Review: Jun Kee Restaurant @ Taman Midah Cheras

**Non-Halal**

We have visited Jun Kee Restaurant (Cantonese pronounced as Khuan Kee) for a few times since it's pretty near my MIL's place. It was an originally a dai chow place forever packed to the brim especially so after they introduce live seafood tanks in their premises. Back in Dec, we pass by the back row of the restaurant and found spanking new Jun Kee that was tastefully decorated and it's fully air-conditioned too! Errmmm if not mistaken even chopsticks have their name on them, just like Canton-i. We did not hesitate to give the new locale a try which of course did not disappoint.

We all absolutely loved the butter prawns here. Topped with loads of egg white, and butter or rather margerine strands. The prawns were succulent and huge!



This homemade tofu with 3 mushrooms is just mediocre but the homemade tofu is soft and smooth.



Stir-fried Romaine Lettuce have enough wok hei and just nice, not overly salty.



This Fruity Sauce Pork Ribs was something new to us here cos Capt'n Hook usually order Marmite or Nam Yue (red preserved beancurd) style. I can't really deduce what kinda fruit taste in the sauce but nevertheless enjoyed this very much.



We ended our dinner with individual portions of tong shui (sweet soup), a concept that I really like cos each of us can have what we liked. I shared with boiboi the peanut soup (far sang wu) which is absolutely Heavenly. It's hard to find places that serves excellent peanut soup. Jun Kee's version is not too thick and has incredible fragrant peanut taste.



Capt'n Hook had this Double-boiled Hasma with Red Dates which is clear broth with very red dates fragrant.



Price wise it's pretty reasonable unless you order live items from the tank. I can't find the receipt :p but the prices for the above dishes (4 adults + boiboi) + 4 rice + a pot of tea + 1 peanut soup + 2 double boiled hasma came to less than RM150, could be just RM130+.


Jun Kee Restaurant

Original, Non-Air-conditioned
30 Jalan Midah 1,
Taman Midah, Cheras
56000 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 603-9133 5142

New outlet with Air-condition
31, 33, 35 Jalan Midah 3,
Taman Midah, Cheras
56000 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 603-9133 5142
*Funny they shares the same phone number


Technorati Tags: malaysian food + chinese food

Unlucky Ending, Lucky Beginning

*Super long post ahead for my own rememberance but go ahead and read if you like some drama :p

For the entire day on eve of CNY, I was literally moving around rather mechanically, not knowing what's happening, going to happen but I certain remember what happened! The year of Rat really ended in a bad way starting from 5ish am when my boiboi came to our bedroom. With strong maternal instinct, I opened my eyes the moment he flickered on the light switch of the bathroom. I got up and saw him jumping onto the WC. Boiboi said he wanted to poo and pooed he did.

When he's done, I asked if he would like to sleep with us but he turned me down. He said he's going back to sleep on his bed. Come 6ish am, I have yet to be able to sleep back, boiboi rushed in again and told me he need to poo again. This time he told me it's soft stools.. uh oh, doesn't sound good. Once done, he went back to his room again leaving me tossing and turning. I think I just managed to closed my eyes, at 7ish am, boiboi ran in excitedly calling for me. I opened my bleary eyes and boiboi shoved his palm on my face. Oh dear his dangling bottom incisor finally came off and he's very excited. I asked him to get back to his room for some sleep and sleep he did. And all these... the daddy just sleep thru snoring away, his excuse was he took cough med the night before.

As for myself, enough is enough, I got up and start working on my chores and remove my char siu and pai kuat (pork ribs) marinading in the fridge. I started to wash and cut the ingredients for my tzai choy (vegetarian dish) to be cooked on the first day.

Come 9.45am I chucked in my meat into the oven for roasting which by then boiboi has gotten up. Made him his milk and breakie, continued with my chores and checking on the roasts. Had a late breakie after Capt'n Hook had his. Remove the roasts and let them cool down yada yada...

I have to say my char siu (bbq pork) was pretty good. I tested roasting pork ribs this time using the same marinade which turned out surprisingly good and tender. Recipe here.



