Restoran Manis Sayang, Malacca Nyonya Food

Good food and big cities usually don't come hand in hand. It is in the small outskirts, kampung terpencil that you find cheap tasty food. Malacca, Ipoh and Penang would be the usual suspects when it comes to small town, good food but of recent years, these places have gone on a rocket high inflation- all the supposedly famous eatery outlets have compromised the taste for higher prices. Le sigh.


Sweet potato crackers?

Therefore, on my most recent visit to the historical town, makan partner-in-crime and I decided to skip the famous commercialized overrated places in search of other Malaccan food.

We heed a fellow Malaccan's recommendation of Nyonya food- Restoran Manis Sayang, which is actually quite famous as Jalan-Jalan Cari Makan and even the Thai Deputy PM or something/someone have been there!


Cendol biasa- RM2

Can't seem to run away from having a good bowl of cendol when you're in Malacca... I like mine rich in santan and gula melaka.


Nyonya Chap Chai- RM10 (small)

Colorful nyonya plate of cabbage, carrot, tomato and black fungus with fried beancurd skin provide a balanced meal.


Cincaluk omelette- RM7 (small)

Overheard from a dear colleague and supplier singing praises of the Malacca cincaluk omelette and was thus thrilled to find this on the menu! Slightly salty but makes a good accompaniment to white rice!


Udang Lemak Masak Nanas- RM18

This was recommended by our Malaccan friend. The prawns were fresh and no, those are not potatoes but pineapples, hence the name of the dish ;-) Contrary to what you see, it's not spicy at all! The pineapples do give a different flavour to the dish.


Ayam Pongteh- RM10

Ayam pongteh is also known as miso soy chicken. It is braised and and usually comes accompanied with potatoes and mushrooms. The gravy is excellent on white rice and the chicken is tender and flavourful. If there's any word to describe the potatoes, it would be 'bonus' to a homely dish.

See, this time we didn't kickstart our Malacca food ventures with chicken rice balls!


Restoran Manis Sayang
618, Taman Melaka Raya,
75000 Melaka.
Tel: 06-281 3393

disclaimer: the opinions expressed here are based on my personal views, tastebuds and preference and may vary for others. please dont sue me, i dont have money. kthxbye.]

Dubrovnik, Pearl of The Mediterranean

Dubrovnik
Pearl of The Meditteranean

Dubrovnik is a Croatian city and is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. One of the benefits of globalization is the array of international cuisines you can find on our local shore. Put your passports and boarding pass aside, let me take you to Croatia!

p/s: I had initially thought Dubrovnik is a Russian restaurant.


Bread with Ajvar

I guess it's becoming a SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) for all these international cuisines restaurants ie. French and Italian to serve bread and most commonly balsamic vinegar, but in this case, Dubrovnik offers it with ajvar (a type of Croation vegetable salsa-like dip). The bread is served warm and the ajvar dipping is different from the usual balsamic vinegar.


Due Colori Soup- RM16
Perfectly divided plate of creamy leek-spinach with asparagus and cauliflower soup

I am not a big fan of vege blended things, I like my veg to be whole and cooked. So I was a bit skeptical on a vege soup... until it arrived and I had a spoonful of it, oh how wrong I was! The soup was great, especially the green part. The cauliflower part tasted a tad bland but when paired with the leek-spinach and asparagus portion, my skepticism towards vege soups was temporarily removed. This is a Must Order from the appetizer section.


Strukli- RM15
Fresh cheese dumplings, pan fried with bread crumbs, served with sour cream

The waiter attended to us recommended Strukli as an appetizer. Cheese has never been on top of my appetizer list but we decided to give it a shot since it was a Chef's Recommendation. When the dish arrived, it looked nothing like dumplings, or at least the Chinese type (in my mind, dumplings = wanton/sui gao/woh tip). Now I know what Croation 'dumplings' look like! Not a recommended dish for those watching their weight or lactose intolerant. After a piece of Strukli, I felt like my dinner was done.


Flambeed Steak Korcula- RM58
Prime beef loin marinated with spices and Dijon then pan-fried on butter with special mushroom sauce and cognac

I usually have my steak in a piece, not in pieces, so this was quite a change from the usual steak dish. The main is accompanied with some fried onion rings, some blanched vege, and some fried potato-like balls . The steak is nice and tender and has quite a distinct taste but in my humble opinion, a little too oily.


Lamb Peka- RM50
Traditional Croatian way of preparing meat or seafood, under and iron bell for 3 hours in the wood burning oven

The Lamb Peka was another recommended dish. It was stated that the dish needs booking in advance but on that day it was readily available. Hmmm, not too sure on the contradiction but I guess it's a lucky night for us. I'm not usually a fan of ordering lambs but my makan partner in crime was craving for some lamb... the comment on this dish is that it wasn't flavourful enough, at least for the price to pay. We found out that they stuffed some garlic in the lamb, so that was a bit of consolation as the garlicky part has a bit more substantial taste. The dish is served with saffron rice and some vege.



