It’s been a while since I posted the last recipe, so here’s another simple to make soup dish that anyone can make at home – Chinese corn and spare ribs soup. If you want it without pork, feel free to substitute spare ribs with chicken wings or bones.
I use a pressure cooker for this, but a normal pot would work too if you just increase the cooking time a factor of 2-3. Preparation time for this dish is less than 10 minutes.
corn, red dates, dried cuttle fish
The ingredients are fairly simple to source, and they aren’t expensive either. This is good for 4 small bowls of soup
boil the spare ribs for a while to remove impurities
Now the cooking instructions:
just boil everything in pressure cooker for at least 45 minutes
The result is a clear soup that has the taste of sweet corn and spare ribs infused in it. It goes well with steamed rice or even just on its own.
Easy, healthy, and delicious, try it!
add a sprinkle of spring onion and you’re done – corn & spare ribs soup
There are quite a number of places in Klang Valley that are famous for their char siew (bbq pork), and a couple weeks ago my colleagues introduced me to another place that serves one of the best char siew in town – Restaurant Soo Kee at Jalan Ampang.
I think some day I should compile a list of the best char siew places, but until then… lets talk about this place instead.
restaurant Soo Kee is where you find awesome char siu
Restaurant Soo Kee is situated at Jalan Ampang, just right next to the flyover heading to Ampang Point. While you can’t park directly outside the shop, it’s not exactly tough to find a spot at nearby roads.
It’s an old school restaurant with even older owners, but the place is air conditioned, and pretty clean too, that’s always a plus.
intestine, salted roast duck, and the char siu (bbq pork)
For the 7 of us, we ordered the char siew, salted roast duck, intestine, deep fried spring roll, and their signature tofu dish. I think we had initially ordered a vegetable dish to go with, but canceled it somehow.
So the char siew - it was easily one of the best I’ve had. The skin was slightly charred, the meat soft, succulent, and the layer of fat almost transparent. This is what we came for, and none of us were disappointed.
Then there’s the salted roast duck, this too was a dish not to be missed. It tasted essentially like .. well, salted version of a good roast duck. I do like the extra dimension that the saltiness bring, the skin was crispy, and we devoured everything.
The intestine though, was a bit of a disappointment to me, it was a little bit too tough (perhaps overcooked?). Not bad per se, but could be nicer if it was a bit softer.
deep fried spring roll and signature tofu
Deep fried spring roll actually looked and tasted nothing like spring roll, but a lot closer to fish cake instead. However, it was a really good fish cake and something that I’d order again without a doubt.
The signature tofu is basically Japanese tofu in egg drop soup with a bit of seafood ingredients. Offers some contrasting taste to the mostly oily/fatty dishes we had, a good balance, but nothing to shout about.
KY, Debran, Sarah, Yin Foong, Angelina, Michelle & another ninja
We had an awesome Friday lunch for sure, and Soo Kee is definitely a place worth revisiting. The lunch came to something like RM 15-17 per person. Reasonable for what we had.
That Friday afternoon was spent fighting the zzz bug though. Just one of the disadvantages of having a lunch too good on working days
Address:
Restaurant Soo Kee
No. 373-1, 4th Mile,
Jalan Ampang Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.158449, 101.747088
Tel: 03-4257 0767
Closed on Mondays
A couple days ago I got the attack of the bak kut teh craving, you know that feeling when you just have to have it, so much so that you can almost smell the bkt soup even before even deciding where to eat.
So I decided to head to SS 14, one of the few places with concentrated bak kut teh restaurants at night time. A quick search online and I found that my buddy Galvin gave a good review for Ah Ping bak kut teh, if it’s good enough for the Klang chao ah beng, it is good enough for me.
Ah Ping bak kut teh at Subang Jaya SS 14
Ah Ping is easily the busiest bak kut teh restaurant at SS14. This of course, is a good sign. As it was already dinner time, parking was actually a breeze.
We took a seat inside (you can have a table alfresco style to0 when weather permits) and ordered a bowl of bak kut teh with everything in it + enoki mushroom, a plate of vegetable, and a serving of yao char kuai.
thick and fragrant herbal soup is essential in bak kut teh
Our bowl of “everything in it” came with plenty of pork, intestine, tripes, fuchok, tofu, a couple shiitake mushroom, and a few leaves of lettuce soaked in pretty thick Klang style (as opposed to Teow Chew) bak kut teh soup.
The bak kut teh definitely packs a punch, I like the soup, and you know that they’ve cooked everything right when the meat falls off the bones easily, and intestines didn’t need more than a few seconds to chew through. It was overall a rather satisfying experience.
The yao char kuai too was quite crunchy, unlike some nighttime bkt places where they tend to use yao char kuai prepared in the morning and tends to be a bit soggy.
bak kut teh with everything in, yao char kuai, rice, and vegetable
Together with drinks, total bill came to be RM 32.50, pretty reasonable for two person. If you’re not willing to drive all the way to Kepong for Kaka bak kut teh (cos they serve kidney), Ah Ping at at SS 14 certainly won’t leave you disappointed.
Address:
Ah Ping Bak Kut Teh
42, Jalan SS14/2,
Subang Jaya, Selangor
GPS: 3.072767, 101.590933
Tel: 012-323 3938 / 012-267 8390
Several weeks ago I braved the rush hour traffic and got myself to Changkat Bukit Bintang, a place I wouldn’t normally go during rush hours thanks to the horrible traffic situation and exuberant parking fees. That night, however, I had an invitation from Racks Bar & Baby Backs for a food review session.
More importantly, there was promise of good pork, and a lot of them.
Racks at Changkat Bukit Bintang
The setup at Racks is much like many other bars and eateries at Changkat Bukit Bintang – hip interior, a bar stocked full of all sorts of alcohol, alfresco as well as airconditioned dining area, and decorated by expatriate diners.
