Review: Tosaya Japanese Restaurant

We were stuck in the mother of all traffic jam in the city one evening. Hubby gave option to pop by at KLCC until the traffic turns good, however as we were heading that way, the road seems pretty jammed up too. So he ended up making a right turn into Jalan Sultan Ismail. Next, I saw him smiling and declared that we should hang out at Tosaya instead. Hmmm sounds good as it has been a long while since we last ate at Tosaya which is located at the side of Wisma Cosway, facing Novotel Hydro Majestic entrance.



This place brought back lots of nostalgic moments having celebrated colleagues and friends birthdays and such here. Tosaya's standard has been maintained thru out the years and the telling signs were, there are a lot of Japanese customers partronising this place. Tosaya was one of the better and authentic Japanese restaurants wayyy before Japanese restaurants mushroomed in the city.



I opted for the Dai and Tempura set (RM25.00) as I had wanted something lighter. This set came with 2 handrolls, miso soup, salad, tempura of prawns and vegetables and a couple slices of honeydew melon. Simple and just nice for me. Loved the crispy tempura pieces.



Hubby asked for Salmon Shioyaki set (RM29.00) which is actually not in the menu but you can always request for it. The usual bento stuff - sticky rice, salad, miso soup, pickles and of course the grilled salmon piece. Can't go wrong here and how to comment on perfectly salted and lightly grilled salmon?



Tosaya is just your usual no frills Japanese restaurant with reasonable prices to boost to hang out in the city centre. So don't expect luxurious Kaiseki set ala Fukuya haha...



I'm not sure if this place is halal or not but they serve liquour like beer and sake. Definitely no pork served though. They charges 5% Government Tax and 10% Service Charge.

Tosaya Japanese Restaurant
Ground Floor, Lot G22-24, Wisma Cosway,
88 Jalan Raja Chulan,
50200 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 603-2144 3416


Technorati Tags: japanese food

Steamed Tofu

Another quickie dish... homemade, simple, nutritious, healthy BUT yet tasted slurpilicious, brought to you by Babe in the City - KL haha... Please excuse the photo quality cos I was in a hurry to serve it hot.

Steamed Tofu

Tofu based:
550 ml unsweetened soy bean milk
4 medium eggs or 3 AA (large) eggs which I've used instead, worked as well
pinch of salt
pinch of sugar

Topping:
2 tbsp fried shallots with oil (you don't need a lot of oil)
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp fried dried shrimp (which I've omitted since I can't find any in my fridge)
2 tbsp spring onions, chopped

Mix the tofu based ingredients and sieve into a deep heat proof dish. Put in a wok or steamer and steam for 7 minutes under medium heat.

Once done, remove from steamer and sprinkle the topping all over. Serve hot with rice.

My boiboi lurrveee this even though he refused initially and he told me he will only eat it after dinner as dessert cos it looked like tau foo far to him hahaha... Anyway we coaxed him to try some and he was hooked! Now he will ask me to cook this for him other than his fave potato dish.


Technorati Tags: tofu

Breakie at IKEA Restaurant

There was one Sunday that hubby needed to be at Ikano by 11.00am to meet with his classmates. Since they're only meeting for a couple of hours, he roped myself and boiboi in to hang out there. As it was kinda early, we decided to check out the breakfast served at IKEA Restaurant, our first for breakie.

We reached there right around 9.45am but Ikea seems to be abuzz with activities, more so when we walked into the restaurant on the first floor. The place is packed and long lines formed! Hmmm I checked the stuff they served that day, it was nasi lemak or chicken char siu bao going for 99 sens each! So cheap?? Cheaper than the makcik's nasi biasa!

We got ourselves the nasi lemak and char siu bao for boiboi, then the usual tea/coffee and juice. Earlier we noticed people carrying plates of deep fried chicken pieces but when it was our turn to order, they have ran out. The server asked hubby to wait 10 minutes. By the time it was my turn to pay, hubby had gotten his 3 pieces of fried chicken going at RM2.00 per piece. Not bad huh the price... just like the usual makcik's.

The char siu baos are of mini sized and I really meant MINI! They came in two. My boiboi finished one in 2 mouthfuls!!! Errr the photos depicted a rather big bao eh? The bao has thick dough with very little filling but my boiboi did not complain.



Knowing it's not enough for him, I asked if he wanted to try some nasi lemak. He refused initially since he saw the sambal on the plate. We managed to coaxed him to try some without the sambal of course. Also gave him some fried chicken. It's his first time eating nasi lemak actually haha cos usually our nasi is laden with spicy sambal so he never get the chance to try. I need to start training him for spicy food... any tips???

