Tag / ahfa
Shin Kee beef noodle at Pudu is one of those stalls that has been around for a long time that I’m pretty sure the surrounding area has seen more changes than inside the small restaurant itself over the years.
Shin Kee beef noodle near Petaling Street
After all, the only significant difference Shin Kee is now compared to years ago is the addition of air conditioning & a slight extension to seating areas, which is welcomed by customers for sure.
The selection here is quite simple – dry/wet with several types of noodle to choose from, including yellow noodle, mihun, kuih teow, and the all important “lou she fun”.
minced meat, tripe, beef balls, simple affair really
For lunch, I picked the dry version of lou she fun which comes with a side of beef balls, tripe, and some sliced beef. The clear soup is surprisingly flavorful despite its look, and the beef ball springy and rather tasty. Blending the minced meat to the noodle gives it a more complex and character which I really enjoyed as well. The only thing missing here is the availability of extra beef tendon, really.
Ahfa having that “give me my food now” moment
In addition to the “mixed” beef noodle that we had, you can also opt for only beef balls or beef slices as well. A normal portion goes for RM 7, while “extra” goes for RM 9. I recommend spending those extra RM 2 everytime.
Address:
Shin Kee beef noodles
7A, Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock,
City Centre, 50000 Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.145037, 101.696815
Tel: 012-673 7318
When it comes to Japanese restaurants, KL is spoiled for choices. Probably 80% of the hotels has an in house Japanese restaurant, there bound to be a place serving sushi at every shopping complex, and they are also represented in most newer commercial centers.
It is then very easy to get lost in the conversation, and higher end Japanese restaurants often have to offer something unique to set themselves apart. Be it ambiance, ingredients, or experience.
Zipangu at Shangri-La Hotel, KL
Personally, Zipangu at Shangri-La KL always have a special place in my heart as it was the restaurant where I first experienced foie gras back in 2007, as you would remember the first Kobe beef (at Elegantology), or the first ebiko (at Jusco Pyramid), first tempoyak (at Tenggol Island), etc.
So when I had the opportunity to be sample the Early Spring Lobster Kaiseki at Zipangu, I agreed to it immediately.
The six course menu is available from 15 to 31st March 2015, and priced at RM 280++ per person.
soy milk tofu with lobster & sweet sticky soya sauce
We started out with a dish that is visually very similar to chawanmushi, but what is usually made of steamed egg is instead chilled home-made soy milk tofu, with the topping of wasabi, sweet sticky sauce, and of course, lobster. The visual-almost-misrepresentation did not take away from the brilliance of the appetizer, it was simple yet elegant.
octopus with field mustard and soba noodle
The second course was octopus with field mustard and soba noodle. Another light dish showcasing not only seafood, but also the vegetables of the season in Japan. I particularly like the addition of bamboo shoots.
sashimi with salmon, lobster, and seabream
No Kaiseki is complete without some raw ingredients. For this we have sashimi with salmon, lobster, and seabream. If you haven’t had lobster sashimi before, I urge you to give it a try, it is one of my favorite raw seafood ever, in fact, I think it is the best way to enjoy lobster.
The soya sauce is mixed with lemon in this instance to give it an even fresher feel. I really enjoyed this.
hot dish – lobster and seasonal vegetables with Bonito fish gut sauce
The meal then turn up the heat just a bit with the next serving being a hot dish of lobster and seasonal vegetable with salted fish cream sauce. The star of this dish is the cream sauce, as explained by our server, it is actually made from Bonito fish gut.
It was subtle yet you can definitely feel its presence, sort of like how having Natalie Portman sitting at a quiet corner would make an impact to a room.
grilled Wagyu sukiyaki roll
The next dish took a departure from seafood to honor another Japan’s famous ingredient – Wagyu beef. The good chefs at Zipangu simply called this Sliced Wagyu Beef Sukiyaki Roll.
