must curse this place every night as their patrons' parking habits made it so difficult for them to get to their units.

Do give this place a try. Heard that it's also famous for it's red wine pork ribs which my friend claims is the best.

6 to 10 Grill & Nasi Lemak

BG-1, Block B,

Happy Mansion

Jalan 17/13

Petaling Jaya

Tel No: 03 - 7955 4993

(Open from 12.00 to 2.30 and 6.00 to 10.30 from Wednesdays to Sundays only. 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

Other Reviews:

• Waisikkai
• dDoinkster Speaks

Weekend Cat Blogging (WCB) 61

I have a soft spot for stray kittens especially these cuties. Technically they aren't strays as they have been adopted by one family near our new house. Last evening, I managed to zoom on them waiting for food from my next door neighbour. Aren't they adorable? Think there were four of them originally but now they are pretty grown up. This fella reminds me of a thinner and younger version of Kits except it has a short curly tail.



This one was very attentive when I was calling it to pose. Out of all the kittens, this one looks like the mother cat as she is also grey in colour.



This particular one stands out from the rest as it has siamese features and blue eyes. I guess they are a really mixed batch since the other two has green eyes while this one has blue eyes.

For more kitty pictures, see eat stuff for the links.

Tagged with: WCB61 + Weekend Cat Blogging

Cekodok Pisang @ Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur

The best thing about living in Malaysia is the availability of snacks at every street corner. You finish lunch at one part of the street and you can walk a bit and get food items for your tea time to enjoy with your colleagues, family or friends. During one of our trips to Kampung Baru, we discovered this stall selling fried teatime snacks and Malay cakes.

Two things I love about this stall - their mini size cekodok pisang (fried mashed banana dumplings) and their sweet potato fritters. They also sell goreng pisang (fried banana fritters) and tapioca fritters. You can get ten cekodok pisang or sweet potato fritters for RM1. They also allow you to mix and match so you can get a nice variety of the fried items to try out.

I have always loved cekodok pisang and these one were perfect to me i.e. the right amount of mashed banana versus the flour added. It's pretty simple to make at home and I do remember making my own version long ago in university when I was bored with studying for my exams. I found quite a few sites which featured the making of the cekodok pisang - this particular one was of interest as she has detailed pictures but it is in Malay so you may not understand the write up. Basically it just involves mashing the bananas and adding flour and sugar to it. Deep fry it in oil and it will puff up to little balls.

This is Splashie Boy's favourite - their sweet potato fritters which they cut to look like chips. Very addictive as they are small and easily consumed.

Stalls at D'Junction
No. 19, Jalan Raja Muda Musa

Kampung Baru

Kuala Lumpur

(Open from 7 am to 7 pm. There are two stalls here, we usually get ours from the smaller stall. If you are coming by LRT, walk towards the flats where Stable Steakhouse is located and turn left at the junction, walk down the street and you will see these stalls on your left hand side.)

*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

Char Siu @ Meng Kee, Tengkat Tung Shin, KL

It's almost the weekend so why don't you indulge in some sticky and sinful char siu? This place is my all time favourite for char siu, something which I don't usually eat much of because it's extremely hard to find the right variety. My previous mainstay for char siu used to be at Sunrise Duck in Petaling Jaya but sadly they have stopped serving it hence this has been the next best thing.

Located in the row of shophouses which has been given new life by more hip and modern restaurants, this place is always packed during lunchtime. They have two identical stalls chopping and serving the barbequed meat and steamed chicken hence waiting for food is not too long. The chicken is not fantastic but it's a must order with the char siu. I also love the crunchy bean sprouts you can also order that adds a slightly healthier perspective to the sinful meal. Incidentally the char siu at this place is barbequed in a huge clay oven which looks like a tandoor oven.

Recently, I have noticed that the char siu's taste has changed slightly and it doesn't taste as nice as before. Is it just my acute tastebuds or do you also feel the same way as I do? Kinda strange as I see the old man who owns the stall is still around hence I suspect they have either changed suppliers for their ingredients or he has handed part of the reins to the second generation to handle.

