El Meson, Bangsar – mid week Lunch with the bloggers!!

January 23rd, 2010 • 37 comments Favourites, General
Tags: floggers gathering, pork, Restaurant, spanish

The unbearable heat of the mid- day sun blazed down relentlessly & I hasten my pace towards El Meson on Jalan Telawi 3, Bangsar.

Well, I thought wryly, if I can’t siesta like the Spanish, at least I will dine like one.
And the latter fact holds true if one dines at the warm, welcoming alcove of El Meson.

With Chef Fernando helming the kitchen, a Spanish import to boot, my meals at El Meson (one of which I have blogged about; you can read about my indulgent dinner here ) had been pricey but never entirely disappointing, & had therefore, deservingly amassed more hits than misses in my book.

Their Ultimate Pork Burger – with mushrooms, bacon, cheese & caramelized onions, RM26 was my goal this time round, since it is part of their lunch menu which I haven’t had past opportunity to sample.

I’m sure discerning diners appreciate efforts by F&B outlets in attention to details, & I for one, would always have praises for a chef who doesn’t take shortcuts in the preparation of the sides that comes with a main course.
The freshly fried potatoes were fluffy & lightly seasoned; & thus was the perfect accompaniment to the burger.

Out of the series of Tapas we had, the terrine is a clear winner; an ingenious mish-mash of bacon, pork, apricot, pistachio and balsamic reduction.
The Calamares Rellenos stuffed with squid, Serrano ham, tomato (RM16) & Stuffed Tomatoes with prawns & squids topped with cheese and breadcrumbs (RM16) were divine & I was glad the mains followed quickly after, for all that actually made me hungry for more.

El Meson has upped their desserts offerings & we were given complimentary ones to share. (Thanks Ek! ;p )
My favourite was the Trifle, and here (though it may look un-photogenic) they scope it out from a big bowl and this is actually one portion. The custard layer was lovely, the jello addictive & the copious amount of fruits deceivingly assured us that this is a waist-friendly dessert ;)

Then the molten choc cake stole the show. It was heavenly. The flow of chocolate lava doesn’t seem to stop oozing out! The outer layer was lightly crisp, and it’s warm & moist chocolate sponge was absolutely to die for!
Last was the flourless, sugarless chocolate cake; which though out-shined by it’s mate The Molten Lava, was still a worthy- to- order dessert.

The Spanish creme catalana (picture not here since I forgot to take any) came in small cazuela molds, just like how they made it in Spain. Aesthetically, it was easy to pass it off as Creme Brulee but according to Ek, i’ts preparation is different. Anyhow, think creme brulee but flavoured with cinnamon & lime zest instead.

I like El Meson for its innovative preparations & uncommon ingredients used in its dishes.
My advice for those who wants to try this place is to get a min group of 5, since the dishes ain’t exactly your typical dinners prices, & there is so much worth stapling here!

The bill came up to RM45 per pax & there were 8 of us that day. For the amount of food we had, I thought it was a steal!

Bored of the ordinary? Try some beggars’ food!

January 18th, 2010 • 40 comments Favourites, General
Tags: chinese, makan-makan, pork, Restaurant

Now RM212 isn’t exactly a beggar’s budget. But get together 9 fellow wacko beggars and it might just be 2 day’s begging work.
Plus you’ll get a Saturday night out of boring civilization, good food & (depending on who you invite), an absolutely glorious MAD time out.

The FAMOUS New Beggar’s Delicious Restaurant @IJOK.
Where some say it is in some twilight zone. . .

but fear not though, for with the advancement of technology, no ‘ulu‘ area is too ‘ulu‘ for accessibility.
Here are the GPS coordinates; & it does gets you to the front steps of this place.
N: 101 25′ 8.7″
E: 3 18′ 24.0”

If all fails, just head towards Sg Buloh towards Kuala Selangor on the highway, (we took NKVE) and lookout for Ijok. Once you are in the town of Kuala Selangor (which is not as backward as you think, for we were actually caught in a traffic jam at 530pm on a Sat!), it is a mere 30 mins straight drive till you see a signboard that says “New Beggars Delicious Restaurant” on your left.
Seriously, it is that simple & the GPS might not even be necessary.

above bottom right: Unisex lavatory on the outer grounds, with a working flush & THICK toilet paper. Put some of our shopping malls’ sheer wipes to shame really.

