Food Finds
A couple weekends ago while trying to play catch up in tasting as many different bak kut teh restaurants in Klang as humanely responsible, I took up the offer from Zess, our resident Klang bkt expert, and met up for a sumptuous brunch at Ah Chee clay pot bak kut teh.
Ah Chee Bak Kut Teh, Bayu Tinggi, Klang
Ah Chee is of course, another one of Zess’ friends (this guy knows a lot of BKT operators). The restaurant is located at an end lot at the rather busy commercial area at Bayu Tinggi, Klang.
If you’re not familiar with Bayu Tinggi, well, it is basically located in between Bukit Tinggi and Port Klang, a place that’s frequent mostly only by Klang residents.
For the 5 of us on a Sunday morning, we kept it simple and just asked for the softest meat with their signature intestines plus fuchuk (tofu skin).
check out the stuffed intestine
Like every place that Zess brought us thus far, this one again checked all the boxes. The soup is more than decent, thick, flavorful, and on par with most other Klang BKT I’ve tried.
The meat though (at least the version we had), was really tender with melt in your mouth fats. I really enjoyed that, but that was not the best part.
The star of the meal was their intestine. The stuffed intestine is probably up to 7-8 layers and thus had this really great texture to it. If you consume offal, this is a must-eat.
we picked the softest pork plus intestine
The meal came up to under RM 20 per person, right about average in terms what you expect to pay for good BKT meal. Will be glad to revisit.
Address:
Ah Chee Bak Kut Teh
5, Lorong Sentosa 4,
Bayu Tinggi,
42000 Klang, Selangor
GPS: 3.012755, 101.430965
Tel: 012-627 3797
Ask anyone about Apple Strudel, and chances are they’re going to be talking about the famous Corica Pastries in Perth. Yeap, they do serve up an awesome apple strudel (I was fortunate to have a chance to try thanks to Val back in the years), I recently found that you can get an equally mean version of this delicious pastry right here in Klang Valley.
Fruity Cake and Bakery, Klang
More specifically, the relatively old and unassuming looking pastry in Klang by the name of Fruity Cake and Bakery.
Fruity Cake & Bakery is no stranger to the locals, the shop has been in operations for decades and serve mainly pastries, cakes, coffee, and a few selected Western dishes such as spaghetti, chicken chops etc.
I’ve been to this place a few times, and to be perfectly honest, the coffee is subpar, the Western dishes looked like it was from the 90s, and the interior decoration fits for a sitcom set up from 20 years ago.
best Apple Strudel I’ve had in the country
What is really awesome tho, is their apple strudel.
A portion goes for RM 6.75 and if you want the whole big box (around 5 pieces?), that’ll be close to RM 30.
It is worth every single cent tho! The pastry is crispy, and the filling is just done perfectly. It doesn’t really play second fiddle to the version at Perth in my opinion, I liked it just as much.
If you’re a fan of this pastry, make a plan to visit Klang.
Address:
Fruity Cake & Bakery
107, Leboh Turi,
Taman Radzi,
41200 Klang, Selangor
GPS: 3.026957, 101.427942
Tel: 03-3373 1071
Izakaya, or Japanese gastro pub, is a relatively new type of Japanese restaurant in Malaysia. It is basically a pub with a proper bar and a full kitchen. You want to have a few beer or sake? Sure. You want a full meal? They’ve got that covered too.
Robataya Izakaya at Publika
Robataya Izakaya is a relatively new comer of such restaurant in KL. Located in Publika, they have a pretty extensive menu offering raw fish, ramen, rice dish, tempura, salad, grilled items, and more.
A week ago, we headed there on an invitation to try out what they’ve got to offer.
Okan Sashimi, they have air flown seafood too
We started with Okan Sashimi (RM 70), a sashimi platter with 5 different types of fresh seafood carefully arranged on ice. During our session, we had salmon, salmon belly, sweet shrimp, tuna, and I believe, butterfish.
While it may not be the super premium quality sashimi, (that’ll be their air flown, LIVE seafood as displayed by Haze) the portions were generous and it was actually quite a treat for the price.
Una Chizu Roll, Robataya Teppan Roll
For those wholikes rolls, The Robataya Teppan Roll (RM 28) is one you should try. There’s salmon inside, mayo, and grilled bacon on top! The taste was rather unique, and of course, anything is better with bacon.
Una Chizu Roll (RM 25) is a slightly more creative interpretation of your usual unagi roll, as they’ve decided to add cheese to the mix. I think the result was pretty good to be honest.
