Robson Heights.. party like a rockstar

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Oh, single solitary rib..



oh abandoned lonely la-la...



oh destitute delectable crab....



oh needy, crispy chicken...



Come, COME! I have found a place for you ...




We photograph more than we talk, we talk more than we eat, we laugh more than we talk...

but ultimately...


we leave no bone unturned!


NOM NOM NOM. *

*expression borrowed from the ludicrously hilarious icanhascheezburger.



Robson Heights Seafood Restaurant,
10B, Jalan Permai,
Off Jalan Syed Putra, 50460 KL.
Tel: 03-2274 6216

oh mama.. i wanna go on tour...

Rama V

I remember the first meal I had on holiday in Thailand. The Mieng Kam is one of my favourite Thai snacks. Even now, everytime I eat that deep green Kadok Leaf (Piper sarmentosum) that wraps dried shrimp, fried coconut meat, diced fresh herbs (Galanga, Citrus hystri and onion) , and thick sticky sweet mieng sauce, I am transported back to the dusty roads of Bangkok, the bustle of Chatuchak Weekend Market and the chaotic hum of Sukhumvit shopping.

Needless to say, Thai food ranks way up there on my list of favourite foods. One of the places that has been around for ages in KL, is Rama V.

This was "THE PLACE" for Asian fine dining back in the day when Micheal Jackson was still the king of pop and Meg Ryan still had her own nose and cheek bones. I remember the second year back from Uni in Cardiff, being on holiday and all, we would tag along with our senior 'yuppie lawyer friends', who use to knock off work late and grab a quick bite at Barn Thai whilst unwinding to the Live Jazz band. Rama V was the other trendy, shi-shi place that side of town, that the yuppies frequented as well. Time passed. Things changed. Rama V slipped into oblivion.

Then one day, we get a call from an old friend. Apparently Rama V is back in the groove of things with new management.. the works... and menu is as good as ever! Of course we had to go check it out (with foodies in tow, obviously).

What can I say. This place is still amazing! Fantastic ambiance, cool deco and great service to boot. We started with the Mieng Kam, the Kao Tan Na Tang (Crispy Rice Served with Minced Chicken and Shrimp Sauce) and the Chor Ladda which is the Flower Shaped Dumplings Stuffed with Minced Chicken And Peanut.
My goodness, if Mieng Kam was my favourite starter before this, let's just say that now, Chor Ladda ranks a close second! That gorgeous flower dumpling with magnificent deep purple hues makes me want to keep it as a souvenir (not eat it!). Each mouthful is a wonderful explosion of sweet peanut and savory chicken... yes, yes, somewhere in my mind I am walking around in flip-flops and a summer dress in the Sukhothai gardens photographing gorgeous, looming, stone statues set against a clear blue sky. Bliss!

Next, the Pomelo Salad with Minced Chicken & Shrimp and the Banana Blossom and Minced Chicken Salad were served. This is thai salad with a twist! Imagine being served in the actual Banana Blossom itself.. beautiful! The taste was uniquely thai and the flavours were distinctly light and refreshing. Just as how a salad should be.

Between the The Hor Mok Talay which is the otak otak and the river prawn, I take... the river prawn! I loved the taste of the herbs used to marinade the prawn but found the otak otak a little over cooked. However, looking at the presentation of the food, all is forgiven... even slightly overcooked otak-otak is soon forgotten!

After that, amidst the laughter and the wine and the Soju (!) the other dishes were a bit of a blur but none the less delicious. I remember trying the Tom Yam Seafood - delicious but a tad mild, the Sautéed Beef with Young Pepper and Basil - succulent and tender, the Thai Fish Cake - fresh and crisp and the Deep Fried Garoupa Fish served with 3 Taste Chili Sauce.

If you are wondering how we ate so much, let me just say that there were 6 of us there and occasionally, our hosts joined in.

Thai desserts are renowned for their intricacy and the time and care involved in their creation. Thai women have such lovely delicate hands, no wonder they make such pretty delicate desserts;) Many Thai desserts just consist of three ingredients - flour, sugar and coconut, though close to a thousand different sorts of dessert have been created by the Thais! These days fewer are on offer, or even to be found. Not only that, the freshness of the coconut used is compromised more than ever. What crime! What sacrilege!