Meng Kee
13 Tengkat Tung Shin

Bukit Bintang
Kuala Lumpur

Tel No: 017 -6388648

(Open for lunch time only from 11am 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 + Char Siu

Other reviews:

• Boredworkers
• Eatinout
• Eat First Think Later

Luca's Pizza @ Subang Jaya, PJ

We were around the Subang Jaya area last night and saw the signage for this new pizza place near Subang Parade. If you're an avid reader of the USJ forum, you would have heard about this recently opened place that serves pizza by the slice and extra big pizzas at 15 inches. There has been some good and bad reviews about this place so we decided to test the pizzas ourselves. Incidentally, there are lots of foodies in the USJ forum hence one never gets hungry around that area as they have an extensive list of good places to try around Subang Jaya. (Psssst, overheard on the forum from some watchful eyes - Tony Roma's is set to open an outlet in Sunway Pyramid!)

The place is quite big and doesn't seem to get lots of customers hence it looks pretty empty from the outside. Everything is a nice cheery red and we sat near their reddish wall which was peppered with posters showing Italy's famous sights. They are serving eight types of pizzas but only three are available for their pizza by the slice i.e. the Verdure (roast pepper, mushrooms, tomato and black olive), Tropicana (Chicken Pastrami, Pineapple and Onions) and Diavola (Beef pepperoni and roast pepper). Kinda sad as we wanted to try the other varieties which had artichokes as a topping which we don't always have in Malaysia.

Sadly service is completely not up to standard - our order came later than the people who walked in after us. Our expectations were also quite high for a speedy pizza as their leaflet proclaimed "ultra rapido" and pizza within one minute but sadly it came by slow boat instead. I suspect the pizza within one minute is because they make the pizza ahead and keep it under the food warmer.

They were kinda forgiven when our Tropicana pizza arrived as the pizza was good. No rubbery cheese like the American pizza places which I will not mention but tasty mozzarella which I read is flown in from Italy. Their pineapple cubes are unlike the very sweet canned variety we get as it still had a tang to it. We like their pizza crust - thin but not too crusty and they don't have an unleavened taste to it like other pizzas we have eaten. I read their leaftlets which said they leave the dough out longer hence it's tastier.

Sorry for the not so spectacular pictures as I am seriously lousy at snapping pizza pictures. I think it's something to do with perspective. The pizza comes in these white paper/plastic plates. Bit hard to describe what material they use but it definitely can take the heat from the pizza. This pizza was the Diavola that came with beef pepperoni and roast green peppers. We both thought this wasn't too fantastic and preferred the Tropicana. Incidentally the pizza by the slice is quite big and sufficient for one person (Pizza by the slice is RM6.99). We will probably have to revisit this place again as we want to try out the different varieties which only come in extra large sizes. Incidentally our set meal came up to RM23.49 inclusive of tax which entailed two slices of pizza, two desserts and two soft drinks.

Our set meal came with their signature desserts - Tiramisu and Torta cake. Don't you love the Tiramisu picture - this was taken by Splashie Boy as I told him to get creative with dessert since I was still munching on my pizza. Taste wise, I wouldn't say it's fantastic. The bottom part of their sponge gets kinda soggy as I think the coffee syrup sank to the bottom of the plastic container.

The Torta Cake is basically Apple Layered Cake that we thought was quite dry probably because it's been sitting in the fridge for quite some time.

They also do delivery and currently it's limited to the Subang/USJ, Kelana Jaya and selected areas in Shah Alam. Plans are also on the way to expand the chain and there is talk of outlets opening in Putrajaya and Klang.

Luca's Pizza
G02 & G03, Ground Floor
Wisma DiCor, Jalan SS17/1A
Subang Jaya

Tel No: 03 - 5631 0505

*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: Pizza + Subang Jaya

Mum's Place @ Damansara Perdana, PJ

One weekend, we both decided to explore Damansara Perdana for food. I must admit, I was at a lost on what to eat for lunch that day as we were both not familiar with the area. Eventually we ended up at Mum's Place which was opposite Jia that I wanted to visit. Incidentally, if you love dinnerware and furniture, check the place out. It's the retail arm of New Convox who supplies most of the dinnerware you get at the hotels and restaurants.

