Middle Eastern Restoran Al Diafah - Seri Petaling

Unthinkable! A 5-lot Middle Eastern restaurant tucked in the predominantly Chinese Seri Petaling. To emphasis this fact it is situated directly opposite to Kam Lun Tai. Some Saudi with deep pockets has bought into KL real estate much like the Sheikh that bought Manchester City, but on a much larger scale.

The restaurant is well appointed and the furnishing looks opulent with lots of wood, glass and mirror. The dining area is on the 1st floor (Grd Flr is used to sell Middle Eastern products esp foodstuff) and the windows were all but removed to allow the air to circulate and a meal with view esp in the evening when the sun is going down. Highly recommended to call ahead and make a booking for a table with a view.

We have a small cross-section of Al Diafah menu and came away impressed. Expect quality cuts for meat, usage of healthy olive oil, good spices and fresh ingredients. The diners includes Middle Eastern families and the local Malay and Chinese.

The 3-lot Al Diafah and ...

The other 2-lot a few doors away and where is restaurant is situated.

Table setting with quality utensils and a very solid table to boot.

Great view and airy with the shutters up. No brick wall and glass windows to impede giving it a spacious atmosphere.

Still very much empty at 6:30pm.

Their common bread, eat it with their meat or dip it in the creamy dressing/sauce. Slightly sweet.

This Mendy rice is cooked to perfection. Each grain stands on its own. No starchy feel. Fluffy and buttery. Wow factor is strong.

This Al Diafah rice is long grain. Evokes the 'oohs' and the 'aahs' as the Malaysians have been suffering silently being foisted with low grade rice. With fried shallots and raisins. Kind of like the Berianyi rice.

Detailed and attentive for the cutlery.

Salad. The range were limited but then it's fresh looking and tasting. Average.

Falafel is as Middle Eastern as it gets. A mix of chickpeas and fava beans and deep fried. Very similar in taste and texture with the Indian Vadai.

Rice wrapped in Grape Leaf. A Mediterranean food, rice is cooked wrapped with this imported leaf with lots of tart coming from tomatoes and lemon. The leaf is part of it and do not remove it. Excellent as starters to get the appetite going.

Condiments with onions and cucumber.

Mix of tomato condiments. My main complain. Where was the mint leaves and also sauces!

Mouth-watering BBQ chicken. with lots of onions and herbs. You will ask for more.

The star is probably this lamb pieces. Succulent and its quality shined through. Well marinated with their spices and very good.

Date Juice. Longan-ish in taste and naturally sweet. A great Middle Eastern drink.

Wrapping a slow leisurely evening with a cup of coffee done Arabian style.

Address: 43-45, Jalan Radin Anum, Seri Petaling, Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03-90596237

Business Days and Hours: Open 7 days a week from 12 noon to 12 midnight.

Smartphones: Changing Our Daily Lives

In this day and age, smartphones have changed the way we live our daily lives. How we navigate, how we organize our daily events, how we spend our time and how we connect with people is all undergoing a dramatic change. For me, the best thing about smartphones is the sheer fact that it helps us in managing our long distance relationship. KampungBoy is out of the country most of the time but we stay connected via emails, whatsapp, ping talk and talk box.

some of the pictures that we share with each other recently:

KampungBoys current location Wuhan, China

to prove that he aint going for hanky panky massage parlour

hotel laundry with a nice touch

eager to show KampungBoy that I was having QuanJuDe Peking Duck in Beijing

photos I took at a wedding dinner that KampungBoy couldnt attend

wanted to seek KampungBoys approval for my new manicure colour.

We can proudly say that we are really enjoy these newlifestyle benefits offered by thesmartphone.

A smartphone doesnt only help you to manage your lifestyle, but it defines who you are. Thats why Celcom has come up with many smartphone packages that cater to various lifestyles and needs. Whether you are a workaholic, gadget freak, realist or tech whiz, Celcom has different smartphone platforms with the perfect smartphone package for you. Featuring Android, Windows Phone 7, BlackBerry, Symbian and soon, iPhone 4.

The best part of all, you can get this on Malaysias best network. Do you know that Celcom has the widest network coverage anywhere in Malaysia, indoors, outdoors and on-the-move? Celcom also offers the best network quality, be it messaging, voice calls, video calling,surfing, email, etc and gives you the richest web and video streaming experience with its stableconnection.

Make your personal life easier and stay up to date with these great promotions offered by Celcom:

1)Android : For the gadget freak. For the gizmo geek in you who enjoys the openplatform with the ability to control their smartphone to their liking.