Anyway, if Mieng Kham is my favourite Thai starter, then Tab Tim Krob would be my favourite Thai dessert. Unfortunately for me though, most Tab Tim Krob that I have tried here in Malaysia, is not up to par mainly due to the sub-standard coconut milk they use.

Well, just check out the dessert platter at Rama V. If this is not thai dessert variety at its best, I don't know what is. Amongst the ones you see are the Mango with Sticky Rice, the Kao Nya Durian, the Steamed Tapioca served with Coconut Milk Sauce, the Pumpkin Custard, the tab tim krob i.e. Water Chestnut Dumplings with Jack Fruit in Coconut Milk (my favourite!) and the Thai Bo Bo Cha Cha.

So which ones were good? My favourites were the Mango and sticky rice, the pumpkin custard and the Tab Tim Krob. Sweet, tangy, rich, milky and most importantly, made with the REAL thing!

Wow! What a night. We polished off all the food, a couple of bottles of wine and soju, took many photographs, chatted with our hosts about old times and then called it a night. What a perfect end to a perfect dinner!

Footnote:
*The food featured -
STARTERS: MIEANG KAM Traditional Thai Hors’ Doeuvre, KAO TAN NA TANG Crispy Rice Served with Minced Chicken and Shrimp Sauce, CHOR LADDA Flower Shaped Dumplings Stuffed with Minced Chicken And Peanut.

SALADS: YAM SOM O Pomelo Salad witn Minced Chicken & Shrimp, YAM HUA PLEE Banana Blossom and Minced Chicken Salad.

MAINS: TOM YAM TALAY Tom Yam Seafood served in Young Coconut, NUE PAD PRIK THAI ORN Sautéed Beef with Young Pepper, Chili and Hot Basil Leaves,Thai Fish Cake, PLA KAO SAM ROS Deep Fried Garoupa Fish served with 3 Taste Chili Sauce, HOR MOK TALAY Seafood Souflle (Otak-Otak), CHUCHEE KUNG ME NAM River Prawn with Thai Chili Paste and Herbs.
DESSERTS PLATTER: KAO NYA MA MOUNG Mango with Sticky Rice, KAO NYA DURIAN Durian with Sticky Rice, MAN CHIEAT Steamed Tapioca served with Coconut Milk Sauce, SANG KA YA FAK THONG Pumpkin Custard, TAB TIM KROB Water Chestnut Dumplings with Jack Fruit in Coconut Milk, SAM SAE Thai Bo Bo Cha Cha.

** photo of restaurant in 4th collage courtesy of Rama V

*** photos of statues taken on our holiday in Sukhothai

**** a big thank you to andre and danny for being such great hosts.

***** portrait of cumi&ciki in the final collage courtesy of Luscious Lemongrass aka queen of dslr and now more recently known as, (due to an amazing post on the 'boogeyman blumerman') the new queen of horror!



Add:
Rama V,
No. 5 Jalan U Thant,
55000 Kuala Lumpur.

Contact: 03-21432663
Opening Hours: 11am-3pm, 6.30pm-11pm

Sell-out! & Ri-Yakitori

Showing NOW! (All GSC's)
Language: English / Mandarin / Cantonese
Running Time: 105 mins
Rating: 18PL
Genre: Comedy
Starring: Kee Thuan Chye, Jerrica Lai, Hannah Lo, Peter Davis
Directed by: Yeo Joon Han

Her name is Rafflesia Pong! (eww, wot's that smell...) She's a bottom-ranking show host who's disillusioned with those overrated underachievers we call "artists". He's Eric Tan, a product designer who's just about to learn that it doesn't pay to be creative. They both work for FONY, a multinational conglomerate whose mission statement, copied from a Taiwanese company, is to be original. In the face of such pressure, Eric and Rafflesia are questioned whether they will retain their artistic integrity or will they finally sell out to fame and fortune! Our good friend Wai Hoong (and one of the actors in Sell Out! - erm, I won't tell you what role as I don't want to spoil to for you, but just check out the size of the muscle on him in the show! ), invited us to the premier of Sell out! ... hence our post movie, midnight snack at Ri-Yakitori, The Gardens.

