3 Meals Of Goodness

I have written numerous articles about Bah Kut Teh but nothing quite like what I am about to tell you about in this article. I am assuming you have heard of Sunway Mas Commercial Centre, near Aman Suria and Bandar Utama. If you’ve not come across this name, let me ‘enlightened’ you with the fact that this place is dotted with good food in it’s map. Just to name a few …. Wong Poh seafood, popular for their variety of crab dishes, Famous Seremban Favorites Restaurant popular for serving the best char siew in town (so they say), Rosemary Bites, Betty’s Midwest and soon to come, 6 To 10 Grill & Nasi Lemak moving in from Happy Mansion, PJ.

And just to think, I live very near to these place and that means all these good food is within my reach, anytime. Gosh, there goes my diet ….

Choices aplenty, I tend to crave for a certain food especially during dinner. On one occasion, I could practically smell the aroma of Bah Kut Teh, so I drove towards the first Bah Kut Teh shop I can find along the way out of my house. Cheow Sang Bah Kut Teh is located on the main road of Jalan PJU 1/3A facing Aman Suria gated residence, so this place is not at all hard to located.

Being a Bah Kut Teh shop and all, I would assume their specialty is Bah Kut Teh and all I could think of is which part of Bah Kut Teh I’ll be ordering. To my utmost dismay, most of the favorite Bah Kut Teh parts are already sold out. So I reluctantly ordered whatever leftovers there are, mostly lean meat. You do know what are the favorite Bah Kut Teh parts right? By Bah Kut Teh parts, I meant the the parts of the pork. My favorite parts are the knuckles and the legs. Done right and it’ll come out juicy …. hope I am not grossing you out!

Since they are all out of Bah Kut Teh, I had to order other dishes. Here are some of their highly recommended dishes.

Generally this place is alright if you’re not too choosy. Aside from the disappointment of not having my Bah Kut Teh, the other dishes are just ok. Perhaps I did not order the right dishes but then again, nobody recommended me to. And would I visit them again ? Perhaps …..

And here’s their details in case you would like to try them out

Address
SunwayMas Commercial Centre, Petaling Jaya, Selangor
13A-1, Jalan PJU 1/3A, SunwayMas Commercial Centre,
47301 PJ. Tel : 03-7880-4930

Location Map

Who would have thought a simple dessert made from ice shavings, some beans, sweet potatoes with a pinch of pearl jellies would’ve made such an impression on me? For the benefit of those who don’t know me, I am not exactly a fan of desserts. Especially not those bubbly, pearly Taiwanese fad that swept across our shores some time ago. I wouldn’t be caught dead sucking black pearly stuffs on those gigantic straws. Nope, not me !

Then one day, I came across Snowflake.

Not the one in Subang or Pavillion but right here in Kota Damansara. My turf. My dining playground. Yup, Snowflake came bashing into Dataran Sunway unannounced, and conquered us all. With their little pearl jellies…. I can imagine them blowpiping us all with pearl jellies using their gigantic straws. Ugh!

Anyway, it was by chance that I stumbled upon this so-called dessert shop. It’s a corner shop and I must compliment the owner of Snowflake for being smart enough to place their store in one of the busiest street in Dataran Sunway. Some of my favorite shops are located on that street. My favorite coffee shop, DU Cafe that serves like a million choices of food ….. and my favorite dvd shop that I “ALWAYS” frequent after my dinner. And guess what, now I have a third option ….. dessert time!

My first visit to Snowflake isn’t exactly a pleasant one. And I blame it on my own biased judgments. As I said earlier, I don’t fancy dessert. Especially not one in an overcrowded shop. The queues were just outrageous. I’ve never seen people so eager to queue up just for a simple dessert such as this. Nevertheless … after some convincing from my partner, I joined the queue (my feeling at that very moment …. I felt a little “over-aged” just to be in that queue … they should come up with another queue for those over 18! Guys and girls … no pun intended. You guys do look young ….)

After queuing for almost like a million years (ok, I was being a little drama .. I waited for about 5 minutes), it was my turn to order. I stared at the sweet young thing behind the counter and she stared back at me, smiling. I looked around and looked up at the menu behind her.

