Claypot Curry Fish Head @ Medan Selera Great Wall, Desa Aman Puri, Sri Damansara

This is a continuation from my Melaka trip last time...

I finally arrived in Sri Damansara at 7++pm after a long journey drive back from Melaka (it's actually a continuation from Cendol Bukit Cina). Dinner time and my stomach started to drum again... "Hmmm, I'm not very familar with Aman Puri" I thought to myself. Don't feel like having a decent dinner at restaurant, as I have another appointment in another hour time in PJ area... so a quick meal should be sufficient. Suddenly a light bulb flashed above my head... I remembered watching Ho Chak introduced a curry fish head stall in a hawker centre. In fact, Jenn and I had tried to come here once but it didn't open for business that day.

This hawker centre is located along the busy road and therefore it is not that difficult to locate. To those who are familiar with this area should be able to find this place easily. If you know where the famous Tak Fook Seafood Restaurant and Old Town Kopitiam are... you will see it. All the stalls are lined up along the road and tables + chairs were placed by road side. If the weather is good, please find a table which is not covered, as it can be quite stuffy if you are seated in covered seats.

I could spot the curry fish head stall somewhere in the middle of the hawker centre immediately. And I ordered for a medium size claypot curry fish head.

Look out!! The dish was served piping hot and you could see the curry gravy still boiling in it! It smelled so good that I couldn't contain my appetite anymore.

The gravy was fragrant and creamy with taufu pok, lady's finger, long bean, brinjal and of course fish head in it... oh yes! And it was a little bit sour & great to go with rice too :) However do not expect to find a lot of fish head inside ok??? It was barely enough the two of us.

Leo's verdict - I almost could not control myself to order another bowl of rice but considering my expanding waistline, I didn't ask for it in the end. Costing only RM15 including 2 bowls of rice, I could say that the dinner was cheap and worthwhile!

Love at First Bite

I could still remember our first time...

It was my first time introduced to you under the very old shack...

You looked so beautiful and tender...

I never thought that I could fall in love so easily...

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a Girl??? Lol... No! It was this legendary Hakka Paikut from Klang. I had forgotten about this place completely, as I'd only come here once about 7 years ago. But then I have not forgotten how great the paikut tasted... and then Jenn bought a food guide! Wah lah... I knew that I'd gotta lay my hands on this delectable dish once again! Coming here or planning to come here isn't easy, as Klang is rather far from PJ and most importantly the traffic in Klang can be chaotic (especially they are upgrading the roads in the city centre) which has been going on for a few years already.

My opportunity came when I had to meet a potential client in Klang. Together with Sean (not eatdrinkKL's Sean but my ex-college mate), I just key-in the street name and then followed the instruction shown by my trusty buddy, Garmin! Somehow I overshot (is this even the correct way to describe?) the lorong and ended up circling the area one more time. Luckily the traffic was good that day.

It was a story from rags to riches! The owner was doing so well that he bought up a corner shoplot and shifted his business here (his old shack was only nearby but demolished for future development). It was lunch time but the restaurant had not packed to the brim.

The menu showed the owner and his wife together with their famous creation... hakka paikut of course!

We settled with several dishes which were enough for two... starting with Hakka meatball at RM1 each! I had not tried this before but the meatball was great! The meat was stuffed with spices and deep fried to perfection. Crunchy on the outside, tender on the inside!

HIGHLIGHT of the day!! And the moment that I'd been waiting for! Pai Kut Wong @ RM8! The portion was enough for 2 person... if you are feeling greedy, there's always RM10 and RM20 version of this dish! The meat was marinated well... very tender and sweet! Definitely a masterpiece!

Water Spinach @ RM3 - tell me! Can you find a RM3 dish anywhere in Klang Valley anymore??? The amount given was generous too!

Asam fish @ RM6 - they also served smaller asam fish for RM5. But for extra RM1, they gave you a bigger fish... why not? Not the best asam fish in town but good enough. The gravy was sour and slightly spicy...

Barley in a bottle - something cool for the hot weather outside!

Leo's verdict - Both the owners were very friendly! Service was quite fast and price-wise, I'd say that it was worth every penny paid! The bill came at RM21.50 for the 4 dishes, 2 rice and a bottle of barley. For an area which is so famous for bah kut teh and seafood, one would not expect to find a restaurant serving Hakka dishes in Klang. Further more, this is a predominantly Hokkien area! Words can't describe on how good the paikut wong is... you just have to come here at least once to try it. Probably the best paikut wong in Klang Valley, as I have yet to find a better one to compare. Apart from that, I heard that their claypot mutton curry is good too! Also their vinegar pig feet and other Hakka dishes.

