Bitter Come Back

Psst, has it been more than a month? Oh it is? Oh gosh, what excuse do would I have this time? What, none that could be sufficient you say? What bout it is the holidays? No? What bout it is the Olympic times? No? What bout it is my birthday? Phew, so that is reason enough? I nearly thought it would not and that would have greatly disappointed me.

So yeah, it’s the time of the year again, where as I mentioned just last year, would be time where families and friends get together with me to catch up and help me say good bye to tears and happiness of the past year and hello to more life to come. I have so much up my sleeves, life to live, goals to achieve and dreams to chase. First I have to have it all planned. Time and life seem to slip past me in tiptoes.

Recently J and I had finally ventured out again to a new eatery which we meant to try everytime we drove pass it but never did. Yes it is so near to where we live and besides, the name of the shop is does pick on one’s curiosity. It is called ‘Fu Kua Restaurant’ which means ‘Bittergourd Restaurant’ and yes, the notorious bitter vegetable that half the population love and the other loathe.

I still remember well on how my love affair with fu kua (bittergourd) started. Once my Ah Ma learnt this new dish, fried egg with bittergourd (chow fu kua tan) from a relative, she started to make it frequently whenever she got her hands on fu kua. It is like the style of your regular omelettewith onions, but sans onions and with fu kua sliced really thin (and amazingly uniformed, if you know my Ah Ma). I. Hated. It. Yes, I did. First I shunned away from the dish entirely, then out of tham jiak-ness, I tore out bits and parts of the egg that are not attached to fu kua and eat it. Then next time when this dish came on the menu again, I did the same, where soon I started to tear of eggs that have some fu kua bits stuck to it and eventually I started to eat the fu kua with the egg. What happen? Well let’s just say I have eased myself into eating fu kua with egg. From then on, there was no turning back. I started even to eat other fu kua dishes and have ever since asked myself why have I deprived myself for so long. Of course up till now, my absolute favourite fu kua dish was still my Ah Ma’s fu kua tan, which sadly I cannot find anywhere else; maybe I should try replicating it.

Anyway, back to the fu kua restaurant. Guess what? Since the first time we tried this restaurant, it had been a love at first meal, and we have been back for four times, yes four, in the past few weeks. Why? This is because the food is yummy, and not to mention healthy and the services is quick and attentive. On all occasions they have not fail to deliver as expected. Oh ya, and the prices are reasonable too for its portions. Even J, the ever food and service critic, has given a thumb up to this place, now that is rare. It had became one of our we-will-definitely-come-back place. How can I not blog about it then? So to follow would be the galore of fu kua dishes for you from all of our occasions eating there.

This dish is our must have where we ordered at every occasion we are there, the fu kua tong (bittergourd soup). It comes with thin slices of fu kua (yes, uniformed and I am that detail) and pork slices, pork meatballs, chicken slices, ginger slices and tomatoes. I also taste that the soup base does have dried ikan bilis (anchovies).


Then the next dish was chow fu kua with taucu yu. It is a popular way that fu kua is prepared, where usually with chicken, but this one is with fish slices. Yummy as its counter part but with an extra bonus of soft meat.


We had also once ordered pork feet fu kua and was surprised by it. It is your usual stewed pork feet but this one added with the ubiquitous taucu to go with your huge slices of fu kua. Something different but I would not say the best. But beware, this one came in quite a huge portion, even when we ordered only for two.


I also could not resist ordering fu kua tan on the first occasion, but was slightly disappointed as it was not prepared my Ah Ma’s omelette style which I had been hoping for. Nevertheless, it was also good the way it is, if not better.


Then besides having meal with rice, they also have fried noodles dishes with yes, fu kua even! So we had tried both their fried tong fun (a kind of rice noodle) with fu kua and I would say it’s the usual dried style, just that it had been added with fu kua as ingredient.


But the other noodle which we had tried, fried kuey teow with fu kua and taucu was definitely different from your usual kon chao hor (fried kuey teow wet style). It was yummy and worth a try.


