I was surprised. Shouldn’t the hawker, coffee shops versions be holding such an accolade? Instead, it’s kiosk in a shopping mall that’s holding the honour. Anyhow, I’m not one to argue with a Malaccan born & bred boy. And since I’m a critical dessert fan myself, I was looking forward to pass my own verdict on his claim.

Cendol is a traditional Malaysian dessert. Put red beans & green pandan flavored jellies in a bowl, top with a scoop of shaved ice, then pour coconut milk and palm sugar syrup over the top.

I love mine with a dollop of durian on top. Here at Pinkberrys, my bowl of durian chendol was a mound of smooth, soft & fine shaven ice drizzled with the sweetest, thick & aromatic palm sugar . The coconut milk was creamy and undiluted. Perfectly flavoured too, not too salty nor sweet.

There wasn’t a lot of it, but the coconut milk & palm sugar was thick & strong. You won’t get a bowl of watery chendol with lots of coconut milk as the prepartion here is slightly different. The ice was doused with just enough coconut milk for the whole bowl.

There isn’t any tables or chairs provided, so enjoy your icy bowl of dessert sitting by the fountain here.

Prices are reasonable too!

Other than the Chendol, there were the popular fruity “loh”; mango, honeydew and so on.

The honey series with pomelo & the popular herbal jelly.

\

This one below reminds me of Snowflake.

The best in Malacca?

Oh hell yes! ;-)

Pinkberrys Cendol,
Dataran Pahlawan Melaka Megamall

All pictures are:

There wasn’t much information that could be found on google searches, except for a mention or two of it’s general location, how good it is & the addiction (hence the name) that follows after the initial taste.

Some people I spoke to knew about it, most don’t. Those who knew about it warned me of eccentric opening days, delicious sambal & his phantom opening hours. But they couldn’t tell me EXACTLY where his stall is; just “at the bus stop along Jalan Athinappan, near the TM building“.

Left with not much choice but a strong kiasu need to taste this ‘grrreeaatt” nasi lemak, I made several attempts to seek him out. His opening hours are a challenge enough, for at 10pm I’m more drowsy then hungry. And each time I went, I had to drive along the whole stretch of Jalan Athinappan looking for a bus-stop with a lone stall selling Nasi Lemak.

Few weeks ago I was in the vicinity again. Though for a different purpose.

Our hunt was initially for this.

The apam stall near Devi’s at TTDI. For his famed durian apam.

(excuse my pics, but my P & S camera seem to be acting up lately..)

I was there early, (at 9pm) as I was very hungry. I took some pics & ordered a Egg, Cheese apam to hold the hunger while waiting for the rest of the gang who is supposed to join me for this APAM TwitUp. Our main goal was to eat the durian version together. Unfortunately that night, Mr Assistant decided to close shop at 930pm due to some unforeseen circumstances! What a let-down!

Anyhow, back to my apam. I remembered reading on masak-masak’s blog that the apam is cooked using charcoal so I was quite taken back when I saw the gas stove. Anyhow, the dude (who is not the original Chubby Law but intro-ed himself as his assistant) said the change is due to requests by their regulars who feels that charcoal is un-environmental friendly. Hey, I’m all for the environment, but.. but???! WTH?!

My BURNT apam didn’t improve my mood for sure. See the edges?

But it does look good doesn’t it? Ok la, the apam batter was nice and sweet. I’m a sucker for eggs so the runny egg made it better. The so-called Australian cheese (see menu below) is Kraft slice cheese and that blardy apam cost me RM4.80.

There’s even franchising opportunity!

Address:
Apom Stall at the side of Devi’s Corner
Persiaran Zaaba
Taman Tun Dr Ismail
Kuala Lumpur

Open from 9pm to 2am daily. To book your apom ahead, call Chubby Law at 019-2800698.

The disappointed gang then resorted to Devis’ thosai and milo ais while I started ranting about my again failed excursion in seeking this Nasi Lemak Ganja. Fortunately, lucky me hit the jackpot that night.
Apparently, Auzani, one of our members that night knows exactly where it is. WOOOOHOOO!!
Apparently also, my timing was off.  He is open only by 1030pm. Not 10pm. That explains why!

So 2 of us crazy Nasi Lemak addicts went to hunt for it again while the rest waited at Devi’s.

And yes!! It was open!

Ok, my P & S camera is really bad at night shots. Or it could be me all shaky hands cos of the anticipation :razz:

Yup, it is really at the bus stop!

They have quite a bit of variety. Curry chicken, mutton, vegetables & etc. And there was a constant stream of customers while we were there.  Business is definitely good.

It is strictly ta-pau. Unless you want to sit at the bus stop itself and eat. :lol:

We tapaued (take-away) 7 packets, all with their famous sambal sotong. Each was RM3.50 (I can’t really remember but it was in usual nasi lemak price range).

I do not fancy sambal sotong so mine was with a piece of ayam masak merah.

Though it is “No Outside Food” at Devi’s, there were kind enough to allow us to eat at the premises. The reason could also be that hot babe Arystle is the “mayor” (FourSquare) of Devis’ TTDi since she is there almost every night :razz:  She even asked for cutleries for us! :o

Tastewise?

