Nyonya Colors @ 1 Utama Shopping Centre Old Wing, Petaling Jaya

Whenever I visit 1 Utama Shopping Centre, I usually eat at this small kiosk. Taking over from Puffin Muffin which used to sell those enormous muffins, this is actually a branch of the Little Cravings place opposite the Giant Supermarket at the New Wing. Usually during the weekends, there is always a super long queue so patience is required when dining here. To get your food, place your order at the counter and they'll send you the items. If it's the sweet stuff you're picking out from the glass counter, just bring it to the tables at the side of the kiosk yourself. Pick from tables with stools or kopitiam chairs on either side of the kiosks.

One of my favourite items - their pre-packed Thai Bee Hoon. It's full of flavours as they use lots of chopped lemongrass and onions to fry the beehoon. Although plain with just egg shreds, it makes a nice snack. What's perfect for these small packs is then you get to try more things at the kiosk like their yummy kuih.



I read about the dry curry mee (RM7.90) from Babe in the City - KL's blog and tried it. Pretty good stuff too - the curry is not too lemak and fragrant from the spices. It comes with a generous portion of chicken leg with thin yellow noodles. Slurp it down as the curry is yummy but just make sure you're not wearing a white top or else it'll get curry stains all over. I've also tried their version of laksa which I reckon is not that fantastic. Probably because it's a different version as it's Thai Laksa and totally unlike the ones I have tasted before.



The kuihs are really good - pricey versus the outside stalls at a range of 70 to 90 sens per piece. The yellow and blue one is the tapioca banana, something we don't usually see around. The green and white one is the kuih talam while the last one is steamed tapioca with coconut. For more information on the varieties they offer, click on the link below to their website.



Although the food here is generally good, somehow their cold desserts are quite dismal. I tried their Thai red rubies dessert before - water chesnuts and shreds of nangka in coconut milk. Pretty bad as there isn't enough water chesnuts compared to the huge bowl of coconut milk hence it becomes tasteless. I guess that is not their forte so visit places like Mark's Assam Laksa for their much better desserts. Another thing which I kinda don't like about this place is their service at the counter is quite bad. Everyone is always looking super grumpy (maybe they're all underpaid!) and service can be quite slow.

Nyonya Colors
F65, First Floor
1 Utama Shopping Centre Old Wing
Petaling Jaya

(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 + Nyonya Kuih

Other reviews:

• Babe in the City - KL
• KL people KL Food
• Che-Cheh

Weekend Cat Blogging (WCB) 102

When it comes to the cats around the neighbourhood, word gets around fast there's someone who is a total softie when it comes to kitties. This little gal turned up on the doorstep one day shyly asking for food. No idea where she is from but she was sporting a pretty heavy tummy during those first few months. Luckily she didn't have her kittens at the house as that would have stressed out the other cats.

Since she was such a shy one in the beginning, she usually gets her feed behind this wooden shelf away from the other cats' view. Not a perfect picture of her as she can't stop moving for one second but there's no denying that insistent meow from her asking for food. Nowadays she's more bold and will demand for her food with persistent meows especially if I'm slow in giving out her food. I kinda suspect she ain't a stray as she's extremely friendly since I once managed to pick her up.

For more kitty pictures, do visit the adorable Othello and Kashim plus all their kitty pals at Paulchen's Food Blog.

Hainanese Chicken Rice @ Tian Tian Chicken Rice, Maxwell Food Centre, Singapore

Last post about my Singapore trip so bear with me one more time. Ever since I was a little girl, whenever I visit Singapore, a must order has been their Hainanese Chicken Rice. Not sure why but I always think their version is the best ever I have eaten. My mother shares the same craziness for the chicken rice hence she's always game for it too. I still remember how they even brought me when I was a teenager to eat the famous and super pricey Hainanese Chicken Rice at Chatterbox, Mandarin Oriental Hotel once when we stayed there.

In the pursuit of my childhood dreams, I dragged my friend and Splashie Boy to Maxwell Food Centre to look for Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice after reading about how good it was. If you're a fan of Anthony Bourdain, well this is where he first sampled Hainanese Chicken Rice. Since we were early, I went to explore the food court and found Zhen Zhen Porridge. The guys got the task of waiting for the chicken rice stall to open for business. Before they knew it, a queue started forming in front of the stall (they had both their heads buried in the Sunday papers!) hence they only got to be number five in the queue.

