Gourmet Burgers @ The Daily Grind, Bangsar Village 1, Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur

Finally, a proper place to indulge in burgers in Malaysia. Since having Gourmet Burger King (GBK) in the UK, I've been looking for a place to match them.

I read about this place in some magazine. Apparently, this joint serves the best burgers in town. So when I was given the opportunity to dine here, I jumped at the chance.

The Daily Grind

The burgers served at the daily grind are made fresh daily. Each patty is 180g of pure meat. The meats are supposedly cooked when an order is placed, hence a brief waiting period for the food to come. Even the sauces served here are made in-house and are completely natural.

Tomato and Chili Sauce

Avocado and Bacon Burger

Imagine paying RM27 for such a big burger. The burger comes with beef bacon, avocado and a good dash of BBQ sauce. It looked kind of good, I didn't taste it, so I shall not comment.

Down on the Farm Burger

The patty is glazed with BBQ sauce, smoke grilled and then stacked on onion rings. The burger was alright. The burger resembles one of those kids favourite. It was RM32.

Monday Blues Burger

A generous amount of blue cheese ladled over a beef patty, served with walnuts and sweet and sour apple compote. I found this burger quite good. The blue cheese is no joke. This burger is not for those who fear cheese.

My Big Fat Greek Burger

This burger is a lamb burger served in pita bread with tzatziki and grilled eggplant, accompanied by Greek salad and fries. It is actually their burger of the month. I found it a little bland in taste. Maybe I wasn't in the mood for Greek, but oh well.

All in all, this place serves good, fresh products which is what diners want. This place would definitely make a great place for a teenager or young adult's birthday party. The food was quite good and the environment was pleasant. I would have to say that this place probably serves the best proper burger in the whole of Malaysia so far. However, I personally feel that GBK is still slightly better (I haven't had GBK for a while now, I could be wrong).


Restaurant Rating: 8/10 (Ratings are only for places in Malaysia, hence the 8)
Pricing: About RM40 per person.


*Ratings are based on ambience, service, value and food quality for the price you're paying. Opinions expressed are solely based on my personal experience


Map to The Daily Grind

Address:
LG8, Lower Ground,
Bangsar Village 1,
Jalan Telawi 1,
Bangsar Baru 59100,
Kuala Lumpur

Contact:
Telephone number: 03 2287 6708
Fax : 03 2287 6707
Website: http://www.thedailygrind.com.my/

Opening hours:
11am-11pm daily

Read more...

Hakka Mee @ Kedai Makanan Tow Kee (Tow Kee Hakka Mee Shop), Seremban, Negeri Sembilan

Since I had to go down to Seremban once more, I thought of going for the famous beef noodles in the market. Once again, the place was closed. Darn! I have make a note down somewhere that the place is closed on Tuesdays. Anyway, since shit happened, might as well make the best out of the situation and head on down to Seremban's 'best' Hakka Mee place.

Tow Kee Hakka Mee Shop

Tow Kee was recommended to me by the star food guide book. I decided to give it a try since its the only hakka mee place in the book. Parking can be a pain as this restaurant is along the main road. Oh well, the things I do for food.

The current owner of the restaurant inherited the business from his father. His father has been using a recipe brought from China to create his noodles. The noodles are boiled in water, then garnished with some minced pork and lard fritters. The combination of soy sauce, garlic and spring onions give that nice flavour to the noodles.

The Homemade Egg Noodles

Hakka Noodles

A bowl of noodle goes for RM3.70 (regular). Compared to KL, this is definitely a deal man. The noodles had that nice bite. I found this noodles rather refreshing. The flavours were not too strong. The regular portion was enough to fill me up.

All in all, this place is the only hakka noodle place I've tasted in Seremban. I am not in the position to say if whether it is the best in Seremban, but it certainly is one of the best I've tasted. It sure tasted better than Famous Seremban Favourites in Aman Suria.


Restaurant Rating: 7/10
Pricing: Under RM5 per person.

