Touch My Heart

“Touch the heart”, that is what it literary meant for the infamous Chinese cuisine,m Dim Sum. Apart from what was said as historical founding of Dim Sum (still with citation needed)in Wiki, to me somehow at the back of my mind, Dim Sum started right inside the royal palace. It was meant to be a feast fit for a King for sure, with its various complicated preparations, many special varieties, delicate creation (only possible to be created ages ago by King’s wives and concubines in their free time to win over his hearts) and most of with luxurious ingredients (in those times) like meat, seafood and fruits. I imagine many Dim Sum were churn out month after month by them just to compete to ‘touch the heart’ of their King. Just in case, I might reiterate that this was all in the back of my mind, histories formed by me out of too many Chinese dramas and stories I would say. I would quote what I said as ‘citation needed’ as well, he-he.

Once I read from a long time favourite Hong Kong food blog of mine, his version of how Dim Sum came about, certainly the other side of the coin in comparison to mine. To Cha Xiu Bao it was “point to the heart” where it meant stab to the heart with a cleaver, you say ‘what!’; well to know the full story head over here. For me, let me remain with my girlish dreams of ‘touching hearts’ and happy endings.

As Chinese, I am somehow strangely drawn towards Dim Sum, my banner has already long displays my love for it. Moreover, I am one who delights in many tastes and textures during my meal, and where else can I get it better than a Dim Sum feast. We have the soft pillowy Char Xiu Bao (steamed pork bun), chewy Siu Mai (steamed pork dumpling), delicate Har Gau (steamed shrimp dumpling in thin translucent skin), soft silky Cheong Fun (steamed rolled rice noodles), crunchy and crumbly Wu Gok (fried taro dumpling with shrimp/pork/mushrooms), steamy and soupy Xiu Long Bao (steamed mini pork dumplings with soup) and the rests of sweet desserts to clear the palate such as Egg Tart, Jin Dui (fried sesame dumpling with sweet fillings) and water chestnut cake (had it in Hong Kong, seldom found in Malaysia). From these you can imagine how I fell head over heels in first bite for this cuisine since I was young where the love was further much reinforced during my trip to Hong Kong.

So when I J told me to seek for a Dim Sum brunch buffet for his father’s birthday-plus-father’s day celebration, my heart made a summersault of joy, and so I went in quest to find a good one of which I did, I found China Treasures.

Although it was Halal, pardon me but many of the famous Dim Sum is actually made of pork and we cannot really imagine otherwise, the definite first response from a typical Chinese would be “no pork definitely will be not as nice”, but China Treasures truly crosses this stereotype and brought us to enjoy Dim Sum in new ways. I would not say it is better than other rich pork-laden Dim Sum out there, but in its own class, it is praise worthy. In fact when we talk bout pork must-have is definitely the Cha Xiu Bao, and here we have one which taste surprisingly quite like the real one, slightly different yet still tasty, I had doubled orders for it, note that this is buffet style where you can order as many times as you want, provided you can finish it, and boy can J family and I eat, we definitely can be certified as top customers after that, in the eating-the-most department of course.


One special dish was the dumpling in special sauce which I could not remember the Chinese name but it was indeed special, where it is a cross of Sui Gao (shrimp and pork dumpling, in this case no pork) with sweet and slightly spicy sauce. It was J’s mum’s favourite.


We also had cheong fun to fill in some area of our never-ending stomach; I must say it was pretty good as well. Skin is soft and filling is flavourful though the chilli lack some kick.


Next was the Har Gao, one of my Dim Sum favourite, where this one scores pretty well with translucent and soft skin plus generous fillings of fresh prawns, delish!


Then we had various usual Dim Sum dishes of Xiu Long Bao, meatballs, fishballs and Siu Mai, though these dishes aren’t exactly praiseworthy but it was nonetheless alright for me.


We also had a soup dish each, I could not remember what was it called again but it wasn’t exactly really good as it had a slightly fishy taste to it.


At the fried department, we had many varieties, which not all that I managed to take pictures of. I remembered a there was the favourite dragonbeard dumpling, where it was rolled in vermicelli and then deep fried, crunchy and tasty and definitely need chef of certain skills to make it. We also had fried turnip cake, Wu Gok (taro cake) and not to forget is the stir fried carrot cake which was really good and we finished it so fast I did not manage to take a picture of it, but luckily you can have a look here.


We also missed out the fried almond dumpling in first few orders and had it at the last, much to our regret as it was really good as well. If I was not wrong, it was seafood paste coated with almond and then deep fried.


Scoring high on the dessert department was the sweet potato puff, where earlier I read that it was good at WMW, and boy was she right. The puff was crumbly and crispy the same while the sweet potato filling was not too sweet and authentic. The egg tarts was alright too as I remembered.


Finally we all had a dessert each, inclusive in the promotion, where we ordered a few varieties, the special lime jelly which was not exactly as expected as it does have a ‘special’ taste to it, the fig tree tong sui (sweet soup) was not bad as claimed by Q and finally my mango cream was good as well, creamy and sweet. One that was not pictured here was the walnut cream, which was rich in taste and texture, definitely worth a try.



