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:

Chef Nathalie Arbefeuille helms the kitchen here with her capable team & the open kitchen allows you to witness the chefs at work. All of them worked quietly, with concentrated focus & precise movements. Each dish that came out from the kitchen bears testimony of meticulous preparation from the raw ingredients to the final presentation.

Nathalie’s Gourmet Studio is an original concept by Chef Nathalie Arbefeuille. The outlet is divided into a professional kitchen (complete with long tables & chairs, ovens, etc for cooking classes every morning), air-conditioned dining area inside & an outdoor terrace for breakfast, lunch & tea, another main kitchen where the team prepares the meals for their customers & restrooms complete with towels & candles at a corner.

Even the table setting insinuate of class with napkins neatly tied with a pretty ribbon & quality tableware.

Nathalie’s menu offers a choice of 5 starters, 5 main courses and 5 desserts, with the menu being refreshed every two weeks. When it first opened in June, I was there for the duck confit; since there weren’t many restaurants that does it well & I have been craving for a good one for ages. Here at Nathalie Gourmet Studio, the duck confit was how a duck confit should be, well-browned and crisp prior to serving; meat that shreds easily; not too salty, fatty & succulent.

Nathalie Gourmet Studio’s June menu.

Duck Confit with warm orange, celery & lettuce salad, porcini dressing, RM35.

I love everything on this dish. The duck (obviously), the sweet slightly acidic oranges, the crisp bitter arugula, the savoury dressing & the sweet onions relish.

Unfortunately, the Nathalie Gourmet Studio’s July/current menu does not feature this excellent dish any longer.

But it has it’s winning dishes as well. Jenn, Leo’s wife who ordered this Ricotta and Herbs Raviolis,Carrot & Ginger Broth, RM30 said it was good. Apparently the ginger & carrot was paired well. I personally thought RM30 was ok for this dish as I spied about 6-7 raviolis in the bowl. Furthermore, the pasta are made fresh in-house.

Joaquim enjoyed her Beef Cheek Bourguignon, with Fresh Pasta, RM47.

Leo & Jerine both ordered Chicken & King Prawns with Fennel Ragout, and Bisque Sauce, RM37. Jerine is a very fussy eater & she gave it thumbs up. I loved how the bisque sauce smelled wonderfully strong of seafood. Yup, it’s all prepared from scratch in Nathalie’s kitchen.

JoaQuim had a starter as well, the sweet juicy Revised Momotaro Tomato with buffalo Mozzarella RM23. The bottom pic of my collage here shows the tomato jelly, made with tomato juice. The dollop of cream on top is basil cream, which tasted unmistakeably & so strongly of basil leaves that you can be assured that it is the real deal.

I wasn’t feeling very well so I started with the Vegetable Quiche, Mixed Lettuce with Asian Dressing, RM18. It was nice, but it is not something I would recommend for that price.

Then I ordered a Nathalie’s Revised Chicken Nuggets, with emmental cheese dip & ratatouile RM15, from the kid’s menu. It was seriously a wasted opportunity for me that day, for I could normally eat a cow for lunch. Furthermore, we had a big group together for lunch & I was not being able to taste & share the dishes they ordered. Heck, I couldn’t even eat my nuggets. Well, UnkaLeong said they were delicious. :cry:

Complimentary bread & butter as starters. The bread is warm & fresh with the signatory crusty outer crust of french breads. Nothing beats Favola’s at Le Meridien breads so far though.

JoaQuim then ordered their All Chocolate Dessert, RM20. She said it was nice, while I thought it was rather ordinary.

Nathalie is famed for her perfect macarons. Perfect in taste & looks & she even had a reputation going around that her macarons are the best in KL so far. For RM4.20 (as per my receipt) per tiny macaron, they better be good.

Flavours are aplenty so you will not run out of choices. I managed a small nip from this one as I was really curious as to how good it is.

