For those who have had the privilege of joining one of these sessions, there’s a consensus:
You haven’t had BBQ until you had BBQ Addicts!
Today, you, my dear reader, gets to drool over these wonderful grilled food that we had at Michael and Lance’s place at Genting the very last day of 2010. You’ll also fint out how to get your hands on them, read on.
pork ribs, pigs in blanket, asparagus with bacon
Firstly, lets look at the first few dishes we had: baby back ribs, marinated to perfection, grilled over charcoal fire, le yums! Asparagus wrapped with bacon, and pigs in blanket, all piping hot and awesomely delicious.
BBQ Addicts – Grill Sergeant Lance
The super happy dude in windbreaker from early 90s, that is Grill Sergeant Lance, the uno supremo of BBQ-Addicts. Don’t let the windbreaker fools you, his BBQ outfit is complete with super short running pants and old school badminton jersey from the same era.
One thing for sure though, this dude is the best in the business when it comes to BBQ.
beef burger with bacon, rolling pin
At BBQ-Addicts, don’t expect to find boring old chicken wings, fish balls, or sausages you find from supermarket. Everything is of premium quality, like the home made burger pattie, sandwiched between buns that’re also grilled, add a piece of bacon in it, and viola – you get instant carb + heart attack material, but it tastes good.
Then there’s rolling pin – marinated chicken wrapped with streaky bacon that is then grilled (well, almost everything is grilled anyway) so that the pork fat seeps into the chicken to make it that much more tender and flavorful…. ah..!
watermelon salad, fren cut lamb, clam chowder, steak
There’s more, the french cut lamb is one of my favorites, and that big piece of steak over fire till medium rare, grilled mushroom with cheese and actually we did have some marinated chicken wings too.
Other than grilled food, these guys make some pretty fine watermelon salad (you gotta try it!), and seriously “life altering” clam chowder (that appears in xmas eve at Suanie’s post).
porkgang and more at BBQ Addict’s New Year Eve party
We had an awesome time at the little party that had way too much awesome food, good drinks, and glow sticks. It was a New Year Eve with many satisfied stomaches.
frankenstine junior at new year eve party
To have your own BBQ-Addicts experience, head over to their facebook site to find out more. They can deliver the ingredients to your event or even be there to cook for you too, BBQ pit rental’s available too. If you want to have a kick ass BBQ party, you know who to contact!
Since I blogged about a cheap Western food restaurant in Kitchen Creatures on the previous post, I shall provide equal opportunity to another decent cheap eatery, this time a Japanese outfit – Restaurant Yakiniku at Pandan Indah, Cheras.
Restaurant Yakiniku 烧烤馆
To be honest, I seldom venture into Cheras for food. This has nothing to do with the food quality or prices there, but everything to do with the traffic situation in that part of KL during rush hour. An exception was made in this case because it was an invitation from Cheesie (her review here), and they serve pork.
Yakiniku is this smallish restaurant with simple wooden chairs and chimney like concoction not unlike many Korean restaurants. You get to grill your own food with charcoal in little stoves, no complicated gas or electric stoves though.
bacon, shishamo, mussels
As I mentioned earlier, this place is cheap, and by cheap I mean Cheras pricing. In fact, they haven’t increased their price in 6 years of their operation.
The plate of bacon is RM 5.90, a serving of five shishamo, err. I forgot, and the New Zealand mussels at RM 12.90 only.
enoki mushroom, shitake mushroom, tofu, cuttle fish
Cuttle fish at RM 6.90, and generally every other dishes we had were priced really cheap. I should have jotted down the menu but I guess I was too busy eating.
We basically put everything on the grill, the bacon was of course the favorite, and I really liked the chicken gizzards (RM 3.90). Enoki and Shitake mushroom were great with some butter and grilled over the tin foil.
chicken gizzard, grilled meat
I remember we had some beef slices too but that was only alright, and the tofu pok wasn’t exactly my favorite either. That said, the grilled food did turn out pretty good, and you seriously can’t beat the price.
chicken katsudon, kimchi fried rice
Other than yakiniku (Japanese for grilled meat), this little eatery also serves other dishes such as the chicken katsudon, kimchi soup and kimchi fried rice that we tried.
These dishes priced at below RM 10 and though I wouldn’t want to compare them to some of the more “atas” places, they are decent, and definitely provide value for money. (kimchi fried rice & miso soup at RM 7.90)
ze #porkgang, mostly 
We had a great time over the session, everyone got to eat quite a lot except for Haze who stayed the closest but managed to get the the latest. Oh, by the way Yakiniku Restaurant is dog friendly too.
