Healthy festive fare for CNY

Eating Out with CHOONG MEK ZHIN

UTARA COFFEE HOUSE,
Hotel Armada Petaling Jaya,
Lorong Utara C, Section 52,
46200 Petaling Jaya
Tel: 03-7954 6888 ext 4557)
Business hours: Daily, dinner from 6.30pm to 10.30pm.
Halal.

WHEN creating the menu for the upcoming Chinese New Year, the team of chefs at Armada Hotel focused on health and came up with dishes featuring healthy ingredients cooked using healthy methods.

For the healthconscious: The Tuitti Fruitti yee sang is quite like a fruit salad but with the distinct feel and taste of traditional yee sang, complete with extra virgin olive oil

“We try as much as possible to steam, boil and bake the food rather than fry it. Also, we thought about the individual ingredients that go into the dishes, and tried to make sure each would benefit our diners’ health in some way,” hotel executive chef Chew Teik Chye said.

Take, for instance, the outlet’s all-new Prosperity Yee Sang Tuitti Fruitti that uses all kinds of fruit instead of the usual fish.

“We have put in strawberries, banana, apple, pear and mandarin orange slices for that Chinese New Year feel in our yee sang, a traditional must-have,” Chew said. “And, instead of normal oil, we use extra virgin olive oil in it,” Chew said.

For those who prefer the usual, the outlet offers grass carp, salmon or tuna in the yee sang, which is priced from RM40++ to RM70++ and is offered in half or full portions.

This year, four speciality dishes will be served in the Triple Prosperity set menu that serves 10 people and has nine dishes altogether.

First off is the deep-fried chicken farce coated with almond flakes on mango sauce, which is a dish that goes through multiple processes before arriving at the dining table.

Fusion of flavours: The duck roulade dish on the Chinese New Year buffet menu is a mixture of duck and liver and is drizzled with kumquat sauce thart gives it an Oriental flavour.

“The chicken is first deboned, then the meat is steamed and dried in a time-consuming process. ‘Farce’ is just another term for mousse, which is what the chicken becomes after it is combined well with other ingredients,” Chew said, adding that the end result resembled chicken pieces.

The other specialities are the tiger prawns baked in Mongolian sauce; Armada Treasure Pot with braised dried oysters, fatt choy, black mushrooms and broccoli, and the steamed glutinous rice with diced chicken.

Diners may also opt for the alternative choice in the menu to the above-mentioned speciality dishes — the roast chicken with barbecue sauce, tiger prawns with crispy coconut slices, the Armada Treasure Pot with everything except for the broccoli, which is substituted with mustard plant, and the glutinous rice in lotus leaf.

“The rice dish uses both glutinous and normal rice so that diners won’t feel overly full when they eat it,” Chew said.

The other dishes in the Triple Prosperity set priced at RM888++ are salmon or tuna yee sang, braised shark’s fin soup with crab meat and dried scallops, steamed pomfret with soy sauce or steamed patin with supreme soy sauce, as well as double-boiled sea coconut with glutinous rice balls and deep-fried crispy nian kou, which is a sticky and sweet treat.

“We also thought a lot about the elderly during the six weeks it took us to come up with the menus. For instance, some dishes use deboned chicken so they are easier to eat, especially for the elderly,” Chew said.

He added that they used old ginger instead of the young rhizome in their dishes when needed, as old ginger added extra strength and warmed the body better, something elderly people would appreciate.

There is also a set menu called Lucky Eight that features eight dishes and is priced at RM688++. It offers salmon yee sang, braised shark’s fin soup with crab meat, roast chicken with Mongolian sauce or Hong Kong style, steamed patin with garlic sauce or deep-fried red snapper with cheong ching sauce, stewed loh hon chai (mixed vegetables) with beancurd skin with or without fatt choy, fried rice with seafood or Yong Chow style, double-boiled sea coconut or red bean cream with glutinous rice balls and deep-fried crispy nian kou.

A daily Chinese New Year buffet, priced at RM55++ per person, with six rotating menus with about 80 choices on each is also offered alongside the set menus until Feb 28.

Among the buffet choices are a few with a touch of Western influence, such as the smoked salmon ravioli in creamy nage and the roulade of duck with kumquat, in which the fruit lends the dish an Oriental flavour.

The buffet is available for dinner only from 6.30pm to 10.30pm, alongside the set menus that are also available for lunch upon request.

HSBC creditcard holders enjoy a 50% discount off the buffet price.

Tempting tastes for the Tiger

By YIP YOKE TENG Photos by YAP CHEE HONG

Coffee house continues a tradition of serving up fine buffets

BUFFETS have always been popular with the diners at the coffee house of Tropicana Golf and Country Resort’s club house, especially during the festive season.

Piping hot: Junior sous chef Hadi Kadir preparing oyster omelette at the live counter.

This year, the coffee house is treating members and visitors to the club to yet another buffet spread featuring more than 100 dishes for the Chinese New Year celebrations.

Popular Chinese dishes take centre stage from Feb 6 to 21 to usher in the Year of the Tiger.

Also inviting is the outlet’s prevailing muhibbah spirit as the Chinese dishes are all prepared by non-Chinese chefs, headed by senior sous chef Roslan Hamid.

“Tossing yee sang is a long held tradition during Chinese New Year and to celebrate the auspicious occasion, we will treat every table of diners to a complimentary plate of yee sang,” Tropicana Golf and Country Resort Bhd assistant manager for events and promotions James Thor said.

Buffet diners will also not be charged for corkage of wines and liquor.

To start the ball rolling, an array of Chinese appetisers including cold cuts, plain and marinated salads complemented by seven choices of dressing will be served to whet your appetite. Fresh salmon slices and oysters will also be available.

Before venturing on to the hot dishes, check out the live counters where oyster omelette, grilled beef tenderloin, pie tee, barbecued items, satay and fried and soup noodles are served on different days.

The steamed corner is a special feature of the buffet, where seafood of your choice will be steamed on order to get a taste of the cooking method that is popular with the Chinese.

Tasty start: Appetisers such as Chinese cold cuts and fried finger food to whet your appetite.

Among the main dishes to look out for are steamed chicken with scallop sauce, crab in spicy sauce, black pepper beef Chinese style and creamy butter prawns.

For desserts, be tempted by a colourful selection of Nyonya kuih, French pastries, as well as cooling Chinese sweet soups like longan with sea coconut, snow fungus, gingko nut and mango sago.

The buffet dinner is priced at RM52++ and RM62++ per adult, and RM35++ and RM40++ per child, for members and non-members, respectively.

Delectable dim sum

By ESTHER CHANDRAN
Photos by SIA HONG KIAU

ZUAN YUAN CHINESE RESTAURANT,
One World Hotel, First Avenue,
Bandar Utama City Centre,
Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Tel: 03-7681 1159.
Business hours: Noon to 2.30pm
(Monday to Saturday) and 6.30pm to 10.30pm daily.
Lunch on Sundays and public holidays
is from 11am to 2.30pm.

All in: Chef Chew has more than just Chinese New Year delicacies on the menu, dim sum will star as well!

PETITE dim sum often get bumped off the menu during Chinese New Year because chefs prefer to cook up seasons’ specialties than spend time deftly shaping the tiny morsels.