Verdict? Ermm..I don’t think I’m ready to enjoy macarons. Yet.

Overall, Nathalie’s cuisine is French with a delicate Asian flavour. The short & frequently changing menus keeps options fresh & diners guessing on what new exquisite dishes the talented Chef Nathalie has up her sleeve/chef’s hat next. Her clientèle of French expats certainly add credibility to her food.

Note: Solaris Dutamas is NOT Solaris, where the Cold Storage is.
To get here, go PASS Solaris on your left, head on straight till you are at a T-junction. Turn RIGHT. Drive along the road which will eventually curve left.
After about a minute, you will see a block of commercial building on your left. There are a lot of F&B outlets, etc here. You can’t miss it.
The Pink Sage is here too.

My reviews of The Pink Sage.
Dinner at The Pink Sage
Breakfast at The Pink Sage

GPS:  N03 10.25′    E101 39.91′

Nathalie’s Gourmet Studio
A-4-1-5 Dutamas Solaris,
Jalan Dutamas, 50490 Kuala Lumpur.
T: 6 03 62079572
W: www.nathaliegourmetstudio.com

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

As usual, it took me months later to visit the shop, with the usual obstacles of distance, time & the lack of an adventurous eating partner.

So one weekend, I decided to hell with it, if no one is keen then I’m going alone. And I ended up having 4 people joining me right after I have declared so. Funny how things turned out sometimes huh?

ps: (And today is my 2nd visit! Food IS consistent!) *stamps approval*

The Ayer Panas Hawker Center is where it is at, and here we found it to be an open area, complete with rickety & worn plastic tables & chairs. All of old hawker charm were present, though I must confess SS2 Wai Sik Kai’s seems posh after seeing this place.

We stumbled on this too. Turned out to be a bowlful of thirst quenching delight. We stapled the Red bean & honeydew flavours, and it was perfect for the hot weather while waiting for our food.

Seeing double, triple and quadruple of this on the other diners’ tables cued me on my order. The Vermicelli in wine soup with clams, RM11 was as popular as their Signature Hennessy Lor Mee. Our single portion came with generous fillets of dory fish, chockful of clams, sprinkles of coriander & spring onions. Fragrant with the naunces of wine & loads of ginger, this made for a very tasty dish. All of us rewarded this with a score of 8/10!

The Hennessy Lor Mee, RM11, needs no introduction. The aroma and richness from the luxuriant liquer was mellow, yet with a distinctly curious flavor. It’s heady scent hit me as soon as the bowl was placed on the table. We gave it a good stir and lapped up the  hefty tangle of thick egg & glass noodles topped with all of it’s added ingredients of pork, prawns, juliennes of carrots swimming in the eggy, starchy broth.

They do their porks dishes very well here too. Each fillet is wonderfully tender & and their sauce (I tried the kung po style (with dried chillies today)) is always in the right balance of salty & sweet. This is their Pork braised ginger with plenty of spring onions & leeks style, RM10 which I had during my last visit. With hints of sesame oil, the soft tender pork fillets satisfied the porcine pork deprived ache in us. Lovely.

Last was a simple but delicious dish of FRESH green lettuce, very lightly blanched and bathed in aromatic oil, (thanks to the pork lards, dried shrimps & salted fish plus bird eye chillis) that it was fried with, which fulfilled the fibre criteria in our meal.

I spied 2 more popular dishes other than the Hennessy Lor Mee; one of which is fish head beehoon and another the black Hokkien Mee. While the latter seemed a bit oily to me, the former promises to be good, with chunks of fried fish & thick milky broth. Will save that for the 3rd visit!

And this old unassuming stall churned out what could be the best ice kacang in this side of town (hawker version, and at the price of RM2.80, ok).

