For those who’re into Ipoh food, Nam Heong is surely a name that’s familiar.
Over the years, they’ve been expanding and bringing some of the most popular dishes from the city of Ipoh and spread it all around Klang Valley and more, good for us who loves a good meal of authentic dish from the area while enjoying the comfort of air conditioned dining area and all that convenience that comes with it.
challenge yourself to these games at Nam Heong Roadshow
A couple weeks ago, along with others, I was invited to their roadshow at IOI City Mall to check out what it is all about. They’re running the road show across different outlets happening now until mid November, 2019. Check graphic below for dates.
But first, during this period, do use MLINGKY discount code to get 10% off when you dine in during roadshow dates.
I was pretty good at the shooting game
So, what about the roadshow and what do you do there?
Well, for one, you get to meet the mascot – Madam Ling 玲姐. You’re right, I did not know they had a mascot before meeting her, but Madam Ling is pretty cute. 😀
More importantly, you get to win prizes after you’ve enjoy your good old fashion Ipoh dishes at Nam Heong by playing the different games they have:
Clawing machine 1- eligible for Grand Prizes
Clawing machine 2- eligible for Nam Heong merchandises
Throw the ball into cup – Nam Heong Signature Menu and Retail Items
Shoot the gun – Nam Heong Signature Menu and Retail Items
Some of the dishes we sampled at Nam Heong
The prizes are super attractive too:
ITEM
DETAILS
Beats
Beats Studio3 Wireless Headphones – The Beats Skyline Collection – Midnight Black
XiaoMI
Xiaomi Folding Electric Bicycle
Macwheel
Macwheel 36V 10.4AH Electric Foldable Bicycle Bike
Samsung Galaxy Watch (46mm) Bluetooth
SM-R800NZSAXME
G-Shock
Casio G-Shock 35th Anniversary BIG BANG BLACK GA-735A-1AJR Limited Edition (JAPAN SET)
So if you haven’t try Nam Heong yet, it’ll be a good opportunity to do so during one of their roadshow dates and win yourself some merchandise, or who knows, you may walk away with one of those big prizes!
Madam Ling Roadshow dates across all locations
When you do so, don’t forget to use the MLINGKY discount code for 10% off!
KL has seen a bit of a boom in premium Omakase style Japanese restaurants of late, I’m no historian, but it probably started out with Kame Sushi at Hartamas, then came Oribe at KL, Sou at Mid Valley, Sushi Azabu, and more.
Sushi Ryu, Platinum Park KLCC
With the increase in popularity of these restaurants, and perhaps a bit of a dip in our currency, prices for a meal of omakase course has been increasing as well. I remember paying RM 88++ for an unforgettable lunch at Oribe when they first opened, but now you’ll be hard pressed to find anything below RM 200 per pax for such treatment. Which begs the question, is it worth it to spend RM 500 or more for a dinner for two? And will these restaurant sustain?
Anyway, the topic in this article is my experience at Sushi Ryu with their omakase course priced at RM 279++ per person, their other option on the menu is priced at RM 579++ per person, additionally, there’s a limited time menu with Michelin star teppanyaki from Tokyo at RM 1588++ per person.
In my experience, the cheapest option usually gets you the best value per dollar spent. I enjoyed myself almost as much when I spent 88++ at Oribe compared to RM 230++ course at the same place at a different time.
seabream sashimi with ebiko and truffle oil as starter
Our dinner started out fantastically.
Tai sashimi with copious amount of ebiko and truffle oil. It was fresh, delicious, and really opened up my appetite for more, I really enjoyed it.
otoro sushi
Next was otoro as their seasonal sashimi dish. It was two slices of tuna belly served on a piece of rock with grated wasabi. The accompanying shoyu tasted pretty premium, but I thought the sashimi was average for this cut. It wasn’t better than the ones we had at J’s Gate opening event…
chawanmushi as our hot dish
Seasonal hot dish came in the form of chawanmushi. It was quite a busy dish, with more ebiko and crab meat. Execution was really good and this was my second favorite dish after the appetizer.
seven pieces of nigri sushi
Seven pieces of nigri sushi made up of our main and served in three separate dishes. The server did describe to us what they were but I can’t really remember their names.
They were also supposed to have already been properly “seasoned” with the right amount of soya sauce and wasabi. To be honest, I found these sushi to be average-to-good, but did not have the wow factor I expect for something at this price point. More than once I was hoping for soya sauce and wasabi, and the squid was actually too chewy.
miso soup, dessert
Soup in the menu was miso soup, it was an average bowl of miso soup.
Most disappointing for me though, was perhaps the dessert. It was the Japanese version of ice cream sandwich topped with chocolate. Yes the chocolate was fine, but the ice cream could probably be had from Family Mart.
