Cristang 'P for Pork Burgers'

P2: Pork Patty + Back Bacon- RM19.80

This place was raved and reviewed by many food bloggers out there some time back. So, how could I not pay a visit here when it's so near to my office? Cristang is famous for it's 'P' grade burgers- which I suspect 'P' here means 'PORK'. And who could ever say no to the 3-alphabets lovely animal that has 4 short legs, starts with a 'P' and ends with a 'G' :)

There were a selection of Western, Portugese, and Malaysian food in the menu but we were not easily distracted. "Aim for the 'P'!!", we kept reminding ourselves. So here we are, with the P2, P3 and 'Urban Legend' P7. Actually these grades are reminding me of my ACCA studies- I'm taking the P3 paper now :p


P3: Pork Patty + Minced Pork Chilli Con Carne- RM23.80

Honestly? The burgers came a little disappointing. The pork patties were just so-so. In fact, they came a little bit dry and cold.


P7: 'The Urband Legend' Pork Patty + Minced Pork Petai- RM28.80

Even the P7 did not impress me much. I know it's special with the inclusion of petai but it left me feeling bloated over a burger rather than wanting more. Considering that these gourmet burgers are not cheap and is just 'meh', I guess a revisit won't be too soon. I think I'll go back to my Ramli-s special.



Cristang Restaurant
B-G-19, 8 Avenue,
Pusat Perniagaan Seksyen 8,
Jln Sungai Jernih 8/1,
Petaling Jaya.
Tel: 03-7956 7877

[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.]

CTNF: Mango Mojito

Mango Mojito- The Weekend Drink of Champions

I just went to The Library the other night (no, it's not the place with books) and was amazed and amused at the same time with the variety of cocktails available on the menu. While I appreciate the myriad of choices and groupings by alphabetical order in the menu, I am not exactly very adventurous when it comes to cocktails. I swear and stick by one & only one cocktail- The Mojito.


Cheers!

Inspired by Bermuda & Onion's Mango Mojito which I read/saw somewhere but hasn't the priviledge to try, I thought I'd give this a go ala home made. I googled some recipes for this and most suggested mango puree. As I was too lazy to set up the blender, I whisk this up myself (arm's abit sore now haha).

Tall clinging glass, mint leaves, lemonade, lemon peel and crushed ice- that's all you need for a refreshing after dinner drink!

* Decided to go non-alco on this, but if you decided to turn this alco, just substitute lemonade with a fruity flavoured alco (i.e. Bacardi Limon or Absolut Mango?) and sugar syrup.

Read here for Nojito.

Sushi Tei @ Tropicana City Mall

Paper Hotpot; Thinly Sliced Beef; Salmon Sashimies

I am a very simple person- I like Japanese food but if you were to ask me which Jap place is my favourite, I will say it's Sushi Zanmai. It's got a really nice big menu with appetizing pictures, the ambience is nice, food is good and price is affordable. Recently I discovered another Jap outlet that offers the same 'feelings' I have for Sushi Zanmai, spotting similar concepts and even very similar menu- Sushi Tei. I'm not sure if they are both from the same management, though I found out that Sushi Tei originates from our Southern Neighbour and has franchises all over AsiaPac.


Mango Dragon Roll; Seared Salmon Belly Sushi

Sushi Tei is located in Tropicana City Mall and is quite popular especially with the lunch crowd. On my maiden visit, they were running some promotion and I instantly spotted the Salmon Sashimi in the promo menu. If there is anything more happy than having Japanese for me is to have the whole platter of Salmon Sashimies alone. It was pretty cheap too @RM18- 4 types of salmon sashimies with 3 thick cuts each. I had 12 pieces myself in total- BURPPPP! The hotpot was pretty cool too but it takes awhile for the broth to heat up.

On my second visit, I managed to try a few other items but the spotlight were on the Mango Dragon Roll and Seared Salmon Belly Sushi recommended by my dear colleague.

I'm looking forward to have lunch here again.


Sushi Tei
Lot G-16, Ground Floor,
Tropicana City Mall,
Jalan SS20/27, Petaling Jaya.

[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.]

Dowish Seafood Restaurant @ KK

"Tung Fung Loh"- RM22/kg

Dowish is a 'cute' name for a chinese seafood restaurant. You may question and laugh about the name but once you have tasted the food, Dowish will probably be stuck to your mind.... it's worst when it's alllllllllll the wayyyyyyyyy in Kota Kinabalu and you're here in KL. I was first introduced to Dowish during my last trip to KK with my ex-company, but subsequently was lucky enough to fly back to KK on 2 occassions for work with my currect company and had Dowish on both occassions. This time, I knew I must spread the 'love' to my other friends and I brought them here on our recent visit to The Land Below The Wind.

