Heng Kee Bak Kut Teh @ Jaya One.

Long time never have something porky.

Heng Kee Bak Kut Teh @ Jaya One was the answer-nearby my home and air conditioned.

This restaurant is not a branch of another famous bak kut teh by the same name in PJ Old Town.

Orders were taken by a Mandarin speaking waitress-quite a hassle to make her understand what we want to order !

Parking is ample.


Thick and luscious 3 layered pork ribs-in a clear herbal soup filled with fresh coriander leaves-tasted a bit dry-Rm15/ Clay pot chicken with sliced ginger/coriander leaves-well marinated with a gooey dark soy sauce gravy-too much ginger-Rm12.50/ Blanched Lettuce-garnished with soy/deep fried shallots- crunchy and fresh-Rm7/

Total bill:Rm39/
Location: 59-LG2, Block D, Jaya One,
Petaling Jaya,
Tel:03-7960-5689.


http://rantingsbymm.blogspot.com/2011/07/my-bersih-20-experience

http://rantingsbymm.blogspot.com/2011/07/my-bersih-20-experience.html

http://malaysia-today.net/mtcolumns/from-around-the-blogs/41926-the-day-i-walked-for-electoral-reforms

http://malaysia-today.net/mtcolumns/from-around-the-blogs/41927-the-day-i-was-tear-gassed-by-my-government

grandma bersih

Review: 28 USD fine dining at Nougatine by Jean Georges, Trump International Tower, NY.

As I type this, the people of my home country are angry. Angry because they are treated with injustice. Angry because of the falsities pulled off by politicians who are supposed to defend the people. Angry because they are labeled as frauds, who were trying to create social unrest by rallying for clean elections. I feel incredibly bad because I feel very little for the situation. Perhaps, I am not involved enough. Knowing this, and saying that "I am not involved enough" frustrated me even more because of the degree of awareness I had in regards to my passivity of the situation.

More so, I just had a discussion with Alec Ross, one of most inspiring people I met in my life. Alec works alongside Hillary Clinton (all of you should shoot yourselves if you do not know who Hillary is). He spoke about being innovative, being creative and being a pioneer. This inspired to me participate Teach for Malaysia but as I looked at the application forms, I realized how little I have done in the past 20 years of my life. I have worked part time and volunteered for three months but they were JUST NOT ENOUGH. I needed to be in a position where I played leader. The last time I played leader was being a prefect in high school. Sucks to be me.

Therefore, I aim to participate in some form of volunteering during the summer break. This may help me fill up my resume nicely and do myself some good. :D

Anyway, another sad thing is, I have not been blogging consistently. I sincerely apologize but the lack of sleep in New York and Washington's hot weather killed me. The heat robbed my health. Recently, I had been feeling really dizzy and sleepy. I do not even feel like eating. I've been living off Kosher biscottis, which are 20 calories per piece, raw vegetables or cut fruit. I think I'm going crazy. Either that, or Washington is just far away from civilization. For me to get to the nearest subway requires 15 minutes of bus ride. Imagine that. Therefore, the lack of blogging.

There are just too many backlog! s. I do not know whether to blog about Boston or New York. Since I ate so many good food in New York and everything went too fast, I had this strong feeling that I should blog about New York first and then, move backwards to babble about Boston . There were times where I ate out at two fine establishments in New York. It may sound like I was overindulging but I was just so hungry when I was at New York, thanks to the long walks and free subway sauna. Plus, time is like gold and I seriously do not know when I would get my arse back to New York. The flight is just too long. Might as well I make the most of everything.

If you have the leisure to get your arse to New York, one of the restaurants you should dine in is Nougatine. It is basically located in Jean Georges, which is a three Michelin star restaurant and one of the top 40 restaurant as rated by Gayot. However, Nougatine is casual dining. Jean Georges, on the other hand, is the real deal. Since I cannot snag a table at Jean Georges (reservations are recommended!), I decided to do a walk-in, and managed to obtain a seat for myself at Nougatine. I was told that I MUST do Nougatine because they offer a three course meal for 28 USD, which is a steal, considering that it is in Jean Georges. I can tell you, the three course meal IS INDEED a steal. Portions are reasonably huge. The food, on the whole, does not blow your mind off but it is decent.



