Domestication. Day 1: Chinese Cooking
Posted by: nouvoqueen on: January 21, 2008
Menu: ABC Soup, Oyster Mushroom Omelette and Stir-fried kailan
Jac: Yes I know, the menu’s nothing remarkable except for the fact that this time I was cooking. Not too many people know this but bran is the master chef in this household (and I the glorified ‘assistant’ chef and designated dishwasher 
. But I suddenly had a craving for this particular unassuming menu, as I am often wont to do for various types of food at odd times; macadamia nut/green tea/almond fudge ice-cream, chocolates, brownies, pie, steak etc etc. You name it, I’ve craved it.
So buoyed by a rare wave of domesticated-ness and a drive to fulfill my craving, I made the grocery run down to Tesco’s on my own, jostling with all the other ‘makciks” and “pakciks’ communing there on a weekday. Rushing home with the groceries (ABC soup needs hours of simmering to derive it’s taste and I was already late) I put my eager assistant to work roughly chopping carrots, tomatoes, potatoes and big onions while I cleaned the 2 chicken thighs I’d bought. The only step left was then to place all the ingredients into the pot, cover it with water, bring to a boil and then close the lid and simmer for 2 to 3 hours.
Jac: The idiot-proof preparation is what I love about this soup, in fact if done right, after bubbling merrily away for hours, the soup is infused with the robust sweetness of all the ingredients. But me being me, my soup naturally turned out needing salt after all as I’d put in too much water. Lesson for the day: Idiot-proof is not Jaclyn-proof. Sigh, why is this not a surprise?
Jac: In converse, the oyster mushroom omelette, another favourite dish of mine, turned out unexpectedly well. This time I took pains to wash and dry the mushrooms before frying the omelette thereby preventing water soaked mushrooms from making the omelette soggy.
Bran: I’d forgotten to get oyster sauce and dark/thick soya sauce and had to make do with Superior Soy, Worcerstershire Sauce and Fish Sauce. It turned out….edible. 
The ABC soup was nice! Chicken soft and tender – though I did have to add salt and pepper to taste. All in all, it was a good attempt at Chinese cooking, on those rare occasions that we do venture into the Asian side of cooking. << patting ourselves on the back >>
Jac: Not an entirely successful attempt at cooking dinner, but I must have been un-fazed as I was to dabble in more cookery foolery again the day after…<<sound of ominous thunder in the background>>
Sushi Zanmai, Gardens Midvalley
Posted by: nouvoqueen on: January 1, 2008
- In: Restaurant
- 5 Comments
Jac: Sushi again, what can we say? We must have been Japanese in a past life. It’s my third time eating at this outlet in the short span of time it’s been open and we finally get to write about it because we brought the camera in tow. Not quite Japanese fine dining being a kaiten belt kind of outlet, but the reasonable prices and an interesting menu makes it a good choice for those on a budget.
Bran: Despite being a franchise of restaurants, Sushi Zanmai still manages to set itself apart from other sushi joints like Sushi King, Genki Sushi and Sakae Sushi. The warmly lit surroundings make for a more relaxed atmosphere, although we found it a tad bit too dim further within and decided to sit at the counter section of the kaiten belt.
Soft shell crab maki
Jac: We started of with a soft shell crab maki. Adequate, run-of-the-mill fare.
Bran: It was alright, possibly not as crispy as it could have been if freshly prepared but since I was hungry, I’d taken it off of the conveyor belt, risking the possibility that it might have made the rounds
Jac: Next was Kaki maki fry roll, which was a fried oyster roll. I didnt quite like it because the spicy mayonaise they used had a green taste to it (spring onions? chives?) that I didn’t like and fried oyster also had no discernible taste whatsoever. The strangest thing, I seem to have forgotten to take a picture of the roll. Think I’ve just committed the cardinal sin of amateur food bloggers, talking about food with no tangible pictures for the reader to look at. Bad blogger!
Bran: I loved the crispiness of the oyster tempura within the maki and while it seemed like there was little to no oyster in the tempura, it was rather tasty otherwise. Be prepared to wait, this was the last of the dishes to arrive, sometime after we’d gotten through the other food. (And don’t worry about Jac’s ‘green taste’. She just hates spring onions and things that taste like it. )
Jac: Bran had the curry ramen. Not something I would choose for myself but I have to admit the sweetish curry was pretty tasty.
Bran: I’d expected this to be one of those typical curry ramen dishes served at sushi joints – blatantly out of the packet and permeating with MSG. How wrong I was! The curry was lovely and refined, and good to the last drop. If you’re a lover of Japanese curry, this won’t disappoint.
