One-Pot-Rice-Cooker Chicken Rice

Well this fantastic easy peasy one pot wonder is not discovered by me. I've read it on Celine's blog Live Love and Me on the post 4pm Chicken Rice and I had it on my mind like forever but never got round to make it. One day I decided to give it a try and gosh it was really so easy but yet so delicious. I've made this quite a number of times but never got round to take any pictures of them as ermm they're not exactly photogenic.

I've shared this on my Facebook and I'm glad to know that there are some friends have made use of the simple no recipe to make a complete meal of its own. Best of all, their family members liked it as much as we did, just like Celine's. Happy to know that they in return have shared their discovery with their friends. Hmm sounds like Jamie Oliver's Ministry of Food project eh?

This one pot wonder chicken rice is made entirely inside a rice cooker. So simple that there's really no recipe to it. All you need to measure is the amount of rice and water needed. The rest, just go with your feel and liking.

To start off, get ready with some chopped ginger and garlic. Clean and prepare chicken legs (I liked mine without skin), chop into half if you like. Rub in some salt and a dash of grounded white pepper. Wash your rice as usual, drain and set aside together with the required amount of water. I've used brown rice here.

Turn on your rice cooker (I guess this should work with conventional or mechanical jar rice cookers) and push the button down to Cook. Let the pot heat up before pouring a little cooking oil inside. Wait for the oil to heat up before putting in the chopped ginger first. Fry till fragrant before adding the garlic. At this point, my rice cooker button popped up to Keep Warm. No matter how I've tried it remained there. Over time I've learnt that it's ok... just let the ginger and garlic in the pot and they'll brown a little.

 

Next, pour in the drained rice and stir. Pour in the water and add in some salt to taste. Place the chicken pieces on top. Press the rice cooker button to Cook and wait patiently till it's cook. When the button popped up, please remain to be patient and let it keep warm for another say 15 - 20 minutes to let the chicken and rice to continue cooking. Taddaaaa and your chicken rice is done!



To serve the chicken rice, I've made some chilli sauce by blending together some red chillis, young ginger, garlic, lime juice and some salt. I've also made an oyster sauce gravy by diluting some oyster sauce with some warm water and a little deep fried garlic oil till combined (consistency depends on your choice which can be thickish or slightly on the runny side).

Instead of just serving cucumber plain as it is, I've came up with the idea of slicing Japanese cucumber rather thinly and toss them up with some soy sauce and a dash of sesame oil. Sprinkle on some roasted sesame seeds. If you wish to have your cucumber crunchy, then have it straight otherwise let the cucumber macerate a little in the soy sauce. Capt'n Hook loved this so much that he said I can feed him just these as his fibre intake!



BoiBoi loved this Chicken Rice too and kept asking me to make this. When I told my mother of this, she said they have eaten a similar version at a wedding banquet at a Chinese restaurant (which I can't recall) as the obligatory carbo dish. However the chicken were hand shredded into pieces and served separately on a dish. The waiter would then mix the chicken pieces into the rice before serving to the guests. Hmm this is my first time hearing of such dish served in a banquet but she told me the rice was so popular even though they were all stuffed from the earlier dishes. And guess what??? She replicated this using the same method as I did, just that she hand torn the chicken pieces after cooking before tossing back into the rice!

Ok I think my version is really told in a rather long grandma story but do head on to Celine's post for the shorter version :D

Try it this weekend!

Uniquely Malaysia: Bubur Lambuk Ayam

Here's my entry for Merdeka Open House 2012: Uniquely Malaysia... Bubur Lambuk Ayam (Spicy Chicken Rice Congee). As I've mentioned in the Ramadhan recipe - Bubur Lambuk Ayam courtesy of Chef Fazli of Makan Kitchen, Doubletree by Hilton; Bubur Lambuk is a dish that is hard to forget. Once you've tasted it, you'll crave for more. This rice congee dish usually gets very popular during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadhan. The local community will congregate at the nearby mosques and cook up huge pots of this spicy rice congee to be distributed around to be served during breaking fast.

I was lucky to have tasted the famous version distributed by Masjid Jamek Kampung Baru and that was before it was crowned Bubur Lambuk Agong by the late Sultan Salahuddin of Selangor! Whilst I was researching on the net, it seems like different states would have their own version of Bubur Lambuk. Terengganu's version have shredded leafy herbs added, while the northern states like Kedah would have seafood added. Johor's version has dried shrimps and vegetables added.