The restaurant is full of wooden furniture as it doubles up as a furniture shop called Home Passions. Pretty nifty idea of the furniture sellers as you definitely will attract customers to your shop when you open a restaurant there. It's also not a new trend as there are a few places in KL and PJ doing this i.e. Bayu Timur, Salero Negori and etc. Since it was lunch, we were veering towards one plate meals but then we discovered Mum's Place does not serve those dishes during weekends except their Sang Har Meen (Water Prawn Noodles in English) hence we ordered a few dishes to share. The menu was quite confusing as I had to flick to the end of it to find their recommended list hence I picked whatever we fancied from there to try out the dishes.

First, we had their Fried Honey Sotong (RM9.80++) which is actually an appetizer. We both thought this wasn't too great as the sotong (calamari) was too hard and not crunchy after they had deep fried it and coated it with the honey.

Although the above picture doesn't look so great, their Portugese Beef Slices (RM14.80++) was very yummy. The beef has a melt in the mouth quality and was served with pieces of tofu. This dish reminds me of the "halal" version of Tau Yu Bak, the Nyonya dish. Definitely a must order when we return to this place.

We wanted tofu and vegetables for our last dish hence we ordered the petola and beancurd dish (RM13.90++). This seems to be pretty popular as the table next to us also had a large plate of it and was pretty good too.

Overall the food is pretty good and worth a second time visit. Read a few reviews which said the cencaru with petai is a must have here so it looks like I may have to drag someone else to try that dish as Splashie Boy hates fish with bones and petai!

Mum's Place

31-39 Jalan PJU8/5A

Bandar Damansara Perdana

Petaling Jaya

Tel No : 03 -7727 8443/8449

(Serves Halal food. To get there, see the Sun paper's location 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.

Tagged with: Nyonya Food + Malaysian Food

Other reviews:

• Memoirs of a Chocoholic
• Goodbites

Sate Kajang Hj Samuri @ Damansara Uptown, PJ

Nowadays if you want to eat satay from Kajang, you don't need to travel too far as the famous Sate Kajang Hj Samuri has eleven outlets for you to choose from. For both of us, it just meant driving towards Damansara Uptown where they had an outlet that is right next to Woods Eco-Cuisine Cafe.

Sate Kajang Hj Samuri is the most successful satay operator from Kajang and it's a huge business with outlets everywhere. Most of their outlets are located along the highway stops like Sungai Buluh's overhead restaurant, Kesas Highway, Elite and Guthrie Highways. There are also bigger outlets at Putrajaya, Bukit Tinggi and Senawang. Their satay stands out from the rest as the portions are bigger at RM0.60 per stick for the chicken, beef, tripe, liver and fish varieties. They also serve lamb at RM0.90 per stick, deer at RM1.30 per stick and rabbit at RM1.60 per stick. Besides a bigger portion you get on a stick, they have also removed all the pesky fats and chewy bits from the meat making it an easier meal for everyone.

The other thing I absolutely love about them is their very thick peanut sauce which comes with the sambal seperate. You can add as much sambal as you like to give it all the kick you wish. A must have of course is the Nasi Impit (Compressed Rice Cubs in English) that goes so well with the sauce. If you wish for something besides satay, the outlet also serves nasi goreng, nasi paprik and mee bandung.

Sate Kajang Hj Samuri
No. 79, Jalan 21/37,
Damansara Uptown,
Petaling Jaya

Tel No: 03 -7710 5318

(Open from 11 am to 11.30 pm everyday except Fridays where they start at 3pm 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: Satay + Malaysian Food

Other reviews:

• Kampungboycitygal (Kajang outlet)
• Day Dreymer (Uptown outlet)
• Shaolin Tiger (Uptown outlet)

Weekend Cat Blogging (WCB) 60

This weekend, I thought I will share with you a picture of the Mummy cat. She's actually not our cat but the neighbour's but she spends so much time at our place she is part of the family. Fluff Puff is so attached to her mother that she will be constantly at her side. Ever since we had her "snipped", she's a really happy cat and growing super fat from all the food we feed her.

Incidentally, I found a new fix - adorable kittens on a daily basis at dailykitten. They are so addictive and cute. For my kitty kats - tune into eat stuff and the round up.