It was above -average for me. The sambal did have a bit of sting, and the rice fragrant and so forth. But seriously, nothing great enough to blow your diet for (eating at 1030pm at night!) .  In any case, this still beats the mamaks and even the famous Maybank one.

Nasi Lemak Ganja
Pak Anuar – 016 964 8956
Opening hours – 1030pm to 1am (or til
sold out)
Mon to Friday only.
(opens on whim so please do call 1st)

My favourite Nasi Lemak in the morning is still this: Warung Kak Sinar at Chan Sow Lin & Nasi Lemak Wisma Genting, Jalan Sultan Ismail.

At night? Well, this one is good, while the one at Maybank is so-so and I have yet to try the Nasi Lemak Daun Pisang Lorong at Jln Syed Putra Kiri (Off Federal Highway).

Had a bad dining experience there.
Went there last night with 3 friends to have a try on the food since everyone gave them thumbs up. When I reached there around 6.30pm, only 1 table was occupied. Guess I was early for dinner. I was impressed by the shop deco and the menu they offer. While waiting for the food, more people came and finally every table was filled up.

While we are trying to push all the food inside our terribly full tummy, the daughter kept asking us “Any further order?” She asked that every 5 minutes. So annoying! She even cleared the empty plate without asking. Then it started to run heavily outside. My friend ordered a basket of fries, cheese rounds and 4 bottles of Budweiser while waiting for rain to stop. The girl kept staring at us as the signal to leave the table as there are people waiting to be seated. We ignored as we believe customers always have the right and we still haven’t finish our food. Finally the girl came over our table and asked, “can I clear your table?” and we are shocked as we still have half basket of fries and we haven’t finish our beer. Can you imagine that? She was trying to shoo us away. We was so angry! How can she do that to customer? So we just pay the bill and swear will never go back there again. Never ever! Disappointed with her PR skill.

I have been to Betty’s many many times.. and this place IS very popular. It is unfortunate that the above incident happened, and while I can’t say much for the service, the food there is GOOD. Some dishes even awesome, with reasonable prices to boot.

We always start with their freshly squeezed Lemonade. Tangy, refreshing and cooling, it’s a good prelude to the onslaught of porcine infused dishes to come.

On one of my many visits, my friend ordered the Crunch Topped Homemade Macaroni And Cheese ( RM12). One can argue that this is do-able at home, but seriously? I would gladly just pay RM12. A seriously comfort food dish, yet done with the right amount of cream, cheese and baked just right. Bad news for weight-watchers! This is Carbo-licious!! 

Betty’s House Salad, (RM8 – ) with chopped fresh iceberg lettuce, sliced red tomatoes and cubed apple drenched with their house creamy, tangy yet unusual dressing was a welcome relief from the usual Vinaigrette based dressings that I had to endure in my salads. We suspected it was an emulsion of sorts, but since my friend who cooks very well couldn’t place the exact ingredients that went into the dressing, I gave up hoping I could replicate this at home.

Betty’s runs some House Specials every 2 weeks or so, and the time we were there, they had this Barley Mushroom soup. I think it was RM11 or somewhere there. Anyhow, the soup was what a soup should be, heart warming, simple and easy on the stomach.

Their signature Apple Crumble, (RM8) tasted like no other apple crumble out there. It wasn’t all crust like most commercial ones & the apple were gently stewed in it’s own juices resulting in a touch of natural sweetness that was pleasant on the palate. Not my favourite in town, but a version that would please most diners.

When a group of Penang food bloggers hit KL, I bought them to Betty’s immediately. It does not make sense anyhow to bring Penangites to hawkers stalls here! Furthermore, there isn’t any American Mex cuisine in Pg & the prices here are agreeable even to Penangites who are known for their motto: Cheap & Good food please!

At Betty’s, their signature Meatloaf never failed to please. Moist, loosely held together & soft, it was a faultless porky dish.

Pan Fried Pork Chop w Orange Cream, RM20.00.
Slow pan fried juicy pork chops served with creamy zesty orange sauce.
I am and will always be wary of pork chops, especially when the parts used are the lean ones. It is so easy to overcook it & then you’ll be presented with a tough & chewy slab of meat. Thankfully the pork chops served were cooked to the right degree. I can’t really make out the citrus flavour in the supposedly orange sauce, but after a few conscious tries, I realized it does leave a sweet bitter orange aftertaste lingering in your mouth.

Grilled Beer Braised Boston Butt s/w Mash, Peas & Carrot - (RMRm25.50). Quite a mouthful of a fancy name, but tastewise was just so-so.

Grilled baby back ribs (350g) RM28.50.
There were 2 large slabs of ribs, (definitely worth the $!) and it was well infused with the marinate. Texture-wise; it was fork-tender and succulent. Not much chewing required! The sauce had reminiscence of BBQ based and was sweetish and thick. I actually prefered the Beer sauce that was served in the little paper cup.

If there’s anything you got to try at Betty’s, it’s this – The Wild Hog (RM31.50). A combination of Ham Steak, Bacon, Sausage & Sides. *BURPS*.

Enough said.

The Pork Ribs. RM24. I can’t really remember which style this was. But the tasty sauce and a good cut of both lean and fat got the thumbs up from both me & my fussy friend.