The recipe is very simple, just like normal way of making rice congee, just that need to fry up the aromatics and spices before adding the rice and water. I've tried to use Chef Fazli's recipe but as I was measuring up the amount of spices, I find that it was wayyy too much for our tastebud. So I've reduced the spices and increased the rice in order to serve up a recipe for 3 - 4 servings. Traditionally beef is used but it's a hard to source ingredient in my area so I've used chicken instead.



So here's my take of Bubur Ayam Lambuk which Capt'n Hook and BoiBoi gave thumbs up. The aromatic and spices taste was just nice and not overpowering. Just like how I've remembered it to be ;-)

Bubur Lambuk Ayam
3 - 4 servings 

220 g rice, washed and drained
300 g minced chicken, mix in a pinch of salt and white pepper
2 Tbsp oil 

(A)
60 g (1 medium sized) onion, sliced into thin half rings
3 cloves (20 g) garlic, chopped
2 cm (20 g) young ginger, shred thinly
2 lemongrass, bruised 

(B)
1/2 Tbsp (20 g) star anise
20 g cinnamon sticks
1/2 Tbsp (20 g) cardamon, pound a little to release the seeds
1/2 Tbsp (20 g) cloves
1/2 Tbsp (20 g) corriander seeds
2 Tbsp oil 

1.5 Litres water
4 x 250 ml hot water (depends on the rate your type of rice absorbs water)
100 ml thick coconut milk
Salt and grounded white pepper, to taste
A pinch of sugar 

Garnish:
40 g fried shallots
30 g Chinese celery (daun sup/ketumbar), sliced finely
30 g spring onion, sliced finely
20 g red chilli, optional 

In a pot, pour in 2 Tbsp oil. Once heat up, add in the minced chicken. Fry till the meat is lightly browned. Loosen the meat when you stir them along. Dish up and set aside. 

In the same pot, add in remaining 2 Tbsp oil. Fry (A) until fragrant and onion a little brown on the edges before adding (B). Stir and fry till the spices are aromatic before adding the rice. Stir to mix well. Pour in the 1.5 litres water. 

Let it come to a boil before turning down the heat to medium low. Stir occasionally to prevent from sticking at the bottom. Now, the tricky part... once you noticed the water is almost dry down, pour in 250 ml of hot water. Continue to do this and add water until the rice is all broken up ala Cantonese style. I have to do this 4 times in total. The family prefer thick congee so that's how I've cooked mine. So you'll have to adjust the water level according to your liking. There's no hard or fast rules for cooking rice congee. In between adding the water, add in the cooked minced chicken. Adjust seasonings accordingly. 

Towards the end, just remember to keep a close watch and stir the congee once in a while. Once done, turn off the heat and serve while it's hot. Topped with garnishes before serving.

Review: Canoodling & Ricetaurant

The BIG group's empire does not stop short at Western food. You may find Asian fares at both Canoodling and Ricetaurant at Bangsar Village II. Canoodling focused on all things noodles, whilst Ricetaurant serves various rice dishes on top of dishes that goes with steamed white rice. The best part of this combo is that they are situated next to each other, hence you can cross order from each other's menus.

We have been here several times and we find both outlets served quite good food even though the price may be a little high as compared to hawkers or dai chow (big stir-fry) shops. Dining in air-cond with comfort does come with a price ;-)



If you were to sit over at Canoodling side, you'll be peppered by bright yellow and black utensils and decor items. Where else over at Ricetaurant side it's silver, black and red. Totally dig the menu that came like school exercise book! The kitchens are enclosed in glass where you can actually have a look at how your food is being cooked here.



On one visit, I had a hearty bowl of Braised Beef Brisket Noodles (RM13.90). The broth is peppered with spices like star anise and cloves, thin slices of brisket and tripe. Loved the slight bouncy texture of the tendon.



Capt'n Hook had Thai Belachan Mango Fried Rice (RM13.90) which as usual, I have a little bite. This fried rice is not too bad eh, filled with wok hei (breath of a wok) but I personally like the belachan (shrimp paste) to be slightly stronger though.



There is an addition of Four King Belachan Vegetables (RM12.90) which surprisingly came up tops in terms of wok hei and sambal belachan used to stir fry the vegetables (French beans, ladyfingers, brinjal & onions) which can beat quite a number of dai chow places! Our only complaint is the brinjal sticks were sliced a bit too wide.



Capt'n Hook tried the Bubur Cha Cha (RM4.90) but was displeased with the sago that clumps together otherwise this would be something that could satisfy Capt'n Hook's craving. Mid way into this, a tiny piece of plastic was discovered. We informed the staff about both the clumpy sago and the plastic piece. We were offered a replacement but declined since we're quite full already. Coincidently, one of their management staff was seated nearby going through the restaurants stuff with the chef. We went by to say hello and feedback to her about the bubur cha cha and in general. We were glad that their chef had actually told her about the clumpy sago moments ago seeking for a solution. Talk about being efficient! Anyway, we have a great chat with her and glad to say that she welcomed all our feedbacks with open arms. When we leave, she said she's going to order the Four King Belachan Vegetables to spot check on the kitchen lol.

