Ikan Cencaru at Mum's Place... June 26, 2009

I ought to really carry a sling bag with me every time I go out. So that I have no excuse for not bringing my camera and uploading blurry pictures here. Blurry photos does not do justice to the food... My fault... I'm bad... I'm bad... You know it! (bereavement of MJ's  passing... still).

Anyway, Mum's Place is one of those eateries that is so reputable that people are willing to travel the distance to have dinner there. Though the menu has grown over the years but what most patrons return for are the local nyonya dishes which I refrain from calling simple because the preparation required to present an unpretentious looking dish does not necessary mean that it is  any lesser. Well, Gordon Ramsay don't have to pound red shallots, chilly and belacan for his fillet mignon. Not to undermine western cooking but I believe all form of cuisine deserves it's place in this world. Maybe I am just being argumentative, I am sure may people would agree with me. Gosh, it is the weekend... why am I so sensitive?

Maybe all this is to put things into perspective. The blurry photos aside but I must admit that the dishes were really not well presented. No fancy carved carrot and turnip figurines or assortment of garden salad by the side. Nothing that will wow you at the first instant. But of course, the restaurant itself is nothing less than classy and yet exudes the warmth and homely environment. Every piece of furniture is wood. The restaurant is spacious. Good mix of tables, whether to seat a couple for a romantic dining getaway or a rowdy family gathering partitioned away by indonesian teak wood  dividers . Staff were very attentive and the service is quick and brisk. 

Of course, what we are really after is the delicious home cook flavors from the kitchen. I have had dinner here several times already and I try to sample new dishes each time I come but one thing for sure, without fail, the Stuffed Ikan Cencaru will always have my divine devotion and make it to the order.

I am going to be really objective here. How good can fry fish be? You might giggle, sniggle or laugh out loud as I say this... but it is truly damn good. Fish fried to perfection... crispy on the outside while maintaining the moist fish flesh infused with sambal which is totally cooked through unlike some sambal stuffed cencaru where the chilly is still raw. You will also find a delicious stock oozing out from the fish flavoured by the spicy sambal which is likely to be pounded chilly, shallot, belacan and various other spices. To really push the needle, Mum's has added petai to the fish but I am not sure whether it was part of the sambal or it was fried separately but the flavor is just amazing. The slight bitterness of petai with the savory flavorsome fish and spicy sambal. My mouth is watering as I am typing this... gosh. 

After all the banter on my sambal stuffed cencaru, I am not going to do must justice to the rest of the other dishes. Ha! Favoritism... so what? Shoot me? Ha ha... I think we all deserve to have our favorites and it is just a representation of our own preference, choice and perhaps a reflection of our individualism. Yes and mine is Mum's Place Stuffed Ikan Cencaru. ; P

You know what.... as I am not going to be objective from this point onwards since I am so in love with my sambal stuffed ikan cencaru, I mind as well just stop here. You can look up the rest of the photos. There are two only by the way - the first one was creamy soft shell crab and the second the otak-otak with thai sweet and spicy chilly sauce. There are both good in my view... of course not exceptional, as that proclamation has gone to nothing other than my beloved Stuffed Ikan Cencaru. 

Enjoy... Anyway, Damansara Perdana is not too far away from town. Just take the Penchala Link, without traffic 20-30mins from town. While you are here, you can shop at the Curve or Ikano Power Station. What a wonderful weekend! Yahoo...

Mum's Place

31-1 to 39-1 Jalan PJU 8/5A

Damansara Perdana

47820 PJ

Tel :+603-7727 8443/ 7727 8449

Website: www.mumsplace.com.my

De Maw Chinese Restaurant (Next to PGRM, Cheras)

De Maw is fairly new... I think probably less than 2 years old and the chef was from one of the notable 5-star hotel. Some say Mandarin, some say the former Ming Court on Jalan Ampang. Though fairly new but it has already created quite a reputation i.e. extremely huge serving, great taste and reasonable price.

It is not hard to find. From town head towards Cheras via the old Cheras Road. The easiest and least confusing way would be to take the Jalan Pudu. If you are in town, from Pudu Jail, head towards Cheras until you pass Jaya Jusco at Taman Maluri. Then keep left and when you see PGRM but do not turn into the road leading into Taman Shamelin. Instead just go straight into the secondary road. De Maw is the first shop lot on your left.

