Whenever I go back to Penang, the first meal that I usually seek out is a plate of awesome Char Kueh Teow. The Sister’s CKT used to be one of my favorites, but the standard there has unfortunately took a turn to the south in recent times, and now I usually go to the unanimous tourist’s choice – the Lorong Selamat CKT.

Char Kueh Teow, chives, prawns, cockles, bean sprouts

While some of the “locals’ might bark at this endorsement, I do sincerely think that Lorong Selamat CKT is superior to the others I’ve tried on the island, and I’ve spent over 18 years living there. Sometimes when a place gets famous, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it is also overrated.

Unfortunately, I call PJ home these days and seldom head back to Penang. The craving for a good plate of CKT stays though. That big prawns, cockles, with plenty of bean sprouts, chives, an egg, and a dash of preserved vegetable fried with a flat noodle in a super heated wok, ahhh…

New Yee Sang kopitiam, PJ SS6; Char Kueh Teow

After all these years trying various Char Kueh Teow places around the Klang Valley, I’ve managed to found a few that does not disappoint, and this unsuspecting stall at New Yee Sang kopitiam at SS6 (nearby the KJ small Giant) is the latest addition.

The ingredients and taste is on par with the one at Seng Lee Kopitiam (behind Hock Lee at Damansara Heights), with pretty decent size prawns and a good enough “wok hei” too. And by the way, the same kopitiam serves pretty good umbra with sour plum drinks at RM 2.50 a glass that I order whenever I don’t need coffee.

Cheesie first ordered the Lui Char, but ultimately couldn’t resist the CKT

My other top CKT choice at Klang Valley was this stall at PJ State, but unfortunately the kopitiam has shut down and I have no idea where it went. Anyone with the information please let me know ya!

For halal version, give the Straits Cafe at BU Centrepoint a try, and these 4 (well, 3 now) are my regular CKT places, any other suggestions from you guys?

Address:
New Yee Sang kopitiam
Jalan SS 6/8
Kelana Jaya
GPS: 3.106717, 101.598178

Tags:  char-kueh-teow,  cheesie,  ckt,  kopitiam,  PJ

Posted by KY | 24 Comments »

When the dragon OBC lady was still staying at BU, we used to go to Centrepoint quite often. Yes, we often caved into her insistence, arguing with suanie is often an exercise in futility.

Which led to this blog covering disproportionately high number of entries on restaurants in this little shopping mall. Bernards, Champs, Cagayan, Jade Garden, Momo (changed name/owner), and Shanghai 1930 (closed).

the Straits Cafe at BU Centrepoint

I had no idea when the Straits Cafe first appeared at Centrepoint, it has the look of one of those restaurants that I usually wouldn’t stepped in to try until being suggested, in this case, by Jaclyn, who has been quite a regular customer.

Tucked at the inside of Centrepoint, most tables are al fresco. No air conditioning, but there are quite a few big fans blowing about. The menu is filled with a mixture of local and Thai delights – char kueh teow, phat thai, various types of fried rice, mee goreng, even steamed siakap and daging masak merah. Quite a variety.

Char Kueh Teow, Prawn Mee, Crab Meat fried rice, Mee Siam

I had the prawn mee (RM 8.90) on my first visit with #porkgang, and char kueh teow (RM 8.90) on my second visit with Val (who was passing the Corica Apple Strudel from Perth). While both dishes weren’t the best that I’ve had, they did not disappoint at all, and probably one of the better halal version of these dishes I’ve had from anywhere.

Others were happy with mee siam (RM 7.90) that looked a bit uninspiring, and the crab mee fried rice (RM 8.90) Val ordered was actually quite tasty too, despite not seeing much crab meat in it. But it’s less than RM 10 per plate anyway, and crab meat’s expensive.

Lorbak, Ais Kacang, and Roselle drink

I didn’t particularly like the chicken lorbak (RM 7.90) which was a bit too dry for my taste, I still believe this is one of those items without a good substitute for good old fashion pork meat in it. Their fried chicken wings (RM 6.90) though, was very tasty!

The Straits Cafe offers quite a few choices for desserts, ais kacang (RM 5.00) wasn’t disappointing, and there were also penang rojak, cendol, logan jelly, and even Thai steamed tapioca. My personal favorite drinks at the place would be the Roselle ice, I last had it years ago during a food review at Coca restaurant and never seen it on any menu since. It’s a pretty special drink, try it when you have the chance.

Kim, Gareth, KY, Jac, Eric, Horng, Suanie, and Val (separate visit)

While not exactly the best food you can find, the Straits Cafe does offer pretty decent food at a price that is acceptable for the type of place it is. This would be one of the places I should keep in mind especially when bringing Muslim friends for food.

Address:
The Straits Cafe
Centrepoint,
Jalan Leboh Bandar Utama,
47800 Petaling Jaya
Selangor
GPS: 3.137988, 101.610124

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The mechanic is very simple, as long as you subscribe to BB 250 for weekdays, you get the weekends free! That works out to be RM 2.50 x 5, or RM 12.50 per week, which is only about RM 60 per month for the prepaid Blackberry Access. A pretty good deal for the best network coverage, I’d say.