Their version of Bread & Butter Pudding, (RM8) may be an acquired taste by some. It is certainly not your run of the mill baked version, and it didn’t taste like one either. For starters, it is not too sweet & it doesn’t come with a thick custard layer. And the bread slices weren’t cut and layered in thick slices either. As you can see below, it is flat. I myself haven’t quite decided if it would be a favourite of mine   Maybe another visit would help me make up my mind??

You want more of Betty’s?
I got some links to share:

The Juicy Lucy : I love the size but I did find it a bit salty (most of my friends were fine with it though).
The Breakfast : Unfortunately this was discontinued. The family decided to just focus on lunch and dinner instead. Yup, business is that good!
The meatloaf & the Pulled Pork BUrger, & the Budweiser here is one of the cheapest in town!

MAP: It is the same row as KAYU Nasi Kandar. A few shops away from 7-11.

GPS Coordinates: N 3 07.314 E 101 35.703

Location: A-G-40, Jalan PJU 1/43,
Aman Suria, Damansara,
Petaling Jaya.
Tel:03-7880-0196

Operating hours:
(Closed Mondays)
Tues-Fri: 11am-10pm;
Sat & Sun: 10am-10pm

Truth to be told, myself wouldn’t have given this place a second glance if I hadn’t read about their ALCOHOLIC gelato. Yup, you read right. In this era of decadent desserts, imported expensive gelatos & innovative “ice cream” such as Tutti Frutti & Kindori (Read about the cempaka blast frozen ice cream HERE), this charming unassuming kopitiam cum bar’s winning ace (for me at least) is their unique homemade gelato infused with alcohol.

On my first visit, my gelato came sprinkled with these multi- coloured rice sprinkles. I spent half the time splitting out the offending artificially sweet stuff while trying to enjoy the distinctive taste of the gelato. Lesson learnt: Ask them to hold those hundreds & thousands sprinkle next time. And why the hell would anyone put hundreds & thousands on something so “adult” as alcoholic gelato??

Clockwise from top left:  Jamaica Rum with Raisins, Cherry Brandy Kirsch & Danish Royal Stout with Carlsberg.

The initial hiccup aside, the gelato was loveeeeelyy! My favourite is the Stout one (a bitter start on the tongue which finishes with subtle carlsberg body), followed closely by the Rum & Raisins (rum bloated raisins & swirls of rum aftertaste in the mouth with each spoonful is absoutely bliss !). I would go as far as to say it’s better than Haagen Daaz’s Rum & Raisins though some of my friends didn’t agree. That’s fine, everyone’s tastebuds differs right?

The intriguing Cherry Brandy Kirsch. All of us failed in our quest seeking the suitable adjectives to describe this. Sweet? Uuhh….not quite. Berry tasting? Hmm..a bit. Creamy? Er..not really.  Ok la, I shall it put it as “Complex, subtle tasting & alcoholic with reminisce of berries”.

It’s RM3/scoop and RM5 for two scoops.  On my first visit, Joe Cho, Kopi Bar director said take-away portion of the ice cream is available after CNY so addicted me went again yesterday with some friends (who agreed the gelato was really delightful) & came away with a litre for RM15. If you would like to buy the whole tub, it’s RM70-. Call Joe in advance to ensure availability.
KopiBar
Lot G106, Ground Floor (just opposite McDonald’s)
Centrepoint, Bandar Utama
47800 Petaling Jaya

Opens 10 am – 11 pm daily (no off days).
Tel : 03-7710 6966

Joe Cho : 019 783 2582

More on KopiBar:

A cosy cafe serving both the usual kopitiam fare and also alcohol. Their specialty is the Hainanese Chicken Rice which is Joe Cho’s favourite, himself being a Hainanese. Other recommended food is their green hued Nasi Lemak & Seafood Noodles featuring Shanghai noodle as well as Chicken Curry served in Claypot.

Prices of these items range from RM6.90 to RM12.

Like I said before, navigation in Broga town is very simple. On this same main street, I spied this little corner outlet en route to Broga Fish Recreational Park, and yes, the huge ‘ABC’ word got me hooked.

It is just opposite the Broga Police Station. Seriously hard to miss. Anyhow, GPS coordinates provided below.

Meet Uncle Lim. Reputed for churning out bowls after bowls of milky, finely shaven & gula melaka laced ABC for the past decade.

The ingredients are the basics; cincau (leong fun/black jelly), cendol, red beans, corn, jelly, red beans & peanuts. For RM1 (or EM1.20?) I’m not complaining. But if we want to start to be critical, then I would say the ice is not finely shaven enough & the red beans not quite thoroughly cooked. But seriously, we were tired, sweaty & wilting from the heat. Who cares?

Uncle Lim was actually featured before in the press as one of the notable ABCs proprietor in Malaysia. This was dated 2007. Number is closed down, Stall 41 is GOOD & cheap, I have no idea of Peggy’s (anyone??) and yes, Penang’s Swatow Lane ABC does not require further pimping. Last but not least, I have not been to Melaka so Ming Chong is on my list of to-eats during my upcoming Melaka roadtrip.

I’m an oldie (as in years old..) & I just can’t stop myself from looking at all these & wistfully reflecting on my primary school years. Remember burrowing your hands into those plastic jars of sweets? And the bags of tempting junk food (snacks) hanging above? And the tables! Solid ‘marble’? So alike in fish markets where the same tables were used by fishmongers to display their fishes for sale.

