she, the epicuriousgirl.

Teluk Gong is well-known for its seafood restaurants and most of the bigger, more famous ones are situated along the stretch of Jalan Udang Galah (yes, that’s a real road name!) but my regular lunch haunt in Teluk Gong is Yong Tat. Instead of turning left into Jalan Udang Galah upon your entry into Teluk Gong, drive straight for a further 3-4 km and you’ll spot Yong Tat on your left, an air-conditioned restaurant on a shoplot block.

As it was only lunch, we decided to eat light. Ordered a portion of the Lala Beehoon, which tasted delicious. It had lots of tiny lalas, and bits of crunchy lard, and was very fragrant and not oily.

This is steamed Soon Hong Fish (顺风鱼). Some tofu slices are steamed together with it. I quite like the texture of the fish and it was quite fresh.

Lastly we had the Fried Kampung Chicken. Using the smaller Kampung Chickens, this fried chicken has a slightly salty crispy skin with very tender flesh. I like how it is retains its juices even. One of my must-orders everytime I come here.

I have also tried their Pak Cheok Prawns (白灼虾) which was truly delectable. Very fresh and firm. They also have a signature oyster mushroom dish which was I liked as I’m partial to anything mushrooms. Good place to try if you’re tired of the same old at the seafood restaurants along Jalan Udang Galah.

Kedai Makanan Laut Yong Tat 榮達海鲜餐室
Lot 9185, Kampung Telok Gong,
42000 Pelabuhan Klang.
Tel: 03-3134 1167

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i have heard about the Purple Cane Tea Restaurant situated in The Gardens for sometime now but since I’m being quite the slow poke in catching on to these new malls, i remained blissfully unaware of tea inspired cuisine until a birthday gathering initiated my first visit to one of these Purple Cane tea restaurants. However, the Gardens it was not, but the rather forgotten Shaw Parade that we ventured into.

The restaurant was bustling by the time we arrived, an encouraging sign. And the interior design was pleasing to my eye, which brought such a refreshing change to the rather dingy surroundings. i loved the liberal use of the b&w honeycomb mosaic tiles on the floor, the spray-painted white chinese lattice doors and even the painted paper lanterns.

Once we were seated, we were served braised peanuts. No idea if tea leaves are one of the ingredients in this small appetiser dish but thumbs up from me for this yummy plate of goodies. i’m always a little biased towards chinese restaurants which serve these instead of the boring old salted peanuts. Lol.

The delicately fragrant Jasmine Tea (香片) was our choice. Both the teapot and the dainty teacup were more to look at in comparison to its white china cousins in chinese coffeeshops. Haha, yes, I believe in nice crockery and servingware to enhance one’s gastronomic experience. The rice served here is normally the Green Tea Rice, which is basically rice cooked with tea leaves. True enough bits and pieces of tea can be found within the fluffy grains but it tasted just like white rice. So much for tea flavoured rice.

One of the dishes we had was the Stir fried Chicken Slice with Jambu and Tea (龙井莲雾鸡片). It was quite an inconceivable combination but somehow they managed to pull it off. The use of the pink, juicy jambu together with celery managed to compliment the chicken slices (which I believe wasn’t marinated). Once again, the taste of tea was lacking. As a whole, it was a dish that retained much of its natural flavours.

The Sauteed Prawns in Cheese Dressing and Orange with Tea (龙井芝士香橙虾) was surprisingly good. Though the taste wasn’t attributed to the tea leaves nor the orange flavour as both were barely discernable. But the cheesy sauce coating the prawns more than made up for it.

Homemade Pan Fried Egg with Tomato, Prawn & Tea Mill (茶原炒蛋). This dish is no stranger in my household even though we normally use meat in lieu of the prawns.

The Stir Fried String Bean with Tea Mill (乌龙桂豆) was nice and crisp. Topped with preserved radish, it was quickly polished off.

Our last dish was the Sambal Cuttlefish in Tea Sauce (三岜苏东). It was in one word, spicy. I could only taste the chilli and little else. Not exactly impressive, imho.