Tagged with: WCB60 + Weekend Cat Blogging

How to get crispy fried shallots?

I was surfing the Net, browsing through blogs and found Lilian of Malaysia Best's question regarding crispy shallots. Although the ones we make at home are crispy after they emerge from the hot oil, they turn soggy with time hence they need to be consumed immediately. As fried shallots are added into almost every kind of food to add taste especially hawker type food, manufacturers have devised a method to keep them crispy. The urban legend claims the manufacturers add plastic to keep the shallots extra crispy.

Recently after my failed attempts to made crispy wafer thin ginger slices, I have been fascinated to find out what's the right method. My mother suggested I add flour as this was a tip her friend gave her. Although I have yet to try her proposed method, I came across this interesting tip in the Star paper's Homes supplement dated 26 July, 2006 where they have an Ideas to Share column. This lady i.e. Linda Wong from Taman Mayang Jaya (who should be credited as the originator of this tip) was kind enough to share her secret of crispier fried shallots:

"Sprinkle some rice flour into sliced shallots and mix well before frying. Drain out fried shallots when it turns golden brown. Keep crispy shallots in an air tight container to enjoy crispiness for a month"

Although I have yet to try it out, her method kinda makes sense since it's similar to what my mother proposed. Will probably have to try it out or better still, if any of you try it out, do let me know if it works. I thought it will be nice to share the tip and also document it down as I have a bad habit of losing newspaper cuttings all the time. There was also another interesting tip which a Sonia Lee from Damansara Jaya shared on the secret to fresh and white bean sprouts versus those soggy brown sprouts:

"After removing the sprout tails, soak in a basin of ice cubes with a dash of salt. The result is crunchy fresh and white sprouts"

Hope you enjoy the tips and do give me feedback if the tips work or don't work!

Tagged with: Crispy Shallots + Crunchy Bean Sprouts

Saravana Bhavan @ Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur

Recently we wandered towards Bangsar to look for food to fill our tummies. I must admit, nowadays we rarely wander towards that area hence it was refreshing to drive around the Telawi area to note the changes - Grappa's being sealed from a Writ of Seizure and Sale due to monies owed, a new restaurant at the corner facing the famous red tablecloth chinese restaurant called Shanghai 10, a new Italian restaurant where the art gallery used to be next to MPH called Cipolla (I thought it was "Cheapo-Lah" at first) and the emergence of a huge big building block opposite Devi's Corner which signals more shops and food outlets. We also saw the authorities who were extremely diligent in issuing tickets and towing wayward cars.

That night, we decided to go vegetarian and try out Saravana Bhavan which is part of a chain of vegetarian restaurants originating from Chennai, India that serves Northern and Southern Indian cuisine. There's a long list of their branches and they can be found all over India, USA, Canada, Singapore and etc. We obviously stood out like sore thumbs in the restaurant which was mainly packed with Indian families out for the night. Dishes were mainly recommended by the captain and they were all good although we had over estimated the amount we could eat. I had the recommended Rava Idly (RM4.50+) which came with a topping of peas, carrots and cashew nuts. The steamed rice cakes was something unusual as I have only seen plain ones.

Splashie Boy had to have the Channa Bhatura (RM5.50+) as it's his absolute favourite. The bhatura is slightly deflated in the picture but I saw it nicely puffed up when it was in the kitchen (it's an open kitchen). The bhatura is made by frying dough balls that has flour, baking soda and yoghurt curd. In this case, it's served with Channa that is chickpeas curry.

We had quite a few side dishes which was too much for both of us to finish. Think the next time we eat here, we will just order one as the chutneys and curries they serve the idly and bhatura is sufficient for both of us. First we had their Vegetable Kola Puri (RM9.50+) which is basically mixed vegetable curry. We thought this was pretty ordinary.

We had to have a Paneer (cottage cheese) dish hence we had the restaurant's Paneer Saagmala (RM8.50+) which came with lots of spinach gravy. This was yummy and we really liked it.

This was pretty good even though it was vegetarian, the Saravana Special Vegetarian Chicken (RM8.50+). I liked the spices they used in this and the curry leaves dotting this dish.

