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Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Journey to Ipoh Day 1 - Bagan Pasir, Teluk Intan & Kampar (Part 1)

The clock was ticking! Once the prince comes out, Jenn & I knew that we can't afford to travel like this anymore. We will be grounded at least for 6 months... yup! Having children is not easy and requires a lot of responsibilities (as parents), and let's not forget countless of sleepless nights. Throw in the stress when the baby gets sick and it completes (more or less) the nightmare of being someone else's dad or mom :P when Sher Ryn came into my world, she really tested my patience. I admit that being someone with short temper, I got upset whenever she behaved badly... but she also melted my heart when she smiled. Now I can't even imagine on how to take care of 2 little children!

One month or so before Keith came into our lives, both of us had the opportunity to travel to Ipoh - business purpose and to attend my friend's wedding. We took off from PJ after having light breakfast - we wanted to save space for the seafood feast later in Bagan Pasir. YES :) to the one that everyone has been raving about! Locating this place wasn't hard, as I had gone for rekki few months earlier while on my way up North (business trip).

To be honest, this place looked a bit rundown and the makeshift wooden public toilet was still there - you'd know where the residue would end up at... lol! You would also notice that they have renovated part of their restaurants into swiftlet's house.

It was rainy season during the time we went to Suang Le so there wasn't much live seafood to see... all the makeshift plastic tanks that you'd pass by on the way into the restaurant were mostly empty. I only saw some flower crabs and clams. To our worries, we asked the waitress if there was any other seafood available... and we sighed with relief when she said YES.

We chose to sit in the back part of the restaurant that overlooks the river and fishing boats. This part was definitely cooler and windier compared to the front part.

Purposely took this picture in Black & White to make it nostalgic (^_^) love this one!

Feel free to help yourself to get all the things that you need for lunch - spoon & fork, chopstick, glass, bowl, plate, etc...

After taking our orders, they brought in a basket of prawn crackers. I wonder if those were FOC :P feeling hungry, we grabbed a packet and I tore it open with my teeth. Very good tasting indeed!

The first dish - Steamed clams with ginger shreds, cili padi and fried onions - wow-ed us! The fresh and succulent clams were prepared in a simple way and the best part was that the stock (soup) at the bottom of the stainless steel plate was oh-so sweet & savoury!

Next was salt-baked prawns & mantis prawns. In fact, those were the very last remaining mantis prawns that they had, since supply had dwindled during the rainy season. Perfect choice I'd say. Not overly salty, the crunchy prawns were so delicious that I ended up devouring the shell too but since the shell of mantis prawn was harder, I didn't attempt to do so.

to our delight, both meats were fresh, juicy (moist) and sweet. A closer look at the peeled mantis prawn (Jenn was my hand model). A right choice to order the prawns prepared this way as I could taste the natural sweetness of the flesh. If they have any more of those mantis prawn in stock, we would have ordered the second plate.

Instead of the usual white rice, we opted for seafood fried rice that was full of wok hei & non-oily. Throw in egg and prawn bits and it was good enough.

Their Kung Pao baby squid deserved a special mention. This was one of the best Kung Pao sauce that I've ever tasted in my life! The sticky, sweet and not overly spicy sauce enveloped each and every baby squids in the plate. At the end of the meal, I was still turning the curry leaves and onions away in the hope of finding the very last piece of the squids.

Take a closer look at me! You want to taste me.. don't ya? I'm very crunchy you know? :P

The Kam Heong crab came highly recommended by the waitress and it didn't disappoint at all. Lucky for us, the shell was crushed as they didn't provide any utensil to pry open the thick and hard shell at all. Its flesh was good and sweet too!

Our steamed red snapper with soybean paste sauce was the only thing that we did not like. Even though the fish meat was fresh and flaky, the sauce was disappointingly bland and very starchy.

In the end, we finished almost everything except for the fish and some fried rice. The waitress who took our orders earlier was actually surprised as she said that the portion that Jenn & I had could easily serve at least 4-5 people. We were feeling greedy obviously :P

Leo's verdict - we definitely had ordered too much food than we could handle. In the end, the bill came at slightly less than RM100 which we considered dirt cheap.. judging at the amount of seafood that we ordered. even though the river was not exactly clean and you could literally see a lot of garbage/waste washed up the river bank, the great food makes up to the flaws. It was rather windy that day so both of us could dine while the cool breeze swept through our faces. I could not ask for a more better companion when it was Jenn who enjoyed the seafood feast with me.