I was tasked to order- yay for me as I get to order my favourite dishes! The Tung Fung Loh is a must, it's a type of shell fish that needs to use toothpick/little forks to those yummy little buggers out of their shells. Yes, it's somewhat like escargots but this one is just boiled or lightly blanched and served with mustard sauce. It's addictive!


Salted Egg Crabs- RM30/kg; "Pak Cheok Har"- RM30/half kg; Sabah "Shu Chai Choi" Vege- RM12

Of course no seafood feast would be complete without the appearance of our friendly crustacean friends- the crab! While I love 'em done in salted, I equally love it with the salted egg. If I know who is the master behind recipes using salted egg, I would hail him for creating the most perfect combination! The salted egg goes well with anything and everything- pork ribs, prawns, squid and crabs. The "Pak Cheok Har" is also my favourite- big fresh succulent prawns, all freshness and sweetness of the meat still retain by just boiling/steaming (not too sure which method). You can really taste the freshness in every bite.

The Sabah "Shu Chai Choi" vege is another winner in its own category. When I was young, I remember this vege used to be available at the Pasar Besar Ipoh (Ipoh Big Market) and my grandma used to cook this and it was just the best tasting vege everrrrrrr. Then supplies for the vege diminished and I used to think that if this was to come from Sabah, then "Damn, I'll never be able to eat this again!" cos I never thought I'll have the chance to set foot in Sabah. I don't think anyone can understand this feeling I had when I had this for the first time after more than a decade of missing out on this! (I know it sounds a little drama, but really I was estatic) What differs the Shu Chai Choi from the paku-pakis we can get around here is that the former is crunchy, smaller and doesn't have that gooey texture. Best to stir fried with sambal belacan :)

Seeing that I can dedicate the whole paragraph to this vege just shows how much I love this.


Special "Shu Chai Choi" and Salted Fish Fried Meehoon- RM12 and Happy Faces :)

We initially ordered a mantis prawn but it was not available and the ladyboss recommended this special "shu chai choi" and salted fish meehoon. Initially I was a bit skeptical, how good can a meehoon get, seriously? We weren't too impressed when the dish arrived too... it's too fair for a fried meehoon! However, never judge a meehoon by its colour as after our first bite, it was too good to be true! The chef managed to whip up an ordinary noodle to one that is soft, perfect moisture and blends well with the vege and traces of salted fish. I was impressed!

One of my motive to eat at Dowish was also because they have coconut pudding on the menu but I was left disappointed as they didn't have the dessert on the menu that day :( Luckily I managed to satisfy my cravings for it at Kg Nelayan.

We were guessing the bill for the night with some of us guessing RM200 - RM300 but total bill inclusive of rice, tea and braised groundnuts appetizer came at RM127.60 for 4 persons. That's an average of RM32/person- Peng, Leng and Cheng! (Cheap, Nice and Good!)


Dowish Seafood Restaurant
Mile 5, Jalan Bundusan,
Penampang,
88853 Kota Kinabalu,
Sabah.
Tel: 6088 718 387 / 721 387
Fax: 6088 710 387

[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.]

Kampung Nelayan Seafood @ KK

Kg Nelayan Seafood

Early last month, I participated in a white water rafting activity with my co's sports club and the we flew all the way to Kota Kinabalu for the adrenaline rush (& short getaway). It was a really good deal since the activity was partially subsidized (from the monthly sports club fees deducted from our paycheck- RM4/month for a year's long of fun filled activities!), I remember we only needed to pay RM70 for 2 nights stay at a backpackers hostel, white water rafting package and a sumptuos dinner at Kg Nelayan! Since this was already planned more than half year ago, we got our air tickets at a unreasonably cheap price of RM62/return.

Would be silly not to join, I'd say.


Fried Calamari; Steamed fish, Spinach leaves; Butter Fried Prawns

I suspect Kg Nelayan is one of those dining places where tour agencies bring the tourists for dinner as evidenced by the load of buses there, including ours. Dinner menu was pre-ordered, the last thing anybody wants is to contemplate and dilly-dallying on what to order since we were all starving from the day's traveling (Side note: To get to our water rafting location from KK, we had to travel about 3 hours by bus and another 45 mins of old-school locomotive train and the same amount of traveling back to KK).