The next time we visit this place, we want to try out their special meals that come as a set with curries and a selection of poori, chappati or rice which seem to be pretty reasonable. The only bummer about eating here is the horrendous parking around Jalan Telawi that can drive a person mad but be warned as the authorities clamp down quite hard on illegal parking.

Saravana Bhavan
52 Jalan Maarof
Bangsar

Tel No: 03 - 2287 1228

(At shophouses facing the main road and same row as Degem Jewellers. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.)

*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: Indian Vegetarian + Bangsar

Cajun Blackened Fish with Corn and Tomato Salsa

I absolutely love the colours of this easy and yummy dish. Since I'm too lazy to cook up anything else to serve it with, the salsa and the fish is good enough for a light dinner.

To make this meal, you can use any boneless fish cutlets you are comfortable with. I notice most households now use the frozen dory fish which is easily available in every supermarket. Although it's extremely convenient to use the fish, I prefer buying fresh fish fillets as they contain less water content when you pan fry them. The ones I usually get can be found at supermarket counters and it's a flat fish which they call "sebelah" in Malay. Pricewise it's slightly more expensive than the frozen dory fish. Incidentally I doubt it's dory fish but a river catfish that is raised in fish farms in Thailand and Vietnam. I think only Jusco labels the fish as Sutchi while the rest of the supermarkets call it Dory Fish.

You can make your own Cajun spice as provided in the recipe or alternatively, buy them off the spice rack of any supermarket. My Cajun spice came from the bake shop which stocks all kinds of dried herbs and spices that they indiviually pack in plastic containers. Since I was out of coriander that night, I made do with sliced spring onions. The salsa is really yummy and for more zing, I added lime rind to it.

Cajun Blackened Fish with Corn and Tomato Salsa

(from Australian Women's Weekly Cooking Class for Beginners Cookbook)

3 teaspoons coarse salt

3 teaspoons hot paprika

3 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

3 teaspoons ground oregano

1/2 teaspoon chilli powder

12 small boneless fish fillets about 1 kg

2 tablespoons olive oil

Corn and Tomato Salsa

2 corn cobs (800 grams)
1 small red onion (100 grams), finely chopped
4 medium tomatoes (375 grams), deseeded and chopped finely

1 tablespoon finely shredded coriander leaves

2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon olive oil

Combine the salt, paprika, pepper, oregano and chilli powder in a bowl or a tray. Coat the fish fillets on both sides with the spices or ready made Cajun spice. Heat up oil in a heavy base pan and cook fish in batches, about two minutes each depending on how thick your fillets are. The coating on the fish will become blackened as seen above. If using frozen fish, make sure it's dry or else the coating will not stick on to it.

To make the salsa, remove and discard the silk from the corn cobs. Cut the kernels from the cobs and boil, steam or microwave them until tender. I prefer mine with more crunch hence I don't like to cook it for too long so adjust the times based on what you like. When the corn kernels are cool, combine with all other ingredients and serve with the fish fillets. This recipe makes four portions.

Tagged with: Cajun Fish + Corn Tomato Salsa

Claypot Chicken Rice @ Heun Kee, Pudu, KL

Ever since I started my quest to explore Pudu for their delicious food, people keep mentioning Heun Kee as a must try for claypot chicken rice. Located on Jalan Yew which is always jam packed with people going to the Pudu market, this restaurant is tucked just under the highway. There are lots of other notable eateries around Jalan Yew - Hup Yick's Fuzhou fishballs and May King's Lum Meen. Even though this place is jam packed all the time, if you are patient, you can easily get a car park at the public spots under the overhead bridge. People keep coming and going from the market hence the frequency of car spots being made available is quite high provided you are willing to wait a while.

You can clearly see Heun Kee's claypot rice stoves which are placed right in front of their restaurant that is manned by two young ladies. A large metal pot of soup is also located next to the stove which is used to cook the claypot rice adding additional aroma. It seems they are famous for adding hot charcoal to the top of the claypot when they are cooking the rice. Strangely I didn't see this being done hence I am not sure if that method is reserved for special dishes.

