Roast Pork (Siu Yoke) @ Restoran Golden Kimwah, Damansara Kim, Petaling Jaya

sinfulness on a plate

I reckon I'm biased or it just could be the Chinese in me but honestly don't you think one of the best ever ways to enjoy porcine delights is in the form of roast pork topped with crispy crackling??


delicious stuff

There's something so deliciously sinful about roast pork. For some it is the layers of meat interspersed with fatty chunks while others go wild for the crunchy golden brown skin that top each chunky slice. To me, the best is when all those factors combine to create a rollercoaster of sensations in the mouth - first, the "crackle" when the skin is bitten into followed by the melt-in-the-mouth sensation with the fatty bits melding into the skinny meat parts.

slabs of roast pork

At this particular barbeque meats stall that starts business from 4-4.30pm plus, you'll find a good contender for pork utopia - crunchy skin that top chunky meat and fats. While it won't win the academy award for best roast pork, I think this would feature nicely in the nomination list. I've been told by their regular customer, this particular cut we ate is a little off standard since it's not the sides (sides mean more crunchy bits!) and the meat is denser. Nevertheless, it's worth a second and even third visit to perform another quality check before the final verdict is out. Thanks to Precious Pea and WMW for giving me a new place to indulge in one of my favourite food items.

Restoran Golden Kimwah

Jalan SS20/10

Damansara Kim

Petaling Jaya

(Non Halal. The stall owners have also just opened their barbeque stall at Sun Yin Loong coffeeshop at Aman Suria. A strip of roast pork is RM14.)

*Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. This review is time sensitive; changes may occur to the place later on that can affect this opinion. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from this place for writing the review.

Tagged with: Roast Pork + Damansara Kim

Cake Boss debuts on Discovery Travel & Living (Channel 707 on Astro)

Buddy Valastro in Cake Boss, beautiful flower pots we needed to recreate

Last week, I was seen struggling, tussling and coaxing dough to cooperate with me for four hours to produce delicate flowers to top a flower pot cupcake. Me!! The biggest klutz ever who can't even pipe a cupcake without her fingers trembling? Yeah, all in the cause of the debut of Cake Boss, a new television show on Discovery Travel & Living (Channel 707 on Astro) that starts today at 7pm.

roll the dough, cover with buttercream, stick and fix when it cracks

Cake Boss is basically cake decorating meets Italian mafia, hence the title "boss" as it depicts the daily ongoings in Buddy Valastro, a famous American pastry chef and cake decorator's shop called Carlo's Bakery. Combine demanding bridezillas, explosive Italian tempers and frustating family issues and you have an explosive and extremely interesting television series to tune into. At the start of the cake decorating class, we caught a wee bit of Cake Boss and it looked really interesting with no sugar issues, a crazy deadline with Brides magazine and of course, testy tempers from the whole family. Buddy definitely has his hands full with all these issues.

tools of the trade

There'll be 13 episodes in the series (see this link to Discovery Travel and Living for the episode synopsis) and they all sound hilarious - ranging from naughty erotic cakes that is disapproved by the family matriach aka Buddy's mother, Buddy being challenged to ice a cake blindfolded or else he has to wear a coconut bra and grass skirt around the bakery, the challenge of filling a cake with live birds (I wonder what happens if they poop in the cake??), cake order mix ups and etc.

delicate work involved

Back to cake decorating class that was held at the Cooking House, Desa Sri Hartamas by the ever patient Soo Chee. It looked simple - recreate a flowerpot cupcake topped with pastillage flowers. BUT, when we got our hands down and dirty with the pastillage, it was an entirely different ball game. Literally the "dough from hell", you had to knead it and coax it to a softer consistency to roll it out. Then, it was drape it around the cupcake covered with buttercream that seemed to yield cracks by a dozen. Luckily there were ways to cheat - cut out the cracks and redo a side piece. Whew! Thank god for little tips like these.

ta da - my own fantasy flower pot with a broken leaf

Next came the flower that meant cutting teeny weeny hearts out from pink dough. That wasn't too hard but then came the clincher - unfurling the sides of each heart shaped dough with a toothpick or a chopstick. Super delicate work that had me trembling inside, as my petal didn't look anything like the smooth ones the instructor had as samples. Time was catching up (yes it can take up 4 hours to concoct these delicate masterpieces!!) hence it was hurry hurry hurry to assemble everything. Some of us attempted delicate roses while I went for the easier fantasy flower - it's a flower you kinda create from your own fantasty and knowing how lousy my cake decorating skills, that sounded perfect since mine would be the flower from Hell!!

