Ramadan Bazaar Kg Baru 2008

rain, rain, go away.....

Sigh, this year seems to be the hardest to do the bazaars - as every day around the time when the bazaars are up and going, the rain seems to continue to pour non-stop. Since I was in town yesterday evening, I braved the traffic jam and made it to Kampung Baru.


my fav kuih, the spongy kuih seri ayu

I only managed to cover Jalan Raja Alang/Jalan Raja Bot area and not the part next to the LRT Station, due to the timing. This year, every thing seems more organised - half of the road in Jalan Raja Alang is closed to allow people to walk around, there are roadblocks with people guiding the way and Kampung Baru looks nicely spruced up with clean pavements and new street lights.


rainbow of colours kuih

I braved the rain and walked around, with my brolly. Not an easy task, as I was trying to protect the camera and myself. I tend to catch colds easily, hence I was avoiding getting wet. Due to this, you won't see any pictures of people cooking outside and only those taken under the shelter of the stall's umbrella.


very Raya colours - green and yellow

There's a mixture of new stalls and old faithfuls along the busy Jalan Raja Alang. The weirdest thing I saw - a stall selling Swedish meatballs. Kinda weird to have this for Ramadan but this fella was selling frozen packets and deep-fried meatballs on a skewer. Next to him, was this guy selling fresh goat's milk. I don't think they were quite popular, as even at 6pm, no one was buying anything from them.


more colours...to tempt you

Usually by 6pm, most of the kuih stalls would be empty, but not at this bazaar. I suspect most people waited till the last minute to do their shopping, as they were all waiting for the rain to stop.


wajik and that interesting finger....

I stumbled on two interesting kuih stalls - one where people were frantically pointing out the sweet treats for this couple to pack for them. Best of all, they had my favourite, the green and white kuih seri ayu. Made from ground rice flour and originating from Indonesia, this tiny spongy cake is usually made in a plastic mould.


watermelon jelly to cool down

I also found wajik - the sticky glutinous rice boiled with gula melaka (palm sugar). Sometimes, durian is added to the rice, for extra flavour.


fried popiah on the spot

Another interesting find was the watermelon shaped jelly, something I saw last year at Taman Melawati. There was also Nasi Ambang, next to that stall.


the weirdest stuff in the bazaar! - Swedish meatballs

Another favourite kuih stall was a particular one with multi-coloured hues - really nice and cheerful. Other regular stalls like ayam percik, murtabak pak din, bread and butter pudding, popiah and etc were also there. One new and interesting stall was the one selling Minang food. Everything looked so interesting, it was hard to resist the curries. I didn't get to snap a picture of Kg Baru's bubur lambuk, but you can definitely get it here as lots of stalls sell that pre-packed already.

Hopefully the rain eases up the next few days, as I would love to cover more. In the meanwhile, enjoy the pictures this year and the past year's pictures - 2007, 2006 and 2005

Tagged with: Malaysian Food + Ramadan

Revisiting Lala Chong, Kg Subang

packed with people on a Saturday night, amazing that we got a table

Sorry, no Ramadan pictures for now....as I've been busy at work. On Tuesday, there was a massive jam at Shah Alam with the police blocks set up to try and catch the Mamak gang, hence I got to the bazaar too late to get any nice pictures. The rain didn't help either. Hopefully, I get better luck next time, as I am off the following few days...

the ever famous seong tong lala, very good but slightly marred by the baby crabs

Thought I'll post about our recent visit to Lala Chong. Not been back ever since my long ago dinner there. I was inspired by Precious Pea's recent post to go and try out the place.

who knew tuna and fern tops (pucuk paku) would go well together?

We got there on a Saturday night and it was packed to the brim. Luckily we didn't have trouble getting a table, as some people just left when we walked in. After placing our orders, we were prepared to wait it out but surprisingly, food came relatively quick - about 20 minutes.


airy fairy fried sotong

Since I was famished, I didn't care and quickly attacked the dishes. We both loved the tuna fried with paku pakis. At first, I thought the stems would be woody and hard but they turned out to be quite tender. Nice combination, a bit weird but it works.