But this is not the case at Zuan Yuan Chinese Restaurant at One World Hotel Petaling Jaya.

This year, once you’re done tossing up the medley of yee sang mix, the array of tasty Chinese New Year dim sum options await.

Dim sum chef Chin Chee Heong said a selection of dim sum was specially created for Chinese New Year, incorporating the use of ingredients deemed prosperous and lucky by the Chinese community.

As Chinese New Year is all about ushering in good luck, prosperity and joy, the dim sum too has been labelled with auspicious names.

“We decided to offer dim sum for lunch on Chinese New Year so that our customers would have more options to feast on when they dine here,” chef Chin said.

On the cart are Steamed Seafood Dumpling with Superior Soup and Shark’s Fin, Steamed Prawn Dumpling with Crab Meat and Crab Roe, Steamed Fish Dumpling with Sea Moss and Green Pea, Steamed Siew Mai with Dried Oyster and Sea Moss, Deep Fried Prawn Roll with Banana in Katafi Pastry, Pan Fried Sweet Bean Curd Parcel with Teriyaki Sauce, Deep Fried Prawn Dumpling with Ebiko Salad Sauce, Deep Fried Spring Roll with Prawn Paste and Deep Fried Bean Curd Roll wtih Prawn and Spring Onion.

Celebration dish: Steamed Lotus Leaf Rice with Yam.

In prepping up the Chinese New Year menu, master chef Michael Chew Chee Peng has created the Chinese New Year Dim Sum Set Menus that has dim sum and must-have prosperity dishes.

Besides dim sum, the RM88++ per person menu offers Sauteed Butter Prawn with Pumpkin, Braised Dried Oyster with Assorted Mushroom and Vegetable, Wok Fried Diced Roasted Duck Meat with Dried Chicken Meat and Vegetable and Crispy Roasted Chicken with Fragrant Bean Sauce while the RM68++ per person menu can be considered less heavy weight.

Chef Chew’s yee sang specialty this year is the vegetarian Assorted Tempura Mushroom Yee Sang.

Plated out with a flurry of colourful ingredients, the chef has included the sharp tasting shitake, stalky shimeji and fan-like oyster mushrooms that have been dipped in batter and fried, to the dish.

“Mushrooms are used a lot in Chinese New Year dishes so I decided to highlight a variety of mushrooms in the yee sang.

“The sauce used to wet the dry ingredients in yee sang is also popular as we use a mix of plum sauce, peach jam and pineapple juice.

“The same sauce is used for our five yee sang offerings,” chef Chew said.

Lou Hei: Toss up the Assorted Tempura Mushroom Yee Sang at Zuan Yuan, One World Hotel Petaling Jaya.

Once you’re done with the lou hei bit and had your fill of either Fruity Vegetarian Yee Sang, Assorted Tempura Mushroom Yee Sang, Salmon and Shredded Sweet Turnip Yee Sang, Top Shell and Jelly Fish Yee Sang or Sliced Abalone and Snow Pear Yee Sang, a sumptuous line-up of dishes await.

Steaming hot or crispy fried, the kitchen crew will whip up tasty dishes like Braised Shark’s Fin with Crab Meat, Wok Fried Tiger Prawn with Fragrant Oat, Steamed Lotus Leaf Rice with Yam, Braised Dried Scallop with Diced Seafood in Money Bag with Garden Greens, Sliced Smoked Duck and Chicken Sausages and Slow Braised Marinated Village Chicken with Vegetable, just to name a few.

Chef Chin will do the juggling act as he oversees the making of the dim sum, then changes stations to ensure his number one dessert - Deep Fried Homemade Nian Gao with Sweet Potato gets all the attention it needs.

His nian gao version sticks in the mind like glue to paper because the sticky amber brown nian gao made of glutinous rice flour, water, wheat starch, oil, coconut sugar, coconut milk and brown sugar is supple and soft and only mildly sweet.

The nian gao is carefully placed between thin slices of Japanese sweet potato cake, dipped into batter to give it a crusty tasty overall finish.

The outlet’s set menus priced at RM1,388++, RM1188++, RM988++ for eight to 10 diners are available for lunch and dinner.

Jelly Koi Fish for Chinese New Year

By Eu Hooi Khaw

The pair of jelly koi fish not only look great but they symbolise wealth... perfect for Chinese New Year.

JAN 30 — Chinese New Year is all about auspicious symbols, especially when it comes to the food you eat and the gifts you present to close friends and family.

If you are tired of the usual hampers with cookies and mandarin oranges, try sending wishes of prosperity with a pair of Jelly Koi Fish Swimming in a Water Lily Pond.

Koi symbolises abundant wealth, and it’s truly a Yee Sang. It’s made of Japanese jelly and decorated with mandarin orange segments and nata de coco.

A pair of Koi Fish Yee Sang Jelly is available from Jelly-Lah! at RM35 per set, including decorative leaves, mandarin oranges and blue food dye (for the blue “pond”).

Call 012-355 3913, 012-309 5660. You can also order from Jelly-Lah! jelly cake (RM25 each), jelly in cups (RM3.50 each, minimum 12 cups) and jelly pieces at RM1 each, minimum order 20 pieces.

Koi Fish Jelly sets are available two weeks before CNY until Chap Goh Meh but the rest of the jellies are available throughout the year.

Italian delights for an early Valentine’s Day

Poached Jumbo Tiger Prawns with Cherry Tomatoes, wild rocket salad with grapefruit dressing... an absolutely delicious pairing.

By Eu Hooi Khaw
JAN 30 — I have had the best ravioli here, the smooth filling of cep mushrooms and creamy potato scented with thyme, spurting into my mouth with one light bite. The skin was so thin, the texture perfect, and these heart-shaped ravioli tinged pink with beetroot juice might be just the thing to celebrate Valentine’s Day with at Sassorosso, an Italian restaurant housed in a bungalow in Kuala Lumpur.

The Ceps ‘n’ Potato Ravioli with lentil herb sauce is an entrée in the menu for V Day dinner, to be held earlier, on Feb 11. Otherwise the romance of the occasion will be drowned in the rousing Chinese New Year celebrations.

Chef Giovanni Koromilas launched into the intricacies of making this ravioli – the sautéeing, chopping, boiling , blending… no wonder they were so good. He’s a chef of the old school, passionate about his craft. “You feel the food,” he said.

I had already felt it in the antipasti: Poached Jumbo Tiger Prawns with cherry tomatoes, wild rocket salad with grapefruit dressing in this “Love Menu.” And the Tempura Batter NZ Oysters with fennel, tomato confit with grain mustard dressing. Sweet prawns went well with the grapefruit dressing and wild rocket, both with a slight bitter edge.

empura Batter NZ Oysters are so good, you can still taste the freshness of the oysters.

The oysters were so skilfully deep-fried that the batter was just like a thin second skin, with their natural texture and juices intact. I liked the fennel salad with grain mustard dressing paired with them and the tomato confit was lovely, finished in tomato water, olive oil, garlic slices, fresh basil and thyme.

There is a choice of three main courses for this Feb 11 dinner — beef, lamb or cod. The Grilled Beef Tenderloin with glazed potatoes and caramelised shallots served with a 15-year-old balsamic reduction tasted like char siu (though no pork is served here). It had been set on a charcoal grill which imparted a delicious smokiness and crisp edges to the meat. Add to that the thicker, sweeter balsamic reduction and the meat melts in the mouth.

