In Istanbul, A Perfect Lunch and the Call to Prayer

Eating seafood by the water in Karakoy, Istanbul -- such a cliched tourist experience. But Istanbullu eat seafood by the water in Karakoy too. And because of these fish, these fried hamsi (anchovies), we found the best spot in the city from which to listen to the call to prayer.

On a gauzily bright afternoon last January we walked through the small fish market at the northern end of the Galata Bridge. We like the little restaurants there. They tout a bit and a menu may be waved in front of your face, but there's nothing overly aggressive about the salesmanship.

Prices are clearly marked, and reasonable -- especially if you stick to what's in season (and avoid prawns/shrimp). The service isn't to white tablecloth restaurant standards, but if you've dined at white tablecloth restaurants in Istanbul you might think that's not a bad thing. (Our tolerance for snooty waiters is pretty low).

The food is basic, and good.

We walked to the "restaurant" at the very end, the one with tables right on the water. We sat in the sun and drank in that view that's impossible to tire of. We ordered hamsi and a mackerel-y type fish and a salad. After many trips to Turkey we still marvel that a beautiful salad is so easily had no matter where in in the country you find yourself.

The fish arrived griddle-fried and crispy outside, moist and sweet within, accompanied by big fleshy leaves of peppery rocket and wedges of lemon. Our salads (greedy for the tangy pickled red cabbage that's a component of this tri-color assemblage, we ordered one each) were dressed with a drizzle of olive oil and the lemon juice we squeezed on top.

We ate whole anchovies, leaving aside only bits of head, and picked flesh from mackerel bones and soaked up lemony olive oil with chunks of bread, and felt absurdly lucky to be there, dining comfortably outside in the middle of January while drinking in one of the world's greatest skylines.

After lunch we hopped on the small ferry we'd watched chug back and forth between our "restaurant" and Eminonu, on the opposite bank. We could have easily walked across the bridge, or taken the train. We could have stayed in Karakoy; we had no reason or desire to be in Eminonu.

But it seemed right, after a simple meal of fish and salad by the water, to ride close to its surface on an old-fashioned ferry. So we paid the ridiculous foreigners' price, equal to almost half the cost of our cheap lunch, and climbed aboard.

We sat outside and listened to minor waves punch the boat's sides while the wind slapped our faces. It was a short ride -- less than five minutes -- and if we'd had the nerve we would have asked the gruff boatman to stay on board for a few more back and forths.

But we didn't, and so alighted in a parking lot with a perfect vantage of Galata tower just as the crackle of a loudspeaker announced the call to prayer.

It started from a small mosque at the edge of the lot, and then muezzin at more mosques further up the hill chimed in. And there were calls from the opposite side of the bridge. We were standing at the bottom of a bowl with the call to prayer bouncing off the water and echoing all around us, a cascade of rising and following voices.

When the last bit faded away we walked to Eminonu pier and caught a ferry to Kadikoy, just to be on the water.

Fish restaurant at the Karakoy fish market: if you're at the Galata Bridge facing Eminonu the fish market is on your right. Walk through it to the very end, to the tables on the water. The menu is basic: fish and salad. About 20 Turkish lira for two fish plates and a big salad.

A chance to be pampered totally

Pan roasted duck breast and foie gras... fabulous. Pictures by Eu Hooi Khaw

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 1 I have had some of my best gourmet experiences at the Chalet at Hotel Equatorial Kuala Lumpur. It was where I learnt to eat raclette, a Swiss cheese, with new potatoes, pearl onions and pickles.

I still remember the lovely aroma of the cheese melting on the salamander that hits you when you enter the restaurant. Its still on the menu, as are some Swiss classics like Emince de Veau a la Zurichoise or thinly sliced veal and mushrooms in cream sauce with roesti potatoes, and the fondues, both cheese and beef.

Making a song and dance of the sabayon!

Chalet may seem old-fashioned to young people now, but dining here is always an embracing experience of gracious service, good food and music.

A few dishes are prepared and served tableside, such as the Cote de Boeuf, a grain-fed rib steak flamed with cognac in a green peppercorn sauce. You cant find such service anywhere now. Ask for a sabayon at the end of dinner, and a rollicking song and dance comes with it.

But we were here for the chefs table, a once-a-month occasion at this restaurant, to which corporate clients are usually invited, at lunch.

A degustation menu had been put together by chef Hafizzul Hashim, who has worked in one Michelin-star restaurants Chez Bruce and Mirabelle in London and at some fine-dining restaurants in Kuala Lumpur.

Hafizzul is the young man heading the culinary team at Chalet.