Ri-yakitori bar.
Just like its name, this 'bar' serves up every single, imaginable chicken part, spare part, edible part, unmentionable part... on skewers!

I mean from the leg to the breast, the skin to the ass, it's all chicken.

Which reminds me of this joke, called "The 3 legged Chicken", ahem...

A man was driving along a free-way when he noticed a chicken running alongside his car. He was amazed to see the chicken keeping up with him, as he was doing 50 mph. He accelerated to 60, and the chicken stayed right next to him. He sped up to 75 mph, and the chicken passed him. The man noticed that the chicken had three legs. So he followed the chicken down a road and ended up at a farm. He got out of his car and saw that all the chickens had three legs. He asked the farmer, "What's up with these chickens?" The farmer said "Well, everybody likes chicken legs, so I bred a three-legged bird. I'm going to be a millionaire." The man asked him how they tasted. The farmer said, "Don't know, haven't caught one yet."

ROFL! (funny or not?!)

Anyway, they don't serve 3 legged chicken at Ri-yakitori but from the massive amount of chicken skewers they churn out, it sure seems like it.

Of course I was really nice and made friends with the Japanese Chef.. afterall he's cooking my chicken ass and I don't want to give him any reason to poison me now do I:P

Ass you say? Well don't be chicken-s*** ... ! what's the point of walking into a chicken yakitori bar and not having the works. You've just got to try it all!


By the by, the bishop's nose goes really well with sake. I think it washes away the S-fat and the S-grease really well! Which reminds me, someone once asked me "what does the bishop's nose taste like" and I said, "well it tastes like chicken." :P

Ri-Yakitori is an unusual restaurant because of the way it utilizes the entire chicken and because the bar concept is rather contemporary set against a traditional Japanese mood. Ri-Yakitori also has on the menu, many traditional Japanese cuisines apart from the normal grilled Yakitori, which means you can actually eat other Japanese dishes here too. I obviously love it because l am a big fan of most animal spare-parts whilst Cumi likes this place possibly only half as much as I do, as he prefers only chicken white meat (i.e. that's pretty much half the chicken he won't eat la, right?!)

So, remember to check out this cool little place tucked away on the 7th floor of the Gardens hotel the next time you swing by for a movie ... and don't forget to go watch Sell-Out!

Footnote:
1. don't be chicken s*** ... use the Olympus Bald Eagle (new model) cheap cheap! i did and look now nice my shots are:P
2. a big thank you to Jason of Ri-Yakitori for bringing out the sake contraption even at that late hour. you are the best;)

Add:

Ri-Yakitori Bar

7th Floor
The Gardens Hotel,
Mid Valley City,
Lingkaran Syed Putra,
59200 Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia.
Tel: 03-22681188

The Balvenie Single Malt Scotch Whisky

The Balvenie Single Malt Scotch Whisky Tasting at Carcosa Seri Negara. Let's be honest, when I hear words like Single malt, Carcosa, Whisky tasting all strung up in the same long sentence, it makes my palms sweat. In a good way, of course.

I was the privileged one to be invited to be part of this event as Ciki was outstation for work. Poor Ciki, you should have seen the sms relay we had that went something like this.

Ciki: "Are you there yet? Have you tasted it? You like the balvenie thirty best? Is it good? It IS? Wow! Is Lemongrass drunk? Is FBB hugging everyone? Did you finally get to shake KY's hand? Woe is me ! Why am I not there.. ?! Wail... "

Me: "uh-huh, gurgle.. slurp.. gulp.."

The buffet spread prepared for the guests had been wonderfully selected. It raised our spirits but not as high as the whisky soon would.

Anyway, a big thank you to the organizer, the lovely Ms Marian Eu for the invitation. Without you, it would have been just another boring (sober) night with microwave dinner and a bottle of Night Train Express. But all joking aside, this was probably one of the most enlightening whisky tasting experiences I have had the honour to participate in, in Malaysia (I have previously been dragged, by my cousin, on a scotch whisky tour while in Edinburgh). Below are some of the things that I pick up on that eventful night.