There is a saying that goes “what the eyes see, the mind wants”? In my case here, I couldn’t divert my eyes from the bowls and bowls of luscious vermillion curry pan mee & clear soup-ed pan mee that whizzed past me as the aunty tossed pots after pots of noodles in keeping up with the non-stop orders.

Each order is cooked separately and there were add-ons such as fishballs, bean curd sheets (fu chuk), tau pok (bean puffs), stuffed brinjals, chillis & tau foo (bean curds). The stuffing were more-ish, a combination of moist juicy minced pork & fish (I think). The soup was sweet, clear & light. I doubt there were any MSG.

My order was a take-away. Yup, I just couldn’t resist. But I was stuffed then. Yet I couldn’t forgive myself if I have somehow wasted an opportunity to taste the “famous” pan mee of Broga. I didn’t think I’m likely to be back to Broga so soon (this coming Sun). And oh, the chilli’s awesome! FIERY! & POTENT! I love it!

Pan Mee & yong tau fu
Uncle Lim Ice Kacang

Intersection :
Jalan Kesuma 7 & Jalan 7/1 & Jalan Kesuma 6

GPS: N 02 56.179′
E 101 54.676′

Come come!! Who’s going Broga this Sun??

The whole trip was supposed to be about the hike up the hill, and the sunrise of course.

Well, for me Broga was more about the FOOD. And having heard so much about the “ikan bakar” after my last makan outing (Beggars Chicken in Ijok), I was just itching for any reason to go Broga. But before I can get my grubby hands on the fish, I had to actually hike up Broga Hill.. so here I am…

The sun rises really late these days. We only saw the first break of sun rays at 730am.

745am.

8am.

830am.

The air was really refreshingly chilly & the breeze envelopes you in such a comforting cooling cocoon. However, tranquility is elusive, for there were a crowd of like-minded hikers/photographers/groups of kids from some clubs etc..

Our crazy adventure started at the ungodly hour of 4am.  8 spontaneous bloggers/photographers  convoyed in 2 cars from PJ to Semenyih. Half of them had not slept the entire night! As for me, I woke up at 315am, with barely 3 hours sleep, crawled out of bed and straight into the car. We reached the foot of Broga at 4.40am, fooled around for a bit & started our ascend at 5am. It was really dark, so torch lights are really a necessity if you ever attempt the hike at such an hour.

The hike wasn’t challenging at all for the fit but vice versa for the couch potatoes.

We set foot at the first peak at 540am. A total of 40mins hike, but that included a lot of stops in -between to check that the whole group is still together & etc.  My estimation for the fit who runs up or hikes the whole way minus any rest  would be around 25mins at most.

And at 540am, we took pictures of the moon instead!

The gang. Jeremy, Justin Hee, Nikolai, Harmonie, Augustine, FeeQ and KY.

After fooling around for 40 mins or so, we got restless and decided to attempt the hike to the next peak. There were a total of 3 peaks on Broga Hill but it is only the ascend to the first peak that could deservingly be described as a hike. From the first peak to the second, & then to the final peak is honestly merely a walk in the park.

630am at the final/third peak.

The path in between peaks. (this pic was taken at 830am).

Surprisingly I find descending the hill much more difficult then the ascend! I slipped and fell a few times, got bruised & cuts all over because the path was dry and sandy. One mis-step on the slippery sandy path & I went sliding down a few metres on my ass. Urghh!

Imagine my relief when I finally find myself on the foot of the hill. And at 9am, there were stalls selling food, fruits, Ipoh salted chicken, (LOL!) and ice cream!!

A bit research online revealed that Broga is a very small town. The town basically consisted of one main road. Take a leisure cruise along that road and you will find shoplots, restaurants, coffeeshops, etc. All of our food stops you read below are more or less on the same road! It’s just a matter of whether it is further up or down the street

My targeted Ikan bakar place (Broga Recreational Fishing Park) wasn’t open til 11am so we decided to just chill at a nearby coffeeshop for drinks and some shelter.

This Restaurant Mui Far had the most customers, and the solitary wan tan mee stall here  seems to be the reason. The same stall churns out kuey teow soup as well. Drinks were cheap, food were cheap, and we were a happy bunch!

Oh yea, my verdict on the food?

Small town flavours, simple & good but not spectacular. The chilli that was on the table was wonderfully fragrant with the presence of dried shrimps. Each serving of noodles were barely RM3. It would be a sin to complain really.

But our ultimate target was this.

Fresh, flappingly alive, straight out from the pond to the charcoals.

The above is their signature preparation in Chilli Padi sauce (RM18).  And we asked for EXTRA HOT, as recommended by the coffee shop owner where we had our breakfast wan tan mee (you know what they say about following the local’s advice don’t you?).

Then we added another one which is prepared ala Tom Yum (RM14).

Needless to say, both fish were fresh, with sweet flaky flesh. The EXTRA HOT Chilli Padi sauce was our favourite! Though it set our tongue on fire, the potent fiery heat of the sauce was what made it good.

The Tom Yum one really paled in comparison as it tasted like some careless blend of tom yum paste. Sweetish with barely any sting, it was flat in flavour & I would have written this place off of a worthy visit if it wasn’t for the EXTRA HOT Chilli Padi Fish above.