As we were to leave home around 12.45pm to my parents for reunion lunch, the fart said he need to poo again. We waited and didn't leave till past 1pm. Reached parents and had a late lunch after the rest of the clan went ahead after I asked them to go ahead without us. Boiboi rushed to the toilet at 2.30pm again just after a couple spoonfuls of his lunch. OK that's it, we'll have to take him to the clinic but on CNY eve, his peads are closed so the next best bet would be hospital emergency.

We got to the hospital around 4.15pm. There were a lot of people at the tiny waiting lounge but only a fraction of them were patients. There was one family, the granny was the patient but the entire clan of son, DIL and 3 grandchildren came along occupied half the seats in the lounge! Come 6pm, we were still waiting! Actually there isn't that many patients nor extreme emergency cases but they have only 3 consultation beds and some of these patients were in there for a long while, perhaps on drips or something.

What was worst, my cat loving boiboi saw a cat outside and he wanted to go over to pat it but I disallowed after seeing that ferocious cat meowing and trying to chase a mummy and her little girl. He stood at the glass sliding door and put his palm out trying to wave at the cat, just when I asked him to stop doing that, I heard his cries for help. Someone came in and activated the sliding door and boiboi's arm got stuck in between the gap!!! I rushed over to help him followed by the daddy and managed to get his arm out. Guess what??? The entire visitors at the lounge just watched except for one Caucasian man came over to offer his help *roll eyes*.

6.05pm we heard the nurse calling for boiboi and went in to let the MO checked him, was done in just 5 mins!!! Duhhh, 2 hours wait for 5 mins consulation. There's nothing major with him, just need to keep him off milk for the next day. After collecting the meds, we rushed off to pick MIL for reunion dinner.

Thank goodness no more diarrhea and got him to sip on his oral dehyration salt. Came home, tucked my boiboi to bed and I continue to cut my soaked dried mushrooms and some other ingredients.

I was very very tired, felt like a zombie. Showered and washed my hair just before midnight but I was too tired to sleep. Watched some telly and ushered in the new year which is surprisingly pretty quiet in my area when last year, it was totally like a war zone.

Come new year, I woke up around 8am and started cooking my version 5.0 of vegetarian dish. Easy peasy.



We went off to MIL place for lunch before heading to my parents then back to my MIL to take her out for dinner and guess whom we met at the mall near home???



It's Uncle Choy hahaha Choy Sun Yeh (God of Prosperity)... I feel LUCKY already!

Review: Reunion Dinner at Hakka Restaurant

**Non-Halal**

Today's the fourth day of the lunar new year. I hope all is well with everyone... had a safe drive home, merry makings, happily feasting away etc...

I had this reunion dinner with Capt'n Hook's family at Hakka Restaurant. I didn't realised that they were established since 1956 as stated in the paper napkins even though I've been following them around in the city from the now Chuai Heng at Jalan Raja Chulan to the former bungalow that Yasmin Restoran (darn I so missed the Malay fare here) used to occupy at Jalan Kia Peng. Now their latest shift is back to Jalan Raja Chulan ermmm which is actually just a stone throw away from their Kia Peng place. You'll need to go in via Jalan Kia Peng and drive on pass Menara HLA, then when you see Borneo Baruk Club, you need to slow down and keep left. Hakka Restaurant entrance is right after the club. Parking is limited here so you either pay RM5 to the jockey or exit the restaurant and drive round to park at the carpark next to their old place.



Since the outstation brother-in-law and his family didn't manage to make it back this year, so it was only a small affair with 4 adults and my boiboi. It was full house that night and I see them turning away walk-in patrons. Luckily we made advanced reservation weeks back.

We started off with half a portion of Salmon Yue Sang (raw fish RM38).



Here's us tossing away for prosperity and good health...



I loved these Beancurd Skin Parcels with HK Choy Sum and Mushrooms (RM28). This is a vegetarian dish as the beancurd skin parcels contained mushrooms and gosh I can't really recall what's inside cos I was too tired to bother what I ate :p but the combination was great. The choy sum was young and crunchy.



Sweet and Sour Fish Fillet (RM21) was ordered for my boiboi. Lucky for this dish especially the sweetish and sourish ketchup sauce, my boiboi managed to have some food down his system. What I like is the thick slices of fish, at least can taste the freshness and flesh. The way it's done here is very old school as the dish is topped with cucumber and tomato strips that are pickled lightly in vinegar and some sugar, just like how my mom did with hers.



