Meng Kee Char Siew, Tengkat Tong Shin, Kuala Lumpur

This is hubby's favourite char siew shop, which he argues, is the best in the Klang Valley.

Meng Kee....the name even sounds like our cat Mankie. Lol!

It's closed on Sundays, so Saturday is the only day we can come to savour this delectable char siew. And they are sold out early too, so better to come during the start of lunch time.

They sell loads of sticky, sweet, charred bbq pork strips and pak cham kai chicken. Since I don't eat pak cham kai (I call it sweaty chicken), it's only char siew for me!
One plate of charsiew. We can't remember exactly how much this cost, but it was definitely over RM10.00. The sides were gooey, caramelized and wonderfully charred......ooooo I love those bits. The meat was lean without being dry. Hubby was loving the juicy tender parts while I chose the burnt goodness. Yummmmm!

Meng Kee Char Siew
13 Tengkat Tong Shin, Kuala Lumpur (the road parallel to Jalan Alor).




It HAS to be 4-bams!

Sabai Dee Thai BBQ Seafood Restaurant, Bandar Baru Sri Petaling, Kuala Lumpur

Some time last month (yes, I am late with blogging), we went to this new Thai restaurant, found at random as we were driving around hunting for dinner.

Seasoned pork (RM10.00) sounded interesting, turns out to be minced pork nuggets seasoned with lemongrass and deep fried. Pretty good.

Spicy Three Crispy Salad (RM12.00) was a concoction of prawns, crispy pork skin keropok, and cashew nuts. It had a tad too much of paprika powder, which made it taste funny.

The seafood tom yam soup (RM10.00) was an improvement, teeming with prawns, squid, fish and shittake mushrooms.



The cendol (RM3.00) had too much ice cubes, I would have preferred the ice-shavings version. Eating this was like eating ice cubes.

It was a pretty ho-hum experience, though the restaurant manager was courteous enough, especially when he saw me taking photos of every dish. He told us that the chef was from Thailand.


Sabai Dee Thai BBQ Seafood Restaurant
23A, Jalan 14/149L, Bandar Baru Sri Petaling,
57000 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03-90586157
HP: 017-3300487 (Dennis Lee)


I'd give it a lacklustre 3-bam.

Just married

Our wedding.

More in The Star newspaper Wedding Specials, Friday 26th Sept 2008.

Wantan mee @ home

Hubby insisted that I blog his home-made wantan mee, eaten with our leftover duck from The Champion Duck. Ok so here it is, our dinner last night. More kailan please?

Nyonya Colors, The Gardens @ Mid Valley, Kuala Lumpur

The 2 Nyonya Colors branches that I know of are in 1-Utama and the latest in Mid Valley (at the lower ground walkway between The Gardens and Mid Valley Mall). The nyonya kuih on display were really eye-catching, as were the painted wooden chairs in the quaint little Mid Valley set-up.

Hubby quenched his thirst with iced local white coffee (RM2.70) which was uber thick and strong.

The yellow laksa (RM8.90) was supposed to be served with meehoon, but I opted for yellow mee. The laksa soup was well, like soup. It came with what I believe was boiled white radish and chicken pieces. The soup tasted strongly of galangal; not quite curry mee, and not quite siamese laksa....a combo of both, perhaps, minus any traces of fish.
I preferred hubby's mee siam with honey chicken (RM8.90). The meehoon had a lemongrassy taste which I loved, with a hint of sweet and sour. Very good!
Thab Thim Krob (RM3.80) or waterchestnut in ice....one of my all-time favourite desserts. This came topped with coconut cream, with the water chestnut and jackfruit pieces buried underneath the ice. Yummmm.




A 3-bam.

The Champion Duck Restaurant, Damansara Utama, Petaling Jaya

We had to service the car at our usual mechanic in Damansara Uptown.....and all I could think about was duck, duck, duck.....mmmmmm. So while the car was being pampered, we went to The Champion Duck for some brunch.

