Earlier this month I went on a bit of a food review streak. First was Iketeru at KL Hilton, then the Wine dinner at Opus Bistro, followed by Leonardo’s, and then Mandarin Grill, and I think there’s one more before the conclusion of this week.
I usually don’t go to as many review sessions, but the invitations from this month were all too tempting to refuse (though I did forgo a wine dinner in favor of futsal). Leonardo’s stand out in the list for that it is the only one that serves one of my favorite meats – pork.
Leonardo’s Dining Room, Concha Y Toro Sauvignan Blanc 2008
Tucked at a little row of shops by Jalan Bangkung at Bukit Bandaraya, Laonardo’s is run by the same people that brought you Opus, Cava, and Moxie (I haven’t been to the latter two).
While the name might have an Italian origin, the food is more fusion than anything: from pizza, pork knuckle, to bak kut teh and hokkien mee, the menu cuts across different cuisines but with a distinctly pork centric theme. A theme the invited guests in this session agreed whole heartedly.
crispy bacon lollipop, Belgian black mussels, Kentucky fried frog
We had three appetizers to start the night, crispy bacon lollipop was this cute dish with breaded pork balls on satay sticks served in a glass of salt, a mayo based sauce accompany the dish just to make it even more sinful. The balls had cheese and pork in it, I didn’t pace myself and had more than a couple.
The Belgian black mussels (RM 55) were cooked in a savory white wine and cream broth, from fresh and not frozen seafood, with of parsley and onion to add to the flavor.
My favorite appetizer out of the three must be the Kentucky fried frog, and I’m sure Kim would kill for this. Deep fried in a very light batter, the freshness of the frog legs perfectly intact. I’m amazed how well it goes with the tartar sauce (if I get it right). Perfect beer snack.
Italian Cippino, Spanish black pig shoulder loin steak, mama mia pizza
The Italian Cippino (RM 46) is, I supposed, a dish Leonardo himself would be quite familiar with. Plenty of seafood in tomato broth, served with foccacia bread. There’re fish, mussels, prawns, and squid too.
The Spanish black pig shoulder loin steak (RM 55) is served medium well with picon blue risotto mustard sauce. The meat was as tender as any top grade steak but with a hint of pork texture and taste, no wonder it is also known as the wagyu of pork world. Delicious!
The rectangular mama mia pizza (RM 35) is a thin crust pizza cut in six pieces and precariously topped with jamon serrano (similar to parma ham), rocket, and mozzarella cheese
ciki serving Leo’s pork knuckle platter, I licked the bone clean
My favorite main dish of the night has got to be their signature Leo’s pork knuckle platter (RM 75). The pork knuckle is perfect, with the meat super tender you could tear em clean from the bone (as I demonstrate) while the skin roasted till super crispy.
There were red sauerkraut & garlic herb roasted potatoes to balance the taste too, it couldn’t have been better. I absolutely love it.
pork chorizo sausage, grilled pork neck, hokkien mee with giant prawns
Pork chorizo sausage (RM 38) is served with bacon, potato, and apple rosti with chunky tomato relish. A pretty hearty meal by itself, I’d have this with some Guinness.
Another unique dish at Leonardo’s is their grilled pork neck (RM 25) with spicy mango. I like the cilantro salsa that comes with it, but to be honest I personally didn’t like the pork neck much, the texture’s a bit too soft and oily for my liking.
Edward, the part owner, insisted that we try their fried hokkien mee. Served with some seriously huge prawns, I must say that it didn’t disappoint if only it’s a tad too sweet for me. Then again, perhaps my taste bud was tainted with the previous nine dishes I tried?
banana bread n butter pudding, grilled mango w pink peppercorn & cardamom,
baked apple with fillo pastry, chocolate seduction
Then of course, the desserts have to come when I’m already absolutely full to the brim. However, I find that this is generally not a problem with girls, they seem to have a separate stomach reserved just for dessert. Call me sexist, but it is absolutely true!
The banana bread and butter pudding (RM 18) served with vanilla ice cream was my favorite among the desserts. Grilled mango with pink peppercorn and cardamom (RM 18) was a bit strange, the baked apple with fillo pastry (RM 18) sweet and savory, and the chocolate seduction (RM 22) was absolutely rich and flavorful I don’t know how anyone could actually finish it right after a big meal.