The nasi lemak tasted not bad for 99 sens that came with the usual condiments of deep fried ikan bilis, peanuts and half an egg. The rice is not rich with barely a hint of santan (coconut milk) and came in quite a large bowl. Lucky I gave some to boiboi, otherwise I doubt I could have finish. The sambal is not hot at all with a tinge of sweetness in them, certainly not the best but hey at 99 sens, who is complaining??? However, the chicken marinaded in turmeric is good. Since it was just off the hot oil, the skin is crispy and at least it's tasty. My boiboi loved the chicken and managed to finish them with the small portion of rice I gave to him.



Other than these, they have the usual sandwiches, muffins and cinnamon rolls. Later we saw our neighbour brought sugared doughnuts hmm... Since it's my first time there, I'm not sure if their breakfast menu is on a rotation basis but seriously I don't mind going again just to check out.

Oh yah... they should also serve their ever so delish curry puffs here too!


IKEA Restaurant
Sun - Thurs 9.00am - 10.00pm
Fri, Sat and eve of Public Holiday 9.00am - 11.00pm
(Breakfast 9.00am - 11.00am)


Technorati Tags: malaysian food

Pork Balls Rice Porridge

**Non-Halal**

I've been feeling extremely lazy since Saturday... not sure why, could it be the super duper hot weather??!?! All my housework have been put on hold and I just lazed around the whole of Sunday except washing the bathroom as I can't stand dirty bathrooms. Sighhh... I'm still feeling IT!

Anyway, I would like to wish all the mommies a very Happy belated Mother's Day!

Just a quickie post here...

I was feeling lazy to go out one weekend, so cooked a pot of rice porridge. I've used white and red rice, hence you'll see red/brown spots in my porridge. The red rice provided a bite to the porridge. To make things simpler, I just minced some lean pork and tung choy (preserved vegetable) together. Marinade them with some soy sauce, white pepper, a dash of sesame oil and some cornstarch to bind them together.



Once the rice porridge is done, scoop the minced meat with a teaspoon and shaped them into balls. Drop them into the porridge. I've also added chopped salted duck eggs in the rice porridge. Season the porridge with salt and pepper to taste. Let the porridge come to a boil and check the pork balls are cooked thoroughly before turning off the fire.



Served my porridge with more sprinkling of white pepper and a dash of sesame oil. Simple but yummy! My boiboi's favourite too.


Technorati Tags: porridge

Review: Pan Meen at Taman Indah, Balakong

**Non-Halal**

Last Friday, hubby and I were not working. However, we both woke up early to go for a walk. Aduiii he took me to this private land wayyyyy inside Bandar Sg Long and climb the hill backing Ulu Langat! I was cursing and swearing as I was totally not fit for the steep climb plus it's so embarrassing to have old folks over taking me!!! After huffing and puffing our way up and down, we got down to the foothill around 8am. I was famished but luckily my legs didn't buckled.

On our way back, I got him to bring me to Balakong (the pekan side) for pan meen (board noodles). I only remember the stall is operating from a corner house behind Ambank after reading it from a guide book sold at Popular. After parking the car, we walked towards the house behind Ambank. As I attempted to walk in, something is not just right cos I smelt bak kut teh and saw kettles on stoves around the tables... uh-oh sensing not right, I stopped and walked out. Then I got "that" look from hubby, you know the kind questioning if I really know where is the stall :p

Just across, we saw baskets of dried anchovies and claudrons of boiling liquid. Hubby asked the lady who where in the midst of opening if they're selling pan meen, boy I was glad when she answered a yes. Since the place was empty, he asked if they're open. The lady asked in Cantonese "Lei sheung sek moe? Yue gwor seung sek, ngor chau chue pei lei." (You feel like eating or not, if yes, I'll cook for you.) Hohoho... how sweet of her!

We sat out at the compound and ordered our pan meen. They only serve soup style pan meen and you can pick either broad or thin noodles. We both asked for thick version which she said it's like the torn style. Wooo hooo I like that! When it came, omigosh... so big bowl even though we asked for small.



I dug in my chopsticks, there were loads of broad noodles, amaranth (yin choy) instead of sweet leaf bush, deep fried crispy anchovies, some pork bits and fragrant deep fried shallots which I believed it's made by themselves. No need to worry about supplier melting plastics in hot oil to crisp them up! We both slurp them up in gusto... it's absolutely fabulous... so hearty.

The clear broth made from anchovies is sweet and definitely no or very little MSG (testimony - not thirsty after this). The pan meen itself is chewy but the thin parts were soft and slippery, absolutely a slurpilicious delight! I loved the amount of amaranth in the bowl and also the ever so fragrant fried shallots. Both brought the pan meen to another level of enjoyment.

Not knowing they came in such huge portion, we asked for 4 sui kow (dumplings). We struggled to eat them up hahaha and I have to say they're GOOD. They're plumped with prawns inside which you can see the orangey bits under the translucent sui kow skins. Inside the bowl, came more amaranth and fried shallots!



