Christmas Eve Dinner

It was a cool and breezy night. The rain drizzles upon the twisting tarmac leading uphill. This formed the approach to the destination for the Xmas eve dinner at Nerovivo. Yes, I've just visited it earlier this month but it seemed an appropriate venue for a nice dinner amongst very cosy settings. This time around 7 of us gathered for the evening in a restaurant full of revellers ready to usher in Christmas.

The following link shall lead you to a photo composition of what transpired on the night.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/taichowgroup/album?.dir=ca96&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/taichowgroup/my_photos

Why the link? Mainly because I've been rather busy and haven't had time to post all the foodelicious outings. Anyhow, Nerovivo has certainly got a very cosy ambience but other than the Wahgyu beef cheeks (which is reason enough to revisit), the other mains did not measure up to my expectations. Perhaps its personal but I've certainly had better.

TC at 3am?!?!

Thurs 11pm: SH & I was chatting online about the possibility of a supper/mamak session once he completes watching his DVD, the supposedly hilarious '40 year old Virgin' - MISTAKE #1. Of course at this point, chances of this turning into reality was close to nil as the following working day was due to start in about 10 hours. Couple that with a hectic Friday which includes Bar Savanh for PC's birthday....

Fri 12.30am: Vig's online and while we started talking about a myriad of topics, naturally the subject of food inched its way into the conversation. I casually mentioned the 'mamak' session but we laughed it off almost instantly - MISTAKE #2.

Fri 1.30am: SH has just completed his movie and logs in. In a futile attempt to call each other's bluff for a supper outing, I mistakenly mentioned the magic phrase 'Bak Kut Teh' which instantly triggered his senses and 'intuitive eating' commenced - MISTAKE #3.

Fri 1.45am: I pitched the idea to Vig and it turns out Sue is in favour of BKT as well! Surprise, Surprise! - MISTAKE #4

Fri 1.55am: SH arrives at my place and we head out in search of not the mamak next door, but BKT in Old Town. This was probably our closest BKT option at this hour.

Fri 2.05am: Received confirmation call from Vig that 2 from his side is affirmed to be joining supper.

Fri 2.10am: The Horror of all HORRORS! BKT at Old Town is closed. Since they've shifted from the stalls to the shoplots, they do not operate into the wee hours anymore. Emergency action plan is devised. A&W was mooted almost immediately. It is after all just a quick detour.

Fri 2.15am: Upon passing Civic Centre & Lotus Restaurant (used to be the State cinema), a TC rez was spoted to be open, in the corner of our eyes. South Pacific Restaurant seemed to be a better option.

Fri 2.20am: Everyone seated and the food ordered, we just kept pondering on what have we gotten ourselves into. None among us could remember how this event began. Perhaps it was more of denial or reluctance in admitting the root cause.

Fri 2.25am: 'Yee Sang' arrives! Yes, restaurants have already begun to serve it even before Christmas has yet to pass. I thought it would be a fitting start to our meal as nothing is ordinary in having a TC session at 2.30am.

Fri 2.40am: Egg noodles topped with deer meat fried with ginger and spring onions (Keong Chung Lok Yuk Lou Sang Min), Singapore fried Mihun and Ribs marinated in Marmite Sauce is served and devoured methodically.

Fri 3.00am: Feelings of uneasiness, probably due to guilt, envelopes the diners. Isn't it peculiar how it only arises after all the plates have been wiped clean? Anyhow a few more jokes were cracked and among them "Hey, doesn't the tea make you feel so awake?" - MISTAKE #(God knows!). An anonymous character retorts "Yea! You know what would be perfect as a sleep aphrodisiac? BEER!" - MISTAKE #(God knows + 1).

Fri 3.03am: A large bottle of TIGER beer along with 3 chilled mugs arrives.

Fri 3.09am: Burp! 'Mai Tan em koi!' (Calls for the bill). Fear of more food and beer being ordered is finally over.

Fri 3.20am: Guilty thoughts of "What have we just done?!" and "I'm definitely gonna skip breakfast and most probably lunch" lingers on in our mind.

Fri 3.30am: A least deserved but utterly desirable sleep begins. An eventful day ends while the dawn of the next bears promise of more conversations of food and drinks......

PS: Fat Chance of any of the participants skipping lunch!