Overall, China Treasures is definitely a place I recommend if you want to have a good and quiet feast with your family and friends. The brunch buffet promotion of RM33++ (only till end of this year, so hurry!) is a steal for such fine dining, just a note though they charge extra for the appetizers they serve up front, so let them know if you do not want it. The service was good and attentive, environment clean and peaceful (just a bit packed during peak lunch hour). What more can we ask for with Dim Sum dining of various choices, air conditioned without the usual rowdy crowds and Chinese teas serve in these beautiful dainty little cups. Told you it was a feast fit for a King.


China Treasures
Sime Darby Convention Centre
1A, Jalan Bukit Kiara 1,
Kuala LumpurTel
03 - 2089 3788
http://www.simedarbyconvention.com/

Sime Darby Convention Centre on Wikimapia

The Hakka and Healthy Side of Me

Alright, I am still alive, I repeat alive, albeit slightly worn out. No I was not lost in a jungle from my camping trip. And no I did not forget this blog. Life has been pretty hectic, sounds familiar but yes I guess that is the general direction my life tends to lean towards. I finally got my apartment, found tenants to save me on my rent, shifted in my loads of things and have YET to clean up the place after a major renovation, and by major I meant repainting, piping, tiling, adding kitchen counter, ceiling fans and phew, I sincerely could not remember everything. It was a total makeover, yet to be completed, due to my laziness, and some events popping up here and there. So finally I would have a kitchen to myself, but I have yet to even clean it out and displayed my things in its full glory. Ah, I can feel the tham jiak inside me squirming to roam free again in her very own kitchen, so I commit here to as soon as possible, make it decent enough to cook a meal. There said.

Speaking of being really busy, besides my ever increasing work load and eventful personal life, I have added my business up a notch – workout. Alright, what is a tham jiak person doing with workout? Well, I guess in order to stay tham jiak while remain healthy, I guess one have to make some drastic moves, and so I did. There, be proud of me alright. So on speaking of being busy plus working out, I had to talk about eating healthy as well right?

There was one incredible Hakka dish that I can always count on when I want a quick fix for lunch, where it is fast, full of good stuff and definitely fuel you up for the day – Ho Po Lui Cha. Have I ever mention before that I was half Hakka? I am, as my mum is Hakka, though I am not sure which clan, but indeed this side of me loves the traditional dish of Lui Cha. I read it before long ago, and have always wanted to try but did not make the effort to travel far just for a ‘quick fix’, and lo and behold, I stumbled upon one right outside my house here. This one was a vegetarian version; you would not miss much meat here but sometimes was enough to satisfy my thirst for Lui Cha before I fulfill my quest to find the ultimate one.

Restoran Gembira
39 Jalan
SS24/8
Taman Megah
Petaling Jaya
also famous for its Sarawak Kolo Mee)

Lui Cha is different in terms of Malaysia’s hawker ‘fast food’, where it does not have fatty siu yoke, char siew, fried lards and just a little bit of vegetable at the side. This one is full of it, it is green-tea-soup based with loads of vegetables, tofu, brown rice (sometimes you can opt for white but why would one when the brown ones gave it dish so much depth and brings it to a deeper level of healthiness) and toasted peanuts plus other lentils. The greenish soup, as explained in Wiki as, “Lei cha (literally "pounded tea") is a Hakka tea-based beverage or gruel consisting of a mix of tea leaves that are ground or pounded together with various roasted nuts, seeds, and grains”, definitely would not be just anyone’s cup of tea, J had a long time before he got use to eat, and still only eat a little from my share once a while. But somehow, with the thought of heathiness, plus all the goodness in it, I just somehow found myself falling in love with the dish, besides the wonderful textures and taste of course.


And then I stumbled upon another Lui Cha at SS2’s Restaurant OK. It totally blew me off. It was more flavourful, with addition of some dried prawns and with truly fragrant toasted peanuts. I would certainly opt for this one anytime, but it is hard to get a seat here usually on weekends lunch time and parking is a tad crazy too. But somehow, I am happy I found that I am willing to brace the crowd for once a while when the craving hits.

Restoran Okay
SS2 Cheow Yang Area
(also famous for Wan Tan Mee)

Then there was also one place, near the place I used to work at Sri Petaling. Usually, J and I would come out for lunch, those were the lovely days, I would always again and again suggest to go there as I absolutely love the generous portion of Lui Cha there with to-die-for nutty brown rice. This rice is especially special compare to the rest of those I tried out there, and it also scores in having fragrantly toasted peanuts. I had a wonderful picture of it long ago, but too bad it was stuck in a temporarily dysfunction home computer, once I got it out, I would certainly post it here. You corporate slaves of TPM should certainly head to Rabbit Café, yes that is the name, certainly a cliché one for having healthy Lui Cha. Do try out its value for money and fulfilling set lunches that comes with choices of rojak or fruits and coffee or tea. I miss it so much.

Rabbit Cafe
No. 12G & 14G,
Jalan 14/149L,
Zone P,
Bandar Baru Sri Petaling,
57000 Kuala Lumpur


Finally most recent addition to my list was non other than another nearby spot to my house, the famous Ming Tien, for its huge selection yes every changing stalls. I guess due to its size, there are more stalls that might changed. This one was nothing spectacular, still good enough to satisfy whenever I am there and stumped for choice, oh yes, I usually could not find anything from the vast selection usually, therefore having my favourite healthy Lui Cha seemed like a natural choice.

