Ms. Jazz Reviews: Restaurant Siu Siu, Robson Height for Seafood

Funny how i dont remember writing this at all, but yet it's sitting patiently at my backlog, fully written,waiting for me to post it up!! By the way, does anyone know how to set an index for blogspot? Care to teach? We're clueless.

For those whom crave for seafood in KL in a casual ambience, where do you usually go to? I have no idea, until I chance upon this restaurant- Restaurant Siu Siu.


Set in a non-pretensive ambience on the higher ground at Robson height, it was strangely cooling enough despite it being an open air restaurant with some metal roofing, it was actually a nice change from my usual haunts, and I was set to get my hands dirty that night.

It helps that the restaurant is relatively simple to locate, although you might get a bit confuse with the narrow roads and jungle-like surroundings but direct accessible off Federal highway. Restaurant Siu Siu is near kuen cheng school further up from tien hou temple. Plenty of carparking spaces opposite the restaurant with a minimal fee.

Our expectations heighten, and like an excited child we were, we looked forward to many items that were well written by the food bloggers. Claypot Crab Rice being one of them that was frequently mentioned. Sure enough, out came a piping hot claypot with one medium sized crab sitting handsomely on a bed of rice that was filled with dark soya sauce. Indeed the aroma of crab drift to my senses and can I say that its cr! abilicio us?? (is there such words? If not you hear it here first. =P). I enjoyed the fact that the rice texture is nicely separated and not at all lumpy. We slopped up all the rice before getting down and dirty with the crabs, fresh with decent amount of flesh.

As if one is not enough, twos definitely not too crowded, salted egg yolk crab blew our minds away, we love the intensity of the gravy and how it blend so well with the sweet crab flesh. This calls for some finger licking practices.

Another thumbs up dish would be their claypot milky prawn. We wanted to order the Vietnamese prawn curry, but the lady boss seem adamant to put the order through, instead recommending the milky prawn because it goes better with the claypot crab rice. Now, this is some serious business going on- I mean food pairing at an informal Chinese restaurant? Id have to applaud for her determination. There was a whimper or two on the recommendation of course since I had my eyes set on the latter dish, but I was quickly muffled by the subtle buttery flavours of the sauce that marriage so well with the prawns. Accompanies really well with rice too. Screw carb diet.

Restaurant siu siu also prides themselves on thei! r fresh river fish and we are spoilt with 15 choices! Their supply was sourced from local rivers of perak and Pahang. We ordered a fish too, but I was embarrass to admit I forgot which type it was (I suspect river patin). But rest assured it tasted decent.

Seafood aside, weve also ordered the char siew, taste wise OK, its a pity that the meat is too lean to my liking, causing the meat to be less moist than it can be.

Last but not least, Guiness pork ribs and some greens.

All these food for four of us! *pats tummy*

All-in-all, a very nice place for seafood, and yes I would definitely visit again within short period.

Restaurant Siu Siu

15-11 Lorong Syed Putra Kiri

Robson Heights

Tel: 016-3708555

Record year for French wine, spirits exports

A bottle of prized French white wine, the Maison Louis Jadot Montrachet. AFP pic

PARIS, Feb 15 France set a record for its export of wine and spirits, with more than 10 billion (RM40 billion) in 2011, a 10.5 per cent annual increase, the Federation of Wine and Spirits Exporters said yesterday.

The sector has weathered the return of the (financial) crisis fairly well, said federation president Louis Fabrice Latour at a press conference.

The federation said there was growth around the world, particularly in Asia though less so in Europe, and was due mainly to sales of Bordeaux wines, Cognac and Champagne.

With a surplus of 8.6 billion, wine and spirits were the second-largest contributor to Frances trade balance after the aerospace industry and ahead of the perfume and cosmetics sector, the federation said.

Latour said the growth was due more to a 10.5 per cent rise in prices than to a 2.4 per cent increase in volume.

Export to emerging markets continued to rise, and in 2011 accounted for more than 1 billion, the federation said.

Export to Asia rose sharply, with China jumping two spots to become the third-largest importer of French wine and spirits after the United States and Britain.

Latour said the United States also registered a spectacular boost in imports, with Champagne up 18.6 per cent in terms of value and 12.2 per cent in terms of volume, after a dip owing to the financial crisis.

He said the sector was having some difficulty recapturing sales in traditional markets such as Germany and Britain, because of fierce competition and the crisis.

Belgium, Frances third-largest European importer, was for example in the red across the board, with sales down 7 per cent and shipments down 6 per cent.

Europe still remained the main market for French wine and spirits, at 4.1 billion, up 3 per cent in 2011.

Asia i mported 2.5 billion worth, up 29 per cent, and the Americas 2.1 billion worth, up 9 per cent.