After our dinner, we decided to share all the desserts they had. Clockwise there was Green Tea Peanut Paste (花生绿茶糊), Almond Beancurd in Black Tea (红茶杏仁豆腐), Rose Water Chestnut Paste (玫瑰马蹄羹) and Black Tea Red Bean Paste (相思红茶糊). Out of the four, I like the rose water chestnut paste the best as it reminded me of the Vietnamese water chestnut drinks, but smelt wonderful with the rose water. The red bean paste tasted a little weird, as it was a little on the salty side. Nor did I like the almond beancurd as I am not the biggest fan of almond powder, as I’m convinced it smells like cockroaches. Lol.

i was initially a little sceptical about trying food with tea incorporated into it but my verdict in the end is that the taste of the tea was way too subtle, to the extent of being negligible. even though i had no complaints about the standards of the food, i did feel that the usage of tea leaves was a little gimmicky. it’s easy to think that one is eating healthier when partaking of such dishes, as I did. Yet I must admit that I won’t hesitate trying other dishes in their tea restaurants again as the menu still seems quite intriguing.

Purple Cane Tea Restaurant (www) 紫藤茶原
LotGL-02, Ground Floor, Shaw Parade
Changkat Thambi Dollah
55100 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 2145 3090

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decided to laze at home over the weekend as it was far too hot to go anywhere. instead of eating out or resorting to the usual instant noodles, was a little more rajin in whipping up something for brunch and dinner…

4 cheese tortellini with mushrooms & spinach. did a lazy person’s trick by using canned mushroom soup, lol.

angel hair tossed with olive oil, garlic powder, chilli flakes and some mushroom cubes. simple, but one of my favourites anytime.

18 organic grain buns with filling - mayo chicken, avocado & egg and bacon & mushrooms. this involved more work but the yummy factor was worth every bit of it.

grilled dory fish fillet & scallops. no idea why my scallops ended up looking so miserable. drizzled a little plum sauce over the fish for taste.

and yes, i notice that i eat far too much pasta, mushrooms and dory fish. but at least i’m easy to cook for. lol.

While discussing where to meet up with Politikus, she mentioned being sluggish and wanting more greens, and since I haven’t stepped into The Gardens yet (insert blush here :P), we decided on Yogitree after showing her some reviews.

We found the cafe/bistro/restaurant tucked away at a corner by Isetan and even though it was relatively empty, i quite liked the sight that greeted me. Part of the restaurant is converted into a specialty shop selling yoga attire & equipment.

The furniture were not entirely matched as it revolved around green bench seats, light coloured chairs and tables, along with some spray painted pastel kopitiam chairs but was still pleasing to the eye. I really liked the handwritten specials on the blackboard finishes at the counter too. Quite a soothing & relaxing ambience, which was apt with the organic theme of this place.

She started with the Grilled Portobello Mushrooms au Gratin topped with crispy breadcrumbs and cheese, which I nearly ordered too. The mushrooms were evidently very fresh as it was juicy and cooked just right. However, I thought that the cheese topping were a tad too salty for my liking. But that just goes to show that they were very generous with the topping.

I chose the Flaky Salmon & Crab Fishcake with tomato relish & homemade tartare sauce to start. The fishcakes used smoked salmon pieces along with the flaky crabmeat which tasted divine in my opinion. True to its name, it’s flaky and light. Fans of both smoked salmon and crabmeat will love this.

My main was the Crispy Prawn & Pomelo Thai Salad. Wanted to get a pasta dish initially but as I am huge fan of prawns & pomelo, I ended up choosing this from their board of daily specials. I must admit I wasn’t expecting the crispy prawns to be these dried shrimp lookalikes. But still, it added a nice crunch to the slightly tangy and spicy thai salad. Once again, I found the dressing a tad salty, perhaps too much fish sauce? But luckily the pomelo bits balanced out the saltiness.

Her main was Grilled Mediterranean Vegetables Superfoods Salad with pine nuts, pesto and organic beans. I could see grilled zucchini, squash, bell peppers amidst the medley of salad leaves. As she was finishing up, I could see a whole lot of pine nuts with lentils and chickpeas pooled at the bottom of the plate and I gladly helped myself to them. So it looks like one must mix the salad thoroughly before consuming.