Paiseh. I didn’t know what to do! Good thing the girl behind the counter was nice enough to walk me through the process of ordering. Trust me, if you’re as ignorant as me, you’ll need this.

Step One : Choose Snowflake, Tohua or Memorable series.
Step Two : Select a sub-series choice.
For Snowflake series, select your Snowflake flavor. Grass Jelly series, Taro Ball series or Soya Ice series.
Step Three : Pay up and receive UFO remote token (note : never place the token in your pants pocket!)
Step Four : Choose either to wait for your order outside the shop or in one corner of the shop looking like a school kid punished for being late to class.
Step Five : Your token vibrates. You can collect your order at the delivery counter. (note : if your token is in your pants pocket, you will probably get a shock and embarrass yourself in front of the kids. Serves you right …should’ve listened to me….)

It was after my first visit did I develop a crave for that icy cold, refreshing Snowflake. The next day, I could still vividly remember the taste of Snowflake’s soya ice series with red bean and peanuts. And the same evening … I was queuing up again ….. damn !

You have to try this out, if you haven’t done so. If you like it … good luck, you’ll want more. If not, at least you’ve tried it and you can leave it as a conversation piece with your friends if someone talks about it.

Snowflake is available at these locations :

Pavillion Kuala Lumpur
SS15 Subang Jaya
Kota Damansara

* photos “pinjam” from Snowflake facebook group.

Dining out is a very common practice in our society.

Eating in certain dining environments doesn’t really qualify it to be a “restaurant experience”. Eating at a food court or a fast food establishment is a different style of dining, based around the principles of cost, convenience, and consistency.

Consistency especially applies when it comes to places like McDonalds. Their success is based around a formula. No matter where you are in the world, you know exactly what to expect.

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The bitter gourd (also known as bitter melon) looks like a cucumber but with ugly gourd-like bumps all over it. As the name implies, this vegetable is a melon that is bitter. There are two varieties of this vegetable: One grows to about 20 cm long, is oblong and pale green in color. The other is the smaller variety, less than 10 cm long, oval and has a darker green color.

Now that you’re gotten acquainted with the bitter gourd, let’s get to the interesting bit. Bitter gourd is often used in Chinese cooking for its bitter flavor, typically in stir-fries (often with pork and douchi), soups, and also as tea. And more recently, I’ve discovered a restaurant here in Klang Valley that serves everything bitter gourd. That’s right … from bitter gourd juice (yup, you heard me right) to dish and soup.

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Seri Kembangan is never short of ‘interesting’ dine options. For example …

1. Ikan Bakar Garam (Salted BBQ Fish) – Behind the hokkien association
2. Weng Heong BBQ Chicken/Duck/Pork Rice shop – just after Public Bank
3. Farmland Porridge Steamboat – Opposite South City Plaza
4. Leong Ya Yong Tau Fu/Ji Bao Gai – Opposite Serdang KTM
5. Sister Lam Yong Tau Fu – On the way to Serdang town from Equine Park
6. Hakka Yong Tau Fu near market
7. Cheng Fatt Restaurant
8. Chinese restaurant (uses charcoal to cook noodles, opposite Cheng Fatt)
9. Hoi Tong BBQ Steamboat Restaurant @ Bukit Serdang
10. Hakka Village Restaurant @ Bukit Serdang
11. K.C.W Curry Fish Head @ Serdang Raya (same row with no.12′s Pan Mee)
12. Pan Mee (night only) @ Serdang Raya – in front of a car repair shop
13. Ye Ren Bak Kut Teh + Steamed Ikan Haruan + Spicy Chicken + Siong Tong La la
14. Yap Beng Dry Bak Kut Teh + Stir Fried Shark @ Equine Park
15. Tomyam Noodles (tue,thurs and sat only) @ Beside soft drink factory, opposite Public Bank there

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Flattened Chicken? Backside Soup? Happy Soda?