It was stuffed with mushroom and other seasonal vegetables grilled with perfection. Dip the roll in raw egg infused sukiyaki inspired sauce, and you have an implosion of richness with savory overdose. It was really satisfying.
lobster fried rice with pickles
Like most course meals, the penultimate dish is usually something you can fill your stomach with, and for this we had lobster fried rice (you can also choose from garlic fried rice, seafood fried rice, claypot cooked rice or steamed rice.)
The fried rice tasted rather muted at first, but with the accompanying pickles, it suddenly became balanced and, well, good! The lack of salt/soya sauce in the rice was to make way for the pickles, this was the first time I had fried rice this way, though the concept isn’t totally unfamiliar to me since you have onigiri served in similar fashion as well.
KY & ahfa at Shangri-La KL, with our professional Japanese server
(actually the Guest Service Manager – Yoshihiro Hattori)
Panna Cotta with Cherry Blossom Flavour ends the Early Spring Lobster Kaiseki dinner, an experience that is truly Japanese and executed perfectly at Zipangu. I really enjoyed this review and the walk from KLCC under hot sun to Shangri-La was definitely worth it.
The menu only lasts till end of this month, so if you’re a lobster lover, don’t miss out.
Address:
Zipangu
Shangri-la Hotel
Jalan Sultan Ismail
Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.152139, 101.709419
Tel: 03-2032 2388
I picked up mountain biking lately, which turned into a wonderful hobby that involves a lot of calorie burning that enables even more calorie intake right after every weekend session in the trails, and it was one of these sessions that brought us to this relatively new restaurant at Aman Suria area – Kah Foong Pork Shoppe
Kah Foong pork shopped at Aman Suria (Sunway Mas Commercial Centre)
To be honest, the only reason we ended up at the place was due to the fact that Famous Seremban Favorites, the restaurant that serves one of the best charsiu in town, was far too packed, and Kah Foong happened to be located just a few shops down.
The menu promises pork, so if we can’t have charsiu, why not some other type of pork, right?
As it turned out, the decision was a wise one.
slices of pork soft bone on thick mee suah, delicious
The menu at Kah Foong is pretty simple, with about half a dozen different types of noodle and rice dishes to choose from. Most of them involves either soft bone, slice squid, pork ball, minced pork, pork belly, or a combination of those ingredients.
I tried the soft bone with slice squid (RM 7) and was delighted at how awesome both the ingredients were. The pork with tendon that melts in you rmouth, and the squid slices so packed with seafood sweetness we ended up ordering a few more portions on the side. I was impartial with those thick meesuah (personal preference) but I believe thinner version is available as well.
there’s dry version too, and we loved the squid slices
Pork ball here did not disappoint either, and the friends who ordered mushroom minced pork mee (RM 7) gave the dish a favorable review as well.
Additionally, Kah Foong also sell other pork products that you can take home to your own kitchen. I have a feeling that this shop will certainly stay, the food is pretty good, the price is right, and if they can only speed up their service just a little, we’ll have a long term winner.
Address:
Kah Foong Pork Shoppe
72-1, Jalan PJU 1/3B,
Sunway Mas, Aman Suria,
47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
GPS: 3.118560, 101.599181
Tel: 016-2229 773
A couple weeks ago I was invited to yet another event hosted by Glenlivet at Truefitt & Hill, the oldest barbershop in the world. The event unveiled the Glenlivet Guardians’ Chapter, and we got ourselves a proper hair cut as well.
Truefitt and Hill at Starhill Gallery
The Glenlivet Guardians’ Chapter is a whisky voted by thousands of whisky lovers across 37 different countries from the three expressions hand picked by Master Distiller Alan Winchester. The Exotic edged out Classic and Revival to be among The Glenlivet’s limited edition single malt releases.
unveiling the Glenlivet Guardians’ Chapter in Malaysia
The whisky has an aromas rich with marmalade and fruitcake, while the palate tantalises with dark chocolate, hints of zesty orange and finishes long and slightly dry. I find it pretty easy to drink, not being overly dry or having an overly strong finish.
some tasty canapes to go with the single malt whisky
To get your hands on a bottle of the Guardians’ Chapter, you have to be either a Glenlivet Guardian, or purchase one at selected travel retails (ie: airports) at RM 398 per bottle.
