the upper echelons of dhall-dom

Huat Kee Fish ball on Jalan Loke Yew was recently closed for 10 days and this was our second visit back to try the dancing fish balls... Lucky for us, it was open this time!

Touted as one of the BEST fishball in KL, we just had to try it!

Since the build up to this place had been so great, we were expecting great things for this fishball.
Well, the 'konlow' (dry) noodles was at best, average. It wasn't terribly tasty or different from other kwey-teow noodles we have tried.

The fish balls were small and rather so-so as well... Though the style is rather different, we much prefer the foochow fish ball/mee-suah shop on Jalan Yew (which as recently moved, just a block across the street. Not too far walking distance; near a Cantonese Methodist Church and opposite Fathima Court.)

Photo of the old location of Foochow fishball/mee suah place (Hup Yick)


New place the fishball moved to.. called Taste of Foo Chow (click to enlarge)


Anyway, back to Huat Kee, even the owner doesn't eat his own fishballs.. and that's telling you plenty.. innit?

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Hmmmm... after that rather unsatisfying meal..we were still hungry....
So, the man, suggested we go look for more food... near San Peng flats...

Ah! I see it! My all time favourite Chapati stall... ! The TIGER! The man! (or should i say WOMAN.. because the owner is this cute, unassuming indian lady...)

Out on the walk way of Tiger Jit Singh Capati stall, the pickles simmer and dry in the noon-day sun... the smell is intoxicating... makes me want to tapau some to snack on in front of the TV later... :)

Here it is ... that wonderful thing called Chapati! The ones they serve here fresh, are a little doughy but really tasty.. and go down oh, so well, with the mutton curry .. (as you will soon see...)


The yellow dhall (chick pea) is magnificent... full of flavour, and chunky with chick pea bits. None of that watered-down nonsense that some places dish out...
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but while the yellow dhall is delicious...

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It's the GREEN dhall that i totally KILL for!.... Mmmmmmmm... green lentils.. the best! And this place does it amazingly well... I just died and went to heaven..

Anyway, be it Yellow or Green, this transcends to the upper echelons of dhall-dom.


The mutton here can hold its own too, i tell ya. Soft and succulent, and full of tendon and cartiligeous bits... none of that hard-meat "cooked to death" stuff, that has you fighting with your food, tooth and nail...

Finally, wash it down with the cool, cool lassi... and know that the world has become a better place the moment this meal entered into it :):)

The Fish :4/10
The Tiger:7/10
(the Tiger wins.. hands down!)

sugar and spice and all things... baklava

The History of Baklava

Many groups claim Baklava as their own. However, a check of the history of baklava yields surprising results. It is widely believed that it is of Assyrian origin.

Around approximately the 8th century B.C., Assyrians baked thin layers of dough with nuts, poured honey over it, and enjoyed this sumptuous treat.

Baklava was baked only on special occasions, usually by the rich who could afford such a luxury. A poor man used to exclaim, "I am not rich enough to eat Baklava in my house." Well, well, well….Things have changed over the years. Now, you can order baklava anytime and you do not have to be a millionaire to enjoy the great taste. Take for example…Hadhramout... where they do stuff in reverse... for example, read their menu backwards.. i.e. from back to front.. ;)

This "rich man's dessert" starts as low as RM2 per piece...

Very, very good.. if not a little sweet.. (but isn't that why we love it ..!)

Yup... now a days, you definitely do not have to be a millionaire to enjoy the finer things in life :)

Add: Hadhramout Restaurant, (corner lot), Chulan Square, KL.

Food: 6/10

Dessert:8/10
Service: 6/10
Price: very affordable!

Sweetly tart...

We love Vietnamese cuisine because it is light, airy and full of greens... and eating at a Vietnamese restaurant does not leave you feeling heavy and sleepy...

We had some errands to run... people to see... sigh, no rest for ther wicked! We dashed to PJ, then to Ampang... then back to Bangsar. By the time we finished, it was 2.29pm... and we feared that most restaurant kitchens would be closed:( We legged it over to the shop closest to where we parked, and as it happened , turned out to be a Vietnamese Restaurant.