*some pictures courtesy of balvenie

The Balvenie is a unique range of single malts crafted by Malt Master David Stewart. Each single malt (like a human being) has its unique, smooth, rich character and no two are alike.

David Stewart whose passion for experimentation has set him in a league above the rest, uses different cask types and ages of spirit to add new expression to the balvenie range. Some of these single malts are rare and really hard to come by. One of a kind, so to speak.

What makes the Balvenie Unique?
1. They grow their own barley
2. They malt it themselves the traditional way
3. They use their own coppers to tend to their different casks
4. They have an exceptional Malt Master in David Stewart (but of course!)

As the balvenie single malt whisky Ambassador, Mr David Mair walked us through the processes step by step, I really began to see the complex systems and highest standards of quality control and perfectionism behind the making of this whisky.

We tried the 12 year old, the 15 year old, the 21 year old and finally the 30 year old.

So which one did I like best?

Why, the 30 year old of course. (because with age comes greater depth of character, lingering sweetness and dare I even say... all rounded spiciness!)


The Balvenie Thirty (Aged 30 Years)
The Balvenie Thirty is a rare and especially fine single malt for which David Stewart selects only exceptional casks that were laid down over thirty years ago. By marrying The Balvenie slowly aged in traditional oak whisky casks with that aged in European oak sherry casks, David creates a rich, mellow Scotch whisky with unusual depth and complexity. ‘Thirty’ is bottled at 47.3% abv to capture all the signature characteristics of the balvenie.

Like I said, a gorgeous, all rounded 30 year old!

Anyway, to my common tastebuds, the balvenie thirty was smooth and mellow on the nose with oaky tones. When I tasted it, it had great depth and a slight sweetness. After I had swallowed it, there was a lingering spiciness and it didn't leave a heavy feeling behind in my mouth.

So, did I pass the test, Mr Ambassador sir? Have I crossed over into the land of the Whisky Connoisseur ? (Ok, ok, let's not let one whisky tasting session get to my head.. right I hear you!)


Finally, the all important question that you (who have read this post) would be asking. Where can I buy the Balvenie?

Single and Available,
G21, Ground Floor,
Bangsar Village Shopping Centre,
1, Jalan Telawi 1,
Bangsar Baru, KL.

Tel: 03-22834257


(Anyway for different opinions, photos, prolific banter.. kindly click on the Tastebuds/Whiskybuds of Lemongrass, FBB & KY!)

Off the beaten-path Ayer Keroh Malacca

What does Ayer Keroh have apart from,


CHENDOL,



BAO,



and RM2.50 Chicken rice?
(Cumi: Really well prepared roast & boiled chicken! Moist and flavourful with minimal salt. Possibly even better than the best, at dirt cheap prices! - compared to KL that is)

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Exhilarating Off-Road adventure!

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This crazy little ride can get pretty intense .. tearing up steep terrain, stirring up dust, mud and leaves as you learn to negotiate sharp turns, uneven gravel grounds and deep slopes. By the end of this mad, bumpy ride you may just feel yourself swaying a little but the sweat is worth it! It's excellent and even a little nerve-wrecking especially as the biggest dip comes into view. What goes up, has to come down right .. yikes! Just take a deep breath and go for it... I did and lived to tell the tale .. haha :P

This wheel spinning adventure is created by Chang Chong Onn, a friendly and humble family man who started a mini go-kart circuit because of his passion for speed, fast 'toys' and fast action martial arts. This cool dude represented Malaysia in numerous International Tae Kwon Do competitions (back when he was half his current size... erm, even he admits:P) and has travelled as far as Europe to show off his death defying stunts which include, flying kicks, chopping bricks and flying (body, mind and soul) over speeding bikes. Now if that's not living your passion, I don't know what is! Today Chang runs a go-kart track complete with pocket bikes, ATV/Quad and buggy rides. For you thrill seekers out there, the jungle is way more fun and challenging than the tracks, as I soon found out! You have to be 16 and above to participate but passengers for the buggy may be younger.