Another time, I ordered the Lemongrass Chicken Chop & Fried Egg with Rice (RM15.90) from the One Plate menu which come with soup and dessert. The soup came piping hot and seriously tasted homemade. On that day, a Monday, ABC soup was served and we both concurred that the soup has been boiling for hours that made it so tummy warming. My dish came very quickly actually, like within 3 sips of my soup upon serving. The chicken chop is tender but the lemongrass marinade is a little too mild to my tastebud.





Capt'n Hook who used to like Delicious (formerly owned by The Big Group which is now sold to E&O) nasi ulam & ayam percik and was delighted to find the same dish here. Ayam Percik and Salted Egg with Nasi Ulam (RM19.90) also comes under the One Plate menu.



Dessert served on that day was Mung Bean Sweet Soup which tasted like homemade.



Pleased to note that both Canoodling and Ricetaurant are pork free. We're glad that there's finally some good Asian food found inside Bangsar Village II, well of course other than the super delicious fried hokkien mee at Reunion Restaurant (which so happens to be formerly owned by The Big Group too!).


Canoodling
Ricetaurant
2F-29, Bangsar Village 2
No. 1, Jalan Telawi Satu 

Bangsar Baru
59100 Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia
Tel: +603 2287 1566
Daily Opening Hours: 12noon – 3pm & 6pm – 10pm

Tuna & Zucchini Fried Rice

Sorry for the long silence. The past couple of weeks have been a crazy one for me. Haven't put in so much hours in a day for a while... and then Bayan Indah have this big crazy event that needed organising. It was this event that I finally got to meet Pei-Lin of Dodol & Mochi! Lol sorry to Pei-Lin if I may not have recognise her cos I was really running around the grounds of Bayan Indah like no end.

So I'm just going to post a quick filler which is a rather unconventional fried rice using ingredients used mostly for Western cooking. This fried rice was made from leftovers actually of some canned tuna, yellow and green zucchini plus day old cooked red and brown rice.



In a pan, I heated some oil before placing in cubed zucchinis. I stir-fried them till caramalised before putting in some chopped garlic. Once the garlic is fragrant, in went the tuna pieces and seasonings of salt & black pepper before adding the rice. Stir to mix well and sprinkle in some light soy sauce to taste. I finished off with some freshly cracked black pepper and served this with some stir-fried green vegetables.

Easy peasy and rather healthy too ;-)

Herbal Congee

Hmmm it has already been more than a week since my last post. Almost losing mojo to blog now since my mood is not back to its normal self. Not when I had one week's worth of worrying and sleepless nights over my BoiBoi's fluctuating high temperature. It's really nerve wrecking when you do not know what was wrong with the kid.

BoiBoi was admitted to the hospital for 2 nights last weekend. After the usual dengue, urine and typhoid tests which all turned out negative... the pediatrician diagnosed him with acute pharyngitis. The first day the kid was rather tired, no appetite and restless since he's bed bound as he need to be on drips. The next day was energetic, with some appetite back but he cried a little cos he wanted to go home. I guess it's no fun dragging the drip stand (did you know drips are electronically controlled these days???) along to the toilet and wee wee into a measuring jug :p

Anyway, he was off school for the entire week with his fever still on-off for another 2 days after discharging from the hospital but luckily not super high when he was back home. He has since recovered and started school today. I guess I can have a bit of break now even though I'm still worried that his fever may recur. Keeping my fingers and toes crossed now!

Back to some food blogging...

I had some leftover chicken herbal soup in the fridge and with the weather so hot, we just didn't feel like eating anything but light stuff. So instead of cooking rice to go with the soup, I suddenly thought of using the soup as the liquid to cook congee (rice porridge/jook in Cantonese).

All I did was removed the herbs and chicken carcass from the soup but add back the goji berries (kei chee in Cantonese) and stripped-off chicken meat from the carcass. I've used it in replace of water to cook this brown rice congee. I adjusted the salt and added some grounded white pepper to taste. As it turned out, the herbal soup gave great flavour to the congee and I really wonder why I have never thought of this earlier! I guess it's never too late for anything huh?

Kwai Far Yuk Fried Rice

**Non-Halal**


In the running towards Chinese New Year, this is an absolutely simple solution not to be "slaughtered", that is to cook something quick and simple at home. We normally fry rice with lap cheung (Chinese sausage) but this time round I did it with Kwai Far Yuk. Kwai Far Yuk is a type of lap mei (waxed meat) that is hmmm almost oblong in shape and it's flat about 1/2 cm thick.