Ah, before I forget, if you go there and mention kyspeaks you’ll get an additonal 10% discount on the already cheap bill. (if that doesn’t work, mention cheeserland instead cos I don’t know if the owner still remembers me. hahaha)
Happy eating!
Address:
Restaurant Yakiniku
20G, Jalan Pandan Indah 4/8,
Pandan Indah, 55100 Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.131116,101.753392
Tel: 03-4295 4833
Earlier this month I had an invitation from Hsu Jen to a beer tasting session at Craft Brews, a new pork and beer joint at Mutiara Damansara.
Due to the pesky little organization in this country that is the government, Craft Brews got their beer from Red Dot Brewhouse in Singapore instead of brewing them on location. That whole “license” thingy sure annoys quite a few people out here.
see the pipes? they are purely for decoration purposes only
Craft Brew is located just right across the North end of Tesco (the side that isn’t facing Ikea) in a building curiously named Batu Kawan tower. Parking is a relative breeze, and if you’re familiar with the area, using the Mutiara Damansara exit on LDP would save you the trouble having to navigate through the Curve/IKEA.
The restaurant has a pretty simple yet elegant set up, with plenty of seats alfresco style as well as indoor. Behind the bar counter there’s all these pipes simulating an actual microbrewery, but unfortunately, a simulation is what they are.
multicolored beer, crispy eggplant, deep fried bacon
We were served four different types of beer on the day, the rather bitter English Ale, Czech Pilsner, Weizen wheat beer, and the Monster Green Lager, which was actually .. well, green.
Being not much of a beer drinker, I am not going to pretend that I’m an expert and advice you on which one to go for. That being said, I kinda like the green lager, relatively smooth and the whole spirulina thingy is supposed to be good for your health too. Making the whole pairing of deep fried bacon and beer less guilty for the consumer.
The other two beer were quite good as well, but I must say that the English Ale isn’t really my cup of tea glass of beer. For bitter beer I love my Guinness.
the porkgang each got our own VIP card to craft brews
As for the food, well, kitchen wasn’t fully open on that night, but we were served with some pretty yummy pork dishes. The two types of ribs were both delicious and wholesome, and I particularly love the crispy egg plant too. They also served us one of the most delicious wedges I’ve had.
The best dish of the day though, had to go to the deep fried bacon. Covered with a light layer of batter, the bacon is so sinful and yummy I couldn’t have enough of it. Deep frying really does usually make a dish even better. This one went very very well with any beer.
We were also given a VIP card (valid till June 2010) worth 30% discount on all food items and happy hour all day/night long. Thank you Craft Brews!
Adress:
Craft Brews
Jalan PJU 7/2,
Mutiara Damansara,
47800 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
GPS: 3.161031, 101.613761
Tel: 03-7722 3000
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Despite staying so close to SS2 and having my dinner there at least once a week, Buonasera Italian Restuarant somehow escaped my radar for the past year or so that they have been in operation. But as luck was on my side, a couple of weeks ago I went there on a food review session thanks to the invitation from the friendly owner Ms Zee Cheng.
Prociutto Melon, yum yum
The restaurant is located along a the row of shops at SS2 that is closest to LDP, which also means that parking is slightly easier compared to other spots around the area. Though “slightly” is a very relative word.
The interior is simple and clean though decoration could be slightly better as I personally find the faux vines around the edges ceiling a rather ill adviced concept. However, overall it is still an environment that is comfortable and conducive for a lunch/dinner date that is not too flashy.
Spaghetti Seafood
Unlike most other Italian restaurants, Buonasera joins the likes of Bermuda & Onions and Bruno’s as the few that are not halal. Which means that you get real bacon, and even some pork dishes. That realisation pretty much made my day already.
I usually let the host decides the selection of dishes on invited reviews, but this time Eiling and I made a little special request and asked for at least a dish involving pork. *smirk*
The first dish that was the Prosciutto Melon (RM 28.90), Italian speciality ham that is cured and served with rock melon, not unlike my first experience of it at Bermuda & Onion. The deliciously salty ham and the sweetness of melon works well in this classic combination, though the melon used were just a tad too ripe.
