Monthly Archives / April 2008
With the blessing of the great lady luck, I had the chance to go to the Emperor Chinese Restaurant at Sheraton Subang Hotel for the second time. The first was an appreciation dinner from a vendor (which I didn’t manage to capture any photos), and this time it was an invitation arranged by foodstreets for a food review. Excellent (and free) Chinese food within the span of a couple months, what more could I ask for?
Note: This is now Grand Dorsett Hotel, though the name of the restaurant remains the same (13/7/2013)
the friendly Chef Michael Wong and his creations
I arrived at Sheraton during dinner time and was greeted by the friendly PR person Bel, who introduced me to the Executive Chinese Chef Michael Wong. Chef Michael has been with the hotel from 97 to 2000 and recently joined back to lead the kitchen team. For this “exercise”, the good chef prepared a total of six dishes and a dessert to satisfy our taste buds.
double boiled soup, assorted vegetable, and cold chicken roll
First on the table was the double boiled fish maw with dried scallop and vegetable soup, it was seriously the best soup I’ve had so far. Scallop, mussel, and fish maw together with Silkie (black skinned) chicken really gave the soup a very distinct sweetness that is so delicious. I was still thinking about it for days after the session.
Then it was the cold dish, cold chicken roll with jelly fish. This dish is traditionally made with pork, but as the Emperor Chinese Restaurant serves halal food, chicken is used instead. Chef Michael explained to me the tedious process of preparing the chicken (slicing, steaming, rolling up) to create a texture consistent with the traditional ingredient. I must say he did a very good job and the substitute meat did not disappoint.
baked cod fish, butter prawn, and dancing fried rice
As for the cod fish, instead of the more orthodox steaming or deep frying cooking method, the good chef baked the generous slice of cod steak in an oven with garlic sauce. It was done just nice and not over cooked, a relatively simple dish that came out just right.
Butter prawn and assorted vegetable were both good as well. However, the other interesting dish would be the “dancing fried rice”, the fried rice is topped with tobiko (flying fish roe) and decorated with katsuobushi (the topping for takoyaki) on the side that seems to ‘dance’. A very visually captivating dish that tastes as good as it looks.
avocado apple juice and lemon grass pudding with mint ice cream
To round it off, we had the lemon grass pudding with mint ice cream as dessert. A nice way to cool down and refresh after the rather heavy meal. Bel also ordered us an the unique apple and avocado juice, a thick concoction that combines the sweetness of the two fruits that tasted surprisingly good!
Sheraton Subang Hotel is right next to SJMC at SS12
It was a very good meal and needless to say I was very satisfied. If you’re looking for a high class Chinese restaurant (serving halal food), you should definitely consider this place.
Address:
Jalan SS12/1
47500 Subang Jaya
Selangor
GPS: 3.078841, 101.598945
Tel: 03-5031 6060
Undoubtedly many of you has noticed that there is a renaissance in the fast food business in Malaysia. In the last few years, we have the introduction (or reintroduction) of chains like Carl’s Jr and Subway. I think this due to consumer’s acceptance to higher priced fast food, higher price in hawker offerings, and the general deterioration of hawker food standards in Klang Valley.
The latest that came on board would be Wendy’s at Sunway Pyramid, the restaurant opened on the 5th of April and I just came back from my 3rd visit this afternoon. 😀
Wendy’s at Sunway Pyramid
During my stay at the States, Wendy’s was one of the few fast food restaurants I used to go on a regular basis. I would put it second on my list after Chick-fil-A, but above A&W, Arby’s, McDonald’s, Burger King, and Subway. The reason was simple, it was relatively cheap and the food tastes good.
juicy burgers with beef, chicken, and shrimp, fried chicken too
I was overjoyed when Wendy’s opened here, and the first thing I tasted was of course, the 1/2 Pounder Burger. Two patties of 1/4 pound beef (a big Mac has slightly less than 1/4 pound beef in total) with a cheese in between sandwiched by soft but firm bun. The quality was just as good as I remembered, very juicy and flavorful. In the subsequent visits I tried their Shrimp Burger and Spicy Chicken Sandwich, both the items were equally good and I do attribute it to the quality of ingredient used. The shrimp burger nullified my complain of McDonald’s not serving their shrimp burger in Malaysia (they do have it in Bangkok and Tokyo).
Wendy’s is in between Carl’s Jr. and McDonald’s when it comes to pricing. A small set goes for 7.99 (nuggets) to 17.99 (3/4 pounder), add RM 1 for medium and RM 2 for large, and additional RM 1 if you want Ribena instead of soft drinks. Not a bad deal considering the quality, give it a try!
check out my hand drawn wendy’s logo!
Wendy’s have plans for outlets in IOI Mall, Jaya One, and Berjaya Times Square.