Amazingly when we finished, it didn't look that bad - not perfect as I could see my leaf was faltering, the bits of royal icing in my flowerpot soil and my imperfect pot BUT my flower actually looked very presentable and pretty. Wow, who knew those stubby fingers of mine could produce something so beautiful. While I doubt I'll ever attempt it again in the future (no way I'll spend another 4 hours to do this) but it has given me new found respect for cake decorators!! I take my hat out to them as they do such precise work and amazing stuff when they sculpt those figurines, flowers and etc on the wedding and birthday cakes. No wonder, people like Buddy Valastro are genuises, who get to do celebrity cakes such as Britney Spears circus cake. Never mind, I reckon tuning into Discovery Travel & Living tonight on Astro Channel 707 will satisfy my cake decorating aspirations instead.

Cake Boss starts today at 7pm on Astro Channel 707. The show repeats at 5am and 1pm, Wednesday, 1am on Thursdays, 4am, 12 noon and 6pm on Sundays. Catch all 13 episodes of the explosive series.

Chun Kee Special Hand Pull Smooth Pan Mee (Mee Hoon Kueh) @ Restoran He Pin, Petaling Jaya

silky smooth pulled dough

I do love my holidays - it's blissful to know I have time to go search for food any where I fancy instead of being restricted to where my workplace is located. While it's not a full holiday (I seem to end up tying too many loose ends almost every day) and I had to wake up at 6am on Monday morning, I'm still loving it.


numb the tongue with this, roll it, great balls of dough, pinch pinch

I admit I ain't much of a morning person as I usually wake up too late to even have the notion of breakfast, as it's already lunch by the time the tummy starts to rumble. Kinda good in a way, since this means two meals a day but I'm sure it's very unhealthy since health journals often spout wisdom such as a hearty breakfast is important to start a day. Once I'm forced to pry open my eyes in the wee hours of the morning, I tend to make do and decided to give this place I've read in Cumi dan Ciki's blog before.

each piece is quite equal in size

While I've eaten around this area before (I visited it for prawn mee), I never knew it had a famous pan mee place until the food lovin' monkeys blogged about it. Located in a converted single storey bungalow right next to the foodcourt, the local council seems to have spring cleaned the whole place as it looked nice and tidy. Seems this stall only moved to the premises about a year back, as they used to be somewhere else in Petaling Jaya.

Per the lady owner, who is helped by a trio of grinning Indonesia ladies her stall makes special hand pull smooth pan mee, which is usually better known to the Hokkiens as mee hoon kueh. In the old style version, dough is mixed from flour and water. Usually the dough is pinched and pulled to form rough pieces and cooked in boiling water. At this stall, they take up an unusual method of making their mee hoon kueh - the dough is pinched, rolled into small balls in their palms and subsequently dropped into a bowl of water. As and when an order is placed, they pull these small balls of dough to form thin pieces that is cooked in boiling hot water. The result of this extra bit of soaking produces a silky smooth texture with very little bite or even elasticity. As the pieces of dough is formed from even sized dough, they are all equal sizes making it easy to eat. I reckon the ones prepared during rush hour like lunch may have more bite to them, since the turnover will be high and the dough wouldn't have been soaking so long in the water.

Each bowl is topped with minced meat, sliced Chinese mushrooms, deep fried ikan bilis or anchovies, sweet potato leaves and deep fried shallots. Eat it with the kick ass sambal on the side that will burn your tongue (and tummy). Generally for me, I prefer my mee hoon kueh with a little bit of bite, this version wasn't up to the mark compared to the Taman Berkeley version but nevertheless it's still pretty good since it's silky smooth. Price for a small bowl is RM4.

Chun Kee Special Hand Pull Smooth Pan Mee
Restoran He Pin
Off Jalan Penchala
Petaling Jaya Old Town

Tel: 016-968 1696

(Non Halal. Closed on Sundays. Open from 8am to 2pm. To get here, from the Federal Highway, turn into Jalan 222 towards the Indian school. Go straight and take a three o clock turn at first roundabout. Drive straight on Jalan Penchala until the end of the road. The foodcourt and bungalow will be on your left hand side. More pictures are found in the Flickr set.)

*Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. This review is time sensitive; changes may occur to the place later on that can affect this opinion. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from this place for writing the review.

