Besides providing appealing content for a blogpost; it’s an interesting eye-opener to myself as well as my blog readers to know how in other countries, food chains tailors their menus to suit a specific country and it’s food culture.

A while back I was in Sg for a quick trip. Someone told me Ikea Singapore serves pork on it’s menu. Even better, that person told me specifically there are pork meatballs!
So yes, I hopped into Ikea just to have the meatballs. Don’t ask me if the furniture stock in Ikea Singapore is any different from the ones in Malaysia. I wouldn’t know! But I do know that the meatballs is different! 

Below: Pork and beef Swedish meatballs.

My friend failed to mention a little trivia though. He didn’t tell me that the meatballs here at Ikea Singapore is a mix of PORK and BEEF, not solely pork.

So the difference was pretty subtle, and certainly not discernible from looks alone (hence trying to show you the differences via pictures were pretty futile).

Below: Beef Swedish meatballs in KL, Malaysia.

Other than the slight difference in colour, everything else lies in the taste. Needless to say, the Pork + Beef meatballs tasted much better. It could be my imagination; simply because I know there was pork in it and hence it influenced my tastebuds.
Argue whatever you like, it’s just much better with pork! 
But if I really had to describe it, I’ll say that the meatballs were more flavourful & moist, thanks to the fat from the pork meat.

I had a dessert too – The Almond Cake. This beats the saccharine, diabetes-inducing Daim anytime. I love the nuttiness and the moist texture of this cake.

Prices:
Meatballs
$9.50/20pcs
$8/15pcs
$5.40/10pcs

So have anyone else here sampled the Ikea meatballs in Singapore? What do you think about it? Any difference?

IKEA in Singapore:

IKEA Alexandra
317 Alexandra Road (S)159965

IKEA (Tampines)
60 Tampines North Drive 2, Singapore 528764

I’m not complaining of course. On the contrary, I’m actually looking forward to some boisterous CNY dinners with my friends to usher in a new beginning in this year of the Rabbit.  :yes:
To start the ball rolling (or the tossing going ) I tossed my first Yee Sang at Zuan Yuan, One World Hotel just last week.

To the uninitiated, yee sang is not so much about eating the dish but more of the food-play as the key element of the “yee sang” involves tossing the ingredients as high as possible and mixing it all vigorously while shouting out loud all the positive vibes & wishes you desire for the coming year.
This is a very auspicious act as it portends to financial and personal success where future ventures will hopefully “rise and reach high levels”.

“For $! For better health! For better opportunities in life! Toss it all high, higher & higher!!”

(pic below frm one of my CNY dinners last year, & for illustration purpose, as I was too busy tossing that night at Zuan Yuan to take any pic of my own! )

Our yee sang that night was almost purely vegetarian, other than a serving of jellyfish. Everything on the plate makes for a winsome combination; sweet & slightly tart flavours from the pears & pamelos, crunchy & dry textures from the crackers & refreshing clean flavours from the freshly shredded vegetables.

Yee Sang with Seaweed and Assorted Fresh Fruits.

Satiated momentarily with the yee sang, (but thankfully the wait wasn’t long for the other mains to make their appearance) I was looking forward to chomp down some MEAT hence the next dish was a sight for sore eyes (and rumbling tummies); a beautiful crisp -skinned duck, gorgeously tender & golden.
Roasted Duck with Unique Spicy Sauce.

Wok-Fried Tiger Prawn Hong Kong Style. The prawns were amazingly fresh & delivered the most marvellous “crunch” when I bit into its flesh. De-shell & eat with the deep-fried dried shrimps toppings for maximum prawn-y satisfaction.

The fish was a tad overcooked, but would have been perfect otherwise. The fish dish at any Chinese dinner is my favourite course & this was the only small set-back that night.
Steamed Coral Fish with Pickled Radish and Chilli.

The “cleansing dish”; a vegetables course, had a delightful twist as the boring bean curd was given a miss, and instead replaced with these……..

…….little pockets encasing a delicious mix of minced dried oysters, mushrooms & sea moss. A commended effort & my personal credits to the Chef Micheal Chew for giving old favourites new twists. I loved this.
Braised Diced Sea Treasure, Dried Oyster and Sea Moss in Golden Bag with Green Garden.

Being picky of carbs, I normally avoid the rice course during Chinese dinners. Unless it is very good of course.

And Zuan Yuan’s version had me making a total exception to my self-imposed “low-carbs during dinner rule”. Some food are just worthy to s***w that diet & this was one of them. ;-)
A lover of liver sausages, I swooped down on them & was rewarded with the sublime textures of really good liver. The overall dish was very well prepared, without the oiliness that normally plagued such lotus rice preparations. Aromatic & littered with cubes of yummy mushrooms, yam & slices of waxed meat, all at the table agreed that this is as good as it gets minus the element of swine.