Jac: I loved my Niki Soba. The dish of soba noodles in beef broth with slivers of beef strips garnished with seaweed was simplicity at its best. Clean, clear, and satisfyingly flavourful.
Bran: That’s Jac and her love of sweet sukiyaki like soups…
Jac: We’d had plates of the Salmon Mentai nigiri the first time we ate here and I’d been dreaming of the taste ever since so obviously this was a must have. The sliced salmon topped with roe that’s been slightly seared with a blow torch just melts in your mouth.
Bran: The salmon mentai is definitely must-order. I’d even hazard that this is one of Sushi Zanmai’s more defining dishes.
Bran: The scallops were nice and tender, although scallops being scallops, are best eaten as fresh as possible, which is something that we’ll probably never get here in Malaysia. It’s all frozen scallops here.
Her verdict
Ambience: 7
Service: 7
Food: 7
Worth a re-visit: Yes, and even more often if Gardens Midvalley were closer to where we live.
His verdict:
Ambience: 8
Service: 7
Food: 7
I prefer the atmosphere at Sushi Zanmai over all the other common sushi joints – it had a nice blend of relaxed cosiness. The service was also quite respectable and while it did take quite some time for the kaki maki to arrive, it was because they had had to fry up a fresh tempura to go with it.
‘Tis the Season: Home-made Eggnog
Posted by: nouvoqueen on: December 16, 2007
- In: Home-made
- 2 Comments
Jac: We’d been making references to eggnog here and there ever since the Christmas season began and so yesterday feeling down and out from a persistent bug that reared it’s ugly head again on a weekend no less, I told bran that I wanted eggnog. Eggnog, gingerbread cookies, roasted cured ham, turkey and a warm fireplace. Well two out of five ain’t that bad I suppose
Bran: Poor Jac had been sickly and craving all sorts of things to eat, and eggnog seemed simple enough. I was curious about how it would turn out, so we set off on a quest, after making quick work of some soba and sushi at Sushi King. Yes, only Jac would crave Japanese noodles and then want to have eggnog and gingerbread men…
Eggnog and giant gingerbread man
(minus the roast ham, turkey and fireplace
Bran’s Eggnog Recipe:
Serves 4-5
500ml Milk
300ml Cream
4 Eggs (yolks and whites separated)
1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of Nutmeg
2 sticks of cinnamon
100ml 0f Tequila & Grand Marnier Cointreau (traditionally rum, brandy, whisky or bourbon is used instead)
1. Bring milk, cream, cinnamon and nutmeg to a boil in a saucepan and turn off the heat as soon as it does.
2. Whisk the egg yolks with 1/3cup of sugar until it pales and then beat the egg white with 1 tablespoon of sugar, until it’s so fluffy and stiff that you can put the bowl over your head, a la Gordon Ramsay.
3. Add the boiled mixture very gradually into the blended egg yolk and sugar, whisking constantly.
4. Fold in the whisked egg white gently.
5. Chill or serve warm with a sprinkling of nutmeg powder.
6. Settle down in front of a warm fireplace with snow gently falling outside the frosted windows and enjoy..
After the cannibals had their fill of ‘ol ginger man
(minus arms, legs and one eye :p)
Jac: Now there’s still some eggnog leftover from last night, so I’m off to get some comfort for my tummy
Bran: In the end, the final result was alright. The mixture of orange liquor (triple sec, which is what Grand Marnier is) and eggnog didn’t quite mix well for me. But Jac has a different opinion, of course.
Penang Makan Trip
Posted by: nouvoqueen on: December 9, 2007
- In: Restaurant
- 3 Comments
A Hers only post.
The excuse: Attending a colleagues wedding.
The purpose: Two days, one night of makan till we drop!
We pushed off early in the morning from KL in order to reach Ipoh in time for breakfast. And indicative of the days to come, oh what a breakfast it was! We had dim sum in Bercham, salt-baked chicken and tau fu fa in Ipoh town, Lemon jelly and wantan soup at the football stadium.
Famous Ipoh Salt-baked chicken shop – only take away allowed
Naked Chicken, Hidden dragon :p
It was the first time I’d had the salt-baked chicken even though I have lived in Ipoh for many years. The chicken was still steaming hot, with yellow glossy skin and juicy and tender to the bite. It had a delicious herbal fragrance and taste and to my surprise was salty too. I’d been told before that it wouldn’t be despite it’s name. I think the trick is to eat it immediately before it dries out, it doesn’t survive re-heating very well.