The Baked Lamb Rack with Vegetables Caponata and Kalimata Olive Sauce is a wonderful combination of a strong meat with an intense, nutty sauce with chopped zucchini and eggplant, and tomato concasse. Again the lamb had a welcome smokiness from the charcoal grilling and tasted so good with the olives in the lamb jus reduction. I just had to pick up the bone and tear at the meat on it.

The Panfried Cod Fillet with Butter Herb Crust and sautéed beetroot in light garlic sauce is a fine marriage of fish with a delicately flavoured crust of bread, butter, cheese and garlic, and hints of parsley, basil and thyme. The smooth, soft beetroot was a nice touch and added streaks of dark pink to the garlic sauce. “There’s no recipe to this; just my eye,” said the chef of the perfectly balanced flavours and texture of the cod.

The Varona Chocolate Flan with caramelized fresh strawberries and honey ice-cream ends this romantic dinner. Young diners may still feel a thrill at seeing melted chocolate flowing at the touch of the dessert fork, but I would have liked a more exciting dessert.

The dinner costs RM388++ with a bottle of Prosecco (Italian champagne). Without the champagne it’s RM338++. There is a retail wine shop within if you wish to choose your own wine. It has a wide range of 35 grappas as well.
Sassorosso has the right ambience for a celebratory evening like this. It can be as formal or informal as you wish, and there is music from a Korean cellist and a Russian violinist to enjoy and dance to.

You can dine inside or alfresco within a matured garden. Even within the private room that seats up to 35 people and faces the garden, there is a mango tree that’s still sprouting leaves. Sassorosso means red stone, the name inspired by a painting of volcanic landscape hanging in this room

Brunch is served every Sunday from 12pm to 3pm. There is a set lunch at RM28 for a variety of antipasti, and RM46 for antipasti, main course, dessert and coffee.

Sassorosso is located at 9 Lorong Yap Kwan Seng, 50450 Kuala Lumpur. Tel: 03-2144 6428.

Salads are the star items here… but try the other yummy offerings

By Eu Hooi Khaw

The Havana Salad is one of the most popular items at Marmalade.

JAN 16 — I love the salads in Marmalade in Bangsar Village II. They make a delicious, nutritious and well-balanced meal even if you just eat this. Take for instance, Sounds of Havana which has a star next to its name on the menu. It has roasted chicken cubes, pineapple and coconut salsa, peppers, cashew nuts and haloumi cheese over a bed of lettuce with a sweet and sour pineapple vinaigrette.

You crunch into the salad and immediately taste the cashews, small slices of haloumi that look like white tofu and the juicy pineapple cubes, in the light, tangy dressing. If you don’t want to eat anything else, it’s alright, because this fills you up in the nicest way.

Avocado Accents, another salad, stands out too for its combination of roasted chicken cubes, avocado, peppers, apples, raisins, cashewnuts, apple, raisins and sundried tomatoes over a bed of lettuce, and tossed with a mustard dressing.

It was a salad I couldn’t stop eating. Together, the chicken cubes with the creamy avocado, nuts and vegetables and lettuce filled me up. The ingredients complemented each other: I love the tangy sundried tomato in it, and the zesty dressing was just perfect.

We also nibbled on some nachos with minced beef, sour cream, tomato and guacamole, each of the last three served attractively in small glasses.

For something vegetarian and delicious, the Lebanese Wrap is hard to beat. You could have it with several types of filling, but highly recommended is the mushroom, pesto, pine nuts and cheese. The aroma of basil in the pesto comes out each time you take a bite. It flavours the juicy button mushrooms and pine nuts. There’s also a bit of cheese which adds to the taste.

Other fillings for these pita bread wraps are turkey ham, spinach and cheese, or egg, avocado and basil with home-made mayo. I would also like to try that with grilled vegetables and hummus.

We couldn’t resist the Spaghetti Aglio Olio with Spicy Prawns. All the lovely garlic, chilli, mushroom and prawn aromas wafted up. There were sundried tomatoes, cut cherry tomatoes and pine nuts tossed up with the pasta too. It was so good that I mopped up every bit of the garlic and pine nuts left behind on the plate.

The Fried Rice with Sweet and Spicy Beef Kurma is one of the Asian dishes at Marmalade that you must have. The beef chunks were well infused with the kurma and was scrumptious with the fried rice with raisins it was served with. There is also a fried egg on top, so it’s a substantial meal. You could also try a Chicken Curry in a Bread Bowl, Chicken Tikka Masala, Udon Curry Laksa with Salmon Fishcake and Moroccan Lamb Shank (the last two are the chef’s recommendations).

The scrumptious carrot cake which still tastes so good after so many years

I would certainly remind everyone to save room for dessert, especially the Carrot Cake, which is still very good after all these years. It’s a huge slice of cake with cream cheese topping and studded with melon seeds. The cake is moist and pleasing and not sweet, and it’s for sharing over a cup of coffee.

We also had a Steamed Orange Ginger Cake which was strangely not as moist as the Carrot Cake but it had all the requisite flavours.

You should really take your pick at the dessert counter. There’s tiramisu, bread and butter pudding, apple crumble, banofee cake, Oreo cheesecake and gorgeously iced cupcakes, among others.

I took a long look at the raisin scones and knew they held a lot of promise in taste and texture. I packed some for a friend and was happily surprised they put in the clotted cream and jam too.

The restaurant is so cheerful and welcoming.

Marmalade has such a sunny décor you’d feel happy just to be inside. It’s also child-friendly place, with a kiddies menu that has some rather tasty dishes such as the Cheesy Toast and Twirly Whirly of pasta spirals with turkey ham and broccoli, and a private corner for them too.

If you come early enough you could have a hearty breakfast as well. The food is very reasonably priced. The portions are substantial and they are meant for sharing.

Marmalade is located at 1F-18 Bangsar Village II, 1 Jalan Telawi 2, Bangsar Baru, 59100 Kuala Lumpur, Tel: 03-2282 8301. There is another Marmalade at Plaza Mont Kiara (ground floor), Tel: 03-6201 1743 (opens from 8.30am to 9.30pm). Then there’s The Lawn by Marmalade KLCC, on Level 2, Ramlee Mall, KLCC, Tel 03-2162 1898.

Divine roast duck in Canning Garden, Ipoh

The divine roast duck... with the best-in-the-world taste.

By Alexandra and KW Wong

JAN 23 — “Is it my imagination, or is the Ipoh food scene ostensibly divided into two camps?” KW asks thoughtfully.

“What do you mean?” I furrow my eyebrows distractedly, trying to search for an empty lot.

“For dim sum, you have Foh San vs Ming Court,” he begins.

“Ming Court!” I pipe up.

“For bean sprouts chicken, there’s Loe Wong Wong vs Cowan Street bean …” he continues.

“And now Restaurant Hong Kong vs Restaurant Hong Kong Oil? Amazingly, not only do they sell the same thing, their shop names are only different by one word! Which is better, in your opinion?”

