Iwate Ramen, Sri Petaling, Kuala Lumpur

I am a huge fan of noodles, the Japanese variety in particular. My favourite ramen place is Hokkaido Santouka but there is always a queue at the Pavilion KL outlet.

Recently I read on Augustdiner's blog about this ramen place called Iwate Ramen in Sri Petaling that she feels is better than Hokkaido Santouka. That certainly got my interest piqued! Furthermore, Sri Petaling is pretty convenient for us with quite ample parking (we went on a weekend evening) and no queue! (hurrah!)

Special Spa Ribs Ramen (RM20)

The restaurant is actually both a steamboat and a ramen place, we were there quite early hence no steamboat action yet. There are 17 types of ramen available, all served with a pork broth boiled for 12 hours. The cheapest ramen available is kyu syu ramen for RM9 and it goes up to RM28 for the special Iwate ramen.

Baby D waiting for his noodles :)

Since I wanted to compare the ramen here with Hokkaido Santouka, I decided to order the char siew ramen (RM15) as I felt this would be most similar as both are served with char siew. Firstly, the broth -- very flavourful and undoubtedly good (but a little thirst inducing). Baby D loved the broth very much as he kept asking us for "more more mummy". The noodles, we are told, are own-made noodles, are pretty similar to the ones you get inside the Shin Ramyun pack (nothing wrong with that as I like the texture of it and it feels much more familiar). The ramen is also served with a flavoured omega egg, which was super yummy - they got it right here. The char siew as well was very good, I would say that the char siew here tastes better than Hokkaido Santouka.

To really compare the two places though is really difficult. I would say they are on par with each other, Hokkaido Santouka's broth is probably more milky.

Hubby had the special soft ribs ramen (RM20) which comes with lots of yuen kuat (soft bone). Although both uses the same pork broth, when added with other ingredients, they taste pretty different (in a good way).

Flavoured egg

Baby D will now demonstrate the best way to eat ramen...

Showing how long the noodles are.! . can he do it?

Put it in your mouth

Slurp slurp slurp..

Drink up!

Do you think he liked it? ;)

For dessert, we had some hazelnut chocolate ice-cream at home.

Verdict: I will definitely return here for the ramen, it has a comfortable dining ambience and the ramen is good. Thanks to Augustdiner's for blogging about this place.

Join their Faceboo k page here.

Opening times: 12pm-3pm, 6pm-11pm. Closed on Tuesday.

Location: Iwate Ramen, 123 Jalan Radin Bagus, Sri Petaling, 57000 Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03-9057 4909

GPS Coordinates: 3.069928, 101.69242

Cottage Pancakes

I was cleaning out the desk drawers in my office the other day, and came across my collection of vintage photographs. They're pictures I've picked up (a couple here, a couple there) at yard sales and flea markets. A dollar for this one, two for that. I thought you might enjoy seeing a few of them. Additionally, a number of you were curious about the cottage cheese pancakes I mentioned (in passing) a couple posts back. They're pretty great, and a nice alternative to pancakes that are predominately flour-based. So, between the pictures and the pancakes, I hope you'll find something to your liking in this post...

Pictures first? I'll start by saying, there isn't much rhyme or reason to the photos I choose to buy. I have to like something about the image, and that's about it. Sometimes it's the expression of the person in the photo, or maybe it's the way they're looking into the camera. The pattern of a dress, the look of a sky forty years ago, the way a table is set - all things that have caught my attention at one point or another. Sometimes I'll pin a picture to an inspiration board, or temporarily place a selected shot in a notebook. It sort of depends on what I'm working on (or thinking about). Sometimes they just live in my office drawer. Flip the photos, and I often find handwritten notes sketched on the backs - names, dates, far-flung places.

The two shots (directly above), I have a special fondness for. The first was printed in June, 1959. Clouds from the window of an airplane. It is printed on matte paper, and you see just a bit of the metallic wing. With the image to the right, it was the expres! sion of the main subject that caught my attention, set against the dramatic alpine backdrop. The back of the photo notes, "Kay & Carlisle, Switzerland." And above those, two Kodacolor prints date 1965 from what I suspect was a vacation to Acapulco.