The amuse bouche was air-dried beef with rock melon and balsamic vinegar; Hafizzul had deemed it timely to introduce beef proscuitto. It was a generous portion,! the air -dried beef colliding with the fragrant, sweet melon.

Then it was on to Spanish black mussels, chorizo and saffron soup with leeks, potato and garlic croutons. A hint of Madras curry powder gives a spice lift to the creamy saffron soup which had been infused with basil.

It was texturally interesting lovely, sweet plump mussels in a busy mellow soup with crispy croutons, chopped leek and bits of potatoes.

The Slow Braised Angus beef cheek and Pacific oyster with Cabernet Sauvignon, cepes and herbs is a marriage of earth and sea, said Hafizzul. Both came together with aplomb the small chunks of tender beef in a sweet, heady sauce with chervil, parsley and chives, drizzled over the oysters. But I also wondered about how the beef would taste on its own, in that delicious sauce.

There was the tart, welcome interlude with passion fruit sorbet and the palate was refreshed for the main course of pan roasted duck breast and foie gras with sweet cherries and caramelised apples in a Marsala wine reduction.

The other main course was Grilled Barramundi and calamari with cannellini bean puree, clam and parsley veloute.

Perfect ending... the iced chocolate pralines.

I had the pink, fleshy breast of the duck magret from France on which was laid a lush foie gras glistening with the lovely Marsala wine sauce, and paired superbly with cherries flambed with Calvados and the caramelised apples.

Rich bursts from the foie gras, tender duck, the stirring, sweet flavours of fruit and the creamy parsnip vanilla puree all came together sublimely.

Dessert was somewhat of a letdown with the molten chocolate cake - perfectly done, with a runny centre served with vanilla ice cream and strawberry compote (I had expected something extraordinary!). However, the sabayon performance more than made up for it.

A big brass basin was brought tableside; theres the aroma of! butter melting over the fire, then orange and lime juice added. The sauce is done, the egg yolks added, then the wait for the band and four staff members, two wearing flashing sunglasses to strut their stuff.

Lots of gyrating to the cha cha, samba, twist and rock n roll beat, and whisking to the music, with some sabayon on the floor, it was ready to be served! It was a great show.

Ice chocolate pralines, or bon-bon, brought dinner to a wonderful Old World ending. I like it that its always like this in Chalet.

Hafizzul is a young chef, only 28. To think I had met him, tasted and liked his food when he was only 25. So I will be back for the old-fashioned Tournedos Rossini, Steak Tartare and the French Pressed Duck (a days advance order). But the chefs expertise is also in putting together a contemporary degustation menu (five courses) at RM198++.

I liked the look of a previous degustation menu of foie gras terrine, figs chutney and toasted brioche; potage of celery, poached eggs and croutons; scallop ceviche, cress salad and roasted almond flake, passion fruit sorbet; grilled Norwegian salmon with pea puree and shallots, Kalamata olives, fennel confit and vanilla vinaigrette or Angus beef cheek and foie gras ravioli, Portobello mushrooms, asparagus and consomm; vanilla souffl with crme Anglaise.

Chalet is in the Equatorial Kuala Lumpur, Jalan Sultan Ismail (Tel: 03-2161-7777).

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Roast Goose @ Yue Kee Restaurant (), Sham Tseng Hong Kong

Dim Sum aside, Siu Ngor (Roast Goose) is one of the more memorable food we had in Hong Kong. There are quite a number of restaurants selling Roast Goose in HK but the famous ones are none other than the original Sham Tseng Yue Kee and the classy Yung Kee Restaurant at Central. We actually tried both, and felt that while both are equally good and up to expected standards, Yue Kee is more appealing to us because it wont burn a hole in your wallet like Yung Kee would.

The lai pai (regular) portion here is a quarter of a roast goose and it is priced at $100 for the upper part and $120 for the lower part. The lower part is slightly more expensive simply because thats where the drumstick is at. If you were not specific enough while ordering you will most probably get the upper part like we did. So if you intend to savor the drumstick and thigh portion, do let the waiter know exactly which part you want when he is placing the order. If the menu is missing from the table, insist on it to know what is available.

While similar to the flavor of duck meat, goose flesh is not only meatier but is also less fatty. It was still hot when served and I could still remember the pleasant aroma it exuded. Not only you can smell it, you can even taste that distinctive charcoal taste in the meat that very well sets it apart from the rest. Yue Kees roast goose is as good as it could be hence well worth all the trouble we had to go through to get here. Just FYI, we waited over an hour for the mini bus which was supposed to bring us to Sham Tseng but it never came. So we thought screw the mini bus and took a taxi instead.