Drive, take bus, train or whatever mode of transport... get your a@@ here!

The place: Restoran Peng Heong Hakka Paikut @ Lorong Gudang Nanas, Off Jalan Pasar, Klang

Morning Stroll at Petaling Street KL

*Driving out of an apartment somewhere in Jalan Kuching... looking at my watch*
"S**t!! It's only 10.30pm" I thought to myself. Arriving in KL early in the morning, I had just finished my first chore of the day. Since my next appointment was 12pm in Taman Seputih and therefore I had to hang out somewhere nearby. Driving into Jalan Kinabalu, I called Jenn "Hey dear! I've finished my chore in Sri Putramas. It's still early and I have nowhere to go."

Jenn: Where are you now?
Leo: somewhere near Si Cheong Gai lo...
Jenn: Then why don't you make a stop in Si Cheong Gai??

Eh! How come I have not thought of that before? I remembered going to this area quite frequently in the past, more than 7 or 8 years ago when Jenn was still studying in ATC. We were only friends back then. I even worked in this area for a few weeks before shifting to Taman Kenanga. This place need to introduction, as it's commonly known as KL's Chinatown or fondly as Petaling Street to most people.

Luck was on my side, as I found a parking spot once I turned in from Jalan Kinabalu. After parking my car, I called Jenn again. Walking along Jalan Petaling, most stalls had not opened for business yet.

Leo: Harlo! Got anything nice to intro or not? Since you studied here last time...
Jenn: Hmmm... wanna try asam laksa?? There is one which I think quite nice... do you know where Plaza Petaling is?
Leo: Wah lao eh.. how am I supposed to know?? I hardly come here leh..

At this point, a guy who seemed to be working in this area pointed out the building to me... I realised that I was talking a bit loud.. lol!!! I smiled and then gestured to him saying thank you very much. I was actually standing in front of the building itself without realising it. And I saw this Chinatown Food Paradise. "Sounds like those touristy restaurant than those local ones" I thought. The entrance looked like tiger's mouth waiting for its prey to enter.. lol!!!

Anyway, I searched for asam laksa stall and managed to locate it after a short while. Since I had breakfast earlier.. a small bowl of asam laksa was considered enough. It tasted pretty decent... slightly spicy and sourish broth with generous amount of ingredients - cucumber, pineapple, onion, mint leaves and fish. The thick rice noodle was soft and springy... but be careful as I chewed on some fish bones while gulping down the laksa. Price-wise was OK at RM4.50.

I need something to cool down the asam laksa. Walking out of the building, I head towards the busy intersection of Jalan Petaling and Jalan Hang Lekir. My destination?? This particular Air Mata Kucing stall... about all people who come here often will know about this famous stall. The two brothers were so successful that they were able to buy new houses and cars after a few years of operation... sadly though, they were investigated by IRA and later charged with a lot of penalty allegedly for avoiding tax.

Ah!! Nothing beats a cool refreshing drink for only RM1.20!

Alas! It's almost time for my appointment. Walking back towards my car, I noticed this... Washington Cake House tucked inside an old-style kopitiam at the intersection of Jalan Sultan and Jalan Petaling. A lot of elders were seen sitting inside the kopitiam chatting while sipping a cup of tea/coffee. Quite a lot of people actually stopped by to buy some of the pastries. Upon closer look, a lot of newspaper cuttings were shown at the stall showing the boss with his famous creation, sponge rusks!

All the sponge rusks were lined up in front of the stall... costing RM13, I couldn't resist to buy one for myself. The sponge rusks are delicious to be dipped into coffee or tea, or else very crunchy to eat by itself.

That basically summed up my 1 hour excursion in Si Cheong Gai... there are a lot of famous stalls in this area such as Seng Kee claypot lou see fun, hokkien mee, Portugese grilled dish, porridge... that I wanted to come and try. It has been a very long time since I spent some time exploring the food here. what I am going to do now is to gather a few fellow bloggers and then embark on eating spree soon... lol! I have already a few in mind!!!

Rendezvous to a marketplace???

One particular Wednesday...

Leo: Hey, your hubby will bring you for a romantic dinner this coming weekend
Jenn: Wow!! Sounds so mysterious... where is this place??
Leo: It will not be a surprise if I tell you about it now... let's wait until this weekend...

Fast forward to Friday evening...

Leo: Ta-da... here it is! What do you think???
Jenn: *Gasp* but how did you get to know about this place??? It's so secluded! Tell me, have you brought girls other than me here???
Leo: Of course not. Don't be silly...
Jenn: Oh... come here *smooch smooch*

OK... the last line might be exaggerated a little bit :)
Turning left into a small lane (following my instinct) right after passing by Megan Avenue, the restaurant was spotted right away. As a matter of fact, there was a signboard at the junction but you could easily missed it if you were not paying attention.