Japanese-inspired grilled mackerel (aka the saba fish)

I loved the seong tong lala especially the soupy broth it was served with. Just the right amount of rice wine to make the soup taste absolutely perfect. Only slight problem was every shell I opened, had a baby crab inside it! Weird, but I guess the batch was attacked by baby crabs.

We also ordered the deep fried sotong - large round rings dusted in a little flour and deep-fried. Very light batter that was also quite tasty especially with the dipping sauce. While, it was not the best in town (Muhibbah beats it hands down!), it was a pretty decent effort. Needless to say, Splashie Boy, the deep-fried sotong fan, ate almost half of the dish. Last but not least was the Japanese grilled mackerel, served with pickled radish. While it was juicy and tasty, I kinda felt the fish was not fresh, as the sides were kinda mushy tasting. Definitely can't beat Japanese restaurants' fresh saba fish.

Overall a pleasant meal and a quick one, seeing how packed it was. The place next to the restaurant is kinda a mess nowadays with the roadworks. Rumour has it, Lala chong may move hence they already did up a branch at Ara Damansara. Whatever it is, this place is a good place to indulge in a bit of seafood. Next time, I must try the crabs!

Tagged with: Malaysian Food + Seafood

Ramadan Bazaar @ Kelana Jaya, Petaling Jaya

let's start with some dates first....., fresh ones ok!

'Tis the season for fasting and evening bazaars where lots of food is available. We had a leisurely weekend off - a well deserved break, I reckon after a very stressful week. I was kinda worried the bazaars would be rained out yesterday, but luckily the rain stopped quite quickly, hence we did manage to snap some shots of one of my favourite bazaars - the one at Kelana Jaya.


multi-tasking the kuih ayu mould - make adorable jellies with it

Originally, we wanted to go try somewhere new, but the heavy rain kinda stopped our ambitious plans, hence we went back to the familiar.


or make these colourful ones with bananas...

It was good, as when we walked down that street, I recognised all the familiar faces - the jovial fella who sells satar (the Terengganu delicacy with minced fish and coconut), the ikan bakar stall which everyone crowds around, the cencaru sambal lady, the kuih batik stall at the front of the road and etc.


smoke signals succulent ayam percik being cooked on the grill

Some stalls remain at their old spots while, some get elevated. This year, we noticed tanks of water set up by MBPJ, a welcome sight for the hawkers. Those officers to maintain traffic and peace at these stalls were also around.


she's got a brand new spot this year, right up front. Who can resist these stuffed fish??

What was new?? I saw more western influences here - young chaps selling pizza or samurai pizza to be exact. And another stall was frying up juicy kebabs with adorable cherry tomatoes.


pizza anyone? an interesting appearance at the bazaar

There was also an agar-agar stall around, selling all those colourful sweet treats to tempt you. Some even had sliced bananas in them.

juicy kebabs with adorable cherry tomatoes

I reckon this year, more stalls join the crowd at Kelana Jaya, as they seem to stretch down the road further. Everyone was eager to start business, even with the pouring rain, you see a lot of stalls cooking away.


cholestrol high!!! eggs for nasi lemak

The nasi lemak people were around serving quails with their delicious nasi lemak and sinful fried eggs. Couldn't resist to snap a picture of all those wobbly fried eggs. Like the lady told me, a lot of time was spent to get them fried.


satar from Terengganu - kinda fishy but nice with the grated coconut

Some popular stalls even set up branch here - like the Section 14 popiah basah fella. Not sure whether it is the same, as no one seems to be queuing up here, unlike the one at Section 14 where the queue goes on and on for that ever popular wet popiah.


teeny weeny roti boom - perfect for curries

Colours for the drinks seem to be getting more crazy - with bright blue, pink and green competing. One stall set up a leng chee kang stand - just pick what you want and mix.


don't forget traditional ketupat daun palas

The only person, I could not spot was the Kelantanese couple, I usually get my laksam, nasi kerabu and nasi dagang satisfaction from. I hope they are just late, as their Kelantanese food is a must every year for me.


or ketupat nasi with rendang

Do have fun, at these places and take your time to walk down and choose what you want. Quite a few stalls are regulars who have build up a reputation for their food, while some may be fly by night ramadan stall operators - just out to make a quick buck.