Before you start thinking that this restuarant has only all things fu kua, you are wrong. They do have many other Chinese dishes that does not have fu kua, some seem pretty interesting as well, so we did try a few. One which is new to us but surprisingly crunchy and delicious was the ham yu chao kai (fried chicken with salted fish). It came with chicken fried in salted fish batter and curry leaves, thus have the chicken with salty and deliciously crispy skins. A must try if you want something other than fu kua.


There was also once we ordered their chiu pai tau fu (house brand tofu) which was actually your usual block of local tofu but this version is fried and then top with minced pork sauce.


Oh yea, to end the meal, you just must have the fu kua drink. Yes I said fu kua drink. I ordered the first time anxiously and was surprisingly blown off by the taste. Its amazing. But do remember to first stir the honey at the bottom thoroughly to mix with your fu kua before drinking else it would be bitterly tasteless (if there is such thing). there is also a dried sour plum inside with the drink. It is a really special concoction that has me ordering every time I’m there.


Go on and be adventurous, and try this fu kua restaurant. Even a friend of mine, who was not that into fu kua, told me she found the dishes here to her liking. The place here prepared the fu kua in style that is not really bitter, most likely they have it soaked several times as how my Ah Ma had told me she does to take away some bitterness.

So there you have it, a seriously bitter post which is actually about something really delicious

Fu Kua Restaurant
Unit 19,
Jalan SS23/15,
Taman S.E.A.,
47400, Petaling Jaya
11am to 3pm and 5.30pm to 11pm
N3 06.931 E101 36.748

Fu Kua Restaurant Reviewed by ThamJiak

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!

A Long Weekend

and so I sat down to blog, and nothing seem to come out. I wouldn’t say I got a writer’s block; I can only say I got a tham jiak block. Oh no! Not so tham jiak anymore? Don’t worry, not everywhere near there, ha-ha, just that J and I have less time to go out and try new food, as work had been quite exhausting for both of us. When lunch/dinner comes, all we want is just to go somewhere near or somewhere familiar to just sit down, relax and enjoy ourselves. Don’t even get me started on what about cooking. I am still very much waiting for my new apartment to become mine, legal matters that involves many parties can never be fast, I learnt this the hard way. So there, with not much of food exploration and none on cooking, what is there worthy to blog about?

Fortunately though, Chinese New Year is just around the corner and I am eagerly waiting in anticipation. Chinese New Year is the time where we are reunited with families and friends, enjoying good food together while catching up on the year that has passed. There would be non-stop feasting and munching as well as the gambling. Ah, these are typical traits of the Chinese, and we does it best and most during this time. I had been gambling with RM1 ever since high school, and it never went up even though judging from my increase spending power plus the inflation rates I should, but age has caught up with me and now gambling is more of just to pass time than to earn money. I still remember that my friends and I used to go house to house collecting ang pows and then sat right down to ‘earning money’. Some year I had huge profits, some losses but most years are neither, so I did quite enjoy this way of passing the time.

So as Chinese New Year is just next week, I will be sure to head home to my beloved home town Taiping. I can’t wait, seriously. So I thought it would be best to blog a little about my humble home town. I have mentioned about it several times, but have lacked terribly in blogging about the good food it possessed. I assure you, it is as good as you would expect from a place shield from urbanization thus still very much prepare food the way it does few generations ago.

There is this place in Taiping where it serves really good authentic Hainanese food. The restaurant still cooks and serves like how it used to way before I was born. The place still looked pretty much the same, except I remember it did some clean up once and built the cashier place bout 10 years ago.


One extra special thing about it is that it serves halal food. I did not notice this of my years in Taiping, until after I came here to study, where one day a friend mentioned she brought her Muslim friend to dine there, stating it is the only choice for Chinese food around Taiping which is halal. Since it is halal, we definitely would not be able to find the infamous Hainanese pork chop, but guess what, it did extremely well in subbing with chicken chop Hainanese style. Prepared the same way, just with different meat, and it is still real good. Definitely a must order at this shop.


The chicken is cooked to the right crispiness, and then doused with the thick deliciously salty sauce with peas, tomatoes and onions. The potatoes wedges are definitely worth mentioning too, for being so well fried, non greasy, crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside.


