Category / Eats
A week or so ago I was invited by Haze’s friend to a small food review session at Scott Garden’s AfterWerk pub/bar. This isn’t usually my type of place to look for food, but since it’s a friend, why not?
As it turns out, you can sometimes find decent food at unsuspecting places.
AfterWerk at Scott Garden, ground floor at the left corner, with live band
AfterWerk is operated by the same people who used to run Pedro’s Place, a new management/owner for the last half a year or so.
The restaurant/pub is located on the left corner of Scott’s Garden on the ground floor, you can park your car in the huge indoor parking, or right outside the restaurant aka valet/illegal style.
Like most pubs/bar, AfterWerk offers a variety of cocktails, beer, whisky, and there’s dart machine, and most importantly, an ass-kicking 8 piece Filipino band that actually sings very well! (We stayed for quite a few songs after the food review session)
we started with French Onion Soup
Anyway, since the owner previously ran proper restaurant, food isn’t something of an after thought here. The menu consists of a mixture of Mexican/Western and local dishes. Prices are pretty decent, as with most pubs that usually make a lion’s share of their revenue from drinks instead.
For the purpose of this visit, we sampled four of their dishes.
We kicked off the night with French Onion soup that comes with a floating piece of cheese and a side of garlic/cheese bread. The serving was rather big for a starter but I don’t even mind, it was really delicious. The savory of cheese with those broth really worked well.
Chili Burger with a side of fries
Next up was their Chili Beef Burger. This rendition of the popular American staple comes with a rather thick patty and plenty of chili with a layer of melted cheese on top. You can request the chili to be mild or really hot, we had it probably somewhere in the middle.
While I liked the chili, I thought the thick patty was not nearly as fatty as I usually liked them. Then again it is probably a good thing for those who are slightly more health conscious. A pretty decent burger otherwise.
half a rack of ribs, jalapeno poppers
The four of us then shared a half rack of pork ribs. The ribs properly prepared and came with a layer of BBQ sauce plastered all over. The meat was soft and savory, I find myself really enjoying it despite being pretty stuffed from the previous two courses. Definitely worth checking out if you’re a fan of pork ribs. It could maybe be slightly saltier, but I’m just nitpicking.
Other than the three dishes, we also sampled one of their beer food – jalapeno poppers. This turned out to be pretty hot, and perhaps slightly too hot even for me but I imagine it’d be pretty awesome with some ice cold beer. Jalapeno is like any peppers, the level of spiciness is not constant, sometimes you get it hot, and sometimes they are mild.
Haze & KY, Reiko & friend at work
If you’re close to the vicinity of Scott Garden, AfterWerk is definitely a decent place to check out if you’re up for a beer of three, but I would also consider it a good option for some late dinner as well.
Address:
Afterwerk
Scott Garden
Jalan Klang Lama,
58100 Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.094886, 101.674963
Tel: 03-7982 0700
Hours: 4pm to 2am
I first got to know about red wine mee suah from having a bowl at Suan’s sister’s place, with her mom being the cook. I was intrigued by this simple yet unique dish. From then on, I was hooked… and didn’t know where I could find them outside of Foochow strongholds like Sibu & Sitiawan.
Chin Heng Restaurant, Off Jalan Ipoh
Then one day after one of my dental visit for invisalign check up at Mydentist.my at Jalan Ipoh, I somehow ended up at Chin Heng kopitiam while looking for a quick lunch.
Looking at the big menu plastered on the wall, I found it! Red wine mee suah! I gotta have it, so I did.
Foo Chow style red wine mee suah
The red wine mee suah (RM 9) here comes with plenty of ginger with stripes of mushroom and chunks of chicken. The soup isn’t as thick as I wanted, but according to the operator (2nd generation foochow from China) you can always ask to have less soup and they’ll prepare it to be thicker. It is a pretty good version nonetheless.
Restaurant Chin Heng also serves lamb chop, chicken chop, pork chop, and quite a variety of noodle/kuih teow. It is pretty popular with the office crowd nearby, but I think it is a place to check out even if you don’t work nearby.
Address:
Chin Heng kopitiam
Jalan Selvadurai, Sentul,
51200 Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.177289, 101.682162
Hours: Mon-Sat 7 am to 4 pm
Many moons ago I wrote an entry about 4 different Klang eats that aren’t bak kut teh, and one of the dishes listed was pohpiah at Eng An. However, at the time, we went to Eng An pohpiah instead of the more famous Tan Kee Poh Piah stall as it was closed, so I had to get back there again to find out what the fuss is all about.
Tan Kee Poh Piah at Eng Ann, Klang
Tan Kee Poh Piah is situated at the right side of the roadside hawker area at Eng An, just a few minutes’ drive from the Batu Tiga Toll on Federal Highway. Parking by the roadside is a bit of a haphazard event, but that’s more of a norm in this part of Klang Valley.
The hawker area doesn’t have a lot of luxuries, but there’s ample plastic tables and chairs with a few fans to ensure moderate comfort level.
that glorious pohpiah, laden with sengkuang, lard, and chinese sausage
Tan Kee Poh Piah is very popular, expect a bit of wait time when you order your pohpiah. The owner/operator usually prepares about 18 pohpiah at one go, which takes maybe 5 minutes or so, but even then you may need to wait for sometimes up to half a dozen batches before your turn.
The pohpiah is laden with plenty of sengkuang, tofu, bean sprouts, slices of Chinese sausage, and even some lard. It was savory and makes for very satisfying snack, I could use a bit more chili paste though (you can ask for level of spiciness).
they serve leng chee kang (sweet dessert soup) as well
The leng chee kang here is pretty decent as well, and usually a very welcoming sidekick for pohpiah especially when it’s hot out.