What’s a meal without dessert? We decided to share the Pineapple Upside Down cake with Pineapple Ice Cream which was also listed on the board. They claim to use organic eggs, unbleached flour and real butter for all their cakes. Upside Down cakes are cakes baked in a pan before being turned upside down to let it set. Usually sliced canned fruits in a caramel topping is poured in before the batter so that it sets on top of the cake when turned out. The cake itself is wonderfully dense and not too sweet. However it can be a little difficult to cut with the pineapple rings on the top, but we still enjoyed every bite. The icy ice-cream had hidden bits of pineapple in it too, and tasted refreshing and had the sweetness level down pat. Yum!

Last of all, asked for cold water to wash down everything and couldn’t help admiring the cute glasses they came in. Actually did have some juice to go with the meal but I guess I slurped it down too fast. I chose the “Peak Performer”, a mix of grape, apple & pineapple juice which tasted invigorating.

Overall, food was very good although they rated a bit higher on my salty gauge. Prices are on the higher side, but then, organic foodstuff normally costs more. I am already looking forward to come back and try their handmade pasta as I’ve seen some promising reviews! and for those who think that organic food equates lousy tasting food, come here and be prepared to be blown away.

Yogitree (www)
Lot F-237B,
1st Floor,
The Gardens
Mid Valley City
Kuala Lumpur

Tel No: 03- 2282 6163

other reviews;
- politikus
- masak-masak
- friedchillies

Jiufen (九份) has acquired quite a reputation for being picturesque and nolstagic. To get there, we had to board a train to Ruifang (瑞芳镇), before taking a bus to the narrow, winding alleys of street snacks and souvenir galores of Jiufen.

Despite this town being solely a tourist town, we vastly enjoyed walking around the olden streets and taking in the sights. Word has it that the name of the town originated from the times of the Qing dynasty when nine families settled here and every shipment here included “nine portions” for the nine families.

By the time we reach the town around noon, it was drizzling a little. Hence we decided to find shelter and food! When we saw the window display of this quaint B&B, Chiu Chunt Dint (九重町), we didn’t even hesitate and stepped into its restaurant. The atmosphere here does bring one back down memory lane, esp. with its wall displays and soothing background music.

The ambience in the restaurant was relaxing enough. However, do note that there’s no smoking or non-smoking areas in this place, and much to my friends’ dismay, the neighboring tables started lighting up and puffing away which did put a damper on our dining experience a little as one of our group members can’t stand cigarette smoke as it makes her ill.

There are some lunch sets here, which comes with an appetiser and soup. One of which we tried was the Beef with Green Peppers (牛肉套餐) set. The soup had meat sausages in it, whilst the appetiser came in the form of a green courgette salad.

Another set that was chosen was the Roast Rice with Beef and Black Pepper (黑牛炬饭), which had a creamy cheese topping. It was quite nice but rather filling as cheese baked rice goes.

I quite like the Steamed Rice in Bamboo Mugs (竹筒饭套餐) which used mostly Japanese type short grain rice and was flavoured with diced mushrooms, dried shrimps etc. A bit similar to our glutinous rice (糯米饭) but not sticky.

I forgot to snap the name of this dish for my reference but in all honesty, this was the worst tasting one of them all. Prawns cooked with egg in a tomato based gravy, even though the prawns were bouncy, the gravy was too much and too salty.

We decided to try the Mushrooms Hot Pot (九重菇菇锅) as it was highly recommended in the menu. The soup base was made with rib bones, kampung chicken, and many types of mushrooms. As mushrooms are reputed to be full of antioxidants, this is one beneficial and nourishing soup! True to its word, it was tasty and sweet.

Our meal was quite good though I don’t think it was that impressive overall. If I’m not mistaken they serve cakes and other snacks for a tea set. Prices for our meal were of course a bit higher but if you’re after a nolstagic atmosphere and ambience, this could be the place for you. (A review, but in mandarin)

We probably picked up most of our souvenirs here in Jiufen as we were spoilt for choice and we felt that the prices were reasonable. Packed snacks are also easily obtainable to be brought back for friends and families so that they too can have a taste of Taiwanese snacks. I ended up getting some sticky peanut candy and strangely enough, chicken century eggs! Lol. Guess I was captivated by the translucence of the century egg.