Tagged with: Malaysian Food + Mee Hoon Kueh

Kuey Teow Goreng @ Doli Kuey Teow Goreng, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Kuala Lumpur

the hefty special kuey teow goreng for a whopping RM10

Those from Taiping would have heard of the infamous Doli Kuey Teow Goreng, the halal version considered as one of the best by many around. Boasting a legacy of 35 years, it got named Doli, as the owner's wife thought it was catchy. Now the son has opened up this place at Taman Tun Dr Ismail, usually more famous for their kitchen and furniture shops in front of TTDI Plaza. I must admit I was curious to give Doli a try, since I missed out in giving it a shot in Taiping once.

soy sauce with chopped chillies to add a spicy kick, the waiter had to stand on the dustbin to get on top of the counter, sweet drinks to cool down

The menu is quite limited - two choices of kuey teow goreng, the "biasa" or ordinary variety for RM4.50 and the special version that is priced at RM10, nasi ayam, mee rebus, kuey teow soup, mee kari and sup ayam.


the biasa version for RM4.50

The fried kuey teow here comes with cockles, prawns, bean sprouts, eggs and spring onions except of course it's pork free hence no lard is used to fry it. It's not very dry but definitely better than the usual Malay styled fried kuey teow I've tasted before (almost soupy ones!). What's unusual is how they don't add chilli paste to fry their kuey teow goreng but instead it's served with soy sauce with chopped chillies. There's two types, the ordinary one with tiny prawns and cockles while the more premium and luxe version for double the price at RM10 gives you a mountain of larger prawns. It's also a bigger portion as the normal one comes in a teeny weeny plate.

While the fried noodles were tasty, I felt it lacked the wok hei or breath of wok compared to say the other halal kuey teow goreng at Restoran Jamal in Kelana Jaya. That wok hei part is one of the hallmarks of well fried noodles and with these two plates, they were sorely lacking as it tasted lukewarm vs piping hot from the wok. Definitely dissapointing even though my plate came laden with prawns and cockles. If you're looking for good halal char kuey teow goreng, my advice is for you to head towards Kelana Jaya as you'll definitely get a more satisfying meal there.

Doli Kuey Teow Goreng
No. 16, Jalan Wan Kadir 4
Taman Tun Dr Ismail
Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-77225351

(Halal. Open from noon to 12 midnight. Closed on Fridays.)

*Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. This review is time sensitive; changes may occur to the place later on that can affect this opinion. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from this place for writing the review.

Tagged with: Malaysian Food + Char Kuey Teow

Guest Blogger - Katz Tales talks about foodie phrases

Chill baby, it's Au the Cat taking over the blog today

For the first time ever, I would like to welcome a guest blogger aka Katz Tales whom I share a common interest with, our love for kitty cats especially ginger ones and food. Ellen from Katz Tales writes a column in the Star Weekender and is also a published author for two books - Katz Tales and Logomania, books that I am giving away to two lucky winners. Scroll down below for the questions and try your luck in winning these great books.

I've been enjoying Boo's culinary adventures at Masak-Masak for years, so I'm really chuffed to be guest blogging today.

I am a fulltime writer. One of my favourite occupations is discovering the origin and meaning of popular phrases. I also love to eat, so here are three phrases and their origins.

To look as if butter wouldn't melt in your mouth

To look deceptively innocent.

This proverb was brought into English from the French. It first appeared in print in 1530 but has much older roots. It's origins are shrouded in mystery.

The expression is often used to describe naughty children who look angelic, and viragos who can put on the sweet-little-me act when necessary. However, the phrase should not be used in the sense of having a sweet nature; it refers exclusively to people who disguise their wicked nature with a pleasant mask.

Example: Lucy may look like butter wouldn't melt in her mouth, but she has a wicked sense of humour.

Like a cat that got the cream

Someone who is self-satisfied or smug.

Someone who is self-satisfied or smug.

This phrase blends several ideas into one snappy idiom. First, cats are said to love milk, especially the rich cream that floats to the top. Second, cats are known to be somewhat manipulative. Third, cats can adopt a very superior look. Cat lovers say this is because cats remember the time when they were worshipped as gods; cat critics say it's because cats are naturally snobby and aloof.

As cream was traditionally reserved for the rich or privileged, any kitty who managed to get a bowl for itself would be particularly pleased with itself. Get the picture?

Example: Having snared a very rich woman into marriage, Fred looked like a cat who got the cream.