Am not sure if I will have time to go to the others and every day seems to be raining. I guess, I may limit my visits to weekends or when I am free. For more on Kelana Jaya from previous years, click on 2007's entry which will lead you to all the other years.

Tagged with: Malaysian Food + Ramadan

Yong Tau Foo @ Yap Hup Kee, Pudu, Kuala Lumpur

weird stuff you find on tables nowadays...

Okay, enough of Japanese food, sweets and food fairs, it is back to good old Malaysian food. Long long ago, I once contemplated migrating from Malaysia to seek greater fortune somewhere else but at the end of the day, I just couldn't do it, as I knew I'll miss Malaysian food too much. Where else, would I get good food, almost 24 hours daily???? Okay not everything is perfect as our fine dining scene seems a bit pathetic but at least we have great street food to compensate the lack of haute cuisine.

silky chee cheong fun doused with curry and topped with crunchy dried prawns

I recently had a reason to moosey down town and grab breakfast at one of my all time favourite places - Pudu. I can never go hungry here as there's good food at every nook and cranny - you just have to look hard enough.

the GOOD - 4 angled beans and long beans mixed with fish paste

A place I often visit but have yet to blog about is this infamous yong tau foo joint. Just pick and select from an array of goodies - I love the vegetable selections they have here. Unlike other places that serve the run of the mill stuff, you get four angled beans and long beans wrapped in fish paste or soybean skin.


the BAD - sinful barbequed pig's intestines

Another point to dine here, is for the sinfully good barbequed pig's intestines. A bite of these dark brown goodies, yields a little but very flavoursome liquid oozing out that hits the tongue just as you are relishing the intestines. Simply out of the world delicious stuff!! While they are not good for the arteries, I try to balance it out with loads of vegetables.

Since one can't get filled up with vegetables, fish paste and pig's intestines, I usually eat a small bowl of chee cheong fun with curry sauce. The rice noodles are silky smooth with the spicy curry sauce. While the curry sauce and the dried prawn toppings are not as great compared to Jalan Sayur's fantastic curry chee cheong fun, this version is still pretty good.

Restoran Yap Hup Kee
45, Jalan Brunei Barat
Off Jalan Pudu
Kuala Lumpur

Tel No: 03 - 2148 9220

(Non halal. Open from 9am-5pm, 5.30-11pm. Off every 2nd Tuesday. A branch is also available at Damansara Utama.)

*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: Yong Tau Foo + Malaysian Food

Other reviews:

• Babe in the city
• Pillow Talk with Bangsar-babe
• awhiffoflemongrass

Japanese sweets @ MOF, Pavilion, Kuala Lumpur

Everyday is MOF Day! Hmmm, how I wish it was.

MOF?????? Isn't that the acronym for the Ministry of Finance? Usually it is, but in this particular case, it stands for Ministry of Food and it is all about Japanese desserts and coffee. Apologies to those who are not fans of Nippon stuff, as I just realised this is my 3rd post on Japanese food in the row.

matcha latte (RM9), topped with sinfully good whipped cream

Latest place to open at Pavilion Kuala Lumpur - MOF or Ministry of Food, which comes from Singapore. Down south, they're known as Izakayas, serving affordable Japanese food and desserts. Here in Kuala Lumpur, they seem to have changed the concept a bit as they only serve desserts and coffee. Could be due to the stiff competition from other places (Kampachi, Sakae Sushi, Yo Sushi and Ichiban Boshi) that they decided to focus on a niche market instead.

gyuuhi - the Turkish delight lookalike served with matcha latte

There's loads to choose from the new outlet, right in front of Mercato Supermarket. The place is pretty tucked inside hence if you weren't looking for it, I'm sure you will miss it, since most people usually walk around the middle section.

