This blog is often criticized by many of my Muslim colleagues and friends for its lack of halal/pork free food content, well, here’s an entry that will perhaps right things a little. (wait, I do have a little less than 30% of my posts in this category, oh well..)
A couple weeks ago I was invited to a classy Malay restaurant hidden in the midst of the city for a food review - Songket restaurant.
Songket restaurant at Jalan Yap Kwan Seng
Songket is actually a type of traditional Malay and Indonesian fabric that is hand woven in silk or cotton, and often with intricate gold or silver threads in them. In short, the restaurant, like the fabric, is one of class and quality.
Anyway, lets get on with the dishes!
satey & cucur udang, otak-otak, begedil
We started out with appetizers, naturally.
There were satey ayam & daging (beef and chicken satey, RM 18) that is served with peanut sauce and some raw onion, cucumber, and ketupat, just like how they’re supposed to be. The meat were marinated properly, succulent and void of impurities like hard tendon or chicken skin, tasty.
Then there’s cucur udang (prawn fritters, RM 10) in light batter and home made chili sauce with a kick. I was happy that they also serve Northern style otak-otak (steamed fish cake, RM 12) with generous amount of seafood in it.
My favorite appetizer of the night though, has gotta be the begedil (deep fried potato cutlet RM 10) – it is basically deep fried mashed up potato with chicken (or meat). A little sweet, a little savory, and positively brilliant!
kerabu mangga, ayam sambal petai, ayam lemak asam gelugur
Kerabu mangga (raw mango salad, RM 12) is another Northern dish that is very similar to those found in Thailand, certainly appetizing.
I like the way they prepare the petai by splitting them into half and taking away the centre stem for the ayam sambal petai (chicken with bitter beans, RM 28) dish. Personally though, I still think that petai goes better with seafood instead of chicken, but this dish was actually not bad.
Ayam lemak asam gelugur (chicken with tumeric, coconut milk, curry gravy, RM 23) is a light curry dish that I thought could use a little more kick, I suppose this has to do with catering tourists, you should be able to ask for hotter version if only you ask.
nasi minyak, pandan nasi lemak, nasi kerabu
We sampled 3 types of rice at Songket, the nasi minyak (oily rice, RM 6) goes well with curry dishes, pandan nasi lemak (RM 6) is aromatic with a light pandan taste, and nasi kerabu (rice with herbs and vegetables, RM 8 ) can almost be eaten just by its own. I would recommend any of these over the normal steamed rice.
ikan siakap masak manis, pucuk paku goreng, kari udang raja
Ikan siakap masak manis (sweet style barramundi, RM 60) definitely tastes like a traditional Malay dish, the fish was fresh, and tomato, chili, onion, and other ingredients complimented the seafood perfectly, I like it.
My favorite dish of the day though, has gotta be pucuk paku goreng (stir fry wild fern, RM 12), the texture of fern and its taste are something that can’t be substituted by another vegetable. Chili, garlic, shallots, and a few shrimps made up the rest of this fabulous dish. This is a must-order.
For those who wants the ultra luxurious dish, there’s the kari udang raja (king prawn in curry, RM 75). The prawns were definitely huge, and there were some eggplants to go with in the rich, thick, curry.
rusuk panggang (chargrilled marinated short ribs)
Rusuk Panggang (chargrilled marinated short ribs, RM 60) is dish not to be missed by any meat lovers. The marinate as well as the grilling were perfect. As a result, the ribs were really tender to the point where you can cut it just by using the spoon. The flavor too were absolutely marvelous. Best of all, this is served with the same begedil that I really like.
durian tiramisu, sago gula melaka, pandan pudding
Then it was time for desserts.
For the durian lovers, you must not miss the durian tiramisu (RM 15), rich, creamy, and full with that unmistakable durian aroma that will probably prevent you from taking this to your hotel room.
The sago gula melaka (RM 10) is a classic, with plenty of sago swimming in coconut milk and palm sugar beneath it, another rich dessert. Pandan pudding (RM 10) is well, a pandan infused pudding with palm sugar. After the other two desserts, this one came across without much excitement for me.
traditional dance, KY & Haze at Songket restaurant
Songket is not just about food, if you stay a little longer on Mon-Sat, by 9pm there are traditional dance performances of Chinese, Malay, Indian, and native origins. A pretty cool show especially if you happen to have foreigner friends.
