Review: Ying Ker Restaurant

Ying Ker Restaurant at The Curve made it on my list even before its opening. I saw the signage during their renovation period. At that time, there weren't that many good eating places at that mall but it's a very different story now. Breaking away from the normal grubs that our fart usually would asked for, this time we forced our way into a Chinese Hakka cuisine place.

I had always wondered why this place is so pack and they even put up a row of chairs outside for waiting patrons. All these while I thought it must be the place is too small to cope with the crowds but oh boy, how wrong I was! I didn't realised there is a huge dining hall further inside this classy restaurant.

Anyhow, we managed to get a table since we were there very early one evening. After browsing thru the menu, there are dishes that could go with rice; single portion order of rice or noodles; and the latest addition of dim sum.

I've asked for the Hakka Minced Pork Noodles (RM10.90) to be shared with my boiboi. The noodles came in a bed of noodles topped with minced meat and two meat patties. Looking very plain but I have to say this is very flavourful, as great as the one at Pudu. The minced meat were a tad too salty since I'm used to bland food but it went well with the noodles. Overall, I did enjoyed this very much.

Hubby had his favourite Braised Pork (Char Yuk) to be served with a bowl of noodles in soup (RM15.90). The noodles are very very plain indeed but hubby said it was nice to be served with the braised pork. I noticed the portion came with loads of black fungus that I liked. Tastewise, it's comparable to the tasty one at Leung Ya but again a tad too salty for myself.

We ordered a plate of chee cheung fun (rice rolls) filled with carrot and turnip strips (RM5.00) to be shared but my boiboi loves this so much that he whacked almost the whole plate leaving me struggling with my noodles. I managed to grabbed a couple of pieces which I find the rice rolls smooth and the filling have dried shrimps.

Overall, it was pretty pleasant but the prices are generally on a very high side, most likely to fund the expensive looking chopsticks, crockery and renovation heh. All in all, we spent in total RM45.77 in which RM8.00 went for a pot of Puer that came in a very nice purple clay teapot plus 10% service charge and 5% government tax.

Ying Ker Restaurant
Lot 139, 1st Floor
The Curve
Tel: 603-7729 4229

Technorati Tags: malaysian food + hakka food

Review: Mui Hiong Salt Fish Delicacy

**Non-Halal**

I first read about this Mui Hiong Salt Fish Delicacy in the papers a couple of years ago but somehow never got round to Imbi to check them out even though hubby is a big fan of salted fish. Sad when Lilian even ate here on one of her trips to Kuala Lumpur!!! I told myself I must make it a point to come by but still...

Next I saw the delicious post by Lyrical Lemongrass, wahhh must definitely put this a few ranks up in my long long list of "To Eat". We were determined and went one day but alas the shop was closed! *pout*

Opportunity came again the following week when we arrived at the million dollar question of where to eat one evening, hubby was gamed when I mentioned the salted fish place again. We went round the block twice but can't find any car park but was delighted they were at least opened, anyway, we eventually got into the paid carparks which are aplenty besides Imbi Palace Restaurant. Mui Hiong is located at Medan Imbi, same row as Lo Hong Ka.

Lo hold behold, don't be misled by the plain black and white signboard, elegant Chinese styled marble topped tables and chairs will greet you upon entering the glass door. A lady whom we found out was the wife of propriety, George Lai. She made some recommendation to us and shoot off to the kitchen to hand in our order.

Whilst waiting, we looked around and couldn't helped but to noticed a children playpen beneath the stairs. Hubby was curious and went over to have a look, and he waved me over to check out the cosy pen filled with mattress, toys and telly. There is a little boy came over and hubby held out his palm. The little boy then proceed to place his palm over hubby's... awwww very sweet. We later found out that the little boy is one of George's son, same age as our boiboi but he's autistic. Mrs Lai was surprised at how her son reacted to hubby as she said he's usually very reserved. Many words were exchanged and shared since one of hubby's friend had an autistic child. Mr & Mrs Lai seems frustrated and at all ends but upon hubby's adviced to show more compassion rather than resort to scolding and caning, it was then George realised that he noticed that his son would listen to him whenever he asked him to do things nicely. Well, we hoped we could drop by one day with our boiboi to play with him and see how the child had progressed after his horse riding sessions which is a form of therapy. Wish all is well ;-)