matcha mix imo (RM11) - sweet potato and yam with soft serve ice cream

We went on a major blitz to test out their desserts. For drinks, I tried the hot Matcha Latte since we mainly tried their cold stuff. Served in a huge clay cup with no handles (hence it can be difficult to drink this when it is super hot), the latte was generously topped with sweetened whipped cream and served with an interesting tidbit called gyuuhi. The latte is pretty creamy and not sweetened. Not sure if you are supposed to add the sugar yourself but I thought the taste was kinda flat, after I ate the whipped cream. The gyuuhi, kinda reminded me of a not very sweet Turkish delight. Made from rice flour, it tasted gummy and was dusted with kinako - grinded roasted soybean.

sesame sundae (RM15) - Splashie Boy's favourite

The star of the show was the Matcha Imo - their most famous dessert here. Imo refers to the Japanese sweet potato, which was served with soft serve ice cream in this version. Drizzled with green tea sauce and served with red beans, it's seriously yummy stuff (you are supposed to eat all elements together for a sublime taste). We ordered the mix variety (with a yam also) that also tasted good. I love the soft serve ice cream here - very dense, rich and creamy as it is made from Hokkaido milk. Even the red beans are from Hokkaido and it is not overly sweet like some places.

abekawa (RM11) - oven baked mochi with red bean paste

Since everything was cold, we went for a hot item - the oven baked mochi known as abekawa. The rice cake is baked until it has a slightly crisp layer outside and a gooey center. The mochi is then sprinkled with kinako. You eat it with red bean paste or if you're feeling decadent, with a scoop of soft serve ice cream.

With the matcha flavours covered, we decided to try out the black sesame flavour - the Sesame Sundae, which had kanten jelly cubes, fruits, cornflakes, a waffle, sesame ice cream and soft serve ice cream topped with black sesame sauce. Thumbs up again for this. I love the creamy texture of the sesame ice cream. The black sesame taste is not overly strong here and went well together with all the other items.

There's loads more stuff on their menu - reckon it will take a few visits to cover them all. Milkshakes look interesting as they are topped with soft serve ice cream and come in various flavours. Coffee, we didn't try any as Splashie Boy hates coffee but I did spy they have affogato with soft serve ice cream. They also have red bean paste served with matcha ice cream and rice dumplings, shaved ice desserts, various types of sundaes, buns filled with red bean paste and etc. If you don't want to sit down, you can always order ice cream from the counter as they serve it with a cone or a cup. Do give it a try and who knows, everyday may end up being MOF day!

MOF @ Japanese sweets & Coffee

Pavilion

Lot 1.02.00, Level 1

Jalan Bukit Bintang

Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03- 2144 1489

(Pork free. Open from 11am to 10pm. Right in front of Mercato Supermarket and next to JCo Donuts and the Pasta Mania.)

*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: MOF + Japanese Sweets

Other review:

• Jerry Ong Community Blog

Summer Hokkaido Fair at Suria KLCC Isetan (15 - 24 August, 2008)

A quick word about the Summer Hokkaido Fair, now on at Suria KLCC Isetan. If you love all things Japanese, definitely a must. There's souffle cheesecake, butter puffs filled with red bean or custard, soft ice cream with assorted flavours (you can have at least 3 different flavours on one cone), scallops (dried and soft ones with cheese!), loads of seafood (ikura, crabs, scallops, spicy cod roe and etc), variety of furakke (the dried seasoning to top rice), snacks and etc.

This year, there is also a tiny place for you to enjoy cooked bowls of ramen. Good place to have a quick lunch. The miso ramen is yummy - chewy ramen noodles with a very rich miso broth topped with half an egg, chicken pieces and bamboo shoots. They also have packed seafood lunch boxes with amazing stuff - fish roe, uni, salmon, fresh crab meat, ikura and etc. We were super lucky as we got one amazing deal - RM35 for that lunch box as it usually costs about RM65. Very good stuff! Do visit as it ends this Sunday. The fair is from 11am to 7pm and there are also demonstrations. Certain foods sell out super fast - there's a miso seafood special soup (they only make like 10 bowls of it) hence within 1 hour it can be finished.

