Review: Penang Village @ Alamanda, Putrajaya

**Halal**

Dealing with the Government departments in our country at most times can be quite a pain even for a simple thing like renewing BoiBoi's passport. Since he was born in 2002, he doesn't have a MyKid as it was only introduced in the following year. We managed to get him a passport 5 years ago and it's right about time for renewal. I went to the Immigration website to download the form and in the process, I found out that in order to renew his passport, he needs a MyKid!!! @#*%& 

Yes it's really a wtf situation since it's only renewal bleh! So no choice lorrr, I jumped into JPN's website and urrrghhh it's totally not very informative but luckily we can go to Putrajaya where JPN headquarter is on weekends to get things done. 

Come Saturday late morning we headed to JPN Putrajaya and got BoiBoi's MyKid done all under 5 mimutes! Sighhh... since it's approaching lunch time, I guess our best bet of finding food would be Putrajaya's one and only mall, Alamanda. Ermmm it must have been years since we last came here cos I remember clearly BoiBoi running around the lake front. Omigosh... its like errrr 5 years ago cos there was one picture of him in his stroller LOL and he last used it when he was 3+!!!

Seems like the majority of the tenants have changed except for Carrefour. Oh my there's even a Cold Storage here! Anyway, since we were quite blur, Capt'n Hook suggested to go outside to the lake side as he remember there are quite a number of restaurants there. We walked a bit and decided on Penang Village.

Our last visit to Penang Village was the TTDI branch a few years ago and the food was rather bad on that day hence we never step in again :p 

As we walked in, the decor of this place looked much more pleasant and very bright due to natural light coming from the sky roof. Service was efficient and our order was taken within minutes of sitting down.

BoiBoi opted for the Fried Rice set from the Kids Menu at RM9.90 with 2 choices of drinks. Since he didn't like both, I took his Soy Bean with Cincau whilst he ordered plain Soy Bean (RM3.50). 

His rice tasted decent and I can tell it's freshly fried. The rice came with some fries on the side and a fried egg on top. LOL there was a funny moment as the egg looked like bulls eye but I think they must have precooked the egg earlier that it has harden so when BoiBoi poke his spoon on the yolk, he said out loud "Why so hard one???!!!"

Capt'n Hook's Belacan Fried Rice (RM14.90) came with 2 pieces of fried chicken, kerabu mango and some fried fish crackers. The rice is flavourful since it has belacan (shrimp paste) in it, yes yums albeit the chicken looked sad and dry.

By now our Oyster Omelette is delivered to the table. Hmmm doesn't look like Penang style and there were some kind of tangy chilli sauce is added to the frying process. This omelette is not too bad.

My Char Mee Suah (RM9.90) took a while to arrive. When it does, it's piping hot! Glad that it's full of wok hei which made the noodles wonderful. Liked it with the accompanying sambal belacan with a squeeze of calamansi lime.

Capt'n Hook ended his meal with a decent Cendol (RM6.90) with loads of red beans, kidney beans and green stringy cendol. We liked it that they did not used canned red beans nor kidney beans.

Seems like the quality of the food depends on the location? I guess we ought to give them second chance huh. Anyway, it's also brilliant of them to offer set menu of dishes to be served with rice and it's great for Great Eastern Mall branch to offer dim sum.

Our total bill came up to RM68.20 after the additional 10% service charge and there is no Government tax.

Restaurant Penang Village
Lot G89, Ground Floor,

Alamanda Shopping Centre,

Jalan Alamanda Presint 1, 

62000 Putrajaya

Tel: +603 8888 4268

Steamed Chicken and Black Fungus in Brandy

This is the simplest steamed chicken recipe ever and my mother has been cooking this for us for ages. Just need to marinade 2 chopped up skinless chicken thigh (preferably free range/kampung) with a big dash of oyster sauce, a little sugar, white pepper, about 1 tsp of cornflour and a large dash of brandy :p

Usually Tsao Tsing Chinese Cooking Wine is used but I've ran out. I have lots of brandy sitting at home so why not? My mother had used DOM too! I've even did it with Sake, nice I tell you.

