Archive for October, 2009

Taiping HoChiak, SS2

October 28, 2009 at 6:10 pm · Filed under Food, non-halal

Over the weekend we were invited to this Nyonya restaurant for dinner by a family friend. He knew that we have recently been very taken with Nyonya food, thanks to a recent sojourn to Malacca that saw us rediscovering the joys of Peranakan food and ahem, old Nyonya jewellery. Hehe.

The shop is situated in SS2, on the Chow Yang side and used olden everyday stuff cleverly as display. On the outside, a wall is lined with all the newspaper cuttings featuring the restaurant and the chef, Ricky, a successful author of a few Nyonya cookbooks.

One of the appetisers we had was Pai Tee or top hats. The filling was tasty but the “hat” itself was thin, but tasteless and not crunchy enough. However with that said, I am glad it didn’t have the stale oil taste that many other versions I have tried has.

The Sambal Petai we had was rather tasty, though a tad more on the wet side. But it sure was a good accompaniment to the white rice.

The Sambal Tumis Fish was good too. Not too strong in the spiciness or sour notes.

We quite liked the Spicy Nyonya Chicken, which was chicken pieces deep fried and coated with this sticky, aromatic sauce, thanks to the thinly shred kaffir lime leaves. And an interesting twist was probably the addition of the mango cubes.

There’s also the “Tau Yew Bak” or braised pork with soy sauce and tofu (beancurd). Tender and flavourful and very much a favourite with the children. But i found something missing…. not sure what it was.

The “Ju Hu Char” or stir fried turnip with julienned carrots and sliced mushrooms was probably one of my favourites. And they even make deep fried popiah with this as the filling. Delicious.

I also loved the “Kerabu Paku Pakis” though I had a few “too raw” stems which were a tad hard to bite off.

The tofu dish was also tasty despite the messy look. Another crowd pleaser with the kids.

We ended the meal with some ang koo kueh and durian cendol. I was stuffed beyond belief so only had half a kueh and was glad to find it not too sweet. And those who had the cendol raved about it so I would definitely try that if I were to return.

Overall I would say that this place exudes a certain charm of homecooked food. And on hindsight, we were all glad that the food we had wasn’t too oily or heavy tasting. Plus the chef/owner Ricky was really quite friendly and obliging which the made the dining experience even more pleasant.

Restoran Taiping Ho Chiak
28, Jalan SS2/10, (Chow Yang side)
47300 Petaling Jaya
Tel/Fax: 603-7876 6648

other reviews;
- my jaded palate
- jules eating guide to malaysia

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Fleur-De-Lys Bakeshop, Brunei

October 14, 2009 at 12:50 pm · Filed under Food, Travel

Hankering for something other than curry, rendang, lemang and the like, we decided to go to this bakery, or bakeshop as they call themselves for a bite.

The shop has some interesting items, including designer hampers for the Raya festivities and one of my favourite, macarons.

We started off with the Mushroom soup in a loaf. It was quite creamy and yummy. And the bread loaf was perfect for tearing off to dip in the soup.

The Baked potatoes with tomatoes and mushrooms looked promising but didn’t deliver taste wise. I personally felt that the mushrooms were overcooked so it was a tad soggy. Plus the tomatoes gave it a weird, sourish taste.

The eggs benedict with poached eggs and chicken ham, topped with the yellow, creamy Hollandaise sauce.

My choice was the eggs florentine, which has the extra spinach. I must admit I didn’t like the chicken roll. Bread was soft and it was quite messy eating this. Haha.

Fleur-De-Lys Bakeshop
C5, Kiarong Complex,
BE 1318, Bandar Seri Begawan,
Brunei.

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Le’ Taj, Brunei.

October 5, 2009 at 12:22 pm · Filed under Eating Out, Food, Travel

Was in Brunei briefly for Raya and quite a lot of eateries were open despite it being the festive period. Our first stop was at Le’Taj, an indian restaurant in Kiulap. As it was the last day of Ramadhan, they were still serving buffet dinner but we opted to order ala carte instead.

The menu. Quite extensive.

The interior of the place. Quite empty as it was way past buka puasa time and most of the patrons have eaten and left.

Our Starter Platter – Butterfly prawns with mango chutney, tandoori chicken, onion bhaji and spicy pappadum. The deep fried stuff were the best tasting of all as it was freshly fried. But we suspect that the tandoori chicken cubes were taken from the buffet line as it was cold and hard. Tsk tsk.

My Lamb briyani, served with raita and pickles. We also tried the chicken version but the lamb one was tastier as it carried the flavour of the lamb more.

We also had Sag Aloo, which is essentially spinach cooked with potatoes in Indian herbs and spices.

Fish Vindaloo. Vindaloo is actually more of a spicy “sweet & sour” style curry that has Portuguese origins. Despite the promising colour of the curry, it was actually more sweet than hot for me and the fishy taste was also rather strong so I reckon you’d be better off ordering other types of meat for this Vindaloo dish. But I also have this feeling that they just cook the curry gravy in bulk and pour it on whatever meat you choose and hence, the flavour is not fully absorbed in the meat. But it’s just my guess.

Tried a few types of Naan, including the plain one, garlic one etc. Perfect for dipping up the gravy of the curries.

The food here has some hits & misses but given that Le’ Taj is THE place for indian food in Brunei, I can only say, beggars can’t be choosers. They also have salt lassi, which is quite new for me as I am only familiar with the sweet ones.

Le’ Taj Restaurant
Seri Kiulap Complex
2nd floor, Jalan Kiulap
Tel: 2238 996

Another review;
- pages of my unwritten life

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