Ever since I came back from the States, I’ve been having a tough time finding good steak. The “western food” hawker stalls are usually pretty good with their chicken chop and perhaps fish and chips, but the steaks are about as thick as a notepad and tasted equally disappointing. I’ve also tried some of the restaurants like cafe chinoz at KLCC but the steak was not exactly up to standard, I couldn’t even finish the filet mignon there. I’ve heard that Le Meridien’s Prime Grill serves very good steak, but the price is a bit out of reach. I’ve almost accepted the fate that I shall just forget about having steak, until I went to Gaucho Grill at Chulan Square last week.

excellent interior, chef Kamaruddin and yours truly

Gaucho Grill is one of the very few Argentinian restaurants in Klang Valley. Chef Kamaruddin explained that Argentina is actually the 2nd largest consumer of beef in the world, just after US (with 7.5x more in population). Vegetable is not exactly popular, the south Americans love their meat. Gaucho Grill imports all their meat from herds raised by gauchos (cowboys) of Argentina.

starters: garlic bread, seafood soup, escargot, mixed crunch

The three of us that attended this review session by foodstreet were first served with some really nice garlic bread, Escargot, their Sopa Oceano (seafood soup), and the rather large portion of Mixed Crunch.

We managed to sample 2 desserts after all these food, the Choc Madeleine is perfect for chocolate lovers with apricot on moist choc, ice cream, and warm choc fudge. The Panna Cotta is similar to creme brulee, but served cold with dark cherry and raspberry stew. The desserts are made in house as well.

Chulan Square is adjacent to Pavilion KL

Steaks are priced at around RM 68-80, desserts are RM 13-16. There’s also a very good deal for set lunches on weekdays between 12-3pm, for RM 26 you get soup, salad, ice lemon tea, and a main dish (rib eyes, burgers, etc).

The food was really good, and I have no doubt I will go there again.

More pictures of this place at my flickr set

Address:
Block B, Lot 5 Chulan Square
92 Jalan Raja Chulan,
50250 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2145 4268

Tags:  argentina,  cowboy,  delicious,  dining,  eats,  gaucho,  grill,  lamb rack,  meat,  steak,  Western

Posted by KY | 19 Comments »

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that I am a huge Bak Kut Teh (肉骨茶) fan. It all started when I was a young boy when our family used to have bak kut teh almost every Sunday. The pork, the soup, the “yau char gwai”, it is simply the best Chinese food invented from this land. The last post on this category appeared some 3 months ago, so the time is right to have another one!

my personal pot of bak kut teh

Most of the bak kut teh at food courts and kopitiams that I have tried over the years have not been particularly rewarding, but that has never stop me from trying new stalls once in a while. My luck came when I found myself at Ming Tien some months ago without knowing what to order, so I fall back to my default feel-good food, the Bak Kut Teh.

ahh, the strong herbal taste of the soup

When the steamy pot of goodness arrived, I was utterly surprised by the aroma and flavor of the soup. Strong with herbal taste, the soup is pretty sweet and not over powering. On top of that, they serve old school oily rice that goes very well with the meat. No wonder there are comments on my ming tien dumpling post recommending me to this stall.

Ming Tien food court is located at Taman Megah, PJ

For a single portion, the price is in line with other bak kut teh places at around RM 8 or so. Try it out if especially if you frequent this food court. I reckon this stall sells the best bak kut teh in any food court that I’ve tried so far.

Tags:  Bak Kut Teh,  chinese-food,  dining,  eats,  food-court,  herbal,  meat,  PJ,  pork,  taman megah

Posted by KY | 27 Comments »

I have spotted this relatively new Teo Chew Bak Kut Teh (潮州肉骨茶) restaurant for quite some time before finally have a chance to step in and get a taste of what it is all about. As you might aware, Bak Kut Teh is one of my favorite local dishes, as I have devoted a whole sub-category for it.

Restaurants in SS2 come and go, there is a new restaurant almost every month, and similarly, a failed food outlet at the same rate. Luckily, this survival of the fittest cycle has led to the improvement of the quality of food offered in this region.

clean and comfortable eating environment

The menu offers quite a variety of food to choose from. There are of course, bak kut teh, with over a dozen different pork ingredients to choose from (ribs, fatty meat, liver, intestine, etc), loh pork arm (卤猪脚), vegetables, and even Teo Chew porridge and noodle. I ordered the first 3 items for myself and my sister, and two bowls of rice, of course.

meat, meat, chili, vege, perfect!

As with many bak kut teh places, red chili, chili padi, and chopped garlic is available on every table. There’s also normal and dark soya sauce that goes so well with the meat and chili. The restaurant is also very clean and comfortable, a welcoming departure from most bak kut teh operations.

The bak kut teh, while not spectacular, was decent, with the meat cooked to a very soft texture. The soup though, is not as thick than the Klang version. However, the loh pork arm that we ordered was fantastic. Again, the meat and skin cooked to a very soft and easy-to-chew texture and the broth just perfect. It tasted very juicy, and went well with the chili and garlic combination. It makes me salivate just writing about it, even just having had lunch!

The entire meal, including a couple glasses of Chinese tea, was around RM 20. Which is pretty standard for a bak kut teh meal for two.

Teo Chew Bak Kut Teh is at the heart of PJ

Operating hours are 7am to 3pm, and 6 to 10pm. Closed on Mondays except public holidays.

Address:
26, 28 Jalan SS2/66,
47300 PJ, Selangor
Tel: 03-7875 2025

Tags:  Bak Kut Teh,  delicious,  Eats,  meat,  PJ,  pork,  soup,  SS2 SS3 SS4,  teo-chew

Posted by KY | 7 Comments »