-Samsung Galaxy SL (from 468)
-Samsung Galaxy Tab (from RM668)
-LG Optimus 2X (from RM978)
-LG Optimus One (from RM48)
-LG Optimus Me (from RM0)
-Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 (from RM0)

2) BlackBerry : For the workaholic. For you on-the-go whose mind is always about business and work, but not neglecting social life.

-BlackBerry Bold 9780 (from RM888)
-BlackBerry Torch 9800 (from RM1,188)
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3) Windows Phone 7 : For the tech whiz. For you who appreciates the Windows platform on the mobile with the best of everything.

-LG Optimus 7 (from RM1,068)
Symbian : For the realist. For y! ou who p uts simplicity and practicality first with the efficiency of getting something

done easily.
-Nokia E7 (from RM958)
-Nokia C7 (from 468)
-Nokia C3 (from RM18)
-Nokia C2-01 (from RM0)

4) iPhone 4 : COMING SOON

Celcom iPhone 4 packages will soon be revealed on the website. Stay tuned to be the first in the know and to own the iPhone 4 with Malaysias best smartphone network.

Visit www.celcom.com.my/smartphones for more information.

Braised Pork Belly with Mui Choy

**Non-Halal**


Mui Choy is a type of preserved mustard cabbage. It has 2 varieties which is the sweet (teem) mui choy or salty (harm) mui choy. The sweet variety come in darker colour where else the salty one is more greenish in colour. Mui Choy is every Hakka household staple which others have learnt to appreciate as well. Mui Choy is generally braised or stewed with pork with pork belly being the most popular part known as Mui Choy Munn Chu Yuk or Mui Choy Khau Yuk.

My mother being a Hakka has learnt some of these dishes from her mother and we all enjoyed them tremendously as these dishes are usually being turned low-fat and low-sodium by my mother. They still tasted good nevertheless.

So here is how, the 3rd generation in the family, cooks this dish which I think my grandma would roll her eyes in her grave :p all caused I've used the pressure cooker to hasten cooking time and to really soften the meat until they melt in the mouth.

I've used the sweet mui choy which need to be washed off all the grit especially on the inner folds of the leaves. I've soaked mine for around 1 hour and even though they're "sweet" but in actual fact, they're quite salty as well. I would say 3-4 hours with changes of water in between would have done a better job in removing the saltiness.

As for the pork belly, I managed to get the portion with quite some chunks of lean meat. I also cheated by removing quite a bit of the fats layers (I can hear my grandma screaming at me in Hakka!!) then sliced them to about 1/2 - 1 cm thickness.

I actually did braised them on the stove but after 45 mins or so, the meat does not give me the melt-in-mouth texture. So I poured them into the pressure cooker and cooked it for about 15 mins and voila... perfect! My recipe is still a little too salty hence have to be tweaked to reduce the saltiness. I gather that one ought to start with lesser seasoning and slowly build it up by tasting the dish as it cooks.


So here is my recipe (adjusted) in guesstimation:

Braised Pork Belly with Mui Choy

1/2 strip pork belly (around 500 - 600g)
2 strips of sweet mui choy, soak and cut into 1 - 2 cm length
3 slices of ginger, cut into strips
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tsp oyster sauce*
1/2 tsp soy sauce*
1 tsp sugar*

* seasonings amount varies, depending on how salty is your mui choy. I supposed layering the seasonings slowly adding bit by bit and keep tasting until one find the right balance

1. Sliced pork belly into 1 cm thickness. I've asked my butcher to remove the skin. Roast pork (siew yuk) can be used too.

2. Wash mui choy thoroughly under running water especially the inner leaves to remove the grits. Soak in a bowl of water for 3-4 hours and change the water a couple of times in between. Then slice them into 1 - 2 cm in length, do remove and discard the woody parts towards the root.

3. Heat up some oil and fry ginger and garlic till fragrant in a wok (or can do it in the pressure cooker) before adding the meat. Just stir the meat around (I did not brown them). Stir in mui choy and mix well.

4. Pour in just enough water to cover and add in the seasonings. Remember to slowly layer the seasoning so that you can adjust the saltiness. Keep tasting.

5. When it comes to a slow boil, put on the lid (follow your pressure cooker instructions) and cook for about 15 minutes. When done, release the pressure and dish out the braised pork belly with mui choy and serve with rice.

I'm submitting this for Muhibbah Malaysian Monday blog event. This event is the brainchild ofShaz (Test With A Skewer) and Suresh (3 Hungry Tummies). Read more here.