Look at that huge vat off bubbling goodness!
As soon as we arrived in Penang off we went to have assam laksa. And not just any laksa but the Air Itam market laksa.
Good to the last drop
It may look a little watery but taste-wise it was spot on. There was enough chilli, assam sourness and prawn paste sweetness in the fish soup to make you lap up every last drop.
Pulau Tikus Market: Hawker stalls galore!
The nest morning we made our way to the Pulau Tikus market to have breakfast. We had laksa lemak, an unusual find in Assam Laksa crazed Penang, and our first char keuy teow of the morning, yay!
A novelty: Laksa lemak in Penang
I didn’t have much of the Laksa lemak mostly because I’m an assam laksa purist, but from what i tasted it was pretty good, maybe because it still tasted of assam even with the lemak base!
Char Keuy Teow No.1 -Pulau Tikus
The char keuy teow (CKT) we had had all the dryness of the northern CKT’s that I remembered and love. A little unusual this one because it also had squid in it. Unfortunately though it had all the right ingredients, it lacked salt. Not my favourite CKT of the trip.
Kafe Heng Huat: Red hat aunty doing what she does best
Next CKT stop: Kafe Heng Huat, Lorong Selamat. This aunty used to hawk her CKT on the Lorong Selamat roadside, but business has been so good that she now has a kopitiam of her own which sells only one thing, yup you guessed right, CKT! There’s no customizing your orders here, her stock response to requests is that she only knows how to cook CKT in one way, take it or leave it.
Sedap oh!
We took, and it was worth it. This CKT came as close to my perfect idea of CKT compared to all the rest during the trip.
Ho chiak oh! (Methinks he enjoyed it too
By this time we were suffering from bloated tummy, but we soldiered on to our last stop in Penang for CKT: Ah Leng famous CKT at Burmah Road.
Burmah Road CKT: Famous hah?
This CKT version was damp-er than the rest, something I can’t abide by in my CKT. But to its credit it was very spicy and had the freshest, biggest, juiciest and sweetest prawns I’ ve ever had in a CKT. Maybe that’s what it’s famous for.
The prawns damn big!
My makan buddies with well contented tummies
It was a memorable trip from start to finish; delicious food and great company. This is the way makan should always be. Thanks for an enjoyable trip guys, so bila mau makan lagi?
The Ming Room
Posted by: exsomnis on: November 25, 2007
- In: Restaurant
- 2 Comments
Bran: I’d visited The Ming Room a couple of years ago with memories of excellently refined Chinese cuisine – the kind that I’d imagine would grace the tables of Emperors in ages past. I remember fresh produce cooked to subtle perfection, the best fine dining Chinese food I’d ever tasted.
Jac: I’ve been listening to Bran wax lyrical about this place for ages so I was eager to see what all the fuss was about.
Bran: I’d originally planned on bringing Jac out for her birthday dinner at Sandias, the Mexican restaurant in Plaza Damansara that was quite vigorously written about earlier in the year but it was for some reason closed down. I should’ve known not to give it a try, even though the listed phone number and the website were out of service. And so, rather than have Italian food at Cipola in Bangsar (Jac had had her fill of Italian in recent weeks), the backup plan was The Ming Room in Bangsar Shopping Complex instead.
The place hadn’t changed much since I was last there, its contemporary decor still managed to look stately, though there seemed to be quite a lot more serving staff than I remembered. Being an impromptu visit, we didn’t have a reservation but that wasn’t a problem as we were early on a Saturday evening. The place eventually filled up though, so if you have a large party be sure to make a reservation.
We didn’t have to wait long for our food to start arriving but the ready served anchovy and peanut tidbits were quite nice.
Crispy Soft Shell Crab & Japanese Tea Cup Soup
Bran: We started off with the Crispy Soft Shell Crab & Japanese Tea Cup Soup. The marvelously crunchy battered whole crab was well executed and the bonito flake soup finished off with lime made a fitting accompaniment.
Jac: The Soft Shell Crab was delicious; crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. The Japanese soup was the perfect refreshing accompaniment to cut through the oiliness.
Braised Cod in Shrimp Roe
Bran: Next was the Braised Cod in Shrimp Roe, lathered in a beautiful garlic and ginger sauce bespeckled in tiny shrimp roe. The cod was tender and slightly crispy and made a nice synchrony with the mushrooms and Chinese cucumber.
Jac: The cod was quite a normal tasting Chinese dish. It took me a while to realise the speckles were not a spice but the shrimp roe. I do wonder though whether the roe was only for aesthetics or if it lent any flavour to the dish.