This bungalow turned restaurant was rather secluded. Parking was rather limited but I arrived at 7.15pm and the dinner crowd wasn't here yet.

You can see KLCC in the background from the outside, and from the top floor. But the top floor section had been booked on that day for private function.

It's interior was tastefully decorated... but the lightings were rather dim to create a more comfortable feeling to the diners, accompanied by soft Spanish songs playing all night long.

There was also a section where you could sit down and drink the night away!

Complimentary bread with olive oil and vinegar was kinda forgetable. Bread was cold and its crust was as hard as stone.

Pan seared scallops with chilly oil and garlic croutons - the scallops were soft but the garlic croutons provided the crunch to this dish. Taste however was OK but rather oily.

Potato soup with truffle oil and croutons - no presence of croutons, however the soup was creamy and flavourful. I hardly had potato soup ever since Campbell's stopped producing its canned version of this soup.

Stuffed chicken breast with sauteed leek and creamy mustard sauce - I thought that this dish was rather unique. The stuffed chicken was tender and the mustard sauce was even though creamy but didn't overpower the meat. Did I mention that I love leek???

Pan fried salmon with spinach and pernod sauce - rather simple dish but the salmon was perfectly done and the sauce provided extra oommppphhh to this dish!

Taylor's Fine Tawny Port & Tio Pepe

Chateau de Sequin Sauvignon Blanc & Concha Y Toro Fronter Cabernet Sauvignon

Leo's verdict - a romantic place for romantic getaways for couple & also a great place to hang out with friends to have drinks (happy hour until 10pm). Total bill came at RM188++ but it was well worth it. The only complain that I had was the attending waiter that served us. He seemed kinda clueless on the wine recommendation to pair with our food...

The place : Market Place @ Lorong Yap Kwan Seng, KL

Restoran BBQ Soon Heng @ Jalan Bandar Tiga, Pusat Bandar Puchong

I had been fasting for more than 16 hours, as I had to go for blood test earlier in the morning. Having stopped eating since 8pm the other night, my stomach was growling... felt more like drumming for food. I needed a quick fix before continuinng my chores for the day. CK suggested a restaurant which was nearby. According to him, the wantan mee is good but I have yet to try it myself.

Located on the same row with Maybank (Tesco side), and fronting LDP... With its bright red signboard, it should not be any problem to locate. It was not lunch hour yet and therefore not many people were seen having their meal there.

Most (OK.. maybe all) of their workers are foreigners... including those who cleaned the table, taking your orders (mind you... I had difficulty understanding their slang) and to the one holding the cleaver.

Pictures were shown on the wall together with the price so you know what to order.

Since CK spoke highly of their wantan mee, naturally this dish would be my order. I had it together with roasted duck and char siew. I found the roasted duck to be kinda bland while the char siew was hard to chew.

Jenn's version of wantan mee with shredded chicken and mushroom was no better. The chicken meat was tasteless and overly soft to her liking hence she is of the view that the chicken is not that fresh. On the other hand the mushroom lack the usual braised gravy taste but maintain the woody taste of mushroom.

Leo's verdict - Also, their tea, milo and coffee were pre-mixed and not freshly brewed... not forget to mention that it tasted bland too. There are other dishes such as Ipoh hor fun, curry mee and economy rice... but then I doubt that I will come here again...

Restoran Bukit Tinggi BBQ @ Bukit Tinggi, Bentong Pahang

I would not have known this place if not for Epicurious Girl's blog. Despite always having lunch or dinner here, I only frequent 126 or Loong Sing and had the same ol dishes everytime. So when I got to know that this restaurant serves rather unique food (well, apart from those deep fried pork belly or steamed fish), I instantly know that this place is a must-visit for me. As a matter of fact, I'd been wanting to come here for ages but couldn't find any opportunity. Something always got in the way everytime I tried to come.

This restaurant was rather secluded and one would not even notice because it was located behind BHP Petrol Station. OK, there is only one petrol station in this area so it shouldn't be difficult to find. Everything looks normal from the outside but when you walk inside, you will notice these... signed umbrellas were seen hanging from the ceiling while empty wine + liquor bottles made up the walls of the restaurants. All seem to be collecting dust though... and it made me wonder if the owner ever clean his bizarre collections... lol!!!

As I read that the owner was a bit eccentric, I didn't put any high hope or expectation to get any good quality service here. My objective is to taste the food... as there were only 3 of us (including Daryl, Jenn's lil bro), we could not order that many dishes at once. In the end, we settled for 4!