To cook someone's goose

To ruin someone; to spoil someone's ambitions or plans; to land someone in a lot of trouble.

Nobody knows exactly where this image comes from. Some say it stems from Aesop's fable where the greedy man who killed his golden goose was left with just the carcase to cook.

Others say it comes from medieval times when a besieged town hung a cooked goose in plain sight of their enemies, either to show they had plenty of food to sit through a blockade or to suggest their attackers were silly geese.




Example: The president realised that assassinating his political rival had cooked his goose.

That's the end of the post - except for the shameless self promotion! If you love language, want to improve your English or just like to read, check out my latest book Logomania: Where Common Phrases Come From And How To Use Them from MPH. Click on the image for free sample chapters, press coverage etc. If you like cats, click on Au posing handsomely above, or visit Katz Tales: Living Under The Velvet Paw. Available in bookstores now! If you have questions, check out my blog

Note: I seem to have problems with the pictures but the links work. To win each of the books, answer this question, what is your favourite food phrase and why? Reply by email to masakmasakcomp1@gmail.com by 10 March, 2010 and you stand to win these two great books.

Japanese Food @ Zen, Sunway Pyramid, Petaling Jaya

salmon topped maki

Apologies for not blogging for some time - as usual work and life just caught up with me. This has been sitting in the inbox since Sunday night, but one has been so busy this whole week, I've not had a chance to finish it. Anyway, if I'm not busy eating lou sang, it's Japanese food for me and with the Chinese restaurants all booked up, I've been dining at more Japanese outlets this festive season. I'm a big fan of the Super Dining Group, which is popular for its Japanese eateries - Rakuzen, Sushi Zanmai, Pasta Zanmai, Kura in One World Hotel but strangely for some reason I've not ventured into their first outlet, Zen at Sunway Pyramid until recently.

rustic green tea cups, wagyu on hoba leaf over the grill, Zen chopsticks with blue and white plates

I generally don't have any complaints about the quality at their outlets and they keep regular diners coming back for more with promotions of special dishes like this Fuyu No Sachi or Winter dining menu at Zen. The menu is pretty interesting with selections like fugu or puffer fish sashimi (10-12 pieces for RM75), fried puffer fish, king crab hot pot and etc. While some items are obviously not winter items, they give a new twist to old items.

my favourite - aburi kaki carpaccio (RM18)

Food took a while to come, hence I was bored stiff and playing with the camera but once it came, it was great stuff. My absolute favourite was the Aburi Kaki Carpaccio (RM18) - broiled or grilled oysters with seaweed, sliced Japanese cucumbers and drizzled with a soy based sauce. Simply gorgeous!


stone bowl rice meets sashimi

I had ordered from the special menu, selecting those more unusual items like the Ishiyaki Kaisen Chirashi (RM35)- rice served in a hot Korean stone bowl and topped with fresh sashimi. When it arrives on the table, soy sauce is poured at the sides and mixed to form crust. Best eaten straight away, if you prefer your sashimi uncooked. remove it quickly as the residual heat tends to cook the fish quite fast. The portion is quite generous and enough for two people to share, if other dishes are ordered to share.


winter roll

We also ordered the Winter Roll (RM25) - scallop and salmon sashimi slices that top maki made with avocado , crabmeat, radish pickles. While it looked visually stunning - the mix of pink salmon with the white scallop topped with ikura, I felt that the taste was quite ordinary though. Beef is always a must for Splashie Boy hence it was Wagyu Houba Yaki (RM68) - slices of wagyu beef that are grilled on top of a dried yuba or magnolia leaf. Red miso is also added to give the beef flavour. I would have preferred the beef minus the overpowering miso taste though. Nevertheless the wagyu beef slices were tender and cooking your own meal is always fun. Food was pretty good that I wouldn't mind returning to try items from their a la carte menu. It seems less packed compared to Sushi Zanmai that is across from here, hence you don't need to wait for a table during busy times.

Zen Japanese Restaurant
OB2-F-U2
Oasis Boulevard 2
Sunway Pyramid
Petaling Jaya

Tel: 03-7492 4922

(Pork free. Restaurant is at the Oasis Boulevard section just off Parkson. More pictures are found in the Flickr set.)

*Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. This review is time sensitive; changes may occur to the place later on that can affect this opinion. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from this place for writing the review.