Busy serviceService at Nougatine was alright. It wasn't as impressive as Per Se's heavenly service (My gosh, I cannot stop raving about it!) but it was good because the waiter actually helped kept me off this weird old guy who tried to strike weird conversations wi! th me (n ot good!). I suddenly wished that I had a dining companion like everyone else! Having said that, the waiter did a good job in protecting yours truly, who is only 20 years old.

Sad bread, wished it could taste betterThe service was quick and efficient. I requested that my meal be ended in an hours time and they did it. :)

The bread was not too impressive. It was good but not great. I have a problem with the bread in restaurants like these. I am curious to why they do not serve it warm.


Tuna tartare with ginger jus - I loved this light entreeIn the menu, one gets to choose several options in a course. For appetizers, I picked the tuna tartare because I had not had fish for what seemed like ages. When the dish arrived, I was surprised by the portions and more surprised by the flavors. It was really light and the ginger jus stimulated my appetite. The avocado and radish were well paired with the fresh, minced tuna.

Roasted chicken breast with light dressing - Wished the skin was crispier thoughThe roasted chicken breast was pleasant. Like the tartare, I could taste Asian flavors in this dish and having to grow up with authentic (and not bastardized) Asian food, I was glad that the kitchen got the flavors right. I loved the balance between the prot! ein and greens offered by the dish. Moreover, the chicken was really tender. My only complaint was the rather poor presentation. The puree, and the soggy looking skin, as you can see, was a potential turn off. The taste of this dish was the saving grace.


Chocolate mud cake - The best ever! Not too sweet and very chocolatey.Jean George's chocolate mud cake is to die for. Like literally. It was chocolatey without being too sweet and cloying. And I feel that my words will never do any justice to this dessert. Therefore, I shall present you with the picture below, just to let you know how I felt when I saw the following:


Pornography.
Doesn't this picture make you go "Oh my gaaaaaaaaaawd?"

When I saw the pool of gooey chocolate gushing out from the moist but light, chocolate cake, my heart stopped a beat. Like it stopped. Man. All chocolate lovers who are heading to New York MUST HAVE THIS CAKE.

Overall, I had a good dining experience at Nougatine. I did not expect much because it was 28 USD. Having said that, I felt that it was a really good meal. Think about it. You're paying only 28 USD for a slice of the Jean Georges dream.


Little things:

-Cuisine: International, Casual dining, American

-Ambience: Not too posh. Comfortable. Noisy during busy times. Not sure about night though...

-Portions: Quite large. But I am happy with it.

-Service: Good. Efficient. Quick.

-Budget: Damage done was 28 USD excluding tips. :D

-Reservations are ne! cessary< br>
-More information:

Nougatine at Jean-Georges on Urbanspoon




Pictures of Statue of Liberty and the view from the Empire State Building.....







New York is the prettiest place to be when one is on top of the Empire State Building. There is a serene quality of just standing there, soaking in the night of the city where dreams are constantly made...


flatbreads with honey, thyme and sea salt

flatbreads with thyme, honey and sea salt

Crisp flatbread. Fruity olive oil. Nutty cheese. Warm honey. Faintly crunchy sea salt. Fresh thyme. I can probably skip the rest of the post, as what else is there to know? You might like all of these things separately but together: welcome to my latest addiction.

sea salt, olive oil, honey, cheese, thyme

This is straight off a restaurant menu, though Im always a bit embarrassed to mention than lest someone from the kitchen of this impeccable restaurant be reading along at home and feel insulted by this bastardization of their worthy efforts. Maybe I got it all wrong. Maybe my memory failed me. Maybe they spent 24 hours kneading the dough to this work of flatbread art and I have the audacity to suggest that you can get equivalent greatness from something that comes together in 5 minutes. My aim to extol, not insult so lets just call this an approximation of it.

spanish cheese

... Read the rest of flatbreads with honey, thyme and sea salt on smittenkitchen.com

smitten kitchen 2006-2011. |permalink to flatbreads with honey, thyme and sea salt | 6 comments to date | see more: Appetizer, Bread, Quick, Snack



Pochero

Pochero or Puchero is a well-loved Filipino stew. I know that you are familiar with this dish after we featured two variations: Beef Pochero and Chicken Pochero.