I choose landscapes, and sometimes interiors, and also portraits. The little girl with the big orange bow and floral dress might be my favorite find. It is July, 1966 and she is watching the airplanes at the San Diego Airport in California. The sky is clear, and she is seated high on a cinder block wall. The image below her is a mystery to me. I'm unsure when, or where, it was taken. Although, it seems to have been cut from a paper scrapbook (something I see a lot of). Let me know if you like this sort of thing, I'm happy to share more found photos at some point, if you're interested.

Now, here's the thing with the pancakes. I'm going to share a version I make that incorporates minced cauliflower. I think of this as "the white version". That said, you can take these in a completely different direction if you like. I just typically work something with added texture, flavor, and nutritional oomph to the base batter. If it's not cauliflower - chopped spinach, blanched/chopped nettles, broccoli, dill - it's hard to go wrong. And it's fun to experiment.

I kept the recipe straight-forward here, but you can also do blini-sized versions of these. They're great topped with the dill butter from Super Natural Every Day. Seriously, blank canvas. Have fun with them.

Continue reading Cottage Pancakes...

Foodie heaven at Resorts World Sentosa

Interior of Osia... contemporary chic.

SINGAPORE, Feb 10 The Macadamia Pesto Flatbread served with butter, extra virgin olive oil and a tube of bush tomato dip was amazing. The bread had come out of the stone hearth oven and straight onto a slab of slate. It didnt even need the olive oil, but the bush tomato gave it a tart lift. It was crispy at first bite, sinking into a slightly soft and chewy centre. We were at Osia, at Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore.

The colourful entrance of Louis NY Pizza Parlor.

This fine dining restaurant is all about clean, fresh flavours and balance in contemporary Australian cuisine. Not surprisingly its chef/co-owner is Australian celebrity chef Scott Webster, who first opened the highly regarded Osia in London in 2003. He works with chef de cuisine Douglas Tay at Osia Singapore.

The Valrhona Hot Chocolate Soup with Pepper Ice-cream is a signature dessert. You dip a sesame crisp into the molten chocolate, and it tastes sensational. Then put a small scoop of the vanilla ice-cream speckled with black pepper into your mouth, and you have a marvellous combo.

You cant leave Osia without having the orgasmic Seafood Ice Experience. You will totally enjoy working your way through six shooters of flavoured crushed ice

The Valrhona Hot Chocolate Soup was very unusual... it comes with the black pepper ice-cream!

topped with seafood presented on a stand. Theres the Lychee Martini Ice, Oyster; Sourz Apple Ice, Tasmanian Salmon Trout; Pineapple Coconut Ice, Southern Blue Fin Tuna; Quandong Orange Campari Ice, Amaebi Shrimp; Calamansi Mojito ! Ice, Div er Scallop and Carrot Pokka Ice, Lobster.

We were sharing the shooters, and I was wowed by the Quandong Orange Campari Ice with the shrimps, and the Lychee Martini Ice with oysters. I didnt get to taste the rest. Next time, all the six shooters will be mine!

The different shooters that make up the Seafood Ice Experience at Osia.

The Seafood Ice Experience is S$32 (RM77), the Macadamia Pesto Flatbread S$11, Valrhona Hot Chocolate Soup S$22.

On the a la carte menu, two main courses that leap out at you include Tasmanian Milk Fed Lamb Short Loin and Shank with apricot jam, puffed wild rice, butternut hazelnut puree and garlic jus (S$62) and Moreton Bay Bug, Hand Dive Scallop, Sea Clam, with fried lychee red king crab, yellow lemon gel, bacon foam and lobster sugo (S$63).

The restaurant also has a set menu for lunch, at S$32 for two courses, and S$42 for three courses. Among the courses that catch my eye is the Compression of Pickled Watermelon with truffled goat cheese and micro cress (appetizer), and the Australian Beef Hanging Tender with chestnut mousseline and balsamic vinegar sauce (main course).

From Osia we went for a walk around Universal Studios, stopping for an awakening bone-rattling, water splashing, spider-biting Far Far Away: Shrek 4-D Adventure.