Chinese Japanese Fusion Food @ Chuka Zanmai, Hartamas Shopping Centre, Kuala Lumpur

chinoiserie dinner setting

The Super Dining group has definitely made a mark on the dining scene in the Klang Valley with their Rakuzen restaurants, budget places like Sushi Zen and Sushi Zanmai and their Italian fusion place, Pasta Zanmai. Their latest outlet, Chuka Zanmai is all about the Japanese interpretation of Chinese food. In Japan, this type of food is known as Chuka.


salmon yuke - poached egg with minced salmon (RM16++)

At this newly opened restaurant (they started business on the auspicious date, 8-08-08), you find Chinese elements in the decor and an open kitchen. The menu has familiar items like stir-fried dishes, fried rice, ramen noodles in 4 types of soups and etc.


Ms. Speedy Hands cooking fried rice

For starters, it was the Salmon Yuke - minced salmon topped with a wobbly poached egg and a diluted sesame sauce. Really yummy stuff that we both loved. I scooped some on a lettuce and savoured the salmon. Unlike the sesame sauce in Pasta Zanmai, this sauce seems very mild.


stone fried rice chicken teriyaki with egg (RM20++)

We ordered the stone fried rice, kinda similar to the Korean stone bowl rice with a chicken teriyaki and poached egg. I didn't expect to see the waitress appear to cook the dish in front of us. Before I could say anything, she was busy mixing the rice with the egg amid a puff of smoke. The chicken teriyaki is cooked seperately and placed on top of the rice once cooked. While I loved the teriyaki chicken, we didn't quite like the fried rice, which tasted bland and a bit soft. Maybe the next time, I'll order the version with soup, as that should be similar to nasi air from Kelantan.


chicken charsiu ramen with shoyu broth (RM20++)

I ordered the ramen noodles. Here you get a choice of soups - shoyu or soy that is the most basic, miso and a spicy broth. There was one more variety but for the life of me, I can't seem to remember. Topped with chicken charsiu (no pork here), it was a bit plain and nothing fantastic.


tick tock, when is my food going to be ready???

Instead, I had better fun with the last dish - pan steamed scallops or hotate. Arriving the last of our dishes, this was definitely one of the best. Hot stones are placed underneath the metal pot with scallops and hot water is poured on top to create steam. Cover the pot with a wooden cover and you will get a simple yet delicious meal. I especially liked the cute timer they gave us to show the 5 minutes to cook the scallops. The best part of the scallops is the sweet juices that collect on the shell - slurplicious stuff.


pan steamed hotate (RM28++)

Overall, we did enjoy our experience here even though it was hard to say this was Japanese since most items are familiar to us. I guess some may say this type of food is not as good compared to a Chinese place but I reckon the group gives their distinct touch to the Chinese cuisine.

Chuka Zanmai
P-2C, Ground Floor
Hartamas Shopping Centre
Jalan Hartamas
Kuala Lumpur

Tel No: 03 - 6201 1610

(Pork free. Open from 11.30am to 3pm, 6pm to 11pm on Monday to Friday. For Saturday and Sunday, the place is open from 12 noon to 11pm. Restaurant is further down from Starbucks and next to Haus showroom.)

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: Chuka + Japanese Chinese Food

Other review:

• Corrupt, Convert & Conquer
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Note: Visited this place, end of December 2008 and it was closed for renovations. Not sure if this place will still exist or Rakuzen plans to change it into Pasta Zanmai. Call ahead to check if this place is still in business.