“Parking!” I yelp, ramming my Charade aggressively into an empty lot. Parking can be a devil in Canning Garden, this deceptively laidback-looking enclave in Ipoh shaded by ancient giant trees. It is also home to some of the best grub around, including chee cheong fun, Siamese laksa, nasi lemak … but that’s a story for another day.

I opt for political correctness. “I’ve tried both and they are nice. But for some reason, I’ve always found myself gravitating back to Madam Heng’s. The personalised intimacy keeps me coming back like a magnet.”

And then, there’s the supremely-addictive duck, of course. Which is why, on this food tour, I’m whisking duck-mad KW to my “favouritest” place in Ipoh for a gamey poultry fix.

“That’s the madam of the manor, bubbly, personable and generous almost to a fault,” I whisper, pointing to a middle-aged lady dressed in a flowy batik caftan, with a soft wavy updo and perpetually Manga-esque wide eyes.

“Miss Wong! Lei hoe moe (how are you?)? So long never see, kam leng chor keh (become so pretty already)?”
Uh huh. That’s Madam Heng, all right: a bundle of smiles, conviviality and outrageous flattery.

I ask for the usual — duck leg with a side order of curry chicken and acar. “Make sure you impress,” I say with a wink.

Not that there’s any doubt she will.

Fans rave about its signature crispy skin duck, the result of a six-hour labour of love. First, more than ten herbs are rubbed inside the bird to remove excessive gaminess, while retaining the trademark robustness that duck lovers go ape over.

The dry curry chicken here is no slouch either.

Another eight herbs are slathered over the skin for flavour enhancement. Then, the bird is allowed to dry naturally for a few hours before it is roasted in a charcoal-powered Apollo stove for 40 minutes and finally fanned to cool.

Just before it is delivered to your table, the duck is drizzled with lashings of boiling oil to create that paper-thin, crackling-crispy skin that melts on your tongue.

Madam Heng once told me they use “jeli-weli” duck, a specially bred duck of English origin, chosen by virtue of its leaner meat. In my first visit here, she actually lifted the glistening reddish-brown skin to prove her point. Look ma, no fat. (She didn’t say that, I did.)

I’ll let KW describe the results: “Simply one of the best roast ducks I’ve ever had, while making allowances for ducks consumed in the past and the future. The sweet plum sauce is nice but not necessary. Skill, technique, recipe and love went into this creation, and it clamped my mouth shut for most of the meal.”

There is a bit of to-and-fro at the cash register when we’re done. By our reckoning, the meal is worth every hard-earned sen: a plate of dry curry, acar, a gargantuan duck leg, two bowls of rice, three iced herbal teas, plus half a dozen mandarin oranges on the house.

What comes back as change for RM50 is … let’s just say a KL-ite would think it’s a steal.

We think so, too — us stealing from Madam Heng, if we leave it there.

“Go on, take it,” Madam Heng implores.

“No, no,” I protest. “It’s way too much change. If you keep insisting I’ll drop it and run off.”

“Please don’t fight with me! I’m old and I can’t catch up with you.”

What the hell can any decent upstanding person say to a water-tight argument like that?

After I thank her reluctantly, KW and I lumber out of the shop.

“Sai lei (fantastic) these small towners,” he sums it up.

“Yes, I observed, the yan ching mei (interpersonal factor) is very strong,” I add with a sigh that is half a complaint and half an affectionate observation.

Revisiting mom and pop shops like Restaurant Hong Kong reminds me why I’d rather review small-time entrepreneurs than big-boy chains.

Because.

Beyond the paper-thin crispy-as-Peking-duck skin…

Beyond the lean yet luscious meat, infused with heady, aromatic flavours…

Beyond the leisurely and cosy level of service…

… they remember – and appreciate you.

For life.

Restoran Hong Kong
60 Jalan Lee Kwee Foh
Canning Garden
Ipoh.
Tel +605 5477813

A different taste of Thailand… for a steal!

Salt Baked Ikan Haruan... the fish is so sweet and moist, you will want to eat every bit of it.

By Eu Hooi Khaw

JAN 23 — The Ikan Haruan, a variety of catfish, has always been known for its fast-healing properties post surgery. But lately it has been appearing on the menus of restaurants. It’s a fish I like for its smooth texture and sweetness, and the traditional Chinese way of eating it is in a soup.

Imagine my delight to see it being encrusted in salt and baked at E San Thai Kitchen in Ara Damansara, near the Subang Airport. Remove the crust with the skin and the lovely aroma of the fish is released. The 1kg fish had also been stuffed with finely chopped serai, pandan, sweet basil and other Thai herbs.

It’s a 1kg fish, so it is very meaty and absolutely delicious just eaten on its own, though three sauces are served with it — tamarind, grilled green chillies and onions and garlic and lime. The sauces though were a perfect match with the salad of cucumber and blanched long beans.

The very subtle tamarind sauce, stirred with some palm sugar and lime juice complements the moist, soft flesh of the fish. Occasionally you bite into a little salt and it still doesn’t take away the sweet flavour of this Salt Baked Ikan Haruan. We ate every bit of the fish: the stomach has a lot of healthy fats, and because the herb stuffing is there it is lovely to eat as well.

E San’s food heritage is from north-eastern Thailand, near the Lao border, and it’s a distinct cuisine that leans towards the Laotian side. Restaurant owner CK Lim, whose husband is Thai, actually went to E San (an actual place there) to learn cooking under a traditional chef there.

Sundried Beef and Red Curry Beef, dry-style is very unusual and absolutely delicious.

Sun-dried Beef is also a speciality of E San. The dark, very aromatic, peppery and tender beef is just so good. The Australian beef had been marinated with a Thai herb and a special chilli pepper for a day, then sundried before being fried. The edges of the meat slices are crispy, and it is a good pairing with beer. A dip of lime juice, chilli and fish sauce comes with it, but the beef with flavour pouring out of every fibre, does not need it.

It helps that all the curry pastes — red and green — are made from scratch by Lim, the spices being hand fried in the restaurant. You can taste the difference in the Red Curry Beef and the Green Curry Chicken.

They are both curries with fine nuances, rather than in your face with the chilli, herbs and spices. I like the Red Curry Beef with the long beans. It’s cooked in a dry style and the wonderful aromas and flavours of the spice paste cling to the meat and long beans. I have never eaten a Green Curry Chicken like this, one that doesn’t overwhelm you with the rich coconut milk. Both scored high marks with me. The green curry had lots of sweet basil in it, eggplant and small chunks of tender chicken.

Green Curry Chicken here is not too rich and you can taste the spices.

Lim introduced us to a special type of rice eaten by the E San people. It’s Fried Crispy Rice, as in the “kerak” or farn chiu. It’s fried with a little curry paste, prawns and spring onions, and finished with fish sauce and lime juice. It’s chewy and appetizing, and goes with everything.

The restaurant does a very light tom yam that’s not too fiery with chilli or chilli oil. Lime and tamarind are in the clear soup with squid, prawns and chicken and lots of lemongrass. It’s a tom yam I’m really comfortable with.

We also tried the very unusual Deep-fried Kangkung in batter. Only the stalks are used and these vegetable crisps are served with a lightly sweet, creamy dip of coconut milk and Thai sauce. It would have been nicer if the batter had been lighter, like in a tempura.

I always find the Thai Otak Otak or Hok Mok too mixed up and rich for my taste, though my friends enjoyed it.