Tagged with: Sunway Pyramid + Japanese food

Celebrating Chinese New Year

yee sang and prosperity dish of oysters and fatt choy

Thank you for all the well wishes! Hope everyone had a wonderful long weekend of feasting at home, restaurants, friends and relatives' homes. I was down in Singapore for the festive celebrations.

lap mei fan with crispy crusts, tender waxed meats and aromatic fried garlic

It was a quick weekend trip that kicked off with lunch at an old family favourite - Hua Ting at Orchard Boulevard Hotel, just off Orchard Road. Here we ordered traditional must-haves a.k.a. yee sang, lap mei fan (waxed meat rice) and nien gao.

prawns fried with lily bulbs and asparagus

I had fun noting down how different things are done in Singapore vs Kuala Lumpur eateries. Here you're given seperate chopsticks (longer ones) to help you toss the colourful vegetable strands for yee sang. It means a longer arm stretch but don't worry, it still gets messy as we must The waitresses are eloquent when they are prepping yee sang for you to toss - every addition of an ingredient is followed by a prosperity or good luck saying.

the gorgeous sunflower agar agar made by my auntie

Even the lap mei fan is different here - the waxed meats are tender when bitten into (no hard lap yoke or waxed meats) and they seperate the crusts from the fluffy rice. I didn't know that bit or else I would have held out for the crispy burnt crusts - one of my favourite bits of lap mei fan. They also add fried garlic into the rice, giving an added fragrance and aroma. We also had a prawns fried with lily bulbs - no need to peel ones since we were all lazy to get the fingers dirty and a Chinese prosperity dish, fresh yuba or tofu skin stuffed with an assortment of goodies such as oysters or hoe see, fatt choy and Chinese mushrooms. Dessert was nien gao - they make a pumpkin version that tasted weird, probably because I am more used to the traditional versions which I liked fried with a thin piece of yam.

cookies galore - love letters, kuih bangkit, pineapple tarts and curly bamboo with cherry blossoms

No Chinese New Year celebration will be complete without cookies and we have an assortment of nibbles that you can't resist - homemade pineapple tarts, peanut cookies that melt in the mouth when you pop one, crispy keropok and arrowroot crisps made by my auntie, large pineapple balls and crispy shrimp rolls from Le Cafe in Singapore, kuih bangkit from Bengawan Solo, milky tasting dragon biscuits from the sisters who run the wantan noodles stall in Jalan Batai, almond rounds, love letters from Tong Kee and etc!

yellow skinned dragon fruit to refresh the soul

To balance off all the unhealthy feasting, we did attempt some healthy measures like eating loads of fruits - juicy Tasmanian cherries and these gorgeous yellow skinned dragon fruits that yielded refreshing flesh that was not cloyingly sweet compared to the usual pink skinned dragon fruits. Traditionally the first day saw us cooking "chai", an assortment of vegetables to my mother's instructions. Even the fried beehoon was pseudo vegetarian with the luxe addiction of abalone (we didn't have any eggs!). All this was paired with rendang tok and rendang Perak I bought from my favourite Shah Alam lady. Simply yummy stuff that we stuffed ourselves silly. I reckon the kids (my twin nephews and niece) had the most fun, as they got to eat everything in sight (cookies, Nespresso chocolates, ice cream, fruits and etc!). More pictures are found in my Flickr set.

So how was your celebrations? Anything eventful???

Gong Xi Fa Cai (Happy New Year) - May the Year of Tiger bring you roaring success

yee sang waiting to be tossed

I must admit in the midst of rushing to meet deadlines, I have kinda forgot about the upcoming festivities. It's been so bad this year, I've only had one lou sang session that was frankly very dismal (I pegged it as the worst ever I have eaten in my lifetime!). Hopefully with the festivities starting on Sunday, it will mean I can rectify that poor number of lou sang sessions.

raw fish, ingredients for that festive dish

One of the places I am set to enjoy yee sang is Sek Yuen - that venerable institution where time seems to stand still from the 1960s. Even their yee sang feels very old styled - platform bowls for the ingredients and an even older man dishing out the ingredients in the right proportions on a large platter. My mouth is salivating at the thought of such deliciousness! Definitely can't wait for that session.

assembling yee sang is only for the expert

In the meantime, while I go forth to fulfil my resolutions to enjoy the festivities, I want to wish all of you, "Gong Xi Fa Cai! May the Year of Tiger bring you roaring success, loads of great food and good luck! Enjoy yourself during the long break!" (More Sek Yuen pictures are available in the Flickr set.)