By then our soup came. We ordered a single portion of Ngau Chat Soup upon strongly recommendation from Mrs Lai. Errrmm I know, it sounded a bit foul haha but apparently ngau chat is a type of Chinese herb and not beef part *ahem*, double boiled with a few other Chinese herbs and chicken meat. It's our first and we both loved it. The soup is very ching timm (clear with natural sweetness). Had wanted a second bowl but decided against it, otherwise we would be over stuffed.

We have a Steamed Minced Pork with Yau Yue (dried squid, ) which abosolutely tasted homemade just like Ma's!

Next came this delicious Stir Fried Bittergourd and Prawns in Salted Eggs. There were 3 HUGE prawns in our portion since we asked to have a smaller portion, otherwise Mrs Lai would have given us 2 prawns each. I guess the prawns were pre-fried before stirring in thinly sliced bittergourd. A thick gravy made out of salted egg yolk is poured all over, stir till melded before serving. We licked and sucked the creamy gravy from the shells before digging into the firm and fresh prawn meat. Who would think prawns, bittergourd and salted eggs could lived under one roof harmoniously??

A steamed white pomfret with salted fish was highly recommended by Mrs Lai...

... but where is the salted fish??? LOL... the treasures were hidden underneath the fish!!! George told us to drizzle the broth onto our rice but aduiii so little broth on the plate which we both fought for them. After tasting the fish, I totally understood why George had placed the salted fish beneath. By doing so, one can taste the natural freshness and sweetness of the fish without marring the taste with the strong and salty salted fish. Ohh how clever!

This restaurant seems very popular as we see the crowds trickling in as the clock ticks and we were told to reserve should we decided to visit on weekends. I guess I know why... the food here not only reminds one of mother's or maybe not, more like hometown (ka hiong) cooking but they're genuinely good.

For the above dishes, two bowls of rice (they used good quality rice which I liked) and a pot of tea, the meal came to RM65.00. Prawn and fish are at market rate.

Mui Hiong Salt Fish Delicacy
4 Jalan Medan Imbi,
Off Jalan Imbi,
55100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 012-299 3331
Opening Hours: 12 noon - 3.00pm; 6.00pm - 10.00pm
Closed on last Monday and Tuesday of the month

Technorati Tags: malaysian food

Chocolate Glazed Cupcakes

No inspiration to write... quickie post here.

Just make a batch of basic cupcakes then melt some dark chocolate with some cream. Cool and refrigerate the chocolate glaze till thickened before slatering them on the cupcakes. Decorate to your heart contents with sprinkles and candies.

Technorati Tags: cupcake

The Onset of Ramadan

Today marks the start of the Muslim month of Ramadhan where eating, drinking, smoking and sexual intercourse are forbidden between dawn (fajr) and sunset (maghrib). At the end of the month, the Muslim will usher in Eid ul-Fitr or most commonly known in Malaysia as Hari Raya Aidil Fitri.

Check out your neighbourhoods or the local papers for Ramadhan bazaars' locations around town. I hope boo_licious will give us all a fantabulous updates on some of these bazaars just like previous years.

Here is a list that I've downloaded from The Star (click on it to expand):

To all my Muslim readers, please come in here after you've buka puasa, otherwise, read with your own risk. :p Selamat Berpuasa.

Technorati Tags: ramadhan

Review: Checking Up Zuup Soup Bar Again

Updated 3 November 2011

This restaurant has closed.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Actually I didn't want to post this up since we've been to Zuup numerous times and we've never failed to like their food. This is all Dr Chen's fault (words borrowed from her too). I'm now officially in her Tungku Club! I had promised her to show how my boiboi drink and eat his Tungku Soup which I had previewed yesterday haha... He's so darn cute and funny! He finished up the soup and chomped down the "bowl".