We had the claypot chicken rice which came with slices of Chinese sausage (Lap Cheong in Chinese) and salted fish. The rice cooked is slightly softer than the other claypot rice places but it is really nice and aromatic with the broth it has been cooked with. I wasn't too satisfied with the crusty bits at the bottom of the claypot as I felt they were not enough as I liked a nice mixture of crispy and cooked rice in my claypot. You can smell a slight whiff of rice wine when they first serve you the rice as a dash is added just before it's taken off the stove.

Besides the claypot chicken rice, they also have claypot waxed meats rice which is seasonal and only available at the end of the year. There's also a claypot chicken cooked with Chinese wine, claypot fish head curry, various soups, seafood tofu and the pepper soup filled with slices of the pig's stomach, chicken legs and lots of white pepper. We tried a small portion of the soup which came piping hot and filled with ingredients.

Heun Kee Claypot Rice
59, Jalan Yew
Pudu, Kuala Lumpur

Tel No: 03 - 9200 1603

(Open for lunch and dinner. To get there, from the Sungai Besi highway, take the turning towards Pudu. At the roundabout take a twelve o' clock turn and you will be at Jalan Yew - it's one way so use this way or come from Wentworth Hotel which is across the road. You can make a U turn and see Heun Kee at the left hand side which is tucked in one corner. It's advisable you try and locate a car park space around the area.)

*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:

• Rasa Rasa Malaysia (they have a location map)
• Waisikkai(formerly known as CharKueyTeow.com

Tagged with: Malaysian Food + Claypot Chicken Rice

Shameless Canvassing for Votes

I'm going to be extremely thick skinned this time round and ask all of you to cast your votes for the Best Asian Food Blog awards being run by Asia Pundit this year. I was nominated by Tigerjoe from Tiger's Den (thanks so much!). No pressure but hop over to this link and check out the nomination list which you will need to rank.

Hope you will cast your votes soon as the deadline is 31 July, 2006. You will need to register your email to vote. May the best food blog win!

Aoyama The Green Room @ Desa Sri Hartamas, KL

Recently we were at Desa Sri Hartamas for dinner and decided to go Japanese. The area is full of Japanese and Korean restaurants as you find them at every corner of the shophouses. However nowadays, there are appears to be more Korean places opening here versus Japanese places. This particular row of shophouses in Desa Sri Hartamas has a total of four Japanese restaurants i.e. starting with Nihonbashi that serves traditional Japanese cuisine, Aoyama the Green Room which serves more fusion style Japanese, Kin San Kichi that serves budget Japanese food and ends with Sugimoto that serves traditional Japanese food.

It's strange but I have kinda avoided this particular restaurant so far as it has never appealed to me. However we decided to be adventurous and wander in one night. The menu is definitely presented differently and it's obvious their specialties are sashimi and makis as they had a long list of different items. Because it was a mid week dinner and before pay day, we had a simple dinner minus any expensive items.

They served us salmon pickles which is made by the restaurant. Japanese restaurants buy their salmon whole hence they make these side dishes from the salmon parts which can't be used as sashimi and etc. This is just a simple one with salmon pieces that have been fried and sliced onions which have been tossed in vinegar.

Splashie Boy had the Teppan Seafood (RM26++) which had an assortment of salmon, oysters, calamari and prawns grilled in a cast iron pan. It had lots of butter though so it tasted great and there was a slight tangy taste to it that made it not so rich. We also like the rice they served it with, although it's just plain white rice but the taste is yummy. Most places scrimp on their rice and serve sub standard short grain rice.

I was impressed with the Teppan Seafood but not their Tendon (RM20++) which is essentially assorted tempura served with rice. Sadly they failed in their Tempura as it wasn't crispy which is a cardinal sin in any Japanese restaurant.

Reading back the reviews people wrote below, you are to ask them to recommend the dishes versus ordering from the menu hence I suspect Tempura is not one of their specialities. I also noticed the restaurant was mainly occupied by non-Japanese patrons probably because they don't really serve traditional Japanese menu items which is preferred. Will I go back again? I guess I will if someone is buying me dinner since I suspect you need to spend quite a bit to taste their special dishes. Incidentally, this place also serves Fugu fish, the deadly puffer fish if you wish to dice with danger. I wonder if they are certified to prepare the fish just like the licensed cooks which Anthony Bourdain visited in A Cook's Tour?