Then again, I don’t have that spare dessert stomach.
we had a whole lot of food and fun at Leonardo’s
It was a very satisfying review session. Cumi & Ciki, Fatboybakes, Eiling, A Lil Fat Monkey, Nigel & Allan from Just Heavenly, and Li Zhi were among the people that made up the great company.
Fadlin also got us some lovely wines sponsored by Magnum to go with all these food. We had Villa Girardi Soave 2007 (Italian) , Concha Y Toro Sauvignon Blanc (Chile), Robert Mondavi Pinot Noir 2006 (U.S), and James Irvine Barossa Merlot 2006 (Australia).
Address:
Leonardo’s
61-1 and 61-2, Jalan Bangkung,
Bukit Bandaraya,
59100 Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.138116, 101.669197
Tel: 03-2096 2226
Every we went out to eat with Chow Ahbeng aka Galvin, he would always say something like “next time I bring you to eat at this place, they serve the best xxx”, and one of the places he mentioned most was this “fried porridge” thing at Klang.
So after listening to him talking about it for a good part of last few years, we finally made a trip to Klang a couple weeks ago and actually tasted it for ourselves. The place is appropriately named Restoran Bubur Goreng, direct translation – Fried Porridge Restaurant, not the most imaginative name huh?
the group includes Galvin, Damien, Rachel, Kerol, Horng
The restaurant is located right across the 7-11 at Berkeley Garden in Klang. Berkeley is in turn, located on the right of Federal Highway after taking 3 o’clock at the round about not far from the Klang toll. Not exactly terribly difficult to find even for a first timer to the area.
Galvin did the honor by ordering for the nine of us. A big plate of Hokkien Mee, two bowls of their signature fried porridge, and another huge portion of crab meehun.
hokkien mee, fried porridge, huge plate of crab meehun, bottled sugar cane
The Hokkien mee here is a little wetter than usual, and the extra sauce really does help bring out the flavor, I just wish there were slightly more lard like those at restaurant Ahwa in PJ though.
Crab meehun was this giant plate of fried meehun with three or four rather good size flower crabs. I’ve always love crab meehun and this did not disappoint, having flower crab instead of the usual mud crab made it easier to eat too. This was my favorite dish from the dinner.
crab meehun, and fried porridge with extra lard!
As for the fried porridge itself, well, I find it tasting a little weird. It’s a combination of familiar tastes that never felt quite right to me. The porridge has pork, tofu, spring onion, and some ingredients I couldn’t identify/recall. Horng and Galvin seemed to like it, but the slightly burnt porridge taste was still a bit weird, probably takes a little used to.
The bill came up to less than RM14 per person with drinks included. Pretty reasonable considering a typical meal of Hokkien Mee at PJ and drinks will fetch close to RM 10 anyway, and we had plenty of crab meehun.
Address:
Restorant Bubur Goreng
(Old Berkeley Cinema)
Lot 6932, Lebuh Bangau Taman Berkeley,
41150 Klang, Selangor Darul Ehsan
GPS: 3.06005,101.464974
Tel: 016-6868 579
I’ve heard of Restaurant Ahwa and it’s famous Hokkien Mee (not prawn mee) for a long time. However, for some reasons it took me years to finally go there despite staying only some 2 kilometers away.
What followed was a second visit just days after the first, the reputation for this place is indeed well deserved.
Restaurant Ahwa, hokkien mee, wat tan hor, and more
Restaurant Ahwa is located just next to the Shell gas station on Jalan 222, just a short turning from Federal Highway Jalan 222 exit. Parking is usually not a very trying affair as there is only a single row of shops where the restaurant is located. Looking for a place to sit though, might prove to be slightly harder as the restaurant is rather busy.
wat tan hor, hokkien mee, loh bak, and lala
On the first visit, horng and I ordered hokkien mee for two and we added a plate of loh bak for good measures.
The Hokkein Mee (RM 12 for 2) was rather good. Dark, rich, and of course, with bits of fried pork lad. I would say this place is on par with the other famous Hokkien Mee stall at Chow Yang. It did not disappoint despite the fact that KL style Hokkien Mee isn’t exactly my favorite hawker foods.
The loh bak was pretty satisfactory, but we’ve had better prawn fritters though, (the one outside Pudu Plaza comes to mind).
pickled green chili and red chili paste for the taking
On my second visit with Kerol, we ordered Wat Tan Hor (RM 12 for 2, flat noodle with egg gravy) for two with a plate of lala and a couple deep fried chicken wings as appetizers.
