Review: The Meat Experts

**Non-Halal**


I first heard of The Meat Experts (TME) from Gerald of Sunshine Chicken as he supply ma cho kai and yim kai here. All these while I thought they sell everything meat until we passed by the place in Hartamas Shopping Complex. Seems like 1/3 of the space make up of a deli selling all sorts of cured meat and sausages. There are fresh meat, chicken and duck as well! The rest of the space is occupied with tables and chairs, well nothing fancy though.

As it was just around 6.00pm, a little too early for dinner, Capt'n Hook checked the menu and the person showing him the menu told him to come back and try to be early or if better do place our reservation. Since we wanted to have our options opened, we did not. The person trying to convince us that they tend to be very packed so it's better to put our name in but we just didn't want to.

Anyhow come 7.00pm, Boiboi said he's getting hungry and we decided to head towards TME but guess what when we reached the place? It was empty LOL... err it was a Friday.

We browsed through the menu and decided to share a pasta and large mixed grill platter (enough for 2).

Can't resist the Spaghetti Aglio Olio with Roasted Pork (RM19.90) especially when Capt'n Hook mentioned that his friend had told him the roasted pork (siew yuk) here is melt-in-the-mouth texture. Since Boiboi is sharing, so no chili flakes in our aglio olio but they gave the chili flakes in a separate sauce plate which I think is very thoughtful of the chef. The al dente spaghetti is laced with chopped garlic and parsley, very fragrant indeed. Served with a strip of chopped punn fei sau (half lean half fat) siew yuk. Not the best siew yuk I've eaten but the skin is crispy and yes they do melt-in-the-mouth due to the fatty parts.



When the mix grill (large RM55) arrived... looked kinda disappointing, not as appetising as I've expected. Let's see what's in the platter... a couple of sausages, pork chops, lamb chops, bbq ribs and steamed vege. The sausages are nothing to shout about. Pork chops are a bit tough and tasteless. Lamb chops are tough and a bit gamey which Capt'n Hook detest. Luckily the ribs that came with a sweetish chilli gravy saved the day. Fork tender and flavourful! I wonder what happened to the other chops??? Sighhh... took them quite a while to dish this up... could it be time spent to defrost the meat??



Other than meat in the menu, spotted are soups, salads, burgers, sandwiches, pasta and a lone curry laksa under Asian category. It's a pity that only canned beer is served here as they do not have the necessary licence. There's a 10% service charge imposed here.

BTW, if you fancy making your own siew yuk, it's not difficult... Homemade Siew Yuk.


The Meat Experts (TME)
G15-16 Ground Floor
Hartamas Shopping Center
60 Jalan Sri Hartamas
Kuala Lumpur
Tel: (603) 6205 2577

Stir-fried Leeks, Arrow Heads and Minced Meat

**Non-Halal**




Made this on the 2nd day of CNY. I usually cook leek and arrowheads (ngar ku) with siew yuk (roasted pork) but I did not have any roasted pork so made do with minced pork instead, I supposed minced chicken meat can be used as well.

Sliced and clean leeks into 2" in length. Peel, clean and sliced arrowheads, rinse and drain the water away. Marinaded minced meat with some soy sauce, pepper, a wee bit of sesame oil and some cornflour. Do add a bit of water inside so that the meat is not too tough.

Heat a little oil in a wok and put in the leeks. Fry till they started to turn brown at the edges. Dish up and set aside. Add some oil to the wok again and fry the minced meat till cooked. Add in leek and arrowhead. Pour in some water and let it come to a boil. Pour in oyster sauce to taste and add in a little dark soy sauce for some colour. Add a little sugar to bring out the taste. Cover wok and simmer till arrowhead slices are soften or to the texture you prefered. By then the gravy would have dried up, or you may thicken with some cornstarch solution.

Dish up and serve.

Check out these too:
Stir Fry Roast Pork With Lotus Root And Arrowhead
Stir-Fried Roast Pork With Leek

Review: CNY Set at Zun Kitchenette

**Non-Halal**


The last weekend of CNY, we decided to visit Zun Kitchenette for dinner for something fresh and slightly different from the norm. We have been revisiting occasionally, at times we brought guests and so far they've never fail in terms of tasty food and excellent service.

Since there are 5 of us, we opted for the 4 person set dinner (RM188) and added a Stuffed Tofu dish (RM18.00) for my Boiboi.