Kitchen is a typical tai-chow kind of layout; for this place does dish out your typical vegetables, seafood & steamed fish preparations.

A large enclosed area, the perimeters of the restaurant is used for, among other things, rearing of fresh water fishes (we are not sure if those poor fishies ended up on the diners plates every night) and the the foliage of greens all round soothes the city weary souls in us.

Seated at the open air dining area with a thatched roof over our heads, the place is quiet at 630pm, the air is fresh & the cooling breeze eased off any heavy thoughts that we may have carried with us from civilization.

Below: Well mannered hunks who got all the little details covered without the hostess having to ask.
The pre-ordered food were called for, the tea steeped & served, the ice ordered, the cutlery & plates distributed & chillies, garlic etc all laid out. Definitely on my invitees list for more food adventures ;) .

the chic was stuffed within with some herbs & tasted exactly like the common herbal chicken

The duck @RM45 was a stellar diversion of our initial disappointment. Flavourful, yet retained a hint of its signature gamey taste, we loved this. The stuffing of abalone mushrooms was much appreciated & we slurped up the gravy too.

I remembered requesting for a less fatty Pork dish & since I don’t speak Cantonese, I asked a fellow blogger to order all the dishes a day before. She definitely told the lady boss “not so much fat” but we still ended up with a VERY fatty Pork Knuckle @RM41.

But it was freaking awesome… awesomely good!
Glorious melt in the mouth fat…. all soft gelatinous fat!!!… (with some meat la) sent us all the way to high heaven.
The cubes of yam at the sides left us in bafflement as to what was it exactly for, but they definitely did a good job soaking up all the ‘juices’ of the pork & its marinate, & we fought for the yams & mushrooms as hard we did for a piece of the knuckle.

I hesitated in ordering the Glutinous Rice @RM30 at first. But when more confirmed their attendance for the trip, I gave a quick call to add 2 more dishes (while we were on the way!) and was thankful that the restaurant obliged.

This huge orb of very fragrant, glutinous rice is actually a delicious “bak chang” ( glutinous rice dumpling) in a bigger form.

The amount of salted egg yolks in it is not for the cholesterol conscious. However, for the bunch of us, we barely acknowledge the existence of cholesterol.
As it becomes drier as it cools, do please lap it up while it’s hot. I personally liked it though, for it wasn’t too oily & every grain of rice was soft.

The Stuffed Fish @RM33 is worth ordering even if it is just for the sake of marveling at how the heck did they manage to stuff all that paste into the fish skin and yet it still look exactly like a fish?? The fins, skin, tail & head are all still intact!

Look ma, no bones!!

Squeeze the lime over the fish & eat each slice dipped generously into the sweet spicy chili. It’s Yong Tau Fu wrapped in a fish, though we had to admit it’s appearance supersede its taste ;)

The aftermath. *BURP*.

To placate the guilt in SOME of us (I didn’t feel any guilt at all) for the onslaught of fat & protein, we added an order of vegetables @RM8 AFTER we finished all the above.

And they were really fresh & glorious greens which tasted as if it was just plucked out of the soil moments before it hit the wok.

Below:
We ventured into the beggar’s den.

which is at the back of the whole area…

The firewood used is supplier by their contact, so no, they do not go chopping down trees in the wild.

See the below; The “oven”, where the firewood goes underneath & heats up the clay & soil , etc.
The poultry & pork packages are placed on the top & covered in more clay/mud?.

Our chicken, duck & pork knuckle came from the “oven” via a wheelbarrow. The boss will personally crack the outer mud layer, revealing another few layers of brown papers and unwrapping it like a gift to reveal the last layer of foil encasing our chicken/duck/pork knuckle.