Perhaps it’s a personal taste, but I do like their wat tan hor more than the hokkien mee this place is famous for. The gravy was thick and savory, the flat noodle flavorful.
The lala (RM 11) too were juicy and spicy, which makes it a perfect appetizer. I wish we had ordered a bigger serving though. As for the chicken wings, they were decent enough as normal deep fried belacan marinated chicken wings, but not something to shout about since I still think mom makes the best belacan chicken wings on the surface of the earth.
On both occasions though, we ended up pretty satisfied while not exactly having to scotch the wallet for a sumptuous no nonsense KL hawker food. I shall return to this kopitiam again and again.
restaurant ahwa is located next to the Shell station along Jalan 222
Address:
Restaurant Ahwa
66, Jalan 14/48,
Petaling Jaya, Selangor
GPS: 3.096657, 101.629441
Hokkien Mee (or Prawn Mee) is one of my must-eat dishes whenever I have a chance to go back to Penang. The aroma of that spicy prawn stock soup, the crunchiness of kangkung, bean sprouts and fried shallots, the spicy chili paste, the prawns, the slices of pork, and the morning commotion always bring back memories from yesteryear.
Hokkien Mee with wantan noodle
I did just that earlier this month when I was back for a friend’s wedding.
This particular stall has been in operation for seemingly forever, I remember ordering from them when I was in primary school, and that was quite a while ago (no prize for guessing it right). Today, they are located at the Mt. Eskerin morning wet market. The same market my mom works, and Horng‘s family runs a coffee stall.
Louis, Horng, and I have known each other for two dozen years =/
The stall sells both Hokkien Mee and Wantan Mee, something that is not very common in Penang as most hawkers here only specialize in one dish. To be frank, I don’t care much about most wantan mee in Penang, this one included; however, the side benefit here is that we get to order Hokkien mee with wantan noodle instead of the usual vermicelli and yellow noodle.
The combination is not just a novelty but actually tasted very nice, the smoothness and springiness of wantan noodle works well with the spiciness of the prawn stock soup, presenting a strange yet familiar taste. Kinda like meeting a half brother you never knew existed, or something like that.
At Horng’s family coffee stall (5001 kopi stall), you can order the pretty unique Haw Flakes drinks (山楂水). It is a drink I haven’t come across anywhere else, tasted just like, well, the liquid version of Haw Flakes. Very refreshing and cooling for the throat. Give it a try!
Address:
Mount Eskerin wet market
Tanjung Tokong, Penang
GPS: 5.448659,100.301571
I’ve been a fan of Penang Hokkien Mee (commonly referred to as Prawn Mee in KL) ever since I was able to get to choose my own breakfast, it also means that my affinity towards this particular dish started longer than some of you have been alive, which might not exactly be a very proud talking point, but lets not digress.
I’ve known the existence of this particular hawker stall at seapark for quite a while but somehow never gave it a try until very recently. This was partly due to the fact that a particular ex housemate said the laksa was not very good, and that I didn’t know they serve Hokkien mee too.
stall by the side of the road serving Laksa and Hokkien Mee
Actually we ended up at the stall due to the fact that Soo Kee across the road ran out of steamed chicken as we arrived too late. While settling down to our table, I over heard the owners speaking in Penang Hokkien, a definite good sign.
Rachel ordered asam laksa, while Horng and I asked for the Hokkien mee. The place was cozy despite the afternoon heat, and the whole mobile hawker set up gives it a feeling that is very close to home.
Rachel, KY, Horng, and those pretty good size prawns
Rachel’s verdict for the laksa was actually quite positive. Here’s what she said about it, and I quote:
Rachying says (11:21 AM):
erm actualy it somehow satisfy my crave for laksa back home?
just if i can have more fish
that would be awesome
cos the soup will be thicker
As for the Hokkien mee, I really liked it a lot. All the usual ingredients and the slightly larger than usual prawns in a soup base that has the right prawn taste to it. Very proper and very delicious, I love it. This would be the 3rd Hokkien mee place around the area that I approve. The other two being Yon Lee at TTDI and the stall at Kampung Chempaka.
the hokkien mee and asam laksa stall is located at SEA Park
RM 4 for a bowl of that Penang flavor right here in the heart of PJ, I’m going to be a frequent customer. This stall opens from brunch till tea time. You can also find pretty awesome teow chew porridge just right opposite the stall, and there’s this very nice nasi lemak with ayam goreng at night at the same place too.
Address:
Jalan 21/11b,
46300 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
GPS: 3.110006,101.62213