By the time I got my porridge, the queue was super long but luckily we had our chicken rice. Although it tastes pretty ordinary, I really love the rice. My mother has a theory about why the Hainanese Chicken Rice always taste better in Singapore - it's the better quality rice grains they use. I totally agree with her as the rice grains here were nice and seperate and cooked to perfection. Not the fluffy type but al dente grains tinged with a slight fragrance of the chicken. The chicken was nice and tender but nothing much to shout about. If I wasn't too full with my huge bowl of porridge, I would have ordered just one more bowl of the heavenly rice. Oh and my attempts of getting a nice picture of the man chopping the chicken was dashed as he had this huge stack of plates blocking him all the time!

Something else which is totally out of context, I had the soya bean curd (tau foo fah) from the Mr. Bean, the next door stall and wow, it was so good. So smooth, it melts in your mouth and not too sweet either. It's a texture I have never tasted in Malaysia before as it's barely set. Really excellent stuff. They even have a cute little soya bean man as their logo if you click on the link to their website.

Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice

Stall No 10

Maxwell Food Centre

Singapore

(Closed on Mondays. Open from 11am until 8 pm. Get here early to queue as they get super long!)

*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: Singapore Food + Chicken Rice

Cupcake Workshops @ Shermay's Cooking School, Singapore

A few weeks back when I kept dissapearing down south, it was mainly to attend two cupcake courses at Shermay's Cooking School. Run by the famous blogger, Joycelyn from Kuidaore, it was an honour to meet up with someone who creates such lovely and delectable masterpieces.

We had a lot of fun in Cupcake Workshop I as it was a basic course introducing us two standard cupcake recipes and how to decorate them. I especially liked the easy peasy way of making the chocolate cupcakes which uses the elusive Valrhona cocoa powder. That cocoa powder is extremely elusive as it's no where to be found in Malaysia hence I stocked up when I was in Singapore. Decorating cupcakes was not so easy and believe me I definitely need a lot more practice if I plan to serve them to anyone. Joycelyn made piping buttercream rosettes, shaping chocolate putty and coloured marzipan so easy. I was all thumbs when it came to making my decorations. Another thing I liked about the class was learning how to make chocolate putty - it will definitely be tastier than marzipan which I find slightly too sweet for my liking.

I absolutely loved Cupcake Workshop II. As it was more advanced, it was more adult like cupcakes which you could serve in a dinner party. The cupcakes were so rich and buttery that they came in tiny little paper cups to make it less sinful. Once infused with the different flavours, they were all fantastic. It was amazing how one master recipe could spin off these different flavours. We helped bake the different flavours and decorate them with the pre-determined frostings which was a variation of a master white chocolate frosting.

The picture above shows my cupcakes (from left to right, starting from the top row) - Chai Spice Cupcake with Vanilla Bean and White Chocolate Frosting, Lemon Meringue Cupcake, Lavender Cupcake with Lavender and White Chocolate Frosting and Earl Grey Tea Cupcake with Orange Blossom and White Chocolate Frosting. The Chai Spice Cupcake has cinnamon powder as a topping, the Lavender Cupcake has purple sanding sugar and lavender flowers as a topping while the Earl Grey Tea Cupcake has candied orange peel and Valrhona Crunchy Chocolate Pearls on top of it. My favourites were the Chai and Earl Grey Tea cupcakes that tasted so divine.

So if you're in Singapore for the weekend, do try and attend these classes as they are really good fun and informative. There's a long waitlist for the classes (something like sixty people) so book ahead. She's also running a Macaron and Biscotti class which sounds wonderful that I wish I could attend.

Other write ups on the classes:

• Only Slightly Pretentious Food
• Dreamers Loft - Cupcake Workshop II
• Dreamers Loft - Cupcake Workshop I

Tagged with: Cupcakes + Shermay's Cooking School

Dining Out @ Delicious, Bangsar Village II, Kuala Lumpur

Recently, I dined with Fatboybakes at Delicious which has now relocated to Bangsar Village II. It's definitely a bigger space with a special smoking room on the side. Business was booming as the place was packed to the brim with tai tais and office workers during lunch time. Fatboybakes was telling me he read an article at the recent the Edge that Delicious is now moving up in the world as Eastern and Oriental has bought a stake in the company. There's big plans for expansion - the old Bangsar Village outlet will be turned into a sandwich bar and a fine dining outlet is in the works. Whatever it is, they really have a gold mine here as everyone seems to be dining here.