The prices at Songket is definitely a little on the high side, but the food quality, ambiance, and all the extras that were thrown in definitely make this a place worthy of a visit especially if you’re looking for fine Malay cuisine.
Address:
Songket Restaurant & Bar
29 Jalan Yap Kwan Seng,
50450 Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.162557, 101.714998
Tel: 03 2161 3331
Like many rakyat of Malaysia, one of my favorite foods hail from the land of the rising sun, sushi, sashimi, udon, ramen, soba and the like. The cravings would come up from time to time, and it happened again last week, just before lunch time on a working day.
Munakata Ramen, Chirashi & Udon set
Since I work at KLCC and there isn’t any good Japanese food joints worth spending money on in Suria, I often would go to Ozeki right across the road at Menara TA. They offer good lunch sets at very reasonable prices (around RM 30+), not to mention a decent variety too.
But when I arrived outside Ozeki, I thought on this particular day I’d walk further down and see what else is around the vicinity. A few minutes later I saw a signboard displaying Munakata Ramen outside Life Centre, and I said to myself, why not?
the best Chirashi sushi I had!
The menu for lunch consists of varies ramen, udon, and the like (apparently their specialty), but I had my stomach prepared for some raw fish already, so I picked the Chirashi Sushi and Udon set.
The set was priced at RM49, that’s quite a lot to spend for a lunch set. In fact I asked the server if I could just have the chirashi sushi without the udon since I knew I wasn’t able to finish everything.
“It’d still be RM 49 anyway”, she said.
I took the deal, I was already seated in the restaurant and gotten myself comfortable anyway.
green tea, salad, and a bowl of very good udon
Salad came, it was pretty ordinary, I prefer the version served at Ozeki to be honest. Then came the udon and chirashi sushi, accompanied by a serving of chawanmushi and some fruits.
The udon was very good, texture of the noodle and the subtle taste of soup topped with some crunchy bits of tempura-ish stuff on top, one of the bests I had. The real crown jewel though, was the chirashi sushi.
Just look at the picture. Prawns, salmon, ikura, octopus, high grade tuna, unagi, tamago, sanma, and a couple other types of raw fish meticulously cut into tiny pieces served on top of sushi rice. This dish definitely had the most ingredients ever, and the combination yield the best chirashi sushi I’ve ever had. It was excellent!
Now was the set a tad too expensive?
Yes.
Was the serving size a bit too much?
True.
Choices of raw dishes in set lunch rather limited?
Absolutely
Would I have this again?
Definitely! I need to have this chirashi sushi again!
P/S: Munakata also offer ala carte buffet dinner at RM 60 or RM 70+
Address:
Life Centre 20 Jalan Sultan Ismail
50540 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
GPS: 3.15378, 101.70870
Tel: 03-2166 7441
Last Friday I was invited to a buka puasa dinner at KL Convention Centre. Interestingly, even though this is my 6th Ramadan spent working at the towers, I’ve never had a buka puasa event there.
In fact, I didn’t even know that there’s an in house caterer at KL convention centre with full kitchen staff, chefs and all that jazz. Well now I do!
so this is supposed to be an exhibition hall, now a dining area!
The buka puasa event is located at Hall 5 (think PC Fair) of the convention centre, a massive hall that was transformed into a giant restaurant with plenty of tables, 5 buffet stations, a dozen food stalls, and even plants and other decorations. It was quite impressive to say the least.
sup campur, roast lamb kuzi
The one thing I always remember about every buka puasa dinner I went to was the queue. When you have everyone expected to eat at the same time, there’s always a long queue and LRT-type traffic going on. This isn’t so at this place, since the convention hall is massive and the buffet area spared to 17 different stations, human traffic is much more manageable.
goreng gorengan, ulam, jeruk, nasi ayam, sup asam pedas and more
Since the information is available (on every table), let me list down the dishes available
soup, roast lamb, murtabak, desserts and more!
On top of these you still have 5 buffet stations serving all sorts of lauk from daging dendeng to udang goreng kunyit, ulam to bubur, ketupat, lemang, and serunding too. It is impossible to sample everything even if I go there half a dozen times.