We didn’t order any meat dishes since the very same dude who recommended the  EXTRA HOT Chilli Padi Fish told us that it is the only dish worth stapling here.  Anyhow, if we chose to come here again on this coming Sun, I’m game to try the dry chilli mutton

The preparation of the fish is very very simple. As illustrated below, there is no secret marination, no prior secret “steps” taken before the fish is BBQ-ed over the charcoals. Each fish is cleaned, then cooked in foil with the chosen sauce of the customer. If there is any secret recipe, then it is all in the sauce (IMHO, I doubt it. The sauce tasted pretty one dimensional and simple).

BROGA Recreational Fishing Park:
Day off: Thursday
Open on Public Hols & Weekend

11am to 7pm.

GPS: N 02 55.834′
E 101 55.735′

Clockwise from top left:

The fish pond. The lavatory. The fishes, while they are still alive . The place doubles up as home for the family.

Conclusion?

More of a novelty thing, & doesn’t warrant  a trip all the way from KL just for this. But if you happen to be in Broga, then why not?

Next: More eats. The famous Broga Pan Mee & Uncle Lim Ice Kacang.

ps: Anyone who wants to join us this coming Sun, 21st Feb 2010??It will be fun!

Such quaint interior and cosy cottage charm! Traditional artsy craft work and memorabilias dotted the walls, giving one a flitting glimpse into the cultural facade of Bulgaria, a country not much known by the world.

The mural on the wall by our table took my breath away. So beautiful and in such vivid gay colours too!

Bulgaria is a country of 110,993 sq km, which is apprx 1/3 of Malaysia & boasted of the population number of 7.5mil.
Located in the Balkan Peninsular, it borders Romania which is at its north, Serbia and Montenegro and Macedonia to the west and Greece and Turkey at the south.

Here, in our little Penang island, the owner’s efforts to recreate and revive the bucolic feel of a cosy Bulgarian home back in her home country is deeply reflected in the outlet.

The woodwork, the bricks, the layout and the setting is painstakingly designed and leaves one in no doubt of the authenticity of the place. You do feel as if you have been teleported into a cosy Bulgarian home back in time and in Bulgaria itself.

Rustic style interior rekindling the feel and vibes of an old Bulgarian home.

Bulgarians, alike its European counterparts, customarily indulge in wine with their meals. Here in Vintage Bulgaria, a wide selection of wine is stocked in their wine cellar for your drinking pleasure.
Have your wine with your meal, or opt for a relaxing time sitting at the bar either upstairs or downstairs (they got two!) if you are here just for a drink. Your choice.

Geographically, Bulgaria has large mountainous areas, fertile valleys, plains and a coastline of the Black Sea.
However, in a short conversation with the owner, my initial self-formed opinion that seafood would feature dominantly in Bulgarian cuisine was corrected. The sea, Silviya Georgieva explained, is too cold to provide much produce.
Their climate includes mild summers and cold, snowy winters. Its temperate climate provides the right growth conditions for a variety of vegetables, herbs and fruits.

Its cuisine, is eastern European with Mediterrenean influence, and salads are predominant. Every meal customarily starts with greens. As it is a cuisine influenced with the Greek & Mediterranean, their salads consists of typical key ingredients of tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, feta cheese and light dressings.

Meats are mostly roasted, grilled or oven baked. Their starch is provided for by the sides of potatoes & bread.

So one fine evening, we lucky group of Penang foodies congregate here for a night of gluttony, fun and comradeship.

Our 4th Penang Food Bloggers Gathering spurred into momentum with the first course of the most decadent seafood soup. (Not that the mushroom version were any less stellar, mind you)

An interesting mix of flaky fish meat and creamy based stock, it was very fresh and tasted of the sea. A must order, as it’s totally different from the common seafood bisque dished out at literally all western joints here!
If there’s a better seafood soup in our vicinity, I haven’t heard about it.

Their cream of mushroom is no wilt flower either.
Robust & wholesome, the chunky bits of mixed funghi with its smooth blend of well ratio-ed cream and stock was marvelous with the signature crusty ‘Vintage’ bread.

Almost 70% of us gluttons zeroed in on the Pork Knuckle (Bulgarian Pork Djolan) as our choice of main.
Rightfully so too, for the roasted arm was huge, with the mandatory gelatinous layer of fat, tender meat and crispy skin. What’s not to like??
One small vibe though, I personally felt that the flavour of the marination lacked full permeation into the inner parts of the meat & the accompanying gravy too sweet.
Nevertheless, I’m hard to please, so do ignore me

This is how we foodies eat. Watch and learn.

BEFORE.

The meat ball was huge. Grinded not too finely, it packs the satisfaction of sinking one’s teeth into real meat, & promptly be rewarded with rich meat juices oozing into your mouth.
The 2 sausages was just as good, both different in taste, low in sodium and hearty with spices & herbs.
The boiled potatoes that came with the platter was deceivingly spicy (it sure didnt look it right?) and a fellow blogger claims his tongue felt numb after a bite! Hehe..

For the hell of me, I can’t fathom the reason I ordered chicken that night.
Anyhow, my Chicken Stroganov wasn’t as bad as it looks (hey, after the knuckle and the ribs, you would have second thoughts too ok!).