Herbal soup greeted us. Soup tasted of dried sotong (I know because I use it for my soup stocks too) and of course, herbs. Nice.

We were greedy. We ordered half a duck (RM24.00) and stuffed ourselves silly, and ended up having to tapau about a quarter of what was served. The duck was juicy, and had a herbal taste. My guess is that they marinated the duck in some kind of herbal broth which got infused into the meat. The skin was shiny and taut, but not crispy in the Peking-duck sort of way. This was more braised, then roasted, methinks. Some pieces were abit fatty, I had to scrape off the fats from under the skin.

The duck came with a side of plum-and-5-spice sauce. I preferred just using the chicken rice chilli sauce.

The Champion Duck Restaurant
30, Jalan SS21/35, Damansara Utama,
47400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

It's located on the same row as Maybank in Damansara Utama. If you are facing Maybank, The Champion Duck would be further to your right.

It's a 3-bam for us!

Awet Thai Cafe, Taman Cheras, Kuala Lumpur

The Awet Thai Cafe is just across the road from our usual wantan mee joint in Taman Cheras. At night, it looks kinda cosy with its soft yellow lights and the mist-machine at work. Thai music wafts from its audio system.

We ordered the kerabu angle bean (RM8.00) but was served instead with stir-fried angle beans with garlic and oyster sauce which tasted pretty normal. Wasn't what we had in mind, hello! Kerabu is meant to be spicy, sourish and salad-ish.

The Thai deep-fried pork ribs with garlic (RM12.00) was an improvement. It came served with a home-made Thai chilli sauce and lots of deep-fried garlic bits scattered over the ribs. I found the ribs to be a wee bit chewy, but nicely marinated nonetheless. The crunch of the garlic and the sweet tangy chilli sauce complements it well. Hubby wished there was more meat on the ribs.
The dry pork curry was thick with santan. It could have done with more lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves, but was nonetheless quite piquant. For RM16.00, the serving wasn't that large, just enough for 2 persons.

The seafood tom yam soup (RM6.80/serving of one) was nicely spicy and had all the hallmarks of a good tom yam soup. We had our fill of squid, prawns and abalone mushrooms while slurping away at the refreshing lemongrassy soup.

That's our spread. In total, the bill came up to RM49.15, inclusive of rice and pandan water (refillable). The pandan water was plain water infused with pandan (sort of like pandan tea, non-sweet), I found it unusual and yet very soothing to the palate.

Awet Thai Cafe,

8, Jalan Kaskas 3, Taman Cheras,

56100 Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03-91319838

We would rate this place a 3-bam.

Rumahku Restaurant, Jalan Tun Sambanthan, Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur

We read about Rumahku in The Star and based on the good reviews, we were tempted to go try it out. We know Brickfields very well, but have never come across this restaurant, it must be relatively new.

We wanted to order the mutton varuval (it's actually dry mutton porial), but apparently that was a very popular dish and it was sold out. Have to come earlier next time!

As was recommended in the newspaper article, we had to sample the deep fried tuna cutlets, reminiscent of vadai but with fish. They were pretty good, RM3.50 for 3 pieces which came with a yoghurt-onion-cucumber dip. You can see my half-eaten tuna cutlet above, rusty blogger that I am, I forgot to take any pictures till the dish was almost gone.

For main course, I opted for the chicken briyani. The chicken pieces were all hidden inside the rice, and they were pretty generous with the meat! At RM8.90, the briyani rice was very savoury and rich with spices, one of the best I've eaten in KL. I loved the raisin chutney for the sweet taste that went very well with the savoury rice, but could not locate any raisins....it was more a sweet paste than a chutney. The curry gravy was thick and complemented the briyani perfectly.

Hubby ordered the nasi lemak with ayam masak merah. I had a taste and fell in love with the ayam masak merah. Superb! It was comparable to the ayam masak merah that hubby's mom cooks, teeming with a strong taste of tomato, lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves. Excellent, and at RM6.90, very worth it! Hubby loved the nasi lemak rice too, which was fluffy and rich with coconut milk and pandan. It went very well with the sambal belacan and the chicken.

