Tag / shah-alam
A couple weekends ago we were invited for a bak kut teh breakfast and a guided tour of the KEN Rimba township at Seksyen 16, Shah Alam.
That was a great way to start the morning, Chow Kiat Bak Kut Teh, introduced by Sam Tan, the executive director of KEN Holdings Berhad, was one of the bests I’ve had. Coincidentally, it is also just 10-15 minutes away from KEN Rimba, though this is not the only reason you should learn about this one of a kind township.
Ken Rimba development – Sam took us for a guided tour
Some of you might have read about a post I wrote some half a year ago on KEN Bangsar where I touched on KEN Rimba a little bit at the end. The first phase of KEN Rimba township – the LEGIAN Residences, have been handed over to buyers, and some residence have moved into the new houses.
Now back on what makes KEN Rimba such a unique township.
First and foremost, everything in this 60 acre freehold development is throughly thought out with sustainable living in mind. Which is no surprise that KEN Rimba Legian Residences is the first landed home development in the country to be awarded the BCA Green Mark Gold Award.
rain water harvesting tanks, communal bicycles
First and foremost, most houses are arranged north-south orientation to take advantage of crosswind and to reduce direct sunlight, this allows for better ventilation and reduces the need for electrical cooling devices such as air conditioning.
Australian adjustable glass louvred windows are used to facilitate airflow. As explained by Sam, the more popular casement windows does not allow for ventilation especially when it rains, or when the wind isn’t blowing at a particular angle.
Each unit is also fitted with rainwater harvesting tanks to store rainwater for gardening, washing car porch, or anything, really.
water features and Palawan plants between end lots
Breathable roof is another features that comes standard in each terrace house built here. By allowing trapped heat to escape through the roof attic, the living area would have a lower temperature than those with standard roof fittings.
Outside the houses, there are plenty of planted trees and landscaping works done to give the neighborhood a very green and pleasant ambiance. I especially like the water features built in between the end lots, they make for good jogging tracks as well.
one of the corner units of LEGIAN Residences, complete with swimming pool
KEN Rimba is also conveniently located very close to Federal Highway, NKVE, LKSA, and LATAR. Furthermore, there’s a covered walk way to the Padang Jawa KTM station located just 700 meters away (about 10 minutes leisure walk pace).
To get around the township, there are also a few dozen bicycles available for free usage to residence of KEN Rimba. I thought that’s a very neat idea.
interior of the show unit, LEGIAN Residences
The 328 units of LEGIAN Residences are ready for move in, with most units already sold off. The next phase at KEN Rimba is the Jimbaran Residences with 168 units that would be launched soon.
The specifications for Jimbaran Residences:
Tenure : Freehold
Type of Development : Double Storey Terrace House with Loft
Total No. of Units : 168 units
Lot Size : Standard 22’ x 65’
Built-Up Area : Approx. 2,100 sq. ft. to 2,500 sq. ft.
Bedrooms & Bathrooms : 4 Bedrooms + 3 Bathrooms + 1 Attice/Loft
Facilities : Guarded Community, Playground
There will also be two phases of condominiums in this township, for those who prefers high rise, be sure to check that out next.
Website: http://www.kenholdings.com.my
Facebook: https://facebook.com/KEN.Greenbook
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SamCS10
Email: contact@kenholdings.com.my
Sales enquiries: 1300-22-9933
As a result of their green development initiatives, KEN has won numerous awards.
KEN BANGSAR
2009 BCA Green Mark GoldPLUS Award
2010 GBI Gold Award, The Edge-Pam Green Excellence Award
2011 Futurarc Green Leadership Citation Award, PAM Silver Award For Excellence In Architecture, FIABCI-Malaysia Property Award 2011: Sustainable Development
KEN RIMBA Legian
2010 BCA Green Mark Gold Award: Provisional, GBI Certified Award
KEN RIMBA Commercial Centre
2010 BCA Green Mark Certified Award: Provisional
KEN Holdings Berhad
2010 New Straits Times SC Cheah Choice Awards: Best Green Developer
2011 Carbon Neutral Status
A couple weekends ago we woke up bright and early at over 11 am in a lazy Saturday morning, and naturally hungry. The normally quiet and demure Yuki was full of enthusiasm and decided that char siu is what we should have, and she knows just the perfect place for it. A place in Shah Alam that she claimed better than the famed Meng Kee at Glenmarie.