I usually boil the Kwai Far Yuk for a few minutes to get rid of the wax and fatty bits before slicing them up. For this fried rice, I diced them. Prepared some diced long beans, chopped garlic and scrambled eggs. I've used day old brown rice. First, I fried the Kwai Far Yuk in a wee bit of oil before I dump in the garlic. Let the garlic turn a little brown before putting in the long beans. Add in some salt but not too much. Keep stirring till the long beans are cooked. Add in the rice, making sure the grains are separated and not clumpy. Stir and mix well. Add in a few dashes of soy sauce and ground pepper powder. Keep stirring and then add the egg last. Mix well and serve hot with fresh chilli strips. Easy peasy.

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

Nasi Kerabu and Ayam Percik

I'm not a very good student I must say at least. So far of all the cooking classes I've ever attended, I hardly cook up those recipes that I've learnt with all sorts of excuses even though my heart had wanted to recreate :p very shameful indeed eh? However, by far, I've done Kuih Talam twice which I've learnt from our Kampung Cuisine at Bayan Indah!!! The first was a disaster as I've used the air kapur (lime water) straight from the container without diluting with water. Since it was quite concentrated it gave the green layer a bitter taste! Then the texture was rather wobbly. The next round, I added water to the air kapur and reduce some water from my green layer. I managed to somehow get a quite decent Kuih Talam but not good enough to be photographed hehe.

The next I have always wanted to make is Nasi Kerabu (herb rice salad)  and Ayam Percik (spiced, grilled chicken) but my excuse would be it's kinda hard to get Malay herbs in my area and it would be too much if I ever buy them even in small bundles :p

Anyway I seized the chance when I was at Bayan Indah on a Saturday. I helped myself to her garden. I had a galore snipping the herbs in small quantities but in quite a number of varieties in there. I have gotten some daun kesum, daun cekur, daun kaduk, ulam raja, mint leaves, daun kunyit, daun limau purut, daun selom and Thai basil. Thank you Rohani for the leaves!



The next day, I cooked up both Nasi Kerabu and Ayam Percik. They turned out pretty well and I'm quite glad that BoiBoi did eat up the rice. Funny he finds the chicken a bit hot even though I've halved the amount of chillies but he asked for some gravy to put on his rice :p


Chicken simmering in the pan before grilling

Oh yeah, I've made my own kerisik too!!! Very unimaginable! If my grandma is a Malay, she would be dang proud of me! Hehe... hard work ok stirring the grated coconut for like 25 minutes in the wok!



For my own record, cook the rice earlier so they would have more time to cool down and firm up.

Sorry I can't provide the recipes here since the class is still on going at Bayan Indah. Sign up for one :D

Oh yeah, if you're interested to join us (food bloggers lah) for private classes at Bayan Indah, email me so that I can keep you in the loop for our next classes. I've organised one for some food bloggers 2 months back and there should be one before the year ends.

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: Rice Cafe

**Pork Free**


A day late here but better late than never. Wishing all the fathers here Happy Father's Day! Hope you guys did enjoyed yourself.

We have meant to try Rice Cafe after reading raving mentions in AWOL, FBB and etc. We did came by here one evening during their early days but they were closed. We didn't manage to check them out until quite recently. We used the back road via Lorong Maarof (from Rebung) to reach Bangsar, and we have to pass by this row of shop houses on the left. I saw that they were opened and I asked Capt'n Hook to park the car and have dinner here instead. Rice Cafe is just a few shops down HSBC Restaurant.

The restaurant was empty saved for the staff. We were told that they are mostly crowded during lunch hours. The place is simple but yet tastefully furnished. Thumbs up for them to keep the place neat and clean.



Both of us have asked for assam laksa but it was all sold out. The man (I presumed the manager or maybe the owner) who took our order recommended me Fried Glass Noodles (Tung Fun in Cantonese) and Capt'n Hook asked for Belacan Fried Rice or was it Kampung Fried Rice??? He then asked for a serving of Salted Yolk Chicken.

After not long, the wait staff came over and asked us what kind of chillies we would prefer. Wow, I'm impressed! So nice of them to asked hehe. We have the fresh red chillies and the pickled green chillies.