Aoyama The Green Room

No. 10, Jalan 27/70A
Desa Sri Hartamas
Kuala Lumpur

Tel No: 03 - 2300 0683

*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:

• Food Safari
• Julie the Biscuit

Tagged with: Japanese Food + Desa Sri Hartamas

Little Penang Cafe @ Mid Valley Megamall, KL

This place seems to be the default restaurant we end up at whenever my friend, Ms. C is back from England. So far, we have tried their outlets in Suria KLCC and the Curve. It's been a while since I ate at the Mid Valley Megamall outlet which is the first outlet hence I thought I'll feature the individual dishes they serve here. This particular outlet is actually my least favourite as I find the service kinda lacking here. I suspect it's something to do with the layout of the place since the tables are quite spread out and in seperate areas which is difficult to monitor.

A must order when you eat here is their Lor Bak which is yummy and crunchy. The side order comes in a set of two and you can also get a taste of the Lor Bak in the rice sets that I featured in my Suria KLCC post.

My friend's standard order whenever she eats here is their Char Kuey Teow which is yummy and comes topped with crab meat and prawns. You can ask them to add chilli to spice it up and she always orders extra chili. This takes a while to come so patience is a virtue.

I usually have the Curry Laksa which I felt was quite watered down at this outlet. Didn't taste as nice as the one I usually eat at their Curve outlet so it was extremely dissapointing.

We also had their desserts but since we were all chatting, I kinda forgot to snap them before we dug in to the red rubies and cendol desserts. The good thing about their desserts is they don't add a lot of liquid or coconut milk in the bowl and it's mainly shaved ice. It takes time for it to melt down but this means just the right amount of liquid vs the palm sugar syrup/coconut milk added in.

Little Penang Cafe

Lot F001 and 100

First Floor, Mid Valley Megamall

Tel No: 03 - 2282 0215

*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:

• Life of a Food Lover

Tagged with: Malaysian Food + Curry Laksa + Char Kuey Teow

Weekend Cat Blogging (WCB) 59

Recently, I was lucky to capture a rare picture of Ally Cat who was lazing at her favourite chair in front of my yellow silk cushions. Pictures of her are rare as she hates to pose but when she does, she knocks you flat with her cute pink nose and huge green eyes.

Do check out Clare and Kiri at eat stuff this weekend - Clare is back in action and she promises pictures of Kiri in his new outfit which was knitted by her.

Tagged with: WCB59 + Weekend Cat Blogging

Citarasa Malaysia

Last weekend, Tourism Malaysia held the Citarasa (Foods and Flavours) Malaysia fair at the Malaysia Tourism Centre, Jalan Ampang which showcases the different varieties of food Malaysia offers. The food event is actually held for a whole month at various hotels but the official launch was held on Saturday night with the stalls opened throughout the weekend.

The place was packed with locals and tourists who were there to sample the different kinds of food offered. One area showcased the participating hotels with their specialities as each of them were representing a different state. Armada Hotel in Petaling Jaya was making their famous Roti Canai Durian - still remember eating that for Ramadan Buffet before and it's really nice.

As it was a busy weekend, we only managed to get there during dinnertime. There were stalls all over the place offering local specialities: a popiah basah stall which was vying for a record for serving popiah non stop, satay from the famous Sate Kajang Haji Samuri, Bahulu Classiq, keropok lekor stalls, char kuey teow stalls where they fry the noodles in front of you and the list continues.

I'll only feature the stalls which we found unusual and interesting like this stall selling Sate Tulang (Satay with Bones in English) from Seremban. They were doing brisk business that night (much better than a famous Satay stall from Kajang) and I had to queue for a long time to try out their satay. According to the people running the stall, sate tulang is actually chicken ribs crushed and cut into smallish pieces. It is marinated with a sauce devised by the stall owner's grandfather and is made from seven spices. The fella who runs the stall is a young chap who has just recently opened his own place after running his father's stall in Seremban. It's the first time I have ever heard of this variant of satay before and he told me it's extremely popular in Seremban. Taste wise - it was really yummy and juicy. You will need to sit down and eat it slowly though as some of the bones are crushed quite small.