Japanese Food @ Kapoh Muneharu Restaurant, Federal Hotel, Kuala Lumpur

uni chawan mushi

Due to a typical Daniel Powter bad day, I needed something to perk me up! Since I was already in town running an errand for a friend, we decided to try this place - the replacement restaurant for Sushi Dokoro Maeshima at Federal Hotel.

jelly fish and rooster chopstick holders

From what I have heard the owner of Sushi Dokoro Maeshima had to leave town due to an illness and another Japanese chef, Muneharu Tokunaga took over the business. Most things remains the same i.e. the Malay sushi chef behind the counter, the Chinese lady who serves us, the serving of Omakase and the rustic looking dining place with the tatami rooms. There's been some obvious sprucing up, new cushions to sit on, pretty floral sheets for our plates, some new plates used and etc.

eggplant on a floral paper

Even though it's not the peak time for Omakase, the restaurant is still packed with people when we walk in about eight-tish. A group of men are at the sushi counter obviously on a holiday mood already while some serious Japanese business is discussed next to us.

mixed vegetables with sesame sauce, paper with Jap characters line the windows, fried fish

We opted for the omakase (RM250++ per person) but for one person, as Splashie Boy had already eaten enough Japanese for the day (he had a lunch at Zipangu) and half of his tummy was filled with food from a farewell party at his office.

sushi on a platter, toro and akagai

First up, were appetizers of a very crunchy jellyfish in a ponzu soy sauce. Yummy and refreshing. Also served was eggplant - creamy nuggets that melted in the mouth swimming in a soy sauce. Next came the sashimi - the heavily marbled toro, which melted in my mouth. Simply gorgeous. Also in the platter, suzuki (seabass) and a chewy akagai (clam). Next came a big surprise - an unusual chawan mushi as it was cold and topped with a jelly with uni. Yummy stuff and hidden within was a large prawn. We also got served a weird thing - jellied mushrooms and vegetables with a creamy sesame sauce. Definitely an acquired taste. Then, came the tempura platter - lightly dusted with flour, a fish (I think she mentioned kari gei) that they had cut the bones out and also deep fried. Yummy and crunchy with the Japanese pepper on the side. I felt the batter here was lighter than last time. Next it was sushi time - a platter of 8 pieces that included a uni gunkan sushi, a prawn, a tuna one and octopus. I enjoyed the thick cut sushi in between bites of pickled ginger or gari to clear the palate. A miso soup rounded up the savoury section.

green tea ice cream with red beans

Lastly came the green tea ice cream topped with red bean, their signature dessert. Overall, if I had to compare between both of the places, I preferred Sushi Dokoro Maeshima for its more unusual selection of items given to us. Somehow Sushi Dokoro Maeshima's execution of food was cleaner and seemed to let the produce shine for itself. One cannot fault this new place, as their food is served in a different style. Don't get be wrong, I still think the food is definitely still above par from other Japanese places (thus the high Japanese clientele) and won't mind coming back here but I do miss the old Sushi Dokoro Maeshima that wowed me with simple Japanese dishes like their steamed tai fish head, the unusual whale's tongue, tiny firefly squids and etc.

Kapoh Muneharu

Arcade One Front Entrance
Federal Hotel

No. 35, Jalan Bukit Bintang

Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03- 2144 6909

(Pork free. Place is opened only from 6-11pm except for Sundays. This Chinese New Year, they are opened throughout the festive season including the Sunday. More pictures can be found in the Flickr set.)

*Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. This review is time sensitive; changes may occur to the place later on that can affect this opinion. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from this place for writing the review.

Tagged with: Omakase + Japanese food

Nigel Slater's Pumpkin Laksa Redux

spicy comfort in a bowl

Rainy nights always seems to call for something special to warm the tummy. Since last night saw a heavy downpour, I was hankering for something hot and spicy. Ever since I got my latest Nigel Slater cookbook aka Tender (he's my food hero with his fast, simple and great food philosophy), I've been dying to try his new pumpkin laksa. I've made his previous laksa from Kitchen Diaries that became a bright orange and red tomato spectacle.

For my version, it was super spicy bird's eye chillies, an unusual pairing of Binchotan charcoal noodles and sweet butternut pumpkin. The verdict was a slurpworthy, tongue numbing and most importantly tummy warming meal!! Even the cats were staring at me, when I slurped it down loudly. Gorgeous stuff that just perked up my mid-week blues!