Restoran Wong Poh

Ivan's back from UK and so a typical Malaysian meal was in order. As his request of a chinese dinner filled with the usual seafood and pork fare was considered, Wong Poh restaurant next to Dataran Prima was the chosen venue. Arriving at 7.30pm, the entire 3 shoplots were fully occupied with diners, spilling out onto the roadside where tables of 4 to 10 were eagerly awaiting their fare. This restaurant is a favourite especially among PJ-lites as they're well known for their butter crabs and the variety of other dishes they so expertly prepare.

First up we were served pickled papaya as the appetisers. Nicely pickled with the crispyness still intact, it could have been better if it was pickled with some bird's eye chili to add some heat to it.

Once we had all 5 diners seated, the food began to arrive. Although the place must have had 50 tables to serve, the waiting period for the dishes is a very respectable 20 minutes or so. First up was Pork Ribs marinated in Guiness Stout. A fitting dish to get the meal going. Sweet, sour, a slight hint of bitterness all made for an appetising start.

Then came the greens, 'Fu Yi Yau Mak', Lettuce fried in fermented beancurd and garlic. The leaves were perfectly done as it retained its texture laced with the saltiness of the beancurd.

My usual order of chicken would be their village chicken steamed in 'kei chi' and rice wine. However the captain's reccomendation tonight was the plain white chicken served with soya sauce and some kailan. It was nice although I have tassted better. However using village chicken for this dish certainly scores points with me as the flesh is much sweeter and has a more challenging texture.

Then my usual order of a steamed fish arrives soon after. This time a 'Patin' was our choice and again the wonderful oily deposit around its stomach proved just heavenly. Wong Poh has a quite a good selection of fish which also includes 'Sun Hok' and ' Chat Seng Pan' amongst others.

As instructed the signature dish of this restaurant, the Butter Crabs, arrived once we're almost done with our meal. Credit to the captain who took our order in remembering this. Most restaurants wouldnt think twice when innundated with non stop orders. Once again the crabs does not dissappoint. Everyone's eyes lit up as the claws was stacked beautifully on top. With fried buns to compliment the sinfully rich gravy, every mouthful was esctasy.

One amongst us is allergic to crabs so we decided to add another dish of pork as we were halfway through. Streaky Bacon with salted fish was the choice. However by the time it was served the rest of us were busy with the crabs and thus failed to remember to snap a photo. It was decent but nowhere close to the best version of this dish, which is in Overseas Restaurant at Jln Imbi or Subang Parade (AsiaJaya & Amcorp Mall's branches is simply unable to emulate them).

All in all a satisfying dinner and well worth the price. Its not the cheapest of dinners but neither is it overly expensive. A downside is the lack of parking space but should one have the need to double park, just alert one of the waiters/waitress and they would keep a lookout for you. The rest of the night was spent watching goals from the Super Sunday matches (Go Chelsea!) while sipping wine (Thx Jit) and cappucino with Macadamia Nut syrup at my place for the non drinkers.

Note: Credit to LM who takes much better photos of the food than I do. I'm just too lazy to adjust the settings of the flash in exchange for a faster tucking into of the food!

Fried Dog

Was reading some foodblogs earlier today and suddenly my mind wandered to all corners of the gastronomic galaxy. Started off at nasi lemak from a makcik who sells out of her home 5 doors away to stewed pork with yam rice to ayam percik at Restoran Jaya (one of the best kept secrets of Kelana Jaya). Anyhow it got my appetite going and rummaged through my refrigerator to find some Viennese sausages and decided to make a Fried Dog.

Fried the sausages and wrapped it in the French Ham that's wonderfully laced with some fatty sections. Rolled it in the bread and dipped it in eggs before proceeding to fry it with a little butter and olive oil in the pan. Had it with Dijon Mustard and the ever useful Lingam's chili sauce. Decent but I should really get some Hotdog buns the next time. Oh yes, I fried up the remaining egg and served it on the side.

Salad

I've never been a big fan of salads until my university days in the UK. With so many versions of salads, I decided to make one out of what I had left in my refrigerator & this is the result.

Cut up some fresh French ham, added some cherry tomatoes and made some croutons from a couple of slices of Gardenia bread. Added all of it to a base of ready-to-eat greens from Bangsar Village and had it with my own dressing consisting of a mix of Salad Cream & Lingam Chili Sauce. I reckon I achieved my minimum quota of fibre intake for one day.

Holiday Dinner

Yesterday was a holiday for the state of Selangor and it was probably just what I needed. A lazy morning followed by a call from friends who wanted to visit for a session of PS2 with some good chinese longjing tea. Ah, why not? Especially since I had time to kill before a family dinner at Sri Petaling, which is the prime reason for this posting.