To assemble, soak and clean up a small handful of black fungus. Remove the woody bits and cut into strips. Cut a small knob of old ginger into strips. Mix the black fungus and ginger strips into the chicken and place them on a heat proof container. Steam for 20 - 25 minutes depending on the heat of your steamer. My timing is based on my electric steamer.

Once you have removed the dish from the steamer, you can pour in another shot of brandy for extra flavouring. Serve with rice. Yums yums.




Try my other steamed chicken recipes:
Steamed Chicken with Pickled Mustard Cabbage and Mushroom

Steamed Chicken with Chinese Sausage

I'm submitting this for Muhibbah Malaysian Monday blog event. This event is the brainchild of  Shaz (Test With A Skewer) and Suresh (3 Hungry Tummies). Read more here.

Review: Chawan @ Bangsar

Gosh, I must be the last to blog about this place but what the heck...

My first encounter with Chawan was when Chow Food Court opens at The Weld. It's actually a coffee corner with simple snacks offered. If patrons wish to sit at this section, patrons could bring in other food served at the food court provided they order their drinks from Chawan. What's unique here is Chawan is the old Malay spelling for cup, hence they serve all sorts of Malaysian coffee from all over Malaysia. I can't really comment on the coffee since I can't drink coffee and I don't remember Capt'n Hook order any either cos most times we drank tea.

Chawan then opened their full fledge shop in the middle of 2008 at the corner of Jalan Telawi 3 when the famous Devi's Corner relocated to another corner at Jalan Telawi 5. It's just across from Bangsar Village (Starbuck's/The Daily Grinds side).

The prices are of course on the high side as this is Bangsar we're talking about but the food portion is huge and the drinks, well they really give you your value as I can taste the strong ginger, honey and lemon in their tea!

What we liked here and kept ordering is their Nasi Lemak Ayam Goreng (coconut milk rice with fried chicken)! The ayam goreng berempah (deep fried chicken) is very very addictive. I think I'm not alone on this :p Our BoiBoi loved this too and is learning to take bits of the sambal with his rice and chicken. I can't recall the actual price but it's really pricey for nasi lemak, just that they serve the whole thigh piping hot, I think it's rather forgiving. The shop a stone throw away charges more expensive than this! How to beat biting into crispy skin marinade with aromatic ginger, turmeric etc whist the inside remained juicy?



There were other times we have Nasi Lemak Rendang Ayam or Beef. Again I have to emphasise the meat portion is huge. Many times I can't finish and they oblige by just packing up half the portion of the meat for me :p



This time round, I decided to give their noodles a go and spotted Lontong and opted it to serve with beef rendang, something I regretted cos the portion again is huge. Should have asked for plain lontong. Lontong is essentially nasi himpit (compressed rice) cut into cubes served with sayur lodeh (vegetables cooked in light coconut milk). Chawan's sayur lodeh has loads of ingredients in it like cabbage, tofu slices, deep fried beancurd skin, glass noodles etc. In my bowl, it has half piece of hard boiled egg and bergedil!



Many people complained of high prices and inconsistent standard in their coffee but yet Chawan still pack in the crowd. There must be a formula here that works eh?