Pizza @ Yellow Cab Pizza, Jalan Raja Abdullah, Kuala Lumpur

the frontage and yellow motorbikes that grabbed our attention and the tourists

There's a new bright yellow place in town!! For those who know Splashie Boy well, you will all remember he loves the colour bright yellow. Hence, yesterday when we were driving past Jalan Raja Abdullah, we spied this sunshine yellow frontage. It definitely grabbed his attention, that he even made an illegal u-turn (something he never does!) to check this out.

twice-baked potato halves (RM12.80) for 6 pieces with sour cream and chives

Previously a fishball stall used to occupy this corner shoplot but the owner decided to take the place back and renovate it. The place has been unoccupied for quite sometime, but now it houses this Phillipines franchise - Yellow Cab Pizza Co, where their tagline is "when you want great pizza, call a cab". In the Phillipines where they have 54 outlets, they use Vespas for their delivery bikes and a Chrysler PT Cruiser, all painted bright yellow. Wonder, if they'll get a Chrysler PT Cruiser here too? Seen only 1 or 2 around town so far, hence that will be cool.

the NY classic side of the Four Seasons Pizza (RM28.60 for a 10 inch pizza)

For those who have been to New York, you will notice the references to the infamous yellow cabs. The delivery bikes have been given a sunshine yellow transformation, that they now look like those iconic yellow cabs or taxis, as we label them here. The frontage with the distinctive bikes parked in front got a lot of reactions especially from the tourists who walk past the road. We spied at least 2 groups of tourists who walked past and started snapping pictures.


the roasted garlic and shrimp side of the Four Seasons Pizza

While the old shophouse was given a new lick of paint, glass covered windows as it is now air-conditioned inside, a steel and glass extension that covers a staircase on the side, some of the old elements have been retained like the wooden windows. Inside, there are unpainted concrete walls, bright yellow accents all over, pictures of New York and names of famous places in New York that decorate the place. There's even a cute dustbin (in yellow of course) with metal shelves on top for pizza boxes. I reckon the outlet is recycle friendly, as I saw the worker stacking the boxes on the shelves. You will note the different lengths of the shelves correlate to the 3 sizes the pizzas come in. Thumbs up for this green initiative.

the anchovy lovers side of the 4 seasons pizza

Two types of pizza available - classic and specialty. Our menu is similar to the Phillipines one shown on their website with the exception of ice cream and chicken wings. The pizzas come in 3 sizes - 10, 14 and 18 inches. Since we wanted to sample the most from one visit, we ordered the 4 Seasons - with 4 types on one pizza i.e. NY Classic, #4 cheese, Anchovy Lovers and Roasted Garlic and Shrimp. Our absolute favourite out of the 4 types we tried - the NY Classic with beef pepperoni slices. A simple pizza but very tasty probably because they use tasty beef pepperoni.

Next favourite was the roasted garlic and shrimp with a subtle taste of garlic and prawns scattered on top. The #4 cheese with romano, mozzarella, cheddar and feta was not bad also but it had a slight sourish taste. For those who love capers and black olives, the anchovy lovers is a good choice. I found it a bit salty though.

the eye-catching Vespa lookalikes

We also ordered an extra - twice baked halved potatoes, which came with 6 halves. A bit oily at the bottom of the skins and I felt not much taste as they used beef bacon to top the mozzarella covered potato skins. Overall, we loved the pizzas and the texture of the pizza crust (not chewy) and thin. No soggy bits in the middle with these pizzas, hence we will definitely return for more pizza. For more pictures of the place, click on my Flickr set.

Yellow Cab Pizza Co
At the corner of Jalan Raja Abdullah
and Jalan Yap Ah Shak
Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03- 2694 2003

(Halal. Minimum order is RM20 for pizzas, with RM2 delivery charge. The delivery area is quite limited. You can opt to dine in - downstairs and upstairs. Prices for the pizzas range from RM19 to RM28.60 for the 10 inch pizzas, RM30.50 to RM44.70 for 14 inch pizzas and RM47.80 to RM69.70 for the 18 inch pizzas. Extras cost from RM12.80 to RM16.80 that include pastas, calzone and potato halves.)

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: Yellow Cab + Pizza

NOTE: Revisited on 6 January, 2009: 4 seasons pizza had an uneven thickness crust; one side thin and the other side thick and slightly uncooked. Pizza is a little oily too.