It comes in a coconut and slices of the sweet tender flesh are in it, together with prawns and squid. The ingredients had been stir fried with curry paste and egg before being steamed in the coconut.

You get a free dessert of Tab Tim Krob with yam at E San but you should also have a taste of the very, very nice Pumpkin Custard. Few Thai restaurants serve this nowadays. The custard is light and creamy, well-matched with the soft pumpkin.

I should come back for the Fried Egg Salad, I was told, with a dressing of lime juice, fish sauce and palm sugar that has been simmered together, Thai Laksa (on Saturdays) , and of course more Ikan Haruan done in other styles. I’d love to take home a Salt-Baked one next time, and it costs just RM55 for 1kg.

E San Thai Kitchen is pork-free and is located at G-G-3A + 5 Block G, Jalan PJU 1A/3, Taipan 2, Ara Damansara, 47301 PJ. Tel: 03-7842 7368. It’s closed on Wednesdays.

Quick Barbecue Sauce

Quick Barbecue Sauce:
4 tablespoons ketchup
4 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 tablespoons brown spicy mustard
2 tablespoons dark mollases or treacle
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
Bring everything to the boil, then simmer on a low heat for 30 minutes. Cool before using.

Pink Sauce:
125ml tomato ketchup
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice
1 ½ teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
Mix altogether with a seasoning of salt and pepper.

Hamburgers:
3 tablespoons olive oil (I use 2)
2 large red onions
3 thyme sprigs (I don’t use these)
Saute the red onions in the oil with a pinch of salt for 10 – 15 minutes.
780g best minced beef
2 ½ tablespoons chopped parsley (I don’t add this)
1 egg lightly beaten
1 tablespoon olive oil
Mix altogether with a seasoning of salt and pepper and shape into hamburger patties. Brush the grill with the oil and cook to still be juicy inside. Serve with the onions, sauce and extras.

Extras:
Cheese slices
Tomato slices
Gerkin slices
Lettuce
6 buns for burgers

Chocolate and Cranberry Cookies

Chocolate and Cranberry Cookies

After seeing Freya’s gorgeous cookies recently, I really felt we needed to have some cookies of our own in the kitchen, available for nibbling. I wanted something not too fancy, but with chocolate and hopefully fruit too. I turned to Tessa Kiros and her Apples for Jam book.

These cookies are slightly chewy and crisp on the outside, I’ve tried cranberry and chocolate cookies before in the form of Nigella’s lovely ones from Feast, although they are white chocolate so completely different. These were very good, my friend Ilana says they are one of her favourites and I can see why the darker chocolate and the yummy cranberries make for a great taste combination. We all liked them, and they were gone so quickly. I kept them quite small, so got the 30 suggested by Tessa out of the mixture. I also tried a variation on the recipe which was finely diced dried mango and American butterscotch chips, and they were yummy too.

Chocolate and Cranberry Cookies

75g Butter
50g soft brown sugar
50g caster sugar
1 egg
Few drops vanilla extract
160g plain flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
110g dark (semisweet chocolate) chopped
50g dried cranberries

Preheat the oven to 190oc / 375oF / gas 5. Line 2 trays with baking paper or magic mats / silpat.

Cream the butter and sugars together (I used a Kitchen Aid). Add the egg and vanilla and mix again. Add in the flour and baking powder and mix only to combine, then finally add in the chocolate and cranberries and mix invery brielfy. Roll tea spoonfuls of dough into balls and place on the waiting baking sheets (no need to flatten them), bake for 12-15 minutes.

Salads are the star items here… but try the other yummy offerings

By Eu Hooi Khaw

The Havana Salad is one of the most popular items at Marmalade.

JAN 16 — I love the salads in Marmalade in Bangsar Village II. They make a delicious, nutritious and well-balanced meal even if you just eat this. Take for instance, Sounds of Havana which has a star next to its name on the menu. It has roasted chicken cubes, pineapple and coconut salsa, peppers, cashew nuts and haloumi cheese over a bed of lettuce with a sweet and sour pineapple vinaigrette.

You crunch into the salad and immediately taste the cashews, small slices of haloumi that look like white tofu and the juicy pineapple cubes, in the light, tangy dressing. If you don’t want to eat anything else, it’s alright, because this fills you up in the nicest way.

Avocado Accents, another salad, stands out too for its combination of roasted chicken cubes, avocado, peppers, apples, raisins, cashewnuts, apple, raisins and sundried tomatoes over a bed of lettuce, and tossed with a mustard dressing.

It was a salad I couldn’t stop eating. Together, the chicken cubes with the creamy avocado, nuts and vegetables and lettuce filled me up. The ingredients complemented each other: I love the tangy sundried tomato in it, and the zesty dressing was just perfect.

We also nibbled on some nachos with minced beef, sour cream, tomato and guacamole, each of the last three served attractively in small glasses.

For something vegetarian and delicious, the Lebanese Wrap is hard to beat. You could have it with several types of filling, but highly recommended is the mushroom, pesto, pine nuts and cheese. The aroma of basil in the pesto comes out each time you take a bite. It flavours the juicy button mushrooms and pine nuts. There’s also a bit of cheese which adds to the taste.

Other fillings for these pita bread wraps are turkey ham, spinach and cheese, or egg, avocado and basil with home-made mayo. I would also like to try that with grilled vegetables and hummus.

We couldn’t resist the Spaghetti Aglio Olio with Spicy Prawns. All the lovely garlic, chilli, mushroom and prawn aromas wafted up. There were sundried tomatoes, cut cherry tomatoes and pine nuts tossed up with the pasta too. It was so good that I mopped up every bit of the garlic and pine nuts left behind on the plate.

The Fried Rice with Sweet and Spicy Beef Kurma is one of the Asian dishes at Marmalade that you must have. The beef chunks were well infused with the kurma and was scrumptious with the fried rice with raisins it was served with. There is also a fried egg on top, so it’s a substantial meal. You could also try a Chicken Curry in a Bread Bowl, Chicken Tikka Masala, Udon Curry Laksa with Salmon Fishcake and Moroccan Lamb Shank (the last two are the chef’s recommendations).

The scrumptious carrot cake which still tastes so good after so many years

I would certainly remind everyone to save room for dessert, especially the Carrot Cake, which is still very good after all these years. It’s a huge slice of cake with cream cheese topping and studded with melon seeds. The cake is moist and pleasing and not sweet, and it’s for sharing over a cup of coffee.

We also had a Steamed Orange Ginger Cake which was strangely not as moist as the Carrot Cake but it had all the requisite flavours.

You should really take your pick at the dessert counter. There’s tiramisu, bread and butter pudding, apple crumble, banofee cake, Oreo cheesecake and gorgeously iced cupcakes, among others.

I took a long look at the raisin scones and knew they held a lot of promise in taste and texture. I packed some for a friend and was happily surprised they put in the clotted cream and jam too.

The restaurant is so cheerful and welcoming.

Marmalade has such a sunny décor you’d feel happy just to be inside. It’s also child-friendly place, with a kiddies menu that has some rather tasty dishes such as the Cheesy Toast and Twirly Whirly of pasta spirals with turkey ham and broccoli, and a private corner for them too.

