Whole Fish for a Person and the Soothing Cendol

When I was in K.L. on my recent trip, my friend told me that he wanted to bring me to a place for a fish meal. There is only one type of preparation for the fish - steamed. You can't order the fished cooked in other ways. Furthermore, one fish is for one-person serving, you can't share the fish. You also can't ask for a non-spicy version. I was quite curious about this place when my friend told me about it and I was more than willing to check it out.

When the fish was served, it was actually tilapia steamed in soy sauce with diced garlic, ground ginger and sliced chili. The Chinese signboard mentioned that the fish is African fish, and it is actually the nickname of tilapia in K.L. The fish was very fresh and steamed to perfection. The garlic, ginger and chili got rid of the fishiness and what's left was the sweetness and smoothness of the flesh. The one I had was a regular one which was already having strong spicy aftertaste. I can't imagine the one with extra spiciness which you can specify when putting down order!

After the meal, my friend suggested for some dessert and he brought me to a nearby petrol station. There is an Indian food stall on a truck which is parked at this petrol station almost everyday. You can have a meal here with the Indian rojak and a bowl of cendol to wash the meal down.

The cendol here was quite nice, it wasn't too sweet that suits my taste. However, the ice was coarsely shaved and it took me some time to chew the ice. It would have been better if the ice was finer. Well, probably that's too much to ask from a roadside stall.

The Dragon with an "i"

During my recent trip to Kuala Lumpur, I met up with one of my best buddies from my secondary school time. When we talked about food, he recommnded the Dragon-i (籠的傳人) highly and even mentioned that the Shanghainese dumplings are better than those at Din Tai Fung (鼎泰豐). I have heard of Dragon-i since 2005 but I haven't tried the food there before this. Since the restaurant is just next to the hotel I stayed, we decided to have our dinner there.

As my friend has such high rating for the xiao long bao (小籠包, Shanghainese dumplings) at Dragon-i, we didn't miss ordering it. I have to admit that they were very good, not surpassing those at Din Tai Fung (鼎泰豐); but equally good.

Each of us also had a bowl of the Shanghainese la mian (拉麵), as this is also one of the specialities. My friend had the string noodles while I tried the ribbon noodles. The ribbon noodles had a chewy texture that I like. I guess the string noodles were softer and smoother. The soup had a hint a sweetness from vegetables and chicken broth.

We also had a portion of something like Peking duck but I think the duck was deep fried instead of roasted. The skin was very crispy while the meat retained its juiciness. Unlike the fatty skin of Peking duck, this crispy duck had less fat attached to the skin.

The sweet and sour pork ribs were also very good. The meat was very tender and the sweetness from sugar and the sourness from the vinegar were just nice. I like this dish very much.

Another Shanghainese signature dish is shui jian bao (水煎包, water-fried dumplings) that we also ordered. There are two types available and we settled for the more glamorous version that came in a metal pot lined with plenty of scallions. The filling was pork cubes that tasted like cha siew (叉燒) with a starchy base. I like this one very much too, although I was already very full.

Since we already had too much meat, it was obliging to gobble up some vegetables to balance up. The stir-fried kai lan (芥蘭) with garlic was a refreshing dish beside all the meat dishes.

To cap it off, we had the sea coconut dessert to wash down all the delicious food. This was the first time I have sea coconut dessert served warm, and I actually prefer it to the cold dessert.

Rotiboy and Beard Papa's

Rotiboy is a Malaysian brand that has marked its name overseas as well in Indonesia, Thailand, Korea and Saudi Arabia. The signature product is of course the bun that carries the same name, with coffee topping and butter filling. I had the original Rotiboy several times already during my previous trips to K.L., and during my recent trip, I decided to try the recommended item, Buttermilkboy.

The Buttermilkboy comes with vanilla topping and buttermilk filling, as the name suggests. Similar to the original Rotiboy, it has a crispy crust and a fluffy and thicker inner lining. The buttermilk filling is very creamy with sweetness that is just right. If you are in K.L., do try some of the Rotiboy pastries. You won't regret.