Boneless chicken drumstick cut into strips, cooked with mushrooms, wine, cream, herb and spices, this is a good choice for light dining. Not too creamy, the smooth and tasty sauce, fused very well with the chicken.
And from the picture above, you can see that I have given the side of mash potato utmost attention. That’s simply cos it was divine!
Smoky roasted potato, mashed with its jacket and blended with gravy.
So delicious!

Plovdiv Ribs.
Not unlike our local tai chow BBQ ribs, these marvellous ladders of sweet, caramelized outers and tender inners was nicely done.

Each of the sides for the mains deserves mention too. The ubiquitous steam broccoli, carrot and cauliflower was done right, soft (not overcooked) and buttery.

I noticed there were 2 different mash of potato, one which is moist, but minus any gravy, with rich buttery aroma and another (which I preferred) mashed with onions and gravy, with its jacket on, providing me the satisfaction of nibbling on roast-y potato skin.

The piquant side of chutney-like mix of cucumber, carrot and onions plus a small serving of sourish coleslaw with corn provides the palate a refreshing diversion from the savoury meats.

Of course, a break in between course are a must and I couldn’t help taking a picture of the doors to the wash area ;p

Fancy adding some Bulgarian words to your vocab??

We bloggers are a lucky lot.

Courtesy of Dennie Yeap, of Winter Butterfly Homemade Cakes, we polished off a Strawberry Mousse Cheesecake, which was sublime with its moist cheesy sponge and fresh cream,

an Oreo cheesecake which was REALLY rich and a Chocolate Brownie which I find to be a bit dry in texture but made up for its shortcoming with its decadent top layer of dark chocolate fudge.

And yes, I repeat, we bloggers are a lucky lot.

Courtesy of Gelatissimo, we licked clean 5 tubs of gelato even before our desserts were served.
Thank you Mr Hong! The matcha gelato was fabulous!

Bottom right pic above: Clockwise: Rum and Raisin, Matcha, Chocolate, Strawberry Cheesecake and Mango Sorbet.

After all that, our desserts were finally served.

Chocolate Soup.
This, to me was alike gourmet chocolate drink with ice cream. Think premier “milo” , as in richer, creamier and full bodied chocolate. Deliciously chilled & smooth.
My my my..even as a non-choc lover, I could have slurped up every drop of this!

I ordered the Chocolate Creme Brulee, since I was curious .. “eggs and chocolate??”

The crackly caramelized surface hides the smooth and sublime eggy custard underneath.
I’m glad to report that this surpassed my expectations. It’s got the ideal ratio of eggs to chocolate where the taste of eggs and cream remains prominent to ascertain that it is indeed a creme brulee and yet with the flavour of chocolate still intact.
Scrumptious stuff!

And then there were camwhoring sessions..

The guy bloggers.

Whose pics were taken by the girls photographers.

We girls bloggers, had our pic then taken by the guys of course. But sorry no pic for now. (Ok, could any of you guys forward me a pic of us gals please??? )

The cool and quiet Silviya Georgieva and her friendly outlet Manager of Vintage Bulgaria.

Hats off to the kitchen that night for the preparation of the food. More often than not, during such events, I get my food served lukewarm or cold, mainly due to the meals being mass produced and re-heated just before serving.
That night, service was a tad slow yes, but I do appreciate that the food served didn’t taste like it was prepared hours ago!

What we had above was a set dinner created especially for that night. At RM40/pax, it was a steal for such superb food.
But of course, this is NOT all that they have!
Vintage Bulgaria does an expansive menu, with some interesting dishes that includes “parts” eg, livers and onion, gizzards in butter and veal tripe with mushrooms.
Barbitarians rejoice!!

As with most European influenced meals, cheese, cream, wine, mushrooms, herbs are prominent in the preparation of the dishes here.

Location:
Vintage Bulgaria Restaurant & Bar
(next to Ingolf’s Kneipe German Restaurant)
1-E, Jalan Sg Kelian
Tanjung Bungah
Penang, Malaysia
Tel: +60-4-8981890

Business Hour : 12 pm to 12 midnight (last order at 10pm)

GPS Coordinates : N05 2753.9 E100 1732.8

Definitely worth a visit if you are in Penang..once you are done gorging yourself silly on Char Kuey Teow, Laksa and Chendol (& for some, Chee Cheong Fun) of course! ;p
I love the concept and the place is gorgeous!

While Batu Caves may sound to some like the other side of the world..good food has never deterred us foodies. So we gung-ho bunch braved the traffic & distance on a Sunday to this in-famous outlet.

Approaching the shop, we were greeted by this. *gasp*

Hell..it was only slightly later than 12pm! And the outlet is completely FULL & there were at least 30 tables inside!

Thank god for the Queue Control Station..

Tell ‘em the number of pax, get a number & wait.

Meanwhile, a walk-about tour is a must.
An absolutely riveting operation is in hand, from the order takers to the table-clearers to the cooks, “synchronised team work” comes to mind, minus the typical chinese shop style bickering and hollering.

An average of 5 dishes per minute went past me from this kitchen…

and..our Lyrical Lemongrass has her piece on the wall of fame!!

…with FBB’s 2 cents worth. How apt.

The very reason I am here. THE PORK BEE HOON. RM15.