To complete our Pochero series, I thought of sharing this Pork Pochero recipe. This pretty much uses the same ingredients. However, there are some differences in the way the ingredients are prepared. Since we now have three recipe variations, it will make more sense if different options in preparation are presented. For example: this recipe does not require plantains to be fried while the previous recipes do.

In making Pork Pochero, I personally prefer pork belly than other leaner parts. The pork belly fat makes this dish taste better. I also find the texture of tender pork belly pleasing. However, no matter how good and appealing it may sound, health always comes first before pleasure. If you think that your fat and cholesterol levels are high, try using leaner cuts of meat like pork tenderloin.

One of the factors that make this dish taste great is plantain (or even saging na saba). This ingredient provides a unique sweet flavor to this dish. Let me emphasize that it is important to use ripe plantains in cooking Pochero so that you will get the best possible flavor.

Do you have tips and suggestions to add? We love to hear from you.

Try this Pork Pochero recipe and let me know what you think.

Ingredients:

1 lb pork belly, chopped

2 medium tomatoes, diced

1 medium onion, diced

1 teas poon garlic, minced

2 to 2 1/2 tablespoons patis (fish-sauce)

1 tablespoon whole pepper corn

1 small can tomato sauce

1 cup chick peas (garbanzos)

1 large plaintain banana (ripe), chopped

1 medium sized potato, cubed

1 small cabbage, quartered

1/4 lb long green beans

1 bunch bok choy (pechay)

1 cup water

2 tablespoons cooking oil

Watch the cooking video:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiMoR5Ox0hU


Cooking procedure:

1. Heat cooking oil in a cooking pot.

2. Saut garlic, onions, and tomatoes.

3. Add pork and cook until the color turns light brown.

4. Put-in fish sauce, whole pepper corn, and tomato sauce. Stir.

5. Add water and let boil. Simmer until pork is tender (about 30 to 40 minutes).

6. Put-in potato, plantain, and chick peas. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes.

7. Add cabbage and long green beans. Cook for 5 minutes.

8. Stir-in the bok choy. Cover the pot and turn off the heat.

9. Let the residual heat cook the bok choy (about 5 minutes).

10. Transfer to a serving plate and serve.

11. Share and enjoy!Related Posts:


Les Deux Garcons @ Desa Business Park, Kuala Lumpur

IMG_1955


"I've got chills, they're multiplying," sang John Travolta in Grease's You're The One That I Want.

I often feel that way whenever I blog about a place I love - that thrill (and chills) of sharing a close secret of how good the place is. While I realise not everything I like appeals to the general public (I tend to have weird tastes unlike an average Malaysian), it still excites me to share it. And yes, it's about macarons - again! (there goes the chorus of groans).



les deux


I first read about this place from Hungry Female. She raved about their truffle macarons that I decided it worthy to make it to the list of places to check out. Hence one day, I decided to seize the opportunity to take a drive to Taman Desa to check it out.


IMG_1942


I got a little lost trying to figure my way around Taman Desa. It didn't help someone threw me a red herring that led me to Ficelle at Taman Danau Desa instead. I pushed on an! d found it at the Desa Business Park near the fire station.


It's hard to spot the place since there's no signboard but luckily I matched it to their frontage pictures from the Facebook. I wanted to shout Bingo when I discovered the place.


les deux1


The shoplot houses a pristine white and stainless steel outfitted bakery where they work on the cakes and macarons. Don't expect a showcase of cakes or macarons though since everything is kept away.


While the cakes need to be pre-ordered (read their website for details), the macarons are available on a daily basis depending on what is available. I suspect truffle is by order so maybe one day I'll get my grubby hands on those delectable gems.


IMG_1912


Nevertheless my haul of macarons for that surprise visit was pretty decent. I liked how they were packaged them in nifty black boxes that give the colourful gems a look akin to an eyeshadow box. Eat your heart out MAC cosmetics!


When you discover awesome macarons, the best thing is to share them. I brought them over to my equally macaron crazy friend CS so she could give me her opinion straightaway.


IMG_1959


That afternoon, we had a special tea party among stacks of legal brown files and tasted almost all of the macarons with her colleague J. Copious cups of coffee and Korean millet tea were also provided.


Our impromtu macaron tea party saw us going oooh and aah over their superb wasabi flavour (beautifully balanced with just a hint of horseradish to make it less sweet), lemon vanilla (another winner with a vanilla grey shell and not overly tangy lemon ganache), passionfruit (who said yellow is bad!?), pistachio (sigh!) and green olive (a little faint).