If you come early enough you could have a hearty breakfast as well. The food is very reasonably priced. The portions are substantial and they are meant for sharing.

Marmalade is located at 1F-18 Bangsar Village II, 1 Jalan Telawi 2, Bangsar Baru, 59100 Kuala Lumpur, Tel: 03-2282 8301. There is another Marmalade at Plaza Mont Kiara (ground floor), Tel: 03-6201 1743 (opens from 8.30am to 9.30pm). Then there’s The Lawn by Marmalade KLCC, on Level 2, Ramlee Mall, KLCC, Tel 03-2162 1898.

Gado-Gado Recipe

(Indonesian Mixed Salad)
Ingredients :
400g (2 cups) 120g (1 cup) 120g (1 cup) 120g (1 cup) 3 tablespoons 50g (1 3/4 cup) 300g (1 cup) 120g (1/2 cup) 5 leaves 2 12 Dressing 3 tablespoons 100g (1 cup) 7 cloves 1 teaspoon 2 tablespoons 2 tablespoons 500 ml 2 tablespoons 1 1/4 teaspoons 5 tablespoons 300g (2 cups)	Potatoes, peeled and cubed Beansprouts Chinese cabbage, coarsely shredded Long Beans Oil Soy bean cake (tempeh) Firm beancurd Cucumber, sliced into finger lengths Chinese lettuce, washed and dried Hard boiled eggs, peeled and halves Fried prawn crackers Ground dried red chilies Shallots Garlicc Shrimp paste (belacan) Water Oil Water Rice vinegar Salt Sugar Roasted peanuts, crushed
Method : Boil the potatoes until firm and tender, then drain and divide between four serving bowls. Blanch the beansprouts for 10 seconds, remove and plunge them briefly into ice cold water. Repeat for the cabbage. Drain both well and divide between each bowl. Cut long beans to finger lengths then boil until tender and place in e ach bowl. Heat the oil in a pan or wok and fry the tempeh on both sides until brown. Remove and drain on kitchen towel, cube then place in each bowl. Pat the beancurd dry with paper towel and fry in the oil until brown on both sides. Remove and cut into cubes and divide between the four bowls. Divide the remaining vegetables into each bowl and top with half an egg. Prepare t he dressing and pour over the vegetables. Garnish with the prawn cracker. How to prepare the dressing? Blend the dried chilies, shallots, garlic and shrimp pate with 2 tablespoons water until smooth. Heat the oil and sauté the blended ingredients until fragrant. Add the water, vinegar, salt, sugar and peanuts and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for another 10 minutes.

Deep Fried Beancurd with Fishballs Recipe

Ingredients :
4 Large 4 1 teaspoon 1 clove 2 tablespoons 1/4 1 sprig 1 tablespoon 1/2 tablespoon	Squares deep fried beancurd Fishballs, sliced thinly Dark soy sauce Garlic, minced Water Cucumber, sliced into small pieces Coriander leaf, chopped Toasted sesame seeds Oil Pinch of sugar Salt and pepper to taste Chili sauce
Method : Scald beancurd in hot water for 5 minutes. Drain and cool. Squeeze out the water. Cut the beancurd diagonally. Make a slit in the center of each. Heat oil in a frying pan. Sauté the garlic until fragrant. Add water, sliced fish balls, soy sauce and sugar. Follow with salt and pepper. Bring mixture to a boil. Remove when fishballs are cooked. Cool the mixture. Remove the fishballs from the sauce. Mix with cucumber. Stuff the beancurd with the fishball mixture. Pour remainder of sauce if any. Sprinkle toasted sesame seeds and chopped coriander leaf. Serve with chili sauce.

Chicken Kerabu Recipe

Ingredients :
300g (11oz) 450g (1lb) 25g (1/4 cup) 2 tablespoons 1 tablespoon 1 teaspoon 75ml (1/4 cup)	Steamed chicken Cabbage, cut into 2cm (3/4 in) squares Thinly sliced shallots Lime juice Sambal Belacan Salt Fresh Coconut Cream
Method : Cut the steamed chicken into 1cm (1/2 in) cubes Blanch the cabbage by placing it in a sieve and pouring hot water over it. The cabbage should remain crisp. Drain well. Combine the shallots, Sambal Belacan, lime juice and salt together and then add the chicken and cabbage. Stir in the thick coconut milk and serve with steam rice. How to prepare fresh coconut cream? 75g (1.5 cups) freshly grated coconut 75ml (1/4cup) water To prepare Fresh Coconut Cream, mix the grated coconut with the water in a cheese cloth and strain.

Old Malaya charm at bistro

By LIM CHIA YING

MALAYAS BISTRO,
G-9 CapSquare Centre,
No. 7, Persiaran CapSquare,
50100 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03-2691 1616.
Business hours: Mon to Sat; 8am to 1am.
Closed on Sundays.

A DINING experience at Malayas Bistro is one of quiet elegance; guests dine and wine in chic setting that transports you back to the 1960s.

Sumptuous: The set of Banana Leaf Rice meal with its nine vegetables and one dessert inside the tray. Outside are ala carte dishes like Fried Curry Mutton and Butter Prawns.

It has much to do with the old world charm and jazzy soul of its tastefully done interior that reminds one of the era then, from its tiled flooring and fans to the high leather seats and expensive music speakers playing a mix of contemporary and oldies.

There is a bar table where guests could have their drinks, from the selection of liquors and alcoholic beverages and also wines from around the world.

The owner’s inspiration for his outlet’s decor is apparently from the Old Malaya teahouses, and with the ambience comes its whole-hearted Malaysian food uniquely served in tapas portions.

For UOB cardholders, they are offered two types of promotions.

Malayas Bistro vice-president of operations Suhaimi Sany said for the first promotion, cardholders were entitled to a 50% discount on food items after 6pm in a single bill.

Delectable: The Marinated Slipper Lobster with Citron Blanc was delightful and sumptuous to savour.

“The second promotion has to do with our signature dish — the banana leaf rice, which is cooked by our chef from Chennai, India.

“Cardholders will be given a card whereby they get to have it validated/stamped each time they order a banana leaf meal. Once they collect all seven stamps, they get to enjoy one free banana leaf meal,” he said.

Suhaimi, who has been in the F&B line for over 30 years, said there were three banana leaf sets that guests could choose from - Set A which comprises rice and nine types of vegetables and one dessert, all in tapas-style servings.

As for Set B, it will also consist of the above, but with an additional choice of either the Fried Chicken, Friedmackerel or Mutton Varuval.

“This is to satisfy the non-vegetarian guests,” he said.

Set C will combine Set A and B but with an additional drink of special Indian tea. All three sets come with a free flow of soft drinks.

Suhaimi said the promotion was available until further notice.

“Later on, we plan to take the vegetables off the set and convert them back to ala-carte style,” he said.

Yummy: A colourful assortment of cakes and puddings are sweet treats to end your meal.

Helming the kitchen is head chef Han Ah Seng with over 25 years of experience cooking all types of Malaysian food.

From the ala carte menu, we were served the Seafood Tomyam Soup, vegetable dish of Pakhora, seafood dish of Butter Prawns, and the Dried Curry Mutton.

The Tomyam broth was slightly sourish for my liking, but I did enjoy the flavourful mutton that had been cut into cubes.