When a claypot came and set upon me, I was confused. I had to asked the server what was it and he said Claypot Loh Shu Fun (RM8, a type of rice noodles). The Manager came over and I told him that I did not order this. He checked his chit and apologised. He told me that he had wrote down the order correctly but had verbally told the cook the wrong item. Not wanting the noodles go to waste, I told him it's all right, I'll have the claypot. This Claypot Loh Shu Fun is actually a special on the board and not in the menu. The version here is not the dark soy sauce version and it's on a soupy side, almost like Yoke Heng's version but the gravy not as eggy. Taste wise it was just all right with chicken slices and a couple of prawns, topped with deep fried dried shrimps and ikan bilis. If you want something plain, ask for this.



Capt'n Hook's Fried Rice (RM8.50) arrived and he dug in. Found lots of squid, chicken slices and prawns. After a few bites, he asked me to try. He said it doesn't tasted like what he had ordered. We both suspected this could be seafood fried rice hahaha but we being nice people, we kept quiet and continue to enjoy the food.



Thank goodness the Salted Yolk Chicken (RM16) came as a winner!!! I guess our act of being nice were rewarded big time. The crispy deep fried chicken pieces are deliciously coated with a creamy layer of salted yolk with pieces of crispy curry leaves lending the fragrant flavour to this dish. We literally licked the plate clean!



Despite having 2 boo boos here I guess we'll still come back. Must come back to try their assam laksa one day! Oooo and their nasi dagang and nasi lemak too! We have 2 glassed of Chinese tea to wash down the grease (RM2 per glass). There's no Government tax yet and no service charge.


Rice Cafe
98 Lorong Maarof
Bangsar Park
59000 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: (+6010) 362 5188
Google Map

Happy Duan Wu Jie

**Non-Halal**

The Chinese are celebrating Duan Wu Jie aka Rice Dumpling aka Dragon Boat Festival today. Those who are celebrating this festival, Happy Duan Wu Jie to you and your family.



These rice dumplings (also known as tzung or bak chang) are made by PureGlutton and they're very delicious. Needless to say they contained lots of "liew" (ingredients). Since I don't know how to make them, you can check her recipe in her blog on how to make them. The recipe came with lots of pics! Oh yummm. She has offered to teach me and FBB how to make them so we're waiting patiently for it to happen :p. Thanks in advance!

Braised Pork Ribs with Leeks and Shallots served with Garlic and Ginger Fried Rice

**Non-Halal**




Most times I will try to keep our meals to be simple but yet striking a balance of having a little bit ot everything. Just like this time, we have a easy peasy braised pork ribs. The shallots gave the dish a sweetish caramalised taste with the addition of fragrant Chinese leeks which seems to be available even outside Chinese New Year season these days.

What I did was marinade pork ribs with a dash of fish sauce, white pepper and some corn flour for a couple of hours in the fridge. Just remove from fridge about 30 mins before cooking. I shallow fry the ribs in batches with some oil until they're lightly browned. Remove the ribs and set aside. Using the same pan, add some oil if needed. Add in a handful of peeled whole shallots and fry till the edges are slightly brown, remove and set aside. Then throw in sliced leeks and cook till soften a bit. Remove and set aside.

Still using the same pan as I liked to deglaze the fried sticky bits on the bottom of the pan, add a little oil if there's non left. Fry some minced soy bean paste till fragrant before adding back the shallots, leeks and ribs. Stir a bit before pouring just enough water to cover the ribs. Adjust the seasoning with a wee bit of sugar, salt is usually not necessary but do add some if you did not use enough soy bean paste. Simmer on low heat for about 45 mins.

You can cook this using your slow cooker. Dish up and serve hot. I served them with a simple Garlic and Ginger Fried Rice.

To cook  the rice, scrambled some eggs and set aside. Fry ginger and garlic in oil till fragrant and lightly browned before adding the frozen vegetables (can omit this actually). Stir and add in some salt. Pour in day old rice and mix well. Sprinkle in some soy sauce for some colour and taste; and also some pepper. Add in the eggs and mix well. Dish up and serve.

Note: The black seeds and brown bits are not sesame seeds but are flax seeds as I've used multi-grain rice.

Review: Tseng's Kitchen @ The Weld

**Can't remember if The Weld outlet is pork free or not but the one in Solaris is definitely not halal**


Our intention was to have McD at The Weld but there isn't any tables available so we hop to this newly opened Tseng's Kitchen 2 doors away, next to Mark's Assam Laksa. We checked and it seems they sells mainly chicken rice and what more when a big signage at the entrance declaring that they're MSG-free.

The restaurant has a huge space but it's sparsely furnished. Could have more tables in there actually. Since the ceiling is particularly low, it's really noisy in there, not very pleasant when the restaurant is packed.