We tried our might but alas we can't finish our noodles after downing 2 sui kows each. Gee, next time we might need to share a large bowl instead. With the noodles arriving piping hot and sitting under the roof without fan, we were both perspiring away and busy wiping our head and nose with tissue papers as we dug in. This is in the morning, imagine during lunch hours??? I have to say it was well worth the sauna experience!

Check out Honey Star for more pictures of the place. The small bowl of pan meen is err around RM3.70 or was it RM3.80 per bowl.


Pan Meen, Taman Indah
Corner house behind corner lot Mamak (beside Ambank)
Jalan Indah 3/6
Taman Indah, Batu 11,
43200 Balakong, Selangor
Coordinates: 3°2'35"N 101°46'18"E


Technorati Tags: pan meen + noodles

Psssttt... here, here... KL's Best Teh Tarik

Can you guess where is this place located?

Hahaha I guess it's hard eh unless you're a true KLite.

My hubby brought me here during our courting days for supper. He used to frequent this quaint little stall during his graveyard shifts when he was working for the bank. Let me introduce to you - Al Amnah Restaurant. It's not a restaurant proper, just a small stall located along the walkway on the Ground Floor of Selangor Mansion. This stall faces the river and a stone throw away from the pedestrian bridge across the river to Jalan Ampang. The hustle and bustle at this place usually heightens in the wee hours of the morning.

I can vouch that their teh tarik (pulled milked tea) is one of the best in Kuala Lumpur. Why you may ask... for me this is the only stall I find that do not serve sickly sweet teh tarik with the right balance of tea flavour and the creaminess of the condensed milk. Best part is, you don't even need to add "kurang kurang manis" (less less sweet literally) at the back of your order!!! Sorry no picture... just looked like normal teh tarik but tastewise, it's a bomb and I'm not kidding as hubby bumped into his ex-classmate who resides in Kajang drinking teh tarik here hehehe...

The rotis made here are crispy and fluffy. Previously they only have basic rotis but now it seems the menu have expanded to include some of the fancy mancy rotis but don't expect a long list of them.

Hubby ordered roti sardine (RM3.00) which is basically roti canai with a filling of mashed tinned sardine mixed with an egg and sliced onions. I had one bite and mmmmmm mmmmm mmmm...



My roti telur bawang (RM1.70) is just basically roti canai with an egg cracked over it with sprinkling of sliced onions. I loved this piping hot!



Both rotis were served with thickish dhall (not the usual watered down version) that I prefered with a dollop of sambal which I find it a tad too sweet. However, it does serve its purpose.



Total bill of the two rotis with one glass of teh tarik and one glass of limau panas (hot calamansi) came up to RM6.60.

Game to sit by the five foot way beside the parit (drain)? Then wait no more!!! Head on to Al Amnah and get yourself a glass of teh tarik.


Al Amnah Restaurant
No. 2 Ground Floor
Selangor Mansion
Jalan Masjid India
Kuala Lumpur
(I think this place opens 24 hours)
Coordinates: 3°9'7"N 101°41'50"E


Technorati Tags: malaysian food + teh tarik + roti canai

Marmite Prawns

Let's go for seafood today...

I made Marmite Prawns without following any recipe, just pakai hentam (simply guess) only. Let me recall what I put inside the sauce. I have 6 large prawns and some spring onions chopped to about 2 inches in length. For the sauce, 1 heap teaspoon Marmite, a few dashes of Worcestershire Sauce, 1 teaspoon sugar or to taste, and about 4-5 tablespoons water - mix them all together (taste it now and adjust either by adding sugar or more Marmite according to your liking).

First, I dried the prawns with paper towel and lightly sprinkle some salt and pepper; plus some cornflour to dry them further. I fried the prawns in some oil until they're cooked (when they turned red/pink and curled up). Stirred in the spring onions. Next, poured in the sauce and stirred to coat the prawns evenly. Lastly, thickened the sauce with some cornflour and water solution. You may cook yours till it's dry but I preferred mine with some sauce so that I can lap them up with my rice!



Surprisingly, they're pretty yummy!


Technorati Tags: prawn + marmite

Looks Like I Am Not Alone in My Plight

Just barely a month ago, The Star "took" my photo and featured in their video without my permission nor crediting me. I just realised they were at it again last Sunday when they featured the article about Penang Chief Minister YAB Lim Guan Eng flying economy class. Apparently, The Star had lifted the photo of him and Ning Baizura from her manager's (Vernon Kedit Jolly) blog without permission and also did the same trick of cropping off his watermark! Oh boy, of course he kicked up a fuss just like I did. Well, since he's famous, someone got hold of Dato Wong Chun Wai, the Group Chief Editor of The Star, to personally call Vernon to apologise!

I hope Dato Wong will take note and address this issue with the staff working at The Star NOT to simply lift photos and articles from bloggers without permission. It's very unethical indeed to see this coming from a mainstream media like The Star.

p.s.: To Amy Chin who left a comment in Vernon's blog, thank you for highlighting my plight there.