If the decoration of this place brings a sense of deja vu to you, it was probably because Racks is run by Paul James, the guy who is also behind The Magnificent Fish and Chips just a few doors down.
pigs in blanket, oyster with ham, peaches and parma ham
Anyway, lets look at the food.
We started out of course, with some pork laden appetizers. Pigs in blanket (meat in prosciutto, RM 24), oyster with ham (seafood in prosciutto, RM 32), and peaches with parma ham (peaches n parma RM 22).
All three involves parma ham, and all delicious in its own way. My favorite was naturally, the raw oyster which carries a punch with those pepper. The combination with the saltiness of parma, hotness of paper, and freshness of oyster worked well. Beats oyster with lemon anytime.
cold cuts platter
This cold cuts platter promises plenty of meat with jam, in house mustards, pickles, and freshly baked bread for the price of RM 54. The dish reminds me of the cold cuts I had at El Meson in Bangsar, but instead of the more common winter melon, the pairing of jam, mustard, pickles, and bread makes for very good light meal with beer.
Supper anyone?
molotov shooters, a happy Huai Bin, and “illusions”
Then the alcohol came out.
There were more Molotov shooters (a dozen for RM 200) than there were people on the same table, bad idea. This stuff was very potent and of course I only had one, Huai Bin, Horng, Michael, and Gareth were there to make sure nothing is going to waste.
We also had a rack of Illusion, a mixture of Midori melon, pineapple juice, and vodka. I actually find this quite tasty, a taste of festivity, almost.
Rack’s Big Bad Sandwich, Asparagus under prosciutto
The last of appetizer was aspagarus under prosciutto (RM 22), a pretty common combination. I often make bacon & asparagus, but parma ham makes an even better combination, and perhaps slightly healthier.
The main courses came next, we first tried Rack’s Big BAD Sandwich (RM 26) – BAD stands for back bacon, avocado, and dried tomato. I’ve never had sandwich with avocado, but the mixture actually works, the buttery taste of avocado goes well with savory bacon and the acidity from dried tomato.
pork burger, pulled pork burger, and hot & spicy pork ribs
Then there’s the standard pork burger (RM 28) with smoked back bacon, pork patty, dried tomato, smoked bacon, and even ahem, vegetable. This was as delicious as it was difficult to eat. Prepare to make a splendid mess.
Pulled pork burger (RM 28) might be a Boston’s favorite, but it doesn’t work with me. I’m not a big fan of the drier texture on the meat, but your mileage might vary.
marmalade sweet and spicy pork ribs
Then there were of course, the ribs, after all ,this place is called Racks Bar & Baby Back for a reason.
There’s the more typical hot & spicy ribs, and then there’s the marmalade sweet & spicy pork ribs (RM 52 full rack, RM 32 half rack).
I wasn’t too crazy over the coleslaw, but the ribs were fantastic! Absolutely full of flavor and the meat falls off the bones easier than skimpy cloths from Las Vegas strippers. You gotta try this for yourself, if you think the photo of the ribs look good, it tastes at least twice as well!
the hungry diners, and the 3 friendly servers at Racks
And just like The Magnificent Fish and Chips, this outlet is another one worth visiting at Changkat. The food is good, prices are in line with other restaurants at the area, and services are commendable too.
It was a good night with great company, and bless those pigs too, they were delicious.
Address:
Racks Bar & Baby Backs,
18-1, Changkat Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.147581, 101.707934
Tel: 03-2110 1550
While Bali isn’t exactly a dining destination, there are several “must eat” places on the island. One of them is Ibu Oka’s Babi Guling at Ubud, partly made famous by Anthony Bourdain, the person whose job I wouldn’t mind swapping with.
the new branch of Babi Guling Ibu Oka at Ubud, Bali
For those unfamiliar with this dish, Babi Guling literally translate to “rolling pig”, and has it’s name taken from the way the pig is prepared – by puttin the smallish pig on a stick and keep rolling it over coconut husk fire. The pig must previously be stuffed with shallots, garlic, galangal, lemon grass and dried shrimp, among other things. This is to add flavor while removing any pungent “pork” smell.
2 sets of bali guling with rice
We visited the branch of the original Ibu Oka Babi Guling, a cleaner and bigger place with proper table and a much airy environment.
One reason I choose this location at Jalan Raya Desa Mas is that we had passed the restaurant on the way to Ubud and hence I knew how to get there, and secondly, the original place has been written to death and there is no need for yet another article for it, I suppose.
soup, rice, and the chili paste with a kick
We arrived there at around noon on a weekday, the place had a healthy stream of diners, but no huge crowd as you would find at the original warung.
We ordered a set with rice, vegetable, pork roll, fried meat, sausage, and pork skin for IDR 30,000 and another set with rice, “complete meat”, and soup for IDR 50,000.
and yes, fanta remains very popular at Bali
To be honest, I can’t tell what the fuss is about. The meal turned out to be very average for me (but in the case of Bali, above average), the meat was a little too gamy and still carry a bit of pungent smell. The skin was too tough, the sausage too is something I wouldn’t order again, it was a bit too “unrefined”. Our roast pork and Chinese sausage triumph this any day.
That being said, the soup was rather tasty, and with a bit of their spicy chili paste, the combination of meat and rice was decent too.
Still, all that hype, it was a bit of a let down.
Perhaps the next time around I”ll try the main branch to see if there’s any difference, but for now, babi guling isn’t one of my must-eat item at Ubud, but I’ll still eat it if it wasn’t out of the way.
Address:
Babi Guling Ibu Oka 2
Jalan Raya Desa Mas,
Ubud, Bali 80571
Indonesia
GPS: -8.530454, 115.271631