Nigel Slater's Pumpkin Laksa (adapted from Tender, part 1)

spice paste

3-4 bird's eye chillies

2 cloves garlic

3cm fresh young ginger

2 stalks lemongrass

5 to 6 coriander roots, washed

a handful coriander leaves

2 tablespoons sesame oil

350g pumpkin, seeded, skin peeled and chopped to pieces

600ml chicken or vegetable stock

400ml coconut milk

2 tablespoons Thai fish sauce

1-2 tablespoons soy sauce, or to taste

juice of 1 lime

100g Binchotan charcoal noodles, cooked

coriander and mint leaves for garnish

To make spice paste: Blend all ingredients together and set aside.

To prepare pumpkin: Steam until softened. Set aside.

To prepare laksa: Heat up a pan over medium heat. Add spice paste and fry until fragrant. Add stock, coconut milk and bring to a boil. Add fish sauce, soy sauce, lime juice, cooked pumpkin and noodles. Simmer briefly. Ladle into bowls and top with coriander and mint leaves.

Portuguese Grilled Fish @ Petaling Street

steam arises from the hot foil packet once it is opened

Let us kick off the week with a little street food in particular this famous Portuguese grilled fish stall along the busy Petaling Street. It is a 20-year plus stall located at the Hong Leong Bank's perimeter that operates once the bank closes for the day (banks close by 3pm and it starts about 4.30pm onwards).

gloves, sauces, the master mixer and the menu

On hand, the menu offers a variety of fish including this weird sounding chicken fish (it is said to have a texture akin to chicken!). Options to pair the fish with various kinds of seafood is also available i.e. clams, prawns, squid and etc. Place your order and they start prepping up the food for you straight away.

step by step: banana leaf with grinded chillies and spices, fish, lady's fingers and the final dollop of sambal

What's interesting is how they prep up the grilled seafood parcels. The master mixer-stall owner simply known as Ah Dee is surrounded by his various sauces, all of varying heats. Just indicate how spicy you can take before your tongue burns off and he'll adjust the level. He even has a non spicy version made from chopped garlic and ginger mixed with soy.

fire burning bright, tucking into a one plate dinner

First, a large piece of foil is placed on his table and oiled. Then a piece of banana leaf is placed on the middle, topped with a "raw" sauce made from grinding chillies and spices. Next he layers the fish (a popular choice is the stingray) or seafood, topped with finely sliced lady's fingers, four angle beans and a final dollop of his sambal sauce, cooked until fragrant with lots of chilli oil. A quick fold and twist, a number made with a marker pen to tell who's order it is and you get a foil parcel that is passed to the grilling station.

Here a robust fire is going on with flames that lick the parcel. If you observe carefully, you will notice that there's varying levels of heat - the flame red coals on one side, sky high flames on other side. The parcel is placed on the tall flames and puffs up in no time, as steam is trapped within that cooks the food within. Once it puffs up, the foil packet is transferred to the coals and left to cook. Each packet can take about 15 minutes and if its a busy night, prepare to wait for your meal. Once it is ready, it's picked up and the foil packet is opened, plonked on your rickety wooden or plastic table with a plate of white rice. Eat it while the seafood is hot as it burns your tongue slightly with the spicy kick from the sambal. Absolutely delicious that will have you asking for more and more.

Portuguese Grilled Fish Stall

At Hong Leong Bank Berhad
Petaling Street/Cecil Street

Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 019-315 9448

(Pork free. Open from 4.30 to 11pm. Take away or eat at the tables and chairs placed around the stall. More pictures in the flickr set. )

*Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. This review is time sensitive; changes may occur to the place later on that can affect this opinion. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from this place for writing the review.

Tagged with: Portuguese Grilled Fish+ Petaling Street

Other reviews:

• Places and Foods
• eatinout
• the gastronomic diary
• rasa Malaysia

Weekend Cat Blogging # 244

life is bliss especially after some KFC fried chicken

It has been a while since I have blogged about the kitties that I thought it will be nice to revive my weekend posts on the felines. This weekend, the adorable kitties aka Kassim, Othello and Salome from Paulchen's Foodblog are hosting, thus we are joining their party of felines from all over the world.

This weekend, I'll share a picture taken of Gigi, my ginger darling who rules the household with her iron orange paw. I've been told she's a rare one - a completely ginger gal that is talkative and has strong opinions on what she wants in life. It's always about her (of course! since I'm just the lowly servant who opens the can of tuna and gives her Iams to her) - "give me that space on the bed, or else", "I want that piece of KFC fried chicken, please please," and etc. Despite all that, I put up with it, as one look at her adorable face always wins me over.