Many of you may be familiar with my affinity with fish noodle. Fresh seafood in an easy to consume, single serving format that fills the stomach with healthy ingredients in a tasty way, what more can we ask for?
Well, a few of you have suggested that I should check out Little Eat Stall and what they have to offer in this space, so I did.
Little Eat Stall, Pudu
Little Eat Stall is located at Jalan Beruang in Pudu. It is technically a road side stall under zinc roof, but seating area is rather hygienic and somewhat comfortable if not a little too warm under our weather.
The stall serves a variety of different dishes on different days. And since I’ve only had their fish noodle, this is what I’ll concentrate on. The fish noodle is available on Friday and weekends.
garupa fish meat noodle soup
Unlike the huge variety of fish and other seafood available at B & Best, my favorite fish noodle place in PJ, Little Eat Stall offers usually just garupa or tiger garupa in either fillet or fish head format, with single type of clear soup. And these come with mihun, no yellow noodle or kuih teow or anything like that.
What they lack in option was more than made up in quality. I thought the fish was super fresh, and the soup base with that dash of rice wine was so good I left an empty bowl by the end of the meal. The choice of vege they include in the dish was definitely a plus as well.
makes for great comfort food
Simply put, this is now my favorite fish noodle, or rather fish mihun place in the city. Do give it a try if you’re a fan of this dish, but one thing you’ll need to be at least mentally prepare for is the wait time.. The place is called 等记 in Mandarin. I’ll leave it to you to find out what that means, literally.
Some of you may know that I’m quite a fan when it comes to bak kut teh, with some 60 different places offering this uniquely Malaysian porky dish documented on this blog to date. So when I was invited to sample the bak kut teh xiao long bao at the new Paradise Dynasty outlet located at 163 Retail Park, Mont Kiara, I knew I just had to try it.
Paradise Dynasty at 163 Retail Park, Mont Kiara
Well, is this bak kut teh xiao long bao legit?
The short answer is, yes. In fact, the BKT XLB is created from the collaboration with Samy & Min Bak Kut Teh from Klang, the same family that runs Ah Her, Samy & Tien, Samy & Ah Her and so forth, I’ve always been a fan of their BKT with its concentrated herbal soup that carries a hint of peppery taste.
Yeap, the BKT XLB definitely has that characteristic carried over, though perhaps in a slightly milder form. Quite interesting and definitely a welcoming new taste in the world of XLB.
Dynasty 8-Flavours Xiao Long Bao, Bak Kut Teh Xiao Long Bao
The BKT XLB is currently only available at the 163 Retail Park Paradise Dynasty, and you can’t actually buy it with money – instead, it is free of charge for you by doing the following three things:
Share a photo of the at Paradise Dynasty 163 Retail Park or the BKT XLB
Tag at least two friends
do these and you’ll get the BKT XLB for free!
Drunken Chicken, Scrambled Egg White with Fish & Dried Scallop
Well, apart from the BKT XLB, we also sampled the famous Dynasty 8-Flavours Xiao Long Bao that comes with multiple flavors with the instruction to eat in the following order – Original (white), Ginseng (green), Garlic (grey), Black Truffle (black), Cheese (yellow), Crab Roe (Orange), Foie Gras (brown), and Szechuan (red).
Quite a fancy way to consume xiao long bao, but one that is also kinda fun and interesting especially for someone who’s never experienced it. Does fill your stomach pretty good though if you have them all by yourself.
After all the XLB, we moved on to Drunken Chicken, a cold dish of steamed chicken prepared with shaoxing wine that carries a hint of herbal taste from goji berry, I loved it.
The Scrambled Egg White with Fish & Dried Scallop turned out to be a dish with a bit of a history – apparently it was created by a chef to cater to the empress’ request to have a crab dish during “off season”, so the chef used egg as the main ingredient to somehow mimic the taste of crab. I guess you gotta give it to the ancient Chinese palace kitchen when it comes to food creativity.
Prawn & Pork Dumpling with Hot Chilli Vinaigrette, Stir-fried Shredded Pork in Black Bean Sauce served with Chinese Crepes
Next up we hadPrawn & Pork Dumpling with Hot Chilli Vinaigrette, a pretty standard dumpling dish that also delivers a kick, perfect for those who likes their food spicy.
Stir-fried Shredded Pork in Black Bean Sauce served with Chinese Crepesis a dish that reminds me of peking duck with its way of eating (with Chinese crepe), but should suit those who does not like the more pungent taste of duck meat. I thought the black bean sauce gave it a rather distinctive taste profile as well.
La Mian with ‘Dan Dan’ Sauce,
Stir-fried La Mian with Shredded Pork & Black Fungus
Japanese ramen and Italian pastas are both originated from China, so if you’re someone who loves thing to be original, then perhaps proper Chinese La Mian should be something to check out.