Started off with a small portion of Pear and Jelly Fish Yue Sang (without the yue LOL). The sauce is of the right balance of not too sweet nor sour which went well with the pear. The jellyfish lend a crunchy touch.



This time, instead of the herbal soup that we can pick from the menu, we were served Pumpkin Shark Fins With Crabmeat. OK I know it's not right to order fins but it's in the menu. Not sure about the rest, I liked the grated pumpkin shreds in the soup. Gave the soup a light sweetish taste.



Next came the Stuffed Tofu (RM18) dish.



This dish, logs of Japanese tofu are made into a chest stuffed with ermmm I'm not really sure what hahaha but could be fish or scallops. The cover is topped with a kei chi (goji berry) and laced with a light starch gravy.

This is Zun's version of Steamed Prawns in Wine which contains some Chinese herbs that made the broth fragrant. Usage of herbs is limited hence did not over power the flavour of the fresh prawns.



After prawns, we have a chicken dish. This Herbal Spring Chicken ermm has a total different type of herbal taste from the prawns. I loved this as I can detect star anise, cloves and cinnamon stick in the soy sauce base.



Next came the Braised Oyster with Dao Gan (a type of layered beancurd skin). The presentation of this dish is rather unique. The braised assorted mushrooms, ginko nuts, lotus seeds, dao gan and oyster are placed in some sort of a deep fried beancurd skin as a wrap. The bottom part soaked with gravy and the exposed parts are crispy! Nice!!!



Dessert were a Chilled Mango and Pomelo Soup and Steamed Homemade Nin Goe (rice cake) rolled in grated coconut. When the chilled soup arrived, I thought it's the usual santan with sago but the wait staff told us it's a mixture of milk and yoghurt with mango bits and pomelo. When Boiboi heard this, he proceeded and drink the soup up. Usually he won't touch it but he even asked for more! The nin goe texture is much softer and not as chewy, almost kuih like.





There are 5% Government tax and 5% service charge added to the total bill.


The Zun Kitchenette

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


Technorati Tags: chinese food

Fried Soy Sauce Prawns

This is a delicious fried prawns dish that is quite similar to restaurant's si yau wong har (soy sauce king prawns), just that mine does not use King of soy sauce doesn't mean it's not a winner :p



My version is as usual short and simple. First, clean and snip the prawns off all sharp edges. Use paper towels to absorb as much water as possible. Sprinkle cornflour, salt and pepper all over and mix it a bit to make sure they're evenly distributed. In shallow oil, fry the prawns in batches and remove the prawns from the wok once cooked. Set them on top of paper towels to absorb the oil.

Chop loads of garlic and ginger. If you have spring onions, chop them into 1.5" in length but I don't have any in my fridge that day as this was an unplanned dish.

In the same wok, add more oil if there isn't enough to lightly brown the chopped ginger. Add in the garlic when ginger begins to brown as they brown faster than ginger. Once all lightly browned, return the prawns into the wok. Stir and sprinkle in some worchestershire sauce and soy sauce. Add in some dark soy sauce, the amount according to how dark you want your prawns, as for mine, this time I made it rather light so I've used very little only. Sprinkle in a wee bit of sugar for the caramalised taste. At this point, stir in spring onions if you're using them.

All these have to be done quickly as we would not want to have overcooked prawns. Dish up and serve hot with rice.

With this, wishing everyone a hee hee ha ha weekend!

Review: Seafood @ Chef Tam and Jin Chwan Seafood

Updated 5 March 2010 with photo of King Crab! LOL

**Non-Halal**


After savouring the delicious ma cho kai and yim kai, we decided to bring our family members to Kedai Makanan Chef Tam to check them out. My heart stopped when Mrs Tam informed that they have ran out of yim kai but she will try to order them from Sunshine Chicken and hopefully they could deliver on time. I kept my fingers crossed and as I walked into the restaurant, Mrs Tam informed that the yim kai managed to arrived... phewwww!

As with the norm, we took a walk to Jin Chwan Seafood Garden. We took a while here as Capt'n Hook and my brother picked the seafood they fancied. We ended up with one King Crab, huge prawns (I can't remember which variety but was quite big) and Script Venus Clams. Total paid here was close to RM300.

I passed the receipt to Mrs Tam. She checked thru and started to recommend how to cook the seafood we have bought on top of half a yim kai, half a ma cho kai and vege which were exact repeat of what we have before. Let's not delve into the chickens as we found Chef Tam could really make seafood shines!