Ming Tien
Jalan SS 24/8,
Taman Megah,
47301 Petaling Jaya,
Selangor

So there you have it, a short guide to finding Lui Cha around my house area, ha-ha, well around PJ area plus one at Sri Petaling. Do drop me comments here if you have good recommendations. The hunt for the ultimate Lui Cha have not ended yet!

Healthy Food Anyone?

How many of you have sworn to eat healthier for this year? Wow, so many hands? How many of you have eat healthier, eat lesser, exercise more, lose weight, get fitter or something of its like in one or all of your new year resolution(s)? Wow, even more hands? Especially with the Christmas and New Year holiday just passed us by, many of us are still carrying the excesses in our bodies. For us Chinese, we are dreading (or secretly rejoicing) for the coming Chinese New Year which meant more indulgences, snacks and extravagant meals to come. I bet we are already imagining the scale needle moving towards the right.

So let’s all try to eat a little healthier for this month, to shed the excess of last year’s indulgence while for us Chinese to prepare for the upcoming unavoidable feasting just around the corner. Just thinking of the tuin nim fan (reunion dinner) on the night before the Chinese New Year, I can already visualize a table kept filling with rich dishes one after another like where can only have it in special occasions.

Last year (I am still enjoying using that reference of as if long, long ago which could also just mean few weeks ago), Q and I went for a late lunch due to some unexpected circumstances, I would not want to mention here what it was as she might give me a knock on the head again. So, after the unexpected occurrence, I was feeling hungry as I haven’t had my lunch yet and since it is on the way back home, we dropped by Sri Hartamas for some healthy Korean jook (congee) at Bonjuk.


I read about this place once at KY (I seem to have read about many places there or have KY eats at all the places that could be eaten already?), since then I had always wanted to drop by to try it out. I am the type who are always in for some healthy food, the type who is eager to check out the organic shop and the type who would hop over to see what the fuss is all about some new healthier version of an old classic. I am also the type who would be attracted to a tweaked healthier version of a recipe, the type who would sneak in healthier alternative when she cooks or the type who would not resist having any healthy desserts (there are actually such foods). I usually would not bring J for such healthy options as for a big ravenous guy like him jook would not fill him enough, what more healthy jook? Luckily this time, I have Q to bring along to indulge (pun intended) that healthy part of me.


Bonjuk’s interior was simple and clean, and since it was at weird hour, neither lunch nor dinner, so it was pretty quiet with just another table of a mother and her son. We sat down and were served the menu immediately. We were spoiled many choices of healthy jook to choose from and if you are interested on it, do hop over at their website and read through all the choices and its nutritious benefits. Note: I have just checked, their website is currently down, do check back next time.


I ordered octopus and kim chi jook, as I have always been a fan of Korean kim chi (Korean fermented vegetable). It came in a striking orange hue, which had Q looking at it wide eyed; I was already salivating by then. It had a pretty unique taste, slightly spicy, slightly salty with hint of kim chi and sweet with the generous chewy octopuses. It was also mixed in with sesame seeds and seaweeds. It seemed to be made up of all the food that I like, healthy too I might say.


Q ordered shrimp jook, which was generous with prawns and chopped carrots and vegetables. It was also sweet and salty, with the right blend of tastes. The jook here are cooked with small grain rice that still have some bite to them, yet already in the form of stickiness. It was certainly a well cooked jook.


The nice thing is that each jook came with a set of side dishes, which can be refilled to one's heart content; I did a few times! There were kim chi, though not the best I have tasted but for kim chi I am all for no matter how. Then there were the salted meat slices which were dangerously addictive and go really well with the jook. There was also a paste which I am not sure what of, but it was a bit spicy with hints of garlic. The final side dish was a bowl of soup which Q found really odd as it was more on the sweet side, yet it was suppose to be a savoury version as it had daikon and and chili in it, the most special part is that it was served chilled, with crushed ice. I found it quite a palate cleanser thus enjoyed it pretty well but Q stayed away from it. I guess indeed it was an acquired taste, and I believe I do have trained my tham jiak tongue to acquire many tastes, textures and temperatures in this case.


We washed it all down with green teas; mine the Korean rice green tea while Q, not such a fan of ‘ricey' green tea ordered the plain one. I guess it was an acquired taste too?

The food was indeed good, filling and most of all healthy. Bonjuk claimed that their foods are made to order and as fresh as can be. After the meal I was still satiated late into the night, not feeling quesy(yes I have a sensitive stomach) or hungry easily. Instead I felt fresh! So thumbs up for a filling yet healthy meal and I would certainly go again whenever I have a chance out with girl-friends that are also the type who join in the healthy hype.

Bonjuk
18, Grd Flr, Jln 25/70A,
Desa Sri Hartamas
50480 Kuala Lumpur
03-2300 2302

A Resolution and a Review

If I did not post this one soon, I would certainly get the lecture and the look from my one of my dearest reader, Q, who is also J's sister. Q was once an avid reader of this humble blog, who had then moved on to live without the usual dose of it in the beginning of this year where I had lacked seriously in updating this blog. Now that I am slowly easing back to more postings, I better buck up as I see the count is still unsatisfactory. My upcoming New Year resolution is to once again actively scour for new food finds in Malaysia, cook, and bake and churn more food, travel and taste more new flavours and most importantly, post the worthy ones to share with the world. I can imagine Q rolling her eyes now, maybe you are too?