*Ratings are based on ambience, service, value and food quality for the price you're paying. Opinions expressed are solely based on my personal experience


Map to Kedai Makanan Tow Kee (Tow Kee Hakka Mee Shop)

Address:
94, Jalan Kapitan Tam Yeong,
Seremban,
Negeri Sembilan

Contact:
Telephone number: 016 340 9393

Opening hours:
12-5pm. Days off not fixed

Read more...

Senses, Hilton Kuala Lumpur

Senses is probably the only restaurant in Kuala Lumpur serving modern Australian Cuisine. As the name goes, this place is bound to excite your senses.

According to KL-Studio.com:

Chef Michael is the Chef de Cuisine of Senses restaurant and responsible for the award-winning Senses Restaurant. His masterful creations in the kitchen amuse his guests - and their palates. Guided by Master Chef Cheong Liew, Chef Michael represents the rising stars of Modern Australian Cuisine where customers can expect exciting flavours and creative approaches to dining.

Senses

Senses is one of those top end fine dining places that place lots of emphasis on the quality of your food. Every dish in the menu has a recommended accompanying wine to go with it. From appetizer to main course, everything is bound to be something special.

We were served some bread to begin with. At senses, the butter accompanying the bread is from France. French butter tend to taste superior compared to butter anywhere else from the world. It was so creamy and smooth that it almost resembled cheese. The texture was just wonderful.

French Butter

We shared 2 appetizers to start of our meal.

Zucchini Flower

The zucchini flower (RM78)was a rather unique dish. Instead of serving the usual zucchini, this dish revolved around its flower and a small portion of its stalk. I found it to be quite pleasant to the palate. The crispy zucchini flowers were stuffed with scallops and served with organic green tomato jam in a bed of rocket salad.

Queensland Spanner Crab Souffle

The crab souffle (RM68) was way too creamy for my liking. I got 'jelak' or sick of the taste after 2 bites. I was rather disappointed with this dish.

Note: My brother claims they serve a very good seafood soup here. I have previously tasted their Hokkaido scallops and I must say, it was rather good.

For the main,

Red Roasted Cod

This dish was served with snow pea vine shoots, green chili and coriander sauce. This roasted cod fish (RM88) has got to be one of the best cod fish I've ever tasted in Malaysia. This dish is chef Cheong Liew's specialty. After sinking my teeth into it, I was rewarded with remarkable flavour of fish marinated in soy sauce and other Chinese spices. This has got to be one of the best tasting dish in the restaurant. I highly recommend it.

King Salmon

This New Zealand wild king salmon (RM88) was cooked in a cream-like sauce which was a little too bland for my liking. The cod fared superior to this plate of fish.

Lamb Striploin

Farmed in Western Australia, this dish (RM128) was cooked quite neatly. The meat was medium, as requested. It wasn't tough, was well marinated, and went well with the wine. The wine smelt funny but tasted quite good.

Rabbit

Yes, I know. I'm mean for eating someone else's pet. This farmed rabbit was gently cooked with french butter and herbs, placed on a bed of fettuccine pasta cooked with light cream sauce scented with mustard and tarragon. This dish (RM78) wasn't very good. Taste-wise, I was rather disappointed with it

Note: For those of you who haven't tasted rabbit meat, it taste somewhat like chicken. I don't know why everything (frog etc.) seem to taste like chicken.

As for dessert,

Manjari Emulsion

Considered the Rolls-Royce of chocolate, this smooth Manjari chocolate is made into an emulsion consisting of 30% chocolate and 70% Evian water. It is served with chocolate soil, Murray River pink salt caramel and pure cocoa oil. I have been longing for this dish (RM36) since the last time I came here. Take a little bit of everything, and swirl them together in your spoon and put it into your mouth. Just describing it makes me wanna eat it again. If my memory served me right, it used to be priced at RM50 a couple of years ago.

Senses Black Forrest

Specially created by chef Cheong Liew, this cake (RM36) consist of 7 layers. From bottomwards up, nuts, chocolate brownie, apricot jam, mud pie, cherry, white chocolate, cake and fruits. The cake certainly didn't match up to the description. The alcohol taste was rather too strong, and the many layers produced a too complicated flavour in the mouth. I don't know, some people might actually like it, but I didn't really enjoy it.

