Monday, August 3, 2009

Chef Choi

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Cumi & Ciki were recently invited along with Masak-masak, A Whiff of Lemongrass and Fatboybakes, to a food tasting at Chef Choi.

For those who are wondering where Chef Choi is (like moi.. drove past a zillion time but never noticed) , it is located en route Bukit Bintang, just as you past MCA and the temple (entering Bukit Bintang) and before Pelita Nasi Kandar. Chef Choi has been established since 2003 and we were really excited to try their authentic Cantonese cuizine.

Their restaurant is apparently famous for its suckling pig, foie gras, Live Steamed Fish with Special Sauce, Buddha Jump Over The Wall, Japanese Kobe Beef/ Matsukaya Beef, Aromatic Duck with Pancakes and Crispy Prawns with Haw Flakes. We heard rumours of desserts such as Hollowed Out Papaya filled with Almond Milk, White Fungus and Lotus Seed, Sweet Red Bean Paste with 12 years Mandarin Peel and Poached Pear with Red Wine and Amaretto Liqueur and were just revving to go!


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First up, the Matsukaya Beef, Prawn roll and the Foie Gras.
Two melt in your mouth items sandwich a crispy, flaky prawn spring roll. Pretty ingenious if you ask me.


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Here is the foie gras. Sinfully delicious. I ate mine whole with the slab of bread it sat on. Many of my companions decided to leave the bread - to save room for the rest of the food. I guess they were pretty smart as you will soon see for yourself.

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No, ..this in not the latest installment of the horror flick, SAW, but it is in fact FBB wrestling with his bones...
Duck bones to be precise.

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The Aromatic Duck appeared, disappeared and re-emerged as these delicate rolls you see in the collage. The bones are fried up so crispy and thin that you can actually eat them like keropok. That's what FBB was doing in the photo.. eating his crispy fried up aromatic duck bones (but with added special effects obviously).

I found the meat rather dry. This was my least favourite of all the dishes.

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This suckling pig was amazing! Melt in your mouth fat, but crispy outer skin, and the most tender of piggy meats you can imagine.

Sigh, if the dinner ended here, I would not have complained.
Apparently only RM168 for this baby. Extremely value for money if you ask me!

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The jumbo prawns in superior soya sauce were a tad salty for me.

The steamed chicken with the freshly prepared young ginger sauce was to die for! The dish looks pale, boring almost in comparison to the other dishes, but let me just say that there was nothing boring about the taste.
I could just eat this chicken with the ginger sauce and rice and be a happy camper.

Deep fried Soon Hock! I prefer mine steamed but there's always a first time for everything.. Lovely fish. You cannot go wrong with the Soon Hock.


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Then begins our Ménage à quatre!

Here starts our love affair with the noodles.
Let me just say that the noodles at Chef Choi are exquisite. How they managed to make noodles/comfort food taste like a 2 or 1 Michelin star dish, is beyond me.

From top left to right - The lobster Yee Mee noodle, the tomato sauce chicken noodle, the Sang Mee tossed in prawn roe(man.. my favourite!) and finally the translucent, chewy soy based noodle. All had distinct taste and textures. All were winners in their own right.
Words cannot describe. Go try it for yourselves!

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FBB, once again.. doing what he does best.. preening for the camera:P
(He'll stick his finger in almost any inviting crack..)

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Finally, when your stomach is screaming stop! and your head tells you, no more! it's time to push the limits and order desserts.

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Creme brulee, mango cream, Almond Milk With Papaya and Choc Cake with lava fudge centre and ice-cream.
What can I tell you. They were all great. My personal favourites were the Almond Milk Papaya (pungent and with loads of kick!) and also the Mango Cream - silky, smooth and rich as sin.

Here ends the wonderful dining experience at Chef Choi.

Anyway, a big thank you to the organizer, the lovely Ms Marian Eu for the invitation,
and also to the charming, Ms Chan for hosting! We sat in awe, riveted by your tales of eating excursions, your dive stories, tales from the depths and what not. Rarely do we have the pleasure of the company of a host who is so well informed on so many current and pertinent topics:)

We will be back!



Add:
Chef Choi,
159, Jalan Ampang,
50450 K.L.
Tel : 03-2163 5866
Fax : 03-2164 6463
E-Mail : general@chefchoi.com


24 comments:

"Joe" who is constantly craving said...

looks so inviting..

hopefully there have some affordable dishes for plebians like me to order..

Mama said...

Wow - a mouth-watering session indeed. You really take after your Grandpa Wee for enjoyment in food. C'est la vie!

Kongnichiiwa said...

looks really sinful

Gratitude said...

Same here, alwiz drove past but never ventured in coz too few cars parked in its compound, which was usually a sign of "no no".
Will try soon :) thanks.
+Ant+

email2me said...

If got a choice for you between Chef Choi's pig and El Cerdos, which one taste better?

Ciki said...

joe:
the pricing is surprisingly reasonable la.. really!

Mama:
agree! thx gramps:P

brotherB:
it is! gym and 10K runs immediately after la .. i tell u

Ant:
yar, it's normally quiet.. which is a shame!

email2me:
El cerdo's pig is soft right through (as its marinaded in wine and can be cut with a plate). However, this is the chinese style suckling where the skin is crispy and hard, but the meat and fat is soft. I prefer the latter because it has more crunch and kick, as oppose to just eating an entire, really soft pig! That can be pretty JELAK after awhile .. no?

Sean said...

hoi, foie gras where got authentic cantonese cuisine? that said, who cares about authenticity if the food tastes great, rite :D

Ciki said...

Sean, they going fusion it seems.. :P

mingsuan said...

Wei woman so fun can eat for free if you review them ah??? i also want!!!!!

fatboybakes said...

i wanna go again.... i hear the hokkien mee rocks.

Ciki said...

mingsuan:
start a foodblog then;)

Ciki said...

fbb:
wow.. already planning the nxt lard-escapade ar.. :P

Tummythoz said...

After such raving reviews by all you celebrities, doubt it'll be quiet again!

I wanna go too. Soo yummy looking.

worldwindows said...

A feast for the eyes and tummy. The aromatic duck catches my attention.

Rebecca Saw said...

been wantin to go since boo blogged abt it. The noodles looks soooo good!

Rarebeet said...

Wot a feast!!! Images of all that enticing food soiled by by visual of FBB and "various cracks". Oh dear... Hahahha

Kenny Mah said...

LOVE the first pic of FBB!!

Can someone say "Fetch!"? Hehe.

Ciki said...

tummythoz:
yea, i really thought to myself, why hadn't i gone sooner..

WW:
really? well, i am not a fan, but u should gv it a try!

TNG:
yea, fbb wants to try the hokkien mee.. lets go!

karmina:
aww cheers. and thanks for stopping by:)

Ciki said...

Paps:
yea - he likes to poke his finger where it DONT belong.. hehe

LFB:
he's a real 'show-pony' in front of the lens that one.. :P

J said...

Oh wow that chocolate lava looks gooood.... :) :)

HairyBerry said...

fwah! fwah grah! havent had a piece in months.

very good looking dishes la. if only wedding banquets serve this kinda food hor? hehehe...i must check out this restaurant! delish.

foodbin said...

never like piggy most are imported from Vietnam.

Ciki said...

nic:
is that your new chant?! the fwah grah chant.. :P

Lyrical Lemongrass said...

FBB never looked better in his life.