We met with David Hamamo, vice-president of Food and Beverage, Resort World Singapore, in KTs Grill. He tells us that there are 14 restaurants and 22 food kiosks in the park, which on a busy day, turn out 25,000 to 30,000 meals! We serve anything from cotton candy and flavoured popcorn to foie gras, and comfort food like chicken rice and nasi lemak, he said. We have six halal restaurants. Food is part of the culture here in the theme park. The Asian market in Singapore is value oriented, and we make sure the pricing is correct.

The scrumptious Macadamia Pesto Flatbread at Osia.

Hamamo names Louis NY Pizza Parlor as his personal favourite, as the NY thin crust pizzas are difficult to find in Singapore. Popular too are Mels Diner, Discovery Genting (for local favourites like chicken rice) and Goldilocks Fried Chicken they outweigh the local ones here.

So here we are at Louis NY Pizza Parlor, and deciding which pizzas to order as we gasped at the 20-inch ones that kept appearing at the nearby tables.

There are four signature pizzas Margherita, Chicken Tandoori, Original NY Pepperoni, and the Hawaiian. Each pizza (they are just one size) can feed at least five adults.

The Tandoori Chicken Pizza was generous with the roast chicken, onions, fresh coriander and green chillies. It was drizzled with mint pesto and altogether it tasted good.

We also had a half Hawaiian and half NY Pepperoni Pizza. You certainly cant fault these pizzas in their toppings every inch of them was filled up.

You pay S$42 for a whole pizza; a slice of it is S$9.

Thats how big a 20-inch pizza is!

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Yet Another Melaka Food Guide Whats Good & Whats Not?

So I was at Melaka again over the last weekend for yet another food hunt.

The mission remains the same: to provide good alternatives to the overcrowded makan places so that you wont have to queue to eat, as well as weeding out the bad ones (yet highly recommended by various sources) so you can avoid them.
For this round, I also made the effort of including more Halal places that did not open in my last visit due to the Hari Raya celebrations. To make things simple and clear, I will be listing the places according to my own rating instead of the time I visited them. Now lets get started with the good ones:

1. Sin Yin Hoes Fried Oysters This is so much better than that lousy O Chien at Bunga Raya Food Court which I still cant believe people are actually lining up for. The omelette is void of preserved turnips, nicely cooked and not tore into tiny, miserable pieces. Oysters are fresh and although not big in size, the generous amount makes up for it.

Sin Yin Hoe Coffee Shop
135 Lorong Hang Jebat
GPS Coordinates: N2 11.685 E102 14.942
Business hours: 4pm onwards until midnight (closed on Tuesdays)

2. Kingtu Satay Celup Tastes as good as the famous ones minus the queue, reasonably priced (70 cents a stick, some items have multiple sticks on them) and the ingredients are fresh. Good consistency on the peanut sauce and the taste is just right without being overly sweet. And whats better, there are no dozens of eyes staring at you, hinting you to give up your seats.

Kingtu Satay Cafe
9, Jalan CU4, Taman Cheng Utama, 75250 Melaka
GPS Coordinates: N2 15.677 E102 13.430
Business hours: Sun, Wed-Fri (7pm-12am) Sat (7pm-1am), Closed on Mon & Tue
Tel: 012-606 8805 (Andy Lim)

3. Hassans Best in the World Mee Goreng This spicy mee goreng is really simple, just fried using yellow noodles, bean sprouts and sambal. For that simplicity, it is also referred as Mee Bodoh by the locals. Few years ago it cost only RM1 per plate. Now, the price has increased to RM1.50 each. Quite crowded in the morning but turnover is very fast so you probably dont need to wait long. The noodles spiciness can be adjusted to your own liking by adding as much sambal as you want since it is pretty much free flow. Mix the half-cooked sambal fried egg into the noodles, add some kicap or vinegar and you are good to go.

Hassans Mee Goreng
Jalan Tengkera (near Methodist Girl School)
GPS Coordinates: N2 12.183 E102 14.097
Business hours: 8am till finish (Closed on Fridays)

4. Move over Jonker 88, I have found my favorite cendol in Melaka at East & West Rendezvous Cafe. Made according to traditional recipe and using only 100% pure gula Melaka, it has the perfect balance of sweetness and creaminess. If you do not have the luck of visiting Aunty Koh at Bukit Rambai, try this instead!