However, have no fear..! Kiddos will not be disappointed with the go-kart track as that offers children's mini version of the quad bikes. Talk about making your parents proud of the dare-devil in you (in safe surroundings, of course!) So after a crazy day out in the sun eating chendol, bao and 2.50 chicken rice, I now have a completely different impression of Ayer Keroh. It currently ranks way up there as one of my favourite (made in Malaysia) adventure places for sure!

For more info on how to get lost in this adventure, click WHOA!

Four Season's Duck ... finally, saga concluded!

Those of you who read our post on "vampires at cap square" will know the SAGA involving yours truly and this world famous London Duck. You would also probably know that, we had YET to taste the Four Season's Duck.

I remember Bayswater Four Seasons, London (West London, City of Westminster)...No matter how much this place is slagged off and condemned, come rain or shine, economic dive or depression, there’ll always be a queue outside Four Seasons Bayswater, with eager diners awaiting their portions of the supposedly legendary roast duck.

Basically the past post says that I didn’t eat there as a student because I was always skint, but that was like more than a decade ago. Now that I have 'Ring-Dings' (ringgit malaysia la) in my pocket and an insatiable appetite for all things winged, beaked and on two webbed feet .. there was no stopping me! Bayswater Duck.. here I come!

How much nicer then, can lunch be, when you are in the company of AWOL, Hairy and Qwazymonkey too... this as they say, is the icing on the cake, the olive in your martini, the layer of crispy skin and fat on your duck :P

The duck, the duck. What can I say about the duck. It was delicious! But then again, so is most of the roast duck you get along the famous streets of Pudu or anywhere else good for duck in PJ/KL, for that matter.
I really could not tell the difference between this legendary Four Season's Duck and the other roast ducks we've been eating in KL. However, it still tasted pretty decent and at RM30 plus for half a duck, it was value for money.
Hairy of course would beg to differ because 15 minutes into the eating he was looking around asking.. "Is this all?" AWOL had to pacify him with the reply "we'll go have some cake after.. "

We also had the Siew Yoke and the Char Siew (very so-so). The fried kwey-teow lacked 'wok-hei' but the fried rice and the aubergine in claypot was excellent.

At approximately RM40 per head (with beer), the meal was satisfying enough, but not blow-your-mind-fantastic, if you know what I mean.

Walking around cap square we realised that there was no real good place for dessert. As hairy's belly was still rumbling, we decided to head on out to Dua Annexe .. for some Delicious cakes!

"I am not very hungry, let's share", so that's what we ordered..:P

My favourite of the lot was the choc fudge ice-cream brownie... all molten and dark and slinky and sexy and yummie.. and I wanted the banana split but everyone said that it was so "eighties la.., so passé .."

Excuse me? How is a banana split passé ?!
"oh, it's so Swensen's la.. "

Pfft.. fine.. order your trendy Pie-looking dessert thingy then.. :P

Trivia: 3 of us had our Flu jabs, one didn't. Spot the one with Swine flu... (there, I add it.. happy now, Qwazymonkey?!:P)

Oh.. what a wonderful day out! Anyway, since I am so eighties and so cheesy (and so banana split-ish) and all that.. (don't care! I like!) let me just quote the lyrics off one of my favourite tracks.. that sums up this lovely day out with my buddies!


You're..... my ....
You're my favorite waste of time

Here I am
I'm playin' daydreamin' fool again
You're my favourite game
And you are the one
Whose got my head in the clouds above
You're the one I love
Yeah you're my
Yeah you're my favourite waste of time
You're my
You're my favourite waste of time
I don't care
If being with you is meaningless and ridiculous
If it's wrong or right
I've got to give you my laughs tonight
And tomorrow night
Cause you're my...

-Paul Owen

If you like cartoons.. you will love this!
Click A lil Fat Monkey!!

Salak South and the Charsiew ...

Salak South and the Charsiew.. This place is famous for 3 things.. the old coffee shops, the roast duck and the Char Siew (BBQ Pork) .

