Buy 1-cake-free-1-cake Promotion @ Zen (1st - 8th December 2008)

Hubby saw this advert and told me about it. Buy 1-cake-free-1-cake at any Zen outlet from 1st - 8th December 2008, in conjunction with Zen's 1st anniversary celebration. How to resist!?

Knowing how much I love the creamy cakes from the Secret Recipe/Zen outlets (they share the same owner), hubby dutifully lined up today (and it was a loooooong queue starting veeeeery early) and bought me a (two?) cake(s) from the KL Sentral Zen outlet. RM52 for 2 cakes of 1kg each. Worth it or what!?

Chocolate Indulgence, my absolute favourite. This is not so much a cake as it is cream. Layers and layers of sinfully delicious cream! This just melts in the mouth. The brochure reads: creamy and rich Belgian coverture chocolate and white chocolate filling, absolutely a luscious, luxurious, sinfully rich chocolate lover's dream.

Classic cheese was my second choice, never tried it before but was attracted to the mascarpone cheese that it contains. The brochure reads: a traditional blend of mascarpone and cream cheese on chocolate sponge base and finished with a classic touch. This was less dense and heavy than the normal cream cheese cake, hence less "jelak".

Thank you hubby for the gift of a long-awaited cake indulgence. Our fridge, and my tummy, is full.

So much good food lately. Another 4-bams!

What's cooking @ home

I tried a new recipe, pandan fried chicken. Hubby approved!

We tried cooking ayam masak merah mom's style. It was ok, up to the point where we substituted plain yoghurt with strawberry yoghurt 'cos that was all we had in the fridge. Don't. Lol!

We finally perfected the art of assam prawns mom's style. Kudos to hubby who performed the wok magic.

Sambal petai prawns. I just can't get enough!

This was supposed to be nyonya turmeric acar fish, but I modified it so much it became something else. I used garoupa instead of belanak, and added vinegared cucumber and canned pineapple.
Simple fried bakhu (aji aji) fish.

Hubby's favourite baked beans and eggs. Choy tam. A meddley of kai lan stems and french beans.

Choy sum.

Eggs fried with french beans.

For me, plain rose jelly.

For hubby, banana milk rose jelly. Weird.

Restoran Sunrise, S.E.A. Park, Petaling Jaya

Sunrise. Everybody knows this place, of course. The roast duck here tastes deep-fried, with oh so crispy skin and is sinfully delicious. And, it's always hard to get a seat, we almost have to breathe down other diners' necks to "persuade" them to finish their food faster and clear their table. It was 11.30am when we went and already we had to guiltily "impose" ourselves on fellow diners in order to get a seat.

This is mom- and bro-in-law's favourite duck. The 4 of us ordered one whole roast duck (RM49.00), and whacked! If there were a duck version of KFC, this would be it.

The accompanying gravy tasted herbal, almost like bak kut teh soup. Poured this stuff over our rice, and whacked!

Ok the soup, however, is an acquired taste. Very sour and peppery, this isn't like your normal mild chicken rice soup.

Refreshing leong cha to finish the meal with. Bro-in-law said it was a very satisfying meal. I agreed.

This meal for 4 persons came up to RM56.60.

Restoran Sunrise

31, Jalan 21/1, S.E.A. Park,

46300 Petaling Jaya,

Selangor.

Tel: 03-78769689

4-bam ++, what else!

Bruno's Restaurant & Bar, Jaya 33, Petaling Jaya, Selangor

For mom's birthday, she wanted to savour western cuisine. So we took her to Bruno's, a fancy fine dining restaurant serving Spanish food, with a rather cosy ambience, replete with leather seats.

The bread basket came with a small bowl of thyme-infused olive oil.

All her sons and I agreed that the Andalucia Lamb Shank served with garlic mashed potatoes (RM45.00) was the best lamb in town. And I don't even eat lamb! The typical "smelly" lamb taste was absent. This dish tasted of tangy tomatoes and olives, almost spaghetti-ish in its approach, with luscious aubergines lining the shanks.

Cochinillo Asado/Spanish Suckling Pig - oven roasted, served with roasted pineapple sauce and mild spicy tomato sauce. RM88 (single)/RM390 (half)/RM730 (whole). We got the single serving. Bruno's uses pork from the Iberian black pig which roams the forests of the Iberian peninsula, foraging for nuts, roots and acorns. The pigs' diet and lifestyle renders the meat exquisite in texture, taste and aroma, as well as high in healthy omega-3 fatty acids.

A side dish of a baked potato with a cheesy filling, and vegetables which came with the rib eye steak. Mom loves baked, stuffed potatoes.

This was my favourite dish, the rib eye (beef) steak served with red wine garlic sauce (RM55.00) with a side of roasted, mashed potatoes or fries with sauteed vegetables/fresh salad. Heavenly juicy, tender meat (medium-done) that melts in the mouth. The sauce was out-of-this-world in its taste, piquant and tingled the taste buds.

The Costillar Iberico / BBQ Iberian Ribs Platter (serves 2-3 persons) - perfectly oven roasted pork ribs topped with special BBQ sauce, served with vegetables and potatoes. (RM130.00)
A closeup of the very long and tasty rack of ribs, complete with yummy burnt edges. It was sweet and savoury at the same time, with a definitive taste of the spices that were used in its seasoning. Finger-licking good!
The bill for the 6 of us totalled up to RM349.80. To end our meal, Bruno's gamely presented mom with a slice of rich chocolate cake for her birthday, accompanied by the birthday song. Happy 61st, mom!

Jaya 33 is opposite Section 14, on the same row as the Dutch Lady factory.