There are roasted and poached chickens available and convenient sets were available too for one pax and multi-paxs. Set A which costed RM9.80 came with a bowl of soup that contained 2 fish balls, a HUGE bowl of "oil" rice, a plate of chicken (your choice of roasted or poach) and a glass of drink (Chinese tea, soya bean drink and errr I can't remember what else :p sorry). You may ask "chicken rice for RM9.80???" Yes, kinda pricey huh but this is Kuala Lumpur town centre :(



The portion of rice is really HUGE. It's a large bowl of fragrant rice and I have to say the rice is very nice and contained pieces of garlic, shallots and ginger. I would love to finish up the rice but it's just too much and detrimental to my stomach if I do so!

The chicken and fish balls are just mediocre. Nothing to shout about and it's not helping when the chilli sauce and ginger condiments are pretty watered down. What is worse, we felt thirsty the entire afternoon... MSG-free??? Am afraid not!


Tseng's Kitchen
LG-09 Lower Ground Floor
The Weld
76, Jalan Raja Chulan,
50200 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: +603 2171 1328


Tseng's Chicken Rice
3A, Jln Solaris 4
Solaris Mont'Kiara
Kuala Lumpur
Tel: +603 - 6204 0328

Lap Mei Farn (Waxed Meat Rice)

**Non-Halal**

The previous weekend as I was preparing lunch around 11ish, suddenly TNB decided to pull a prank on us, leaving us baking in the hot hot CNY heat! Now, the biggest problem... I was in the midst of preparing to cook lap mei (waxed meat) rice. Yikes... rice cooker nor the steamer would work without electricity and I do not have a claypot hahaha. How leh? I had to cook rice using the stove instead which I've never done before LOL. I checked through and oh yeaaa, I can cook rice using my Vision ware, I guess should be better than metal ones right?

Anyway, I placed the rice with water in the pot, cover with the lid and turn on the stove, I kept my fingers crossed. Woohoo and the rice did cook nicely. Once it's almost cooked through, I lay the lap mei mixture of lap cheung (Chinese sausage), yoon cheung (Chinese liver sausage) and kwai far yuk (an oblong piece of reddish meat almost tasting like bak gua). We don't eat the lap yuk (pork belly) nor the lap ngap (waxed duck) hence I did not put in any. I cooked it for another 10 minutes, well that was the time the base started to burn!!!! LOL sighhh my new stove is wayyy to hot for my liking even I've used the lowest heat.

Thank goodness, it burnt just a little. I just left them covered to finish off cooking in the natural heat. Just before eating, I poured in a mixture of oyster sauce diluted with warm water and some garlic oil. Mix them about and serve the rice dish with blanched baby bok choi.

Review: Low Yau Kee Porridge

**Non-Halal**




I haven't touched Low Yau Kee Porridge for more than 10 years, no thanks to some road work back then along Jalan Silang that made Metro buses halt right in front of Low Yau Kee Porridge stall. It's no fun smelling in the black fumes, hence I abandoned any ideas of consuming one of the best porridge in town. My stomach is weak but thank goodness my nose was stronger, so no go!

I was glad though when I pass by Soong Kee Beef Ball Noodles one day recently and found a stall operating in front. Upon closer look, my tummy was jumping with joy! It was Low Yau Kee Porridge stall! I can now savour the porridge inside Soong Kee with the comfort of air-conditioning minus the bus soots and honks :p



I've asked for a bowl of plain porridge. The rice is boiled till "meen" (that's in Cantonese but not sure what's the proper word in English - perhaps disintegrated?) with chicken stock and they serve watery porridge here instead of thick version but of course you could request them for a thicker one. I loved how the chicken stock enhances the porridge flavour, not many stall does this.



I was very "tham jiak" (greedy) that evening, I asked for sliced fish which came in a plate topped with julienne ginger, spring onions and cilantro (yin sai) with a drizzle of sesame oil; and a serving of steamed chicken breast. I swirl the fish slices ala shabu shabu style in my bowl of porridge and slurp them down. Nice especially on a rainy evening.



The steamed chicken is smooth, well good enough. Can't compare with capon chicken though :p


Other than fish and chicken porridge, I also loved mixed pork innards (chu chap jook) especially the crispy deep fried intestine! Oh yum.

I was one very happy and satisfied person that evening indeed!


Low Yau Kee Porridge (Stall in front of Soong Kee)
3 Jalan Tun Siew Sin
Kuala Lumpur

Healthy Prawns Fried Rice

This is a rather healthy fried rice using day old rice, eggs, prawns, diced red and yellow bell peppers, chopped garlic, a little oil and chopped spring onions. Just need to place a little oil in a wok and scramble up the eggs and set it aside. Then pour in some oil and fry the garlic till fragrant (not browned) before adding in the prawns. Stir till cooked and add in some salt. Next add in the bell peppers and stir a bit before adding in the rice. Stir quickly to mix them up evenly. Pour in some soy sauce to taste and white pepper. Mix in the eggs and spring onions and dish up. Serve hot.