Unfortunately when we got to Tian Hong, the Charsiew was not ready yet. Looking into the back kitchen ,we saw the old man/uncle .. still preparing to BBQ his marinade, i.e. his red slab of pork. The son told us to come back in one hour, so after polishing off some (not so great) chicken rice Cumi&Ciki being C&C, decided to go looking for something else to eat in the meantime.

What in jupiter is that? The queue and bustle coming from Restoran Pheonix/WaiKee BBQ Rice was deafening. As we got closer we saw a huge crowd jostling for the chap farn (Economy rice) and the BBQ Pork rice.

Even in the chaos , a system! See the styrofoam boxes with the scribblings.. the young man with the red cap is the main man and without breaking a stride (or slicing a fingernail:P) he knows exactly into which packet to slip the chicken/siewyoke/charsiew etc.. etc..

I think God has a great sense of humour. We missed the Tian Hong Charsiew, but we got the Wai Kee Charsiew instead.
See the photo of the Charsiew (top left corner). To say it was good would be an understatement. I have had the Tian Hong Charsiew before, and it was pretty decent but not fantastic. This Charsiew was fantastic.

Pun Fei Sau - always ask for Half lean half fatty. It's the only way to eat Charsiew.


Because I could not even get near the stall, I asked the lady standing near me, what the crowd was about.
The conversation was in Cantonese but I'll translate for the benefit of the masses.

Me: Helo aunty. Why so many people pushing and shouting ?
Lady: Har?
Me: Helo aunty. Why so packed - so many waiting around for what?
Aunty: For the food la.
Me: Oh?
Aunty: Ya la.. so cheap, so many choices .. summore the Low Sai(boss) so young..
so hamsum, chop so fast... of course everybody eat here la.
Me: Oh?
Aunty: Move! My turn!

Finally we got served and the Charsiew was melt in your mouth delicious!
We will be back;)

We went back to Tian Hong but the Charsiew had still not made an appearance so we decided to leave it for now.. afterall, the chance encounter with WaiKee Charsiew was more than enough to keep us happy for today.

Some other interesting sights around the area include, Open market area where butchers carve up roast pork freely in the open, a large number of roadside stalls selling roast duck and an interesting home with a quaint, colour-tiled ramp for ease of wheelchair maneuvering.

We love Salak south we do!

Kedai Kopi Tian Hong (where there was NO charsiew)
Jalan Tuanku 2
Taman Salak Selatan
Kuala Lumpur

Restoran Phoenix/Wai Kee BBQ Rice (where there was Charsiew!)

Jalan Tuanku

Taman Salak Selatan
Kuala Lumpur

Fish Fix

The best places for food are a little dingy, not so well lit.. and LOUD! Take the sounds of the people serving, the people eating, fresh fish being gutted, human stomach's rumbling, scarp metal yards nearby clanging .. and you'll have before you a ' makeshift shack-off the beaten path' eating experience you won't soon forget.

Steamed fish head is what everyone here is sitting around waiting for... It doesn't matter if you are in your office shirt and tie.. suffering in the heat is worth the wait for an uninterrupted moment alone with this sweet, sweet fish. Be it hot and spicy, beany or just plain steamed in garlic, this fish is good.

If you can stomach it (ahem, forgive pun!) be sure to try the cheong cheng,(brown bean paste) fish head with fish gut.. damn shiok!

A respectable (I wouldn't go so far as to call it a large) portion for two of this Song Yee Tau will set you back anywhere between RM18 .00 to RM40.00, depending on the size of the fish. Ours cost us RM21.00.

The other place that Cumi & Ciki like for the Song Yee Tau is on Old Klang road. Here the fish portions are huge and the Petai Assam sauce is fantastic! Again, stall/roadside eating at its best. Check it out if you live in PJ and don't want to venture into the heart of KL for your fish-fix!

Who else ate here?
Jules!

Add:
Steamed Fish Head Food Stall,

Jalan 3, off Jalan Chan Sow Lin,
Off Sungai Besi,
KL.

Fish:7/10
MSG levels:moderate
Salt levels: high
Cleanliness:4/10 (part of the appeal :P )