Changing the subject, let’s talk about Q instead. Q was also like me, a true tham jiak at heart, though very much also a health maniac who have been a trusted consultant of mine in my fitness endeavours, therefore we always discuss about food enthusiastically. One night, on a rare occasion, Q and I were out together, because we were spurred by the Guardian’s year-end-sale flyer (marketing victims), therefore we headed to the nearest big outlet in the ever popular SS2. In my mind I was already flipping through all the possible restaurants of SS2 to decide where to eat in. Although SS2 was really abundant with food hounds, we were stumped on the decision part. Finally Q, a trusty tham jiak companion said she read about a new restaurant in SS2 in the Star Metro, where the chef was former La Bodega chef who had ventured out to open a place himself. I remembered reading a bad review at Tankiasu’s before and told her about it and then she says “Aiya, cannot eat local food at these kind of café, after all the chef is from La Bodega (specializing in European food) right?” So I agreed happily and we headed on to the place.

Greenwood Café has a chic yet subtle interior where it would have been a nice dining atmosphere if not for a rowdy crowd there that day who is making some commotion for a birthday girl. That aside, the staff there was well mannered, though a bit timid in their food recommendations and servings. I settled on ordering tea for two, although the timid staff tried to have me try their claimed-famous kat jai shun mui (sour calamansi) drink, since I was in mood for hot tea that day. I ordered Chamomile tea and it came in a lovely English set.


Then for the main, I ordered Fish and Chips hoping that it would not turn out a disappointment like the countless bad fish and chips I had in Malaysia; too oily, too bready, not crunchy, too little fish or too crumbly. This one was a surprise where it came breaded with herbs and was deep fried to perfection. Certainly not the authentic Fish and Chips style, but this one is unique and I must say really tasty. The hint of herbs in the crust was certainly a nice touch to this dish and I also love the side salad that came with my favourite purple lettuce. The picture taken was a set up by Q, who knew I would post it on this blog, so she made it all the more elaborate and interesting for you all.


Next the dish for Q, she was attracted to the idea of create-your-own burger by the chef, thus she ‘assembled’ her burger of beef and cheese. It came looking really good with well thought presentation, I did not try it but according to Q it was as good as it looks.


Though the burger came a bit slow, the menu had put a warning of 15 minutes preparation, but we had waited up to 30 minutes for this, and the staffs were a bit timid, I would say overall this café is doing quite well for a new establishment. Q and I both agreed that the serving is just right for us, satiated without feeling bloated. I have spied on its breakfast menu and would be back one day to try it out; it seemed like a good choice for a lazy weekend brunch. Reading the various mixed reviews from other food bloggers, I came to conclusion that the western dishes served here are recommended for its taste as well as for its reasonable price and portion while the local dishes are to be avoided. Anyhow, if you are in SS2 hungry for some food and could not decide like me, Greenwood Café would be a fine choice to end the arduous decision making and to fill your growling stomach.

GreenWood Cafe Cuisine Cafe & Bistro
No.5, Jalan SS2/67,
Petaling Jaya, 47300
Selangor
03-78778577
Weekday 11am-1am
Weekend 10am-1am

Grandma Cooks Best

Is it true that grandmas always cook better than your mum? Is it due to fact that they had longer experience, more trial and errors with perfected dishes, as well as the whim and confidence of a seasoned cook? Or is it just because for my generation, our grandmas are the one who had been through real hardships in life, where in the end they persevered and channel their strength and love through food to their children, and their children’s children?

Both my grandmas, Ah Ma and Pho Pho, which I have so fondly talked about all the time, have gone through hardships in their own way. I had told a really extensive story before of Ah Ma, of how she a princess when she was young, thrown to hardship during the war times and then got into marriage and ended up raising 11 kids. For my Pho Pho is a whole new hardship of life, a whole new tale to spin. Ah well, that would be another post of another day, where I would be featuring a dish especially by her. A look at how she always put up a feast for every Chinese New Year shows what an experienced great cook she is. She just needs the morning, waking up at wee hours of 4am and then has the entire 10 course meal ready by lunch time for all. On the other hand, my Ah Ma cooks with her due time, cleaning every inch of the food, slicing everything to perfection and cooking each to the right time. Therefore Ah Ma need at least a day to laboriously churn out good food for the night. Both are entirely different, with entirely different taste of food, where my Ah Ma’s is usually simple and light Cantonese dishes while Pho Pho’s is thick, in depth and full of complex flavours Hakka dishes. For me Ah Ma’s food should always be for the no-nonsense everyday fare while Pho Pho’s food is for the elaborate all-out special occasions fare.

Anyway, far away from home, and lack of good grandma’s home-cooked food, I had to make do with outside food. Though it has been quite sometime since J and I went out in venture for food, due to work as well as more laidback life and cutback on our calories resolution, we found ourselves driving out one day in search of food without a direction. J had just got rewarded with Baskin Robbins (which is one of my icy treats indulgence) voucher for being a good employee, such a nice company right, and so we decided to head to Uptown where I know there is an independent BR outlet there. So we decided to have our dinner around that area and cruise around for the right shop to eat. Suddenly J spotted a restaurant, boasting of home cook food and dim sum choices. On the first trip we had really good dishes that even J, the renown food critic (only to me ha-ha) praises it. So promptly on that weekend itself, I met up with dad and uncle at the same restaurant for dinner, of course base on recommendation from J and me. The second trip was a bit of hit and miss, but overall it is still good enough for me to return for more tryouts.