Souffle

This Grand Marnier Souffle (RM36) required a 25 minutes preparation time. According to the waiter, the 25 minutes was to allow the chef to rebake another souffle if it somehow broke on the first try. It was alright.

The last time I was here a few years ago, I was treated to 6 of Senses desserts that are no longer in the menu anymore. Dang it, I used to have this fond memory that the desserts served at Senses were very very good. Compared to my visit 2 years ago, the desserts have reduced in price but the main has gone up quite a bit.

All in all, Senses is a restaurant serving rather good food. However, it pays not to be too adventurous in such restaurants. Go with the seafood soup, a steak or the cod and the Manjari Emulsion. You definitely can't go wrong with that. Anything else and something unexpected might turn up.

Dress Code: Smart

Restaurant Rating: 8/10
Pricing: About RM200 per person.

Service: 8.5/10
Quality: 8.5/10
Ambience: 7.5/10

*Ratings are based on ambience, service, value and food quality for the price you're paying. Opinions expressed are solely based on my personal experience


Map to Senses

Address:
Senses Restaurant,
Hilton Kuala Lumpur,
3 Jalan Stesen Central,
50470 Kuala Lumpur.

Contact:
Telephone number: 03 2264 2592 / 03 2264 2596
Website: http://www.kl-studio.com/senses.html

Opening hours:
Monday-Friday: 12:00 PM - 10:30 PM
Saturday: 7PM-10.30PM
Closed on Sundays

Read more...

Wanton Mee @ Restoran Jaya Noodle House 富门面家, Jaya One, Petaling Jaya

I've been hanging on to these pictures for quite a long time now. So, I better get it over with before I even forget about them.

Jaya Noodle House has been in the business of serving Wan Ton Mee for a good 35 years now. Founded by Lai Kok Choy in the old Jaya Supermarket (the big blue building that has been demolished) Section 14, it is well known to dish out one of the better wan ton noodles in town.

Jaya Noodle House

As it is situated in Jaya One, parking is ample. One could also resort to parking illegally by the side of the road to minimize walking distance.

We ordered noodles for each of us, and a couple of sides to share.

Crispy Fried Dumplings

The fried sui kow was priced at RM9 for 6 pieces. It tasted fairly well. Nothing extraordinary but it certainly didn't taste bad.

Dumpling Soup

The Sui Kow was tasted exactly like its fried counterpart, 'not bad' but nothing extraordinary. It was priced at RM7.20 (no idea why is it cheaper than the fried version).

Pan Fried Radish Cake

This 'lo pak gou' (Radish Cake) wasn't really impressive. The taste wasn't that great. I wouldn't recommend this. It was RM6 a plate.

Wantan Char Siew Noodles (kon loh)

Priced at RM8.30 a plate, it is relatively more expensive than the wanton noodles at a coffee shop. However, the portion was quite big. The noodles had a nice bite to it. The char siew wasn't too burnt. No wonder this place is famous for their wantan noodles.

Wantan Char Siew Noodles (Soup)

This is exactly the same as the noodles above, except that it is served in soup. This is where one's preference comes in to determine which version of the noodles is preferred.

Winter Melon and Luo Han Guo

The price of this dessert was RM4.80. This dessert is a straight path to diabetes. It was overwhelmingly sweet. I remember myself wondering if the cook had accidentally chucked the whole bag of rock sugar in.

All in all, the Sui Kow was not bad, the noodles were quite good, the rest were errrrrrr. I've tried their curry noodles before, it was okay. Nothing really great.

This place would make a good stop for a lunch of wanton mee. I wouldn't recommend you trying anything else. Cheers.


Restaurant Rating: 7/10
Pricing: Under RM15 per person


*Ratings are based on ambience, service, value and food quality for the price you're paying. Opinions expressed are solely based on my personal experience


Map to Restaurant Jaya Noodle House 富门面家

Address:
Lot 35-LG2, Block C,
Jaya One, 72A Jalan Universiti,
46200 Petaling Jaya,
Selangor.

Contact:
Telephone number: 03 7954 2639
Email: jayanoodlehouse@hotmail.com

Opening hours:
10am-10pm daily

Read more...