My Ais Kacang was spilling out of its bowl with SOFT, SMALL red beans (I hate those canned kidney beans ones!), firm green chendol tails, noodles of pinkish chewy jelly, nata de coco, palm seeds, corns, peanuts, cincau (black herbal jellies).
All that for RM2.80!
The thick sugar syrup & Gula Melaka drizzled over the ice was fragrant & a dash of coconut milk gave it the perfect finishing flavour.

This is easily one of the best ice kacang I have tasted in KL so far, though the one in SS2 Wai Sik Kai (Stall 41)  ice has a finer texture.

Lunch came up to RM36 for all the above, with free flow iced chinese tea thrown in. So cheap, so good and so satisfying! I love this place!

Quick, note this place and address down. It is really not that hard to find.

Directions:

GPS: N03 11.388, E101 43.82

Stall No. 22 Ayer Panas Hawker Center (tel: 012-624 7610). It is located inside the Ayer Panas Hawker Centre, Off Jalan Genting Klang. From KL, drive along Jalan Pahang until you reach Jalan Genting Klang, then turn right into Jalan Ayer Panas. Continue until you reach the T-junction at the end of the road. Here, turn left and you will see an old hawker centre on your left. Look out for the stall with empty Hennessy boxes hung around.

Location: . Opening hours: 8.30am-6pm (Tuesdays to Sundays).

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!

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.

Please Santa, all I want for Christmas… is another party like this!

You know you are at the right party when you walked to the house & got greeted by this...
A whole LAMB, grilling over charcoals, right at the FRONT GATE.

This is one lamb worth dying for. Juicy, tender & thoroughly marinated with its meat imbued with flavour, it was absolutely AWESOME!

At RM700, yups.. RM700, for one of that splendid creature, grilled 2 hours before the start of your party, sliced, served & then all utensils cleaned up after the lamb is finished. It’s pretty worth it, IMHO.
So, anyone to sponsor one for Unka’s house warming??? ;p

I liked the fact that the hosts were strict on the quality and choices of food. They kept it firmly to the theme of an English Christmas and that means fried rice, roti canai and etc is strictly prohibited!

Hence, this had to be the closest I will ever get in experiencing a proper Christmas dinner. Darn, the only thing missing is EGG NOG!!! Anyone with a do-able Egg nog recipe to share?

The turkey was roasted in-house, & this is the crazy host shoving the stuffing into the cavity of the bird.
The charming lady who prepared & craved the lamb graciously cut up our turkey for us too ;o)

It was a pot luck, and everyone came with their BEST dishes! Lucky me

Baked potatoes, cold platter of ham, toasted baguette with creamy homemade salmon mousse, sausages, pear, egg & apple salad.

Lamb, chicken wings, Chicken & vegetables Quiche, Bacon & mushroom fettuccine & the lovely lovely smooth pumpkin soup!

These beef ribs totally rocks! Utterly delicious & tender, I didn’t mind eating beef for once.
The angel hair marinara, thick mushroom gravy, creamy avocado, prawns & green apples salad were no less appetizing.

The sweet endings..fruity egg tarts, DARK chocolate cake, Blackforest & home-baked Panettone.

Wine, ice cream & cheese.

New Formosa Restaurant in SS2, PJ happens to be celebrating its 3rd decade in business this year.
To survive the change of PJ, the evolvement of then a town to now a city, its demographics of people which has changed so much since then & the onslaught mushrooming of probably hundreds of chic-er, posher and fusion food eateries around does warrant some respect in that sense.

At the invitation of Eu Hooi Khaw, author of Fresh Ingredients & seasoned and respected food writer for about just as long as New Formosa is in business, I roped in Sean, UnkaLeong, WC and Horng for a night out.

Now, I’ve heard and read much of its Or Nee (steamed yam paste) and its legendary butter eel, and New Formosa has been on my “to eat list” for the longest time.

Truly its famed dish did not disappoint!

It came with a side of mashed sweet potatoes and the correct way is to enjoy it all in a scoop! Lovely!!

The infamous butter eel was part of the Formosa’s Special Combination Dish we had that night.