Recipe: Caramel Chicken

I'm going to share this amazing caramel chicken recipe that Ellie of Almost Bourdain put up earlier this year. I used pretty much everything that is listed in the recipe but modified it a little. If you've noticed, I've also used her recipe in the previous post for a chicken dish.

I'm addicted to chicken at the moment because I realized that the biodynamic meat shop that I always get my pork and lamb from sells chicken parts too! And the chicken has this beautiful corn yellow colour to it!Not to mention, they taste very different from the free range kinds. Slightly expensive but I am not complaining for 70 percent of my budget is spent on food. 30 percent is spent on bills and transport.

Oh and before I give away the recipe, I don't know if you guys know it, but don't ever rinse your chicken under cold water. I've read it on Associated Content or was it Shine! Yahoo that doing so will not clean up your chicken.

However, not to worry, there are two ways of preparing chicken before cooking it:

1. Just boil a pot of water and then dump the chicken into it for 30 seconds and turn off the heat. Let it sit in the boiling water for about 3-5 minutes. You'll not only remove blood from it but also internal fats. :) After that, you rinse it under cold water and remove the external fats. Trust me, it's easier to remove fats this way than going through it with your knife! They are easier to cut too!

2. Brown the chicken in a little oil and set aside. When you set aside, you'll realize that it oozes water tinged with blood. Also, fats will be rendered out during the cooking process

Caramel Chicken

Recipes: Caramel Chick! en (Serv es 2)

Ingredients:

A:
-3 chicken thigh fillets, diced
-3 drops of sesame oil

B:
-2 drops of sesame oil + 1.5 teaspoon of olive oil
-2 clove of garlic, finely sliced
-3 spring onions, chopped into 1cm lengths
-1 capsicum, seed removed and chopped into 1cm by 1cm squares
-One teaspoon of Chinese rice wine

C:
-30 ml of dark soy sauce (About 3 tablespoons)
-50 grammes of raw sugar/ rock sugar ( I used rock sugar)
-30 ml of fish sauce
-1 teaspoon of gochujang (Korean chili bean paste)

D:
-1 cup of frozen peas
-A pinch of black pepper

Instructions:

1. Rub the thigh fillets with sesame oil. Heat up small enough pot for chicken, brown chicken and set it aside. Drain the liquid from the chicken. Pour away the fat from the pan.

2. Heat up the same small pot with medium gas. Add vegetable oil, garlic and spring onions. Stir for 1 minute or until fragrant.

3. Add in chicken and capsicums again. Stir until capsicums are slightly softened. Add Chinese rice wine for sweeter capsicums.

4. Add in all of the ingredients from list C. Bring to boil. And then let it simmer for around 20 minutes, with pot uncovered so that the sauce will be reduced to a thick consistency.

5. Turn on high heat and add frozen peas. Stir for about 2 minutes and reduce the heat. Let the sauce thicken a little more. Turn off heat. Add pepper. Stir and plate it up. Serve with rice and Asian greens. :)


_________

Before May kicked April out of the big picture, I had the weirdest weekend. On Saturday, I was as happy as a bird during spring.I went down to the CBD for coffee with friends that I've been dying to meet and learnt so much from their experiences! On Sunday, however, I was having a nervous breakdown and lamenting over why my neuropsychology lecturers are so incompetent when it comes to their notes. Seriously? Recycling first year psych material and copy-pasting screenshots of research journals?!

Katsusei (Japanese Restaurant Jakarta)

Katsusei is a Japanese upmarket restaurant, part of a Japanese chain, which specializes in "tonkatsu" (breaded, deep fried meat cutlets, normally from pork). I won't pretend to be a specialist since i had never tried it before, but I found it excellent. It is pretty much gourmet junk food, because even though they use top-quality, imported ingredients, it remains a fat and unhealty dish.

Cutlets (picture from Katsusei facebook group)

My main problem was not the taste but the price. One menu set will cost you up to Rp200,000, and it is quite expensive for what you get I think. Because of this, I recommend this restaurant only i! f you ar e a true fan of Japanese food, and of course of Tonkatsu. Personally, I will not go back and consider my visit a one-time luxury treat.

Among the customers, I could recognize a few Japanese people, so it seems to confirm that the target here is the Japanese expat community.

Opening hours:
Everyday from 10.30am to 10pm.