We also sampled other flavours like caramel, strawberry, peanut butter and dark chocolate. They're pretty good but not as mind blowing as the winners list.


Each perfectly formed macaron has a light and well balanced flavour. They're also not so sweet with a wonderful soft crunch once bitten into. These exquisite gems may probably be the best ones in town at the moment.


Seems the owner Yeong trained in Bangkok in a pastry kitchen. I'm also itching to try their cakes including their marble buttercake and the French gateaux. If they lavish the same love on their cakes like their macarons, I reckon they're winners. Incidentally they have a wicked sense of humour in identifying their macarons. For instance, the ones with a white shell and a green ganache filling is pistachio to resemble the nut while dark chocolate has a yellow shell that resembles a ripe cocoa pod.


Macarons are price! d at RM7 8 for a box of 12 various flavours. For more information of their prices and how to order see their website.


Les Deux Garcons
16, Jalan 2/109E
Desa Business Park
Taman Desa
Kuala Lumpur


Tel: 03-7980 0200


(Pork Free. Open from 9.30am to 6pm from Tuesday to Sunday. Cakes must be pre-ordered vide their website or see their facebook page. They also do delivery but you need to check with them where they deliver. Call ahead to check availability of flavours and macarons. For more pictures, see my Flickr set.)


*Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. This review is time sensitive; changes may occur to the place later on that can affect this opinion. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from this place for writing the review.


Tandoori Chicken & Naans Stall @ opposite Ampang Point, Off Jalan Ampang

IMG_2911
Sometimes you just need someone who knows his way around good food in Klang Valley. It was by chance that our stomachs were still rumbling after an event at G Hotel ,so Ken took us all (C&C, Ivy, Mei Yee and Ah Bok) to this no name tandoori chicken place. Some refers it to Uncle Arus though.
IMG_2896
Finding Uncle Arus stall is no easy feat but if you get all the landmarks right opposite Ampang Point and within a hawker center next to Galeri Guitar; it will be a very rewarding find.
IMG_2898
Before I delve into the bounty of Uncle Arus, let me be very clear on one point: its going to be interminable wait, even on a weekday. The wafting smells of the naans and tandoori chicken are absolute torture. So please be patient because its worth sticking around.
IMG_2912
Butter Naan (RM 2.00). The warm, tasty pillow of flat bread was scorched perfectly to make it soft and crispy at the same time. The naans are all freshly made and co! oked upo n your order in the clay oven (tandoor).
IMG_2895
The Garlic Naan (RM 2.50) was equally good crispy on edges, pillowy soft and the middle, garlicky and flavorful. Remember not to kiss after, but it is totally worth the sacrifices!
IMG_2913
Good food makes me happy!
IMG_2908
Just take a look at Ah Boks contented face!
IMG_2899
The tandoori chicken, true to its fame was incredibly tender, juicy and well flavoured. Forget about those dried, charred tandoori chicken in some rip off mamaks. Those of you who have never sampled the wares of this finger licking good version are indeed missing out a lot!

Uncle Arus Naan and Tandoori stall
Address Opposite Ampang Point, Kuala Lumpur. At Jalan Ampang (from KL) and turn right at the traffic lights (opposite De Palma Hotel), follow the curve of the road back towards Jalan Ampang, Uncle Arumugam will be the end stall.
Tel: 012-354 5624
Open daily from 6.30pm till 1am.

GPS coordinates: 3.157067, 101.750141 (+3 9 25.44, +101 45 0.51)

Share/Bookmark

Les Deux Garcons @ Desa Business Park, Kuala Lumpur

IMG_1955


"I've got chills, they're multiplying," sang John Travolta in Grease's You're The One That I Want.

I often feel that way whenever I blog about a place I love - that thrill (and chills) of sharing a close secret of how good the place is. While I realise not everything I like appeals to the general public (I tend to have weird tastes unlike an average Malaysian), it still excites me to share it. And yes, it's about macarons - again! (there goes the chorus of groans).



les deux


I first read about this place from Hungry Female. She raved about their truffle macarons that I decided it worthy to make it to the list of places to check out. Hence one day, I decided to seize the opportunity to take a drive to Taman Desa to check it out.