Sotong Bee Hoon @ Hiong Kee Mee Hoon Sotong, Pasar Besar Seremban

Due to our community medicine project, I had to travel down to Mantin. Since we were already in Negeri Sembilan, I thought, why not stop by the Seremban wet market for their famous beef noodles.

Alas, the beef noodle stall was closed. This is what I seriously hate about 'days off not fixed'. Anyway, we decided to try the other recommendation, the famous Sotong BeeHoon at Hiong Kee.

The owner of Hiong Kee, starts work at 3am. He has to source his ingredients and start preparing his stock. He told me that he has been selling this dish for over 15 years. Hence, he managed to build a reputation for himself as the best Sotong Bee Hoon stall in the Seremban Market (there are many stalls in Seremban market that offer sotong beehoon).

Hiong Kee, Mee Hoon Sotong

Food in Seremban is relatively cheap compared to KL. A bowl of this noodles only goes for RM3.30.

According to the owner of Hiong Kee (I didn't get his name), the beehoon is lightly fried and topped with gravy. The noodles come with slices of pork, sotong and some greens. This is a very popular breakfast item here.

Sotong Bee Hoon

The noodles tasted quite alright. The sotong (squid) has a nice crunchy bite to it. It didn't have that strong squid smell to it. The chili went quite well with this dish. Hailing from KL, I found this dish rather unique.

According to the owner, a lot of KL foodie wouldn't mind the long drive to Seremban just to ta pao (take away) a few packets of sotong bee hoon and beef noodles from the Seremban Market.

I personally would not travel down to Seremban for this. However, if somehow find myself in Seremban for whatever reason, I certainly wouldn't mind stopping by here for a quick bite.

Restaurant Rating: 7/10
Pricing: Under RM5


*Ratings are based on ambience, service, value and food quality for the price you're paying. Opinions expressed are solely based on my personal experience


Map to Hioong Kee, Mee Hoon Sotong

Address:
Stall 753, Pasar Besar Seremban,
Jalan Pasar,
Seremban,
Malaysia.

Contact:
Telephone Number: 016 910 7357

Opening hours:
7.30am-2.30pm (or until runs out)
Closed on Tuesdays
Days off not fixed.

Read more...

Sang Har Mein & Salted Egg Crabs @ Restaurant Green View, off Rothman's Roundabout, near SS2, Petaling Jaya,

My schedule has been pretty hectic last week. Sorry about my long absence.

Restoran Greenview is situated a click away from rothman's roundabout. This place has been serving up good seafood for quite a long time.

Restoran Greenview

I was suppose to decide where to bring this VIP from Sabah for lunch. As he was quite a bit fan of Fresh Water Prawn noodles, I was contemplating bringing him to Soo Kee @ Jalan Imbi. However, I felt that Soo Kee was a little too far from Subang Jaya.

Parking could be a slight issue at Greenview. Some slight walking before and after dinner would do your stomach good anyway.

Crabs served at Greenview are from Indonesia. This would be a relief for people who believe that Sri Lankan crab grow up eating human corpse from the tsunami. The crabs are priced from RM60-RM100 per kg. The higher the price tag, the larger the crab.

Note: My personal opinion is that the RM60 per kg suffice, as the size difference from the RM70 and RM80 per kg is quite negligible. Even the RM60 per kg crabs are humongous compare to most places.

Crabs as Display

I use to have this paranoia since getting cheated for crabs quite some time back. Thankfully, Greenview weights the crab in front of you, to avoid dispute when paying the bill. Hence, whenever people tell me that greenview 'tok' or cheats people for their seafood, I have to disagree with them. They are in fact one of the more honest places serving crabs.

I ordered a plate of Fresh Water Prawn noodles (Sang Har Mein), their specialty bean curd (tofu), marmite pork ribs, 1 1/2 kg of salted egg crabs and their Singapore noodles to share among the 4 of us.

Fresh Water Prawn noodles

This noodles is priced on the weight of the prawns ordered. The prawns are RM150 per kg. The prawns were pretty small that day as it was 1 week into Chinese New Year and they had a shortage of supply. The plate of noodles above was RM86. We had a total of 4 prawns.