There are two locations so far in Jakarta:

Katsusei Grand indonesia
East Mall, Garden District 2, Level 5, Unit GD2 #16
Jl. MH Thamrin No. 01, Jakarta 10310
Phone number: +62-21 2358 0060
Fax: +62-21 2358 0059
Email: katsusei.gi@ipw.co.id

Katsusei Plaza Indonesia
Level 1, E19-19A
Jalan Thamrin Kav. 28-30, Jakarta 10350
Phone number: +62-21 2992 3569
Fax: +62-21 2992 3561
Email: katsusei.pi@ipw.co.id

Twitter: @katsusei_jkt
Facebook (with pictures of menu items, promo and more info): Katsusei Jakarta

Website: http://www.katsusei.co.id/preview/

Supernova

Supernova has replaced Quattro at Avenue K, supplying a spacious venue for customers to kick back and knock back a few drinks after work.

Head here before 9pm, while R&B hits (think Bruno Mars) still play gently in the background, enabling patrons to have easy, intimate conversations.

Good-to-the-last-drop cocktails: Fucking Awesome (frangelico, mozart white chocolate, bailey's, espresso) & Chocolate Caipirinha (sagatiba pura, mozart dark, mint leaves).

Supernova,

Avenue K, Kuala Lumpur.

Kwong Cooks: Easter Weekend

It was great to spend my Easter Weekend back in KL as I got the opportunity to cook an Easter Meal for my colleagues. Lamb was obviously the main dish along with other requests that included BBQ Pork Ribs and Salmon.


Romaine Salad with Garlic Dressing, Bacon Bits and Croutons

Having quite a bit of garlic heads I made a Garlic Dressing to go with the crisp romaine lettuce.


Herb Crusted Salmon

This is one of my favorite dishes to make as I love Salmon. The mixture of Breadcrumbs and Herbs give the Salmon a very strong flavor and at the same time provides a crispy crust. The Salmon was baked pink to the middle


BBQ Pork Ribs

My ribs were dry rubbed with Cumin, Paprika and other herbs and spices and were then slow baked in the oven till the meat is falling off the bone. I finally basted it with some BBQ Sauce over the grill. This was a crowd favorite.


Roasted Leg of Lamb


This was my first time having a Roasted Leg of Lamb. I bought a de-boned New Zealand Leg Roast and rubbed it with a mixture of Mustard and Herbs and roasted it Medium. The result was mediocre because it wasnt as flavorful as I hoped.


Lamb Curry

The Lamb Curry was bought with the Biryani Rice for people that would like to have some curry to go with the Biryani


Biryani Rice

I bought the Biryani Rice from a nearby restaurant and cooked it again adding Raisins, Cashew Nuts and Shallots to make it more aromatic. This was made to go with the lamb.


We were really stuffed after the meal. Although we finished the Lamb there were a few improvements I could have done especially the flavor of the lamb. The Ribs and Salmon were popular and was finished that night.

Little Baghdad (Kemang)

Little Baghdad is a famous shisha bar in Kemang, opened since 2003. They also serve a mix of western/Indian/arabic food for a very affordable price (see menu here).

It is usually very quiet compared to other venues in Kemang, but the clients are regulars. Since no alcohol is sold in Little Baghdad, most people come for the shisha (Rp65,000) and for the middle-eastern atmosphere. Recommended for having a chat with friends, not a party place.

Opening hours:
Everyday, from 3pm to 1am on weekdays and from 3pm to 3am on weekends.

Little Baghdad Kemang
Jl. Kemang I/72
Jakarta 12730
Phone number:+62 21 7181944
Fax 62 21 7181943

A new branch has opened in Kelapa Gading as well:

Little Baghdad Kelapa Gading
Komplek Gading Batavia (Food Promenade) LC 8/40
Jl. Raya Gading Batavia - Jakarta
Phone number: +62 21 45854344

Email: marketing@littlebaghdad.com

Facebook: L! ittle Ba ghdad Jakarta

Website: http://www.littlebaghdad.com/

Birdie (Kemang)

Birdie, a "beer warung" is a small caf, partly in the open-air, serving cheap beer and food. If i was younger this is the kind of bar I would like, with a friendly, laid-back atmosphere and low prices. The food is not excellent, but for a snack it is ok.

Opening hours:

Everyday from noon to midnight.

Happy hours from Monday to Thurday (4pm-6pm): Beer starts at Rp10,000 a bottle.

Birdie Warung Bir
Jalan Kemang I no3
Phone number: +62-21 9127 9207 or +62-21 9222-8666

Facebook fanpage: Birdie Beer House Kemang

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/BirdieWarungBir