To be honest, I didn’t really expect too much from “catered food” but this buffet spread proved me wrong. Except for the slightly lack luster lemang (I love Lemang from Kijal) and ordinary pasta, everything we’ve tasted were actually very good.
now why can’t I pose as well as Haze -__-
My favorite of the night was the lamb, that whole roast lamb was so tender I think I’ve never tasted lamb quite as good as this. It was literally a revelation. Several others on the same table went on for second serving of the same thing too. The tiny desserts we sampled were delicious too!
Buffet is priced at RM 90++ per person and runs till end of Ramadan, not a bad deal at all if you ask me.
Selamat berbuka puasa!
Address:
Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre,
Kuala Lumpur City Centre,
50088 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
GPS: 3.154443,101.712649
Tel: 03-2333-2888
A couple weeks ago @missyblurkit invited a few of us to a food review session by describing it as “lets have some Italian food” at Jalan P. Ramlee.
As it turned out, nothing could be further from her misinformation, the dinner at Trattoria Cucina Italiana turned out to be so overly plentiful and wholesome that describing it that way is akin to describing a 20 feet stretched Hummer limo as “some car”.
Trattoria Cucina Italiana
Trattoria Cucina Italiana is located on the ground floor of Rohas Perkasa, which is about a stone’s throw away from KLCC and Mandarin Oriental hotel and a pebble’s flick away from Thai club and Beach club.
The restaurant is beautifully furnished and tastefully decorated, but for some reasons beyond comprehension, it is represented by a very cheap looking “mamak style” backlit blue sign board with yellow fonts. I fully blame this banner for the invisibility of this eatery despite it’s prominent location.
By the way, there are free car park spaces right outside the restaurants for diners.
Caesar salad, caprese (buffalo mozzarella), seafood salad
We were served beer and the typical bread with olive oil and vinegar to get started, but soon enough the antipasti and salads came.
I’ve taken liberty to name the dishes in English rather than the more “authentic” name in Italian as specified on the menu. First was the Caesar salad (RM 26, or Insalata Caesare, if you woudl) and seafood salad (RM 27, Insalata tiepida di mare) that were beautifully presented and equally as delicious. I particularly love the fresh seafood and the juicy clams on the seafood salad!
The picture on the middle of the collage was Caprese (RM 33), fresh buffalo mozzarella with tomato, very interesting and should satisfy any cheese lover, though I don’t find myself fancy the whole serving of this all to myself.
mixed Italian cheese platter, tuna salad, eggplant pie
The other half of our appetizers consist of the lovely Italian cheese platter (RM 37), tuna salad (RM 26), and this interesting eggplant pie (RM 23) that was stuffed with mozzarella and tomato.
The cheese platter was served with a few tiny bottles of sweet fruit jam, I didn’t know the combination of pungent blue cheese with jam could taste so good, it was addictive! Tuna salad didn’t disappoint either, and the eggplant pie turned out to be less exciting as I’d imagined. It was not bad though.
seafood pasta, spinach pasta with mushroom sauce, ravioli with salmon sauce
It is a sin to not have pasta for any Italian food review, thus right after the antipasti and salads, we were served several signature pastas from Tattroria.
I had the chance to gorge myself more of those yummy juicy clams from the seafood pasta (RM 35, spaghetti allo scoglio), so needless to say it was another good dish.
The spinach pasta (RM 29, papperdelle verdi ai funghi) is served with mushroom sauce, and the ravioli stuffed with seafood (RM 32, raviolo nero di pesce al salmone) and swims in salmon sauce. Both of these dishes were pretty rich and creamy and should suit the taste of those who prefer their pastas served as such – rich and flavorful.
gnocchi with bolognese sauce, cappelletti pasta, mushroom risotto
With the pastas, we also had potato gnocchi with bolognese sauce (RM 34), cappelleti pasta (RM 31), and mushroom risotto (RM 38).
Gnocchi is another very rich tasting dish with strong potato and bolognese taste. Cappelleti pasta is stuffed with cheese in cream and turkey ham sauce. At this point, I was a bit overdosed with cream and rich cheese based sauce already. I’m sure they tasted much better when you don’t have so many of similar dishes at once.
The mushroom risotto provided a sense of balance and departure from the creamy pasta taste. They prepared it quite true to the origin, as in “not very well cooked”, but that’s the way them Italians like it, and I find it quite nice actually.