Superb stuff. I was worried as usual that this might be salty, considering that it’s fried with soya sauce and has stewed pork. But any doubt went pooff! from the first mouthful.
AWESOME melt in the mouth pork & fat with flavourful fried vermicelli, I thought the pork tasted very much like the canned stewed pork sold in supermarkets & perhaps… should the craving strikes again, this might be attempt-able at home?

Unka thinks its good too..and polished off the remainder straight from the plate it was served in!

The smooth thick congee, RM19.90 with sweet soft slivers of fish & thick wedges of century eggs is a steal considering the portion as well as the bountiful amount of fish thrown in.

The piece de resistance of the lunch.

So fresh, it tasted of the sea with all its sweet and bursting with the briny flavor of the shellfish.
This extravagant/lavish plate of briny goodness only set us back RM90!!
Look at that huge prawns!
5 of those, plus the creamy decadent, absolutely roe-rich gravy.. Cholesterol is a bad word…DIVINE is the word. ..
Unka said it’s better than Green View Restaurant’s version. PureGlutton nodded approvingly & the rest gushed non-stop of its extraordinary taste.

Big prawns, with the flesh parting cleanly from its shell.

So, this was all that’s left after we were through with it..waste not even the gravy!

Frog Leg Loh Mee. RM21.00.

This somewhat paled in comparison after the Sang Har Meen, but the pieces of frogs was sweet & darn tender.
We think it would have been paired better if cooked in congee instead of the noodles.

Here the damage. For 12 hungry mouths.

Told ya its RM17 per pax!!

Satiated & gratified..it’s another great food fest!!

ALL of the noodle dishes are thoroughly imbued with the delectable flavour of smoky char (wok-hei-ness) prerequisite of such dishes & Pan Heong team of chefs definitely has got this down to pat.
Indeed a place worthy of subsequent visits, paying toll and the distance travelled.

Pan Heong Restoran
No. 2, Jalan Medan Batu Caves 2,
68100 Bt Caves.
Tel: 03-6187 7430 (Do call before making your trip, for they close on random days in a month)

Business hours: 8.30am to 3.30pm.

In my humble opinion, there are only a few places worthy of me paying for pizza.. and Santini got my vote for being one of them. Especially if you dig wood fire ones..and since moi here haven’t tried the ‘higher- end‘ ones in Chiaroscuro at 38, Bedara or NeroTeca/vivo/or fico and so forth..and a while back we did try The Coconut House in 3 2 Square, Sect 14 of which the owner boasted of being the only restaurant that uses 100% woodfire without any gas-assisted device, & then proceeded to serve us a limp pizza, I’ll stick to Santini for now.

We were there on 2 different occasions, and both times the quality and taste was consistent, and hence I wouldn’t mind going back to staple their other varieties.
Not in the mood for pizza? You can order from San Francisco’s menu and still dine in Santini.

Pollo E Pancetta.
Tomato, mozzarella cheese, roasted chicken, beef bacon, fresh tomato and oregano.
RM14.90.

This is good! Very fresh ingredients coupled with just enough cheese not to be overwhelming.
The cubes of chicken must have been marinated with some seasoning before tossed onto to the pizza for though it looked plain and white, it was very tasty.
The pizza base was soft in the middle and crisp and thin at the sides with some parts nicely singed.

Giardiniera.
Pesto, mozzarella cheese, grilled zucchini, grilled eggplant, grilled capsicum, button mushroom
and articoke.
RM14.90.

I like zuchini. I like eggplants. I like articokes. And I like them grilled.
Better still, make ‘em toppings on my pizza.

And it did not disappoint. Ssssmoky and sweet, who said vegetarian pizzas are boring?

Diavola.
Tomato, mozzarella cheese, chilli, beef pepperoni and black olives. RM12.90.

Toscana.
Mozzarella cheese, ricotta cheese, spinach, egg and capsicum. RM12.90.

You see that runny yolk…???

I am a sucker for anything with runny eggs. Pan mee, runny egg please.
Nasi Lemak, runny egg please.
Fav breakfast? Runny eggs please.

Very un-refined, or as one may say, a pleb..I was taking bites of the pizza, then mopping the remainder of my slice with the egg on the plate and shoving it into my mouth.
Good thing my dining companion is an old time friend & is used to my eating behaviour

The shaved parmesan, cubed ricotta cheese and melted mozzarella at the base all adds the heights of rapture one experience when eating this. Sublime…

No meal is complete without desserts.

And what could make Kev so happy??

The best chocolate cake he has tasted, he proclaims. And he is a very fussy foodie, mind you.

Death By Chocolate by Just Heavenly Pleasures.

I was busy attacking this. And good thing Santini did not have much customers on a weekday night. The durian eau parfum was strong, to say the least.

Damn heavenly desserts. Enough said.

A Slice of Heaven

Jaya One (next to Cold Storage)
No. 72A Jalan Universiti
46200, Petaling Jaya.

Open daily from 10am to 10pm. For more details, check out Just Heavenly’s blog.

Panna Cotta.
RM9.90
Traditional Italian cream pudding served with berry sauce.

Something “light” to cleanse the palate. Or rather, to cleanse the durian breath.
Smooth, rich and creamy. Not bad.
Of course, we were served with the customary bread basket with olive oil and vinegar at the start of the meal. Naturally, I had to refrain from asking for extras, knowing well that my mains are also dough-based.