Foodwise, I must admit the menu ain't too exciting as it feels like a rehash of my food magazines or somewhere else I have dined at before. I even spied the similar crab linguine I had in Marmalade Pantry, Singapore. Fatboybakes had the Wagyu Beef and Mushroom Pie (RM21.90++) while I had the Spicy Crab Linguine (RM21.90++) as I wanted to check the similarities between the two places. The pie was pretty good. I stole a small piece to sample and it was tender and the crust was flaky. Takes a while to reheat (about twenty minutes) so you will need to wait some time. I suspect most of these items are made in a central kitchen (I read a recent advertisement mentioning Sungai Besi) and sent to their outlets where it's reheated as and when an order is placed. My pasta was pretty good - definitely a lighter version compared to Marmalade Pantry. Not as much crab meat but the taste was quite good. It's not very spicy though despite spying a few chopped red chilies in the sauce.

For dessert, we both shared a Banana Pudding (RM9.90++) which was served with a ramekin of butterscotch sauce and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The banana pudding can be quite tasteless without the sauce and ice cream so ladle lots on top. It kinda felt like a local cekodok minus the greasy oil especially with the bits of banana inside the pudding.

It was a pretty satisfying lunch and I like their new outlet as it felt nice and big. Only thing is if you sit inside (nearer to the entrance) it feels kinda dark and gloomy. We chose to sit next to the smoking room hence the sun light was streaming in from the open windows. The feel of this outlet is the same as the other places with their signature white bird cages and touches of turquoise, dark blue and pine accents.

Delicious

GF-1, Ground Floor

Bangsar Village II

2, Jalan Telawi 1

Bangsar

Kuala Lumpur

Tel No: 03 - 2287 1554/3

(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: Delicious + Bangsar Village II

Tomato Kuey Teow @ Restoran Megah Goodluck, Petaling Jaya

Just a short post today since I have been overloading on the pictures the past few days. Here's something which may or may not make home sick Sarawakians happy. There's a stall at Taman Megah which serves Sarawak food - the famous laksa, Kolo Mee and this very rarely seen item, Tomato Kuey Teow.

It's definitely different from anything I have tasted before in the Klang Valley. Although it uses the same ingredients like a Cantonese Fried Kuey Teow with the flat rice noodles, here the gravy served is flavoured with tomato ketchup. Slightly sweetish, it can take some time to get used to. The serving here is pretty generous with prawns, sliced char siu and vegetables making it a pretty substantial meal. I've also tried their Sarawak Laksa before which I didn't think was that great compared to the one served in Nam Chuan, Bangsar and the nearby Taman Megah stall across the road at Restoran Gembira.

Be cautious when you eat around this area, there seems to be a spate of snatch thieves here as that day when I dined here, I witnessed a lady getting her bag snatched right in front of this restaurant. It could be the thieves target this area since there's a bank. Besides this stall which serves Sarawak specialties, there's also the roast pork curry noodles I had blogged before which is pretty good too.

Restoran Megah Goodluck
Taman Megah
Petaling Jaya

(Non Halal. Restaurant is just behind Fatty Crab and is on the same row as RHB Bank Berhad)

*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 + Tomato Kuey Teow

Eating Out @ Nong & Jimmys, Ampang, Kuala Lumpur

Recently I seem to be plagued by computer problems. First, it was no access to Blogger from a computer I use hence I had to stop reading and commenting on blogs for a few weeks. Now, Photobucket seem to throw fits whenever I upload my pictures. Sigh! Really so frustrating especially this morning when I feel like tearing my hair out with how slow things are.



Anyway, since I finally managed to get it to work, I decided to upload it with lots of pictures which I took during a recent visit to Nong & Jimmys. I've heard quite a lot about this place from other blogs and also forums that I was curious to visit it. Battling the traffic jam towards Ampang (all those traffic lights just don't help) and based on vague directions, we finally made it one Saturday night.