Although a little pricey for smaller prawns, the noodles didn't disappoint. I still find this to be one of the best Sang Har Mein in town (Soo Kee and a few other places in KL could give them a run for their money). The noodles were crispy, and when soaked with that flavourful sauce, it just makes me want to go on eating this and nothing else until I'm full.

Tofu and tau kan

This is their specialty tofu. It was alright. It was priced at RM10.

Marmite Pork Ribs

This pork ribs were actually not bad. But when there is so many good dishes about, I guess it didn't really shine up. I was keeping my stomach for the crabs. This dish was priced at RM16.

Salted Egg Indonesia Crab (Ham Dan Hai)

This crabs were priced at RM60 per kg. This dish was RM90. This dish is also undeniably the best salted egg crab I have tasted till date. The crabs were generously coated with salted egg and the meat came off easily and tasted good. The salted egg mixture didn't taste of sugar and did not contain much of that overwhelming panda extract flavour found at Lala Chong. Restoran King Crab, South Sea and Lala Chong can't even come close to this (this one place in Cheras might actually be off similar standard to this place).

Singapore Meehoon

The noodles were reasonable. The noodles were ordered just to fill up the stomach (Chinese people like to end the meal with some carbs).

All in all, I have to say Restoran Green View is one of the better seafood places to eat in. I have never been disappointed with the crabs served here (some places are inconsistent). The suckling pig RM140 (per piglet) is also not bad.

The meal came up to RM250. However, I was quite happy with it and would certainly recommend this place to others. I will definitely be back for more.

Note: I have this feeling that my English sounds a bit constipated today. So, please overlook anything stupid I write.


Restaurant Rating: 8.5/10
Pricing: RM50 per person (depending on what seafood is ordered)


*Ratings are based on ambience, service, value and food quality for the price you're paying. Opinions expressed are solely based on my personal experience


Map to Restoran Greenview

Address:
6 & 8, Jalan 19/3,
46300 Petaling Jaya,
Selangor Darul Ehsan,
Malaysia.

Contact:
Telephone number: 03 7958 1076 / 03 7954 9263

Opening hours:
11am-11pm daily

Read more...

Dinner at Jake's, Charbroil Steaks, Damansara Heights, Kuala Lumpur

The last time I went to Jakes about 2 years ago, I found the food to be crappy and the service lousy. I thought to myself, this place cannot be getting positive reviews, one after another if they're serving rubbish to their customers. After all, Jake's is well known to serve one of the best steaks in town.

Anyway, I decided to give this place another try. Maybe 'shit happened' the last time I was here. Parking is really a hassle. Try to be patient or pray you're super lucky.

Restaurant Jake's Charbroil Steak

This time round, we were seated upstairs. Jake's has this rustic American Midwest sort of setting, which makes it a great place for bringing the family or even a date.

For appetizers, I heard that the Crispy Potato Skin (with crunchy vegetables, smoked beef & cheese) is remarkable. However, as I am a big fan of nachos, I chose to go for the Beef Nachos RM22.90.

Beef Nachos

The nachos was one of those special dishes that were only served on weekends. However, it wasn't very good. Some of the nachos were soggy, the sauce wasn't anything special, the cheese was alright. All in all, it resembles one of those prepacked nachos that could be purchased at almost all cinemas in the UK.

I thought to myself, they can't be that bad. I'll be more than willing to let them off the hook if they dished out a good steak for me.

For steaks, they usually come in 4 cuts; the rib-eye, T-bone, tenderloin and sirloin. Their choice of beef ranges from Australian Wagyu to Australian grain fed cow and New Zealand beef. This time round, they were having a special menu of beef from the US. I went for the Black Angus Rib-eye RM88.

Note: most of Jake's meat are served with some potato, corn and vegetables. Mustard is also served along with every meat.

Black Angus Rib-eye

Jake's is one of those places that serves up good, 'honest' meat. Honest as in meat cooked with minimal marinate. I rather have my steak cooked in this manner rather than dishing all sorts of sauces into it. Sauces just end up distorting the flavour of the beef.

This Rib-eye hit the marked right on. The beef was cooked to medium-rare, nothing more nothing less, which was what I requested. The beef was succulent and quite tender. For the price I was paying, I was quite delighted with my meat. Looks like they managed to redeem themselves after all.