Chef Micheal must have heard us singing praises, for he generously added a special soup to our dinner. LOL. The presentation may seem a bit stark, but the flavours sure aren’t!
Light, with lingering nauces of chrysanthemum, but not too much lest it spoils the soup & reminiscent too much of chrysanthemum tea, this soup retained its savoury flavours, but sweet & herbal-ish enough for easy digestion.

Desserts! And with my favourite avocadoes incorporated too.
Deep-Fried Avocado Custard and Ninko with Katafi Fillo.

I had expected avocado mash, sweeten and stuffed within these artful kalafi filigree and that’s all to it. But no, the chef managed to surprise us again with another trick up his culinary sleeve. We found sticky sweet nian gou inside!

Last of the course, Double-Boiled Sea Coconut with Organic Bird Nest, Red Dates and White Fungus, providing a sweet ending to our overall splendid meal.

I have the Chinese New Year Menu – (downloadable HERE) & The Appreciation Set Menus HERE & I would my readers (yes, you! ;-) ) to take a look at them. Zuan Yuan would be ideal for company dinners, expecially if you are seeking for a halal chinese dining option. The sets are reasonably priced for the ingredients and creative preparations of Chef Michael.

I had a good experience over lunch as well & you can read about the interesting Ginseng Panna Cotta HERE. Yup, Chef Michael Chew dares to experiment & I am pleased with his innovative creations so far!

Zuan Yuan remains open on the eve of Lunar New Year and throughout the fifteen days of the Lunar New Year. For reservations at Zuan Yuan, please call (603) 7681 1159.

Thank you to Florence & Crystal for the invite & lovely dinner & for starting my CNY mood for 2011!!

Zuan Yuan Chinese Restaurant @

First Avenue
bandar utama city centre
47800 petaling jaya
selangor, malaysia

Phone +603 7681 1111
Fax +603 7681 1188
Business hours:
Monday to Friday:
Lunch 12.00 noon to 2.30 pm
Dinner 6.30 pm to 10.30 pm

Saturday, Sunday and Public Holiday:
Lunch 11.00 am to 2.30 pm
Dinner 6.30 pm to 10.30 pm

And I concur ;-) .
I lapped up my little bowl of carbs below; enjoying the cuts of decadent imported goose livers, waxed duck & chinese sausages.

2 items that were particularly memorable for me were the slices of creamy & slightly bitter goose liver & the rice itself.
Loose firm grains scented with heady chinese wine and yet non-oily (that’s a very important criteria for me), the lap mei fun was delicious to eat especially with the crunchy bits we got from the bottom of the claypot.

There are already quite a number of reviews on Elegant Inn. And mostly positive ones. I had to add my 2 cents worth of course.

Elegant Inn’s entrance, on the 2nd floor of Menara Hap Seng.

The reason why it took me so long to visit was due to the impression I had that the food here are way too exorbitantly priced. However, when a close friend & fussy food connoisseur Paranoid Android gave his stamp of approval for the dim sum here, I readily set aside a budget & started seeking company to accompany me for a dim sum session.
I am admittedly a fuss- pot & a scrooge to a certain extent, but I will pay for good food.

The dim sum menu: Offering over 40+ choices of impeccably prepared dim sum.

Surprisingly it wasn’t THAT overpriced. Slightly higher than the norm yes, but in all fairness, prime ingredients were used.

I believe everything on the table plays a role in an overall dining experience. For dim sum, the condiments is just as important. I mean, you would be flavouring your each morsel of dim sum with it right?
For a  restaurant of Elegant Inn’s level, I would be disappointed if I was served bottled sauces. Thankfully it didn’t taste that way. I reckon that their sauces are made in-house. Anyhow, there wasn’t much need for them, as all the dim sum were scrumptious on their  own.

My litmus test of any self respecting dim sum outlet is the BBQ char siew pau – RM6.60 (3 pieces).

Sadly, the ones here didn’t quite hit the spot for me as it was way too sweet!

The Har Kau (Shrimp dumplings) is next. RM8.80 (4 pieces).

This was better. I totally approved of the thin translucent skin & crunchy prawns.

Another highly recommended item was the Australian Scallop Dumpling, RM14.00 (4 pieces).

Each morsel consist of a sweet juicy scallop ontop of some crunchy prawns. Delicious.
If I had to be nit-picky, then my only grouse is the slightly thicker than necessary skin.

Another personal bar I’ve set for dim sum outlets would be for the fishballs. I love mine firm yet with a slight resistance before giving way between my teeth. The balls has to taste strongly of fish & with a low ratio of flour to fish meat. Elegant Inn’s Homemade fishball – RM6.00 (3 pieces) ranks a fair 6/10. I thought it was a bit rubbery in texture.