After a few wrong turns, we arrived at the place which is just a simple zinc roof structure with it's own open space car park. We were there early as we heard people tell us it gets packed to the brim if you're late. We ordered a plate of small yau char kuai from the stall within the restaurant area. Although not part of the restaurant, everyone orders a plate as an appetizer while waiting for the meal. A small plate of pandan flavoured kaya is also given which is the dip for the fried fritters. We thought the fritters was not bad but definitely could not beat the ones we get at Changkat Bukit Bintang. Maybe we got the cold ones as it was more chewy versus crispy.



Nong & Jimmys specialises in seafood especially grilled ones hence you will spy a row of custom made grills near the kitchen area. They use racks to grill the sotong and the crabs are already pre-grilled and stacked on the side. As and when the orders are placed, the crab is reheated up. They also grill cockles here which looked good but we didn't sample any.



We went for a mix of dishes - the tomyam (RM10) which came in a hot claypot. It's full of prawns and mushrooms but we felt the taste of the tomyam wasn't too fantastic. Although spicy, there was little sweetness to the soup.



Besides the grilled seafood items, you can order cooked dishes. We ordered a steamed talapia fish Thai style (RM21). Even though it was the last dish to arrive, it was by far the most popular dish. Using chopped red chilies and garlic, the fish really absorbed the subtle flavours making the flesh sweet. Definitely a winner and a must order the next time we revisit this place.



The grilled sotong (RM12) was pretty good, not too chewy and excellent with this Thai dip made with crushed peanuts that had the sweet, salty and spicy flavours.



Nong & Jimmy is also famous for their fried rice (RM5 per portion). Fried with fluffy bits of egg and large prawns, the rice was excellent especially with the steamed fish.



We also ordered a portion of barbeque crab (RM24 for one crab) to try. Didn't think much of it as the flesh was quite dry inside. This could be due to overcooking as they pre-cook the crabs and reheat them when the order is placed.

Although there were some hits on the menu like the steamed talapia and fried rice, we felt some of the grilled items like the crabs was dissapointing. The food is priced reasonably but those traffic jams in Ampang could well deter one from making a trip there.

Nong & Jimmys
Lot 27363, Jalan Cahaya 1
Taman Cahaya
Ampang
Kuala Lumpur

Tel No: 019 – 261 1345/012 – 273 8069

( Pork free. Open from 6.00 pm to 11.00 pm and closed on Mondays. )

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: Thai Food + Ampang

Other reviews:

• dDoinkster Speaks

Taste of Australia with Mark Best @ QBA, The Westin Kuala Lumpur

The Westin Kuala Lumpur is currently running the Taste of Australia together with Tourism Australia. Featuring a trio of celebrity chefs and a chocolatier, it's something you don't want to miss if you love food. We took the opportunity to try dinner last weekend together with Lyrical Lemongrass and her husband, the Bald Eagle. To kick off the fair, they had Mark Best who is the Sydney Best Chef 2006 at the QBA Restaurant. Pictures aren't too fantastic as the lighting is extremely dim there. Featuring a ten course meal, we kicked off with the Chaud-Froid Free Range Egg. Literally meaning hot and cold in French, the warm coddled egg is topped with cold cream. Really yummy and very comfort food like.



Next course was the Blue Swimmer Crab with Almond Jelly and Gazpacho. Nice and light, it's topped with a sprinkling of popcorn dust. The jelly is light as a feather while the crab meat is sweet.



This was everyone's favourite dish - the Cured Ocean Trout with Rock Oyster and Pickled Melon. A wafer thin slice of melon topped the fish which complemented it so well. Each bite was a melt in the mouth sensation with the burst of sweetness.



This is one of Mark Best's signature dishes which he also recently served at the World Gourmet Summit in Singapore. The Risotto of Calamari with Prawn Broth and Curry Leaf is unusual as instead of rice, you get tiny pieces of chopped calamari as the risotto. I liked this combination of the rich prawn broth and the crunchy curry leaves. Reminded me of the flavours you get in butter prawns but very much lighter.



Next was the Mille Feuille - Foil of Smoked Bonito. Wafer thin potato slices sandwich the thick smoked bonito with olive truffles and crushed almonds on the side. I liked the thin potato slices but didn't like the smoked bonito.



Then it was the roast duckling with pumpkin and olive liquorice. It's amazing how he got the olive to taste like liquorice. Quite an unusual combination but it works with the tender duckling and very tangy lemon curd on the side.