The fish, chicken & pork were pre-ordered a day before. I added a duck & glutinous rice just 30mins (while we were on the way) before we arrived so that shows last minute orders is possible. Seafood & vegetables are the other dishes that can be ordered on the spot.
Number to call is 03 – 3279 1936 or 019 317 3687.

By the way, do note that they do call you back to ‘scold’ you if you ordered and didn’t turn up!
It happened to me, cos they thought I didn’t come. Once I was there, I was too busy running around taking pictures & delegated the task of getting the food served to one of the guys. Reservations were remembered by mobile numbers, & we were served the exact food we ordered so I don’t see how the misunderstanding came about.

conclusion:
Another FUN outing organised by thenomadGourmand – CHECK. ;p
Value for money – at RM24/pax – CHECK.

note:
This place is recommended for those who had never eaten beggar’s chicken/duck etc before & is game for a short ride out of town, especially if you have a group of friends/family joining you.
It wasn’t super great, (especially the chicken itself) but at least it is authentic (baked in clay/mud and all).

Our free-flow tea was RM5, plus RM1 for the ice.
They asked if we would like to have some fruits, & the food intoxicated bunch of us agreed.
For RM6, we got like 6-7 cubes of pineapples & watermelons, so yeah, you might want to skip the fruits.

Delicious Roast Pork Noodles & Robert Char Kuey Teow, Taman Megah

January 11th, 2010 • 24 comments Favourites, General
Tags: char kuey teow, hawker food, noodles, PJ, pork

Often, simplicity is best.
The chinese condiments of soy sauce never failed to work wonders for a dish. A bit of this, and a dash of that, then a flurry of shallots over the top & there have you a tasty noodles dish.

This particular stall in Restaurant Megah Good Luck, Taman Megah gussies up their simple noodles with soft, crackly – top siew yoke (roast pork) & at your request, a ladleful of watery but aromatic curry.

The blanched noodles & bean sprouts (taugeh), drizzled with of their own mix of soy sauce & some spring onions made the base for this dish of RM4.50. The result is a simple, delicious & economic lunch item that never fails to satisfy.

Unka loves his with curry, & the mix of soy sauce & curry certainly adds a new dimension of taste to the dish.

Another reason to drop by was to check out Robert’s Char Kuey Teow after my mid – week lunch tryst at Say Huat Restaurant in Section 17, PJ.
Apparently Robert has branches all over PJ, & I couldn’t resist a comparison.

Here, his protege dishes out quite a mean plate of char kuey teow; which although is good, can’t hold a candle to Robert’s at Say Huat’s.
hmm… How should I put it? It tasted almost the same but it ain’t the same? ;)

But of course, if you are in Taman Megah, this version is almost as good as it gets.

Unable to resist economy rice, I heaped myself a plateful of my favourite items; stir fry vegetables, sting ray in sour assam curry (not very fresh), sweet & sour pork ribs (more batter than actual pork) & chinese cabbage with fermented beans.

And, yes, there IS rice underneath all that ;p

For foodies wanting to try something out of ordinary, this stall promises some twists to decades old creation of Sarawakian favourites.

Needless to say, I ordered something to try, and my RM4.50 Tomato Mee was a pure disaster; or to me at least it was.

It reeked heavily of MSG, & was way saltier than necessary. I thought that it is such a shame really, for tomato mee isn’t something commonly available in KL/PJ & it would have been a wonderful addition to the hawker fare we are accustomed to.

This restaurant is also the PJ branch for Imbi’s Soo Kee Sang Har Meen at night.
For lunch, the roast pork noodles is highly recommended. The chicken rice stall does brisk business too & would probably be my lunch on my next visit ;)

Restaurant Megah Good Luck
Address: Jalan SS24/11, Taman Megah, Petaling Jaya, Selangor
(It is right behind Fatty Crab and is on the same row as RHB Bank)
Operating Hours: Daily (7am-2pm)