This version of popiah is just a notch below Melacca’s version, but I’m nitpicking.
I don’t go to a lot of invited dinners, usually preferring local fair and hawker delights over dine-in restaurants, but when the invitation from Svago via MyCloudTable promising a 5-course all-truffle arrived, I just couldn’t say no.
‘Diamond of the Kitchen” Fine Dining Event at Svago, KLCC
Svago is located at KLCC, around the fountain and closest to Mandarin Oriental Hotel. A pretty classy set up overlooking the greenery that is the KLCC garden.
Our dinner was called “Diamond of the Kitchen”, which denotes to black truffles, one of the most prized ingredients in European cuisines. Svago’s Chef de Cuisine, Miguel Huelamo Estrada, was the man behind this creation of 5 course dinner. We also had 4 exquisite wines to be paired with for the evening’s dinner.
Fantastic, isn’t it?
Butternut Squash Crème with White Truffle Yogurt
To start with, we have Butternut Squash Crème with White Truffle Yogurt, with the pairing of Craggy Range Te Muna Road Riesling, New Zealand.
The creme did have a pretty strong white truffle aroma and the butternut squash was smooth and creamy, but the sourness of yogurt was perhaps a little too strong for me. The riesling though, was fantastic, with intense aromatics of orange blossom, lime peel, and jasmine (of course this is from the tasting note, but I really liked the reisling)
Tuna Tartar w Shaved Truffle, Avocado,
Pickled Red Radish, Corn and Alfalfa Sprouts
The second dish of the night was Tuna Tartar w Shaved Truffle, Avocado, Pickled Red Radish, Corn and Alfalfa Sprouts to paired with Klein Constantia KC Rose, South Africa.
The tuna tartar was one of my favorite dishes of the night, and thankfully the portion was pretty big as well. Those shaved truffles gave the tuna an extra dimension that really complements each other well. Avocado, pickled red radish and alfafa sprouts adds to the complexity and gave it texture. Excellent dish.
The Rose had a hint of citrus and orange blossom aroma while being crisp and displaying balanced acidity, a wine that’s very easy to drink and I suspect would go well with any sort of dessert.
Shrimp, Chicken and Sherry Wine preserved Truffle Empanada
(European baked dumpling)
We continued the night with Shrimp, Chicken and Sherry Wine preserved Truffle Empanada (or European baked dumpling). An interesting dish that was a little crispy and really not too different from your regular Chinese style fried dumpling, though the presence of truffle did add to the flavor just a little bit. I wasn’t particularly impressed with this version to be honest.
We had Val de Sil Godello D.O Valdeorras from Spain to go with this dish. With the aroma of white flower and ripe pear and almonds with lemonpeel palate, the white wine did not disappoint.
Black Angus Prime Roast Beef with Truffle Buttered Potato Mash
Main dish came in the form of Black Angus Prime Roast Beef with Truffle Buttered Potato Mash. As far as roast beef goes, you can’t really get much better than this, it’s soft, tender, and succulent. Though I would prefer a thick steak any day, you still can’t fault this dish. The truffle buttered infused mash too is something no mash potato fan can shy away.
The red wine that was chosen to be paired with the red meat was Bodegas Sottano Reserva de Familia Malbec, Argentina. The red was balanced yet complex while carrying the aroma of cherry and blackberry. I like its fruitiness.
White Chocolate Mousse Apricot Truffle and Shortbread, KY & Joyee
We ended the night with White Chocolate Mousse Apricot Truffle and Shortbread, a dessert that is pretty ordinary except for the apricot truffle. Those bits of apricot had a taste that is very unique, I’ve had truffle with meat, butter, and even bread, but never with fruit, and I could only describe it as excellent!
Overall it was a more than decent meal with certainly more hits than misses. We love the atmosphere and certainly welcomed the explanation of the wines by the Sommelier.
I also want to thank mycloudtable.com for organizing this session.
Address:
Svago Cucina e Musica
Kuala Lumpur City Center
Lot G45B-136,
Suria KLCC, Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.158126, 101.711833
Tel: 03-2163 0188
One of my favorite animal parts to consume is beef tendon. I always remember the first time I had it, it was at some obscure beef noodle stall back in Penang with my late dad. I was hooked with the soft texture and the subtle taste from the first bite.
From then on, I always try to order extra beef tendon whenever I had Vietnamese pho or beef noodle, but it didn’t occur to me that there are actually Malay dishes that also serves up this most awesome delicacy. Enter Masakan Padang Asli at Kampung Baru.
Kampung Baru Masakan Padang Asli
Masakan Padang Asli (as stated on the banner, probably not actual name) is one of those old school traditional house-converted-to-restaurant establishment in Kampung Baru that has existed from eons. It is located at the intersection between Jalan Raja Muda Musa & Lorong Raja Muda Musa 6. Parking isn’t the easiest to find, but it’s well worth the trouble for what this place has to offer.
good variety of dishes to choose from
The variety of dishes here is pretty big, and since it is Padang, or Minangkabau cuisine, the choices is a little bit different from the usual Malay stalls or mamak nasi kandar places. You’ll also notice that a heavier dosage of kunyit is used in many dishes (aka Negeri Sembilan cuisine.)
these were what we ordered, everyone had tunjang (beef tendon)
The must order here is tunjang (beef tendon) and the paru (beef lung). The tendon is super soft and melt in your mouth, while the lung crispy and fluffy without being tough.
Other dishes like the expertly prepped fried fish, curry chicken, and bergedil are worth checking out as well. Prices can come to around RM 10ish per person, but do check it out if you love Padang food. It’s pretty awesome.
Address:
Masakan Padang Asli
Jalan Raja Muda Musa & Lorong Raja Muda Musa 6
Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.164654, 101.708920
