A few weeks ago we stopped by Ming Tien for a session of late night supper. Other than being one of the very few Chinese food oriented food courts that opens till the wee hours, Ming Tien is also among the few places that is dog friendly. It only make sense since there is a huge pet store next to the food court anyway.

Kim soothing her lips with ice

Kim, being one of the most adventurous people I know when it comes to food, decided that we should try the super spicy Taiwanese sausage. So without asking for opinion or approval, she bought 3 sticks of the most spicy sausage for herself, ST, and yours truly.

If you think chili padi is spicy, well, this sausage was possibly at least 5-10x the intensity. The level is right up there with the Habanero laced chicken wings I had at Frontera last night. It’ll make anyone sweat, I suggest ordering a big glass of soya milk to pre-empt before trying. But if you’re into the euphoric thrill of super spicy chili laced food, do try out this Taiwanese sausage.

They do offer Taiwanese sausages of other flavors, but what is the fun in that, right?

duck breast with some pork belly

The other dish that I am slowly warming up to at Ming Tien is the Soy Duck. I usually order the duck breast and a side of pork belly to go with steamed rice. The fat from pork belly does well to add to the smoothness of duck breast, yums. A quick and quite a tasty meal for less than RM 7.00. Value for money!

The same stall also serves chicken, pork belly, “pork head skin”, tofu, eggs, and more.

Ming Tien is just a short turn from LDP

Address:
Ming Tien Hawker Center
Jalan SS24/8, Taman Megah,
Petaling Jaya, Selangor
GPS: 3.114334, 101.611658

Tags:  duck,  food-court,  gareth,  hawker,  kimberly,  ming-tien,  sausauge

Posted by KY | 31 Comments »

A couple Fridays ago, Eiling invited me to Cubes Chinese Restaurant at Jaya One for a food review session.

Jaya One is slowly becoming a pretty popular watering (and dining) hole in PJ, and it is not hard to see why. There are plenty of restaurants, cafes, and pubs offering a wide variety of cuisines, and parking is relatively cheap and easy to find.

Cubes Chinese Restaurant

Yiling, Eiling’s sister, but not Ziling, (mystery of the EZY sister naming convention) and I reached the restaurant and had a good 20 minutes flipping through the menu and chatting before our Eiling finally arrived.

The interior decoration of the restaurant is modern, chic, very different from typical high end Chinese restaurants. We were greeted by the owner, Mr. Ang, who turned out to be a very friendly, funny, and fine host.

probably the best London Aromatic Duck….

So we got started with a serving of “probably the best London Aromatic Duck”. The server flossed the quarter duck confit to and we then wrapped the meat with very fine crepe, spring onion, julienned cucumber, and the special sauce. Their signature appetizer dish, and it was very yummy! Reminded me of the similar dish at Kensington, Seremban.

braised peanuts, juice, enzymes

Throughout dinner, we were served hot tea, a variety of interesting juices (vegetable juice anyone?); and since Eiling is a buddy of the restaurateur, we were also served the little shot glasses of “enzymes” which were fermented juice that tasted very close to being alcohol but not quite, it was pretty interesting. An acquired taste I must say.

double boiled soup, tofu with spinach and mushroom, tiger prawn with rice crisp

We then had the Double Boiled Scallops with Tong Sum Soup. The pork ribs, scallops, and herbs certainly works very well together to produce a very sweet and herbal tasting soup, I like it.

Tiger Prawn with Rice Crisp came next. The prawn itself was the size of my palm, deep fried in a way that still leave the meat very succulent. The pairing of rice crisp is to provide a different texture to the prawn.

Homemade Bean Curd with Spinach and Mushroom provided yet another dimension of taste that is typical of Chinese cuisine. Soft, smooth, and certainly not lacking in taste, the mushroom with it’s sauce and scallop bits certainly adds a bit of character to the otherwise plain tofu dish.

honey roasted pork ribs, stir fry lotus roots and celery, almond soup and  black sesame tong yuen

The dish that was probably most amazing in the whole dinner was the Honey Roasted Pork Ribs. I mean, just look at it, a generous piece of ribs, doesn’t look anything more like a slab of char siew (bbq pork), but when you cut into the meat, ahh. The meat immediately breaks on impact and the aroma of that perfectly roasted pork come rushing out. It was really succulent and really, really tasty. This dish should not be missed.