First we had to have our fix of siu long bao, which came in 5 dumplings for one basket. For this I would say the skin was a little too thick for my liking, especially in compare to the Hong Kong ones I tried (look at the nearly translucent skin), yes I know it is unfair to compare, but the upside was the soup are all sealed in well here and was really well flavoured. For J, THE food critic, said this was even better than Dragon I’s as the one we had there last time leaked out all the wonderful soup, where from then he swore never to have it again at Dragon I, yes a really adamant critic. This one to his delight, when he bit into it, the juices shot out and got to me, luckily just my hands, yes, it was THAT soupy, so J gave it the thumbs up. Too bad they ran out of the big version where KY had, else we would really enjoy the ‘soup’ in the pao. Oh well, maybe next time.

Next up was the main dishes. J was already really hungry thus the bias review, but to me it was good as well, really with the home-cooked feel of grandma’s cooking. One I immediately have to call for was the Jiu Hu Char (stir fried yam bean with cuttlefish), which I say my Pho Pho makes a mean one, but this one was more of the lighter version, which my Ah Ma does cook minus the jiu hu (dried shredded cuttlefish) which we called chau mang kuang (stir fried yam bean), so this was like a cross version of my Ah Ma’s and Pho Pho’s, all the better. I am really missing them now. I found a recipe of this dish here, if any of you are brave enough to try.


Then J had to have his fix of egg, which was one of his favourite must-haves, he ordered the foo yong tan (fried egg with onion slices), which came like just out of a Chinese home kitchen. We love the simplicity!


Of course we then need meat in our fare, so J took the liberty and ordered butter curry leaves chicken. It was special, not really an everyday fare of grandma’s kitchen, but it was good. The chicken was first deep fried then poured on with butter and curry leaves thick sauce. Just describing it makes me want to eat again.


On the separate occasion with dad, we ordered chicken rendang, which came in Chinese-fied version, which tasted quite good as well. It reminds me of my Pho Pho’s curry chicken which was not too spicy yet very flavourful, but this one the drier version, hence rendang, which is cooked till dried.


Since twice our visit, the waitress recommended us to try the assam fish, therefore we give in on this time. Turn out, it was not so good. The fish was not so fresh, definitely a no-no in both my grandma’s kitchens, as well as it is not ‘assam’ (sour) enough and the soup was just bit too thick. Even my version of it was way better.


Last dish which we had different from our first trip was the lou tau foo (braised tofu in soy sauce) and eggs. This is a typical home cooked food, where it is a simple dish of braising the tofu and egg together with soy sauce, sugar and herbs.


Though we had a miss with the assam fish, we would definitely return again to have the thick-skin but soupy siu long bao, the cross version of both my grandmother’s jiu hu char and other dishes that I had noted down to try. I kept the receipt so that I have the address but somehow it got lost somewhere during my writing and finally my publishing of this post. Luckily, I found that KY did a review as well, so I just copied the address from his, thanks KY! As for the prices, it was really affordable, somewhere just smaller portion with same price as the usual Chinese cookout restaurants, but with a home cook taste.

Restoran Grandma Kitchen Cafe
6, Jalan SS21/39, D.U.,
PJ, 47400 Selangor
03-7722 1886

P/S: This review appeared in The Star (Malaysia leading English newspaper) Sundaymetro! I'm so happy, so if you're readers from there, welcome! The link is here (though I don't know how long before it will be archived).

When life gives you Monday

you take it as a reason to pigged out. Now listen to me, if your wonderful weekend has just whiz passed you, if you had just started to go into the fun drive but got the handbrake pulled instead and if the week ahead looks like a long road down to Alabama (from where I don’t know, it just sounds good), you go out there and get yourself satiated, no make it bloated. I am serious. Forget the doctor, forget the therapist, forget the depression pills, all you need is a good chow down on what your body craves or whatever possibilities of food that you saw that appeals to you in a zealous successful advertising way.

Anyway, last Monday, my good fren L, if you remember my dearest guest blogger, who once made quite a few reviews of food in Penang, is now working in KL, which gave us more chances to food hunt, thus she called on me to rescue her blue day. Monday had somehow always been a killer, thus coined with Monday Blues. I don’t know how that term (again) comes about but I just know once a while it does take over the day and everything seems bit gloomy and nothing seems to go right. So L, she called me at the end of the day, telling me that once again, she have some certain cravings, this time for chocolate cake to comfort her mood. Oh well, would this tham jiak resist her best friend invitation? Of course not, this tham jiak can have a chance to dig into food while being a good friend, it is like killing two birds with one stone.