The restaurant is air-conditioned but it seats probably around 10 tables. So, reservation is a definite must. 

The must-try in De Maw.... the shark's fin soup... No offense to our animal protection activist friends but if you do not mind, the soup is not to be missed. It offers generous amount of crab meat and bits of other seafood in it. The taste is just right and perfect with a dash of red rice wine vinegar.

We were not really sure what was good, so we ordered the braised beef , tripe and tendon, the creamy prawn, steamed kampung chicken, claypot tauhu and a stir fried vege. The braised beef, tripe and tendon and claypot tauhu was alright. Big portion but taste wise, average. The Kampung Chicken had very nice herbal soup stock (sorry no photo la). The chicken comes in small chunks and is wrapped in aluminium foil and baked. The mixture of chinese herbs and chinese rice wine produces this fantastically tasty broth. The chicken should have been in bigger chunks, otherwise it would have been the perfect dish. The creamy prawn was ok, well, I think the sauce was not quite there but it wasn't bad either. Don't get me wrong. Just that I have tasted better.

Though out of the 6 dishes we ordered, only 2 scored well with me, I would still highly recommend De Maw for a fantastic chinese dinner with friends or family. Especially if you do not want to pay too much or if you have some really hungry friends (remember, the big portions)... Average RM40 per head. Not bad, huh?

Restoran De Maw

Address: No.18, Jalan Pudu Ulu, off 3rd Mile Jalan Cheras, 

56100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel:  03 9285 6833

Open : 12PM - 11PM

Lau Heong at Sentul

Lau Heong, is a hidden gem. Tucked in the hustle and bustle of Sentul. Very popular with some 98.8FM dee- jays, of which I had the privilege of dining with. : )

Well, I shall not name who he is but he has been telling me about this place for the longest time but of course, due to his busy schedule, we never quite made it here until this fortunate day when heavens part and the sky rained gold and silver ingots... so drama, right? And this is only for a meal...

Anyway, Lau Heong is located in the middle of the shop lot, Jalan 3/48A, Sentul Perdana. A bit difficult to find but if you ask around, I think you will get there. It has alfresco dining and non-air conditioned area on the ground floor and air-conditioned upstairs. 

As good as it sounds, the place was very busy and we were lucky to get ourselves a table upstairs. Since I was there with a celebrity dee-jay, I enjoyed the little bit of attention that deflected my way. Little bit la...

I left the ordering to you-know-who and I must say he didn't let me down. 

The must-try, "Nai Yau" or Creamy Sotong was out of this world... I am normally not a big fan of squids because the big squids can be really tough and that's what you normally get. I prefer the small ones. In this dish, the squid was medium in size and was probably grilled and served with the creamy sauce. The sauce is so appetizing, thick, creamy with a hint of indian curry leaves flavor. In the course of writing this, I found out that the sauce is really made of butter and evaporated milk with garlic and curry leaves to spice it up. Not too difficult to make actually...

Next came the Spicy Stingray... I was expecting a BBQ stingray wrapped in banana leaves but instead it was poached or probably steamed and generaously laden with a spicy aromatic gravy. You know how you would pick your BBQ stingray and dip-in the cincalok chilly dip? This is like the stingray swimming in the cincalok chilly paste... no need to dip...

The lala or clam soup was pretty standard but very generous portion of clams and wolfberry... I thought it needed a bit more chinese rice wine.

Saving the best for last, you will be surprised but the Prawn paste fried chicken is really good... I have tasted many good prawn paste chicken and I must say this is amongst the best. Finger lickin' good...

Lau Heong is worth every penny and it is quite affordable. Another no frills, great food destination... Dinner for 3 with all the above and a stir fry vegetable thrown in, all for RM62. Come one, come all.... Enjoy.

Fusion Pan Mee at Noodle Shack

Located on the basement of Ikano Power Station. A few stores away from the Taiwan Shihlin Street Food. New addition to the wide selection of local eateries.  This one is not ordinary by the way... Different versions of 'Pan Mee" (handmade noodle) in mince meat with sambal and raw egg or with chicken rendang. All sorts on the menu, but these were the two i tried. Don't forget to dose it with the spicy, fiery sambal... A bit pricey but worth a try or two...