Next we have a very high rated Kampung Chicken in Rice Wine Soup (RM45). The soup is thick with loads of chopped ginger swimming inside devoid of black fungus, totally different from the version I usually cook. Capt'n Hook enjoyed the soup till the very last drop. Certainly warmed up our body as the temperature inside the air-con area is rather cold.

Right after this, our dish came to a halt, we waited for more than 20 minutes and still no sign of our Harm Darn Har (Prawns Coated with Salted Egg Yolks RM50). After countless reminder, the prawns finally arrived. This version is something new to us. The prawns were deep fried with some salted egg yolks encrusted on them but it's kinda dry and not creamy like those we normally have. Other than this, there were bits of yolks fried with red chili padi scattered all over. Thumbs down by everyone.



The last item we have was just a simple Lotus Paste Chinese Pancake (RM10) which also took ages to arrive. This is my fave dessert but Hakka's version is extremely oily and the pastry is soaked with oil. The combination of pastry and lotus paste is not even as well with too much paste. The pieces went limp when lifted up with our chopsticks. Should have sticked with their yummilicious Peanut Soup!



I know it's a Hakka restaurant but we did not order anything Hakka cos it's tough to finish their signature Fatt Choy Hoe Si (Pork Knuckles with Dried Oysters and Fatt Choy) or deep fried knuckle with so few of us. The other dishes that I liked are their Crispy Roast Chicken, Lap Mei Farn (Waxed Meat Rice) and their signature tofu dish.

Our bill came up to RM229.34 after adding in the rice, tea and towels plus 5% Government Tax and another 5% Service Charge.


Hakka Restaurant
No. 90 Jalan Raja Chulan
50200 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 603-2143 1907


BTW, this is a short plug... those flying MAS to destinations like China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan will enjoy special Chinese menu during this Chinese New Year period. Passengers will get to enjoy cuisines like pan fried silver cod served with soya sauce glace, yong chow fried rice with crab meat and diced scallops, stir-fried noodles with chicken and julienne vegetables, steamed red garoupa ‘yuh siang’ style, BBQ chicken pau and Chinese congee with shredded dried scallops, depending on the actual meal cycles applicable on each flight.


Technorati Tags: chinese food + malaysian food

Happy Niu Year

May the Oxpicious year brings you
cartfuls of good luck, joy,
prosperity and best of health!
Gong Xi Fa Cai!!

Review: Kikkoman Teriyaki Marinade with Roasted Garlic

I was in Isetan recently and chanced upon Kikkoman Teriyaki sauces on offer. I took a look and there were a few variety available. Since I've never tried this brand's teriyaki sauce so I picked up a bottle of Kikkoman Teriyaki Marinade with Roasted Garlic.

Back home, I marinaded 2 skinless chicken thighs that have been chopped into smaller pieces with this Kikkoman Teriyaki Marinade with Roasted Garlic. Chucked them in the fridge for a few hours before cooking. I did not cook a traditional teriyaki but instead I lightly pan fry the chicken pieces in some oil. Next, I pour in some water together with a bit more of the marinade. Seasoned with some sugar and black pepper. I simmer them on low heat for about 20 mins until the sauce thickened.

I served the chicken with multi-grained rice and a stir-fried brocolli dish.



This Kikkoman Teriyaki Marinade with Roasted Garlic has a subtle garlic taste. Not strong at all. If you preferred stronger garlic taste, you can add a couple of chopped garlic cloves. Otherwise, it's quite all right on its own. When done braising this way, the sauce was great to drizzle over rice.

*Kikkoman Teriyaki Marinade with Roasted Garlic photo is taken from Kikkoman Asia


Tecnorati Tags: poultry

Malaysia Airlines Dinner for Bloggers

Ahem... as if a sponsored dessert workshop is not enough for the day, I was invited to a dinner by Malaysia Airlines last Saturday via their agency. Well I'm not sure if it's all right to name the agency here, anyway, I would like to thank Anna for extending the invite not only to myself but to Capt'n Hook and my boiboi as well.