Directions to Suang Le River Restaurant @ Bagan Pasir (from Kuala Selangor towards Sekinchan/Sabak Bernam) : After passing by Kuala Selangor town, drive for a good 15 minutes or so. Take note of a signboard to Kg. Bagan Pasir on the left side of the road. Turn left at a rather sharp curve to some residential area. Go straight until you reach a junction at the end, and keep to your left. You’ll see a row of houses built on stilts on your right, with reasonable amount of trash washed up on the grounds. After a while, you’ll see Suang Le River’s signboard on the right (taken from J2kfm's blog... thanks bro!)

Other posts on suang Le River Seafood Restaurant:
Precious Pea
Masak-Masak
J2kfm Motormouth from Ipoh

Suang Le River Restaurant & Karaoke
Bagan Pasir, 45500
Tanjong Karang, Selangor, Malaysia
Tel No : +6019-690 6788 or +6019-233 5296

Opens for lunch and dinner.

Disclaimer:
1) I'm not paid to promote/endorse any particular event, restaurant or person in this blog. ALL are based on my unbiased personal opinion.
2) My reviews are based on my personal taste and preference and therefore may vary for others.

Friday, January 7, 2011

Quick but Satisfying Dim Sum @ Jalan Ipoh

I have been missing lately! As you know know, Keith (yes! my baby) has joined the Leo's family on 28th December last year. I thought everything would be back to normal a few days after that, until his skin seemed yellow-ish. A trip to KL confirmed my fear - jaundice! I know that jaundice is normal as most babies but still it hurts to see my baby being put under the photolight. Felt so helpless as I stood there and watched Keith cried... and I quickly pull Jenn away when I saw her eyes started to swell.

Anyway, back to blogging... Jalan Ipoh is a place where you can find a lot of good food at good price. This area has been elusive to me, as I hardly venture to this area unless I have something to do here. This time, it was picking the perfect Chinese name for my son Keith! Being superstitious, I absolutely believe that our name is governed by the elements of gold, wood, water, fire and earth. The strokes of our Chinese name make difference to your overall life. We went to Kok Chong Ming early in the morning just to pick the right name and hence, Leo Sze Jie (刘思颉)!

My stomach was literally drumming even when we were sitting in the office while the master was calculating the right name for us. Dim sum came to my mind right after that, and we headed to one of the famous dim sum places in Jalan Ipoh, Mee Bon. Located along Jalan Ipoh's main road opposite HSBC, it wasn't that hard to find considering it was my first time here.

The locals chit chatting while sipping tea and having dim sum!

This place only offers steamed dim sum but not fried so if you want variety, this is definitely not the place to go. But then, their dim sum(s) were commendable and might give you second thought!

This time I brought along my own Chinese Tea - Da Hong Pao!

This place was manned by foreigners and most of them speak simple Cantonese. Tell them what you want and they would serve for you. Their loh mai kai was normal - kind of hard actually. Flavour-wise it was OK but you can get better version elsewhere.

The siew mai that we had was good! Using only pork meat, the siew mai was surprisingly tender... most of the places that I had siew mai was not as good as this one.

Stuffed egg with pork meat was something that I have never tried before and I thought that it was good.

Prawn chee cheong fun - the CCF was smooth & the prawn was fresh.

Highlight of the day would be their char siew bao - the filling was juicy and flavourful. My only grouse is that the dough took most part of the bao rather than the filling!

Leo's verdict - most of their dim sum selections are old-school so don't expect much from here. If you like simple dim sum like me, then you should come to try yourself. Parking is a problem here as most people tend to double park (limited parking spaces). Did I mention that the price was reasonable too??? Open from breakfast until late at night!! So you can satisfy cravings for dim sum there if you happen to have no time for breakfast (especially Sean of eatdrinkkl... lol!)

Kedai Kopi Mee Bon
491 Jalan Ipoh,
51200 Kuala Lumpur

Disclaimer:
1) I'm not paid to promote/endorse any particular event, restaurant or person in this blog. ALL are based on my unbiased personal opinion.
2) My reviews are based on my personal taste and preference and therefore may vary for others.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Our 4th Anniversary @ Millesime & arrival of Leo jr

I'm very happy today as I write this post! Why? Because I have become dad for the second time (^_^) Leo jr. arrived at 7.30am this morning and I'm proud to say that both mom & baby are doing just fine. The new addition makes it 4 members in the Leo family! To some family, this will be a perfect one as one daughter and one son complete the family. To us Chinese, it means more as the combination of girl "女" and boy " 子" form the word GOOD "好". Here is my first photo of my son & I in blogspot!

Since Jenn has to go through the confinement period, that means we couldn't celebrate our 4th anniversary which falls on 27th January next year. Even after the confinement, we still have to take care of our son who will only be like a month old at that time. And I certainly believe that Sher Ryn will not make our lives easier but being more demanding. You know - sibling rivalries. Being a small child, she will try every little thing to vie for our attention & jealousy will ensue. Significant amount of time is required to educate her as well as to raise up the son at the same time.