When I saw customers coming in and taking away dozens of Nyonya kuih, thats the first hint that they should be good. And I was right. The Nyonya Chang (dumpling) here tastes like those from the old days, it has a filling of dried shrimp, mushroom and pork cooked with sambal and spices simply delectable. If you came here without trying the Chang you dont know what youre missing out on. Now, I only regret not trying the rest of the kuih they have like kuih koci and rempah udang.

East & West Rendezvous Ice Cafe
60, Lorong Hang Jebat, 75200 Melaka.
Tel: 016-634 6283 (Grace Ta! n)

5. I wouldnt believe it but the best Nyonya Laksa I have had so far is not at a boutique cafe claiming to serve authentic Nyonya food. Instead, I found it at Calanthe Art Cafe, a quaint kopitiam that has a tagline of Malaysia 13 States Coffees. The cook certainly knows his stuff and prepared the laksa broth to be creamy and rich with coconut gravy just like the way it is meant to be enjoyed.

Calanthe Art Cafe
No. 11, Jalan Hang Kasturi, 75200 Melaka
GPS Coordinates: N2 11.723 E102 14.835
Business hours:
Mon Wed: 12:00pm 11:00pm
Fri: 12:00pm 12:00am
Sat: 8:30am 12:00am
Sun: 8:30am 11:00pm

And now for the OK ones, not bad but also nothing spectacular.

1. Bunga Raya Char Siew Rice Said to serve the best Char Siew in Melaka. I beg to differ though, as I find the one at Batu Berendam better. I would say both have equally good Char Siew that resembles like yuk gon (Chinese dried BBQ pork) more, but Chuen How is the clear winner because their Char Siew sauce is thicker and tastes nicer. If you are eating! at the food court, you dont need to be put off by the long queue of people who are taking away. Just grab a seat and you will be served in a jiffy.

Char Siew Stall
Medan Makan Boon Leong
Off Jalan Bunga Raya
Business hours: Lunch only, available until finish
GPS Coordinates: N2 11.889 E102 15.077

2. Burger Maut I have been wanting to try this since I heard about it. But it turns out it is nothing more than a fancy Ramly burger. One of their specialties would be the Convert (shown pic above), basically a hot dog made from burger patty hence the name. My advice is to ask Abang Fuad to go easy on the black pepper sauce because the sweetness is kind of overwhelming.

Another reason to visit would be for the show. How often do you see high flames at the usual burger stall? Well, I dont. While Abang Fuad is frying the patties, a few squeezes of garlic oil are added that sets the high flame.

Burger Maut Semabok (opposite Semabok Inn Hotel)
Restoran Padang Semabok
GPS Coordinates: N2 11.769 E102 16.224
Business hours: 8.30pm to midnight (Closed on Sundays)

3. Capitol Chinese Nasi Lemak Luckily the rice is fluffy and fragrant, else it would not even end up in the OK category. The side dishes are not bad but I could probably find better ones at any economy rice stalls. The sambal is disappointingly diluted, tastes sweet and lack the kick, not exactly the kind I like.

Capitol Nasi Lemak
Kedai Makanan Dan Minuman Ah Ho, Jalan Gajah Berang
GPS Coordinates: N2 12.589 E102 14.553
Business hours: 8am onwards till finish (Closed on Mondays)

4. Pak Putras Tandoori Chicken & Naan Whoever says this is the best tandoori in Malaysia has obviously never been to Penang, Bangsar or Brickfields. If you are coming here expecting it to be great you will go home disappointed. Dont get me wrong, the tandoori is nice but not special enough to warrant a trip. Only recommended to try if you are really out of things to eat in Melaka.

Pak Putra Tandoori & Naan Restaurant
Jalan Laksamana 4, Kota Laksamana
GPS Coordinates: N2 11.706 E102 14.622

5. Barkat Roti John This is one of the oldest Roti John restaurant in Melaka and the location is next to the Pantai Puteri beach, about 14km away from town center. Barkats version of Roti John is different from what you usually get at pasar malam, where no lettuce or mayonnaise are used in the sandwich. Minced anchovies and parsley are in place instead so it smells and tastes more fragrant without being too jelak.