Watercress Meat Dumpling, RM7.00 (4 pieces).

Juicy & absolutely luscious. The clear flavourful soup reminded me of the soup in ‘xiao long pau’.

I love my tubers, oh yes I do.

Beautiful “filigree” effect of the batter for the Taro Pouch – RM6.60 (3 pieces) bears testament of the deep frying skill of the Chef.
The fillings differs from the ones in the BBQ buns & I was thankful for that, as it is pretty common for dim sum outlets to maintain the same filling for both their yam pouch & char siew buns.

Crispy Vegetable Rice Roll – RM14.70 (3 pieces).

This is an innovative twist of the humble chee cheong fun, where the flour skin wraps crunchy vegetables with deep fried Vietnamese netting. Put one in your mouth & savour the contrasting textures.

Avocado Fillo Pastry – RM12.00 (3 pieces). I ordered this but was way too stuffed to have any by the time it arrived at the table. Everyone loved it though, so it can’t be bad.

Hasma Egg with Almond Cream – RM18.00.
Yay! I love almond cream. :yahoo:
The version here is a bit “toned” down from its usual pungency but that is understandable considering that almond cream is an acquired taste.

Ginger Soup with Black Sesame Balls – RM6.00.

Icy Longan with Sea Coconut – RM6.00.
Refreshing, just as expected.

Fresh Australian Mango Pudding – RM10.00. This was one of Elegant Inn’s signature desserts.

Elegant Inn is currently running a RM118.00++ set lunch for their Shanghainese Hairy Crabs promotion till the end of season. Seems to be a pretty good deal for crab-by fans!

Elegant Inn – Dining area which excludes a very typically Oriental feel.

For small groups, there is a cosy, “secluded” area for more privacy.

Below: More comfortable chairs too ;-) .

Al fresco dining? No problem. There is an outdoor dining area as well!

As with all higher -end dining restaurants, it is always advisable to dine in a group which allows one to sample a greater variety & of course to share the cost! Our lunch for 6 totaled up almost to RM300 inclusive of taxes & other cost such as the below:

Titbits – Nuts RM6.00.
Towel – RM9.00. (seriously, I don’t think we should be charged for wet towels!)
Tea – Kuan Yin – RM15.00.

Elegant Inn Hong Kong Cuisine
2.01, 2nd Floor, Podium Block
Menara Hap Seng
Jalan P. Ramlee
50250 KL

Tel: 03 – 2070 9399
Fax: 03 – 2070 9398

The name Mandarin Grill conjures images of expensive bills & perfect steaks.

‘Why‘, you ask?

Well, that’s the impression that any reader of any of the reviews on Mandarin Grill posted on the net would get.

While the price did (unfortunately) match the expectations set, the food fell below par.

‘Why‘; again you ask?

Hmm…for one, it could be that I didn’t order their best steak on the menu; the Grade 10 Kobe. And another reason was simply; being the cost-conscious person that I am, I had expected better bang for my buck.

Still, it’s hard not to fall in love (especially if you are a bread-lover like myself) when you are presented with THIS:

A whole tray of warm gourmet breads! I must say, this is the only place that offers me such a terrific assortment of bread so far! Just from personal experience, Favola at Le Meridien serves excellent bread, Cilantro @ Micasa Hotel offers their legendary truffle butter, and Mandarin Grill takes the cake for the sheer amount of choices alone.

I took about 4 types of bread, and spread them generously with the olive butter provided.

Our amuse bouche was fresh tuna with wasabi lime, topped with french bean and yuzu ponzu jelly, and came seating on top of a bed of zangy tomato salsa. Pretty ordinary dish for a place like Mandarin Grill and it didn’t merit any brownie points, though it was generally a pleasant starter.

The Appetiser Platter pleased me though. I’m a sucker for small tasting portions; and having many different types all in one plate. The platter has exactly all that, though most of them were again; pretty ordinary.

Appetiser Platter: Creamy Foie Gras au Torchon, Smoked salmon loin, Black olives, Green pea salad, Port wine jelly, duo of apple (spiced apple), Toasted brioche and Alaskan Crab Cake.

An intriguing item was the paper- thin chilli paper. Spicy and crackly, it paired well with the Alaskan crab cake, which was packed with sweet and juicy crab meat.

The Pumpkin soup tasted funny at first, almost of crab-bisque flavour (I kid you not, both of us felt the same way), but the mousse-like and frothy consistency is commendable. Anyhow, the taste kind of grew on me, and I ended up enjoying it, for after a while; the sweet & fresh pumpkin taste really shone.