I suggested Restoran Fast Food Fish Head for this dinner as its among my favourite haunts for good fish as well as frog's legs. Steamed dishes seems to be their speciality. First off my parents brought along some kimchi, which was a gift from a friend who just returned from Korea. It was a very fitting appetiser as it certainly got us into gear for what was looming ahead.

The first dish to arrive was the seafood and Japanese tofu in claypot. The flavours were wonderful and with squid, prawns and pork slices, it complimented the tofu well.

Next up was a dish not commonly available in most restaurants which is bittergourd fried with cabbage. It was very well fried as none of it was overcooked nor was there the bitterness of the gourd.

Then the trotter braised with mushrooms and vegetables were next. This was again a pleasant change to the usual styles of pork we order.

Also on the menu was one of their speciality, Fried pig's intestine with garlic & dried shrimps. Frankly for this dish there's a restaurant in Rawang which does this to perfection.

And then from afar I saw the waitress emerge from the kitchen with the highlight of the night. Steamed 'Sun Hok' Fish! Ah....words cannot describe the beauty of this dish. Such a wonderful fish must only be handled in the hands of a master who will not overcook it. In fact when a fish this fresh is steamed it should be served just slighlty underdone. The fire below the serving dish will complete the process as we proceed with the meal. Wonderful. The flesh was so fresh, gleaming white and it separated piece by piece effortlessly.

The final dish to emerge is another favourite of mine and I must nominate this restaurant as among the best candidates to serve this dish. The steamed bull frogs were done to perfection again. What's great about this place is that they use plump frogs which are full of meat. Then the bottom of the dish is full of steaming soy sauce while it is topped off with minced ginger on top. Neither is overwhelming as some places might overdo the ginger portion. In fact they have got the ratio right that it is simply divine.

Time's a little tight for me to blog today but I reckon the above with the accompanying pictures are sufficient to paint a pretty picture of the dishes. Something to remind me of the food till I plan my next visit....

Glory Glory

What is better than Chelsea being below Liverpool in the champions league group stage standings?

Man United not even qualifying for knock out..

GLORY GLORY!

KLIGF at Lai Ching Yuen

Last Friday evening, LM & I decided to head down to KLCC to meet Harrie & SH for dinner. Harrie & I had left over vouchers from our earlier visit to Oggi. However half of KL was cordoned off for a trial run of the police operations from the ASEAN summit. No matter, I just took the LRT 2 KLCC and Harrie volunteered to drive through the barriers, completely ignoring the sirens and convoys of flashing Perdana, Waja & superbikes behind us.

Its true, we did get through all the 'closed' routes, which probably explains the Head of Police for KL Traffic Operations' statement released yesterday that errant motorists caught violating the closures will be summoned on the spot and may face further disciplinary action. I guess thanks to us, the traffic police had a 'drill' of where a potential assasin or just 4 hungry souls may barge thru road closures. At least we now know that the head of states are much safer with our simulation.

Anyhow we arrived safely at the Regent hotel approximately 8.45pm amidst curious policemen staring at us. In fact our backup line was going to be 'We're carpark inspectors for the Summit'. Upon arrival at the restaurant's entrance bottles of Limited Ed Heineken Magnum greeted us. In a flash I was asking how much would it cost me to drink the same beer but from a well printed 1.5L bottle. RM120++ is far too high a price so we settled for a regular bottle each (minus LM). A bottle of Chardonnay from Oxford Landing was also ordered. I must say that the wine selection was rather limited and unimpressive.

We then proceeded to savour our varying orders of the menu. More details of the menu can be found here :

http://www.klgourmetfest.com/Restaurants/LCY/LCY%20menu.html

Photos of the dinner can be found at this link:

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/taichowgroup/album?.dir=cb05&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/taichowgroup/my_photos

Overall the food was mediocre but with the discount of 50% (from the eat 1 free 1 vouchers), we had fun nevertheless. This visit pretty much wraps up my reviews on KLIGF venues as Chalet was very unprofessional to cancel my booking at the last minute to facilitate renovations on a Sunday & Monday! Perhaps next year we'll scour for some good bargains but also hope for better food from the participating restaurants.

TC at New Paris SS2

I've finally collected the USB cable to read the MMCard yesterday! I can now upload the pictures from the TC session last week at New Paris, SS2. It was a session organised by Say Hong aka d'HAND. We were supposed to head over to his spanking new apartment which was very well renovated for drinks.

Meanwhile here's some pics of what we ordered that night.