Pan Seared Foie Gras with Garlic Rice
Bran: We then had the Pan Seared Foie Gras with Garlic Rice. I didn’t care much for the fried rice but the little piece of foie gras literally melted in my mouth, a lovely barbecue marinade complementing it very well. There was so little of it though and I was left to ration out tiny pieces to go with the hawker stall fried rice. I would’ve liked to have a bigger portion of foie gras and a more subtle fried rice which was frankly messed up – the garlic was burnt.
Jac: My first taste of foie gras and I love it! The edges were seared to a crisp and when you bite in it’s all creamy decadent goodness. I agree with Bran that serving it with garlic fried rice was a strange combination, serving only to detract from the perfection of the foie gras
Mixed Vegetables with Asparagus
Bran: Next up was the Mixed Vegetables with Asparagus, an assortment of asparagus, celery, lotus root, black mushrooms, some unidentified nuts and pieces of an unidentified tuber. The asparagus was tender and yet crunchy – I still wonder how it’s done – and everything went well together.
Jac: Again another simple Chinese dish executed deftly but nothing remarkable.
Chef’s Special Lamb Shank in Spicy Sauce
Bran: Last of all was the big surprise of the night, the Chef’s Special Lamb Shank in Spicy Sauce. Little did we know that we’d actually ordered a lamb curry, done in a Chinese style and maybe a bit too sweet for our taste. There’s no substituting real Indian curry and suffice to say, we weren’t too impressed by it. To be fair, the lamb slid off the bone and was lovely and tender but by then the both of us had already eaten our fill and there was still a fair bit left over (it was quite a large serving).
Jac: I especially did not like this, the sweetness put me off which was a pity since the meat was literally falling off the bone.
Bran: At the end of the night, we were left ruminating over our choice of dish – perhaps we should have inquired before choosing the lamb shank but the damage had been done. To add insult to injury, there is the question of value and the price of the food on offer is placed solidly in the upper bracket. All told, the dinner for two made a total of RM180, not quite worth the value that it used to be, in my opinion.
Jac: Aside for the crab and the foie gras, I was disappointed with the meal, but I do believe we merely had an ‘ordering’ malfunction and it could have potentially been better.
Not the best meal we’ve had but we’re still smiling
His Verdict:
Ambience: 6.5 – Don’t expect a romantic evening as the restaurant turned into a bit of a chattering marketplace as the evening went on
Service: 8
Food: 6.5 – The lamb shank and the foie gras were a disappointment and my high estimation of The Ming Room has unfortunately been condemned to the trenches.
Her verdict
Ambience: 6.5 – A typical Chinese Restaurant
Service: 8 – Attentive wait staff
Food: 7 – Could have been better with a different menu choice
Worth a re-visit: It’s too pricey for me, but if anyone wants to ‘belanja’ then ‘mo man tai’!
Bavarian Bierhaus
Posted by: nouvoqueen on: November 23, 2007
Non-Halal. A Her’s only review.
My second birthday treat of the year spent with old friends at Bavarian Bierhaus. It’s a relatively new German restaurant in a quiet corner of The Curve. Dinner was delayed so we staved of the hunger before the food arrived with chilled glasses of Paulaner beers straight off the tap (incidentally the only beer they serve here). Both were delicious, somewhat approaching the heights of Kilkenney’s on draft which is another firm favourite of ours.
Light and dark Paulaner Beer (their names escape me…:)
It was pork galore that night as we decided to share three main courses:
Chorizo sausages with mash, creamed spinach, and pancetta
I liked this dish. Though the chorizo’s were not too spectacular, I enjoyed the mash which was a little lumpy but good taste-wise and the spinach in cream balanced it off nicely.
Roasted Pork Knuckle
The house specialty, a sizeable roasted pork knuckle, was a letdown. The meat was dry and tough and though the skin was crispy it was hard to chew. If it had been done well, the meat should have been juicy and falling off the bone; a pity this one.
Neurenberger Sausages
I didn’t have much of this dish, preferring the chorizo over it. But of what I tasted the slim peppery sausages served with roasted potatoes were quite flavourful.
Total Bill: RM190+ (inclusive of tax & 3 beers)
Her Review Summary
Ambience: 6.5
Service: 8.5
Food: 6
Worth a revisit?: Nah, I’d be inclined to give it a miss, though I do love my sausages. I’ll just have to keep looking.
Yering Station 2005 Chardonnay
Posted by: nouvoqueen on: November 22, 2007
- In: Wine
- Leave a Comment
Jac: The celebration continued with a chilled bottle of Australian wine. We decided to pick a white wine to complement the sushi meal (Bran: after the fact :p), but being the alcoholics that we are we aimed for the fullest bodied of the white’s; the Chardonnay.
