Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Wantan Noodle @ Jalan Gelugor, Klang

While KL city has got spectacular Twin Towers, Klang is also blessed with glorious food. Starting from bahkutteh which was already blogged to death to overrated telok gong seafood, every little hidden gem in klang has gradually attracted food bloggers.

I'm always given a crucial task during lunch hour, to think where to eat. Since our taiping girl traveled to Klang for us, I brought her to savour a plate of heavenly wantan noodles that is famous amongst locals.

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Situated at the cross junction between Jalan Gelugor and Jalan Kepayang, this wantan noodles stall has been operating for almost 30 years and it's still going strong. When I was a kid, dad used to bring me here for lunch but that was my first and last visit. Why?! Because I do not have a tough stomach which can literally endure a minimum 3o minutes of torturous waiting. While observing the process of blanching and tossing not knowing when will yours be served, you could have already been starved to death. On my previous visit (2 years back), I waited approximately 45 minutes. Yes, nailed it!

On our recent visit, they took surprisingly 15 minutes to serve us. The noodles mixed with soy sauce gravy were consistently firm and springy. A large plate of wantan noodles was insufficient and I deliberately finished them in four mouthfuls. The sliced char siew was decent - nothing to shout about.

Wantan Soup

The main draw at this wantan noodles stall is essentially wantan. Served in piping hot soup, the see-through wantan skin is so thin and generous minced meat stuffing is flavourful. The juicy wantan was juicy that it explodes in your mouth as soon as you take a bite. This is simply divine!

This is not the best wantan noodles I've ever tasted but it still warrants multiple visits though. The lunch-time crowd is insane, number of tables and chairs are visibly limited and parking is problematic. I'd strongly recommend you to drop by for a light meal.

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Prawn Mee @ Gohtong Jaya

It's such a disgrace to boast to everyone on the food I must have whenever going to genting as I still couldn't remember the name of the restaurant, till now. Please forgive me. The shop is situated few shops away from Hotel Seri Malaysia, next to a sundry shop (hope I didn't lead you back to genting!) and it's always empty on my every visit although tucking in the row of commercialized restaurants. On my recent trip to genting, I made a pit stop at Gohtong Jaya to savour a divine bowl of prawn mee before heading back home.

Sang Har Prawn Mee


Chunks of halved prawns bathed in thick and flavorful prawn soup were so huge and succulent. Priced at RM7 each bowl, the lady then told us she replaced prawns with sang har and charged us additional RM1. Need I say more?

It's inarguably a steal.

Friday, July 09, 2010

Pho Hoa Noodle House @ The Curve

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Loitering around the Curve on a manic Monday, Lern and I felt indolent that we can't decide what to have for dinner but a simple yet decent dinner. Pho Hoa Noodle Soup was the answer key to what we were seeking for. By the way, hola from Malaysia! It definitely feels great to be home but I do not hope this trip gives me shocking weight. Let's keep fingers crossed.

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Pho Hoa Noodle House, a name that basically explains everything. Pho Hoa is the place that offers simple fare and hearty bowl of Vietnamese national soup or commonly known as Pho. Hoa, on the other hand refers to harmony in Vietnamese. It is also the largest Vietnamese restaurant chain in North America but not Vietnam, strange enough?

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Pho Hoa promotes Vietnamese cuisine with the slogan ''Health Conscious Choice'' and since Lern is a health-conscious person who loves anything with green, we have absolutely made the right choice for dinner. When the noodle is served with fresh coriander leaves, bean sprouts, hot chili padi, lemon wedges and basil leaves, I bet he must be chuckling. Heh, did you?

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I am person who strongly against anything with green as they taste real bad (especially coriander leaf!) Radically, mixing fresh coriander leaves, bean sprouts, bits of hot chili padi, lemon wedges and basil leaves can essentially make the broth robustly flavoured. I truly love the pho of his! Chunks of juicy tendon bathed in the hot steaming soup were soft and tender, just like how it should be.

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I opted chicken meat instead since I wasn't in the mood for beef. Well you know, when you had too much beef overseas (not exactly!) you just don't wish to have it in malaysia. The broth was clear, rich and flavourful (I still prefer Lern's)

Overall, we both love this place, especially the broth! Simple fare yet delectable, simple setting with no frills and free from extravagance, pho hoa definitely deserves second visit.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Australian Heritage Hotel, The Rocks

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It was a quiet Sunday night where everyone cries for manic Monday at home. We, on the other hand were looking forward to Sunday and prepared our stomach for truly exotic meat served on pizza. The Australian Heritage Hotel is tucked in a secluded area in the Rocks, a great place filled with pubs and restaurants, but it wasn't hard to be located. Ask around and I reckon Sydney-siders are friendly to lead you here.

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Classic Bruschetta - AUD9.50
Vine ripened tomato, red onion, basil, grated parmesan & rocket

We kick-started the dinner with a simple yet enticing appetizers, classic brushetta and potato wedges.