We finally wrapped up the main course with Stir Fry Lotus Roots and Celery, the vegetable certainly provided a fresh change of taste from the seafood and meat. The lotus roots is prepared in two ways, deep fried and by normal stir frying.  This provides a slightly different flavor, the deep fried version reminds me of deep fried bitter gourd you get in places like Kanna Curry House

Yiling, KY, and Eiling

After we were absolutely filled to the brim, Mr. Ang ordered us (and we denied at first) the Almond Soup with Black Sesame Glutinous Balls. I think the almond soup was a tad too thick and would personally prefer soya milk in this case, but the glutinous balls was very yummy. Reminded me of the version made by (well, reheated) Mellissa one particular night at Melbourne.

Overall, the dinner was only bested by the company at the table. Eiling and Yiling always made good company, and Mr. Ang, being a fantastic host, made the entire experience that much better. Price at Cubes would be slightly higher than your run-of-the-mill Chinese outlets, but the combination of food and ambiance made it all very worth it.

So if you’re looking for a finer Chinese cuisine not located in a 5-star hotel, this would be one of the very few places worth visiting.

Address:
Cubes
18-1, Block L1-1,
Palm Square Jaya One,
No. 72A, Jalan Universiti,
Petaling Jaya
GPS: 3.118298, 101.635294
Tel: 3-7958 6616

Tags:  chinese-food,  cubes,  duck,  eiling,  jaya one,  pork-ribs,  prawn,  soup,  yiling

Posted by KY | 32 Comments »

One of my all time favorite Chinese dishes is roast duck, the glistering fats and crispy skin makes for a perfect combination in texture and taste. Being someone from Penang, a place famous for it’s hawker foods and Nyona dishes, I must confess that the standard of roast meat (be it roast pork, chicken, or duck) is generally far superior in Klang Valley than my home state.

roast meat galore

One of the most famous places when it comes to roast duck (and goose) would be Soon Fatt Peking Roast Duck. A hawker stall with make shift zinc roof tucked below a big tree by the busy road that is Jalan Pasar in KL. There is no luxury of air conditioning, table cloth, or even leveled ground; but I am always prepared to sacrify a little in comfort for delicious food.

soon fatt peking duck

Our initial goal coming to this place was to try their famous roast goose (which I wrote blogged here), but as luck has it, they did not get their supply for the day and recommended that we try the sesame roast duck instead.

We took up the recommendation and went for half a duck, a portion of roast and bbq pork, and a serving of sour and spicy vegetable to go with some yau fan (oily rice) for four of us.

sesame roast duck, sour and spicy vegetable, bbq & roast pork

The sesame roast duck was one of the best dishes I’ve tasted in a while, my previous experience in this type of preparation was confined to sesame roast chicken at wedding dinners, but this duck was heaps better. The aroma of sesame fused with perfectly roasted tender duck meat and that crispy skin makes for a wonderful combination that tasted so well even sans the plum sauce.

The bbq pork (char siu) too is on par with some of the bests in town, and while the roast pork (siu yoke) wasn’t overly impressive, it still held up pretty good in the taste department. The sour and spicy vegetable (xuen lat choy) provide a departure from the greesy and meaty taste that is very welcoming.

the waiter’s probably been on this job for decades

The meal came up to around RM 50+ for four of us, it was a very fulfilling lunch despite the fact that we did not get the goose. I’m planning for the next trip where I get the roast goose and sesame duck all in one meal!

Address:
Intersection of Jalan Pasar and Jalan Yap Hin,
Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.135315, 101.716479
Tel: 012-212 9018

Note: This article also appears on Klue online as part of the Blogger Exchange program, check it out. I have more Melbourne food posts coming up soon too, watch this space.

Tags:  duck,  hawker-food,  jalan pasar,  pork

Posted by KY | 23 Comments »

I have been a fan of roasted duck for the longest time and usually get my fix at Loong Foong in Taman Paramount whenever temptations got the better of me. While roasted duck is all good, everyone has been telling me that roasted goose is a whole other level altogether when it comes to taste, people like Horng who has been to HK on numerous occasions. As you might have guessed, roasted goose is a rather common dish there.

glorious glistering roasted goose

However, some weird cosmic arrangement has resulted in the relative scarcity of this dish back in Malaysia. They are so rare that so far I am only aware that less than handful of places offer them around KL.

It wasn’t until late last year that I got myself a taste of this Chinese/HK delicacy at a food review session on Canton-i, and I can attest to the claims. Roasted goose is really quite a bit more succulent and juicy compared to duck, not to mention the relative larger portion which makes it easier to eat too.

Soon Fatt Beijing Roasted Goose is a shack by the corner of Jalan Pasar

Since that event, I had been back to Canton-i a couple times only to find out that the roasted goose is sold out every time I get there. Something had to be done, and I vaguely recalled the availability of this dish at Jalan Pasar.