Ayam Golek is another specialty here and we couldnt resist ordering it because they looked too tempting in the oven. Too bad it looked better than how it tasted. The chicken is no doubt tender and juicy but seriously lacking in flavor.

Restoran Barkat Roti John
No. 2175-2, Pantai Puteri, Tanjung Kling,
76400 Melaka.
GPS Coordinates: N2 13.610 E102 08.988

6. Joes mango juice was our main objective and unfortunately it was unavailable. Apparently the mangoes are only flowering now and would only bear fruit 4 or 5 months down the road. So now they have come up with three alternatives while waiting for the harvest: pineapple juice, lime juice and coconut shake. Honestly speaking, what you get is just a! cup of oversweetened juice that tastes slightly special because of the added salt and sour plum.

Joes Only Mango Juice
Portugese Settlement
Business hours: 5.30pm onwards
GPS Coordinates: N2 10.995 E102 15.965

7. Seafood at Perkampungan Ikar Bakar Terapung Umbai. There are dozens of stalls in this floating village compound. We did not know which is good so we picked Enak Rasa Ikan Bakar because they had the most customers. I think you could say we followed the hunch of a tourist. Turns out the seafood wasnt bad at all, tastes fresh and the cooking style is really spicy. We also had one of the freshest pari (stingray) here, with snowy white flesh and all but kinda sad it was burnt at some parts. Price wise it is quite OK I guess, RM38 for three types of dishes including sotong goreng tepung (awesome), half a pari, lala tiga rasa and a coconut.

Enak Rasa Ikan Bakar
No.4 & 5
Perkampongan Ikan Bakar Terapong
Umbai Baru, Kampong Umbai, 77300 Melaka
GPS Coordinates: N2 9.182 E102 20.173
Business hours: 5pm onwards daily

8. Tai Chong Hygiene Ice Cafe. The classic sundaes here will surely bring back the childhood memories. Even though it is a shame that Tai Chong no longer make their own ice cream, the commercial one they use are not too shabby either. And check out those old school tables, definitely not something you see in your everyday life.

Tai Chong Hygiene Ice Cafe
39, 42G & H, Jalan Bunga Raya, 75250 Melaka
GPS Coordinates: N2 11.843 E102 15.075
Business hours: 11am-8pm (Closed on Tuesdays)

And lastly, the bad ones which you dont need to bother. Forget about all the recommendations you read elsewhere because they are just a waste of time.

1. Wantan Mee next to Medan Selera Boon Leong. There are so many things wrong with this Wantan Mee that we stopped eating just after two mouthfuls. The noodle has no texture, chilli tastes too mild, red coloring char siew, wantan is made of 80% skin and 20% filling and the soup tastes just weird. This has got to be the worst Wantan Mee I ever had in my life.

After this meal I can conclude that nothing sold here at night is good, not even near average. This applies to both the Wantan Mee and the most overrated O Chien in Malaysia just next door. If you ever! walk pa st these stalls, just ignore the crowd and keep walking. There is nothing to see or eat here.

2. Puteri Erra Roti John. This has two problems: Firstly, the lettuce tastes bitter (I suspect it was not even washed) and spoils the sandwichs taste entirely. Secondly, it is loaded with too much mayonnaise so it is quite disgusting.

No need to travel to Melaka for this crap that they proudly label as Best In Town. You can definitely find better Roti John that is actually edible at any pasar malam in Malaysia.

3. If you are near Sam Suk Gong, do yourself a favor and avoid Tart Tart Bakery entirely despite the huge number of customers (who I bet wont even return again). The pineapple pie tastes like an expired one which was just taken out from the freezer while the egg tart tastes like any other egg tart you could buy from any bakery. And not to mention their service is a flop too.

And there you have it, a list of good food you should try and to avoid in Melaka in my opinion. If you find ! this use ful you may also want to refer my 48 Hours Melaka Food Guide I wrote 6 months ago. As much as I had enjoyed exploring Melakas food and sharing it with all of you, I feel that I have had enough after this trip. So I think I probably wont be visiting this lovely state again anytime soon. It is time for a change so next up, Ipoh maybe?