In my humble opinion, I like the service, ambience and the decorations- perfect for a good dine out with your loved one and/or friends/family. However, for the price to pay, the food were not as good as I hoped to be. Then again, this is the Malaysian tastebud talking, perhaps the dishes were meant to taste like that- the Croatian way. The soup was a clear winner that night and we'd love to return again to try out some other dishes to prove ourselves wrong.


Dubrovnik
J-OG-14, Solaris Mont Kiara,
No. 2, Jalan Solaris, Mont Kiara,
Kuala Lumpur.

[disclaimer: the opinions expressed here are based on my personal views, tastebuds and preference and may vary for others. please dont sue me, i dont have money. kthxbye.]

Father's Day BBQ

I think I'm earning a little reputation on being a blogger who's 1) too busy (not lazy ok!) to update her blog and 2) a blogger who has quite a bit of backlogs to clear. So, that explains why I'm only posting on Father's Day when it was errr... 2 months back??



Mom bought a new cooking gadget from her last trip to Dubai- an Open BBQ Grill, very convenient as it's small and portable but runs on electricity, so no it cannot replace the good ol' charcoal pits!

We had pork chops...





Grilled prawns...





... and grilled squid.



*Tadah!* A wholesome homemade BBQ dinner. The grill is easy to use and best bit is you can see the oil dripping away... and it's fun to act like a hotel grill chef sometimes!

Headin' to Malacca tomorrow! And on a mission to NOT eat the usual Malaccan food (ie. chicken rice balls), gonna hunt for new food :-)

Will be back with pictures, cheers!

Viet Passion @ Chulan Square

A little touch of Vietnamese for today's reading/salivating pleasure :-)


Fresh Prawn Rolls- RM8
Translucent rice paper wrapping shrimps and assorted vege


Grilled Rice Ake- RM17


Beef Noodle Soup- RM18

For the love of beef and rice paper wrapped things...


Sliced Raw Beef


Beef Dip in Vinegar- RM32


Wrap it up with the rice paper!

While the Grilled Rice Ake is unmistakably a miss, the prawn roll and beef noodles were worth a try. The highlight was the Beef Dip in Vinegar, something out of the ordinary- shabu shabu with a Vietnamese touch. The raw slices of beef were dipped in the boiling soup (they call it vinegar, but it's soup with loadsa spices) and dry rice papers are also served which you'll have to brush water to make it moist and wrap it with other assorted veges to form a roll.



But errr... obviously we didn't do too well with the wrapping but it was fun preparing it hehe.


Four Treasures Drink- RM10
Water chestnut, gingko, red ruby, green cendol thingy....



Viet Passion
Lot B6, Chulan Square,
92, Jalan Raja Chulan,
50200 KL.
Tel: 03-2141 3838

[disclaimer: the opinions expressed here are based on my personal views, tastebuds and preference and may vary for others. please dont sue me, i dont have money. kthxbye.]

Fish Farm Thai Restaurant

Fish Farm Thai Restaurant

Fish Farm Thai Restaurant is probably one of the most secluded places I have been to for good food. It is not situated along roadside, neither is it in a shopping complex or at busy foodcourts. As the name may suggest, it is located in a fish farm, off the busy roads and into the land of unknown.

Bumpy untar roads, jungle-looking trees, pitch black........... and to good food!


Seafood Tom Yum- RM15


Salted Egg Prawns- RM15


Baked Salted Fish (Tilapia)- RM27 (Must Order)


Grilled Squid- RM12 (per serving)


Grilled Lamb- RM10


BBQ Crabs- RM5.50 (per 100gm)


Kang Kung w Fried Shallots- RM8


Deep fried Spinach- RM8 (Must Order!)

The amount of food ordered for 5 persons were crazy! But food was good that we managed to swipe everything clean. As the restaurant also has farm business, do expect their seafood fare to be fresh, sweet and juicy. I love the deep fried spinach dish as it reminds me of the similar deep fried kangkung dish I had in Kota Kinabalu. For those who love grilled meat, do give the grilled lamb a try but this dish may take quite some time to arrive! Other than that, overall, this restaurant deserves a revisit... but do take note that it is always packed on weekends, so if you intend to visit, go on a weekday instead.

Am not too sure on the directions but if you have a GPS or knows how to get to KL Lookout Point, then Fish Farm Thai Restaurant is just in the vicinity. A word of caution though- do try to get a 4WD vehicle as the bumpy untar roads may spoil your poor little cars :-)


Coconut- RM5

To quench thirst and refresh!


Goodies being BBQ'ed


Fish Farm Thai Restaurant
Km 4, Jalan Ampang,
Hulu Langat,
68000 Ampang,
Selangor.
Tel: 017-2515235/019-2606493

[disclaimer: the opinions expressed here are based on my personal views, tastebuds and preference and may vary for others. please dont sue me, i dont have money. kthxbye.]