My boiboi, as like other kids of his age, if I ever ask him what he would like to have for his meal especially when we're in a mall, his reply would be either one of these - pasta, burger or pizza (jwmc's faves too)! Being a kiasi parent, I would usually accommodate. This would be better for me rather than having me to persuade him to eat other stuff. That lunch time at 1 Utama was no different especially when it was just me and him. I conveniently took him to Zuup as they would have his two favourite food - soup and pasta.

This round, I opted for the set meal for the two of us that costed RM16.90. The set came with a soup of the day, spaghetti and iced lemon tea. After checking with the staff, they're serving Chicken and Corn Soup. My boiboi doesn't like corn so I asked for his favourite, Wild Mushroom Cappucino and he specifically asked for the soup to come in a bread bowl (RM10.90)!!! On top of that he also wanted a Ribena Soda (RM5.90), sighhh the bad thing about knowing how to read the menu these days!

His Tungku soup came first and he quickly took the cover off and bite on it before I could even take a pic. So I cheated lah by turning the cover around haha... After 3 bites then he put the cover on and asked me to take pic (the one in the first pic). *roll eyes* This soup is of a consistency we both liked, not too thick nor creamy. He almost finished the whole bowl of soup which is pretty huge in my standard. On top of the soup, he whacked half of the bread bowl! Then he licked his fingers too... it was that good!

My Chicken and Corn Soup in a light creamy based is good too but paled in comparison since I quite like mushroom myself. When the spaghetti (darn, I had forgotten it's name) came, I knew it was a big mistake asking for a creamy based one. Not my fault either cos my boiboi picked one. He hardly have 4 bites of his small share of the spaghetti, duh!!!! Next time, I'm gonna decide for him but then I also kiasi he don't eat. How lah??? I tried to stuffed myself as much as I could and left some behind. This spaghetti have sliced sausages and mushrooms, not as creamy as I had before... delicious!

Zuup Soup Bar
LG 223, Lower Ground Floor,
1 Utama Shopping Centre, Lebuh Bandar Utama,
47800 Petaling Jaya,
SELANGOR
Operation Hours: Monday to Sunday From 11:30am to 10:00pm
(There is a 5% Government Tax imposed.)

Technorati Tags: soup + 1utama

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Poppy Seed Cupcakes With Lemon Drizzle

Yet another cupcake from the 500 cupcakes book hahaha... please bear with me ok. There are 500 variations of cupcakes alone from his book alone! Hehehe... this time, the texture of the Poppy Seed Cupcakes With Lemon Drizzle is completely different from the Orange Poppy Seeds Cake which is moist and dense. These cupcakes are light and fluffy; plus I got them out of the oven at a right time even though the top turned just light golden otherwise it would have ended up a tad too dry.

As usual, I've cut down the sugar of this recipe to just 200g, hence the added sugar drizzle does not turn these cupcakes overly sweet. I totally loved the lemon fragrant in the cupcakes and the extra crunch of the poppy seeds in the icing. Would loved to sub the lemon with other citruses ie. lime or maybe kaffir lime huh?

Poppy Seed Cupcakes With Lemon Drizzle

Cupcakes:
225g unsalted butter, soften
225g castor sugar
225g self-raising flour
4 eggs
1stp vanilla essence
1 tbsp poppy seeds
1 tbsp grated lemon zest

For the drizzle:
125g icing sugar, sifted
4 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp poppy seeds

Preheat oven to 175C and place 18 casings in muffin trays.

Combine butter, sugar, flour, and eggs in a mixing bowl and beat with electric whisk until smooth, about 2-3 mins. (You'll noticed that majority of the recipes have the same ingredients and steps up till here. So you can actually make a few types of cupcakes by using the basic ingredients.)

Stir in vanilla essence, poppy seeds and lemon zest until well combined. Spoon batter into cases and bake for about 20 mins. Remove tins from oven and cool for 5 mins before removing the cupcakes and cool on rack.

To make the drizzle, mix lemon juice into the icing sugar into the consistency of double cream. Stir in poppy seeds and drizzle over cupcakes.

Store in air-tight container for up to 2 days or 3 months in the freezer.

Ref: 500 Cupcakes & Muffins, By Fergal Connolly book (published by PageOne Publishing)

Technorati Tags: cupcake