A few clicks on google and a short drive later, a couple colleagues and I arrived at Soon Fatt Beijing Roasted Goose at Jalan Pasar on one fateful Friday afternoon.

For the three of us, we ordered quarter portion of roasted goose (thigh and drumstick portion), another generous portion of char siu (bbq pork) and siu yoke (roasted pork) on the side, three rice and some drinks.

The dishes came with 3 types of condiments: a plum sauce and 2 types of chili sauce. Soup is served with rice as well.

The portion of roasted goose was actually rather big even for 3 of us. The meat juicy and very scrumptious, which leaves me wondering the differences the breast portion would bring since duck breast and duck confit do carry different taste. While the siu yok wasn’t as impressive as Wong Meng Kei, they still tasted pretty good. The char siu though, was actually better than expected, on par with some of the bests in town (such as meng kee at pudu, or Aman Suria’s famous Hakka noodle char siu)

roasted goose, roasted & bbq pork, rice, soup, bliss!

It was a satisfying lunch but also one that came with a pretty steep price. The meal was some RM70 for three of us, still, RM 20+ per person isn’t too exuberant for something you don’t get very often. Now if only this place has air conditioning…

Address:
Intersection of Jalan Pasar and Jalan Yap Hin,
Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.135315, 101.716479
Tel: 012-212 9018

Tags:  bbq-pork,  char-siu,  chicken,  duck,  goose,  jalan pasar,  roasted-pork,  siu-yok

Posted by KY | 39 Comments »

Last Friday I was invited to my very first Friday Wine Lunch, a monthly event arranged by the Millennium Associates and Pernod Ricard Malaysia. The venue was Carat Club, a place at Pavilion I mistakenly thought in a bunny friendly way until very recently.

As it is a wine lunch, importance is placed not only on food and wine, but the combination as well. We were introduced to Montana, wines from vineyard in Marlborough, New Zealand, to go with some very fine foods from C. Club.

Montana Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir

The event was very classy and it was almost out of place for me, but I was seated close to the brand manager of Pernod Ricard and the chief sub-editor of a major English daily who were both very friendly people. The host Mr Lionel Lau made the event a learning experience for me with his knowledge in wine and the ways he could explain which wine goes with what type of food, and the “why”. Very interesting, and I shall learn more.

grilled tiger prawn and chilled rocket vichyssoise

The first two dishes were Chilled Rocket Vichyssoise and Grilled Tiger Prawn to go with Montana Sauvignon Blanc. The vichyssoise, a type of creamy soup with almond and diced potato; while the grilled tiger prawn came with apple and cider sauerkraut, with some lemon butter beurre blanc.

The soup was an interesting experience as it was served cold, not bad, but just different. The tiger prawn though, was fantastic with the creamy lemon butter base and mixed well with the apple cider sauerkraut. But most importantly, the white wine goes very well with the two creamier food, cutting through the texture left on your tongue.

Citrus Tea Duck Breast, Salmon Rossini, and Chocolate Fortress

There were two choices for main dish, I chose the Citrus Tea Duck Breast and bypassed the Salmon Rossini. Little did I know the salmon was actually served with foie gras, one of my favorite sin foods, but then again, the duck did not disappoint, so all was was not lost.

The Citrus Tea Duck Breast is served with carrot and celeriac braised savoy cabbage, earl grey orange glace and topped with shiso. It carried a tangy taste to the tender duck breast. Instead of white wine, we had Pinot Noir served at about 16-17 C to go with the main dish. It was a good combination with the wine being not too sweet nor too acidic, just nice to neutralize the slightly fatty food.

Friday Wine Lunch at Carat Club

Dessert was C. Club’s Chocolate Fortress, a concoction of chocolate mousse on moist chocolate cake with raspberry. I always love the contrasting taste of the rich chocolates with the sourness of raspberry, and the wine made a good compliment to the entire package too.

map to pavilion KL

The lunch package is priced at RM 95 nett with free flow wine, very good deal I think. It only happens once every month though and space are getting limited as they are getting more popular. Check with Millennium Associates for the next one if you’re interested. I hope they invite me again.

more pictures here

Address:
Carat Club
Lot 5.11 & 6.11,
Level 5 & 6, Pavilion Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.148872, 101.713368
Tel: 03-2141 5302

Tags:  duck,  event,  fine dining,  friday wine lunch,  pinot noir,  salmon,  sauvignon blanc,  wine

Posted by KY | 21 Comments »