After attending the Time Out Food Awards at KLPAC (a couple weeks ago), a few of us decided to have supper (or actually, dinner, since we didn’t really have a meal at the event). Boo of masak-masak suggested Sentul Ah Yap Hokkien mee, which was a great location since we were already at Sentul, and Hokkien mee for late night?
Awesome choice if you ask me, nothing beats some starch, pork, seafood, and lard near midnight.
restuarant Ah Yap Hokkien mee at Sentul, Jon & Isadora
While the premise of Sentul Ah Yap Hokkien mee is now a pretty nice corner shop lot with air conditioned as well as al fresco style dining areas, every plate of Hokkien mee is still prepared with good old charcoal fire, exactly the same as when it was just a stall in the nearby kopitiam. (there are even other branches now).
Many believes that Hokkien Mee is best fried using charcoal fire, and that there is a distinctive difference in taste when preapred with gas vs charcoal. For me though, I’m not quire sure, I like it when it tastes good, and frankly doesn’t care too much about the romantic idea of having it old school or modern. If it tastes good, it’s fine by me if it was gas, coal, charcoal, or wood fire.
the old school hokkien mee, made with charcoal fire
Our Hokkien mee (RM 12) was quite awesome, there were no surprises – big fat noodle, meehun (we asked for it), prawns, slices of fish cake, pork slices, vegetable, and of course, pork lard.
It really did taste as good as it looks, and made better when Isadora asked for extra lard for us. 
butter chicken, marmaid pork ribs, extra pork lard, and tapioka hokkien mee
Other than the Hokkien Mee, we also ordered marmite pork ribs, butter chicken, bitter gourd with salted egg yolk, and another plate of special Hokkien mee made with tapioka noodle.
The marmite ribs (RM 23) were frankly speaking, way too skinny. It would probably be a dream come true for those who loves lean meat, but we weren’t really impressed.
Butter chicken (RM 23) was a pretty decent dish though, flavorful with pretty nice texture to go with. The bitter gourd with salted egg yolk (RM 20) though, was my favorite for the night. The combination of the bitterness and the richness of salted egg yolk, in a weird sort of cosmic logic, worked well for our palates. This is a dish that needs to be tasted to be impressed.
As for the tapioka noodle Hokkien Mee (RM 16), well, imagine the texture of bubble tea pearls, except flattened and served in a plate of Hokkien mee ingredients. I wouldn’t say it was bad, bit it was a bit too chewy for my liking. A novelty perhaps, but not something I would order again.
The Hokkien mee at Ah Yap is certainly worth eating, the other dishes however, was a bit of a hit and miss, and does not really offer very good value for money either. I’d stick with having the original Hokkien mee and that sinful bitter gourd with salted egg yolk here.
Address:
Sentul Ah Yap Hokkien Mee
744, Jalan Sentul,
51000 Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.178117, 101.692436
Tel : 012-3036800, 012-2816862
opening hours are from 5 p.m – 1 a.m
First, a little snippet from wiki about Napa Valley:
In 1965, Napa Valley icon Robert Mondavi broke away from his family’s Charles Krug estate to found his own. This was the first new large scale winery to be established in the valley since before prohibition. Following the establishment of the Mondavi estate, the number of wineries in the valley continued to grow, as did the region’s reputation.
Travis Brown, Regional Director for Asia for Robert Mondavi wines
In addition, Robert Mondavi Winery also perfected the dry oak-aged Sauvignon Blanc and labeled it as ”Fumé Blanc” in 1966. This was an unpopular variety in California at the time, but the wine proved to be a success.
In time, Robert Mondavi successfully developed a number of premium wines that earned the respect of connoisseurs and vintners alike.
tomato, cheese, bread, calamari, simple yet utterly delicious
A few weeks ago, we were invited to the winemaker’s dinner at Favola, Le Meridien KL.
Classy Italian food prepared by one of my favorite chefs – Chef Antoine, and pairing them with some fine wines from Robert Mondavi, what is there not to like?
Fumé Blanc, Robert Mondavi’s version of Sauvignon Blanc
We sampled Chardonnay sourced from the cool growing regions of the southern Napa Valley with its rich and complex taste; Pinot Noir, a bright and vivacious wine; the full body Merlot; the soft and silky Cabernet Sauvignon; and of course, the Fumé Blanc.
David Stephen and the good chefs at Le Meridien KL
As for food, there were the usual arrays of excellent pasta, tomato, cheese, pizza, bread, risotto, and of course, the best freshly made Belgium waffle ever.
Though my knowledge in wine is still amateur at best, I did learn a few things after this event, and would at least know which wine to choose from without being disappointed.
Address:
Favola
2 Jalan Stesen Sentral,
Kuala Lumpur 50470
GPS: 3.135631,101.686476
Tel: 03-2263 7888
From time to time, I like to go into a restaurant totally devoid of any idea what is being served there. Last weekend was one such occasion. Haze and I were near Leisure Mall and hungry, we drove around a bit, parked the car, and decided to head into Restaurant K.T.L – which stands for Kwong Tau Lou (光头佬, bald guy)
steamed tilapia and steamed egg are the must order items
The reason we chose this particular restaurant was that it looked cheap, almost unfurnished, and yet filled with mostly older diners & families. To me, these are a sure sign that good food is available, and it won’t break your wallet.