Easy peasy

Btw, I'm super duper busy these days. Updating of blog will be sporadic and reading of blogs... it's almost non-existence! Darn sad :(

Technorati tags: fried rice

Happy Duan Wu Jie

**Non-Halal**

Today is Duan Wu Jie aka Rice Dumpling Festival. Those who are celebrating this festival, Happy Duan Wu Jie to you and your family.

Should you feel like having some luxurious abalone filled rice dumpling (bak chang), you can head on to Y E Traditional Dumplings. Perhaps you could try their healthier brown rice version.

If you're pressing for time or your favourite stall have ran out of rice dumplings, you can head on to supermarkets to find Kawan's mini alkaline rice dumplings (karn shui type) in the frozen department. I've tried their savoury version as well which is not too bad, halal too if not mistaken.


Technorati Tags: duan wu jie + bak chang + rice dumpling + dragon boat festival

Review: Y E Traditional Dumplings' Healthy Brown Rice Chang

**Non-Halal**


We were at Jusco Supermarket Cheras Selatan the previous weekend. Oh my... the amount of sampling "stalls" were practically at every aisle churning out various samplings from nasi tomato and curry chicken made out of evaporated milk, all sorts of coffee, Milo, black sesame soy milk, cultured drinks, biscuits... you name it they would most prolly have it!!! I think we could have easily done a food crawl there :p heh!

Anyway, whilst we were passing by the non-halal section, we stopped to check out a bunting. The various glutinous rice dumplings (bak chang) pictured on the bunting all looked so delish. On closer look, ohhhh my, it was the famous Y E Traditional Dumplings at Pandan Jaya. I remember reading and watching on telly about their dumplings especially the gigantic one that can serve 10-12! This particular dumpling has a lot of expensive goodies inside which includes abalone!!! Not cheap, I tell you... it's close to RM300 for one!

I was attracted to one particular dumpling, the word "healthy" caught my eyes. The promoter ushered us into the non-halal section to check them out. Since I wanted to grab some bacon so may as well.



I bought one just to try out. This Healthy Brown Rice Dumpling costed RM6.80 but the size is rather big (but then again I have small palms :p). Traditional to their point, the dumpling is wrapped using hemp string which I liked, very environmental friendly and I know it's safe to eat. I'm kinda paranoid that plastic on rafia strings might just leak into the dumplings when cooked on high heat, tell me I'm not alone please...!





I steamed it up before eating and I could tell the grains were not 100% brown rice but more like multi-grained... brown and red rice plus millet, could have buckwheat too. The fillings not as generous as I would like it but good enough. It contained a slice of Chinese mushroom, chestnut, salty egg yolk and pork slices. There is only a teeny weeny slice of fat and a couple slices of lean meat... too lean (:p very surprising coming from me) cos it's tough. Taste wise, this dumpling is all right. It's like eating my normal meal of multi-grained rice with dumpling ingredients as dishes. I missed the glutinous texture of a normal dumpling.



Capt'n Hook tried their Hakka "pillow" dumpling which he said was all right. Am I missing something here? Hmmm might wanna try out the other famous shop... perhaps soon since Duan Wu Jie is around the corner, 28th May to be precise.

If you fancy checking out the rest of the dumplings like Cantonese Chang, SweetHeart Chang, Crystal Chang, Nyonya Chang, Bamboo Leaf Chicken Chang, Roasted Pork Vega Chang; Golden Chang and etc... do drop by their shop at Pandan Jaya or Jusco Supermarket, Cheras Selatan (not sure about other Jusco though).


Y E Traditional Dumplings
8G Jalan Pandan Jaya 3/9
Pandan Jaya
Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 603-9284 5325
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 10am - 11pm; Public Holiday & Sun 10am-7pm
Click here for Map.

Technorati Tags: duan wu jie + bak chang + rice dumpling + dragon boat festival

Review: The Zun Kitchenette @ Shaw Parade

**Non-halal**


I've read about The Zun Kitchenette sometime back in the papers and knew where it existed as we go round Pudu area rather often but somehow there isn't any urge to check them out as the complex they were located in is errmmm a rather dead place, not to mention notorious as well :p

I supposed we were destined to check out The Zun Kitchenette as that evening we went round Pudu area in search of a "nice" dinner (as how Capt'n Hook had put it before he came to pick me up) towards the tail end of CNY but the few restaurants that we wanted to go to were closed. Since it was a wet evening, I suggested to have some NICE soup in a NICE surrounding as our fave soup place was closed as well. So that was how we ended up in Shaw Parade!