Overseas Restaurant, Jalan Imbi (May 1, 2009)

Where do you go when you have a bus load of hungry guests coming to town? 

What else? Bring them to Overseas Restaurant. Convenient location, delicious food and reasonable prices. I must caution you about reasonable price though, play save and go with the all-time favorites. Stay away from the fish because the price is seasonal and can be very expensive.

So, what to order? Advanced booking is required for the char siew and siew yoke (roast pork) and if you would like steamy serving of soup, best to also order in advance. Other favorites include the homemade beancurd with petola (seng kuah), the prawns in special sauce (ask for the normal prawns and not the big head prawns, if you are on a budget). The spinach or "yuen choi" in soup is also good.

The "captain" recommended the herbal duck which turned out to be our favorite that night. The meat is soft and infused with explosion of herbal flavours... simple and unpretentious dish. Simply delicious. The other recommendation was the dried shrimp and brinjal, which was nice as well... Not only was dried shrimp found as one of the ingredient, it was heavily laden with little chunks of lard as well. No wonder, so tasty.

7-course dinner with complimentary dessert (cold sea coconut and longan) thrown in for RM50-60 per person... Works out to be less than S$30 per person. 

I left the restaurants with 3 tables of very happy and contented Singapore friends... : )

Best Hokkien Noodle in KL?

I have often been asked, where is the best Hokkien Mee in KL? Or is the Hokkien Mee in most KL stalls are generally good or about the same standard?

Good question. I think it is hard to determine which is the best unless we hold an annual hokkien mee cooking competition (may not be a bad idea). I guess it is really up to individual preference. Some like it wetter and some like it dry. I think generally everyone would agree a good Hokkien Mee must have the "wok hei" and must contain pork lard, at least for the non-health conscious foodies. How ironic? Health conscious foodies?

Anyway, here's my favorite pick. Conveniently located at Jalan Imbi, Win Heng Seng Coffee Shop. Yes, the same shop for the pork ball noodle. The Hokkien Mee stall opens in the evening. Besides, Hokkien Mee, must also try the Lo Mee and Cantonese Char  Yin-Yang. You may also want to ask for bee hoon and mee mix for the Hokkien Mee. The bee hoon tends to absorb more liquid, so the Hokkien Mee will be drier. Note, eat while it is hot or else the noodle may become too dry. Some patrons even replace the mee with kuey teow. 

The other to try is the green chilly sambal. Spicier than the red sambal and extremely good with the Hokkien Mee. 

Kau Kee Beef Noodle, Hong Kong (Mar 19, 2009)

Not only is this place legendary but if you google for Kau Kee , you will find that it is the benchmark for the best beef noodle in Hong Kong. Of course, most would suggest other better alternatives. It is hard to tell, unless you taste Kau Kee's beef noodle yourself and I am glad I did.

Kau Kee is tucked away on 21 Gough Street, Sheung Wan, somewhere amidst mid-levels in Central. Along the street you will also find some unique and quaint ID and furniture shops. Don't mistake Kau Kee for Ngau Kee, which is also located on the same street. Kau Kee opens for lunch and then closes in the afternoon and reopens at 830PM.

We were there at 8:15pm and it was not opened for business yet. However, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise as the restaurant opened a few minutes earlier and we were the lucky early birds to have a table.

I was warned that the serving is very small and so, normally two bowls will be just right. So, I ordered a bowl of beef brisket in clear soup and a beef tendon in curry soup, both with "yi mein".  By the way, "yi mein" is not the deep friend yellow noodle that we are familiar with in Malaysia. Instead, it is like a flat egg noodle but with softer texture. 

The 90 years of history did not fail to impress. The beef brisket was cut to bite size. The meat was really soft and it melts in your mouth. The soup was delicious and it was surprising that it doesn't really have a very strong beefy flavor. True enough, the serving is extremely small. It is probably equivalent to a regular bowl of instant noodle. The curry beef tendon was great too. The curry is light, not oily, not spicy and the tendons were very soft. 

Clearly, this is the best beef noodle I have had in Hong Kong. Only downside, is the shop is really small and normally you will have to share a table and be prepared to finish your food in 15 minutes to avoid darting eyes from the long queue. Try swallowing hot, steamy curry beef tendons without burning your tongue... boy, was I sweaty or was I really sweaty...