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Potato Wedges - AUD8.50
With sour cream & sweet chilli

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Crispy chicken wings - AUD12
With a sticky honey, soy & chilli sauce

A simple soy marinade with slight charcoal grilled on the edges. Juicy, succulent and it's finger lickin' good!

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Chicken & Mushroom Pie - AUD16.50
Chicken & mushrooms in a white wine sauce, served with potato mash and salad

Juini had chicken & mushroom pie and she was willing to share mouth-watering dish with us. Blanketed by golden brown pastry, the filling was hearty and not too creamy.

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Salt Water Crocodile - AUD18.90
Fresh thai herbs, marinated in spicy coconut cream with asian greens

The skin from crocodiles are well-renowned as a highly durable leather of great individual beauty as a finished product. Apart from that, crocodile meat was claimed as low in saturated fat and cholesterol and high in protein. It has also been exalted for its health benefits. According to *this* article, crocodile meat is used to cure asthma in Chinese medicine and is a great food for keeping the respiratory system healthy during the cold months. So guys, not just opt for its skin, go for its meat too!

It is a succulent white meat, similar to fish in appearance and chicken in texture. To get the best out of reptile meat, it has to be braised slowly until it becomes tender. The meat was cooked to fork tender but its exotic flavor was overpowered by spices. It was nevertheless delightful and tastes better than chicken. Glad that I got to consume it in Sydney.

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Tandoori Chicken - AUD21.90
Lemon, mint yoghurt & mango chutney

Incredibly juicy succulent chicken on the inside and charcoal burnt crispy texture on the outside, lastly garnished with mint yoghurt and lemon.

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Pepper Kangaro - AUD21.90
Marinated in native pepper with roasted capsicum & native berries

Despite being Australia’s national symbol, millions of kangaroos are slaughtered in the wild each year to control their numbers.Kangaroos are cute but the meat tempt me well. Kangaroo meat is consistently very lean and rich in nutrients due to living in their natural habitat and hopping around (which makes them muscular and lean). Therefore, the basic of cooking kangaroo meat resembles high quality steak where overcooking makes it tough and end up with shoe leather!

Though cooking kangaroo meat is not an easy feat, the marinated meat was robustly flavored, tender and palatable. It has also distinctive flavor that is slightly reminiscent of a beef.

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Great night, great ambiance, great companions and great food. Another night that epitomizes we live to eat.

The Australian Hotel
100 Cumberland Street
The Rocks, Sydney 2000
Tel: +61 2 9247 2229
Fax: +61 2 9241 3262
Email: info@australianheritagehotel.com

Am having finals at the moment and then counting days to home, which is in two days time :)

See ya in Malaysia!

Monday, June 14, 2010

Mamak @ Chinatown, Sydney

Mamak is named for the alfresco-style roadside eateries, cheap, bustling and spice up with the sounds of lively gossip, and groups of youths. However, this atmosphere is something you can't acquire when you're in overseas. Upon googling mamak sydney, you'd definitely observe rave reviews all over the internet. Right after Sammi Cheng's concert, Shan and I decided to pay a visit to mamak to try the top-notch mamak cuisine. I came here with high expectation but left with tonnes of disappointment.

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The man is so amazed by how roti canai is flipped and stretched.

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Teh tarik - AUD3.50
Classic Malaysian sweetened tea, ‘stretched’ for a frothy topping

Typically, Malaysians can't live without our national drink, teh tarik. It was smooth and flavourful with teeth-shreddingly-sweet.

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Ayam goreng - AUD3.5o per piece
Malaysian-style fried chicken. Marinated with herbs and spices and full of flavour.

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Chicken - AUD8 for 1/2 dozen
Grilled over flaming charcoal for that authentic Malaysian flavour.Served with a sweet and spicy peanut sauce.

Satay chicken, on the other hand was charcoal-grilled to perfection with meat remained moist and tender. Accompanied by sweet & spicy peanut sauce, the sauce resembles the one I had in Malacca. Despite each stick is priced at approximately RM4, I don't see a good value for money.

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Nasi lemak - AUD7.50
Fragrant coconut rice accompanied by an ensemble of sambal, peanuts, crispy anchovies, cucumber and hard-boiled egg.

Nasi lemak is staple food of Malaysian and so it's not surprising that Malaysians always crave for it overseas. On top of that, winter is the best time to savour delectable nasi lemak.
I was overwhelmed by nasi lemak served by Mamak but I don't see the value for money as nasi lemak is easily accessible in Malaysia.

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Cendol - AUD5
Starch noodles made from fresh pandan leaves, with gula-melaka syrup, coconut milk and shaved ice

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I was a lil discontented at the green starch noodle. The absence of strong pandan flavour makes the green starch noodle tasteless and artificial. Again, I could have gotten a better one which fares a lot more cheaper.

The total bill came up to $31 (equivalent to RM93) for two person. Would you pay mamak fare in Sydney? They might not serve the most authentic mamak cuisine but it's the best you can get in Sydney in which you need to queue for at least an hour. I'm glad that it was my first and will be my last visit.Period

 
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