Anyway, once L arrives in KLCC (the current new place that I work in, more on that in another post), we went out in search of chocolate cake, as L does not want to go to the usual norm of Secret Recipe. So I came up with the idea to go Chilis, which does have a chocolate molten cake on the menu, serving a tham jiak’s memory of it, but I have yet to try it before. The idea came as I wanted to eat their bottomless tostadas chips (evil, evil moriesh stuff, will write up on this) as well as the one salad that I always crave for. When we got there, the man in front who decides who get fed and who are condemned to eternity of hunger, told us the place is full (we totally forgot that it is Buka Puasa time), and ask us to return only after 8! This is definitely outrageous for two girls on high with food cravings. We could have took out our high heels and start whacking him but, as a victim of conformity to the social world we would hold ourselves back, thus our eyes and nose start searching for alternatives.

So naturally, when we saw the Vienna Bagels stall, right opposite of Chillis, we got attracted straightaway. L asked me what bagel is and out of my food blogs surfing and recipes reading (yes I am that food crazy), I told her roughly how it is done. A bagel is first boiled and then baked, much healthier than its look-alike doughnut, fluffy due to the boiling of the dough and crunchy outer crust due to finishing with baking. Perfecto!

Since we both have yet to try this specialty, we quickly go over to the cute little stall and bought the set of 3, for only RM7.50. Then, like two school-girls with bunch of sweets, we chuckle in delight and took our box of bagels down to KLCC Park to feast on it, all to ourselves.

We sat down at the steps opposite a lovely view of fountain; sorry we are too busy digging into the bagels to take picture of the fountain, so back to the limelight - bagels. We bought three flavours, and thanks to the picture of the menu by Teckiee, I am able to name all the bagels correctly. From far left is Mexitaliano Bagel (boo’s favourite), the most common tried and true Sour Cream and Onion and finally for our sweet cravings, Dark Flakes, the best seller dark chocolate sprinkled with almond flakes bagel, my favourite, bias as I am a chocolate and almond lover.

Since dear L have not been writing on my food blog for quite some time, I decided to get her to give a short review on each of the yummy bagels:

Mexitaliano
L: surprises me with the little tinge of spiciness. It will be a great savory if you want to escape having something sweet

Sour Cream
L: is always the classic. It is absolutely delicious and it will not fail you

Chocolate Flakes
L: For the chocolate enthusiastic, the almond flaked bagel with dark chocolate is also very satisfying. I was literally licking my fingers clean!

I don’t know if this is the best bagel ever as both of us never had any before this. As babe reviewed, it is too dense and chewy to be like bagel (not fluffy as should be for boiled) and it is more like pretzels, which we found quite true. L also commented on the similiarity to Auntie Anne’s bagel when she first bit into it, and so I did a quick research on the difference and found that pretzel are first dipped in warm lye water for 15 – 30 seconds and then bake in oppose to bagels boil in medium hot water for bout 1 minute before baking. Oh well, not to bore you with all these techniques (unless I planned to make them, which someday I sure hope I will, but not in this post anyway), all in all it was good eats for L and me. It certainly did solve our kicking hormones and drove away the Monday blues.

Vienna Soft Fresh Bagels
Lot K35, Third Floor
Suria KLCC
Kuala Lumpur
03-9200 4933

J Birthday: Short but Sweet Celebration

This is one birthday post after another. What does this represents? On flip side it meant I am slacking in my post, on the other good side is that my life has been real rich, full of celebration and happiness.

Before this I was in a midst of writing a heavily-emotion-laden post, but I got a writer’s block. I could not seem to convey all my feeling into the post as I used to always can. Has something gotten into me? Or is it just writer’s block? Or is it an occasion blockage due to overdose of changing, celebrating life and dreams that are piling high?

Anyway, since my brain is clogged, I shoved that post aside to draft and instead post up event instead. I would keep this post simple as well as fun as how it should be for it is a birthday post for J. Yes, it was a year since my bake out for J, and as a quote runs dry due to too many usages, I would still say that this time I am too busy to actually cook or bake anything. Thus I make a mental note for myself; I can and should cook regardless of the occasion whenever I had the chance.

Anyway, J treated his family to a lovely dinner at Tai Thong, where we filled our tummy to our hearts’ content.

First up was the stir-fried vegetable (I forgot the Chinese name, what more it’s English’s) with belacan. It was up to par with the usual Chinese eateries out there but the price was a tad bit ridiculous, above even meats.

Then it was the wu tau kau yok (braised pork belly with yam slices). What makes this dish special is the presents of nam yue (fermented red bean curd). I can’t seem to find more description of it, but let’s just say, it has an unique taste and it gives dishes pink hues. This wu tau kau yok is a dish where either you love it or you hate it. For me I used to dislike it, but now, the taste had somehow hooked on and thus, become a favourite of mine. The version here in Tai Thong was good, really home-cooked type. I’m not too sure though the origin of this dish, not Cantonese I suppose as my Ah Ma did not cook it, certainly don’t have those criterias. This dish is definitely not light literally or in spices term.

Anyway, next up was the yu pin chow keong (stir-fried fish slices with ginger). This was my favourite dish, as I love ginger (maybe unconsciously had cheered on due to fact it’s expelling air properties, which was usually what I need most). Besides, the fish slices was smooth and sweet, the ginger was just enough with the spring onions. Absolutely delish.

Then it was we also ordered claypot taufu with minced pork, nothing too spectacular but still delicious.