Despite there being many types of street food in Jiufen, including gigantic meatballs (some with fillings), grilled king trumpet mushrooms & squid, fermented red wine lees meat buns (紅糟肉圓), mochie etc. However it was the grilled sea snails (螺) that caught our attention. Selling at 3 for NT100. They are cut into bite-sized pieces and drizzled with a sweet and spicy sauce.

This is Ah Lan (阿兰), a famous shop here selling the yam cake (芋粿) and cudweed cake (草仔粿) I mentioned trying in Fenchihu. Business must be quite good as a group of women were seated, furiously kneading away, churning out as many cakes as they possibly can.

Ah Lan offers a few fillings for the cudweed cake, including red bean, salted green bean and the usual preserved radish one. I opted for the norm and it was quite delightful. The outer layer of the cake, which has cudweed mixed into the dough has speckled the skin and ends up becoming a perfect accompaniment to the julienned preserved radish.

Towards the late afternoon, it started raining quite heavily hence we popped into Jiufen Teahouse (九分茶坊) to get some shade. As it’s the first teahouse in Jiufen, established in 1991, its decor is mostly revolving around teapots, antiques etc. It is also a ceramics factory of sorts, making beautiful teapots and plates.

All around, the placement of the tables and daybeds were quite pleasing. And I like how every piece is different. As we were a bigger group, we were led to a more private enclosure with only one big table and another small one. There was a doorway leading out to the terrace which would have provided us with an gorgeous view if not for the rain.

The teahouse has small dishes and snacks that goes well with the assortment of tea leaves they have available but we opted only for tea. I can’t remember the name of the tea we chose anymore, but it’s of a mountain origin local to Taiwan only. The waitress does a demonstration of tea making, whilst explaining the use of every different tool and also of the tea leaves itself. then we are left to slowly savour and enjoy the taste of the hot brew.

The tea we chose has a delicate taste and is great for warming us up on a rainy day. i must admit that the rain was a blessing in a way as we wouldn’t have ventured into this interesting place. Quite an interesting experience, and it was quite fun exploring the teahouse too!

On the way back to KL from Seremban we decided to stop at the newly renovated Dengkil Rest & Relax stop along the highway for some of the famous kajang sate (or satay). Sate Kajang Hj.Samuri is quite famous as it’s expanded from one shop in Kajang to numerous branches all over Selangor.

They offer quite a few varieties of sate, from the usual chicken & beef to mutton, rabbit, fish, venison, tripe etc. We picked the chicken, beef, mutton and chicken liver. I had to make the order at the cashier’s first and pre-pay before waiting at a table to be served.

The sate did not take long to be served. Along with it, came the peanut gravy with a separate serving of sambal. We had also ordered a plate of nasi impit (compressed rice) which was of course served with its usual cucumber slices.

The way to eat the thick peanut gravy here is to add dollops of sambal into the gravy in accordance as to how hot you like your gravy. The chunky sate was tender and well-marinated so that it was flavourful and had this lingering smoky taste from the charcoal on it.

One thing I’m impressed with about Sate Kajang Hj.Samuri is how they’ve maintained their quality. So now it’s no longer necessary to venture into Kajang just for mouthwatering, lipsmacking good sate.

other reviews;
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After a job stint in Seremban, we were looking for a place to have a decent dinner. And we vaguely remembered this restaurant so we made our way there. The 2 shoplot restaurant had quite a few extra tables placed outside but as it was raining, most of the inside tables were occupied. Lucky we managed to grab one of the last free tables. From where I was seated, I could see a cardboard cutout of Jason of “Taste with Jason” (阿贤人情味) placed at the entrance. Good food sign? We’ll be finding out!