Beard Papa's on the other hand is a chain cream puff stores with its root in Japan. I tasted Beard Papa's cream puffs in Singapore many years back and they have become my top-of-the-list dessert item. I seldom miss it if I am in Singapore.

Beard Papa's cream puffs are crispy pastry shells filled with whipped cream custard. There are many flavours for the filling, but I prefer the original vanilla flavour to the others. The cream puffs are something to check out if you are on a gastronomic adventure in Singapore.

Sapporo Ramen in Kuala Lumpur

When I vistied Kuala Lumpur recently, I met up with my friends from Kuching at Pavillion and they wanted to check out the ramen there which has been receiving good verdicts from their friends and bloggers. We weren't quite sure at first as there are so many Japanese restaurants in this shopping mall, so my friends messaged their friend to find out which restaurant is the right one as we didn't want to end up at the wrong place with the wrong food.

After we received the confirmation message saying that it is Santouka inside Tokyo Street, we headed there straight away and we were lucky to get a table to fit in all of us. We were told that this place gets packed to the brim during peak dining hours.

I oredered a small Chasu Ramen (RM27.50) as I am a chasu lover. The bowl of noodles came topped with four pieces of chasu and the other vegetable toppings. Mine was a miso flavoured version as there are other options of shio (salt) or shoyu (soy sauce). The broth was quite thick that I could taste the flavour of all the ingredients being boiled for hours, especially the taste of prok bones.

The noodles are the same curly type that is used in Sapporo. It has the same springy texture as those I have tasted in Sapporo. The chasu made from the belly pork was very soft and tender. The fatty layers could just melt in the mouth.

The ramen at Santouka was good, but to taste the authentic Sapporo ramen, the best place is still in Sapporo. For the best ramen, it is still at Tsukiya Ramen near Tokyo.

Lunch at La Lot

There were several Vietnamese restaurants in Kuching but none survived long enough to ease my craving for Vietnamese food lately. When I chanced upon a Vietnamese restaurant at the Pavilion in Kuala Lumpur a while ago, I settled in for lunch.

The Lemongrass Ginger Tea looks like a thirst quencher, so I ordered one. It was a very cooling drink. I liked it.

Lemongrass Ginger Tea (RM8.90)

Whenever I think of Vietnamese food, the rice-paper rolls and Pho, will come to my mind. So, these were the things I had at La Lot. The Fresh Summer Rolls were filled with shrimps and garden vegetables, and the peanut sauce that came with it was quite good.

Fresh Summer Rolls (RM16.90)

There were mant choices of Pho, some with clear soup and some with spicy soup. I opted for the Hanoi Beef Noodles with clear soup because that what I remembered of Pho.

Hanoi Beef Noodles (RM19.90)

A closer look at the Hanoi Beef Noodles with the basil leaves and bean sprouts in

What should I say about the food quality? Well, good but not top notch. The Vietnamese restaurants in Kuching used to serve food to the same standard as La Lot, but at a much cheaper price. Too bad that they ain't existing anymore.

Lunch at Din Tai Fung Restaurant

I was in Kuala Lumpur last week, supposedly to attend a short course but it was cancelled at the very last minute. My air ticket was the lowest fare of which I couldn't change the flight time. Furthermore, my hotel booking was also the online fare that was not refundable. Since I had already paid for all those, I stayed on.

Since another friend of mine also got stranded due to the course cancellation, we moved on to Mid Valley City for shopping and food. When we were looking for a place for lunch, I spotted Din Tai Fung (鼎泰豐) at The Gardens. I have always heard of the goodness of its xiao long bao (小籠包), or sometimes referred to as shanghai dumplings; but I hadn't tried it all this while. So, I decided to savour my taste bud there.

Din Tai Fung is a chain restaurant from Taiwan. Originally a cooking oil store, it is now an international chain of full-fledged restaurants, with three outlets in Malaysia at the moment. However, all these outlets are located within the Klang Valley only. I hope one day they will venture across the South China Sea to the Malaysian Borneo, particularly Kuching.