KG & the girls' tummies could not wait for the rest to arrive so they ordered a small helping of fried squid to mengalas perut.

Then on to them mains where vegetables was a must , here's 2 of them which was plain garlic fried & also fermented beancurd. Tofu rounded up our 'healthy' orders.

Beyond those we went all out for our regular needs such as Honey Ribs, Kung Po Mantis Prawns and a new reccomendation of deep fried Trotters. It was pretty decent with the meat still tender and the outside crispy.

I had to order a steamed Patin fish as fish is part of my daily diet. Probably one of the few advice from mum that I heed : 'Eat more fish, it's good for you' she says. Accompanying the seafood galore was a larger serving of fried squids again. This time there was more than enough to satisfy the 12 who turned up.

Just as we were digging into our massive foodpile, Carmen asked me a killa question 'Where's the chicken?' Evidently my absent mindedness resulted in a non chicken order, so a quick wave to the captain & a chicken fried with spring onion arrived on our table in about 10 mins.

Goodness! Uploading those pics took ages! Anyhow there's a couple more of photos of the diners but time's not on my side right now. So there's a short posting on last week's TC but we're all surely looking forward to this week's later this evening at Restoran Seng Kee in Brickfields. I sure hope to have a few good pictures to post once we're all full & burping with gladness.

More pics are available at http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/taichowgroup/album?.dir=8124&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/taichowgroup/my_photos

Intuitive eating?

Its now the wee hours of the morning. I'm a natural night owl and watching Travel & Discovery's HOT DOG HEAVEN is no help. Although I've seen this series over & over again, the collection of amazing places to savour one of the best exports of the American culture always gets my attention. So now, at 3.40am, my appetite begins to build up. Not that I'm hungry, in fact I had a very fulfilling KLIGF dinner at Lai Ching Yuen, Regent (I'll blog this later). But apparently my brain's receiving images & ideas of terribly appetising manners of presenting HOT DOGS, then sending out corresponding signals *I want some!* to my tummy. This is apparently intuition. Intuition for me to eat. Should I or should I not? This article proved an interesting read.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/F/FIT_INTUITIVE_EATING?SITE=NTIMES&SECTION=HEALTH&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2005-12-05-09-56-40

Then again, there's probably some truth in it as well. Go figure!

*No. I did not end up having supper, nor am I going to. Will power....*

NeroVivo

LM & I celebrated our 1st year wedding anniversary on 2nd of December with a dinner at NeroVivo (Thanks to Weng & Elaine for the reccomendation!). Overall the food was good, the ambience very cosy & I particularly loved Sandra Knuyt's art pieces displayed on their walls. Rather than a lengthy account of what I ate, this link should be more than sufficient to give you an idea of my orders.

http://hamz.com/gallery/2005-Anniversary

The starter was nice although the foie gras was lacking in flavour as compared to others I've had before. The texture however was perfect, slightly seared on the outside but moist & tender on the inside. LM's order of scallops was a stunner! The main was just perfect (Wahgyu Beef! Need I say more?). What value! The gelati was good but the chocolate dream at Flamenco's is better than the flan served here. Overall its defintely good value for good food in a beautiful environment.

Sometimes Simplicity is BEST...

I've been procrastinating on my want to blog on a number of food events. It maybe 1.30am now but I suppose its as good as any other time to post this as it's long overdue. I'll be blogging about a simple meal LM conjured up but this posting should really be after the taichow session of last Thursday at Paris, SS2. However as the pictures I took are in a MMcard, I'm unable to upload them. Dell, apparently manufacturers laptops with card readers that are unable to read MMC formats. Sigh...that posting of all the glorious food (the volume eaten was astounding) will just have to wait.

It was a Sunday evening, after a late but utterly satisfying lunch at Restoran Fast Food Fish Head in Sri Petaling. This restaurant serves among the best fish head in KL where the fish head varieties include sea fishes! The ginger steamed bullfrogs were heavenly as well. I will certainly be making another visit soon in the coming weeks. Anyone interested should let me know asap as I'm already craving for their food even at this ungodly hour (but then again I'm like that!)

Anyhow being rather full from lunch, LM & I needed just a simple bite for dinner. Rummaging through my freezer we found what's left of the minced meat & sliced beef from LM's grandad's famous beef noodles, Soong Kee in Jln Silang. Recreating the simple but delicious noodle was probably the best I've had for quite some time. Sometimes simplicity really does bring out the best. I'll let the following pictures do the talking but I was definitely a satisfied diner that night.