Cungdinh Vietnamese Restaurant at ONE Bangsar.

Lucky be a lady! The kitchen was still open.. :)

Vietnamese cuisine can be basically divided into three categories, each pertaining to a specific region. With north vietnam being the cradle of vietnamese civilization, many of Vietnam's most famous dishes, such as PHO (rhymes with "duh" ..), have their birthplace in the North. The North's cuisine is more traditional and more strict in choosing spiciness and ingredients. The cuisine of south vietnam has been influenced by the cuisines of southern chinese immigrants, and thus Southerners prefer sweet flavors in many dishes. The central region serves characteristically small side dishes and is spicier.

Ooooo... i see one of my favourite starters!

A Hue specialty Banh Beo, is served as a tray-ful of delights - individual dishes of steamed rice flour dough with tiny dried shrimp, spices and pork crackling (but in our case, fried breadcrumbs) and served with a sweetened nuoc mam sauce. The fish sauce with the searing, hot chili is what gives it that tongue-numbing kick!




Enter the Goi Cuon... A summer roll !!!

Gui Cuon (...literally "mix salad rolled") is a Vietnamese food consisting of pork, shrimp, herbs, rice vermicelli, and other ingredients wrapped in rice paper. Unlike Chinese egg rolls or spring rolls, summer rolls are served cold, and are not fried.

Hmmm.. again the pork was missing.. and again, though tasty.. the spring roll lacked that rich flavour that only pork can impart..

Nevertheless, it was light.. pungent with basil and easy on the palate...

Another great beef entrée is the Bo Dac Biet..

We watched the flickering blue flames (enhanced by my killer photoshop skills for effect.. (not!) .. teehee:P) engulf our starter..

Though it looked hot, the lady waitress was incredibly nimble at manuevering the lid and served us from the flaming pot, without so much as flinching...

Wow.. skilled!
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Then there was a brief intermission.. as we waited for our main course...

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(waiting... waiting.. drumming of fingers.. more waiting...)

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Geeze... that thick, heady smell of meat on the boil... had me looking toward the kitchen door.. trying to decipher that aroma...

Ah.. no wonder... ! The sweet, sweet smell of beef broth.. !

In Vietnam, soups are hands-down favorites of North and South regions and more likely to show up at breakfast than any other meal of the day. The beefy Pho of North Vietnam reflects the influence of Mongol invaders with their love of beef.

We dug into our PHO. It was gooooooooood. In contrast, whilst the beef resisted nothing... the noodles resisted the tooth.

A well-prepared soup, delicately yet purposefully flavoured, can act like a soothing balm.

We were comforted. We were soothed.


Finally dessert was served.. the Banh Flan!

The Banh flan(caramel flan) is a french dessert that made its way into vietnamese cuizine, via the french colonization of vietnam. Eventhough the flan is traditionally baked, OVENS were rare in vietnam. Therefore, in vietnam, cakes were usually steamed or boiled, but very rarely baked. The steaming method is much faster, but harder to master than the bake. Heat from the steam is not predictable like heat from the oven.

Wow! I was tempted to go look in the kitchen to see if they cheated and BAKED it.. or if they indeed steamed the Banh Flan, true to vietnamese style .. haha...

Finally , the homemade vietnamese yogurt. This, i liked, even better than the banh flan. It was more tart (as a yogurt is) than sweet, and had a thinner texture than your normal processed yogurt.

Sweet and tart at the same time..

Hmmm.. that's a nice way to be remembered isn't it.. ? "tartly sweet"... or "sweetly tart" ... whichever works for you, honey .. lol :P

Address: Cungdinh Vietnamese Restaurant One Bangsar, Bangsar
Food:6/10 (better if there was pork in the dishes that required pork)

Service:7/10

Price: RM70 per person.

Skytrex !

Oh.. this looks so EASY...


Or so, he makes it seem...


our instructor was so agile... we thought.. to ourselves...