As usual freshly chopped chillies and garlic are served whilst we waited. My colleagues ordered the sea coconut drinks which was served in a plastic container. The drink had other beneficial ingredients such as red dates (红枣), longans and snow ears (雪耳).

Decided to have the Coconut Chicken Soup (椰子鸡), a nourishing soup. The chicken, together with various chinese medicinal herbs is placed in an old coconut, and double steamed (炖) for at least 2 hours before being served. The old coconut is chosen because the tough & hardened flesh retains the taste and benefits of the coconut milk and oil which will seep out into the soup once it’s double steamed for hours.

The soup here does indeed taste sweet and tummy-warming. Subtle traces of the coconut flavour can be tasted, which doesn’t overpower the herbal chicken soup. It’s a bit on the oily side, as the skin of the chicken wasn’t removed before cooking but still very delicious. Plus, it’s reputed to do wonders for the females due to its medicinal and beauty benefits. Each coconut costs RM16 and is enough to share between 2-3 people.

As we were walking in earlier, noticed that almost every table had ordered the Fish Head Noodles (鱼头米) apart from the famous Seremban grilled crabs. We didn’t feel like crabs as it was too much work for a quick dinner so we ordered the next most popular, these noodles. The woman taking our orders recommended their fresh fishballs too so we decided to add those into the noodles.

Their version of the Fish Head Noodles is served in the usual milky soup base, but tasted very peppery. For that reason alone, I ended up not liking the noodles much. It was hard to savour the complex flavours when one’s tongue was feeling numb over the abundance of ground pepper used. We didn’t get to finish this even though we had all the fried fish and fishballs, which were incidentally fresh enough and bouncy. The noodles were priced at RM15 per serving.

Opted to have a simple stir-fried leafy vegetable (奶白) to end the meal. RM10 per plate.

Judging from the dinner crowd, I expect that this restaurant is quite well-known amongst the locals. What we had was decent but I can’t help feeling as if I missed out on something. Maybe local Seremban folks can recommend better dishes or even better eating places?

Restoran Sin Yit Sing 新日昇餐馆
103, Taman A.S.T.,
Jalan Labu Lama,
70000 Seremban.

a friend staying around the area actually recommended me this place and since then, I’ve found myself returning a couple of times to try their other offerings. it’s quite a cosy, neighbourhood type of dim sum restaurant, not too different from A little dim sum place.

my favourite thing to have here is definitely the fried radish cake. crisp on the outside, soft on the inside, it tastes absolutely sublime. bits of meat/sausages have been added into the radish mix, which really elevates the taste of this humble and simple cake.

Teochew Dumplings (潮州粉餜). The translucent skin shows such promise of the filling inside. The filling is slightly sticky, with meat, peanuts, parsley, mushrooms, bamboo shoots and some other ingredients. It was different from what i’m use to, but tasty all the same.

Shanghai Buns. Meat filling inside. No surprises with this. Tasted ok only.

Prawn Cheong Fun (虾肠粉). Quite nice even if the ass-kicking chilli oil was missing.

Xiao Long Bao (小笼包). See the soup pooled at the bottom of the dumpling? Best taken as soon as served.

Steamed Pork Ribs.

Spinach Dumplings. I wasn’t too taken with this despite the generous filling.

Stir Fried Chee Cheong Fun in XO Sauce. Now this is something new for me. Instead of using radish cake cubes, rice roll cubes are used. And it tastes quite delicious too! Thanks to the XO sauce, it has a hint of spiciness and is very aromatic.

Dan Dan Noodles (担担面). Their version here is of a slightly spicy soup and liberal amounts of ground peanuts are used. Instead of being pure vegetarian, minced pork is also included, along with some deep fried fish. Fine emperor noodles are used and even though I can’t really describe the taste of the soup, this is one dish that has won me over.

Or Nee (芋泥), a Teochew style Yam dessert. This is very rich but so very good. Served with a coconut milk based dip, the taste is enhanced with just a little of the accompanying dip.

Overall the food here is above average even if choice is somewhat limited in comparison to one of those dim sum restaurants outside. However I feel I am still spoilt for choice as I would only try a few others apart from having my usual regulars. I also think that prices are quite reasonable as this meal came up to about RM50 for 3. Service can be a little slow here as they’re a little shorthanded so this is a place you must have time to dine at. Good for weekend brunches, imho.