We sampled the Guardians’ Chapter with some canapes while waiting for our turn for what turned out to be a pretty interesting experience – a Royal Haircut at Truefitt and Hill.
getting my Royal Haircut experience at Truefitt and Hill
Truefitt and Hill is recognised by The Guinness World Record as the oldest barber in the world with the history tracing back in fashionable Mayfair in 1805. They have four branches in Malaysia, and also perhaps the only barber chain that offer services only to men.
the boys with our new haircut
The experience was the most unique I had in a saloon/barber shop. The entire process for the Royal Haircut (RM 95) took some 30-45 minutes. Through the whole thing I never needed to get off my chair, and left with not a single strand of hair on my shirt either.
I quite like my new haircut that was styled in accordance to the occasion, what say you? 😀
While most of us love to travel to exotic places and faraway land, those are nice and dandy, but also cost a lot of time and money. But if you look a options closer to home, there are actually a lot of hidden gems all within a couple hours’ drive from Klang Vally that makes for great day trips.
A couple months ago, we went to one of such places for a bit of eco-tourism at Perting Falls (also known as Lata Hammers), near Bentong. It was organized by Suan with Yen (who took us to Chilling Fall back in 2007) as our guide.
we started our journey, walking past rubber estate
Take the Bukit Tinggi exit on Karak Highway and get on Route 68, the old road to Bentong. Follow that scenic route for about 16 km and try not to hit any of the many bicyclists typically found on this beautiful swerving road in the morning.
You will pass a hot spring right before the turning to Perting Valley training resort, take this exit and drive about 2.5-3 km inwards, or as much as your car can take. The road condition isn’t great, a 4×4 would be most awesome.
along the way we had to pass Sungai Perting Pandak
Since we drove normal sedans and did not want end up buying new wheels, we parked conservatively at about 2 km or so before the actual trek begins. The trail itself is almost 3 km, and reasonably easy to trek bar some overgrowth that might scratch your legs just a bit.
after 5km of trekking, the final steep descent to the waterfall
In total we trekked just over 5 km each way, which takes about 1.5 to 2 hours if you do it leisurely. The jungle trail itself should take only an hour if you manage to drive closer. While there are a few steeper areas, the walk isn’t a particularly challenging one, Ahfa’s retired mom had no problem keeping up, in fact, she was better than half of the youngsters. (ok maybe not youngsters anymore if you’re over 30.)
Check out the embedded endomondo trail at the bottom after the map.
Jaime had a zen moment
Perting Fall has a beautiful pond with chilling cold water. A few of us took a swim in it, it was fantastic. The closer you swim towards the waterfall, the more it pushes you back, kinda like swimming on treadmill.
Like most waterfalls, there are sometimes whirlpools which present a danger. Always exercise caution and not do anything stupid. It is also advisable to bring along a small box of first aid kit with you.
Yen had a small gas stove and made tea, we tapao some nasi lemak too
Due to the distance one has to trek, this waterfall isn’t particularly crowded. Other than our group, there were perhaps maybe around 10 other people, including a few who camped overnight.
Our well prepared guide also brought along a small gas stove and made us some 3 in 1 coffee & milo, together with some nasi lemak we packed earlier in the morning, we refueled.
We started our journey back at around 1:30 pm after spending 2-3 hours at the waterfall. Another 1 hour 40 minutes and plenty of sweat later, we got back to the parking lot and made our way back to KL, but not before having an awesome late lunch at Bukit Tinggi (it’ll be on another post).
Eco-tourism spots is aplenty in Malaysia, and something that we should treasure and enjoy. Check out waterfallsofmalaysia.com if you’re interested in trying out something like this, there are easier trails and more accessible waterfalls too.
Travelling can be cheap and fun while being healthy all at the same time!