Besides this we also had nam yue pai kuat (fried pork ribs coated with fermented red bean curd). Nam yue again, you might ask, but it was nowhere similar to the wu tau kau yok, still with nam yue taste but definitely more prominent and just that. I had this dish elsewhere which was better and crispier. We also ordered Mooncake at the end as our dessert, as now mooncake is full of varieties due to research and development here, this one was a twist from the traditional flavour, snow skin beans with mashed egg yolk. I forgot to take picture for it, thus I took the liberty to cut out the picture from the website, please do not sue me. This mooncake was good, smooth filling, not too sweet and just enough flavouring. This is also the ping-pei type (chilled soft skin), in oppose to the baked ones.

Overall, I would say Tai Thong offered worth the money for the food and the atmosphere, but they seriously lack in their service part. So if they buck up on this area, it would be a really good place for family celebration or gatherings.

Summer Palace Chinese Restaurant (Damansara Utama)
101, Ground Floor, Wisma Dijaya
Jalan SS20/1, Damansara Utama
47400 Petaling Jaya
03 7726 8616
Mon - Sat
11.30am - 2.30pm
6.30pm - 10.30pm
Sun & Public Holidays
9.00am - 2.30pm
6.30pm - 10.30pm

Anyway, back to J. It is after all his birthday. This time, as I had said, I did not cook or bake. So where is the cake? Well, I wanted to get a special cake (as well I confessed that it fits well with my last minute buying), so I bought these cakes, yes cakes, from Secret Recipe (a well known cake house and café in Malaysia, more to that next time).

Isn’t it lovely? Well now everyone can taste a bit of everything, I tried to get all cheese cakes for it was J’s favourite, but I sneaked in a chocolate one (think of the love affair) as I could not resist and also not to forget it’s famous Chocolate Banana Cake, which J also likes very much.

I thought I said this would be a short post, well I guess my (tham jiak) brain start working again when it got to food. Nontheless, with tummies filled and sweet teeth satisfied, overall it was a good celebration, wouldn’t you agree?

My Birthday: Prolonged Celebration

My birthday came and went, not in a fast food fashion but instead in a motion of a candlelight dinner that seems to last forever (or till the restaurant closed). It had stretched from the day before my birthday till even a week and more after it, which I had still been celebrating, with food of course. When it comes to celebration, it would inadvertently mean food. What more for this Tham Jiak girl, it would definitely be food, more food and good food at that.

As this year, unlike my last year celebration where I baked a cake for myself, sis and cousin, I had instead sit back and relax (or in more truthful term: lazy), and enjoyed all there is to eating out. Even the cake is store bought at the very last minute. Then the rest are bought by my lovely friends, which coincidently bought cakes from the same bakery but only different flavours. They did had the better choice than me as the cake I got was not really up to par, even my overdue-cheesecake could have been better.

After a year since my previous birthday celebration it was not all that different, I still had the same trio of celebration with the same families sitting together for a lovely dinner, but somehow it is different. I still had party with my bunch of friends, only this time in two separate occasions (of two separate groups) and all eating out. But why I feel that it is different? Is it because I have matured another year? Is it because I am no longer a carefree student enjoying until the few-last-24 hours torture prior to each exam? Is it because this time I am paying instead of my daddy? Is it because I am now facing self sustenance and not anymore the family’s baby (though I never have been one anyway)?

Looking back, this year had been a new phase of life for me. After throwing the mortar, I am now running the rat-race like most people just because we are all finding for a piece of cheese, or a slice of it or just more cheese. How was it? It was really different. Again. Yes, different again. It is a dog-eat-dog world out there, not surprising to me as I have been warned way before I stepped into it. But in the usual law of the nature, where there are blacks because there are whites, then where there are some who are not-too-good-to-mention-what people, there are also many who are helpful, sincere, genuine and simply nice.

Anyway, back to the topic of my birthday, or else I would start preaching. It seems funny how people take the extra efforts on birthday to catch up with each other, a reason to be all loopy and cheery and also an occasion to splurge without worries. Well, I am one who falls into this cliché category. After the celebration with my families who I had only seen on and off for quite a while ago, I had finally catch up with my universities friends as well, which guilty as charge, I must say it had been a year since I met them. It was really cool to catch up and listens to many stories of jumping ships as well as smooth sailing ones and not to mention rocky and ready to sink ones as well. Then by next weekend, I then arranged a gathering for my high school 1984 buddies at Chillis One Utama. It had been ages since we all meet up (all 10 except 1 who is in Taiping), and it was amazing how we can actually all get together for a designated time, with our separate busy routines. Well, as my good friend L says, “it just takes someone to organize, and somehow everyone will try to make it”. Then it was the week thereafter that I celebrated with my ex and current colleagues. Didn’t I warn you early on that my birthday had been like a prolong candlelight dinner where the restaurant seems to open 24 hours?

Besides the many celebrations that I had, with friends and family, last but definitely not least, I must talk about one that every tham jiak (food-lover) goes weak at the knee for. Yes, it’s definitely the act of filling one’s tummy with as much delicious food as one can from savouries to sweet endings. J, as I had said, a true partner any tham jiak girl can ever ask for, took me to an Italian buffet lunch at Avanti, Sunway Hotel. Oh boy, what a feast we had.

First I had numerous rounds at the raw sort-of-Japanese section where I took as many sashimis as I can devour and thoroughly enjoyed it. The raw salmon and tuna was fresh, the raw oyster, with freshly squeezed lemon on it was simply lovely.