The Script Venus Clams are steamed open-faced topped with loads of chopped spring onions, garlic and ginger. As the clams are much larger than lala, we have lots of flesh to chew on. Very fresh and the 3 magical combi of ingredients make the clams stand out.



Next came the Drunken Prawns that came in a claypot. Kinda disappointing as there isn't much wine in the broth. No worries, just a wave to Mrs Tam and the pot was quickly brought back to the kitchen to be remedied. It came back with stronger wine flavour but somehow still not as fragrant. Luckily the freshness and size of the prawns saved the dish. I think a fried prawn dish could have been better. Funny our dishes turned out rather plain (ching) for the day except for the roasted ma cho kai but I guess that would be a better way to savour fresh seafood.



Next, the king crab is stired-fried with garlic and spring onion. You would think it's rather plain but the simpler the better to savour king crab as we could taste the original sweetness of the meat. The seasoning complimented well without over powering the sweetness of the crab meat.



I can't remember the prices for the seafood, moreover it fluctuates according to market price. The cooking fees charged for the king crab was RM28; RM18 for clams and RM20 for prawns.


Jin Chwan Seafood Garden
9 Jalan 2/4,
Taman Bidara, Selayang
Tel: (603) 6138 2633
Business Hours:
Weekday 8:00am - 10:00pm
Public Holiday and Sundays 8:00am - 10:30pm


Kedai Makanan Chef Tam
6A Jalan Bidara 2/4,
Taman Bidara, Selayang.
Tel: (603) 6138 8751
Business Hours: 12:00pm - 3:00pm & 6:00pm - 11:00pm

Just in case you wonder how to get here, check out the link in Google Map.

Catch Cake Boss on Discovery Travel & Living

Cake what???? It's Cake Boss!!!

Cake Boss, what the heck is that you may ask. Well, if you have been watching Astro, chances are you might have caught some snippets of Discovery Travel & Living new series, Cake Boss which is debuting 3 March 2010.

Cake Boss features award-winning pastry chef and cake decorator Buddy Valastro. Buddy has created some of the most mouthwatering and elaborate cakes, including Britney Spears' circus-themed 27th birthday cake and a live sized NASCAR race car! Now he is geared to serve up the perfect recipe for TV entertainment on Discovery Travel & Living’s new series Cake Boss.


Witness the sugar-charged drama Buddy and his big Italian family experience as they manage their booming business at Carlo's Bake Shop in Hoboken, New Jersey. Buddy supervises a team that includes his mother, four older sisters and three brothers-in-law. And when one is working with family on a daily basis, this could be a recipe for disaster.

This show chronicles Buddy's over-arching desire to achieve his late father's dream of making Carlo's a household name and the obstacles that threaten to stifle his ambition. Shot mostly at the back of the store, Cake Boss offers a fascinating look at the behind-the-scenes process of creating edible art out of flour and sugar, churning out old-school recipes and remarkably modern cakes.

From dealing with Bridezillas and taking a trip to the museum to research a prehistoric cake, to creating wedding cake containing live birds and taking on the challenge of icing a cake while blindfolded, catch the intriguing mix of drama and frosting-topped cake galore with Buddy and his family on Cake Boss.

Catch Buddy Valastro on Cake Boss on Discovery Travel & Living (ASTRO Channel 707) every Wednesday at 1900 hrs (7:00 pm Malaysia Time), starting 3 March 2010. Encores Wednesdays at 0500 hrs (5:00 am) and 1300 hrs (1:00 pm), Thursdays at 0100 hrs (1:00 am) and Sundays at 0400 hrs (4:00 am), 1200 hrs (12:00 pm) and 1800hrs (6:00 pm).

Well, in conjunction with the launch of this series Capt'n Hook and I were invited to The Cooking House for a hands-on cupcake decorating session with Lu Soo Chee. Soo Chee demonstrated how to transformed a plain cupcake into a flower pot filled with flower(s)!

At first Capt'n Hook said he's not coming along since he's not interested with cake decoration but not sure what happened and he turned up! He was of great help kneading the fondant to the right consistency and shaped and roll the petals plus leaves out nicely :D



See our flower pot LOL... seems ok in pics, just don't see the real thing.



So far cry from Soo Chee and Buddy creations LOL...

Thank you Discovery Travel & Living for the enjoyable session.

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.