Then there is one special dish that I love to order when I am there, and have yet to find it anywhere else in Malaysia. It is called roti sayur (bread and vegetables). Whenever I call this in front of someone who have yet to try it, they would definitely raise an eyebrow. “You want to eat bread with vegetables???” must be going through their mind. That was how J reacted when I ordered it. Then it came, really different looking with sautéed vegetables lying over a thick toast bread with a sunny side up egg on top, bringing to whole dish to new heights, catching the eye of the raised eyebrow.


This dish certainly need some coaxing to people before they are wiling to try it, after all we Chinese/Asian are not that used to eating savoury vegetables with bread, but this one definitely converted many after just one try. J nodded in agreement to it when I passed it for him to try, while I devour his chicken chop. The vegetables were still pretty crunchy, yet soft enough along with the peas and onions are of great combinations. Mixed in with the slightly sweet yet savoury soft bread (from soaking the sauces), it wss certainly a good match. Not to forget smashing the egg yolks as you go, I don’t need to explain why, eh?


Lastly I finish off with my ever good ol’ cham(mixture of coffee and tea). The cham here is just as good as I can get as it is kau (thick) enough.

Alright, so now you know we have good Hainanese food in Taiping, so do drop by if you are ever in north Malaysia, maybe drive up a little from Ipoh, or make a pit-stop on the way to Penang. It is definitely not a bad place for good food.

Yut Sun Restoran
Jalan Pasar
Taiping
Perak, Malaysia

Accidentally In Love

Still posting of last year’s (long, long ago) eat, on the way back from the urban escape at Port Dickson, we stopped by Seremban for lunch. Before, I was having a real bad time, as our dear friend’s car air-condition had decided to break down during our trip, and I am not kidding you when I say driving in Malaysia during mid-day is like being slow roasted in an oven for a really mushy lamb stew. Come to think of it, I should have brought a pot of stew along; maybe we would have a nice stew when we got home. So when we finally turn into Seremban, we took a few rounds circling nearby the market, following another friend’s car and unable to find parking. I was already cursing inside and ready to kill the nearby lambs beside me if we do not stop anytime soon. Finally, my friend parked at the next available space; he had to do a sudden park as there were lambs screaming “park there, someone coming out, THERE!”

So we all stumbled out of the car breathing for fresh air and the hot breeze of our Equator’s neighbouring country. Alright, with head a little clear, we decided to walk to find the other friend’s car, who managed to park by the market, but as we walked down the street, we realized it was impossible to reach (possible, but not at this heat with our half-cooked bodies), so we decided to fall back to a shop we just passed by. We called to ditch our the other group of friends and settled down at Kedai Kopi Saudara (brothers and sisters coffee shop).

As I was just happy to eat anything at that time, still pretty full from the morning’s Nasi Lemak at Port Dickson, I decided to just order my trusty kaya toast with half-boiled eggs. Then J’s chicken rice came, and I instantly regret again I did not order it! Why? Because this one came with seriously juicy looking steamed chicken and to top it off, the rice is the infamous rice ball, a specialty very much sought after in Melaka.

I stared at it showing my tham jiak face, so much so, J ordered another portion of chicken with two more rice balls, such a sweet understanding tham jiak partner. So greedily I eat the perfect rice ball with the sweet juicy and flavourful chicken. To say it was delicious seemed like the understatement of the year, or maybe last year, eh don’t kill me for that overused term. The rice was really fragrant of chicken stock and spices, and then nicely rolled into a ball, not too sticky yet just sticky enough to be able to nestle as mini bites at the brink of chopsticks. Ah, perfect! Although I have never been an avid fan of chicken rice, and had a bad experience with the Melaka’s version of chicken rice ball before, I felt that I had accidentally found the one! I must also mention that the accompanying chili sauce was also really good, the real authentic sour, spicy and gingery sauce that goes so well with steamed chicken. I guess J’s and my tham jiak face truly shone as my friend was attracted into ordering as well, on top of his finished noodles.