When I first visited Jakarta, Indonesia some years back … I had quite an an exciting culinary adventure. Other than extra strong spices, food varieties are quite similar with ours in Malaysia but it’s the name of the food that shocked me. Nasi Goreng Gila (direct translation … Crazy Fried Rice) …. Sup Bontot (hmm … how do I put this …. backside …. ass …. behind …soup?). I mean, these are just some of it that I can remember.

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Have I ever mentioned that I grew up in Klang? Yup, true-blue Klang boy. Stayed in Teluk Gadung. Went to school at La Salle Klang. Hung out at Emporium Makan and Great Wall. Back in those days, there were no Starbucks or Dome. McD’s was the most “happening” place to be seen. If you’re unsure of all those places I mentioned, ask anyone from Klang who took their SPM in 1989. They’ll vouch for me.

Yup, I miss those days. But of course, what I miss most was weekend family outings to my favorite Bak Kut Teh shop in Pandamaran. We used to compete for the most plates of rice we could finish and you could see stacks of plates after we finish our meals. Sad to say, my favorite shop was long gone. And I stopped enjoying Bah Kut Teh ever since. I just couldn’t find anyone that could make Bak Kut Teh that good …. anymore. And I moved out from Klang …..

Nah …. just kidding. I moved out of Klang a long time ago, after graduating college to look for a job in the city. I still visit Klang occasionally but not as often as I wished to.

But recently, I stumbled upon another good Bak Kut Teh outlet in Klang. And suddenly, I am visiting Klang more often again.

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I’ve been away for quite a while. Yup … job obligations. No choice. But that’s what everyone says, right? I actually miss doing this. I miss the rantings and bitching of culinary preferences among us ‘reviewers’ or better known as ‘foodies’. So here I am again, now that what I have to do is all done and the next one is not until June 2010.

For my new article, I could probably summarize it into a single sentence but then again, where’s the fun in that? So I shall elaborate further ….. here’s how it goes…..

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Tucked in the far corner of Kuala Lumpur, there’s a place known as Segambut. I looked it up on Google and found that Segambut actually covers a much bigger area. Did you you know that from the high-end condominiums of Mont Kiara and Sri Kiara to the middle-class areas of Taman Sri Segambut and Bandar Manjalara, and the rural areas of Segambut Dalam and Kampung Sungai Penchala are all under the Segambut constituency? I was like … wow, I never knew. So much for my geographical and political knowledge.

ANYWAY, I shall bring you back to what I know best. Located at Segambut Utara (Segambut North) is a little township sprawled with small/medium industrial lots. And amidst these workshops and factories, is Restoran Yu Ai … a very popular spot for their Seafood Noodle. This place is actually a stone throw away from Mont Kiara/Solaris if you’re familiar with that area.

Yu Ai is a simple food eatery that serves only what they do best which is seafood noodle and their new menu, fish head noodle if you fancy that. Having been in the business for more than 11 years, they family recipe of the much acclaimed seafood noodle has been a favorite for many.

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I love steamboats. My friends used to tell me that maybe it’s a Klang thing. Perhaps it’s true to a certain extent. I come from a big family and when there’s a cause for celebration, we dine out. In a town like Klang, there’s only 2 places you can go if you have a family of more than 10. You either go to a seafood restaurant or a steamboat restaurant.

And I guess that why I grew with a certain preference for chinese food … and trust me, steamboat is as chinese as it can get.

I still remember the days where steamboats were served on aluminum pots heated up with charcoal fire. And to top it off, most steamboat restaurants were open-aired. The heat … the sweat … yet we enjoyed our food. These days, air conditioned steamboat restaurants are normal and steamboat pot were heated using gas or electric source.

One such outlet is the Grand Steamboat Garden in Taipan USJ. I was there recently as an invited guest by Wilson from PlacesandFoods.com to try out their new concept which I find quite interesting. Imagine a cross between sushi and steamboat. Well, you don’t exactly dip sushi’s in the hotpot! What I meant was … a conveyor belt. Choices of food were displayed along a conveyor belt, just like those you see in fast food japanese sushi restaurants. You pick your choice and eat your heart out. And that’s where the similarity ends.

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