she, the epicuriousgirl.

politikus and i planned a trip to siem reap quite a while back and put it to the back of our minds as we had months to go before it materialised. however, time has a way of creeping up on you and suddenly it’s time to go. the trip is quite an eye-opener as urbanisation levels were so conflicting. dirt roads and huts, street kids vs limos, 5 star hotels, spas… i tried to embrace it all but at times i admitted defeat to the heat & humidity. (note to self: check on weather before booking future dates) even though we ate mostly khmer food, i must admit it was nice (and very bourgeois) to step foot into the blue pumpkin, nearby Psar Chaa (the Old Market).

quite a few people in my work circle have recommended the blue pumpkin, for the ID. and we were not disappointed. the first floor (or is it mezzanine?) enclave had tables with bean bags strewn around. However, the air-conditioned floor is upstairs and boasted of an all white minimalist concept. there are divine starck-inspired bed-like sofas stacked with fluffy pillows for patrons to chill out. I am also quickly reminded of Bangkok’s Bed Supperclub.

as soon as one is seated, the waiter brings you the pretty menu and mint-scented cold towels. quite a nice touch really as it instantly refreshes. the patrons were mostly foreigners, either lounging or typing furiously at their laptops (since blue pumpkin offers free wi-fi) in the cool reprieve from the heat outside. politikus ordered chai masala tea which came in this cute, green teapot. i went for the coconut sherbet & raspberries ice cream shake, as i was very much tempted by the variety of ice-cream they had.

for lunch, we somehow ended up with pasta instead of any khmer food. i reckon the local food here wouldn’t taste as authentic as the one we had in Psar Chaa anyway. so we had chicken ravioli (in creamy basil, black olive & bacon sauce) and fettucine seafood (with crushed tomatoes, basil & garlic).

the blue pumpkin may seem upscale in comparison to the other restaurants around the Psar Chaa area, but the prices are pretty reasonable and it’s an awesome place to just relax and catch up. i think it made quite the impression on politikus and me as we found ourselves back there on our second last day after an especially hot afternoon’s shopping. just had a glass of icy cold orangina and apple pie la mode (actually it was just apple tart puff pastry with pineapple sherbet).

to our surprise upon arriving at the departure of siem reap international airport, there was another blue pumpkin there, a smaller one just selling drinks, ice-cream and pastry. i noticed that a scoop of ice-cream here was cheaper than getting it in town, so if you’re early , do indulge.

the blue pumpkin
365 mondol 1
svay dang kum (Old Market area)
siem reap, cambodia.

6:00AM - Midnight
Tel: 012-946227

other reviews;
- tomato

politikus has been meaning to bring me to this Korean restaurant in Amcorp Mall for a while now. But the first time we dropped by, the place was closed. This time around, we were lucky. The place is a bit smaller than the typical korean eateries I’ve been to. Deco was a little bland too but we’re there for the food! We were quickly seated and handed a menu.

I order the beef bulgogi set that came in a tray complete with the beef (with onion & oyster mushrooms) and rice in a traditional metal container, soup, fruit and other side dishes (kimchi, tofu with chilli & soy sauce and stir fried bean sprouts). The meat was tender and juicy. However, I do prefer the authentic version that comes with the translucent rice vermicelli but for a budget version, this is actually quite good.

politikus recommended the kimchi soup which we shared and she herself got the BBQ marinated lamb set. the soup was fiery and had loads of pickled vegetables.

Quite a good find for budget korean meals. So it’s worth a visit.

Restoran Haeun Khon (海雲軒)
Lot 336, Third Floor
Amcorp Mall,
No. 18, Persiaran Barat,
Off Jalan Timur
46050 Petaling Jaya

other reviews;
- masak masak
- kyspeaks
- wantan productions
- foodmalaysia

we have been eating at plaza damas at sri hartamas almost every other week lately as we have a job site that’s nearby. one of our suppliers recommended Bonny’s Kitchen (香港私房菜), an eatery specialising in dishes from Hong Kong, hence we decided to try it out.