Therefore, a week before she delivers I planned a surprise dinner for the two of us at Millesime. In fact, I called to make reservation a few days earlier. It was raining on that evening and since it was my first time going there, I had no idea on the exact location and ended up merry-go-round with Jenn. Tucked at the corner of Menara Kencana Petroleum, it wasn't easy to spot.

Since they don't serve a-la-carte menu, we had to go for the degustation menu priced at RM150++ per person which consists of 3 starters, 1 main and 1 dessert. ThE white truffle promotion was still ongoing but looking at the RM120++ per dish, we skipped that.

Complimentary breads were given with French butter - love the wholemeal bread with grains + butter!! What a perfect way to kickstart the evening.

Amuse Bousche for the night was Smoked Salmon Tartare served in a shot glass. Love the intense flavour of the smoked salmon but one gulp was all I took to down the stuff! Wish I had more!

Carpaccio of Baby Octopus with Arabian Sea Prawn Orange, Shaved Fennel Salad & Black Olive Dressing - first of all I didn't know that octopus could be done this way and secondly, the black olive dressing gave a tinge to my tastebud and went very well with the octopus as well as the prawn.

Ragout of snail with celery & parsley creamed mushroom soup - simply love the earthy flavour of the mushroom soup which somehow managed to cover up the gamey smell of the snail but not all as I still could taste the gamey smell.

Sea scallop with Peruvian White Asparagus & Black Truffle Vinaigrette - the presence of black truffle provided an earthy taste to the otherwise bland scallop & the asparagus was simply superb - crunchy and sweet! My favourite dish of the night!

Provencale Herbs - Parmesan Crusted Cod Fish, Lemon Oil & Rosemary Juice - the fish was cooked to perfection. The herbs crusted fish was aromatic while maintaining its moist and flaky texture. The presence of lemon oil further enhanced its flavour to another level. Wish that I ordered this as my choice of main was a disappointment!

Anjou Pigeon Breast Pan Roasted with Zucchini, Leek Flan & Goose Liver Cream - this dish would have been superb if it was well-cooked. After a few mouth of the pigeon meat, I realised that the meat was RAW (not slightly raw but RAW!!). I complained to our attending waiter & he immediately took it to replace, but my appetite was already ruined. I just asked them to proceed with the dessert. They were apologetic though...

Baked Fresh Fig & Seasonal Berries en Sabayon with Egg Biscotti & Amanera Ice Cream - the egg based biscotti was good! not overly sweet and complimented the fig & berries very well. But the Amanera Ice Cream definitely stole the thunder with its fruity flavour.

We ended the dinner with our choice of Chamomile & Earl Grey tea. It was then that I instructed that my surprise gift to be brought out on a dessert plate! Jenn thought nothing of it until she saw this lovely little box placed in front of her :) my plan worked as she looked very surprised! The present was my gift for our 4th anniversary & Valentine's Day which were quite close to each other.

The look on her face was priceless as she opened the box and saw what was inside! I knew that she lack of diamond earring in her jewellery collection and that was why I bought it & it was a design that I knew she'd love. Knowing her almost half of my life helped a lot :) she almost cried when she read the wooden card that I made for her personally - thanking her for giving me such a wonderful family and being such a wonderful wife. A simple kiss to the lips was all she did, but it was a kiss full of love!

Leo's verdict - apart from the surprise gift that went very well, it would be perfect if my main dish was perfect as well. Chef Max Chin was there at night & I'm pretty sure that it was his staff that made the error. Considering that I was paying RM150++, it shouldn't have become this way. For this dinner (and the gift) I have blown my monthly budget over the roof.. LOL! Oh well, at least my wife's happy and that's what matters the most!

Millesime
G1-01-3, Menara Kencana Petroleum
Solaris Dutamas, KL
Tel: 03-62110648

Disclaimer:
1) I'm not paid to promote/endorse any particular event, restaurant or person in this blog. ALL are based on my unbiased personal opinion.
2) My reviews are based on my personal taste and preference and therefore may vary for others.

Monday, December 20, 2010

King Crab @ Kelana Jaya PJ

My annual pilgrimage to feast on the delectable Shanghai Hairy Crab for the year 2010 has been completed!!

To be honest, I almost forgot that I have not laid my hands on these crustaceans until my cousin came all the way from Singapore and asked me "Wanna go for mou hai (no pun intended) together?" Since Sher Ryn didn't follow us to KL on that weekend, Jenn & I quickly nodded our heads. The image of creamy and orange-ish roe was too much for us to resist.

Making our way to King Crab, the rainy and stormy evening failed to dampen our spirit. The sight of hairy crabs lining up in the cooler was well worth it :) we order 3 crabs.. and less than 10 minutes, they were lined up in front of us!