My date have had a meal too many of bovine, and hence ordered a COD in a restaurant famed for its grill. For RM105.00, he got an overly seasoned cod that was too salty for him to finish. I laughed at him. Wicked, I know.

At Mandarin Grill, diners gets to choose 2 side dishes (one each from a selection of potatoes & vegetables) and one type of sauce. He chose Steamed Broccolini & Roasted fingerlings with Rosemary. Both were satisfactory enough. The little saucer you see below at the right was his choice of sauce – the homemade ketchup. It was pretty bland.

Naturally, my main is a steak. A whole 250g of it. And I get to decide from a dozen choice of knives on which I want to use to crave my meat. Cool isn’t it?? ;-)

My 250g Tenderloin.

My search for a good steak shall continue its course. Tenderloin is a bad choice for someone who loves flavour in her meat; and that means I need a fattier cut. Another thing is, I do not eat beef cooked over medium, and this came almost medium- done.

My sides were the best of the lot, especially so for the creamy carbo-licious Gratin Dauphinois. Lovely & rich, the thin slices of potatoes layered with cream and topped with torched cheese had us relishing it so much that we ended up leaving most of our mains untouched. LOL.

I noted that the sides were served in individual bowls, and that itself was worthy of mention in my books. The main plate was kept hindrance – free for you to concentrate on craving your mains. Separate servings also means there will be no overlapping of food/gravy or sauce.

Apparently Mandarin Grill is famed for its desserts. Hence we asked one of the chefs to recommend their BEST dessert & the prompt reply was “Apple Pie”. So apple pie it shall be to end our meal.

It took a while to come, and it was well worth the wait. I was bowled over by the apple pie here. Divinely flaky puff pastry with thin slivers of apple fanning it around the top, it came baked -ala-minute. Topped with vanilla ice cream, this completed my Mandarin Grill experience.

My date had the lighter Mango Sherbet, since he said he could barely breath after his dinner.

My pineapple and celery juice – RM22. Pricey, I know.

Horn-shaped pepper and salt shaker. I just had to take a picture of this; and then realized that most blogs features them as well. LOL. That says a lot of the “centrepiece” doesn’t it?

The dining area is lovely, with warm lights, but thankfully not entirely dim. Well-spaced apart tables ensures comfort and privacy.

The page of the menu that matters – the MEATs.

Mandarin Grill & MO Bar

Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur City Centre
Tel: 03-21798960

The scenario is certainly different now. Most Chinese  restaurants now serves wine with their dishes; or at the very least, there are wine options available in their menu. Fruit juices & Coke replaced Sarsi & orange.

Celestial Court at Sheraton Imperial is one of the grand old dame of Cantonese fine dining restaurants in KL. I have heard tales of “how good it was last time” & til now, I’m still hearing the same positive reviews from these 30- 40 y/old friends who had dined there back then.
A recommended feat indeed, to have stood against the test of time & also the proliferation of millions of (Ok, I’m exaggerating here) Chinese restaurants in town.

This doesn’t mean Celestial Court is resting on its laurels.
Recently, in keeping with the trends & demands of the growing set of sophisticated diners in KL; Celestial Court now offers wine pairing with its highly- praised Cantonese cuisine.

I attended a recent dinner at Celestial Court, where premium Taylor’s Wines from the Clare Valley in the heart of South Australia was selected to complement the 6 course Chinese dinner.

Pre Dinner
Taylor’s Estate, Sauvignon Blanc 2009

Duck & Bamboo Shoots Salad, Crispy Roasted Duck with Plum Sauce and Steamed Fish Cake with Spicy Coconut
Taylor’s Estate Clare, Riesling 2010

Pan Fried Scallop & Crab Dumpling with Stuffed Bitter Melon in Black Bean Sauce
Taylor’s Estate, Chardonnay 2008

Chili Marinated Cod Fish with Miso Yellow Pepper Jus
Taylor’s Estate, Chardonnay 2008 (pic as above)

Braised Oxtail Consommé La Mian
Taylor’s Estate, Pinot Noir

Citrus Sherbet

Hakka Style Slow Cooked Lamb Neck with Sticky Rice Wrapped in Lotus Leaf
St. Andrew Carbenet Sauvignon 2005

Kuih Koci Pulut Hitam with Teh Tarik Ice Cream

The Pre – Dinner Sauvignon Blanc started the night on the right note. Almost fruity, it was sweeter than most wines I have drank before & it remained my favourite throughout the night .

The legendary Celestial Court duck lived up to its reputation as I savoured the Crispy Roasted Duck. So much so that I wished there was a whole duck served rather than just 2 cuts! I didn’t care much for Duck & Bamboo Shoots Salad but I find the Steamed Fish Cake a rich & innovative twist to our local ‘Otak- otak’.
The crisp Taylor’s Estate Clare, Riesling 2010 accompanied the appetisers & I find it perfect for the strong flavours of the duck and fish cake.