Rack of Lamb cooked in Mint Bernaise Sauce

The lamb was asked to be made well done. I rather have it medium. Although I ended up eating half of it, it wasn't dish after all. The marinate wasn't strong, the meat was slightly tough due to it made well done, but overall, I must say it was quite good. The lamb was priced at RM48.90.

As for dessert, I wanted to go for the Country-style Hot Apple Pie. However, I was quite bloated from the steak and half a rack of lamb. I guess this will have to wait for my next visit.

Jake's managed to change my lousy opinion towards them. The last time I was here, we came in a crowd of 12, maybe that was the reason why they couldn't cope with our orders. Think about it, placing 12 main courses on the table simultaneously is a little difficult. Another reason could be Jake's improved tremendously.

Anyway, I was satisfied with my meal. If considered meat for meat, Jake's might be able to match up to Prime (le meridien). I certainly would want to come back again.


Restaurant Rating: 8/10 (maybe 8.5 if the nachos wasn't a disaster)
Pricing: RM70-100 per person


*Ratings are based on ambience, service, value and food quality for the price you're paying. Opinions expressed are solely based on my personal experience


Map to Restoran Jake's, Charbroil Steaks

Address:
21, Jalan Setiapuspa,
Medan Damansara,
50490 Kuala Lumpur.

Contact:
Telephone number: 03 2094 5677
Fax number: 03 2092 2894
Website: www.jakes.com.my

Opening hours:
Mon-Sat: 12.00 PM - 3.00 PM (Lunch), 6.00 PM - 11.00 PM (Dinner)
Sun: 6.30 PM - 10.15 PM (Dinner Only)


Jakes also has another branch in Starhill gallery:

Address:
STARHILL SHOPPING CENTRE
LG11 Lower Ground Floor,
Feast Floor,
181 Jalan Bukit Bintang,
55100 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03-2148 1398, Fax: 03-2148 2398

Opening Hours

Mon-Sun: 12.00 PM 1.00 AM

Read more...

The Various Cuts and Grade of Steak

A good slab of beef, is determined by its grade and also its cut. As can be seen in most hypermarket/supermarket, people tend to go for Australian beef. Why is that so? The most common answer would be because the meat is of higher quality and more tender. There is some truth in this statement. Yes, the meat might be of better quality and texture, but how do we determine that? That is when grading and cuts come in.

Grading for beef is usually set by third party organizations like the USDA. There is also the Japanese grading where the beef is graded based on beef marbling (as in fat to meat ratio), beef colour/brightness, beef firmness and texture, beef fat colour and luster. The overall meat grading is the average of a score of 5 for each of the individual categories above.

Cuts for the beef varies as well. The best and most expensive part of the cow is the Filet Mignon. The Filet Mignon is actually the smallest part of the tenderloin, which is the least exercised, hence that soft, tender texture. The Filet Mignon is actually taken from the psoas major, for people who know anatomy.

The more popular cuts for steak would be the T-bone, tenderloin, rib eye and sirloin. There cuts can usually be found in all butchers and restaurants serving steak.

T-bone - A cut from the tenderloin and strip lion connected by a T-shaped bone, hence the name.

Tenderloin (known as eye fillet in New Zealand and Australia) - A cut from the loin of the cow. It is the most tender part of the cow. However, some people complain that the tenderloin lack flavour. Filet Mignon is the most tender part of the tenderloin.

Sirloin - A cut from the hip of the cow. Some people regard the sirloin as having just the right amount of flavour and texture.

Rib-eye - A cut from the primal rib of the cow. Not as pricey as the tenderloin, neither is it as tender.


As for marbling score, which is the most common grading known for beef, I'll just explain through this picture. After all, a picture holds a thousand words.

This is the Beef Marbling Score. Each number represent the marbling score of the beef.

Beef Marbling Score

This picture was taken and edited from the article Japanese Meat Grading, by J.R. Bushboom and J.J Reeves, Washington State University.

As for the famed termed Kobe beef and Wagyu beef, I shall elaborate below.