Caesar Salad with bacon, Australian Chilled Angus Sirloin
Next up was the Seafood Spaghetti (RM 38.90) with quite a generous portion of very fresh prawns, mussles, and squid. While I’m normally not a big fan of cream sauce, I must say that I really enjoyed this dish. It wasn’t overly rich nor over powering. Just very sumptuous and flavorful.
The Caesar salad (RM 19.90) isn’t the typical salad for skinny girls who wants to get skinnier. The dish comes with plenty of pork bacon, cheese, hard boiled egg, crutons, and of course, fresh vegetable. On top of that, you get four slices of garlic bread too. The bacon was really yummy!
The final main dish was the Angus Sirloin (RM 49.90) that comes with a bowl of deep fried rosemary potato chunks that Eiling just can’t stop eating. I find that the steak itself was pretty commendable considering the price point.
Tiramisu, Chocolate Pot, and Enzo’s Famous Mixed Berry Zabaglione
The nicely decorated and pretty good tasting Tiramisu (RM 14.90) was supposed to be our only dessert, but due to the interesting chemistry that Chef Enzo brewed up with Eiling, we ended up with a bit more than we could handle.
The good chef, who started working in the kitchen since 16 (exactly how many years ago is a mystery), prepared another two desserts as our stomachs were already filled up to the brim. We had Enzo’s Chocolate Pot (RM 14.90), with vanilla ice cream and chocolate that isn’t too sweet; and finally his signature dessert, Mixed Berry Zabaglione (RM 16.90) which is a home made mixed berry sorbet with Italian egg custard. The sourness of the sorbet and the rich custard (egg yolk, sugar, Marsala wine) was an awesome combination, I finished it and losen my belt in the process.
Chef Enzo and I, Eiling who really likes her dessert
To be honest, I’m rather impressed by the quality and the selection of food at Buonasera, not to mention it’s midrange pricing. This would be a place I yearn to return for more.
Address:
42, Jalan SS 2/66
47300 Petaling Jaya
Selangor
GPS: 3.120033,101.620907
Tel: 03-7877 8586
The streets of Bangkok is dotted with many hawkers selling all sorts of food for those with an appetite for adventure. While noodles and rice dishes are mainly found in food courts and small restaurants, many hawkers offer bite size snacks at road side. From the more mainstream sausages to cold drinks to fried insects, you can find virtually anything.
Bacon Stick for 20 baht each
I noticed that many snacks choices consist of pork. There are pork sausage, bacon sticks, grilled fried pork, deep fried pork skin, roasted pork, ah, it was good for the pork lovers, maybe not exactly so great for health, however.
My favorite would be the bacon stick we had at the Chatuchak weekend market. For 20 baht (around RM2), you get mini sausages wrapped with bacon on a skewer. The union of sausage and bacon was a match made in heaven as the juice and slight saltiness from bacon compliments the texture and taste of the sausage oh so well. You have to try this if you manage to find the stall!
grilled pork strips on a ring
Grilled pork strips on bamboo string is a pretty common snack that can be found at many places. The meat is marinated and carries a pretty salty taste, while pretty good, eating too much of these will make you very thirsty.
deep fried pork skin
Another sinful snack would be this little bowls of deep fried pork skin that goes for 10 baht that we found at Chatuchak. These are very crispy and goes well with a little bit of Thai chili sauce. Now imagine having this with a cold beer watching your favorite football teams on a big LCD TV, with the air-cond full blast, and maybe a hot chick dancing on the side…
roasted pork (siu yok)
Roasted pork isn’t usually served on rice over here, you just have it as snacks to munch while walking around the weekend market. I guess we deserved it since we were getting enough exercise from walking under the searing hot April weather in Bangkok anyway, right?
colorful Popsicles
Then there’s the Popsicle stalls. The popsicles are actually made on location, usually with bottled fruit juice poured into a metal mold. A wooden stick is added as the handle. The mold is placed in a contraption consisting two parts, a top with little holes to hold the molds, and the bottom container filled with dried ice.
The seller often stirs the top part of the popsicle maker attempting to freeze the products faster. A stick costs something like 5 baht, and they were perfect for the weather.
fried mini banana (including the skin)
Other than the meat items, I also tried this curious little deep fried banana Terence bought. It was basically some species of mini banana sliced down in the middle, deep fried. While they look rather uninspiring, these things were actually very sweet and rather tasty. It is similar with our own “pisang goreng”, but sweeter and more concentrated.
Of course I enjoy every bit!
You can do a fair share of walking and eating in this city. Next up would be the various type of meals I had to sit down to eat. Stay tuned!