Next was the Taylor’s Chardonnay.This leant more on the fruity side, and it made sense to have paired it with the delicate Cod. I love the slightly spicy ‘jus’ that accompanied the flaky fresh Cod.

Same wine was paired with the Pan Fried Scallop & Crab Dumpling with Stuffed Bitter Melon, a dish of which failed to make much of an impression on me.

Given a choice, I would probably be happy that night with just the La Mian and MANY bags of the Braised Oxtail “wantons”!
Such superbly tender, flavourful meat encased in thin skins, swimming in the most clear but herbalicious Consommé. Give me more please…! ;-)

I find the Pinot Noir “oaky” – ( a woody-ness taste) & of a pretty strong acidic body. From a wine noob point of view, it might actually overpower the delicate Consommé with its strong body. Anyhow, I never thought it was a good idea to pair wine with soups, especially the clear types.

A quick lick of the face – contorting sour sherbet did the job of getting my palate cleanse and I waited eagerly for the much anticipated Hakka Style Slow Cooked Lamb Neck with Sticky Rice Wrapped in Lotus Leaf.
I found this dish to be a pleasant surprise; as the rice was not as “sticky” as the ones normally served at 8 course dinners. This version was somewhat lighter in texture & not as oily too. The lamb was a tad too gamey for me but the tenderness won me over.

St Andrews is the flagship range of ultra premium wines from Taylors. This course was matched with the St. Andrew Carbenet Sauvignon 2005, a powerful, medium to full-bodied cabernet with the savoury earthy notes.

Any food blogger would be curious to read “Kuih Koci with Teh Tarik Ice Cream” on the menu. My first experience with Teh Tarik ice cream was at The Last Pollka & I have been hooked ever since.
But here at Celestial Court, it came served with kuih koci!

A truly enjoyable combo was having a bite of the chewy gritty coconut kuih koci together with the creamy tea ice cream in one spoonful. A good dessert always finishes off a meal right.

Celestial Court serves dim sum, a-la carte & set menus for lunch daily from 12pm till 2.30pm on Mon- Sat. I think I should be heading there soon for some dim sum loving, especially since they got a dedicated dim sum Chef! I have my hopes high for some good dim sum in KL now. ;-)

For a scrumptious dinner like mine, Celestial Court opens for dinner from 6.30pm till 10.30pm, 7 days a week.

Any further inquiries on events or on table reservations at Celestial Court can be made by calling 03-27179900 ext 6988. Thanks to Cindy & Evelyn for the invite!

Sheraton Imperial Hotel
Jalan Sultan Ismail
50250 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
Tel: — 6 03 2717 9900

Web: sheraton.com/imperialkualalumpur

I was surprised to see the human traffic at One World Hotel on a weekday. Due to its close proximity to the popular 1 – Utama Shopping Centre, & partly due to the convenience of a walk-through passage to the shopping mall via the hotel & vice versa, the hotel was pretty crowded with office workers when I was there for lunch recently. And I was told this is the norm.

My lunch with Florence was at Zuan Yuan, One World’s innovative Cantonese restaurant. As I strolled in, I noticed businessmen in suits; deep in conversation & groups of office workers in private rooms sharing a few Cantonese dishes together.
Bamboo baskets of dim sum littered some tables, as Zuan Yuan offers halal dim sum during lunch.

Not bad, I thought to myself. A good place for a business meeting, over some good food, and it is discreet enough. Classy place too, for bringing clients & not having to worry about looking like a cheapskate. LOL.

Below: The beautiful Oriental decor. (I managed to get this shot before the office crowd swarmed in!)

There was only 2 of us for lunch, so we asked for our portions to be sized accordingly.

Everything is prepared in Zuan Yuan kitchen; from the chilli sauce, braised peanuts to the vinegared chillies. Hence the freshness of these little appetisers were evident.

Mixed Green Bean Skin with Shredded Roast Duck in Chef’s Specialty Sauce, (RM18++ per portion) started off lunch. A duck lover, I loved the tender slivers of meat mildly flavoured by the Chef’s sauce.

We skipped the rice, not willing to let carbs spoil our appetite. Next was the intriguing Chef’s Special Sliced Prime Beef with Shredded Onion, Coriander and Wasabi. (RM30++ / RM45++ / RM60++).

The name was such a tease, “prime beef”, “wasabi”.. Hhmm..

I certainly didn’t expect a soupy version! Oh my.. wasabi soup??

Anyhow, I’m game to try anything. Florence’s face got all puckered up after a sip. Hahaha!