Salmon Oyako Sarada
Salmon Oyaka Sarada (RM 26) turned out to be one of our favorite dishes of the night. Laden with plenty of crispy salmon skin, the salad also have quite a generous portion of raw salmon in all those mustard leaves & cherry tomato in the rather awesome sesame dressing. I’d have this for lunch anytime.
various kushiyaki (skewers) & gyoza
You can’t have a proper review of an izakaya without having some skewers. We tried teba (chicken wings, RM 6), buta (pork belly RM 6), uzura bacon (quail egg bacon, RM 6), banana bacon (RM 6), tomato gyumaki (tomato wrapped with beef, RM 7), tsukune (chicken meatball, RM 5), momo tama (chicken thigh wrapped with egg, RM 6), and negima (chicken with leeks, RM 5).
While these are some pretty good skewers, the one that stood out the most was the momo tama, the egg was prepared to a rather soft consistency and for some reason worked really, really well with the chicken thigh. We gobbled that up pretty fast.
San Ten Zeppin – pork belly, bacon, Australian beef
If you enjoy BBQ, there’s only one way to improve the experience – by having it indoor, with air conditioning. The San Ten Zeppin sumiyaki (RM 55) gave us just that. There’re pork belly, bacon, and Australian beef. The meat are pretty thinly sliced so they cook rather quick, if you mess it up, it’s your own fault.
Teppan Ika Eeso, Spare Ribs Teriyaki, Akaebi Olive
As if those weren’t enough food for 4 skinny Asians, we also tried their Teppan Ika Geso (cuttle fish, RM 15), Spare Pork Ribs Teriyaki (RM 33), and Akaebi Olive (RM 42).
The cuttlefish should make for a very good side dish for beer, and while I thought the ribs were a bit dry, I did enjoy the olive shrimp quite a fair bit, the olive gave it a bit of sweetness that complements the spicy deep fried shrimp quite well.
Haze, Calvin, Haze, Sim
Overall, we did enjoy our dinner at Robataya. There are actually 2 other izakaya at Publika, and it’ll be tough to try to put a ranking on the list as they each have their strength and offers quite a different set of menu. You can’t realy go wrong if you pick Robataya for a meal, or some sake.
Address:
Robataya Izakaya
D4-G3-09, Publika
Solaris Dutamas, Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.170961, 101.665721
Tel: 03-6211 2785
I don’t often accept reviews to cafes since there are really a dime a dozen out there, and for the most part, I like my street food & higher end restaurants (especially when I get to eat for free), but when Sue msg and told me about the Korean-run Table 9 Cafe & Kitchen at Bangsar, I thought why not?
Table 9 Cafe & Kitchen, Bangsar Jalan Telawi 3
As mentioned, the restaurant is slightly different from your run off the mill mid-market cafe with a proper kitchen. Eve, our host and co-owner, is Korean, and her partner, who is in charged of coming up with the menu, is another Korean. So while the menu may not try to claim that they are any different (and they don’t actively advertise it), Table 9 is actually pretty unique in its offering.
Well, for one, they actually have bingsu in their menu, but more on that later.
proper latte is always a good thing to have at a cafe
Any cafe worth its salt should be able to serve up a good cup of coffee, and in this regard Table 9 did not disappoint. The latte was as good as any I’ve had, no complaints from yours truly.
Table 9 Breakfast, with French Toast
Our first dish was the Table 9 Breakfast (RM 25) with optional French Toast (additional RM 1), and I think the French toast option is a must, they were so fluffy and just so.. good! The scrambled egg was top notch too. Other ingredients did not disappoint either, though I thought the sausage was rather average.
rosemary chicken Caesar salad, carbonara di cipolla in bread bowl
If you’re a salad sort of person, the Rosemary Chicken Caesar Salad (RM 24) is an option. It has romaine lettuce, cherry tomato, properly grilled chicken breast, cheese, but also a Caesar salad sauce that’s unlike any I’ve had, it’s rich and spicy, yes, it is spicy in a .. Korean sort of way. I do find it interesting and kinda like it.
We also try the Carbonara di Cipolla (RM 25) with optional bread bowl (RM 4.50), if you like cream pasta, you’d not be disappointed. Eve told us that in Korea, bread bowl with pasta is quite a common option anywhere. I think this can easily feed two pax who do not have huge appetite.
Caprese pasta with mozzarella, baked zucchini
Caprese (RM 29) is my favorite dish of the day, it’s a quite a simple tomato base pasta with mozzarella and truffle oil, and I thought the truffle oil adds quite a bit to the dish, and those big chunks of mozzarella , yums!