After seated, we asked for recommendations from the wait staff and ordered a steamed tilapia with tao chio (beans), steamed egg, and a plate of vegetable. Total dishes to choose from was very limited, there’s 2 types of fish (other being haruan), always steamed but with a few different variations, eggs, steamed ribs, and a few types of vegetables. Just as well, makes ordering quite a lot easier.
check out how smooth is the steamed egg, slurps!
Dishes didn’t come quick, and you have the pleasure of seeing them catch the tilapia that’ll end up on your table.
But when it does, boy, the fish was great! The tao chio sauce was very flavorful and quite a bit spicy too, they even stuffed it full in the fish’s cavity too, a nice touch for sure.
The steamed egg was on a big plate but very thin, and very very soft. Imagine the softest chawanmushi, and this was 3 times softer. It tasted very simple yet awesome, with soya sauce and a hint of sesame oil on it. (I tried to replicate the steamed egg at home the other day and failed miserably)
The only let down at the place was the vegetable. Well, it wasn’t bad, it was average, but after the fish and egg, this was slightly disappointing.
The dinner came to be slightly less than RM 20 per person including two Chinese tea. For fresh fish and excellent dishes, it was a steal. Definitely will go there again.
Address:
Restaurant K.T.L.
Gerai No.3A, Jalan Manis
Taman Segar
56100 Cheras, Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.088250, 101.743231
Tel: 017-872 7567, 012-308 7311, 014-322 3613
A couple Fridays ago my colleague Angel called me up and asked if I wanted to join them for curry fish head. Now for those who aren’t familiar with Malaysian culture, here are a couple of tips:
Peter Curry Fish Head at Setapak
Angel is a Sarawakian and a true blue Malaysian who knows her way around good foods, so when she ajak, I never say no. Plus, on that day I get to act like a pimp and dine with 5 ladies as a bonus. heehee
Anyway, our destination of the day was Peter Curry Fish Head, a smallish restaurant/kopitiam/taichau place that has a pretty limited menu and plenty of customers. But luckily, Angel already called and made a reservation for us.
curry fish head with everything, namyu chicken wings
The curry fish head comes in various sizes and additions, they are:
For the six of us, we ordered a large portion of curry fish head +prawns + squid (RM 54), namyu chicken wings, vegetable, and seafood tofu. We had rice to go with them, of course.
vegetable and seafood tofu
There isn’t actually many other dishes to order even if you wanted, but they are good and they do have all the bases covered.
The fish head was awesome! It was huge and stuffed with plenty of fish head (red snapper I think), squid and prawns. There are also tofu pok, mints, eggplant, long beans, and okra too. It is pretty much a complete meal by itself with a very tasty curry base that actually wasn’t even really that spicy, tho I am sure you can ask for more kick if that’s what you want.
KY, Angel, Debren, Yin Foong, Sarah, Michelle
The other dishes were pretty good too. The namyu chicken wings were delicious (I made the same thing before, recipe here), and the very plain looking seafood tofu was superb too.
Then there’s the vegetable, which tasted like vegetable (vitamin C quota.. ).
Overall it was a very good meal that might be a little too much for normal days, but for a Friday, bring it on! For the 6 of us, if I remember correctly, the bill came to be around RM 17 or so per person. Not very cheap, but it was a lot of seafood and a good portion of meat. I will be heading there again for sure.
Address:
Peter Curry Fish Head
12 Jalan Angsana
Taman P Ramlee,
Setapak 53000 Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.19243, 101.70823
Tel: 03-4021 5809
In another news, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 (my hands on review video) is launching to public this Saturday (20th August, 2011 from 10am), and check out these fine deals for early birds:
At Piazza, e@curve, Mutiara Damansara KL:
At Queensbay Mall, Penang:
At Celcom Branch, Jalan Kempas, JB:
*Subject to 24-months contract on Celcom Broadband Basic or Advance. Terms and conditions.
For more information, check out www.celcom.com.my/smartphones
I’m a big fan of curry mee, the good old Penang curry mee. The type that comes in santan based soup with fragrant chili paste and typically ensures a few smooth trips to the loo if you have it say.. three day in a row.
In Klang Valley, you usually call it curry laksa.
Penang style curry mee at Hoi Kee kopitiam
This particular stall of curry mee was discovered accidentally when we went Hoi Kee kopitiam at Segambut for nasi lemak with pork. It was already finished for that day, I chose to try the curry mee as a substitute, and it turned out to be a brilliant accident instead.
nothing beats that fragrant sambal and raw cockles
While this version at Segambut does not come with pork’s blood (otherwise it’d be totally perfect), the chili, soup, and other ingredients did come together harmoniously to make a great bowl of curry mee. I also especially love those big juicy RAW cockles. Something that I believe people like Kim would love to have her hands on.
KY and Haze, with cendawan joining us too
So if you are a curry mee lover like me, this is definitely a place to check out. For those staying at PJ, go to Restaurant Okay, but be there before 9 a.m. But for everyone else (especially those who isn’t so keen on coagulated blood anyway, or can’t wake up before 9), this is the best place to go!
Oh, they are pet friendly too.
Address:
Kedai Kopi & Makanan Hoi Kee
No. 2, Jalan Segambut Tengah,
Segambut, 51200 Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.18564, 101.67633