There's a branch (Rumahku Gallery & Cafe) at Jalan University PJ, just opposite Universty Hospital, same row as Mitsuoka.



Rumahku
202, Jalan Tun Sambanthan, Brickfields,
50470 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03-22603475
Mobile: 012-3131073 (Sunita Mahesan)
Email: rumahku_gallerycafe@yahoo.com
Map: http://rumahkuonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5&Itemid=14

Website: http://rumahkuonline.com/

The Brickfields Rumahku is on the main road of Jalan Tun Sambanthan, facing KL Sentral Station, opposite of the Pos Laju building.

This place garners a high 3-bam++ rating from us.

We're back!

After a very long break getting ready for our wedding, and then getting married, and then recuperating from all that madness.........I am finally back on the blog. Lost some weight in the month prior to my wedding (stress lar), but with all the eating that's been going on after the wedding, the pounds are creeping back up.

I've been told by my old pal (who works in The Star) that our picture and a small caption on us will appear in The Star (Wedding Specials) this coming Friday 26th September 2008. Heh heh, if you are curious do check it out.

Restoran South Pacific, PJ New Town, Selangor

It's summer, and the season for CRABS! South Pacific Restaurant in PJ New Town has its Anniversary Happy Hour Promotion every July for a couple of months. All seafood is at reduced prices between 6pm-7pm and 11pm-3am daily. So July is when the Cancerian in me really comes to the fore.

The promotion.

The promotional prices. Big Indonesian Crabs are at RM30.00/kg compared to the normal price of RM40.00/kg. We've been here twice since the promo started.

MEAL 1 (2 persons):

Delicious fried tanghoon noodles with LOTS of eggs and lap cheong! RM9.00 for 2 persons. Excellent!

Sweet, sour and spicy chilli (Indonesian) crabs (RM48.00). This is my absolute favourite style of having crabs cooked; the gravy here is full of crab roe-goodness and just perfect in its sweet, sour and spicy combination, compared to all the other restaurants I've had this dish. The crab claws are huge and luscious! Writing about this itself is making my mouth water.

MEAL 2 (4 persons):


Bro in law and gf are obviously in the know about the promotion. We went and ate ourselves silly. 4 heavenly king vegetables fried with sambal belacan, our usual favourite.

Tomyam squid, which was pretty good! If only I could focus on this dish long enough.....but when the crabs came, I was lost.

A humongous talapia done in Vietnamese style that costs only RM12.00. Sweet, spicy, tangy.

Dry curry (Indonesian) crabs. This was excellent, I have never eaten crabs cooked this way before. The curry gravy soaked into the sweet, tender crab flesh and infused it with a piquant spicyness that was made my tastebuds tingle.

The total bill for MEAL 2 came up to about RM95.00 for the 4 of us. So cheap!



Restoran South Pacific (Behind State Cinema),
#7, Jalan 52/16,
Petaling Jaya New Town.
Tel: 03-79564221


Without a doubt, a 4-bam rated restaurant!

Wendy's Bistro, Sunway Mentari, Petaling Jaya

22nd July 2008..........diet be damned! We were going to feast! And being the vicious carnivores that we are, we were going for the meat! I read about this new place in the newspaper some time back, and have been itching to check it out.

We ordered the Sausage Platter (RM25.70) which was a combo of 4 types of grilled sausages - pork chorizo, chicken chorizo, pork oriental and spicy Hungarian, served with fries and Thai chilli sauce. The oriental sausage tasted a tad too porky for my liking (sort of like Taiwanese sausages), but the other 3 varieties were juicy, crunchy, smoky and great! The fries were lovely.....chunky, crisp outside and soft inside.....that's how much one appreciates fries after being let loose from a meal-replacement diet!

Mixed platter (RM23.90) was also on our list. It consists of a slab of grilled pork belly and 2 slabs of pork ribs served with coleslaw and mashed potatoes. Ok the pork belly had a layer of fats, which was wasted on us. I preferred munching on the ribs. The gravy that slathered the meat was wonderful!