The deep-fried pig intestines with sesame seeds didn’t go down well with me. I may be overly sensitive, for Sean thought it was odourless yet it seemed to really stink to me!
Both the three-cup top shell (clams) stir fried with basil leaves and the stuffed lotus roots with special fish paste and seaweed was good, but I guess the Butter Eel just stole the limelight. Soft and slightly salty, the fragrant curry leaves added a nice kick to the overall taste.

I could do with more of this seeing my current stage of health!
Heartwarming and robust, it requires pre-ordering as it was simmered for 4 hours and loaded with all the goodies your grandmama would throw into a pot of nourishing soup; wolfberry, red dates, diced chicken, pork, mushrooms, gingko nuts, lotus seeds & lily buds.

Dinner was not only about gorging ourselves silly. Jeanie Lee, wife of the Chef and Sole Proprietor Mr Lee Weng Eng regaled us with tales of Taiwan, its history, the restaurant’s history and of course, we had a lesson or two on Taiwanese food.

The natural Ai Yu jelly served with fresh lemon juice is a very popular dessert in Taiwan, we were told. Here, it is made fresh in-house, and we were shown the natural Ai Yu seeds that they were made from.

This must have been the most anticipated dish of the night. Pictures were snapped extra speedily and within minutes, we stripped the poor baby of its crisp skin.

It was a first for us to eat this with vinegar as one of the dipping sauce, but like any foodie we dunk the meat, skin and whatever other parts of the little one into both the sauces served and gamely pronounced everything to be excellent.

The Braised Snapper with Sichuan hot bean sauce was fresh & the flesh soft and sweet. Good with the silver thread mantous (of which supposedly to be of a better quality compared to the normal ones customarily served elsewhere) sponging up the thick piquant gravy.

The steamed crabs on top of unpolished rice, onion, scallions, shallots, mushrooms, dried shrimp, minced meat and Chinese sausage was just awesome!
Ok, I’m a rice person.. totally love rice but resistance is futile even for carb-haters when the rice was so wonderfully infused with the flavour of the crabs and its other ingredients.
Very fragrant and absolutely delicious, I could have this on its own minus the crab.

I had my apprehensions when I saw shelled prawns served with steamed yam and sweet potatoes.
But its got an impressive name; “President Ma Banquet Dish” and who’s to argue when the President lends his name to a dish?
The sticks of sweet potato and yam you see below were very tasty and seriously a good substitute when the cravings for french fries hits.
The bouncy prawns married beautifully with the smooth yam and even the deep fried lonely piece of kai lan was devoured.

The next dessert got all of us burning a few calories clicking away in the hope of getting the best shot of the action.

Basically the triangular pieces of yam (yes, more yam..) were deep fried and then bathed in a lava of hot caramel sauce with sesame seeds.

While it was still piping hot, each piece is yanked from the plate and dunked into a tub of cold water. The rude cold shower instantly hardens the thick coat of caramel on the exterior of each piece.

The result is sugar- rock hard on the outside yet the yam insides remained mushy and warm.
It was a delight to bite into each and savour the extremes; cold and hot, bland and sweet.
My, another new dish learnt.
And I thought Taiwanese food was meat balls and noodles, Taiwan sausages and fried chicken ala Uncle Bob.

Jeannie, being the fantastic hostess she is, treated us to their more of their signature desserts. I’m glad to announce it has nothing to do with YAM.

New Formosa choices of puddings – mango, green tea, aloe vera, custard and herbal.
I love them all! As usual they were made in house, with no preservative and addictives.
Very refreshing and cooling guilt free snacks no?

Great mains, fantastic desserts and there’s PORK!! What’s not to like?? They serve individual portions of food as well here so it’s ok to drop by even if you dining alone. Else you can always drop me a text

New Formosa,
46, Jalan SS2/24, Petaling Jaya.
Tel: 7875-1894, 7875-7478