Chawan
69-G Jalan Telawi 3
Bangsar Baru
59100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: +603 2287 5507
Business hours:
8.00am - 1.00am (Mon-Thurs, Sun)
8.00am - 2.00am (Fri, Sat & Eve of Public Holidays)
GPS Coordinates: N3.130051 E101.671071

Review: Bergs Burger @ Far East Square, Singapore

**Non-Halal**


A couple of months back, I followed Capt'n Hook to Singapore on a day trip. While he attend a meeting, I just loiter around the CBD :p

When he was done, he took me to Bergs Burger for lunch which he claimed served one of the juiciest burger round the corner. Now that really caught my interest! It's located in Far East Square. We walked into this quaint place which looked like clusters of restored old shop houses that are covered in huge see through roof where the sun shines brightly in! It's really like East meet West kinda concept. I loved where the central part where diners dine sort of like alfresco but shaded under the clear roof. It was a bit warm due to the hot sun but still all right. When you have time, drop in at Fuk Tak Chi Museum. It was one of Singapore's oldest temple but now restored into a Chinese heritage museum. There are a lot of interesting artifacts that I could recognise that belonged to my grandparents days! Best part, entrance is free.



Let's get back to burger business. The menu is proudly displayed on the large chalk board opposite the cashier and cooking station. It's no easy task which burger to pick from the rather extensive menu. Noted that there one can opt for either a large Bergs sized burger or a small one. After you order and pay at the cashier, you'll be given a number plate. Place the plate on your table and wait patiently for your burger.

We waited quite a bit since it was lunch time as the burgers are made to order. Can watch the crew grilling burgers at the open kitchen. Since we sat outside, we didn't get to smell the aroma. Loved the table and bench cos it's like having a picnic in the city!



Our burgers finally were delivered and they came in individual paper bags. The burgers were half wrapped in white wax paper. My small order was a Miss Piggy (SGD10.50) that from the menu states "Prime Beef Pattie, Streaky Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato, Red Onion, Aioli, Bergs Sauce & Edam Cheese". Mmm...mmmm my kinda burger that have real crispy bacon! The beef patty is juicy, in fact the whole combination is so nice and juicy that I did not need to add any chilli sauce.



Capt'n Hook had a small Crikey Too (SGD11.50) that reads "Prime Beef Pattie, Streaky Bacon, Pineapple, Beetroot, Lettuce, Tomato, Red Onion, Aioli, Bergs Sauce & Edam Cheese". With the addition of pineapple and beetroot, needless to say it was kinda messy eating this burger as the pink tainted sauce kept dripping out. Now I totally understand why the guys opposite us use the paper bags to line the table cos some of the condiments keep dropping out when they take bites of it LOL. And it's not helping when the tables have gaps in between hehehe



The prices seems reasonable dollar to dollar. Even McD these days can cost up to RM10 a burger! I loved this messy experience and I really hope we can get such quality burger at a very reasonable price here in Kuala Lumpur.




Bergs Burger
137 Amoy St,
#01-01 Far East Square,
Singapore

Tel: +65 6438 6505

Review: Farm Fresh Pure Fresh Milk

This might sounds pretty anal but this is the brand of fresh milk that Capt'n Hook would hunt for all over Kuala Lumpur just to get hold of one bottle! The brand name is Farm Fresh and according to an expat friend, this milk is pure fresh milk that one can find on our shelves. The rest are mostly made from powder!!! Is this a revelation or not??



I supposed when your regular fresh milk supplier who goes round in his motorcycle with a stainless steel cylinder at the rear is on holiday, you could look for this Farm Fresh brand by Mawai Dairy Farm, Kota Tinggi, Johor (as stated in the label) for pure milk. So far, we've bought them from Jaya Grocer (Empire Shopping); Cold Storage (Bangsar Shopping Complex which stocks runs out very quickly, The Gardens and 1 Utama. Hunted for it at Solaris Mont Kiara but there were none!). Of late, I've noticed they have plain yoghurt too which we haven't try yet.

One 2 litres bottle costs around RM12.90 or could be a few sens less. There was once I spotted 1 litre bottles. Errrm as for the taste... tasted like fresh milk unlike a certain brand that tasted sweet and artificial to me.