If light breakfast is your thing, baked zucchini (RM 19) with cheese and tuna may fit the bill. Perfect for those looking for low carb options, perhaps.
gorgonzola & maple panini, pizza jalapeno
Gorgonzola & Maple Panini (RM 22) is one of Eve’s favorite dishes in this restaurant, and it’s not hard to see why. The sandwich is savory and sweet in the right combination. With the side of fries, this makes for a full meal.
And as if we’re not totally stuffed by then, Pizza Jalapeno (RM 22) was served. This was a spicy pizza, thin, and they sure didn’t skim on the cheese, again it did not disappoint.
tomato bingsu
They have 8 different bingsu, or Korean shaved ice dessert here, with the weirdest of all being the tomato bingsu (RM 15), so naturally that’s what we ordered. The ice certainly milky and fully, and the tomato puree poured on top did make it that much more interesting. A little weird at first spoonful perhaps but you do get the hang of it, I liked it very much.
KY, Haze, & Eve the Korean co-owner
Overall I thought it was a very good brunch session at Table 9, with most of the dishes belong to the category of “I’d definitely won’t regret ordering”. We now know where to go for a good meal with a sweet bingsu ending.
Address:
Table 9 Cafe & Kitchen
21, Jalan Telawi 3, Bangsar Baru,
59100 Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.131972, 101.671018
Tel: 03-2201 1055
Earlier this month I went to yet another island in the East Coast of Malaysia for a little bit of R&R as well as put a bit of time breathing compressed air underwater. For this trip, everything was arranged by my colleague, Rich, I sort of just tag along. A vacation where you don’t have to plan for anything? Sign me up!
Our destination – Pulau Kapas.
Kapas Turtle Valley resort, Pulau Kapas, Terengganu
Pulau Kapas is one of the lesser known islands of Terengganu. Located just 6 km or so from Marang Jetty, it is only some 10 minutes on the ferry (every 2 hours), which makes it really accessible even for those who may be prone to sea sickness. Furthermore, with East Coast Expressway in operation, getting there is easier than ever, around 400km on dual lane expressway with another 20 or so KM trunk road.
snorkeling, sand castle, and playing with hermit crab
Kapas Turtle Valley is run by a Dutch couple who called Malaysia home. It is a fairly small resort with capacity of less than 20-30 guests at any one time. It is also located at semi-private sort of beach with other resorts accessible via a short walk across the small hill in 10 minutes, perfect for those who loves a bit of privacy and quiet time.
You’ll be expected to spend close to RM 100 per night per person to stay at KTV, with breakfast inclusive. The bungalows are comfortable, bathrooms are big and quite luxurious for island standard, and you do have electricity around the clock.
food at Kapas Turtle Valley was excellent
What I love most though, is the food prepared by Sylvia. Breakfast usually consists of very good pastry, dutch cheese, egg, and juice, while lunch & dinner is as per order (usually from 3 choices) and priced reasonably. Her dishes are at least on par with some of the better restaurants in town, and that is certainly quite a luxury on an island, with a budget.
kayaking looks a lot easier in photos
Holiday on island is about rest and relax, reading a book, listening to the waves and such, but if you’re restless, or you’re between 3-6, there are still quite a bit to do.
Making sand castle, catching hermit crab, snorkeling at the house reef, kayaking, throwing freebies, or even sailing on a catamaran is an option.
Aqua Sport Divers, the only dive center at Pulau Kapas
We spent 5 days and 4 nights at Turtle Kapas Valley, and only decided to put in some diving on 3rd and 4th day.
Aqua Sport Divers is the only dive center on the island, and some 25 minutes walk from where we stay. Fortunately, they are more than happy to ferry us on a small speed boat to & fro from KTV to dive center.
nemo with anemone, always one of my favorite shooting subjects
As for the dives, underwater visibility at Kapas isn’t exactly stellar, mostly due to the fact that the island is a mere 6 kilometers away from peninsular Malaysia, but they were more than decent.
Over the 3 dives, we spotted moray eel, barracuda, humphead wrasse, clown fish, jelly fish, big puffer, blue spotted stingray, and more. There were even a story about a group getting a glimpse of a whale shark a couple weeks prior.
UW pics taken with Olympus TG-5
I loaned a couple cameras from Olympus that are fit for underwater purposes. The Olympus TG-Tracker for video, and Olympus TG-5 mainly for stills. They were very convenient, pop the SD cards in and you’re good to go, no meticulous checking of seals or carrying my huge set up of my (now dated) Olympus E-PL3 with underwater housing. The picture quality isn’t as good as a micro 4/3 format for sure, but there were more than acceptable, and of course, carrying a small pouch with 2 cameras is much easier than a whole luggage full of gear for just one.
Overall it was an awesome trip, thanks to Rich & San San for organizing, will look forward to more R&R trips such as this one.