IMG_1942


I got a little lost trying to figure my way around Taman Desa. It didn't help someone threw me a red herring that led me to Ficelle at Taman Danau Desa instead. I pushed on an! d found it at the Desa Business Park near the fire station.


It's hard to spot the place since there's no signboard but luckily I matched it to their frontage pictures from the Facebook. I wanted to shout Bingo when I discovered the place.


les deux1


The shoplot houses a pristine white and stainless steel outfitted bakery where they work on the cakes and macarons. Don't expect a showcase of cakes or macarons though since everything is kept away.


While the cakes need to be pre-ordered (read their website for details), the macarons are available on a daily basis depending on what is available. I suspect truffle is by order so maybe one day I'll get my grubby hands on those delectable gems.


IMG_1912


Nevertheless my haul of macarons for that surprise visit was pretty decent. I liked how they were packaged them in nifty black boxes that give the colourful gems a look akin to an eyeshadow box. Eat your heart out MAC cosmetics!


When you discover awesome macarons, the best thing is to share them. I brought them over to my equally macaron crazy friend CS so she could give me her opinion straightaway.


IMG_1959


That afternoon, we had a special tea party among stacks of legal brown files and tasted almost all of the macarons with her colleague J. Copious cups of coffee and Korean millet tea were also provided.


Our impromtu macaron tea party saw us going oooh and aah over their superb wasabi flavour (beautifully balanced with just a hint of horseradish to make it less sweet), lemon vanilla (another winner with a vanilla grey shell and not overly tangy lemon ganache), passionfruit (who said yellow is bad!?), pistachio (sigh!) and green olive (a little faint).


We also sampled other flavours like caramel, strawberry, peanut butter and dark chocolate. They're pretty good but not as mind blowing as the winners list.


Each perfectly formed macaron has a light and well balanced flavour. They're also not so sweet with a wonderful soft crunch once bitten into. These exquisite gems may probably be the best ones in town at the moment.


Seems the owner Yeong trained in Bangkok in a pastry kitchen. I'm also itching to try their cakes including their marble buttercake and the French gateaux. If they lavish the same love on their cakes like their macarons, I reckon they're winners. Incidentally they have a wicked sense of humour in identifying their macarons. For instance, the ones with a white shell and a green ganache filling is pistachio to resemble the nut while dark chocolate has a yellow shell that resembles a ripe cocoa pod.


Macarons are price! d at RM7 8 for a box of 12 various flavours. For more information of their prices and how to order see their website.


Les Deux Garcons
16, Jalan 2/109E
Desa Business Park
Taman Desa
Kuala Lumpur


Tel: 03-7980 0200


(Pork Free. Open from 9.30am to 6pm from Tuesday to Sunday. Cakes must be pre-ordered vide their website or see their facebook page. They also do delivery but you need to check with them where they deliver. Call ahead to check availability of flavours and macarons. For more pictures, see my Flickr set.)


*Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. This review is time sensitive; changes may occur to the place later on that can affect this opinion. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from this place for writing the review.


Ceretto Blange Arneis 2010, Piedmont, Italy

pancetta peas and pasta

Five Days/Five Wines: Thursday 7th July
Lightly fried pancetta, warmed through petit pois, a few spoonful's of Rodda's Crme Frache turned through a plate of plus a topping of chopped window-box chives - Friday evening dinner joined by twitter on the Xoom and John Snow on the telly engaged in the News of the World closure both over-shadowing a bottle of white wine. With such astounding news the wine is not taking centre stage.

It's a Thursday night, Channel 4 News moves on to the last flight of the Shuttle, mine back to the pasta dish; quick and simple preparation, flavour engaging, filling and satisfying. Just the thing. The wine loses the fight for attention with the shuttle; the hefty spritz puts me off. Some might say it lifts the palate giving freshness, a zing. The alcohol is just 12.5%. The lemon meringue flavours are pleasant and works superbly with the pasta. On a Thursday night alongside unbelievable news with a sprinkling of spacey-stuff that is all you need.

The Ceretto Blange Arneis 2010, Piedmont, Italy [Adegga / Snooth] is to be available from Bibendum in their Summer Sale with a price of 10.88 down from (I have to say an expensive) 17.01. The Bibendum Sale is to run between the 19th July and the 1st August 2011. Over 250 wines will be included with discounts up to 50%.