Parking is rather easy but you'll need to spiral up to get to the carpark otherwise park outside the complex. This carpark is not that friendly and rather dim so do bring along a bouncer friend or two. As far as I know, on the Ground floor, there are two places opened - Eu Yan Sang and Purple Cane. Funny how one Chinese medicine hall and tea centre have restaurants operating within them. To get to The Zun Kitchenette, one just need to look for Eu Yan Sang which was their flagship outlet in Malaysia and walk further in and you'll see the restaurant in a glass enclosure. Way back inside there's even a TCM clinic and a tuina and foot massage centre! As the waitress ushered us in, she told us the food served here are healthy stuff and do not contain any MSG. We were wowwed indeed. Yes... it never ceases to amaze us to unearth a treasure ermmm in a rather dead complex right in the city centre!

Once we were done with our order, we were served some tea like looking liquid in clear tiny teacups. Further poking and checking, the round bit you see there is actually crushed ice shaped using ice-cream scoop. I had a shock upon my first sip hahaha cos it's so sharp! Not my fault actually cos when we asked the waitress she mentioned the name in Cantonese which of course we won't have any idea what it is. After we were done with it, we went over to the shop outside to check out what it was.



Oooo it was actually Propolis and Honey Vinegar. We were told to drink this cold, in fact the colder the better in terms of the taste which we totally agreed so much so that we carted 2 bottles home hahaha they're very good in marketing, aren't they?

Our soups arrived first... Capt'n Hook had Chicken Delight Herbal Soup (RM10.00). I took a teeny sip. The clear soup was "sweet" in its own element. Should do Capt'n Hook's troubled throat some good.



As for myself, I've no idea why I asked for Bak Zhan Black Chicken Soup (RM10.00) as I detest bak zhan soup when my mum made them for me when I was much younger so much so that my mum stopped making them after seeing me crinkling my nose each time. I cautiously took my first spoon of the soup but I was delighted that it tasted totally different from the horrible stuff that my mum gave me. Perhaps it was the quality of the herbs used or could it be because I'm more tolerant now? Seriously I've a different perception of the bak zhan taste now as it has the "kum" (golden) after taste as oppose to my bitter (pun intended) experience.



Since there were just 2 of us, we decided not to have rice with dishes. We gotten ourselves single portion of Seafood Fried Rice (RM18.00) and Stir-Fried Noodles (RM12.00). Seems expensive huh for single portion however, I have to said it's well worth the price. The rice have loads of crunchy prawns, few pieces of chopped scallops and I think squid. The chopped spring onions in it made the rice rather fragrant. Geeshh... I must be getting old not able to recall. The rice they've used is aromatic and slighlty glutinuous texture which I supposed signified the quality of the rice used for the grains turned out separated.



Don't let the simple name of Stir-Fried Noodles fool you. We loved this noodles to the bits. They've used sarng meen (fresh noodles or usually known as wantan noodles) that retained the al dente texture that I liked. Fried with beansprouts, julienned carrots, strips of shitake mushrooms and seafood, yes more seafood! The portion is just too much for the 2 of us after walloping the rice that we doggie bagged half of them home.



Capt'n Hook had his fave Guilingao Herbal Jelly (RM4.80) for dessert. He gave this 2 thumbs up saying that this was how one should taste like coupled with the real thick honey that was served on the side.



As for myself, I was too stuffed to have any birdnest desserts listed in the menu so I continue sipping my Rooibos Tea (RM5.00 for 2 paxs) to ease digestion.



Just in case you would like to know the Chinese names to the dishes above.



For once in a long while, I don't have to drown water down my throat after dinner. We loved the simple yet exquisite meal and yes, we're returning to check out the other dishes soon. Watch this space ;-)

My only concern is how to curb their clever marketing strategy and the shopaholic in us :p for you can get those yummy herbs, vinegars, bird nests, honey etc that you've tasted in the restaurant on your way out???

BTW, there is The Zun Express at The Gardens, Midvalley serving express meals like soups and noodles. It is located on the same row as Nyonya Colors and Belanga.

Note: If you have Eu Yan Sang membership card, you're entitled to a 10% discount in the restaurant. You can apply immediately too, just pay RM12 for one year membership. There is a service charge of 10% and our total bill of the above meal came up to RM65.80.


The Zun Kitchenette
Lot GL-01 Ground Floor
Shaw Parade
Changkat Thambi Dollah
Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 603-2118 6860


Technorati Tags: chinese food