One One Cafe
11, Plaza Danau 2,
Jalan 5/109F, Taman Danau Desa,
58100, Kuala Lumpur.

the main activity that most tourists at Alishan go for is sunrise viewing apart from the usual hiking etc. so we too woke up at 5am to get ready to go to the viewing plateau. it was far colder than we were used to but i enjoyed the crisp morning air.

anyhow the cool mountain air sure helped us build an appetite as we found ourselves scouring for food despite having scoffed down a serving of french toast at the hotel earlier. the “town centre” was still bustling with tourists so we skipped the restaurants and ended up at a row of stalls near the car park.

Started off with the Mushroom Porridge (香菇粥) & Dong Guai Duck Soup (当归鸭汤). The porridge was more like rice drenched in soup, Lol. I can’t recall the taste of the soup, so it wasn’t spectacular enough. Hehe. However, both were quite oily, which was the main reason why we couldn’t finish all that we ordered.

Also decided to try Taiwan’s version of the Malaysia Lou Shi Fun (老鼠粉), by the name of Mi Tai Mu (米台苜) & the Kway Teow Soup (粿仔条). The MTM was chewier and longer than the M’sian LSF and looked very similar to their vermicelli. The Kway Teow was much bigger than ours, and had a chewy bite too, like our M’sian Pan Mee. The broth was quite plain, and as per the other dishes, too oily.

Instead of boarding the train again, we decided to take the minivan down the winding roads. The journey included a brief stop at Fenchihu. A quaint stop that boasts an old shopping street, with stalls selling all kinds of food and souvenirs, stretching down a whole street. Even though the most famous refreshment available here is the bento lunch box (奮起湖便當), we have also heard much about the cudweed cake (草仔糕), also known as the “Tsa A Kueh” and the Yam Cake.

The stall selling the chinese cakes is always surrounded by a crowd so one can’t possibly miss it. The Cudweed cake sells out quite quickly so I was quite lucky to get it. The dough is greenish due to the use of the cudweed grass (鼠麴草). The filling is mostly dried radish and meat or some other vegetables. I quite like it, very glutinous (as you can probably see from the photos) and very delicious (despite looking unappetising :P). The yam cake on the other hand, was well mixed with whatever ingredients in it. It was very dense, and tasted so. Definitely preferred the cudweed cake to the yam version. Does make for a good snack.

However, one can’t visit Fenchihu and not try their famous bento lunch boxes. So we went to the Fenchihu Hotel (奋起湖大饭店) for their version of the lunch box. There was already quite a big crowd in the main dining hall and we had to go down to the basement to get an empty table. The rice was already prepacked in these wooden tubs, complete with 4 types of local vegetables, including the cold bamboo shoots, half a braised egg, pork chop and a chicken drumstick.

Generally it was very good though I didn’t like the local vegetables much. Maybe coz I wasn’t too clear about what I was eating. Lol. Esp. the red coloured strands. But it was quite an experience finally being able to taste the famous lunch box this town is famous for.

Despite wanting to spend more time exploring Fenchihu, we ended up leaving as soon as lunch was finished as we were short on time and had a train to catch from Chiayi to Taipei.

it has been a busy week at work. plus i’m out of gas at home so i’ve turned to the simple solution that’s fast and hassle free - cup noodles! Lol.

Spotted this japanese cup noodles at Shojikiya, a Japanese food specialty store in Hartamas Shopping Centre a few weeks back and it’s been sitting on my shelf since. Shio noodles actually just mean ramen noodles in a clear, salt broth (usually Chicken). The noodle sellers used a type of musical horn (the charumera) to announce their presence in selling their ramen & gyoza dumplings , hence the cute illustration on the cup.

To my surprise when I opened the lid, there are freeze dried dumplings in them, apart from the usual vegetables. 3 mins after pouring in the boiling hot water, voila! A delicious hot cup of noodles complete with soft yummy dumplings. Too bad they’re on the small side