Bran: Chardonnays are typically zesty and I was looking forward to the roll of alcohol on the tongue…
Jac: However the 2005 Yering Station Chardonnay we had was at most medium-bodied, something which the pale golden colour of the wine once it was poured out should have given away. But while it wasn’t as alcoholic as we’d expected, it turned out to be a very easy, pleasant wine to drink. It had a full fragrant bouquet, with a light, not too dry taste and a smooth, soft finish. All in all a balanced, elegant little wine that should go down well with non-wine drinkers and even the most discerning wine connoisseur.
Bran: Unfortunately I found that it was rather under-bodied and strange for a Chardonnay. I thought that it was too flat and I was left wondering if we’d gotten a bad bottle or a compromised cap. My first impression was a light citrus note which developed into a peculiar wateriness – as if the wine had been diluted in water. It seemed more like a light Zinfandel than a Chardonnay.
Statistics
Wine Producer : Yering Station
Wine Country : Australia
Wine Region : Yarra Valley
Vintage : 2005
Purchased from : Cold Storage
Price : RM74
Her verdict: An all-round crowd pleaser as it is not too
strong and pleasant to drink.
His verdict: If the bottle had retained its alcohol, this Chardonnay would have been exquisitely good – it’s a testament to the quality of the wine that it remained pleasant despite that.
Umai-ya
Posted by: nouvoqueen on: November 19, 2007
Jac: So this is a right proper start; two years down the road, a new life in a new neighbourhood and the celebration of all these by dinner in our own backyard.
Ambience: The crystal chandelier is quite the bit of eye-candy
Jac: Umai-ya’s been around for a while so there’s a lived in air about the place and a quite efficiency among the wait staff in the flagship Damansara Perdana outlet. They’ve recently opened a swankier version in Damansara Uptown though.
Bran: I’d never have thought that such a place existed around Damansara Perdana, despite the smattering of restaurants here and there. It’s a hidden jewel!
Menu selection is NOT to be taken lightly!
Salmon Salad
Jac: We started off the meal with a Salmon Salad, a rather ordinary choice but the fresh salad was dressed with an interesting nutty flavoured dressing. Neither of us could pin down the taste of it.
Bran: After a bit of research (more like having eaten something like it after, to be revealed in an upcoming post :p), I’ve found out that it’s a sesame sauce or goma. It had an exquisitely buttery and nutty flavour that melted almost too quickly in my mouth.
Berjaya Roll
Jac: The “Berjaya’ roll had baby octopus filling, avocado slices on top, garnished with ebiko and drizzled with another tasty mystery sauce. (Bran: Goma!)
Bran: The Berjaya Roll sushi was probably up there amongst the best sushi I’ve ever had. Ooh, yummy.
Mushroon soup in tin foil
Jac: The clear mushroom soup with slices of Chinese mushroom and shitake was simple and refreshing with the added twist of lemon.
Bran: Understated and yet remaining elegant at the same time.
Beef Teppanyaki
Jac: The beef teppanyaki came with tender bite size pieces of beef in a prominent garlic and ginger seasoning.
Bran: Not as medium rare as I’d ordered it, but delish all the same.
Jac: The moment we spotted ‘Wasabi ice-cream’ on the menu, there was no doubt what we were having for dessert. I expected a slight flavour of wasabi but was unprepared for the kick the ice-cream delivered. It’s not a dessert for the faint hearted and I won’t be ordering it again anytime soon as I’m not given to crying over my dessert! (Sorry no photo of the ice-cream; by the time we’d finished exclaiming over it, most had been consumed or melted into an un-photogenic puddle :p)
Bran: I wondered why the waitress was so intent on getting us to have extra red bean topping. I now know why. My first ever meeting with Wasabi ice-cream, but not my last!
A belly happy customer
Jac: Altogether the meal for the two of us came to about RM100. It’s a little on the high side but worth the money for deceptively ‘normal’ Japanese fare that turns around to surprise and tantalize the taste buds.
Her Review Summary
Ambience : 6
Service : 8.5
Food : 8.5
Worth a revisit?: Yes, if I find loose change at the end of the month, there’s something to celebrate and I need to settle my craving with something other than the cheaper kaiten belt options.
Rave-ability: Sushi rice so good you can eat it on its own!
His Review Summary
Ambience: 7 – Modern Japanese styling was nice and private booths were private
Service: 8
Food: 8