The Pakhora was done somewhat like tempura, which Han said was cooked with flour, while the prawns had to be first deep-fried before being cooked with egg yolk, butter and a final touch of curry leaves for flavour.

Following the nice Malaysian meal, drinks will be perfect to wind down as you watch the world go by from the bar or the comfort of your cushion seats.

This is the writer’s personal observation and not an endorsement by StarMetro.

Going Nuts Over Seafood

Forget random seafood delights outside Selangor. PHILIP LIM points the way to an unpretentious altar of gastronomical delights.

WHENEVER the word "seafood" comes to mind, the names of a number of places pop up -- Kuala Selangor, Pasir Penambang, Manjalara (near Bandar Sri Damansara), Sungai Besar and even Morib.

However, there are a handful of so-called hideaways that are quietly thriving under the shadow of those noteworthy seafood places. One of the more placid ones is the Coconut Flower Seafood Restaurant.

While some of us are scrambling around during weekends to make "great culinary discoveries", some "selfish people" have been quietly enjoying themselves in the confines of the Coconut Flower.

The establishment's display board provides pictorial evidence of its distinction among foodies. There are recognisable faces of local and foreign celebrities, including Malaysian politicians.

While we were feasting our eyes elsewhere, some film stars from south of our border had also been getting a taste of this Coconut Flower.

The restaurant is hidden in restful Kampung Telok Gong, somewhere on the fringes of Port Klang. If you are a first timer, drive along the road to Banting and look out for the road sign that points to Pandamaran.

Unless you are extremely near-sighted, you should be able to spot a subsequent road sign that indicates the direction to Telok Gong. For newbies, it is important to note that the road leading to Coconut Flower looks like a dirt road in the boondocks. In fact, it is a light industrial area. The narrow winding road, subdued in appearance, gives the impression that you have taken a wrong turn.

However, after about 1 1/2 kms, the Coconut Flower Seafood Restaurant sign peeks at you from the left side of the road.

From the outside, Coconut Flower looks restrained or downright plain. But looks are deceiving. Once you step across its portal, partly covered by coconut fronds, you will be pleasantly surprised by the tasteful decor of its interior.

There are numerous attap roofs over single dining tables. The rotating fan under the thatched roof wards off the heat and humidity on our perpetual summer days. The lush greenery, consisting garden plants, beautiful flowers and strategically placed pergolas, add to the pervading soothing and tranquil atmosphere.

For such a low-keyed spot in the middle of a sleepy village, the number of tables can only be described as astounding. There must easily be at least 70 tables or more. An adjoining building seems to serve as a venue for large gatherings, or perhaps wedding parties.

There are over 110 dishes in the menu. If you aren't sure what to order or what these dishes look like, take a walk to the notice-board near the cashier's counter.

On display are pictures of many mouth-watering dishes that will impress even the most seasoned diners. All you have to do is to point the ones you want to the patient waitress.

On my second visit to Coconut Flower, common sense helps me in listing down six preferred dishes. It saves time and cuts short the waiting period.

Service is amazingly efficient and the waiters and waitresses will put to shame most workers at five-star dining establishments. They are fast and attentive.

It is well known that Coconut Flower is a very busy place after 7pm. From then on, service may slow to a crawl. So if you are a VIP (Very Impatient Person), you may want to go during lunch time on weekdays. Take a day off, or think of something creative to tell your immediate supervisor so that you can satisfy your curiosity.

The tilapia fish (fei chow yue), fried Thai-style, is unforgettable. It tastes so good with the right amount of sauce and condiments that it makes you forget about everybody and everything momentarily.

The mushroom-seaweed soup is also another attention grabber. This particular dish is best savoured piping hot from the wok. The freshness of the soup will jump-start your tummy for the other dishes.

It is all right to feel like you may have to visit Coconut Flower again soon because most of its diners are regulars anyway. From the length of the restaurant menu, it is only sensible to try a few dishes at a time.

Don't overdo it. Any connoisseur will tell you that anything excessive only reveals that you are just a common glutton.

To help you digest the generous helpings on the table, you may want to order a pot of Iron Lady (Ti Guan Yin) tea. For the benefit of the non-Chinese, that's a popular variety of Chinese tea.

You may order fruit juices, of course but Chinese tea usually works wonders for quick digestion and helps to alleviate the burden of feeling full.

After we are done with the meal, the bill brings another smile to our faces. It is just a little more than RM70 for six dishes and all the other extras. The restaurant throws in free slices of watermelon. Great food, affordable prices and near perfect ambience. We just have to revisit the place. Just in case, you want to treat your family or friends to a hearty meal this weekend, Coconut Flower Seafood Restaurant is in 702, Jalan Udang Galah, Kampung Telok Gong, Port Klang. For GPS owners, the co-ordinates are N2 57.712 E101 23.855.

The Berlin Wall Of Beer Bottles

KUALA LUMPUR: A conversation between family members over a delectable meal of German cuisine, turned out to be very profitable for three cousins. What started as a hobby and passion for German food and bier resulted in them opening an outlet of their own in record time. "We love German food especially the pork knuckles, and we try them all with our spouses and kids at different restaurants. One night, one of us had the idea of opening our own place in May this year," said Berlin BierGarten director Dr Kunalan, 37. "The next thing we knew, we were busy filling out forms for the necessary approvals from the authorities. Now that was a challenge as none of us had experience in the food and beverage industry," he said. Inexperience notwithstanding, Berlin BierGarten was up and running by last July at Soho KL, Solaris Mont' Kiara, with an investment of RM500,000 made by the three cousins Dr Kunalan, Dr Loganathan and K. Vijayendran. The light breezes there are an added boon for the customers, who have their pick of 43 varieties of German delicacies prepared by executive chef S. Panneer, 33. Among the house specialities are Berlin salad with rocket leaves, bratwurst of pork, lamb, beef and chicken served with sauerkraut and herbed button mushrooms, and the the Berlin specialities -- crispy pork knuckle roasted with garlic and herbs, and Berlin roast pork ribs. For those not fond of meat, there is the vegetarian Berlin pasta. Naturally, the hearty fare is washed down with even more generous quantities of Paulaner, Hacker Pschorr and Thurns und Taxis, which are among the 10 varieties of premium German beer available there. "The concept here is reasonably priced fine dining in a casual atmosphere. The restaurant can seat about 100 diners," said Dr Kunalan. The restaurant is open from 11am to 11pm daily, and until 1am on Fridays and Saturdays. For details, call 03-6203 0958.

Pizzeria in a Chinese coffee-shop?

By KW and Alexandra Wong

Pinos makes seriously good pizza... you won't be able to resist

JAN 2 — I didn’t pay much attention to the new “Italian pizza place” that opened in my neighbourhood a couple of months ago. I’m not really a huge pizza fan; the sorry-tasting rubbery dough pillows at commercial outlets have left me wanting.

So it was out of convenience more than anything else, that I ventured into Pinos one rainy evening and decided to give its Siciliana pizza a try. I was not expecting much.

God evidently relishes giving us little surprises. Because before you can say Mamma Mia, I had dragged fellow foodie Alex half-way round town to try this “pizzeria like nothing you’ve ever seen.”

Like me, she did a double take at the setting.