Please note, this is not a paid post :-) and we do not know anyone from the said farm :D

Review: Restoran Yee Sang Fatt

**Non-Halal**


Actually, we didn't meant to have dinner at Restoran Yee Sang Fatt as both of us together with It's Sew Good and her hubby was supposed to head to Jalan Alor for Lanatir to bring us to eat Sichuan food but alas it was a Monday the Sichuan food stall was closed. So Lanatir asked us to head over to Pudu instead to check out another of his favourite Chinese dai chau (big fry) place. It is quite easy to locate since we know where is Huen Kee Claypot Chicken Rice. It's just the road (Jalan Gajah) before Huen Kee and opposite Gereja Methodist (Kantonis) Pudu.

We have asked Lanatir to order the food since he got there first. First up was Siong Tong Lala (Clams in Superior Broth). Wahhh I like this one! The soup is sweet laden with a very fragrant Chinese cooking wine. Slurpilicious till the last drop.



We have a signature tofu dish which is essentially tofu mashed with fish meat and some other ingredients before being cut up and deep fried. Quite standard this one.



I was delighted to see this Deep Fried Brinjal dish! I had similar dish at Restoran Hua Xing which was so memorable. The deep fried brinjals are stirred with chopped dried shrimps, garlic and spring onions, lovely! Yee Sang Fatt version has thicker brinjal which is crispy on the outside but retain a soft texture on the inside. Hua Xing's version is crispy all over. I like both ways :p which spells "tham jiak" (greedy)



I have to agree with Lanatir that the steamed fish is the star attraction here. This one uses "Shong" fish head. Steamed in good quality soy sauce, ginger, garlic and topped with deep fried shallots and spring onions. A fresh fish doesn't need to be dressed up fanciful!



Our last dish of stir fried nai pak choy, no doubt easy but it's filled with wok hei. Nice as the veggies still retained its crunch.



I lost the receipt but it's rather cheap I would say, just over RM100 for these dishes, rice and a pot of Chinese tea. Definitely a great place to go again.


Restoran Yee Sang Fatt
Jalan Gajah,
off JalanYew Pudu
Kuala Lumpur 55100
GPS Coordinates: N3.13231, E101.71709

Roselle Syrup Drink

PureGlutton and I were at Bayan Indah. We both tasted a delish roselle drink that day. Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa) is a species of Hibiscus which is Malaysia's national flower! PureGlutton enquired Rohani Jelani about it and was told the roselle flowers were harvested in the garden and turned into the drink. We asked if we can have some and was glad that we could harvest from her trees. PureGlutton even got some dried seeds since Rohani had mentioned it's very easy to grow and matured within 6 months!  I went to the patch with a pair of scissors and snipped down 2 bagsful of those huge bulbs of roselle flowers.



The next day, I quartered the flowers and wash the inner part. Dumped them all into a saucepan and fill them up with water. I added brown rock sugar but try not to do that cos it gives a heavy cane sugar taste to the roselle. I think white rock sugar or normal sugar would be better. I've added in too much water hence it's not a thick and syrupy but it was ok, just don't need to add so much water.



I strained the pulp and place them in a clean dry jar. Those are still in the fridge. I guess can use them in cheesecakes or cakes. I stored the syrup in the fridge and just add water to it to make a refreshing roselle syrup drink.



I've also tried adding alcohol to the syrup :p I've done with Malibu but since it's sweet, I added more sweetness and the Malibu rum kinda overpowered the roselle taste. Then I tried with some Absolut Citron and surprisingly it turned out fabulous. The citrus in vodka cuts down the sweetness!

I'm submitting this for Muhibbah Malaysian Monday blog event. This event is the brainchild of  Shaz (Test With A Skewer) and Suresh (3 Hungry Tummies). Read more here.

Review: Bisou Bake Shop

**Pork Free**

A couple of months back I was all alone in Bangsar Village 1. Had wanted to go Daily Grind but they were closed for relocation to the opposite side where Country Farm Organic used to be, so I ended up at Bisou Bake  Shop for a quick lunch. Seems that they have shifted from Asian Heritage Row. This outlet does not only sell cakes but hot and cold meals as well. The menu size is all right without having a long list mind boggling stuff. It's really my kind of meals that are simple and fuss free like sandwiches, salads, pasta etc.