Tagged with: Weekend Cat Blogging+ WCB#244

Brilliant Sunday Brunch @ Dish, Dua Annexe, Jalan Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur

Stylish Dish, freshly shucked oysters tasting of the sea

During the weekend, whenever the other half asks me what we are going to eat, I must admit my brain goes completely blank!! Hence, I sometimes try to plan a little better by coming up with lists on what I wish to try during the weekend, but like we all know Murphy's Law works in mysterious ways!


choices from the salad and antipasti table: grilled onions, asparagus with beef bacon, breadsticks, cherry tomatoes and the tiny pan seared foie gras

Believe me, I had a long string of choices but somehow, they all ended up in dead ends - one didn't look appealing at all despite the glowing reviews, another place wasn't opened yet or the place was just too busy that there was nary a parking space available.


carrot juice to perk up our brain cells

Thus, we ended up a little tired (imagine driving all over town from place to place!), tempers afray and tummies growling at Dish for their "Brilliant Brunch". I guess fate was conspiring for us to sample their brunch as it was actually my first choice BUT the other half wasn't too keen about it. He eventually came around, after he realised it was either starve to death or sample Dish's feast of yummy food.


roasted pumpkin soup served to the table, gorgeous roast prime rib beef

Don't get me wrong, it has nothing to do with the quality of Dish's offerings but more due to the fact, we're not big fans of buffets since we're no mammoth eaters. Nevertheless, we sat down at Dish and were dazzled with their spread of yummy food.

Usually hotels throw us these lavish looking buffets but when you go through dish by dish, it may look tempting but tastewise, you end up with only one or two exceptional dishes. However, at Dish, it's an entirely different ballgame.


caramel macadamia cheesecake to die for

Here, we loved almost everything we popped into our mouth with the exception of two dissapointments - the chilled tiger prawns at the ice station weren't fresh (no bouncy taste at all) and the pan seared foie gras with poached apples and cranberry sauce was such a tiny portion, my spoon almost overwhelmed it!


chocolate fountain with strawberries and marshmallows, macaroons and truffles, almond toffee bar, rocky road bar

If we had to draw a list, we had more on the positive section as the freshly shucked oysters wowed us, the freshly squeezed juices (we weren't in the alcoholic mood for champagne but I can imagine Veuve Clicquout bubbly to be a good choice), the roast prime rib beef, truffled mash, the fresh salads and antipasti, roasted pumpkin soup, the canapes especially the duck confit with filo pastry, the truffles, macaroons, cheesecake, tiramisu and etc etc etc, till the tummy gives way.



TWG tea to chase the blues away, bread and butter pudding and cream puffs encased in caramel


We ended the meal with a big satisfying sigh, rubbing our full tummies and feeling so sated from the good food. It was a feeling that somehow made the looming Monday blues (I was working on Monday!) so much more bearable. Definitely the ultimate way to kick back and enjoy with friends!! While the price of the buffet will make it hard to eat it all the time, we reckon it is best to reserve it for special occasions to perk up life! For more pictures on the food, see my Flickr set.

Brilliant Sunday Brunch
Dish
Dua Annexe
Jalan Tun Abdul Razak
Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03- 2164 1286

(Pork free. Available from 11.30am to 3pm and one of the better ways to enjoy a lazy dazy Sunday. Please book ahead, as it can get quite full. Price is RM249++ per person with Veuve Clicquout champagne and Belvedere Vodka cocktails. For teetotalers, it is RM149++ per person and RM49++ for children from 3-12 years old. Select from food stations all over the place: pasta station where they cook up your choice of pasta with various sauces, ice station where there's prawns, oysters, salmon sashimi, cold crab with various sauces, breakfast station where you can get various types of eggs, breads and pastries, brunch station that serves their famous omelette with that rich lobster tasting sauce, bbq and grill station with sausages and steak and seafood, carving station with prime rib and lamb, salad and antipasti station with a whole lot of vegetables including a make it on a spot Caesar salad for you, dessert station with loads, fresh fruits and cheese selection. There's also ice cream (yummy home made ones!), canapes, soups and risotto served to the table. For teetotalers, you have choice of freshly squeezed juices, illy coffees and TWG teas. The list is endless, believe me!)

*Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. This review is time sensitive; changes may occur to the place later on that can affect this opinion. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from this place for writing the review.

Tagged with: Dish+ Brunch