The setup is relatively spartan. Pizzas are made fresh (some call it a la minute?) on a marble slab placed over a steamtable, most of the ingredients in little microwaveable containers.

The mozzarella cheese was portioned and kept in plastic bags; the anchovies came out of a can. A single (gigantic) industrial pizza oven on the counter.

Sounds pretty standard for a pizza place — except that this Italian-owned pizzeria is nested inside a Chinese coffee-shop.

By day, the shoplot houses an economy rice stall. At the centre of the shop is an altar, presided over by Lord Guan Yu. Stickers on the wall advertise drinks that double as remedies for sore throats and heaty bodies. By night, a decidedly non-Malaysian person kneads dough and tends the oven.

As we take our place at one of the utilitarian square tables, Cantonese grunge pop wafts over from the DVD store next door, a psychedelic stroke in a Renaissance painting.
“This is like a scene out of a Wong Kar Wai movie,” Alex whispers in awe.

We order the Siciliana pizza, which features a topping of cheese, black olives and pepperoni.

“Well?” I demand, as she reaches for another slice.
“Dizizbelygood,” she mumbles through a mouthful of pizza.

I never had a doubt.

My maiden slice latched onto my appetite like a starving lamprey, and before I knew it, the whole pie was gone.

Though Pinos has a fairly limited menu, they do things small and deep, in the words of a theatre lecturer.

Other restaurants have mile-long menus and still can’t get a single thing right, but Pinos nails it with just two items on their menu: pizza and pasta.

The secret is no rocket science: Pinos doesn’t skimp on ingredients. Your pizza is prepared before your eyes: chef AJ kneads the dough on the marble top, before piling it with layer upon layer of cheese, sliced pepper, tuna, onion, salami, roast chicken … depending on your preference.

The thin crust pizza pie is so heavy with filling that as he shoves it into the oven, I find myself half-praying it won’t give way from the weight. (Ok, I’m half-kidding too but you get my drift).

Even the spartan, no-frills Margherita (home-made tomato sauce with herbs and cheese) is substantial. But what all.

Italiana aficionadios and local rubes (read: conservatives who think Hawaiian pizza is the be-all and end-all of Italian cuisine… hello!!!) die-die must try, are the absolutely packed specials.

Knock yourself out with a whopping calzone — pizza in a puff, for want of a better description — or Tony’s Special, which is jammed to the gills with an array of ingredients, including our local cili padi.

Exotic stuff such as the Napolitana (cheese, black olives and anchovies) are acquired tastes — you either like it or you don’t. Cans of grated parmesan and chilli flakes are on hand for customisation, but it’s not necessary.

On days when I want something different, I order one of their pastas: there’s creamy roast chicken, carbonara, or bolognaise. If not for my expanding girth, I could eat the latter every day: The spaghetti sauce on their chicken bolognaise is chunky enough for me to discern knobbly cubes of roast chicken meat.

As I finish up the last piece and contemplate whether to go for the carbonara, I realize Alex has vacated her seat and marched up to AJ. She is scolding the bemused chef. “You’ve ruined me for life. When I crave pizza, nothing else will do but Pinos.”

I chuckle to myself. Alex has a penchant for drama, but only when there is a large kernel of truth to her outrageous compliments.

By the time this is published, Pinos would have opened a few branches elsewhere — OUG’s Citrus Park food court and the LCCT in Subang are some of the locations.

I greet the news with mixed emotions. On one hand, I feel selfish for wanting to keep such a delightful secret to myself, even though the move would give more stressed-out cubicle drones the perfect place to sit back, wind down and chow down.

On the other, shouldn’t Pinos, like all good things, be shared?

Pinos
Jalan Hujan Rahmat Dua
Taman Overseas Union (OUG)
Jalan Klang Lama
56200 Kuala Lumpur.
(A few doors away from Steven’s Corner)
GPS 3.073643,101.67265
Opens 7pm-midnight approx

Korean BBQ with a touch of Japanese

By Eu Hooi Khaw

The different cuts of premium of Wagyu

JAN 9 — Kannikchikan Yakiniku is a Japanese-influenced Korean BBQ place for those who love their beef and this is where you can fine-tune your palate to the different cuts and types of the meat.

There is, of course, lamb, chicken and seafood, but nothing quite beats the quality and variety of beef here.
Don’t expect the table to be filled with vegetable appetizers as in a Korean BBQ. Instead we had a mixed kimchi that came with our Wagyu Set.

The Wagyu Set lets you taste different types of cuts, such as the Japan Kuroge-Wagyu Ribeye, premium wagyu ribeye, premium wagyu shortrib, wagyu ribeye and sliced roasted beef. Lettuce to wrap and eat the meat with, raw garlic, lemon to squeeze over the cooked meat and two dips, one that’s soya-based and the other, chilli are served with the set. The beef is not marinated and only when you order it will a sauce be poured over it.

The barbecue makes use of a special charcoal that does not emit any toxic smoke. In fact the restaurant will entertain your complaint if you get a sore throat from eating the meat or seafood barbecued over the charcoal fire (if you weren’t suffering from the condition before that).

I was determined to have some Beef Tongue here, and we started the barbecue with slices of this. It was so good: smooth and crunchy and not at all rubbery. The light marinate enhanced the flavour of the meat.

There are subtle differences in texture and taste when you grill the different types of wagyu in the set. Pay attention to the colour and the marbling and you can anticipate the mouth feel after the light grilling. We went from the good beef to the best: the premium wagyu ribeye already had a creamy, melt-in-the-mouth feeling. The pinkish Japan Kuroge-Wagyu Ribeye that’s almost Kobe, was super smooth and creamy.

It’s beef you could eat without any embellishments. Sometimes a little lemon juice sufficed.

We had lamb for someone who did not eat beef, and this was excellent too. We also shared some seafood — scallops, prawns and squid — but these paled in comparison with the beef we had eaten.

In between there was Gyu-Tataki, which is thin slices of beef seared, then topped generously with grated radish blended with soya and vinegar. The meat rested on a bed of finely sliced onions. The almost raw beef had this lovely tart finish that was so refreshing.

I could never resist Bibinba, which is hot rice in a stone bowl with vegetables like big-head beansprouts, spinach, carrot strips and mushroom, seaweed and a raw egg. Stir everything up with a little sweet sauce and a squeeze of lemon, breathe in the aromas and taste the rice. It had all the right flavours, but the rice was a little too soft.

The Oxtail Soup had mushrooms and seaweed in a stock finished with egg. The oxtail had meat falling off the bone, so tender it was and flavourful.

I found the soup for the Karubi Ramen (noodles) a little sweet.

The Wagyu Set offers more than 400g of beef, and costs RM268. It is enough for two to three people and is value for money when you consider the quality of the beef.

There is also a Special Set of Prime Ribeye, Prime Shortrib, Skirt Flank, kimchi and beansprouts for RM50, for one person. The Seafood Set of king prawns, scallop and squid is RM40. The Value Set A of RM180 is enough for four people and consists of beef tongue, chicken thigh, ribeye, shortrib, skirt flank, lamb rack, king prawn, Korean pancake and lettuce.

The lunch menu has Yakiniku sets priced at RM28 and RM35.

Kannichikan Yaniku must be doing something right as it has been around for nine years. Its first outlet is in Penang.