Next came the first of the dessert courses - a divine goats cheese on top of a marzipan cake and served with vanilla celery. There's an interesting twist to this dish - a Malaysian one with the addition of rambutans on the side. At first we thought it was lychee but we found out it was rambutan after checking with the kitchen.



We loved this - the Sauternes Custard with Caramel. Silky smooth it was such good stuff that all of us wanted seconds of this.



Then it was the Chocolate Banana, Apricot and Coffee. If you have a sweet tooth, this is not for you as the chocolate mousse is bittersweet and rich. Combined with the banana, it takes a while to get used to.



We finished up with Apple Pectin Jellies that reminded me of soft jelly candies and the divine Koko Black salted caramel chocolate. It was fantastic - bittersweet chocolate shell encasing a not too sweet caramel filling.

It was an extremely satisfying meal and really superb food. The restaurant was packed to the brim with people. If you wish to sample more of the other Australian chefs, the fair will be on until 20 May, 2007. There'll be Daniel Mosedale and Andrew McCornell who is Melbourne's Top Chef 2007. Then there's also the Koko Black chocolatiers. Very tempted to try the chocolate and wine tasting on 18 May, 2007 as the chocolate we had at the dinner was excellent stuff. To get the schedule, click on Westin Dining and the What's Hot icon at the bottom of the website. The menus are also online so you know what will be served at the Daniel Mosedale and Andrew McCornell dinners. Happy dining!

Tagged with: Westin Kuala Lumpur + Mark Best

Safety at Restaurants

One of my regular readers, ka..t just highlighted to me what happened to her at Food Foundry recently. Her bag got snatched from her lap in the evening while she was dining there. Seems it's not the first time but no warnings has been placed by their management. For those of you who do visit the place, be very careful. It's terribly disheartening to read how our safety is compromised even in spaces like restaurants.

Aside from this, I have heard of an incident at Little Penang Cafe in Suria KLCC where their windows open out to the walk area. This lady had left her handbag next to the window and a person walked past and stole her handbag.

If you hear of any other incidences, do share your experiences for us as it helps us to be more cautious.

Dinner @ Suzi's Corner, Ampang, Kuala Lumpur

During the week, we were around the Ampang area visiting a relative at the Gleneagles hospital. Searching for something to fill our tummies, I remembered Suzi's Corner. From what I remember, quite a few people recommended their steaks. Unfortunately the day we visited was the steak corner's off day hence we settled for other items. There's an amazing amount of variety at this place that one will have to take some time figuring out what to eat. There was naan, roti, fried rice, noodles, murtabak, chik ku teh (the chicken version of bak kut teh), chicken porridge, chicken wings, otak otak, satay, steaks, burgers, ikan bakar and etc.

Feeling at a lost on what to order, I scanned the other tables to figure out what they were eating. One table was just solely eating otak otak and satay hence we ordered those two items. I also settled for Roti Tisu as it's been ages since I have eaten one. Suzi's Corner Roti Tisu is not bad - paper thin and super crispy. There's a layer of granulated sugar on one side of the crispy roti which is a nice combination with the slightly salty margarine taste. I was flicking off as much sugar as I could from the roti to reduce my sugar intake that after a while the table was looking like a war zone of sugar granules. The otak otak we had (minimal order is 4 for 50 sens each) was not bad, a bit over grilled but quite tasty.

We ordered satay, a variety of beef and chicken. The satay was pretty good - tender chunks of meat with caramelised edges. However, the sauce was dismal and totally lacking any peanuts. Each order comes with ketupat, cucumber and onions.

Splashie Boy had ordered the Murtabak Ayam which came after quite a long wait. This was pretty good as the murtabak was crispy on the outside with a moist and juicy filing of cooked chicken inside.

If you're ever within the Ampang area, give Suzi's Corner a try as the food is pretty good. Parking can be quite problematic though as the area within has limited parking spaces. We parked behind and walked to the place so I can imagine during the weekends, this will be chaotic.

Suzi's Corner

Jalan Hulu Kelang

Kuala Lumpur

(Halal. Open daily from 6pm onwards. Note that the Steak and Hut place is closed on Tuesday. To get here, drive down Jalan Ampang, turn left just before hitting Ampang Point Shopping Centre off Jalan Ampang, Suzi's Corner is on the left hand corner. You will need to take the first left hand turning to enter the place (where there is a furniture shop).