The owner, seeing us as true blue tham jiak kaki (gang), after all we ordered one after another from J’s first one portion; decided to drop by our table for some chat. He introduced himself as Kevin, much to our surprised, in fluent English. Then he mentioned nonchalantly that his rice balls and steamed chickens were authentic Hainanese fare; the best in town, claiming that people from all over came here purposefully just for his carefully prepared meal. Judging from our face, he knew we would return, which we definitely would, thus he also mentioned that he had another branch just around the next street, and on some days he might close here but we can find him over there instead. We were feeling bit kiasu (fear of losing), that we might miss him if we ever drop by again, so we asked him to please write down his address, which he did along with his hand phone number, how’s that for good marketing?

So there we ended our meal, I did not take enough pictures as I was first too excited in ordering and then too busy in enjoying the food. Oh, I nearly forgot I had ordered toast bread and eggs, when it came a little later after we devoured our Hainanese meal, so I shared the bread and gulped down the eggs like a good kid. In a dimmer light, but for the benefit of the cook, I must say the bread was well toasted, egg half-boiled to just right (I hate it when it was uncooked or too well cooked) and the white coffee was just the right drink to end a wonderful meal. Ah, bliss. In fact, we lambs were even smiling blithely as we boarded the oven again.

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

Of Black Sea and Fatty Rice

I mentioned that I had a weekend getaway last month, taking advantage of the long weekend where everyone seems to be on holidays which are from Christmas to New Year’s day. I took two days off in between and voila, I have a break of 6 days consecutively (including weekends). So a bunch of us took the opportunity and brave the traffic and the crowd to Port Dickson, down south in Negeri Sembilan, not for the beach but just for the sake of getting out of the city.

Why not the beach? Oh well Port Dickson is a famous beach side stop for most locals in KL and its neighbouring towns, so much so that now it is to the brink of I-would-not-swim-in-it-for-the-life-of-me level. Anyhow, as it is just an hour drive from the city, many still return there for a short urban escape. There are still some preserved beaches by resorts that are still beautiful; I had a team building once from my previous company at one of the posh resorts where the sands are still soft and the sea is still blue. For most of the other commercial hotels though, the sands are black and the sea is of deep murky all-sorts-of-color, and that is when I have not even talk about the common beach yet. Let’s not go there, literary or not. So if you ever plan to come to Malaysia and her beach, try Pulau Redang instead; I went there for a holiday once and I felt that I had been to a place where people featured in postcards. Its difference with Port Dickson was like heaven and hell. It does no justice to Malaysia tourism if you come to Port Dickson for the beach. Let Port Dickson stay as our locals’ desperate getaways or just lazy holidays.

Since it is non-touristy like, there are still many locals that are still around, who should be smart enough to stay out of the beach. So early in the morning, J and I walked out of our Glory Beach Resort, down the street to the nearby shop houses in search for food. Beside the main road, before the shop houses, we found a stall selling our Malaysian most famous breakfast, Nasi Lemak (fatty rice), which is actually rice cooked in coconut milk and pandan leaves and usually served with sambal! The stall was run by a little family of grandmother, daughter and son. I was so excited to have this food find, as it is rare for us to eat at these kinds of stalls, where the food is home made by a grandmother through her years of well experienced cooking. The food would be true Negeri Sembilan (the state) style, untainted by advancement or fusion of any kind. This would be just the way I like it.

I ordered Nasi Lemak with something very similar to Ayam Masak Merah (red cooked chicken) which is actually chicken cooked with chilli and tomato. The rice is fluffy, not superbly lemak (fatty from the coconut milk) yet still very aromatic of coconut and pandan leaves. The sambal was really spicy; a great kick for a chili lover like me and the chicken was fantastic. I am not kidding you here. It had been such a long time since I get to eat good home cooked Malay food.

As for J, he ordered the same as mine with extra of Beef Rendang. Oh wow, a taste at his rendang and I instantly regretted not ordering it as well. It was thick, full of spices and with that something extra I could not seem to identify. So I stole a few more spoonfuls and then I bit into it, cockles! Yes, this rendang is cooked with cockles and I was surprised it went so well with the rendang as well as the chicken. Whether this is the Negeri Sembilan style, or south style, I wouldn’t care less now as I know where to find it the next time. Or maybe I can use this idea if I ever cook up another beef rendang.