1kg T bone steak, sliced tenderloin, grilled lamb
I thought we were done after the 9 of us went through 12 different dishes, in fact, I was mentally prepared to see desserts coming, but what came instead was another half a dozen dishes. Only they’re even bigger this time. *pengsan*
The 1-KG T-bone steak (RM 128) was huge, and can easily feed 3 adults, or about 27 skinny models. Though it is not wagyu prime ribs at Prime, the T-bone does hold up to it’s own, pretty juicy and flavorful, if lacking the marbled fats.
The sliced sirloin (RM 59) had a smoother and softer texture that I liked, and I do feel that the aromatic herbs with rocket did add some welcoming sophistication to the meat.
Grilled marinated lamb chop (RM 71) is another dish that can feed 2 smaller eaters. I found it to be pretty average though, not something I would order myself, there a lot of better choices on the menu.
seafood grill, mixed grill, pizza
The seafood grill (RM 126, griliata mista di pesce) came with 4 huge tiger prawns, cod fish, squid, seabass, and some grilled vegetable. This is another dish to share, and it was actually really good, especially the seabass, so yummy!
Mixed grill (RM 120, griliata mista di carne) is another dish that is impossible to finish alone. There’s grilled chicken, sirloin, lamb chop, and chicken sausage. I tried some of the chicken sausage and they were surprisingly good.
I also took a small slice of the pizza carnivora (RM 68) that had tomato, mozzarella, beef salami, chicken sausage, and turkey ham. It was pretty good, but at that point I was already seriously over fed.
desserts galore – tiramisu, cake
After 18 different dishes, of course, it was dessert time. The tiramisu (RM 26), apple cake with chocolate cream and vanilla ice cream (RM 24) were rich and pretty tasty. On the other hand, the shaved iced lime with strawberry thing (not on menu) was rather refreshing and gave the palette a good wash.
ice cream with espresso, molten chocolate cake, creme brulee
There’s also the vanilla ice cream with espresso (RM 17, affogato), the classic creme brulee (RM 22), and my favorite dessert of the night – molten chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream (RM 26, fondente al cioccolato) that was so rich and flavorful we finished it in a bout 0.8 second.
The good chef also treated us a shot of chocolate liquor each. This supposed traditional breakfast drink for Italian was so rich, sweet, and concentrated I felt I was drinking some gourmet liquefied chocolate with alcohol. I liked it a lot.
ze chef, Haze, Gareth, Kim, KY, Horng
While Trattoria Cucina Italiana might not have a very welcoming sign board, do check it out if you are into authentic Italian cousin prepared by real Italians and favored by expatriates. Drinks and some desserts are priced slightly on the higher side, but overall I find that most of the main dishes and appetizers were of great value.
Give it a try, remember there’s free hassle free parking right in front of the restaurant too!
Address:
Trattoria Cucina Italiana
Wisma Rohas Perkasa
8 Jalan P. Ramlee,
50540 Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.15485, 101.708711
Tel: 03-2163 2368
Tucked at the corner on the ground floor of Wisma Central is a little hidden Japanese ramen shop that even many white colar guys around the area is oblivious to. I didn’t realize the existence of Tenka Daiichi Ramen for the first couple years I was working at KLCC myself.
Tenka Daiichi Ramen at Wisma Central, Jalan Ampang
Despite its hidden location, business seems to be pretty brisk whenever I went there. The restaurant is operated by a middle age uncle and the chef looks to be his Japanese wife. This is of course, purely my own interpretation via observation.
Lunch and dinner menu differs, with more choices over lunch and only 5 combination dishes served at night. However, there seems to be a separate menu in Japanese that might offer other choices, or that could be just a sake menu. The clientele at Tenka Daiichi Ramen for dinner consists of almost entirely Japanese expats.
Ramen with char siu
I almost never failed to order their char siu ramen whenever I’m there. A couple pieces of glistering rolled pork shoulder (not roasted like Chinese style though) swimming in the subtle but sweet tasting soup and that soft but firm noodle. You can also order them with a side of gyoza too.
Other items they serve include cold tofu, pork patty, grilled fish, and a few different types of ramen. Expect to spend around RM 10 for lunch and perhaps over RM 20 for dinner here.
Address:
Tenka Daiichi Ramen (behind 7-11)
Wisma Central, Jalan Ampang
Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.158728, 101.714473
