Sunday, December 11, 2005

Malaysia - Chef Choi Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur

Address: 159 Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur
Phone: 03-2163 5866

Our dinner started with chinese bbq fatty pork as appetizer. The crispy skin was done to perfection and the meat with just enough fats to enhance the taste. We were served two small plates for a table of six, and in a short while, nothing was left on the plates.

I'm glad that this Chinese restaurant serves non-halal dishes. After eating in a few Chinese restaurants here, I realise most serve non-halal food, and this means pork is missing from the menus. A Chinese meal without pork is just not satisfying!

The next dish was grilled duck with chinese crepes. Another yummy dish. The flesh are tore to pieces and you wrap the flesh, cucumber and chinese spring onions with chinese crepes. The duck is grilled so dry that some of its bones are so crunchy you can eat them! Surprisingly, the flesh still retains some moisture.

Of course, seafood should not be missing in a good chinese meal. The steamed Soon Hock was done cantonese style, and the cooking time is just right. The soft, juicy flesh gives a contrasting texture to that of the dry, crunchy duck, providing a different sensation to the taste buds.

Not to be missed is the LA MEI FUN. This is actually flavoured rice served with preserved meats. The rice was lightly seasoned with a dark-coloured sauce and went well with the saltiness and richness of the preserved meats. My favourite is the preserved duck liver sausage. Very rich and tasty. Gosh, I'm salivating as I'm writing this!

Dessert was another delightful dish, almond paste soup cooked with white fungi and papaya. Interesting use of ingredients. The dessert is served in the papaya fruit.

The cost of all these delicious dishes doesn't come cheap. It cost over RM500 for six people.

Sunday, December 04, 2005

Malaysia - Ba Kut Teh in Klang

Klang is about 40 minutes drive from Kuala Lumpur City. Ba Kut Teh in Klang is a herbal soup cooked with pork, tau pok, mushrooms and lettuce. The dish is usually accompanied with Chinese tea, drank from tiny tea cups. Quite tedious drinking from a tiny cup, as each cup is emptied in just one sip!

We went to a Ba Kut Teh shop which is located behind the Hokkien Association (looks like a temple). It has an alfresco setting, and the shop is relatively clean with good service. The soup tasted heavenly but it's quite different from the peppery version I have tasted before. I heard this is the Hokkien dialect goup's version. The dish is served in a claypot and each pot serves about 4-5 persons. Cost is around RM42. You can request to have other pig organs added. We had pig's small intestines added, and I will have to say they are quite well-cleaned, as there isn't any bad taste or odour. We couldn't help finishing up everything in the pot!

Hopefully, someone will drive me there again before I leave Kuala Lumpur.......
Google