Address:
Wendy’s Pyramid
(opposite McDonald’s)
GPS: 3.073297, 101.607576
Tel: 03-5637 1059
Just before heading to Bangkok, I had the chance to do a review at Pearl International Hotel’s Sunday Japanese Buffet. Being a fan of Japanese food, I naturally accepted the offer without any hesitation.
glorious oysters, mussels, and crabs
The Sunday buffet is actually something new for Pearl International Hotel. I was a little skeptical on the quality and choices of food as the hotel does not have an in-house Japanese restaurant. However, I was proven wrong on both assumptions when I reached the hotel at around 12pm. A writer from NST was joining us for the review session as well.
wide variety of food, including desserts and fruits
The buffet is set up at Deli Corner, the restaurant right by the main lobby with seating capacity of around 200. The setting is rather large, with almost every type of Japanese food on the various buffet lines. From raw oysters, sushi and sashimi, to tempura and sukiyaki, the selection was impressive.
the raw stuff: sushi, sashimi, oysters, and chuka idako (baby octopus)
The proper way to start off with a Japanese buffet is, of course, by attacking the raw bar. I got myself a few pieces of raw oysters, some mussels, and a couple steamed prawns to go with a serving of sashimi. This is to ensure that the taste buds aren’t contaminated by the stronger flavored cooked item.
soba, sukiyaki, tofu, and green tea ice cream
The oysters, mussels, and prawns were very good. As for the sashimi, the standard is rather normal. Then again I’ve never had really outstanding sashimi from a buffet. The finer cuts are usually only catered to ala carte menu where a plate of sashimi moriawase costs more than a ticket to this buffet, so I guess it is only fair.
noodle, tempura, chawanmushi
I then moved on to sample some chuka idako (baby octopus), tempura, tofu, vegetables, and terikyaki sticks. I particularly like the way they serve chuka idako in a soup spoon. Very exquisite and yet easy to take, easy to eat, and without the chance to make a mess. These cooked food didn’t disappoint me, they are at least on par with the midrange Japanese restaurants.
ahh, some sake to go with everything, perfect
I had the chef made me a very delicious bowl of sukiyaki with beef too, and another serving of raw food before calling it a meal. At the end, I couldn’t resist the green tea ice cream for dessert, 2 scoops of sweetness, bliss!
Pearl International is situated right next to Plaza OUG at Old Klang Road
The meal is priced at RM 48++ per person, seniors can get in for RM 40++ and kids at RM 30++. Pretty decent price for the amount of offerings you get to have. Currently it is only on for Sunday buffet lunch, but do give them a call as the F&B Manager Lawrance Khoh told me they are planning to expand this operation looking at the strong demand. Give it a try!
Invitation arranged by FoodStreet.
Address:
Batu 5, Jalan Klang Lama
58000 Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.084701,101.67322
Tel: 03-7983 1111
The streets of Bangkok is dotted with many hawkers selling all sorts of food for those with an appetite for adventure. While noodles and rice dishes are mainly found in food courts and small restaurants, many hawkers offer bite size snacks at road side. From the more mainstream sausages to cold drinks to fried insects, you can find virtually anything.
Bacon Stick for 20 baht each
I noticed that many snacks choices consist of pork. There are pork sausage, bacon sticks, grilled fried pork, deep fried pork skin, roasted pork, ah, it was good for the pork lovers, maybe not exactly so great for health, however.
My favorite would be the bacon stick we had at the Chatuchak weekend market. For 20 baht (around RM2), you get mini sausages wrapped with bacon on a skewer. The union of sausage and bacon was a match made in heaven as the juice and slight saltiness from bacon compliments the texture and taste of the sausage oh so well. You have to try this if you manage to find the stall!
grilled pork strips on a ring
Grilled pork strips on bamboo string is a pretty common snack that can be found at many places. The meat is marinated and carries a pretty salty taste, while pretty good, eating too much of these will make you very thirsty.
deep fried pork skin
Another sinful snack would be this little bowls of deep fried pork skin that goes for 10 baht that we found at Chatuchak. These are very crispy and goes well with a little bit of Thai chili sauce. Now imagine having this with a cold beer watching your favorite football teams on a big LCD TV, with the air-cond full blast, and maybe a hot chick dancing on the side…
roasted pork (siu yok)
Roasted pork isn’t usually served on rice over here, you just have it as snacks to munch while walking around the weekend market. I guess we deserved it since we were getting enough exercise from walking under the searing hot April weather in Bangkok anyway, right?
colorful Popsicles
Then there’s the Popsicle stalls. The popsicles are actually made on location, usually with bottled fruit juice poured into a metal mold. A wooden stick is added as the handle. The mold is placed in a contraption consisting two parts, a top with little holes to hold the molds, and the bottom container filled with dried ice.
The seller often stirs the top part of the popsicle maker attempting to freeze the products faster. A stick costs something like 5 baht, and they were perfect for the weather.
fried mini banana (including the skin)
Other than the meat items, I also tried this curious little deep fried banana Terence bought. It was basically some species of mini banana sliced down in the middle, deep fried. While they look rather uninspiring, these things were actually very sweet and rather tasty. It is similar with our own “pisang goreng”, but sweeter and more concentrated.
Of course I enjoy every bit!
You can do a fair share of walking and eating in this city. Next up would be the various type of meals I had to sit down to eat. Stay tuned!