The name of the place? Restaurant Golden Spring, or 阳光, which actually means sun light, but I guess direct translation is overrated for restaurant names.
Restaurant Spring Golden at Kota Kemuning, Shah Alam
The restaurant is located at “the other side” of Kota Kemuning, at a light industrial area that offers very little trouble in terms of parking, certainly a welcoming change.
Getting there isn’t too much of a hassle either, take the first left after Proton, then a couple right turns will get you there.
Business is pretty brisk, and the operator dressed up professionally as a chef and take your order in English, undoubtedly better than some other places whereby ordering food is an exercise in patient and sign language ability, ie: I don’t like wait staffs who can’t speak any of the 5 languages I understand.
siu yoke (roast pork), roast chicken, and char siu (bbq pork)
We ordered just about every type of meat they have – bbq pork, roast pork, roast duck, and roast chicken.
The char siu certainly did not disappoint, the cut was that with a good percentage of pork fat, and those fat areas roasted to perfection – they are half transparent (Yuki said it’s like collagen, it’s good for you, women’s logic…) I just love it and we ended up ordering a second plate. This is certainly one of the best char siu I’ve had, especially for those who enjoy the meat a bit on the fattier side.
The siu yoke isn’t shabby either, they are firmer than those you get from Wong Kee at Pudu, but with very good flavor and very decent crispy skin. Roast chicken is pretty average.
roast duck, vegetable, rice with free soup
Another side dish we ordered was the roast duck, the breast meat that we got was quite a huge chunk and did taste pretty decent, tho nothing spectacular. Roast duck lovers should opt for the likes of Sunrise and Loong Foong instead, but this one isn’t too bad.
Vegetable you see in this picture is for decoration and to get off our parents’ back when it comes to an argument for balanced meal. 
KY, Haze, Horng, Yuki, and Kerol, we had an awesome brunch
Lunch came up to about RM 15 or so per person, with the amount of food we had, it was certainly fair. I’d go back to this place again.
Address:
Restaurant Spring Golden
25, Jalan Sepadu C,
25/C, Section 25,
Taman Perindustrian Axis,
40400, Shah Alam, Selangor
GPS: 3.0260, 101.5427
Tel: 019-337 9319
Ah… red meat. The “newest” type of meat for me.
When I was growing up as a boy in Penang, I can’t recall an instance when mom cooks beef. Actually, due to her staunch believe in Kwan Yin and everything fantastic in the most confusing religion that is Taoism, she doesn’t even eat beef.
My very first experience in beef was probably that one time when my late dad took me to a beef noodle place (there was probably less than a handful of such stalls in Penang then) when I was in my teens.
Little did I know that years later, I’d have tasted some of the best beef there is. It goes to show that past performance is not indicative of future results… or something.
The Restaurant at The Club, Saujana Resort
Anyway, lets get back on topic.
I was invited to the somewhat confusingly named restaurant – The Restaurant at the equally curiously named hotel – The Club Saujana Resorts with the promise of Wagyu beef.
Wagyu beef basically refers to several breeds of cattle that is famous for their intense marbling characteristics, in another word, layers of unsaturated fat in the meat that provides very rich flavor. Wagyu is often regarded as some of the finest beef in the world.
The famed Kobe beef is a type of Wagyu beef, but only available within Japan and Macau.
our menu and chef Alexander Waschl
As for the hotel, The Club Suajana Resort is a very classy boutique style hotel that oversees the golf course with its lush greenery. Despite the misleading name, it is open to public (no membership or anything like that is needed.)
The Restaurant too reflects the same classy standard, with tastefully done interior and an alfresco dining area by the pool that provides a really nice ambiance. I felt severely under dressed when I was there in my collared t-shirt and jeans.
Our dinner was the degustation menu prepared by Chef Alexander Waschl from Austria, who was previously the Sous Chef at The Grand Hotel Kronenhof in Switzerland and was responsible for creation of the menus at the Kronenstubli Gourmet Restaurant which was awarded 16 Gault Millau points, the equivalent of a Michelin Star.
spiced Wagyu beef tartar, Wagyu beef carpaccio
Our first introduction to Chef Alexander’s creation came in the form of spiced Wagyu beef tartar (RM 128, ala carte) with piece of crispy potato roesti and pan-roasted quail’s egg with sour cream. The raw beef was rich and flavorful that the use of raw egg is unnecessary, which is where the quail’s egg filled in perfectly. Crispy potato roesti provided a welcoming change of texture too.