When I first heard of "Wu Li Dan Dou Fan" which was a rice dish, it piqued my interest. Upon translation, it literally means "messed up rice". It was not love at first sight, as it really looked like leftovers poured over the rice. But when I took the first sip, I suddenly felt like a 8-year old again (well, that was how I used to eat my rice when I was small... easier to swallow). The broth was light and although a bit oily... it was great!

You'd find a lot of vegetables in it, noticably tomato, cabbage, carrot, dried vegetables... and also roasted pork and minced meat inside. How long have you not tried eating your rice with soup poured in it??? Lol...

The next dish was Stir Fried Green Chillies... a rather odd dish but it only took me a bite before falling in love with it. The chillies were stripped clean of its seeds before stir fried with some kind of dark sauce that has a hint of sweetness. Oh those chillies were chrunchy and not too spicy... just remember to take a bite at those chillies together with the sauce for maximum enjoyment... as the more you bite, the more addicted you will become.

Lamb rack - lamb lovers will surely dig this dish. I read from the blog that the meat was BBQ-ed but according to Daryl and Jenn, our lamb rack was baked instead... therefore retaining its moist and the gravy was full of flavour. They also detected a hint of honey while chewing off its meat. Together with their special sauce that has hints of mint and a bit sourish, both of them finished the whole rack in no time... just remember to eat it while it's hot OK??? The priciest dish at RM60 that day!

The "suet san fei wu" or salt crusted Tilapia was the final dish to be served. The name is actually an old Chinese series from HK... I wonder why the owner named this dish. Contrary to what I'd read, the fish had slight muddy taste this time albeit a mild one. The fish was prepared with shallots, garlic and chilly stuffed in it so that the meat had extra flavour in it. Nice presentation for the dish as its salt crusted skin was peeled off to reveal its meat... don't even think of eating its skin OK??? Very salty... just devour the meat should be sufficient. At RM35... the price was considered steep for tilapia is quite cheap.

Leo's verdict - The total bill came at RM121 but considering the uniqueness of its dish... it was well worth it. I wanted to order more dishes but even the owner suggested that the 4 dishes were enough to fill our stomach. True enough, as 3 of us were so full that we sat there for another half an hour before continuing our journey home. Overall food is great but do not expect top notch service as I mentioned earlier. Telephone booking for some of its dish such as lamb rack and seafood pot is recommended to avoid disappointment.

For me, I will definitely come back for second time... my next order??? Seafood Pot, Signature Chicken & (will ask the owner next time... lol!!)

Restoran Bukit Tinggi BBQ
PT 15792 & 15793, Jalan Bukit Tinggi,
28750 Bentong, Pahang.
Tel: 09-233 0330/ 012-3577111

Fun Taipei Teacafe @ SS2/64 PJ

We has just finished some works in Taman Mayang and were heading back to BU. As you probably know, LDP is always jammed during rush hour & we decided to eat dinner on our way home. Picking up Daryl from Kelana Jaya's LRT station, we turned into SS2 to check out on the places to eat. Then we spotted this... Fun Taipei Teacafe! Name was odd but from the sign, you would have guessed that they serve Taiwanese food.. this newly opened outlet was situated on the same row with Nasi Kandar Pelita and it was previously occupied by V-Mum (which has moved into Tropicana Mall).

The interior was decorated with posters on the wall. A lot of IKEA's stuff were used - lightings & chairs.

Menu was huge as they provide illustration for the F&B...

I had the lemon juice as I felt very thirsty... refreshing but it lacks lemon taste!

I placed my order for 3-cup chicken set like shown in the picture. The chicken meats were served inside a claypot which was still piping hot. The gravy was rather strong with somekind of herb (forgive me for I failed to recognise the herb) and a bit oily. Some of you may not like the taste of this particular dish but I found thought that it was good. Soup was heavy on MSG while the taufu and veggie were so so only.

As for Jenn, she opted for braised minced meat (Taiwanese specialty) set that comes with soup (high on MSG too), braised taufu and egg (decent), same veggie as mine... but the main highlight was the bowl of white rice which was loaded with gravy from the braised minced pork (and of course the meat)... very appetising and I managed to steal a few mouthful of her rice... lol!!!

Daryl tried their beef noodle... according to him, the beef meat was very tender and juicy... the noodle's texture was firm and chewy while the broth was not too salty. Thumbs up from him! (don't ask my opinion coz I don't eat beef)

Leo's verdict - not the best Taiwanese food that I had... I think Fong Lye actually fares better. But the service was fast and attentive. The staffs were polite too...