The waiter would then dissect the crab for us!

The taste of crab roe was as sweet as I remembered! We requested for male crab as the roe (or was it sperm?) was it was creamier and sweeter.

A cup of ginger tea to counter the "cold" effect of eating crabmeat afterwards! It was so good that we asked for a few more cups! LOL

Apart from the hairy crabs, we had other dishes too - starting with the "yin Choi" in superior broth.

Their salted egg squid was burst with flavour and crunchy... sinful but we enjoyed it. One of the better version that I've ever tried in Klang Valley!

Not content with just hairy crabs, we had 1kg of normal crab done is sour & spicy style - this is similar to the famous Singapore Chilly Crab but since both countries tried to stake claims to the right, I guess the best option is to change the name instead of arguing!

The gravy was superb and we requested 2 portion of fried bun to dip into it! We managed to wipe the whole plate clean. The task was definitely easier when Sher Ryn is not around.

Leo's verdict - of course there are other restaurants that offer Shanghai hairy crab such as Dragon-i, Elegant Inn and Pantai Seafood but I still prefer King Crab - maybe because it's nearer to where I live :P So have you had fair share of MOU HAI this year??

King Crab
103-107, Jalan SS25/2,
Taman Mewah Jaya,
47301 Petaling Jaya
Selangor
GPS: 3.113488,101.603462
Tel: 03-7805 3282

Disclaimer:
1) I'm not paid to promote/endorse any particular event, restaurant or person in this blog. ALL are based on my unbiased personal opinion.
2) My reviews are based on my personal taste and preference and therefore may vary for others.

Monday, December 13, 2010

East Coast Trip Day 4 - Awana Kijal & Tong Juan @ Kemaman

After 3 days filled with relaxing yet exciting activities (for the family ok?), it was time to bid goodbye to the East Coast. Since all of us slept early, we felt refreshed and well-rested. Our package included free breakfast for all and so we headed down to the Kampung Restaurant for their buffet-styled brekkie. Choices were not as extensive as the 5-star hotels out there & do not expect the food to be good. There were hits & misses, and the only thing that I remember good was the tuna spread. Can't complain much since it was FOC.

After the brekkie, we brought Sher Ryn to the children playground where she played with the slide and the swing. For a 20-months old baby, she seemed to enjoy the adrenaline sliding down the rather high slide and loved it even more as we pushed the swing harder.. to our surprises. Oh well! As long as you are happy Sher Ryn :)

Awana Kijal also provides free usage of their childcare centre to the guests and we utilised it. Some light moments with the dad and playing around with the toys satisfied her.

It was noon by the time we checked out of the hotel and headed to Kemaman (again) for lunch - this time to the famous Tong Juan for the stuffed crab. Of course, there are other restaurants in the area that offer stuffed crab but when my aunt (who's from Kemaman by the way) said that Tong Juan is the best, then Tong Juan it is!!

This ever popular eatery was packed by the time we arrived and lucky for us, someone was about to leave so we managed to secure a table right next to the counter. Business was so good as all the tables would be taken as soon as patrons left. Our Muslim friends were the majority diners (with most tables taken by them) as we had our lunch here.

It was so hot outside and we seriously need something to cool down

Of course, the stuffed crabs were the first to arrive at our table - one for each person. This dish was good even though a bit oily (due to deep fried method). Not a problem for me though because the delicious crab meat made up for it.

Each and every stuffed crab is filled with meat.

The stir fried chicken meat with dark soy sauce was normal - the size of the meat could be a little smaller though.

Fresh kangkung done in belacan style!

Another highlight would be the grilled tiger prawns with garlic. Fresh, succulent and bursting with the aroma of garlic, we could have ordered the second helping of this dish.

Braised taufu with vegetables was another normal dish.

Homemade fish ball soup provided comfort to our already full stomach. The fish balls were juicy and bouncy while the soup was slightly peppery.

Now we were prepped up for our long journey home... BURP!

P.S: This post marks the end of my 4D3N trip to the East Coast! It took us another 5 hours drive to reach Kuala Lipis via East Coast Highway and also the trunk roads from Temerloh-Jerantut-Kuala Lipis. It was tiring but I am glad that everyone had a great time on this trip. Although the words were washed away by the waves, the memories would be forever etched in my brain :)

Tong Juan restaurant
K-117 Jalan Sulaiman,
24000 Kemaman, Terengganu
GPS: 4.231314, 103.428383
Tel: 09-859 1346‎

Disclaimer:
1) I'm not paid to promote/endorse any particular event, restaurant or person in this blog. ALL are based on my unbiased personal opinion.
2) My reviews are based on my personal taste and preference and therefore may vary for others.
3) Halal (^_^)