The first dish from the degustation menu was Wagyu beef carpaccio, a generous strip with Parmesan cream, Parmesan shavings, extra virgin oil and aged balsamic. The aged balsamic was wonderful, as with the Parmesan shavings.
The beef however, was a slightly too thick and a little difficult to chew if too big a chunk is fed into your mouth at one go. Don’t get me wrong, it was very good beef and chef explained that they cut it raw instead of frozen, and the serving size was to provide a good value for diners. I thought perhaps two thinner slices of beef would improve this dish a bit.
Wagyu beef cheek consommé
Next to come was the Wagyu beef cheek consommé, or in laymen’s term, clear soup that’s made from stock with ground meat and mirepoix (mixture of onion, carrot, & celery), among other things.
The one that was served to us was actually a two in one - consommé with ravioli and vegetable balls, and a saparate ravioli with minced meat in creamy sauce. The former light and subtle, and latter thick, strong, and flavorful. The combination worked pretty well though the essence of Wagyu beef is perhaps less apparent in this dish.
braised Wagyu beef cheek
Braised Wagyu beef cheek came next. A fried wantan with beef cheek filling sitting atop a slab of braised Wagyu cheek and oven roast vegetables. While the wantan was an interesting invention, I particularly love the slab of braised beef, it was so soft and smooth you could cut it with a blunt butter knife. Melt in your mouth type of goodness, I am missing it.
This reminds me of the similar dish at Tanzini Upper Deck, but I think executed better here.
Wagyu beef striploin
The main course was Wagyu beef striploin with black pepper sauce, garlic beans, horseradish moussline. Contrasting the beef cheek, striploin has a firmer texture but also with a richer taste to it that is released in the process of chewing. The black pepper sauce wasn’t overpowering, and the meat certainly did not disappoint. It was as good as it looked in the photo.
chef Alexander, dessert, PinkStilettos & Coco Wen (Hotel Manager), Suanie & KY
We concluded the dinner with a serving of very rich chocolate cake with raspberry sauce, fresh raspberries, and a scoop of raspberry sorbet freshly made with PacoJet (I want one!). The dessert was more than up to task as a conclusion to this dinner, as rich and as sinful as the dishes before it.
The 5 course Wagyu beef promotion at The Club Saujana Resort is available for the entire month of July 2012 and is priced at RM 350++ per person. Ala carte menu available too.
Address:
The Restaurant
The Club Saujana Resort,
Jalan Lapangan Terbang SAAS,
40150 Selangor
GPS: 3.10781, 101.57930
Tel: 03-7806 7000
email: dine@theclubsaujanaresort.com
I recently got to know of this place since my house mate’s has her office moved to the area. Apparently Restaurant Meng Kee Char Siew (明记叉烧王) is already a pretty famous place, endorsed by TV shows such as Ho Chak from 8TV, and reviewed by many other food blogs too. I guess it was my turn to give it a try, and I did just that with the Goh sometimes last week.
kopitiam set up; the satisfied Goh
One thing about eating with Goh is that you can always be sure that the guy will over order. Restrain is not a word fond by the big dude. Hence, for the two of us, we ordered a healthy portion of char siew, a decent portion of chicken, a plate of vegetable, and a rather sinful dish of chicken liver and stomach. Of course, 2 plates of rice and soup came with all these.
yes, it was only for the two of us
While the chicken meat was pretty decent, and the innards rather rich. The char siew was really one of the best I’ve had. The taste and texture were spot on, slightly sweet but very flavorful. If only we can have this and the famous Pudu Siew Yoke (烧肉) at the same time and same place. ahh….
the restaurant is close to the Shah Alam stadium
At the end, it was a RM23 well spent on a pretty satisfying lunch. Of course, it wouldn’t be as expensive if you don’t order like a Goh.
Address:
20 (Ground), Jalan Pekedai U1/36
Hicom Glenmarie Industrial Park
Shah Alam
GPS: 3.081487,101.559515
Tel: 019-379 3629