*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 + Roti Tisu

Dining Out @ Palate Palette, Jalan Mesui, Kuala Lumpur

Located at the relatively quieter Jalan Mesui, Palate Palette is a great place to chill out. I especially love how they decorated the whole place as it's unique plus innovative using recycled furniture. My favourite part was the crazy astro turf side wall - a good way to ensure some greenery and decoration with minimal effort. We even sat on a table which used a recycled sewing machine as a stand which was pretty cool. I didn't snap any pictures of the decor but Honey Star has loads of it on her blog with descriptions.

This place is said to serve Californian cuisine so expect food to be of the lighter type but full of flavours. For appetisers, we sampled their Shrimp Salad and Mushroom Cappuccino. Shrimp Salad was a combination of fresh shrimps mixed with avocado cubes and a light coating of Japanese mayonnaise. Served on a bed of butterhead lettuce, use each crunchy leaf as a spoon to scoop up the salad. Although Mushroom Cappuccino has been done a million times in other restaurants, I really loved Palate Palette's version made from oyster and baby portobello mushrooms. The aromas from this soup was fantastic that both of us was fighting for the last drop of it. I've always loved this type of soup which they make to resemble a cup of cappuccino with the milk foam topping so this was heavenly.

We were in a pie mood that day, I had the Curry Chicken Pot Pie. The curry is the Japanese type which is not spicy but has chopped chicken and vegetables. Not too thick (like the Japanese curries they usually serve), I liked this pie. It came with a puff pastry top which was slightly messy as I had to crumble it in the pie to mix it.

Splashie Boy can never resist shepherd's pie so he zoomed in on their Oxtail Shepherd's Pie. Made from braised oxtail with vegetables, this didn't taste fantastic as it was too bland versus the usual rich minced lamb found in a typical shepherd's pie.

For desserts, we tried the Petit Green Tea Mille Feuille which came with tuile pastry sheets and green tea cream sandwiched in between. Nice and light, I felt the pastry was slightly too oily and not crispy enough.

Splashie Boy had the Ginger Creme Brulee served with an almond biscotti. This was nice and light with just a hint of ginger.

Personally I liked the food here and the quirky designs around this place. Definitely something different from the typical restaurant. Aside from the restaurant, you can chill out outside at tables made from recycled wooden doors and upstairs. The restaurant also does a set lunch of RM20++ for starter, entree and drinks during the weekday. Add RM5 extra for desserts. It's a good way to sample their menu as the set lunch uses most of the items from the menu.

Palate Palette

21, Jalan Mesui

Off Jalan Nagasari

Kuala Lumpur

Tel No: 03 - 2142 2148

(Pork Free. Closed on Mondays and is further down from No Black Tie)

*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: Jalan Mesui + Palate Palette

Other reviews:

• Honey Star
• So Much Food So Little Stomach
• All Malaysia Info

Zhen Zhen Porridge @ Maxwell Food Centre, Singapore

Continuing my Singapore trip posts, this time round we made it to Maxwell Food Centre which is just off the tourist belt of Chinatown. I must admit I've never really been around this area! It's pretty interesting with large Chinese temple, Indian temple and a mosque all on the same road. Since we had a lot of time to kill, we walked around the area and saw the touristy stalls and shops.



My original intention for swinging by Maxwell Food Centre was to try the famous Hainanese Chicken Rice. While waiting for them to set up stall, I walked around the whole area. Spying the long queue of people right in front of the porridge stall, I was curious to sample what they were selling. Coincidentally, the newspapers that particular day had featured the same stall in a story about hawker revenues and the tax man. According to the Sunday Times, they had sent a reporter to sit nearby and diligently count the number of bowls/plates sold to estimate the stalls' revenue. Based on their information, it seems this stall sells 36 bowls per hour with an average price of S$4. With a work day of approximately 7 1/2 hours, it's estimated to have a monthly revenue of S$43,860 (on a 30 day month)! Not bad I reckon but definitely back breaking work for the owners.