I find this dish a bit Thai-ish. In actuality, it wasn’t meant to be so at all. At the 1st sip, it was mild-flavoured beef soup at best. Then a mild burn ensued, presumeably from the wasabi. The beef slices were tender but a tad gamey. Overall I find this dish lacking in character; stuck between spicy, tangy and plain stock.

I was appeased with the Honey Glazed Boneless Chicken topped with Crispy Ginger Flakes. (RM26++ / RM36++ / RM50++). Tender chicken chunks with sweet glaze and the most amazing slivers of fried ginger. The ginger were divinely crunchy, sweet but with a with a definate spicy bite. How I wish I could buy these in packets and snack on them like popcorns! Yes, I’m weird. :-)

Then the quintessential fish dish was served. Braised Grouper Fillet with Mandarin Orange Skin in Spicy Sauce – (RM28++ / RM42++ / RM56++ (Large)) is a specialty here at Zuan Yuan. Again, it was the name of the dish that piqued our curiosity.

While it turned out to be Claypot Fish (hehe), this is a very well prepared claypot fish. The slivers of mandarin skin adds a bit of zing to the flavour but overall it wasn’t spicy as the name made it out to be. I still liked it though, for the firm sweet grouper was expertly fried and coated in the flavoursome sauce. The cloves of garlic, sweet peas & bean curd sheets (tau kan) happened to be my favourites as well.

Stuffed, we ended lunch with another interesting named dish; the Sugar Free Ginseng Panna Cotta, (RM13++) which proved to be a good choice though I had my reservations at first! I mean desserts – sugar free??? That’s blasphemy! And as if that wasn’t bad enough, it has “ginseng”. So it’s a sugar free & bitter medicinal tasting dessert… *faints*

But it was good. Very good. Heck, it was a significantly impressive creation. A beautifully Chinese -Italian fusioned dessert.
The firmness/wobbliness of the panna cotta was just right. It was creamy, with a hint of bitterness, not unpleasant but possessed an interesting aftertaste enough to tease the palate. I loved it.

Below: I unearthed some ginseng roots.. ;-)

A pretty affordable business lunch for 2!

More pictures: The private rooms.

Stunning crystal chandeliers lend to the opulence ambience of each dining room while plush carpet adds on to the rich finishing of understated Oriental elegance.

Facing the main dining area is the open kitchen where guests can watch the master chefs in action while feasting on Zuan Yuan Cantonese dishes and dim sum.

Stunning artefacts of wine jars greeted guests as they walked in from the entrance. The decor really screams “Oriental” with the rich splashes of red and liberal use of gold for that air of luxury.

Zuan Yuan Chinese Restaurant @

First Avenue
bandar utama city centre
47800 petaling jaya
selangor, malaysia

Phone +603 7681 1111
Fax +603 7681 1188
Business hours:
Monday to Friday:
Lunch 12.00 noon to 2.30 pm
Dinner 6.30 pm to 10.30 pm

Saturday, Sunday and Public Holiday:
Lunch 11.00 am to 2.30 pm
Dinner 6.30 pm to 10.30 pm

For reservations or enquiries, please call (603) 7681 1159.

Perhaps I should keep it short & simple.

Overall verdict: No re-visit for me till perhaps when there is new dishes.

*LIKE*
Chicken Pogs
Rum ice cream

*DISLIKE*
Price
Portions

Let’s keep the babi guling open for debate shall we? Since all of us never had babi guling before except for Kelvin (www.ktheblogger.com) who had babi guling in Bali prior to this & whose verdict was that the babi guling was really bad; maybe there are others out there who wants to share their experience?

So, yea.. does the babi guling in Bali look like this?
This version has tender pork cuts (the texture was alike chicken) with gravy that tasted like rendang, plain rice, bland vegetables & the only credit to be awarded was; at the very least, the sambal was ok.  RM16.90 +.

Salad, RM19+.

Tangy vinaigrette dressing with pomegranate. Nothing great & essentially it fulfilled it’s role in providing fibres for our meal.

Pork ribs: 6 ribs for RM39+ (RM42.90). Ahem..

The ribs were well marinated enough, but it’s fundamentally BBQ – sauce rub with some mild tweaks I think..

This side sauce was the bomb though. Very interesting medley of flavours, with us detecting chinese celery, onions, lemon juice and some other unidentifiable herbs/spices. I thought there was lemongrass, but I can’t say for sure.

The pork shoulders that probably did too many push-ups/chin ups. And oh, would you pay RM39+ (RM42.90) for this?

To quote Vivian, one out of our group of 8 diners, “Is this pork satay?“. I rest my case.

I shall end my Ad Hog post with something positive..

The chicken pog was the saviour of our lunch! Such irony huh?