The federation said 2012 orders had so far been as expected, and it foresaw stable sales of around 10 billion over the year. AFP

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Valentine's @ Kita No Zen & Delectable by Su, The Gardens Mall, Kuala Lumpur

Will you be my Valentine, pretty please?

For Valentine's Day, we went out to Baby C's favorite restaurant to celebrate. It was quite fun to do this as a family rather than a twosome, at the end of the day we had one very happy child.

Baby C loves Japanese food, and her favorite restaurant is Kita No Zen / Hokkaido Ichiba in The Gardens Mall. Am not sure why she loves this place, if it's the food, the ambience or because she gets ice-cream at the end of the meal?

Wasabi

Baby C loves the udon, so we ordered the mini udon & sushi zen as well as the nabeyaki udon with rice topped with salmon sashimi set to share. The sushi selection was quite basic but fresh. It is served with a small bowl of udon, appetizer, chawanmushi and some fresh fruits.

Mini udon & sushi zen set lunch (RM30)

Seven pieces of sushi comes with the set

I! love th e nabeyaki udon here, and so does Baby C (she will ask me for all the mini mushrooms). The nabeyaki udon is topped with a tempura (though it gets soggy by the time it is served to us), one scallop, egg and some fern leaves - the best part is that the soup stays hot for quite a while since it is served in a claypot. The salmon don is served with 4 slices of salmon sashimi and tobiko which gives the rice a nice crunch when mixed together.

Nabeyaki udon and salmon don set (RM32)

Appetizer - pickled radish and carrot

Salmon don with tobiko

Nabeyaki udon - a huge portion which I find quite difficult to finish on my own, but thankfully I have two good helpers ;)

See how much Baby C loves her udon!

From their specials, we ordered the deep fried baby mackarel (mame aji age) -- quite a big portion considering we only paid RM10 for this. Pretty good since it was fried til crisp and you could eat th! e head.< br>

Since it was Valentine's day, we made a heart-shape with the fishies.

Baby C likes the fishies too

As an extra special treat for Valentine's, we had the 7 sins of chocolate (RM12) from Delectable by Su. So so good! Of course, we did not forget Baby D who's at home, we bought him a giant macaron - caramel latte flavour (RM10).

This is sooooo yummy!

Lemon verrines

Lemon verrines

I wish I had the time to share the recipe of the lemon verrines I made for us tonight, but unfortunately, I cantI have pages of drafts almost ready. I thought Id still share this image though, wishing you all a lovely time whether you are cooking at home or going out.

I am one of those who will cook tonight. You too?

Well have fish en papilotte with shaved vegetables and ginger, a recipe inspired from my own cookbook (isnt this funny?) and black rice. I will also prepare a multi vegetable salad to start our meal (oh youll love this one when I come back to tell you about it) and then well have this dessert.

Simple. But cozy.

I cannot wait for diner time to come!

A table !

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Romanza @ Ampang

It's always cause for celebration when a fresh-faced outlet takes off at Terrace at Hock Choon; Romanza Le Restaurante marked its maiden flight on Valentine's Day, propelled by fantastic fusion fantasies in which Europe & Asia land on a singular runway of recipes.

Romance was in the air as Romanza unveiled its lovely setting to endearing effect, with a band charming customers with renditions of Eric Clapton's "Beautiful Tonight" & Elton John's "Something About The Way You Look Tonight" _ though it was bizarre that they also sang Adele's "Someone Like You."

Cold winter melon & coconut soup with ginger sorbet & pine nuts, strange but exhilarating. The foundation of the menu is French Mediterranean, flirting with influences from Japan, Indonesia & more, balanced by South African chef Steven Kruger with high-wire culinary bravura.

Tempura of tiger prawns, mango & sesame salsa with Pommes Maxim, pickled red cabbage, curly lettuce & rose caviar in a v! anilla-& amp;-black pepper vinaigrette. Painstakingly put together, but perhaps overly fussy, with so many components competing for attention.

Roasted chicken thigh roulade, glazed with Indonesian sweet soy sauce & served with crisp leeks & risotto laced with spring onions & shiitake mushrooms. The risotto might be a bit too mushy, but this remains flavorsome enough to keep us tantalized.

Slurp & swallow: freshly shucked oyster with plum chutney, fish roe & apple kiwi salsa.

The happily-ever-after: rose-&-yogurt-swirled sorbet with lime jelly & crystallized rose petals.

Cocktails are available; berry margaritas contain all the Vitamin C you'll need this week.

Seeing red, with wine that runs crimson. 'Tis the season ! to be ti psy ...

Romanza Le Restaurante,

Terrace at Hock Choon, Off Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03-4252-6059