Since I was there for the first time, I really wanted to try whether the xiang long bao lives up to the standard of the hearsay. The crab-meat steamed dumplings (蟹肉小籠包), RM9.80++ for six pieces; were definitely better than those at Nanxiang Dumpling Restaurant (南翔饅頭店) in Shanghai. However, those at Jia Jia Dumpling (佳家汤包), also in Shanghai; are still top notch in my xiao long bao gastronomic adventure.

We also had the whole-shrimp shao mai (鮮蝦燒賣), RM13.80++ for six pieces. They were really good as there was still some broth inside the shao mai. A first bite onto the shao mai got the broth spilling into my mouth, which was quite a gastronomic experience. All this while, I thought only xiao long bao can offer such experience.

After having our stomach half-filled with those 'appetizers', we moved on to our main course. I wanted to have something with clear soup, so I settled with the chicken soup la mian (雞湯拉麵), RM15.80++. I first tried dipping the noodles into the soup but the noodles tasted tougher than normal. I finally poured the whole bowl of chicken stock to soak the noodles. The chicken soup was top notch; full with chicken flavour.

My lunch partner ordered a braised beef la mian (紅燒牛肉麵), RM16.80++; which is a very authentic Taiwanese food. The noodles were well soaked in this bowl of braised beef broth. The beef was very flavourful and tender.

We shared the two bowls of noodles so that we could taste more variety of the food there.

My lunch partner commented that the food looks better in small serving size. Do you agree? I think she was quite right as the chunks of meat looks much more generous in the small bowls.

There is really no secret of success of Din Tai Fung as it really lives up to the standard of simple but fine Chinese food. More often than not, the simplest food is the hardest to master in the culinary world.

Skyline of Kuala Lumpur from Dawn to Daylight

When I was in Kuala Lumpur last week, I asked for a hotel room with the view of the city skyline. Although the view was not that spectacular, I enjoyed watching the changing of hue from dawn to daylight. I hope you enjoy the view as much as I do.

Merry Christmas

I went down to downtown Kuala Lumpur when I was experiencing the flight cancellation and delay into Brisbane. I headed to the latest shopping establishment at Jalan Bukit Bintang, the Pavilion, and the Christmas decoration was already up and glowing.

Merry Christmas!

'Cha Siew' Frenzy

As I've mentioned in my earlier post, we were looking for the famous 'cha siew' (叉燒, barbecue or roast pork) along the road next to Jalan Alor (Tengkat Tong Shin) in K.L. but to no avail. After I have checked with the list my friend forwarded to me, this famous place for 'cha siew' is called Meng Kee (明記).

I went there again another day but Meng Kee (明記) was closed, so I just settled at another 'cha siew' stall at Restoran Ching Hai (青海茶餐室), just at the junction of Jalan Tong Shin and Tengkat Tong Shin.

The strands of 'cha siew' look very well roasted, waiting to be sliced on the chopping board to feed the 'cha siew' connoisseurs.

When the 'cha siew' was served on my table, I know that it gotta be good. Look at the slightly burnt tips and the shiny glaced surface! Its taste is on the sweet side. Although I didn't taste the one at the famed Meng Kee, I think the 'cha siew' here is good. You can have a try on your own when you are looking for food near Jalan Alor.

'Bak Kut Teh' Has No 'Teh'

When we were in K.L., our friends brought us to this eatery around Jalan Imbi for the 'bak kut teh.' This place's version of 'bak kut teh' is basically a pot of stork with everything in.

Their Chinese crullers are quite good, with crispy crust and fluffy texture inside.

The gluten sheets go very well when thrown into the pot of 'bak kut teh.'

This braised pork leg is also very well done with gluey skin and soft meat attached.

Well, after all the oily stuff, it's time to have something green to balance the heavy diet. The vegetable is crunchy and juicy, well done!

With all the meat dishes walloped up, we still have a steamed fish head to tug in!