Jung Won BBQ Restaurant @ Jalan Ampang Hilir, Kuala Lumpur

It has been 3 years in business and this is my first visit.
A good place to lepak and chit chat with your friends.plastic tooth picksLet's the flame glows....And also the other type of flame too......
All set for the barbeque
I like the squid fresh, tender and the marvellous bites of the squid.
And last to be BBQed.....
I love this plain seafood soup.... so nice especially eating all these heaty BBQ meats.

The kim chee
Jung Won Korean BBQ @ Jalan Ampang Hilir
255, Jalan Ampang Hilir, 55000 KL.
(Behind Sayfol School, Jalan Ampang)

Telephone No.: 03-4257 5555
GPS : 3.159435,101.730536

Wonton Noodle Maks Noodle & Tsim Chai Kee Noodle @ Central, Hong Kong

It is a no brainer really, Wonton Noodles is one of the must eats in Hong Kong. So after we touched down and checked in our stuff into our hostel, we had Wonton Noodle as our first meal. Maks Noodle (first two Chinese words pronounced as Mak Ngan, loosely translated to mean stingy and skinny) at Central is one of the more popular ones in town along with a few others like Mak Man Kee, Tsim Chai Kee, Ho Hung Kee and etc.

Wonton noodles in Hong Kong generally come in small bowls, noodle on top with dumplings at the bottom. Looking at the light serving size it feels more like a snack and or for supper. In fact, having just a bowl wont be filling enough for the average men.
There is actually a reason behind this serving style, it is to prevent the noodles from becoming soggy by keeping them afloat on top of the soup. Then customers will soak the noodles in the hot soup (made of powdered dried flounder, dried shrimp roe and pork bones) as long as necessary to get their preferred noodle texture.

There are four wontons in a typical serving.


The egg noodle in Hong Kong is very different from those in Malaysia. Besides thinner, it is noticibly firmer and more springy with a crunchier bite so in overall Hong Kongs version is definitely better. But being a lye water noodle itself,! it is n ot devoid of heavy alkaline taste. Sadly, this causes the soup and noodle taste like soap water, regardless of how delicious the soups original flavor might be.
The alkaline taste was so strong that after one sip or two, I already contemplated to stop eating. Price was the only thing that prevented me from doing so, as it is not exactly cheap at HKD30 (~RM11.50) for a small bowl like this. So personally, it was a huge let down for me considering I had really high expectations prior to coming.

Luckily we also ordered a bowl of Wonton Soup (HKD30) which was the saving grace. Without the noodles presence, the soups flavor is not tainted so it was at the purest form. And with the extra shrimp wontons thrown in, the taste is sweeter than the noodle version too.

There are eight wontons here and each is made into bite sized dumplings. As far as quality goes it is no doubt more superior than what we usually eat in Malaysia. The freshness of the shrimps is evident, crunchy and bursting with sea flavor, simply sublime. I suggest you to order this to appreciate the soups original and intended flavor and compare it side by side with the noodles version, the difference is quite huge.

If you dont know yet, almost all noodle/rice/congee or char chan teng will give you a glass of Chinese tea. So whether you want to clean your utensils by dipping them into the tea, d! rink it or even leave it, its entirely up to you since they are charging for it anyway. But just so you know it is perfectly safe to drink.

We came after lunch hour so it wasnt that busy. We managed to get a nice table to ourselves and even got our food really fast.

Maks Noodle
G/F, 77 Wellington Street,
Central,Hong Kong
Tel: 2854 3810
Opening Hours: 1100-2000

After that we walked across the street to Tsim Chai Kee (), another shop that is said to serve equally good Wonton Noodles but at friendlier prices. Compared to Maks Noodle at first sight, the shops interior is more modern albeit darker and the seating arrangement is not as cramped.

Here, you get to choose three different combinations of noodles with a choice of toppings of wonton, fish ball and sliced beef. Since the signature one as recommended is the Three Treasure Wonton Noodle (HKD26) which is a combination of all the toppings mentioned earlier, we decided to try it. As you can see, for a similar bowl with more toppings, Tsims Wonton Mee is still cheaper than Maks.