Though stuffed, we couldn’t resist adding an order of ravioli when we spied the chef rolling out dough and stuffing raviolis at the open kitchen.
So the Mushroom Ravioli with Tomato Cream Sauce, RM22.90 was duly ordered.

Stunned at the portion, I started counting the “pockets” of dough…and since the count stopped at around 8-9 raviolis, I was mumbling to myself..”this better be darn good raviolis..”

Verdict? Nope.. it was very ordinary tasting, with cheap mushrooms to boot. The pasta sheets were too thick for my liking and I was suddenly reminded of my hatred for Pan Mee. Flour-ish.

My conclusion would be to stick to the pizzas, for I was not too impressed with the ravioli. But then I haven’t tried any other dishes so that might not be a fair gauge.
Generally, the pizzas here are not coated very thickly with the tomato base sauce and the cheese layer was just nice for me. For those who prefers their pizzas very heavy on the sauce and cheese may need to give a word to the waiter upon order.

Week 1: “Beckiieee…I found this great place!!! UNDER A TREE one..the assam fish head here is soo sooo good.. the sui tan is damn nice..all the dishes very niceee...”

Week 2: “So becky.. you had the fish yet? No?? WHY?? I send you the address NOW ok..you must try.. you wont get bored eating it everyday! ”
ME (thinking to myself) : Everyday??? Sure boh??

Week 3: “Eh becky..have you gone to try it yet?? You know, the place I told you about..the assam fish..
You managed to find it? It’s UNDER A TREE. ”

THAT …for 3 weeks in a row.

THAT….is alike hanging a wriggling fat fish in front of a hungry shark.

THAT…. got images of a huge fishy head, with bulging eyes and full cheeks (I loveee that part I tell you..) swimming in crimson, piping hot broth, with whiff of sharp piquant gravy assailing to my piggy snort…

But still I was hesitant..cos you see.. unless it is a food blogger or someone I know, who I had dined with before & had pronounced his/her standard in food worthy of opinion, I hardly trust their recommendations.

Blame it on past experiences.

Anyhow, I took the bait. Rounded up a gang. And this time thelaziestchefever aka The Gourmand Extraordinaire joined us. Do read about his excited experience here. ;p

As usual, desserts took the most attention & we started on the cakes, again… even before the order for the food was placed!

A Slice of Heaven
Jaya One (next to Cold Storage)
No. 72A Jalan Universiti
46200, Petaling Jaya.

Open daily from 10am to 10pm. For more details, check out Just Heavenly’s blog.

And all those pics of cakes by Ciki and AWOL got me rushing down to Bangsar for my fix…

Yup, it’s the Red Velvet and The Hummingbird. I actually preferred The Red Velvet by A Taste Boutique. Not sure if it was still that good since I last had it in Feb. Their cream cheese topping was remarkable.
This one was eerr…butter cream?
The Hummingbird was lovely though, the sponge base is banana-ish with generous amount of pecans. Moist, interesting & delicious!

Ok, now on the REAL food.
THE BEST DISH of the night = Salted Egg Squids. RM19.
This is THE “ham tan sotong“. One of their signatures. And superbly tasty.
It came to our table piping crispy hot and remained excellent throughout the meal. Even when it got cold, it didn’t collapse into a pile of soggy batter and rubber rings. Nope, it stayed crispy and tenderly chewable throughout.
For such a huge portion, RM19 is well justified.

Their Salted Egg Pork was another recommended dish. However, we tried not to go overboard with the salted egg flavour so then the lady boss recommended their Marmite Pork.
Alas, Emeryn doesn’t take marmite so we skipped that too.
PS: I saw that it was a popular order that night, and the pork pieces absolutely glisten, all sweet and sticky..darn…

We ended up with the Sweet and Sour Pork, RM17, which is basically a version that’s really substandard with floury coating & barely bearable- tasting pork meat and unimaginative gravy. Flat and bland. Urgh.

Guess that wasn’t their forte, for the other dishes did shine.

Our simple vege dish of quick fry french beans with chai poh. RM12. Sweet, crunchy and easy on the palate. Nice.

The steamed egg RM10 won us over with its slippery smooth and custard-like texture.
So simple, yet satisfying.

And here is the steamed assam fish. Tilapia, with moist sweet flesh, & no funny undiscerning taste whatsoever. Lap it up with the gravy, enjoy it with rice, eat it on its own. It’s just good.

The portions frighten us at first, for the lady who took the orders went ahead and set portions for 8, which is something one should be aware of when dining here.
So please inform her in advance, else she places kitchen orders for the number of pax at the table for EACH dish.

All in all, RM100 for all the dishes above, for 8 pax and with chinese tea included wasn’t a bad deal right??
The place may sound really remote, but it is actually about 15mins drive from SS2.
Mr Gourmand Extraordinaire mentioned the Setia Way KTM station is actually very nearby.

28, Jalan SS 9A/16
Sungai Way New Village,
47300 Petaling Jaya.
contact: 012 – 217 7260/012 380 3918

NO TREE IN SIGHT.

We sat at Tin Sing, which was air-conditioned but these two restaurants you see above actually shares the same kitchen. In short, BOTH restaurants are the same.
And yet the name on their receipt is Mei Sin or something..hhmm..

All hail the gluttons!!