Tags:  BU,  centrepoint,  ckt,  eric,  gareth,  horng,  jaclyn,  kimberly,  prawn-mee,  suanie,  val,  valentina

Posted by KY | 15 Comments »

After having rojak opposite Taman Bahagia LRT station at 5pm (I really should blog about that stall) on Saturday, I kinda forgot about dinner till it was past way past 9 pm. Logged onto MSN and saw Haze online, so I asked what she was up to. Her reply “emoing cos no one eating dinner with me“.

So I asked her to join me for late dinner, and by the time we got started it was already way past 10pm.

While most restaurants have closed and started cleaning up already, the night is still young at Berlin Biergarten. That was the first reason I chose to go there, secondly, they sells non-halal bratwurst, and thirdly, the Guinness promotion is on-going.

Having the promotion is definitely one of the biggest reasons I chose Berlin Biergarten instead of other outlets. I’ve done quite a few Guinness food reviews and they’ve always been good experiences.

Berlin Biergarten German Bar & Restaurant

Berlin Biergarten is located on the first floor at Solaris, just a stone’s throw away from the now pretty famous Tenji Japanese buffet. While the name translate to beer garden, it actually does offer a pretty comprehensive food menu too.

While there are some tables inside the smallish outfit, almost everyone chooses to dine al fresco style here, and like most outlets of this type, there’s a projector screen showing live sports too. A pretty chilling environment.

free pork balls with Guinness, Farmer’s Bratwurst

The Guinness promotion at Berlin Beirgarten is pretty simple:

• 4 perfect pint (330ml) of Guinness for RM 60
• get a free finger food/appetizer from the menu

I chose the pork ball (worth RM 19.90 if I remember correctly). They were pretty firm and rather flavorful, the sweetish sauce and the pork went really well with the slight after taste of bitterness of Guinness that I love so much. It was the yums!

Berlin rosemary lamb

Upon recommendation from the server, I chose the Farmer’s Bratwurst (RM 28). The two German sausage doesn’t look big here, but they were actually quite a decent portion. It was a good thing I didn’t ended up ordering the Berlin Sausage Selection (RM 59) that comes with 7-8 bratwursts.

The pan fried sausages were very very good, with the accompanying gravy and dill potato salad being very good side kicks. However, I have to say that german bread dumpling (looks almost exactly like wedges) did taste a bit weird to me though.

Haze the awesome artist, and KY with some Guinness

The other dish we ordered was the Beriln Rosemary Lamb (RM 48). Stripes of lamb with plenty of mint sauce resting on mash, steamed vegetable, and surrounded by chili paste and bits of bell pepper. The presentation definitely scores an A. Thankfully, the taste department is in sync with how well the dish looked.

Other than the carrot being a bit raw, the lamb was soft and flavorful, with plenty of mint sauce to give it that aroma and if you so prefer, the spicy chili sauce to add some kick too.

There are interesting dishes in the menu like Scotch Egg (with pork!), carrot in beer, and sundried tomato with mussels that look pretty promising. I shall return to this place for a second round.

The Guinness promotion of St Patrick’s Finger Food Festival runs from now until 31st of March, 2010 with more than 100 outlets nationwide, don’t miss out! Other outlets that are participating in this promotion includes, but not limited to:

• Jarrod & Rawlins
• Meson
• Cafe Chulo
• Muse
• Delaney’s
• Ronnie Q
• The Magnificent Fish & Chips

Besides Finger Food Festival, there’s also the St. Patrick’s Hat promotion. A 13oz pint is a stamp, and 20oz pint 2 stamps, collect 12, send the redemption card in, and get a free St. Patrick’s Hat.

If you can’t wait, the Instant Reward gives you a Guinness St. Patrick’s luggage lock with every 3 pints of Guinness Draught or a bucket of Guinness Foreign Extra Stout. There are three designs in all!

There’s also the St. Patrick’s Day celebration at 1 Utama on the 19th of March from 6pm onwards! Check out guinness.com.my/stpatricks for more.

Address:
Berlin Biergarten
Lot J-01-04
Solaris Mont Kiara
50480 Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.174689, 101.659595
Tel: 03-6203 0958

Tags:  bratwurst,  guinness,  haze,  lamb,  sausage,  solaris

Posted by KY | 29 Comments »

One little perk being a food blogger is that every once in a while, I get to sample the lifestyle of the slightly more privileged. Last Wednesday was one of such occasions, I was invited to a dinner at Opus Bistro hosted by Millennium Associates and Pernod Ricard Malaysia.

While having attended a few of their Friday wine lunch series, this was the first time I attended such event for dinner. Lunch with wine is always a bit of a compromise between how much one can eat, the weather, and the level of influence you are comfortable with while the sun is still out. No such restraints for dinner, which was what made this event even better.