No Sweat!... 'piece-of-cake'...
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Then... we saw the actual HEIGHT !!!

Arrrgh... ! not funny. Thank God i was designated photographer.. coz i am way scared of heights.. and that's putting it mildly... try cold sweat, seeing black spots.. then white... then blacking out :P

Anyway, here are some shots of the amazing feats my friends accomplished...

They'd put Cirque du Soleil to shame, i tell ya... :D









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Phew.. made it! All in all, the course took 2 hours.. but apparently it felt longer... and man were we famished at the end of it..
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We were soooooo hungry, and it was late by the time we finished, so we didn't make it to Klang town for the 'hardcore bakuteh'. Instead, one of our friends who was familiar with Klang recommended Teck Huat to save time and to get our stomachs filled QUICK.

Hmmm.. you've never seen a group demolish their food faster i tell ya!

So verdict? I don't know if we were really hungry, but the food tasted pretty all right.
However, this bakuteh is not the herbally sort, so if you like you BKT tasting stronger and infused in Chinese herbs, then, this is not the BKT for you.

Whatever it was, we left feeling full and happy with the day's work.. !

Address: 6, Jalan Tiara 4, Bandar Baru Klang.
Food:5/10
MSG levels: moderate

McGriddle

The McGriddle makes its debut in Singapore!!

Mc Who?

Well, just imagine fluffy mini hotcakes laced with maple syrup sandwiching MacDonald's classic breakfast sausage patty, cheese and egg !

Oooooo... it kills me. Sweet laced with savory, or savory laced with sweet (interchangeable delirium!) ... how mad.. how sinful.. i WANT.

(Don't care.. we are driving down to Sing, this weekend:P)

To Gulab or not to Gulab.. that is the question...

Almost anyone can identify with us if we say, we love a good, binge out on Northern Indian food.. Me and my girlfriends are no exception to the rule..

When the boy's are away... the gals will play... and so we made plans to meet up at D'tandoor Subang Jaya.

From the word GO... our eyes were more ambitious than our stomachs.. and though we were a table of less than half a dozen petite girls.. out stomachs told us otherwise.. ! I guess saying we over ordered was the under-statement of the week.

With the gorgeous garlic and butter Naan they served us, we proceed to annihilate every serving of tandoori, vindaloo, saag, palak paneer, shabnam seloni and masala gosht type dish in every shape and form, conceivable to man (or woman, as the case may be :P)

Not one pretty head looked up till every last morsel was gone!

Mmmmm...

As with most chicks, dessert is the highlight of the meal... and we hungrily looked around for the dessert menu..

Each girl decided they wanted a Masala chai.. along with servings of the gorgeous, gorgeous GULAB JAMOONS and the GAJAR HALWAS...

Ooooo... we crinkled our noses and wriggled out toes in anticipated.

The moment of truth...


One of my friends sips the CHAI and nods her head in approval. Ah.. perfect.. strong and sweet!

There it is! The Gajar Halwa... Gajar Halwa is a carrot pudding, which consists of grated Carrot, milk, sugar, ghee, dried fruits and cardamom in just the right (i.e. epic) proportions, is a very popular dessert in northern india.

Needless to say, it was very popular with 'the girls' as well.

No shard of carrot was spared.

Grand finale.. enter Gulab Jamun!

Gulab Jamun, the king of all Indian sweets (and the king of our hearts! lol) , is made of a dough consisting mainly of milk solids glazed in a sugary syrup flavored with cardamom and saffron. It is very rich and sweet even without the sugar syrup coat. These killer yummie balls are deep fried in ghee till golden brown, and then served cool, dunked in loads of syrup!

Wow! We were so full we had to sit for half an hour before venturing out the door...

Good thing about having such a "sweet" ending to the evening is that, if, "we are what we eat ".. then.. us gals are as sweet as all the Gulab Jamuns, Gajar Halwa's and chai .. rolled in one!

Isn't that nice?

Food:5/10
Dessert: 8/10
Price: mid range
Service: 7/10
MSG levels ; nil