Kobe beef - Beef from the Black Ushi breed of Wagyu. It has a very strict criteria to be qualified under this category. The cow has to be of:

-Tajime borned in the Hyoga Prefecture
-Fed by a farm in the Hyoga Prefecture
-Bullock or virgin cow
-Processed at a slaughter house in Kobe, Nishinomiya, Sanda, Kakogawa and Himeji. All located in the Hyoga Prefecture.
-Marbling ratio (BMS score) 6 or above
-Meat quality score 4 or 5
-Gross weight of cow is 470kg or below

The cow is fed a beer a day, massaged with sake daily, and brushed for setting the fur and fed on grain fodder. The above criteria are the Original KOBE Beef.


Wagyu beef on the other hand, is as stated below.


Wagyu beef - A species of cow genetically predisposed to intense marbling to produce a high percentage of oleaginous unsaturated fat. Contrary to most people's understanding, Wagyu only means the cow is of Wagyu breed. In other words, Wagyu beef could be of marble score 1, received a score of 1 on the Japanese beef scale and yet be considered wagyu beef.

However, wagyu beef could also be 'kobe-like beef', grew up outside Japan, fed beer and massaged just like the Japanese's Kobe beef, and yet be listed under the same category. So, always enquire on the MARBLE SCORE of the beef before ordering Wagyu beef in any restaurant.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my brief article on beef. Have a good day.



Citations:
1. Wikipedia
2. http://www.nikuya.ca

Read more...

A good meal of Yong Tau Foo @ Puchong Yong Tau Foo, Kampung Baru Puchong, Puchong

A week before Chinese New Year, I was supposed to meet Megan and Tammy for lunch. Tammy is one of my regular food finding 'kaki'. Megan on the other hand, was somehow persuaded to come along.

Anyway, armed with my iphone as GPS, we headed over to Puchong Yong Tau Foo. The route was pretty straight forward. For people coming from Subang Jaya, I would advise you guys to take the USJ backway as its much nearer.

This Yong Tau Foo / Yong Tau Fu joint is situated right opposite SK Puchong Batu 14 school. Accessibility could be a problem during school hours. However, as we went for lunch at around 2pm, the road was clear and parking was a breeze.

Puchong Yong Tau Foo

At Puchong Yong Tau Foo, the vegetables and other ingredients (foo chok, tofu, tofu puff, tao kee) are neatly arranged on a table by the stoves. Diners would have to pick what they fancied from the baskets and hand them over to the kitchen staff who will stuff them generously with fish paste made from Spanish mackerel and chuck them into a hot wok to fry them until crispy. One can pick from a vast selection of brinjals (egg plant), red chillies, ladies fingers (okra), bitter gourd and the various sorts of bean curd to be stuffed with that nice fish paste. Each piece of Yong Tau Foo is priced at RM1.

Chilli Sauce

This sauce goes extremely well with the Yong Tau Foo. The sauce wasn't spicy at all. I figured it was made up of some chilli, sweet sauce and bits of garlic. Dipping the stuffed vegetables into it sure did justice to the food.

Vegetables served in Ikan Bilis Stock

The vegetables are generously stuffed with fish paste and then served in a bowl of soup made up of ikan bilis stock and 'sayur manis'. The soup was light and the fish balls had that nice bite to it.

Deep fried Yong Tau Foo

The deep fried items arrived straight from the wok, hence the extra crispy texture. The foo chok in particular had that nice crisp and 'cracking' sound when bitten into. Just describing it makes me want to eat it again. I liked the stuffed brinjals as well.

Paper wrapped chicken (chee pow kai)

The chicken was okay. It wasn't really anything special. If my memory served me right, it was priced at RM3 a piece. The chicken was quite small in size though. However, it sure did made a change of flavour to the palate after consuming so many pieces of Yong Tau Foo.

All in all, it was a good meal. This Yong Tau Foo outlet certainly beat the Yong Tau Foo I had in Ampang (one of the 2 famous outlet). I certainly wouldn't mind traveling all the way here again for the Yong Tau Foo.