Opus Bistro with Montana wine

Opus Bistro is located at Jalan Bangkung, a part of Bangsar (actually Bukit Bandaraya) that doesn’t challenge your sanity when it comes to looking for parking space. The restaurant is simple yet posh, an ambiance fit for the cuisine it serves.

While waiting for 7:30 pm dinner to start by our standard Malaysian lag time, we indulged ourselves with some asparagus smoked salmon roullade canape (a fancy way to say rolled up food) and Montana Classic Sauvignon Blanc 2007. I wans’t complaining, it was a good start to the evening, my taste buds agreed.

homemade ravioli porchini in wild mushroom sauce, sauvignon blanc & pinot noir
scampi lettuce green cappucino in tomato broth, raw tuna carpaccio with caviar

By the time our first dish, the lovely scampi in tomato broth is served, it was already 8:30pm. Malaysian timing does not spare anyone. While the scampi isn’t exactly lobster, it did not disappoint, I especially love the savory broth.

Next up was the marinated albacore raw tuna carpaccio that comes complete with caviar, soy chili, and aragula (rocket salad). I tasted a hint of truffle oil in the marinate, and the tuna was fresh, smooth, and tasted awesome. I was more than happy when Suan gave me most of her portion since she doesn’t exactly eat raw fish.

Those two dishes were paired with Montana Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2008, white wine with seafood, never goes wrong.

The homemade ravioli porchini in wild mushroom sauce didn’t taste too wild, the walnut did not stand out either, but the truffle oil, ahh, that really gives this dish a very distinct class. I loved it. We had the Montana Reserve Pinot Noir 2006 with it.

marinated wagyu skewer, Montana terraces pinot noir 2007
fillet of carribbean red snapper with poached scallop , cheese platter and fruits

The forth dish was fillet of caribbean red snapper with caramelized port sauce accompanied by poached scallop. I thought the fish was alright but not particularly special, perhaps overshadowed by the previous dishes. The scallop was fresh and sweet though.

We switched to Montana Terraces Pinot Noir 2007 for the next dish, the marinated wagyu (marbling no. 7) skewer. Using wagyu beef of this quality on a skewer is perhaps a bit of a luxury, but none of us complained. I could have easily consume another portion if it was presented to me.

Finally, we had cheese platter with fresh fruits to conclude dinner. Aged cheddar, goat, gorgonzola, and my favorite – brie. We switched Montana Brancott Sauvignon Blanc 2008, the sweeter green grapes compliments the cheese well, we were well satisfied.

Sue Lynn, Suanie, KY

This event cost RM 150 per person, with the excellent foods at Opus and free flow Montana wines, I’d say it is quite a good deal. I met Sue Lynn of bangsarbabe for the first time, and had the opportunity to catch up with familiar faces I haven’t seen since last Friday Wine Lunch. It was a lovely evening.

I need me some grapes now!

Address:
Opus Bistro
67, Jalan Bangkong
Bukit Bandaraya
59100 Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.138116, 101.669197
Tel: 03-2092 4288

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Activate BB 250 everyday from Monday to Friday, and you get to enjoy free blackberry access all weekends. Now isn’t that a great deal? This offer lasts till the end of March, 2010. Don’t miss out!

Tags:  bistro,  bukit bandaraya,  caviar,  pinot noir,  sauvignon blanc,  suanie,  sue lynn,  truffle,  wagyu,  wine

Posted by KY | 18 Comments »

The last time I blogged about pork intestine porridge was over 4 years ago on a hawker stall in Penang. It has always been one of my favorite old school hawker foods, but also one that is increasingly hard to find.

My first time at this small stretch of old school hawker center at Jalan Sayur in Pudu was a couple months ago, and while I had other food at the time, I noticed this porridge stall that offers pork intestine porridge, among other types.

old school hawker center on Jalay Sayur, Pudu

So when pocket Anne asked me out for a little dinner + catch up session in KL, I suggested to head to the very same place just so that I can have my pork intestine porridge.

This particular porridge stall is situated quite close to Jalan Pudu itself, they offer fish ball, salted egg, chicken, fish filet, seafood, and of course, the all important pork intestine porridge (猪什粥).

pork intestine porridge, and chee cheong fun

This bowl of goodness comes with deep fried pork innards, plenty of shredded ginger, some spring onion, and a good shake of white pepper with porridge cooked to perfection.

Compared to the one at New Lane in Penang, this one is less crunchy and has a slightly fresher taste mainly due to the ginger. Both of them are excellent nonetheless, and I am sure someone like Kim who loves intestine from Teow Chew porridge would love it too.

KY and the tiny pocket Anne

Anne also ordered the pretty famous chee cheong fun from another stall, one with the normal sauce, and the other with curry. Plain chee cheong fun with sesame on top and some proper sauce can be very addictive too, not to mention pretty economical. Our dinner came to only about RM 10 for two person, who said dinner at KL must be pricey?

Address:
Hawker center at Jalan Pasar
off Jalan Pudu, Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3135208, 101.713051

Tags:  anne,  hawker,  pork,  porridge,  pudu

Posted by KY | 28 Comments »