Another extremely unusual item we found was a stall selling pegaga juice. Pegaga (known as Indian Pennyworth in English) is a popular herb in Malaysia that is usually eaten raw in salads and said to have medicinal properties. The herb is used as a tradition medicine and said to be able to treat high blood pressure, fever, toothaches and even improve memory. Some also claim that the herb can help cure malaria and dengue fever. The juice was nice and refreshing that kinda reminded us of sugarcane juice.

Next to the Sate Tulang stall was a stall selling dodol which is essentially carmelised sugar and coconut milk. Traditionally, it's stirred for a long time over a slow fire until the mixture thickens to a doughlike consistency. For commercial purposes, they use a machine like the one above to mechanically stir the mixture. The dodol is then cut into small pieces and packed individually in plastic. Usually it's flavoured with pandan and if you're adventurous, they also have durian dodol with a mild taste of the fruit.

If you wish to try out the Sate Tulang place, I managed to get the guy's address and telephone number as below:

Che Mansor

Abu Satay
Seremban Jaya (It's after the Senawang toll from the Highway)

Tel No: 017 - 227 9226

Tagged with: Malaysian Food

Rocky Road Cupcakes

I'm currently in a sweet tooth phase hence I have been churning out things I normally don't make. This was inspired from the latest Donna Hay magazine with her lovely couture cupcakes on the cover. I also wanted to try out my mini cupcake papers which I recently found. The cupcakes were not perfect in terms of looks and I had some major issues with my frosting but I really like the moist cake that was easy on the tummy since it was bite size.

Looking at the ingredients that went into the cupcake, I can understand why it tastes great since it was full of yummy stuff. Not sure why but my cakes seem to pull away from the paper after I left them out a day until I frosted them and took the pictures. The reason for the delay was because I had such issues with my frosting. The original recipe calls for a whipped cream icing that is to flop on top of the cupcake. I tried that and it just didn't flop nicely and I felt it was too tasteless for my liking hence I tried to make another version. I was veering toward a traditional buttercream one when I saw Donna Hay's meringue icing and decided to try it out. It's simple to make and surprisingly it holds really well in our hot weather. Only bummer about this icing is it's really sweet as you need to add the sugar to whisk the meringues. I will need to experiment further with it to see if I can reduce the sugar content without affecting the texture of the icing. After icing them and taking snaps of the cupcakes, I reckon they remind me of little "Caspers" i.e the friendly ghost with their snow white puffs.

Rocky Road Cupcakes

250 grams butter, softened
1 1/4 cups caster sugar

4 eggs (I used large ones)

2 cups plain (all purpose) flour

1/4 cup hazelnut meal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup (8 fluid oz) milk
200 gram (7 oz) dark chocolate, melted over a water bath

12 large marshmallows or mini ones depending on which size of cupcake you use

1/2 cup ready prepared hazelnut spread

Whipped Chocolate Cream

2 cups (16 fl oz) single or pouring cream
1 1/2 tablespoons icing sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder

Meringue Icing

1 cup caster sugar
1/4 cup (2 fluid oz) water

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

3 eggwhites

Preheat oven to 160C. Place butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until light and creamy. Gradually add the eggs and beat well. Sift over the flour, hazelnut meal and baking powder and beat until combined. Fold through the milk and melted chocolate and spoon mixture in preferred cupcake papers - the original recipe is for 12 large size cupcakes but a half recipe yields twenty tiny cupcakes using the above cupcake paper. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until cooked when tested with a skewer. Allow to cool slightly. When warm, make a hole with a paring knife in the centre and remove the cake centre. Fill with marshmallows and hazelnut spread. Take out a bit of the cake centre and add back the cake top only.

To make the whipped cream topping, place everything in a bowl and beat until soft peaks form. Don't overbeat or else it will become hard. Spread on top with a palette knife.

To make the meringue icing, place sugar, water, vanilla essence and cream of tartar in a saucepan over high heat and stir till sugar melts. Bring to boil and simmer over low heat for 3 minutes. Place eggwhites in a bowl and whisk till soft peaks form. Add sugar syrup slowly with motor running and beat till thick and glossy. Spread on top of cupcakes.

Tagged with: Donna Hay + Cupcake