Finally we finished off with a nice kopi tarik, prepared the same was as the ubiquitous teh tarik, where the hot drink is poured from cup to cup, pulling (tarik) it really high each time, to cool the hot drink to the right temperature while creating a frothy drink. We had this courtesy from the ‘son’. Certainly different from the usual Chinese coffee shop taste, but still gives a good kick and a nice variety to my usual coffee regime.

Ah, then with our empty tummy filled, and having our fast broken, we walked back cheerily to our resort.

The stall by the road side,
Before the Glory Beach Resort
Batu 2, Jalan Seremban
Tanjung Gemok
7100 Port Dickson
Negeri Sembilan
West Malaysia

Gypsies Seafood Fare

Finally, my guest blogger is back in action! Some of you might still remember her from reviews from up north in Penang, as well as the few food hunts I had with her. So as we know that now she is in KL, it seems this time she brought a food review all the way from East Malaysia. Let’s see what she brings for us:

I was in East Malaysia for my wonderful year end holidays. As shocking as I am trying to comprehend it myself, it was my third time there this year. 2007 had certainly been an eventful year for me – to graduate, start working and learning to live on my own while assuming bigger responsibilities.

Anyway, it’s about time I write this post for Tham Jiak as it has certainly been awhile. I owe this post to my good friend, rokh, whom I constantly recount my interesting eating experiences with, but never blog about, because of the absence of my camera. Now that it is back with me, I hope to get back to the active blogging cycle again.

If you have been to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, you would probably have trawled the Filipino market, also known as Kota Kinabalu Handicraft Market. Located along Jalan Tun Fuad Stephens, right across Sinsuran Complex, it is renowned for fresh, baked seafood. Anyone whose palate waters up upon the sight of fresh and baked, humongous seafood will be an instant convert when you are here.

This is probably my favourite place to have dinner whenever I am in KK. The Filipino market sells everything from handicraft to food, and by sundown, locals and tourists will have a variety of food to have for dinner.

Locals usually come here for the cheap seafood fanfare if compared to Chinese seafood restaurants. Walk further into the market and you will see make shift stalls lined up with tables and stools at the side for dine-in patrons. Inspect closer and you will notice that each stall serves an almost homogenous menu. Though that may be the situation, some stalls may have an extra item compared to the next, so do observe. A seafood fan will go berserk to see the variety of fishes, prawn, crab and squid that are lightly baked and marinated with sambal because I do whenever I am there!

All you have to do is choose the seafood that tempts you well and the vendors will proceed to re-bake them before serving them to you. Opt to have your seafood with white rice or on their own, either way, it’s an experience to savour.

My dining experience at the Filipino market stretched an extra mile when I was with my company. Like they say, eat like the locals when you are with the locals. My company who has ¼ Filipino blood in him explained that, he comes from a family lineage of sea gypsies. Living in the sea fine-tuned seafarer resourcefulness. Thus, anything edible is a gem.

It is the original sea gypsies’ recipe to have rumpai laut with baked seafood. He shows me plastic containers stacked on the tables containing ingredients I have never seen in my life. There are slimy seaweeds, one type, yellowish, the other, dark green seaweed on stalks with round buds for leaves. Both are known only as rumpai laut (seaweed), the locals treat them like vegetables to their meal but not before, a little D-I-Y mixing.

So how should you do it?

Squeeze one or two limes, shred some cili padi and pour some soy sauce in accordance to your preference, and this will be the add-ons to your concoction of seaweed. You can also choose to add on fresh/uncooked ikan bilis marinated with lime.

The baked seafood, though garnished with an aromatic blend of chilli, onions and garlic, may not necessarily exude enough taste like how it looks. So, you have them alongside your D-I-Y concoction for extra flavouring!

My weakness for seafood, particularly squid is satisfied here but most of the time, the serving is so incredibly huge, I can never finish them. Nevertheless, I find myself, wanting to go back, whenever I want to have seafood.

So, don’t miss out the Filipino market when you are in KK and do try to eat like the gypsies!