Bruno's Restaurant & Bar

PG-01 A, Ground Floor,

Jaya 33, Jalan Semangat Section 13,

46100 Petaling Jaya,

Selangor.

Tel: 03-79602663

Operating hours: Mon-Sun, 11.00am-11.00pm

Pricey, but delicious! 4-bams!

Siew Yoke @ Wong Kee Restaurant, Jalan Nyonya, off Jalan Pudu, Kuala Lumpur

Oh what a fun food-hunting weekend it was, armed with our Flavours magazine good food guide of Kuala Lumpur. We took mom- and bro-in-law to all the best places to eat all varieties of meat and poultry, seeing as we are a highly carnivorous clan.

After a heavy lunch or roast goose at Chen Chen BBQ, the greedy clan moved on to yet another family favourite. We had an immediately-after-lunch snack of siew yoke (roast pork belly), since we were in the Pudu neighbourhood. Lol!

8 big slabs of siew yoke hung behind the counter. Daily, Robert Wong, the proprietor, only starts selling his goods at 12.30pm sharp. By then, there was a ravenous crowd already gathered at Wong Kee Restaurant, all ready to devour the beautifully-golden siew yoke.

Other than the star attraction, Wong Kee also sells roast chicken and char siew. But we were too full to try either. We only had room for the prized siew yoke.

Robert Wong in action at his chopping board, with his first siew yoke slab of the day. It was gone in less than 10 minutes.

Finally, our plate of siew yoke for 3 persons came (RM13.00/strip/person). Mom said it was the best siew yoke she has ever eaten in her life.

The meat was tender (which is rare for siew yoke) and the skin was thin and crispy. And the taste - out of this world! Although I am not a big fan of siew yoke, I actually loved this one. Which explains why it was so popular. Everyone who comes here, orders siew yoke.

It's in one of the shophouses somewhere behind Berjaya Times Square mall. For a map, please refer to:

http://www.waisikkai.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=248&Itemid=48

Kedai Makanan dan Minuman Wong Kee

30, Jalan Nyonya (off Jalan Pudu),

55100 Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03-2145 2512.

Operating hours: 11.30am - 2.30pm

Closed on Sundays, every fortnight.

Definitely 4-bams and no less!

Grilled Cuttlefish Rojak @ Wai Sek Kai, Jalan Sayur, off Jalan Pudu, Kuala Lumpur

There is a stall here at the Jalan Sayur Wai Sek Kai (not to be confused with Jalan Alor) that sells tofu bakar, prawn fritters and toasted cuttlefish slathered with rojak sauce.

The aunty who runs this stall boasted that her stall has appeared in many newspaper write-ups and also on TV. She said she was the last generation in her family to be in this trade of grilling cuttlefish, with no heir-apparent.

The small coal stove where she grilled the tofu, prawn fritters and cuttlefish.


My absolute favourite part...the sotong bakar (grilled cuttlefish). Oh yummmmm.......I could have finished this pile in a jiffy.


I bought a packet (RM8.00) consisting of grilled tofu, prawn fritters and cuttlefish with loads of prawn paste (heh ko)-rojak sauce. So smelly and yet so good! Hubby didn't have any since he hates heh ko.




3-bams! I LOVE the cuttlefish!

Soo Kee Restaurant, Medan Imbi, Kuala Lumpur

For beef kuey teow lovers, this place is famous as THE "ngau yoke hor fan" place in Jalan Imbi.

Even Curtis Stone (Yes, I want to take him home to be my chef!) has been here, by the looks of a photo on the wall. That's the lady boss beside him.

Pork satay. This was a hit with bro-in-law's girlfriend.

Me, I was more inclined toward the paper chicken, which cost RM4.50/piece. Marinated chicken pieces wrapped in tracing paper and deep fried, this dish brought back many fond childhood memories.

Unwrapped....the chicken tasted strongly of soy sauce and sesame oil. Almost teriyaki-ish. Loved it!
Nam Yue pork ribs, at RM3.00/piece. Exquisite, this was all salty and tasty, with really crispy edges.
This was my favourite dish. The beef fried rice was excellent, fragrant with sesame oil, eggs and bits of beef that were absolutely tender.

And of course, the beef koey teow done in "wat tan hor" style. It was good, but not as good as the fried rice.


The bill for 6 came up to RM101.00 which is considered quite pricey, for hawker-style dishes. That's probably cause it's located in the tourist belt of Bukit Bintang.

Soo Kee Restaurant

14, Medan Imbi,

55100 Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03-21481324, 03-21459528

Mobile: 019-2170248, 012-3923563

Soo Kee rates a high 3-bam.

Restoran Weng Kee, Section 17, Happy Garden, Petaling Jaya

Last weekend was a mad carnivorous binge. It was mom-in-law's 61st birthday weekend, and all her sons were in town. We ate, and ate, and ate, ALOT of meat. This was our first stop....

Restoran Weng Kee's business card reads - Specialist : Roast duck, BBQ meat, sausages, etc.

Behind the counter lay the char siew and liver sausages.

Bro-in-law's favourite stuff.... char siew and liver sausages. The char siew was a tad dry and lean. I didn't try the sausages as I'm not fond of liver. Most of it got polished up by bro-in-law and hubby. The main course....a big platter of roast duck. Mom said it was a tad dry, I agree. Nonetheless, it was tasty, especially the bony parts on which the 5-spice powder marinate is concentrated.

Duck gravy to accompany the rice.


We had 2 small plates of choy sum to feel "healthier". The meal for 4 came up to RM41.00.





Restoran Weng Kee (Corner shop, at the road where the Section 17 morning market starts)
1073 Jalan 17/27,
Happy Garden,
46400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
Tel: 03-79563496







A 3-bam for us.