Stewed Knuckle with Lotus Root & Bean Curd Paste (南乳连藕纹猪手), Deep Fried Whitebait Fish with Salt & Pepper (椒盐百饭鱼)
i normally prefer my pork knuckles either deep fried to a crisp or stewed till it literally melts in one’s mouth. this one had quite a bite to it, which sat well with the rest of my eating companions but not me. the whitebait fish is one of my aunt’s favourite and was well seasoned.

Fried Egg White (蛋螃蟹), Fried Pea Sprouts (炒豆苗)
The fried egg white is cooked the shanghai way, with crab meat and vinegar, which gives it a very distinctive taste. It came served with a raw egg yolk which will cook once mixed well the piping hot egg whites. the pea sprouts just tasted like how they’re supposed to be.

Fish Soup with Parsley & Preserved Egg (芫荽皮蛋生鱼汤), Chicken with Ginger Paste (沙姜风味鸡)
I was quite surprised with how much I like the soup, as I am not a huge fan of parsley. well, i didn’t eat the parsley either, but the milky soup grows on you as you continue sipping. funny how well fish goes with preserved century egg. hmm. the chicken was firm to bite but a bit on the salty side.

Overall, the food here is consistently tasty, although the pricing is a little on the high side considering the portions served. Service was quite prompt.

Bonny’s Kitchen
Lot J-0-1, Mayfair Service Apartment,
No.60, Jalan Sri Hartamas,
Sri Hartamas,
50480 K.Lumpur.
Tel: 03-62014652

other reviews on bonny’s kitchen:
- ultraviolet

my aunt’s been raving about this place for a few weeks now, claiming that the “Fish Head Meehoon”(鱼头米粉) is one of the tastiest. and after visiting an ongoing furniture fair in pwtc, we were in time for dinner downtown, hence the decision to go to Ong Lai, a restaurant that’s rather obscure (imho) in location. In fact, we found the place only after a few rounds. despite the humble (read shoddy) appearance of this restaurant with its outdoor kitchen and sprawling tables (we only saw the air-conditioned area later), we were given quite the red carpet welcome with staff rushing to direct us to the parking, and coming with umbrellas to shade us from the rain.

as we stepped into the air-conditioned part of the restaurant, i was slightly surprised to see it jam-packed as the tables outside were all empty. even if there were canvas sheets acting as makeshift roofs over the tables, the rain was rather heavy, causing some of the rainwater to seep through, explaining everyone’s choice to sit inside instead. we had to order the highly recommended “Fish Head Meehoon”, along with some other recommended dishes such as the Or Chien (Oyster Omelette/蠔煎), Honey Spare Ribs (蜜汁排骨) and Sitr-Fried Sweet Potato Sprouts (清炒蕃薯苗).

The spare ribs came first and was wonderfully juicy and tender. It was easily my favourite dish of the night. The oyster omelette was served next, with its own chilli dip. I didn’t really like the dip as much, but the omelette itself is worthy of its fame. The oysters are bigger than the ones usually used in making this, and the egg batter had a little something seasoned in it to give it the extra oomph. the omelette’s texture was just nice too, and served on a banana leaf, which was a nice touch.

and now, the dish we came for - the “Fish Head Meehoon”. The portion was way too big for the three of us so I think one should always ask about the portions when ordering. “Laai Fan” (瀨粉, a semi transparent noodle made from sticky rice) was used instead of the normal rice vermicelli. The soup was the typical milky colour (due to the use of evaporated milk in the soup base), and pieces of deep-fried fish head, spring onions/scallions, ginger and some chinese choy sum (香港菜心) were floating in the soup. at first glance, i must admit i wasn’t very impressed. nor was i converted upon the first sip. however, the alluring bit about this dish is that, the more you drink the soup, the more the taste (a hearty, warm, comforting mixture of milk & ginger) grows on you. and i find myself refilling my bowl!

dinner here can be a pricey affair, hence it’s always advisable to ask for the prices whilst ordering. our dinner came up to RM60.00 for the dishes, which is a bit on the high side. but that is justifiable with the quality of the food.

Ong Lai (Goh Kee ) Restaurant 旺来(吴记)饭档
60A, Jalan Raja Laut,
50500 Kuala Lumpur.