Delicous chicken thigh stuffed with Italian sausage and wrapped with bacon! Delightful!!
The stuffing was redolent with herbs, the chicken thigh tender and the bacon wonderfully crispy. A little bowl on the side holds some funky salsa mix but seriously, the chicken pog doesn’t need any embellishments. It can certainly hold its own.
The mash could do with some butter & salt. We do appreciatetangy  side salad of young mangoes though.
Still, would you pay RM49+/ (RM53.90) for this dish?

Oh yes, there was another nice dish, the vongole. To quote the owner of the dish, Dale (@frostier) - “nothing fancy lo except the meat is tender (this is for the babi guling). Pasta rich in flavor especially black pepper & garlic with rice wine”.
I’m not sure about the rice wine part ( I would bet my dollar on white wine if there was any) but I agreed that the pasta was pretty tasty. The seafood, parsley and plenty of garlic helps to impart most of the flavour to the gravy.

Rum Ice Cream RM12+. A bit of a misnomer actually. It is rum with vanilla ice cream. Not rum ice cream per se. Still, it sweeten the experience here at Ad Hog quite a bit. ;-)

Date cake: RM12+. I shall reserve further comment.

Our bill: It was almost RM50/pax, split by 5 of us. There was another separate bill for those who came late.

The only menu they have, outside of the restaurant.

LOCATION:

GPS: N03° 09.81′ E101° 35.91′

Interior:

Open ceiling..

The tables and chairs looked as if they were scrapped together from everywhere (mismatched). I’m not sure if it’s on purpose and supposedly to add to the ambiance of the place..

So, babi guling anyone?? ;-)

Note: Babi guling is only available at lunchtime.

Ad Hog
25, Jalan PJU 3/45
Sunway Damansara
Kota Damansara, Selangor.
Tel: 019-312 1922 (Sam)
Closed on Mondays

And I came here for the burger alone as I have never remembered food at Brussels to be memorable. So one can say this was a pretty straightfoward mission; get to Brussels, get a table, get my order fired & wait to devour the burger & split out my judgement.

The other half kept himself occupied with a Leffe, while eyeing me drumming my fingers impatiently for the burger. I just couldn’t wait to satisfy my curiosity of this “moist, juiciest ever & thick porki-licious patty“, as such was the lip-smacking description communicated to me by my friend.

Then the burger arrives..& my friend was right on most accounts. Most.

For RM26 (or somewhere around there), it came justifiably priced with a slice of bacon, juicy tomatoes, cheese & an irregular but pretty decent- sized patty.

1st fault was on the bun. I never liked those airy, crumbly buns. But I do appreciate that it was smeared with pungent garlic butter, a nice change from normal spread. The patty itself was way too sodium-fied for me & I had trouble finishing it. I wonder if  burger patties “kurang masin” is ever possible??
Texture-wise, it is almost the same as the one I sampled in S’more, Bangsar South. Gummy & paste-y, which cos my ratings for this to lower substantially, as I generally prefer my patties with a chunkier meaty bite.

The best pork burger in town? Nahhh, not by my standards.

Brussels Beer Cafe
L-20-G, Block L
Jaya One
No. 72A Jalan Universiti
46200 Petaling Jaya
Selangor Darul Ehsan

Tel 03-7954 2000

The burger measures 22.9cm X 15.2cm – (9″X6″) and consisted of 11 slices of Swiss cheese together with generous slices of tomatoes, gherkins, bacon, lettuce and a 1.5kg of pork patty topped with special burger sauce tucked in a homemade bun.

10 contenders took the challenge this morning at EuroDeli, Jalan Yap Kwan Seng, KL.

Watch the video & ask yourself – Can you do it? ;-)

The Matterhorn Burger Challenge:

Time: 45mins

Prize: Free burger (price of RM88++ waived), a mystery gift & cash reward of RM100.

Rules:

Participants must sign a liability waiver form prior to entering the contest.
A complimentary polaroid photo will be given to commemorate the occasion & one will be displayed on a table near the entrance of the restaurant.
To win, The Matterhorn burger must be finished within 45 minutes. No leftover of vegetables, cheese, patty, bread or any part of the burger should remain on the plate.
If a participant fails to finish within the stipulated time, the cost of the burger at RM88++ would be charged. Any leftover of the burger cannot be shared with other diners but allowed to takeaway.

So far, only 1 person (male) was able to triumph over the Matterhorn as of today. We saw his photo & he  was actually a pretty skinny dude! But he is an ang -moh (foreigner) though.

So, who’s up for the challenge next? ;-)

For enquiries:

EURO DELI RESTAURANT 41, Jalan SS20/11, Damansara Kim, Petaling Jaya (Tel: 03-7726 7495). Business Hours: Daily, 10am-midnight.