They've got the open kitchen concept, and a very neat kitchen is on display. Their website has a pdf menu and a map to get there, do check it out if you're as carnivorous as we are.

Wendy's Bistro (behind Leisure Commerce Square),

20 Jalan PJS8/18,

Dataran Sunway Mentari,

Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
Opening Hours: 11am-11pm

Tel: 03-56301699

Website: http://www.wendysbistro.com/

We'd rate this place a 4-bam for the good food, cosy ambience and the very courteous staff.

The Party

I recently became 3 decades-old. At close to midnight, hubby surprised me with cheesecake amidst our gathering of baby monkeys. What a hoot!

These Foolish Things...

(Marvell, Strachey, Link)

Oh will you never let me be?
Oh will you never set me free?
The ties that bound us are still around us
There´s no escape that I can see
And still those little things remain
That bring me happiness or pain
A cigarette that bears a lipsticks traces
An airline ticket to romantic places
And still my heart has wings
These foolish things
Remind me of you
A tinkling piano in the next apartment
Those stumbling words that told you what my heart meant
A fairground's painted swings
These foolish things
Remind me of you
You came, you saw, you conquered me
When you did that to me,
I somehow knew that this had to be
The winds of march that make my heart a dancer
A telephone that rings - but who´s to answer?
Oh, how the ghost of you clings
These foolish things
Remind me of you
Gardenia perfume ling´ring on a pillow
Wild strawb´ries only seven francs a kilo
And still my heart has wings
These foolish things
Remind me of you
The park at evening when the bell has sounded
The pier in France with all the gulls around it
The beauty that is spring
These foolish things
Remind me of you
I know that this was bound to be
These things have haunted me
For you´ve entirely enchanted me
The sigh of midnight trains in empty stations
Silk stockings thrown aside, dance invitations
Oh, how the ghost of you clings
These foolish things
Remind me of you
First daffodils and long excited cables
And candlelight on little corner tables
And still my heart has wings
These foolish things
Remind me of you
The smile of Garbo and the scent of roses
The waiters whistling as the last bar closes
The song that Crosby sings
These foolish things
Remind me of you
How strange, how sweet to find you still
These things are dear to me
They seem to bring you so near to me
The scent of smould´ring leaves, the wail of steamers
Two lovers on the street who walk like dreamers
Oh, how the ghost of you clings
These foolish things
Remind me of you, just you

Blogging break

As our wedding approaches (we've got about 2 months left), we are immersed with preparatory works and blogging has taken a back seat, at least until we're through with the BIG day. Updates will be sparse.

Hubby and I are compiling our playlist, majority of which are songs from an era past.....think Dr Zhivago, An Affair To Remember, Casablanca. Needless to say, boy bands are banned! I've also been busy working on the slideshows (sort of mini "movies") that we'll be showing during the dinner.......it's the first time I'm using Photostory and MovieMaker and I have gotten quite obsessed with the whole process. :D

I've psyched hubby up so much that he now knows how to sing Moon River. Imagine that!

Bia Hoi Ha Noi Nguyen Chat Restaurant, Hanoi

Well we were walking aimlessly looking for dinner and not too far away from our hotel we stumbled upon a shop that looked like a restaurant.

We ventured in ever so cautiously, unable to read the signboard. Luckily the menu was in a mix of Vietnamese and English.

Sauteed eggplant with chilli sauce and minced meat. It was pretty good, with a hint of spicy-sweetness.

Grilled pork meat on a skewer, this tasted and looked alot like satay. Mom (in law) commented that it was a tad too dry, but I like my meat well done, so I've got no complaints.

This was my favourite dish, fried frog with sweet and sour sauce. The flesh was springy and fresh, and serving size was pretty generous, for two.

Inclusive of rice, the total bill came up to 100,000 Vietnamese Dong which was about RM22.00. Cheap! Cheap!