Restaurant Rating: 8/10 (a fair score would be between 8 and 8.5)
Pricing: About RM12 per person


*Ratings are based on ambience, service, value and food quality for the price you're paying. Opinions expressed are solely based on my personal experience


Map to Restoran Puchong Yong Tau Foo

Address:
Puchong Yong Tau Foo,
Batu 14, Jalan Besar,
Kampung Baru Puchong.

Contact:
Telephone number: 019 678 8188

Opening hours:
11am until 9.30pm daily.
Closed on Mondays (takes one week off for Chinese New Year)

Read more...

Branch @ Restaurant Bak Kut Teh Mo Sang Kor 毛山稿肉骨茶@ Pandamaran, Port Klang

The week before Chinese New Year, my 'heng tai' Kurau King invited us down to Klang to yum cha and collect something he pre-ordered for us. He is one of those true locals of Klang. He grew up in Port Klang. Hence, he knows the good food places around Port Klang.

Anyway, this time round, he brought us to the all famous Mo Sang Kor Bak Kut Teh 毛山稿肉骨茶 in Pandamaran, Klang.

Restaurant Mo Sang Kor Bak Kut Teh 毛山稿肉骨茶

This place resembles some small shack that isn't that well kept. The tables are those unstable plastic tables found in 'real' hawker stalls. Anyway, we ordered a combination of some fatty meat and lean meat to share among us. The bak kut teh at this place comes in individual bowls.

A bowl of fat meat and skin

I am personally not a fan of fat. Hence I opted for the lean meat. The others kept going on about 'I'm not eating it if there's no fat in it'. Oh well, hopefully they don't end up contributing to the income of doctors in the near future.

A bowl of lean meat

This was my bowl of bak kut teh. I have to say, although limited in soup quantity, that small bowl tasted extraordinarily good. The soup was thick and had that nice meaty and herb flavour. Some people prefer the more liquid type of bak kut teh. I personally don't mind either. As it was lean meat, the meat didn't have that soft melt in your mouth texture. However, the soup was good enough to send me asking for me.

Unfortunately, bak kut teh restaurants in Klang have this tendency to NOT GIVE OUT MORE SOUP! In some places, you might even end up getting scolded for asking for more soup. Thus, we were playing the 'who dares to ask for more soup' game. Eventually, KK volunteered. Thankfully he didn't get scolded. However, he received the cold treatment with a slight nod. Alas, the soup never did make it to our table. They were determine not to give out any extra soup, and we were too afraid to ask again (alright, they weren't as scary as I portrayed them to me, but one wouldn't get any extra soup at this place).

After stuffing ourselves with one of the best bak kut teh I know of, we sat down to 'yum cha' for a bit. I somehow took this picture of KK pouring tea.

Gimme some tea

The bak kut teh was priced at RM7 per bowl (doesn't matter what cut of meat is required). I find the price very reasonable. One could also buy the prepacked herbs at Mo Sang Kor.

Although distance is a restrain, I would certainly come back to this place in the future. Special thanks to KK for paying for the meal AGAIN! I will have to treat him one day.


Restaurant Rating: 8/10 (I woud have considered giving them 8.5 if they had given me more soup)
Pricing: About RM10 per person


*Ratings are based on ambience, service, value and food quality for the price you're paying. Opinions expressed are solely based on my personal experience


Map to Restoran Bak Kut Teh Mo Sang Kor 毛山稿肉骨茶

Address:
Restoran Bak Kut Teh Mo Sang Kor 毛山稿肉骨茶,
145, Jalan Chan Ah Choo,
42000 PandamaranPort Klang,
Selangor Darul Ehsan.

Contact:
Telephone number: 012 312 3125 / 012 904 2421 / 012 264 8558

Opening hours:
6am until the bak kut teh runs out (about 12pm)
5pm until the bak kut teh runs out (about 9pm)
Off days are on the 1st and 15th day of the Chinese Lunar Calender


Restaurant Mo Sang Kor has 2 more branches in Klang. I shall list their address below. Enjoy.

Lot 2982, Persiaran Raja Muda Musa,
41100 Klang,
Selangor Darul Ehsan
Tel: 016 619 8310

41, Lebuh Bangau,
Taman Berkeley,
41150 Klang,
selangor Darul Ehsan.
Tel: 019 272 7728

Read more...