The dinner was at Mum's Place, one of my fave but I'm wondering why I never featured them before! MAS had invited 25 bloggers which I think is the right number for an intimate affair. Even with that small number, it's hard to mingle around since it was a sit down dinner. I didn't take much pics as all of them arrive much later than us. Capt'n Hook went to catch up with his Brand's Blogger Challenge team mates which surprisingly all turned up at this dinner.

I tell you, I'm seriously "star strucked" as this was my first so called public appearance amongst the bloggers. Other times were with the floggers but this time there were mostly lifestyle bloggers. I can't imagine myself rubbing shoulders, well shaking hands to be exact with star bloggers like Huai Bin, Wingz, Suannie, KY, RedMummy, Sultan Muzaffar, Kenny Sia and so forth.

Seated at the same table with us were Cindy, John, Kampung Boy, City Gal (gosh at least got fellow floggers whom I've met before), and Simon (oh yeah he's darn popular haha he's here with me again). Kenny came in late with Nicole and Ringo, and I'm not sure who else. Sorry horrr since I'm not a lifestyle blogger and its hard to catch up on everyone. I know Joyce came in later too, that I can recognise her. Kenny was nice enough to came round to say hi. Funny moment was when he said "Hmm you looked very familiar. Like I have met you somewhere before." to Capt'n Hook, it's like stealing Capt'n Hook's infamous line as he can remember faces very well but not their names :p

I've learnt that MAS is reaching out to the masses now via the net so I supposed the best way to do so is via the bloggers, hence this dinner meeting. I'm glad Capt'n Hook was around since he's a frequent flyer and would most prolly be able to relate his flight experiences. Hopefully there will be more to come from MAS.

BTW, we were tossing yee sang (prosperity raw fish dish)... YAY my first for the year!!! Ermmm if Mum's Place is reading this... your yee sang had too much of those yellow and green crunchy bits which rendered the dish too dry and crunchy. Just go easy on those two yah ;-) Otherwise, it's perfectly all right. Sorry lah can't help cos I blog about food :p

I loved all the dishes served with hot white rice. Ranging from Otak-otak Cubes, Portugese Beef Slices, Asam Pedas Jehanak, Prawns with Butter and Garlic, Devil Curry and vegetables (based on my past memory I hope those were the correct names for the dishes we ate). I missed the super hot cencaru with petai served here, hmm might be great to bring my Dad over during Chinese New Year.



Thank you Wai Fong for being so accommodating and entertained my boiboi's request. He's utmost happy at the dinner but it's just too bad it was school day for him to replace the Chinese New Year holidays hence he dozed off on daddy's lap. We have no choice but to leave early. It ain't pretty to deal with a sleepy child!!!

Thank you to the media relations staff of Malaysia Airlines and also the agency for the wonderful evening, oh yeah plus the yummilicious souvenirs!




More here:
SM,
Redmummy,
Wingz,

NZ Natural Ice Cream Dessert Workshop

Last Saturday afternoon I had loads of fun with a few of my fellow floggers at The Cooking House courtesy of New Zealand Natural Ice Cream (NZ ice cream) and The Cooking House. My family is quite a big fan of NZ ice cream and I was literally jumping for joy when the invite came in. Can't say no for this hahaha.

The workshop started off with Chef Lee demonstrating how to make a chocolate sponge cake. Gosh it was so easy and I had always wonder why my sponge cakes always failed. Glad to have learnt a technique or two here. Then Chef Lee moved on to the butterscotch cookies.



After the demo, we grouped up and made these two items. It's best to be able to be in the same gang as our celeb baker cos things moved fast and everything was done professionally hahaha errr except for a certain mishap :p I'm not sure with the rest (Simon, WMW, Precious Pea and Teckiee) but my hands were shaking with so many long and big fat lens aiming at our way hahahaha... there were a lot of paparazzis from the various media agencies.



Later on Chef Lee demonstrated on how to assemble the desserts by layering cakes/biscuits with the various flavours of NZ ice cream. The best part of the day of course was the tasting bit.



Thanks again to Edyth of The Cooking House for making me part of the workshop and New Zealand Natural Ice Cream for accommodating the floggers.




Technorati Tags: dessert + ice cream