Then I head on to the main dishes. There was not too many selections, but most of them are well thought out and made with care. Thought the chicken breast was bit too dry and hard, the rest was delicious. There were many fishes such as salmon, cod and a few more which was cooked tenderly and each accompanied by complementary sauces. For a fish lover like me, it was heaven. Then there was the beef and lamb, which was tender and just right. The cheesy lasagna was also great, but I stopped myself from taking more in order not to fill up.

I missed the appetizer section earlier on, thus I had it after my mains. It was great, but I forgot to take pictures. I built my own cheese platter from the selections, enjoying it with candied nuts and fruits. There were also the well roasted zucchinis and tomatoes. The miss here was the brushetta-like bread topped with beans and tomatoes, it was quite bland.


Finally, the moment came for me to enjoy what every girl would enjoy most in a buffet, the dessert section! I eagerly filled up my plate with a little of everything. Once again it was hit and misses, but sadly mostly misses. The desserts here were not up to par as I had expected it to be, which I might set too high. Just like how one goes in to watch a movie with great expectation and somehow ended up not enjoying as much as he would if he had not expected it in the first place. Among all, I would say the tiramisu was good, though not your classic type but still good in its own fusion way. The mini chocolate fondue where a dipped marshmallows and strawberry was nice, for a chocolate lover this is a bias review.


As it is my birthday, Avanti had his chef going around singing birthday songs to the babies of the day. Turns out there were about 5 other kids who are having the same birthday as me. Anyway, the chef came and sang me a really cool rendition of birthday song, accompanied by violin as well as two of the sous-chef (I guess) singing along. They brought this ‘cake’ when they sang for me. The chef certainly has a good vocal, what a talent for both cooking and singing.


That marks the end of my gluttonous brunch, it seems like I ate all the meals of the day in one seating. I was more of satiated then bloated, so it was a really satisfied meal, albeit at the end of the full scale. Every table was set with a clean white sheet and a glass of crayons for scribblings to accompany the meal (note the background of the food pictures). We did end up filling the paper to our own amusement. It was a nice touch to the overall ambience here.

Well not to get too lengthy like my over-celebrated birthday, I would end my birthday post with a note to self:

The best birthdays of all are those that haven't arrived yet. – Robert Orben

Avanti, Sunway Lagoon Resort Hotel
Persiaran Lagoon, Bandar Sunway,
46150 Petaling Jaya,
Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia.
(603) 7492 8000

Our Favourite Breakfast Place

How did my blog got into maintanence state? Thanks to Zoto for sure. They decided that they no longer offer free picture storage and then lock me from assessing my pictures. Worst, they decide to rip it off the face of the internet. Yes I am venting in anger here. It cause my whole blog to feature gray flowers as food! Besides, they do not allow retrieval of pictures, and asked to fill in form for pictures to be send back to you (which till now is no where in sight). Anyhow, I would urge everyone out there to never pay money for Zoto’s irresponsible services. I also found out that to republish post with pictures are painstakingly taking up my time. Sigh. I only manage to republish my Bangkok posts. The rest will have to come in batches (especially my favourite penang posts! Sobs).

Anyway, anger aside, I hope everyone here will welcome me back, despite the absence. Where have I been? Let’s just say it is the usual excuses so I’ll spare you. Let me now get on with food.

One of the main meal of everyday that J and I never (almost) misses are breakfast! We just had to have it before the start of our day. Everyday, before heading to work, we would stop by one of our usual haunts. Though there are a few places that we usually go to, one place is where we always would preferred. This place is just right on the way to our workplace, no crowd and ample parking spaces. Best yet, it has the best Wan Tan Mee in town (claimed so by J). But I myself (hail from Taiping with its own reknown Wan Tan Mee) must say this one is definitely good. Entirely different from the ones in my hometown, this one is sweet with the char siew (roast pork) sauce and the char siew is really succulent and delish!

We’ve been here so many times, the young girl who works here will automatically bring my favourite ‘Cham’ nga lat (coffee-mix-tea-mix-milk drink – big).

Then usually I would call the old-style breakfast of toast bread and half boiled egg (that I mentioned before I love so much), this time at much less the cost.

Tear the bread, use it to soak up the eggs and munch away. Remaining bread can be dipped into the ‘Cham’ and devour or eat plain. Your call! Any of the way is my favourite.

I am really reluctant to introduce this place, as I love the not too many people atmosphere and I love the sure-to-have parking spaces. Few doors away there was also opened an Indian restaurant that serves mean Indian breakfast (will feature it soon). But how can I keep this gem to myself only? Good food (in this case plus good place) is meant to be shared. I came near lunch time before and found that it is usually crowded by people who are here for the chicken rice (which only opens for lunch). I am not being selfish here but I really do not know the address, but it is so easy to find a little direction will do (and shame on me to forget the name of the restaurant). I will return with the address and the name, I promise!

Restaurant Yat Yeh Hing
SS4D/5, 47301 PJ
Left of LDP (heading towards Puchong tol)
First corner shop,right opposite Kampung Cempaka

Update: On sad note, the Wan Tan Mee stall has closed, thus depriving J and I of our usual breakfast fix. We have yet to find one good enough to replace it yet. :(