As I sat down I saw this little card that mentioned either a hot soup or cold salad and an iced lemon tea are thrown in for every hot meal ordered on weekdays. Sounds like a good deal to me!

I loved the iced lemon tea here even though it's complimentary. It's really made from fresh tea and lemon! I was disappointed that many eateries would rather served the powdered mix kind but not Bisou! Sugar syrup is served on the side for one to adjust the sweetness of their tea. Extra points there too!

I've asked for a soup which is changed on a daily basis. That day was a mushroom. Luckily it wasn't serve in a big portion but just nice for my standard. Not overly creamy and it's definitely cook from scratch.

My Chicken Stew came with quite a number of big pieces of chicken meat and it's of the thigh part. There are plenty of vegetables thrown in like carrots, peas and zucchinis in the tomato based stew. There's a slice of garlic toast to go with the stew, yummy to mop up the stew. This is my hearty kinda lunch and it's not super expensive. I can't recall the exact amount but it's definitely less than RM18. It's certainly value for money.

Bisou Bake Shop
F-30 First Floor
Bangsar Village 1
Jalan Telawi Satu
Bangsar Baru, Kuala Lumpur
Tel: (603) 2287 3535
Opens daily from 10:00am - 10:00pm

Review: Restoran Peng Heong Hakka Paikut & Cendol Klang

**Non-Halal for Restoran Peng Heong**

It must have been a while since J the chocoholic had mentioned to PureGlutton that she would like to have a Klang food crawl but so far has not found the right time for one yet. I did tried to organise one for the August babies but so happen it was a Selangor state holiday and J had to work that day. Sorry J.

We arranged to meet somewhere before Klang so that PureGlutton can lead us to this Restoran Peng Heong Hakka Paikut. The restaurant is located in a corner unit hence it's rather spacious and quite clean to boot. We saw some chopping actions right up front of the shop cause that's where they chop the chicken and paikut (spareribs)!

Coming here, of course we have to order their signature Hakka paikut which is essentially deep fried marinaded pork spareribs. The marinade really hit the tummy as it's really flavourful. Even though the spareribs have a large piece of meat attached, they're not fried to the death. Very good this one.



Then we have this Claypot Mutton Curry. The mutton was braised till super tender but the flavours were not memorable. There's still a bit of the gamey smell detected.



Wooo we next have some Hakka meatballs! The meatballs are true Hakka style of being salty. Well that's because I'm used to bland food. These meatballs are soft on the inside but incredibly crispy on the outside. Again not over fried, very nice indeed especially dipped in their chilli sauce. My BoiBoi's fave of the day cos he kept asking for more.



A standard vegetable dish of blanched lettuce with oyster sauce and garlic oil.



I asked for this Tofu in Minced Meat Sauce for BoiBoi which is just an ok dish but the homemade tofu is smooth.



PureGlutton liked the Assam Fish here and I totally understand why. The hot and sourish gravy for the kembung fish made me craved for more rice.



Not sure how much the bill was for 5 adults and one child since Capt'n Hook paid for it but as far as I understand it was pretty decent.

Check what PureGlutton had blogged about Restoran Peng Heong Hakka Paikut.

After lunch, PureGlutton took us over to Klang Cendol which is just within walking distance for dessert! I was told they started of from a stall in front of the shoplot and moved into one after in business for 20 years. Now this is what I call perseverance and success!



The cendol was made right in front of us. First shave the ice into bowls, then scoop in the red beans and pulut (if you have opted for them) before ladles of coconut milk with cendol is poured over the ice. Then a final curtain of gula melaka (palm) syrup is drizzle over. There's a chest filled with ice-creams so you can opt for some to top it off but then it won't be authentic right?