We also had a go at their Crab Meat Broccoli. Nothing too fantastic on the taste you gotta appreciate the amount of actual crab meat they give. Chunks of them!

Since Sham Tseng is actually like a village (compared to places like Central and Mong Kok) at countryside of HK where it is not directly reachable via MTR, your only choice of transportation of getting here are bus and taxi. If you are willing to spend then the journey would take about 30 mins from Mong Kok via taxi. If you are travelling by public transport, it would take no less than hour and be prepared for surprises that could make that travel time even longer.

For a place that is famous for roast goose, of course there will be more than one restaurant serving this delicacy. Besides Yue Kee you will also see Chan Kee and its branches around, with signboards so big you cant help but feel they are trying real hard to cut into the competition.

If you are in the mood for desserts then you can head to Lucky Dessert for some treats. It was about 11pm and the shop was doing still mad business as you can see. This is the ! original branch that started the durian based dessert craze in HK and it is just a stones throw away from Yue Kee. As for us, we did not even bother to try.

Yue Kee Restaurant
9 Main Street, Sham Tseng San Tsuen, Sham Tseng
Business hours: Daily 11am to 11:30pm

Bistro a Table

Back to Bistro for the umpteenth time. We've lost count of our visits.

Can you smell it? Cream of celeriac with freshly shaved black summer truffles. One word: wow.

Seared trevally with black truffle jelly & parsnip puree. A fish that features the meaty texture of sea bass & the sweet taste of pomfret. Thrillingly presented, like a UFO of cooking, topped with a slice of jelly & a sliver of truffle for earthy enhancement.

Foie gras & quince paste jelly terrine with champagne jelly, apple salad, gherkins & capers. We order goose liver terrine whenever it surfaces on any menu; Bistro a Table's breathtaking interpretation ranks near the very best. Buttery, melt-in-the-mouth bliss.

Scallops with ginger cream & shallot veloute. Masterful, with exquisit! ely juic y scallops cooked somewhere between sashimi & seared.

Eight-hour-cooked duck confit, alongside accompaniments that complement the meat so well: puy lentils, beetroot orange salad & candied kumquats.

Kill the wabbit! Slow-braised rabbit in red wine stew with duck fat-roasted chat potatoes.

Grand Marnier ice cream, freshly churned on order with Chef Isadora's new Pacojet machine. Three words: alcoholic ice cream. With the focus on "alcoholic" & "cream."

Apple tart tatin with Mexican vanilla ice cream, another product of the RM18K PacoJet.

Chocolate fondant, version 2.0. This improved recipe is matched (in heaven) with concentrated milk ice cream (the PacoJet sure stays busy!) instead of vanilla creme anglaise.

!

Chocolate mousse with Milo & hazelnut praline. A smooth, sweet-talking player that seduces the taste buds with a dark, bittersweet edge.

Caramelized banana & coconut bavarois. Sugary stuff, with a fragrant, fragile lusciousness.

The menu calls this "the ultimate hot chocolate," more decadent-tasting than one might expect. A knockout end to a knockout meal.

Bistro a Table,

Jalan 17/54, Petaling Jaya.

Timeless Cravings Super Kintas Pork Chop Rice & Canning Garden CCF @ Ipoh Central Cafe

Canning Garden Chee Cheong Fun uncle, now pleasantly serving you at Ipoh Central Cafe on Cowan Street-Leong Sin Nam Street.

After a good 3+ years of writing stories on the good eats from Ipoh, youd be hard-pressed not to get the impression that I have eaten everything Ipoh had to offer, and then some. The some in this case, might bluntly refer to cafes/bistros piloting the resurgence of interest in kopitiams (albeit modernized), hawker stalls that left in a hurried manner reflecting the speed of how they sprouted out of nowhere, and one-hit wonders aka eateries that capitalize on the latest trend, then faded off into oblivion.

Ipoh style of Chee Cheong Fun with a mix of chili and sweet sauce; sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds, and garnished with fried shallots.

The Cha Time/Gong Cha craze has hit an all-time high throughout the country, with a Cha Time outlet opening its doors in Greentown of Ipoh recently. Needless to say, the queue extended to no foreseeable ends, partly helped by the massive marketing ploy spreading like wildfire. And the fact that you need to line up, order and wait for your beverage to be prepared (a good 10 minutes, at least), added up to the already overwhelming hype.

Just when the doughnut and cupcake fiascos have died down considerably, the food connoisseurs (okay, fanatics may suit this scenario more) are betting their bottom dolla! rs on Ta iwanese bubble milk tea instead.