In fact when I was in the long queue, I could spy the whole process of the porridge stall. They have a large metal container filled with the porridge at the side. It's constantly churned by a machine till the porridge reaches a smooth consistency. Slightly thicker than the ones you get in Malaysia, you won't spot a single rice grain here as it's been churned to a million small pieces. As and when you place your order for which type of porridge, the owner at the back will heat up the porridge in the saucepan over high heat. He adds the ingredients accordingly to cook. Once done, it's placed in plastic bowls and passed on to his wife. She sprinkles a mix of chopped spring onions, fried shallots and fried choy poh (preserved radish) plus a dash of sauce on top of the porridge.



Since I had no idea what to order, I got chatting to this nice girl in the queue right behind me. She advised me they had a lot of varieties - pork slices, century eggs, fish and etc. I decided to try the raw fish slices since it was unique. They do it differently here as it's sliced to wafer thin pieces with a deli meat cutter and topped with lots of toasted sesame seeds, fried shallots, chopped coriander and sliced ginger. There is also cut limes on the side for you to squeeze the juice out on the fish slices. Add it quickly into the porridge to allow it to cook.

We all gave our thumbs up to this porridge - really worth the queue time! The porridge was thick plus smooth. The ingredients were super fresh and a lot for the price we paid. It was about S$7 as I had ordered a small raw fish plate and porridge with century egg pieces. If you're ever around this area, do give this place a try. Only thing is the wait time can be quite daunting.

Zhen Zhen Porridge
Stall No. 54
Maxwell Food Centre
Singapore

(Non Halal. Stall is open from early morning till 2 pm or until food runs out. Closes on Tuesday.)

*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: Singapore Food + Porridge

Other reviews:

• The Travelling Hungryboy
• Le Voyage de kalos
• The Yummie dummieS

Martell presents Klue RSVP @ Ninja Jones, Northpoint, Mid Valley City

Although this time round there's no formal food bloggers gathering, some of the food bloggers including moi will be turning up for this month's RSVP on 25 May, 2007. Held at Northpoint's new Japanese restaurant which boasts black clad ninjas as their wait staff, it should be lots of fun with a fixed menu for RM60 nett per pax and free flow of Martell cocktails to get the mood. If you wish to join in, email rsvp@klue.com.my by 22 May, 2007. Don't leave it to the last minute as it tends to fill up quite fast at the end. To read more about the details including the menu offerings, see this link also.

For reviews on Ninja Jones, see the following blogs:

• Tummy Thoughts
• Da Wheel of Life and Happiness
  

Yong Tau Foo @ Madras Lane, Petaling Street, Kuala Lumpur

Walking around Madras Lane's market just off Petaling Street is always fun. There's always so much activity around the stalls. You see the fishmongers handling huge fishes that are specially ordered by restaurants. Fish is always super fresh around here that my family often make special trips here to get our supplies. As the market consists of four lanes which intersect in the middle like a cross, you can enter from four different entrances. There's the one along Petaling Street, across from Sze Ngan Chai who sells yummy roast duck. Then there's a small and lesser used entrance next to Hotel Malaya and one along Jalan Tun HS Lee near the Chinese temple. Finally there's one which leads to a carpark area which houses all the food stalls.



I often eat around here whether it's the chee cheong fun at the stainless steel table or the assam laksa and curry laksa. Here the curry laksa is the thick type and topped with sinful pork skin. At the end of the lane, you have the ais kacang, cendol and drinks people. With a multitude of stalls here and limited seating spaces, there's heated rivalry for customers. If you choose the wrong table to sit at, beware of nasty scenes with the stall owners. For those of you who are not sure, ask the stall owners where you can sit when you order.

This time round I tried the yong tau foo stall. Like all yong tau foo places, there is constant activity at the stall with all the preparation. At one end you have large woks filled to the brim with hot oil while helpers prepare the items for frying by filling the vegetables with fish paste. I chose a small selection of items and was surprised that it was served in a bowl of broth made from soy beans. I totally did not expect even the fried items to be placed inside the broth hence it was soggy rather than crispy. At 80 sens a piece, the yong tau foo was a pretty good size but I felt that the items weren't too fantastic. The only item I really liked was the bittergourd which was bursting with fish paste. Incidentally, if you wish to order yong tau foo here, it's easy to spot their tables as their disposable wooden chopsticks and plastic spoons are placed on top of it.

Yong Tau Foo Stall
Madras Lane
Off Petaling Street
Kuala Lumpur

(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

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