(alley between Bee Seng Hotel & Wilayah Hotel, at Lorong Tiong Nam 3)

and other reviews;

- foodavenue
- kyspeaks
- shaolintiger

most people are familiar with the Cantonese’s custom to have yee sang on the 7th day of Chinese New Year. but my grandmother, being of Hakka origin practises the tradition of having Hakka Lui Cha on the 7th day, preferably served with 7 types of vegetables. the name of this dish is not really “thunder tea” (as interpreted literally) but instead, it means “ground tea”. the original way of making the base for the soup is to grind/pound the ingredients using a branch off the guava tree into powder. however, my grandmother has long ago embraced the modern way, i.e. using a blender. lol. and i am sure her version is modified to suit our family’s tastebuds, which is very different from the taiwanese one.

And here’s roughly how my grandmother makes her lui cha :

herbs for the soup base;
1. thai basil (九層塔)
2. mint (薄荷)
3. coriander / cilantro (香菜/芫荽)
4. laksa leaf / vietnamese coriander (越南香菜/叻沙葉)
5. perilla
6. sawtooth herb
and tea leaves (茶葉),ikan bilis (dried anchovies), peanuts (花生), sesame seeds (芝麻).

blanch all the herbs and grind them in your blender, along with the rest of your ingredients for the soup base. then pour the entire thing into a huge pot and add water. bring to boil and voila, the soup is ready.

the accompaniments is relatively easy. choose leafy vegetables and chop them up finely before stir-frying with garlic and salt. our usual choices are :

1. long bean (长豆)
2. leek (蒜)
3. garlic chives (韭菜)
4. chinese chard / bok choy / choy sum (菜心)
5. cangkuk manis - can’t find any name in english/chinese but it’s a dark green leafy vegetable that tastes sweet and is normally served with pan mee.
6. qiao tou (荞头) - i don’t really know what this is called in english, but google seems to suggest its buckwheat greens? but the whitish bulbs are more like onions than buckwheat.

the must-have accompaniment is the salty combination of dried beancurd (豆乾 - diced & deep-fried), dried shrimps (虾米) and dried radish (菜仆干- diced). the trio is stir-fried until fragrant before being served.

i’ll normally only take a little rice, then take a nice scoop of all the accompanying vegetables, together with the fried dried-trio, add some roasted peanuts before pouring the soup over everything. mix well and dig in! however, the taste of the soup is an acquired taste and most first-timers tend to take the soup separately.

other recipes/write-ups ;

- cyberkuali
- eatingasia
- masak-masak
- theweekendchef

being in miri, my native sarawakian hometown for the chinese new year celebrations meant more homecooking than eating out as most eateries are closed for at least a few days before re-opening for business during the festive season. but i wasn’t complaining as it meant that some cravings of mine for some sarawakian food were to be satisfied. so my must-haves;

1. Fried Midin
Midin is an edible jungle fern that can be obtained in bundles in any tamu (local market selling a myriad of native products). So far, I have only seen it in Sarawak and am inclined to believe that it’s only native to East M’sia. Hence, it’s become one of my must-haves everytime I come back to my hometown. The popular methods of cooking these is to either stir-fry it with sambal belacan (spicy shrimp paste) or chinese rice wine. my personal favourite is the latter, especially when the rice wine in question is of the red rice variety. once the two is stir-fried in a hot wok, the aroma is inviting and i am prepared to polish off the entire plate myself. lol. the taste is akin to that of pucuk paku-pakis (wild fern shoots) that’s readily available in West M’sia, but the midin is crunchier and crisp to bite. i’ll buy them to bring back to Subang if i could but they don’t keep well, hence it’s best to eat them fresh in Miri instead. Pity.

2. Ang Chow Pork (紅糟肉)
i’m actually of Foochow (福州) origins and have been exposed to a lot of the typical dishes even though i don’t speak the dialect. One of my favourites is perhaps pork/chicken cooked with Ang Chow (紅糟, fermented rice wine lees). The fermented rice wine lees adds a very distinctive, rich taste to the meat. Ang Chow is readily available in the wet markets in Miri, hence making this dish easy to cook. Our family has always chosen to cook the lees with pork, selecting the 3-layered pork belly or soft spare ribs part. we would then marinate the meat with the lees, some sugar & salt before cooking it, simmering it under low heat until the meat becomes tender and fully soaked with the flavour & colour of the lees.

it’s no wonder i take more rice back home than I normally do. lol.