Geez, since when has the flavoured milk tea with popping pearls (actually tapioca balls, or whatever theyre made of) became a hit?! To me, the bubble milk tea fad was ignited when pasar malam (night markets) started housing stalls making the artificially-flavoured drinks with a mixer, sometimes with a cute soft toy seated on the apparatus for added entertainment value.

No point in confusing yourself, this stall only offers chicken chop rice or pork chop rice

Point is; we fall for the latest food craze more often than we know it. Hands up who has queued up for a JCos donut, proudly showcasing their designer cupcakes on Facebook; especially those tailor-made for a friends or colleagues birthday, went manic and searched for the best macarons out there, or even raved about a new porky joint around the neighbourhood?

I for one, am guilty as charged.

Meh you mean to say this pool of unrecognizable mess was a fad? Oh yeah. And it has since seeped into the mainstream of timeless classics now.

If you are an 80s baby, you would have been a living testament to the legacy that was Super Kinta. That was THE place to be seen back then, where everythings under one roof and I still vividly remember how the first Baskin Robbins stall was set up there, almost adjacent to the bakery that was perpetually emanating freshly baked breads aroma.

The food court above the supermarket ! was a hi ve of activities come lunch hour. There was this stall that sells amazing chicken/pork chop with rice; the epitome of a hearty lunch back then. Then there was this extremely addictive roti canai from an Indian stall, when a piece of this truly Malaysian creation of a pan-fried flat bread lubricated with ghee and served with dhal curry went for only 60 cents.

Hakka Yong Tau Foo from this stall that also sells lui cha rice and nasi lemak

Astonishingly, amidst the dilapidated state that the premise is in now, the food court is STILL in operational mode. A pale shadow of its old self, the pork chop rice stall has branched out to a stall in Ipoh Central Caf; a coffee shop at the junction of Leong Sin Nam and Cowan Street, directly opposite of Foh San Dim Sum.

Though this is not exactly a branch of that famous stall (which by the way is still there at the food court), this lady at Ipoh Central Cafe previously worked for the aforementioned stall. A case of extending the brand, so to speak. And no doubt youll see the similarity of the food served between the stalls.

Pork chop rice (RM4.30) or chicken chop rice (RM5.00); with options of additional ham, sausage or egg for RM0.80 each. A slice of lean pork chop tenderized and coated in a batter made predominantly with eggs, then fried before served in a pool of gravy infused with the zesty nuance of tomatoes, canned pineapples, green peas, corn and a dollop of chili sauce on top. At first glance, youd be stunned by the sheer appalling presentation, but the proof is in the pudding, as they said.

Homemade Caramel Egg Custard (RM2.50)

A bite of this caloric-horror revealed a multitude of flavours and texture combined. For less than RM5.00 per serving (I chose to add a fried egg for RM0.80), this was a no-frills meal that lasted me until dinner.

And then theres this interesting piece of story, an urban legend of epic proportion regarding a chee cheong fun seller in Canning Garden being so famous back in the olden days, he had customers from the netherworld!

Just another coffee shop? A brilliant alternative if the whole dim sum street is congested with people, and the dim sum outlets are packed to the brim!

Now, this Motormouth does not know heads and tails of the whole story, but grandma told me this whenever we passed by the field in Canning Garden by the roundabout;

You know, there was this chee cheong fun man who sets up his stall every evening back in those days. His stall would be by the field, and very popular with the crowd.

But then there was this one time when at the end of the day, while calculating his revenues for the day, he counted paper money (currency for the underworld, usually burnt for the deceased during the seventh month) amongst the pile!

How affable, his was a face of pure joy when this nosy Motormouth was capturing every detail.

Naturally, chills went down my spine. Yeah, maybe we have not resorted to burning food in paper forms for the ancestors, hence the chee cheong fun ! lover mu st have braced all odds and borders to eat at his/her favourite stall once again!

This same uncle (the CCF seller, of course) now operates from Ipoh Central Caf, still serving his silky smooth brand of freshly-steamed rice rolls studded with dried shrimps, served with toasted sesame seeds, pickled green chillies and fried shallots. I found this a far cry from my favourite stall in Pasir Pinji, yet a notch above the casual CCF stalls in most coffee shops.

If its good enough for the dead, its definitely worthy of a try!

Kafe Ipoh Central
@ Junction of Jalan Leong Sin Nam and Cowan Street (Jalan Raja Di Hilir).
Opens for lunch only.
Closed on two days per month, usually Wednesday and Thursday of 3rd week.
*Opposite of Foh San Restaurant