We sampled La Mian with ‘Dan Dan’ Sauce as well as Stir-fried La Mian with Shredded Pork & Black Fungu, depending on your preference in having it soupy or fried, neither would disappoint. These dishes are quite strong tasting and full of flavor. I’ll probably recommend sharing due to the portion tho, and save some space for XLB and other dishes.
Stir-fried French Bean with Minced Pork,
Dynasty Crispy Chicken, Pan-fried Pumpkin Pastry
Dynasty Crispy Chicken is a simple, straight forward Chinese style fried chicken dish that is usually popular with kids, and if you want some greens, the Stir-fried French Bean with Minced Pork would not be a bad option, I do quite enjoy a proper vege dish that has a bit of “wok hei”.
For dessert, we sampled Pan-fried Pumpkin Pastry, which tasted a little bit like lotus paste pancake but less sweet, and perhaps a little bit healthier?
Our Spread at Paradise Dynasty, 163 Retail Park Mont Kiara
Overall it was a pretty enjoyable session, and I am happy to see the group doing well since the first time I had a food review at their then Paradise Inn outlet at Pyramid (with a different concept).
Also happy to report that these XLB were as good as when I first tasted it all the way back in in Jan 2014 as well, it does mean that they’ve kept the standard and level of service all these years, something not every restaurant group can claim.
Address: Paradise Dynasty at 163 Retail Park 1F-19 163 Retail Park, Mont Kiara, Kuala Lumpur GPS: 3.166784, 101.652151 Tel:03-6411 9811
When it comes to places to wind down and have a glass of alcoholic beverages or two, we are certainly spoiled for choices in Klang Valley. However, if you are looking for a comfortable spot with a good selection of wine and proper food, suddenly there aren’t many choices anymore. For those around Kuchai Lama area, however, there’s C Chateau Cafe and Wine Bar.
C Chateau wine bar at Kuchai Lama
C Chateau Wine Bar is situated at the row of shops facing Dynasty Garden Condominium at Kuchai Entrepreneurs Park, with usually a better parking situation compared to the rest of the commercial area.
selection of wine at C Chateau wine bar
Inside, the restaurant is tastefully decorated and carries a good selection of wine both from old and new worlds at a reasonable price point. Additionally, there is also an in-house bartender who shakes up your favorite cocktails for those who prefer your drink to be a little fancier. This is however, not a yumseng beer place.
On Saturdays, there will also be a live band singing at a small stage set up by the side of the restaurant, giving the place that extra soothing ambiance.
white, red wine, butterfly cocktail, gin & tonic
For our visit, we tried a glass of their red & white wine as well as a butterfly cocktail and a classic gin & tonic, both concocted up by the friendly bartender, a friend whom I’ve known since before the turn of the millennium via this little old computer program called IRC that some of you old farts might remember.
Interestingly though we only manage to meet up in real life earlier this year, and yes I can vouch for her cocktail making skills.
iberico short ribs, baked portobello mushroom
While drinks and mood are pretty good at C Chateau, what about food?
Well, for that they have a relatively small but sufficient menu created by a young chef who has a pretty creative touch in his dishes.
We sampled four different dishes for the two of us, starting with the Fantastic Iberian, slow Iberico short ribs with special spices rub, and burnt lime. The dish was well cooked with meat easily peeled off the bone, while just a tad salty and strongly seasoned if you eat it as it, it was perfect to go with wine for sure.
New Zealand lamb rack, Vietnamese spring roll tempura
Another meat dish we had was Rack and Ruin – or pan seared New Zealand lamb rack served with infused Chinese wine risotto. I thought the risotto was rather interesting, utilizing Chinese wine to add a different dimension to the rice that was prepared al-dente style. It was quite a unique taste that I find myself gravitates towards.
Our favorite though was the Vietnamese Spring Roll Tempura, a mix of sweet corn with spring roll ingredients and a prawn tempura wrapped in Vietnamese spring roll sheet resulted in an explosion of freshness and crunchy delight. You should absolutely try this.
wine, dinner, and dessert of homemade cheese cake
Last but not least, Bello Mello, or baked portobello with tomato salsa and pickled onion, should satisfy anyone who loves mushroom.
While they don’t exactly have a proper dessert menu, the homemade cheesecake we had at C Chateau was quite delightful.
Overall this is certainly a competent restaurant and a wine bar with pretty good ambiance worthy of checking out, especially for those who wants to have a relaxing evening enjoying some tasteful alcohol without hearing the constant “YUM SENG” from your neighboring tables.
Address: C Chateau Wine Bar
No 14, Jalan Kuchai Maju 9,
Kuchai Lama, Kuala Lumpur GPS: 3.089199, 101.686731 Tel: 012-929 0108 Hours: 11am to 2am