Tsim Chai Kee is also famous for their larger than life wontons, easily double or even triple the size of the typical wontons found in Hong Kong. There are easily three whole fresh shrimps wrapped in a single wonton. Needless to say the satisfaction is beyond words. But then again, the noodles suffer the same fate like Maks by having a strong alkaline taste where it was even stronger than Maks. A real pity.

After two consecutive sessions of wonton noodles in the same afternoon, we never had any more in the following days of our trip. Not to say that the noodles are bad, just that we really cannot palate the lye waters strong aftertaste. However, I do commend the efforts of the cooks by using real ingredients to prepare a simple bowl of wonton noodle and especially the soup. It tasted MSG free and is very sweet and flavorful despite being light in color.

Tsim Chai Kee Noodle
Shop B, G/F Jade Centre, 98 Wellington Street,
Central, Hong Kong
Tel: 2850 6471

Share

Masterstock Quail



Huddled up together
For the recipe and more information on masterstock, click here.



Simply Mel's

Returning to Simply Mel's for more delicious dinners. Earlier entry: July 18.

Simply Mel's has finally unveiled its full menu, featuring about 50 recipes to sample. Kids might enjoy the "macaroni boats" _ doughy delights topped with curry-spiced minced chicken. It's not potatoes & it's not quite pasta either, but it's a real pleasure.

Epuk-epuk, a Cristang cross between Malay curry puffs & Nyonya pai tee (top hats). Essentially shredded turnips, carrots, prawns & chicken wrapped in fluffy pastry. Faultlessly prepared, without a trace of excess grease.

Black is beautiful: succulent squid cooked in creamy, subtly spicy squid ink sambal.

Threadfin (ikan senangin) in a ga! langal-& amp;-coconut curry with pineapples, an aromatic fish concoction with tropical fruit overtones. Reminiscent of "gulai" recipes.

Soy limang terung: pan-fried aubergines in dense soy sauce gravy sauteed with onions & topped with chopped chili, spring onions & coriander leaves.

Sambal ikan binagre. Firm & fleshy black pomfret (bawal hitam), deep-fried in a richly tangy, thickly vinegary sambal.

Prawn petai sambal, with plenty of not-terribly-stinky beans. Also wonderfully executed, with the petai retaining an almost juicy crunch. No overcooking here.

Freshly picked crab meat, prawns & minced chicken stuffed in crab shell. Tastes lovingly homemade; soft and fluffy, with diced carrots, onions & turnips for extra texture. And hurray for any crab recipe that doesn't force us to use our fingers to scrape for flesh.

Chicken sehbah. Super-succulent stuff, braised in a slightly sweet, mildly spicy sauce.

Beef ambiler kacang. A whopping amount of meat in pleasantly sourish curry with long beans (though that's one of our least favorite veggies, unfortunately).

Kembung rebus. Salted mackerel slathered in sambal. This one reminds me a lot of my own grandmother's cooking back in Malacca.

Sambal buah keluak, an intensely pungent recipe featuring Indonesian black nuts fried with chili, onions & garlic. A convenient way of enjoying buah keluak without having to dig its pitch-black, paste-like filling _ which some call "soft tar" _ out of the hard-shelled seeds.

Black pomfret, prepared "chuan chuan" style _ deep-fried & doused in a Nyonya tauchu sauce. Also reminiscent of my childhood, though each family has its own unique recipe for this.

Cincaluk omelet. Could be more powerfully flavorsome, but still a tasty treat.

Ox tongue semur. Tender, meaty slices, gently simmered in vinegar-based gravy and partnered with potatoes. A wholesome stew that really satisfies.

Stingray, marinated in a complex sambal with savory hints of kerisik (coconut butter), turmeric & garlic before being baked in banana leaves.

Durian santan. A seasonal dessert that would be lovely all year round.

More of the King of Fruits: The Last Polka ice cream, made with pure durian flesh.

Fresh-cut fruits, providing a light touch to round off hea! vy meals .

Simply Mel's now also serves booze. Many items here go well with beer.

And of course, everything is better with wine.

Asam boi juice & iced lemon tea, both marvelous thirst-quenchers.

Simply Mel's,
1-1A, 1st Floor, The Sphere,
No. 1, Avenue 1, Bangsar South, Jalan Kerinchi, Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03-2241-4525