One spoonful into my mouth did indeed cool me off that hot afternoon! Loved how the cendol is well balanced plus they serve both red beans and kidney beans in there!!! These are not canned definitely and it really made my day ;-)



I tried a bit of the pulut from Capt'n Hook's bowl and it's springy, not hard like some places.



With a good quality of thick gula melaka syrup, creamy coconut milk with plump cendol and red beans plus kidney beans...  no wonder they held it thru so many years!

Other than cendol, I noticed on the board that they serve rojak as well.

Thank you to PureGlutton and her family for bringing us to 2 such wonderful places :D


Restoran Peng Heong Hakka Paikut
Jalan Gudang Nanas 3
Off Jalan Pasar
Klang, Selangor
Tel: 019 260 0855/012 236 9855


Cendol Klang
78, Jalan Nanas,

Klang, Selangor

Operation hours: 11.00am – 7.30pm

Stir-Fried Preserved Radish with Tofu and Vegetables

Another dish of my childhood memory is this simple stir-fried french beans with tofu and strips of preserved radish (sweet choy po)! For my version, I've added some leftover cabbage and coloured it with some carrots.

I've washed the sweet preserved radish and soak them in water for about 20 minutes before cutting them into strips. Then, I sliced up firm tofu into squares and pan fried both sides in a little oil until browned. Remove and set aside.

Fry up some chopped garlic (can be omitted if you're strict vegetarian) in some oil till fragrant before tossing in the preserved radish and stir. Add in some water, cover wok with a lid and simmer for about 10 mins on low heat or until water almost dry up. This will soften the radish a little but yet retain a little crunch, otherwise your jaw is going get tired from the amount of chewing needed :p

Add in french beans, carrots and cabbage. Stir and add in some oyster sauce and pepper to taste plus a teeny pinch of sugar to bring out the flavour. Only add salt if necessary as the oyster sauce is salty already. Put in the tofu and gently stir till well mixed. Dish up and serve with rice.

Review: Xin Cuisine @ Concorde Hotel Kuala Lumpur

**Non-Halal**

Xin Cuisine, the Cantonese restaurant in Concorde Hotel Kuala Lumpur, has been one of my firm favourite especially the dim sum. It's one of those good Chinese restaurants that had survived the time and I'm glad they're still in the groove. Well, it has been a while since we last went there though and Capt'n Hook decided to have dinner there.

Since it was a weekday, the restaurant is not very busy. Even if they are, service are still top notch. There was this on going ostrich promotion that period so I picked a Cantonese style spring onion and ginger hor fun (flat rice noodles) with ostrich (RM20) of course. The noodles were so nice full of wok hei! Loved the light starched eggy goodness gravy that clinged to the slippery smooth hor fun. The ostrich meat was done perfectly with each piece tender and smooth.



Strangely Capt'n Hook ordered something out of his norm which is a soupy seafood fried rice (RM25)! Perhaps it was a rainy night hence the soupy version? Anyway again I can taste the rice filled with wok hei which transfered to the soup as well. Albeit the rice is fried, the soup is not overly oily and it really loaded with chunks of seafood like fish, scallops, prawns and squid plus carrots, mushrooms, spring onions and asparagus! What a hearty bowl of comfort on a rainy cold evening...



We were filled to the brim, hence no desserts, just some oolong loong jin tea (RM6 per pot for two of us) to wash down our dinner. There were 5% Government tax and 10% service charge which brought our bill to RM58.65.


Xin Cuisine
Ground Floor, Concorde Hotel
2 Jalan Sultan Ismail, 

50250 Kuala Lumpur, 

Malaysia
Tel: +603-2144 8750 or +603-2144 2200 ext 2338

Opening hours:
Mon-Fri: 11.30am - 2.30pm / 6.30pm -10.30pm
Saturday: 11.00am - 2.30pm / 6.30pm -10.30pm
Sun & Public Holidays: 9.00am - 2.30pm / 6.30pm -10.30pm