EURO DELI RESTAURANT No.29 Jalan Yap Kwan Seng 50450 Kuala Lumpur Tel : 03-2162 6991. Business Hours: Daily, 10am-midnight.

pla dib @ The Heritage Village, Seri Kembangan is one such place. Apparently a franchise from Thailand, pla dib (meaning raw fish in Thai) does Thai fusion and does it damn well.

With the restaurant named after ‘raw fish’, I was hard pressed not to order the Salmon Labb (RM10), a ceviche wannabe dish.

Raw salmon slices doused with shoyu & lime juice, sprinkled with chilli flakes & crushed peanuts made the perfect starter. The fish was at parts raw (sections that weren’t ‘cooked’ by the lime concoction) & parts cooked slightly. Each slice was delightfully tangy, sweet, spicy and sour, a medley of flavours all on the tongue at the same instant. Hmmmm… yummy!

My choice of main was this intriguing Black Fried Rice (RM20).
It is actually Thai jasmine rice with squid ink, fried with seafood and comes with a raw egg on top. I likey!!

Pour it over the rice & mix, stir & blend it all in.

Truth to be told, you can’t taste the egg since it would have been overpowered by the condiments used to fry the rice. But this dish is seriously very tasty. Somewhat like normal fried rice but chewier in texture, more fragrant as the spices used are different & the BLACK colour just added to the novelty of it all.

Even the fried basil leaves were fragrant, crispy & sweet.

Unka ordered the Set C (RM30+) and I must say their sets are value for the moolah, specially since we ordered the duck confit!

The starter of Crispy Squid with Salt & Pepper on Mixed Salad was as crispy & lightly seasoned as it should be for us to savour the taste of the fresh seafood. The delicate dressing doused on the greens wrapped up this little salad nicely.

Duck Confit with Fettucini. Ohhhh… I really liked this dish. A drumstick (no thigh sorry ), with the texture of the duck succulent within & nice crispy edges on the outer layer.

The fettucini was lightly tossed in some sweetish savoury sauce & I was glad that the Chef took the trouble to create something different from the usual boring pasta sauce.

Certainly one of the better duck confits I have eaten! Not better than Nathalie’s but an improved version of Silver Spoon Trattoria’s in Menjalara Kepong.

Oh, the set lunch came with coffee or tea, both of which we tried (on different occasions ) & concluded that it was pretty bad as it was thin & weak.

The Thab Thim Krob (RM8) came as part the set. To avoid the Thab Thim Krob from diluting once the ice melts, pla dib serves theirs in the form of ice -shaved coconut milk so each spoonful tasted the same as the first, even if the ice has melted.

My order, the Durian Gelato (RM8) is pure frozen creamy durian, with actual durian bits in it! Pungent & sweet, I love this!

During another lunch date, we ordered from the set lunch menu again; SET B (RM23+) which comes with a 3 pcs steamed mussels with Thai Basil, Black spaghetti with wasabi mashed potato & Flamed Crispy Mango with strawberry ice cream.

The mussels were scrumptious +  fat & it came in an appetizing garlicky fragrant sauce. The black spaghetti was lightly tossed with oil (of which we hope is olive oil), the seafood fresh & bouncy & the wasabi mashed potatoes has the merest sting of the notorious horseradish yet enough to make it interestingly palatable.

His dessert came as part of his set lunch, while I got mine complimentary cos pla dib is running a promo currently where 1 main course gets a dessert free. Unfortunately, I do not get to choose, so both of us ended up with the same dessert. The mango and STRAWBERRY ice cream (seriously, choc/vanilla would have been a way better choice!), was mediocre. The mango could have been of better quality too.

I ate most of the food off his plate ;-) but for my main I had the Grilled Lemongrass Chicken with Roasted Rice (RM20).

I actually find the “roasted” rice more interesting that the chicken itself. It was shaped into a little cute triangular cube! Very chewy in texture, the outer “crust” was nicely crunchy while the insides remained pillowy soft. The smoky flavour from the grill added character to it too.

The boneless pieces of chicken though marinated with lemongrass and tumeric lacked much flavour within. Squeezing the lemon over it helps. The chicken came across as very healthy as there was little oil used & in some ways it got me thinking of “ayam percik” . ;p

pla dib Restaurant
G13 & 14, The Heritage Village
Jalan SB Dagang
43300 Seri Kembangan, Selangor
(opposite Mines Shopping Fair)
Tel: 03-89381936
Business Hours: 12.00pm to 3.00pm; 6.00pm to 10.00pm
Closed on Tuesdays.

GPS: N 03 10 25′
E 101 39 91′

A little trivia:
pla dib is located at The Heritage Village in the Seri Kembangan, across The Mines Shopping Fair. If you can find your way to The Mines, it is very easy to locate this place.
Its origins is from Bangkok.
Besides KL, pla dib has outlets in Singapore.