The common seafood fare were served- calamari, fish, prawns, vege and I think I missed an egg dish. Quality of food was okay, not too bad for a touristy place. I was told that on certain hours of the day, there is a cultural dance but we missed that. Nevermind, I guess we were too hungry to be interested in anything else but food!


Coconut pudding

Oh my... I never expected to have this here and I am so glad this was part of the menu. I first had this at another seafood restaurant (Dowish- watch out, at the next post!) in KK, introduced by a friend and since been lingering for the great taste! So so good, must try when you're in KK :)


Kampung Nelayan Seafood
Taman Tun Fuad, Bukit Padang,
Luyang, Kota Kinabalu.
Tel: 088-256001
www.kampungnelayan.com

[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.]

Quinn Seremban Beef Noodles

Traffic Lights- Ice Lemon Tea; Sour Plum; Watermelon

2 weekends ago, I was invited to a colleague's wedding (luckily it's not exactly considered a 'bomb' since it's a Malay kenduri style) in Seremban. My foodie colleague & her boyfriend and I took a drive down to the siew pao famous town, but before that we already did our homework on where to have Seremban Beef Noodles!!!


Beef Noodles Soup

The shop is actually a branch from the famous beef noodles stall at Seremban Central Market. I read that the owner opened 2 branches- one a King, the next one naturally a 'Quinn'. Sometimes can't help to wonder what 'inspire' people to put a certain name to their biz or even name themselves with some really funny names, i.e. Fruit Chan??! Kinky??! Fish Leong??! My hairstylist name is one of the funnier ones I've come across- Wormie. Nice guy but seriously??!!

The shop was packed. On the facade and interior, nothing fancy. What's really amusing though is a few DSLRs spotted on a few tables (including mine teehee)- I told my friends that the owners probably thinks, "Meh... sammore few bloggers today take picha of my noodles. Bleh sien oredi." The wait for food was really long and we even had to wait like 20-30mins for our drinks to arrive! The beef noodles soup was just so-so in my opinion, nothing great to shout about.


Beef Noodles (Dry)

The dry version is a more popular choice. Similar to the one I had in Section 17, the famous Uncle Cheng beef noodles, it has nuts, tripes, tendon, preserved vege, and beef slices. There is also a gooey sauce that seems to give the noodles and its beefy accompaniments some texture. The dry version fares slightly better than the soup counterpart.


Yummy Beefballs

I found the beefballs to be the best. Springy and meaty they were pretty good- I would appreciate if they're bigger size and has those juices coming out as I bite into them as seen in Stephen Chow's really old movie 'God of Crockery'. In total, we paid about RM40+ for 3 bowls of dry and 1 bowl of soup, 1 bowl of beefballs and a few drinks.

As I'm writing this, I'm already craving for beef noodles. Anyone knows if Uncle Cheng is still in same old coffee shop at Section 17?


Quinn Seremban Beef Noodles
108, Jalan Toman 6,
Kemayan Square,
70200 Seremban.

[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.]

Pantai Seafood @ Kg Sg Kayu Ara

Cheese Baked Japanese Snails- RM1.50/pc; Yin Yang Kailan- RM12

Just like most of you out there, meal times are my favourite time of the day. And I especially love it when someone suggests for a pig out session or food adventures. Recently I found that a friend/colleague who shares the same passion for food as I do (although she doesn't blog like I do but is very supportive of my blog heehee) and lunch was our favouritest time at work!

My friend suggested to try out Pantai Seafood @ Kg Sg Kayu Ara. For those who do not know Kayu Ara area... don't be intimidated by the name, it's actually somewhere tucked in between SS2/Uptown - Bandar Utama area (before BU toll).

My friend ordered a few dishes she read over the net- Cheese baked Japanese snails at RM1.50/pc. I always enjoy having escargots and shellfishes so I like this one as well, but having 1 pc is not enough and not really cheap too, so we rationed at 2 pcs each. The Yin Yang kailan has gained popularity in the recent years that you can find this almost everywhere at every Chinese restaurants. I love both the deep fried leaves part and the crunchy stir fried stems.


Scotland Clams with Garlic- RM138/kg

Well this one, guys, is really a very expensive clam. At RM138/kg these clams were probably rare with crystals and diamonds. It was so expensive that each person was only limited to 1 pc. To be honest, I don't think it's worth that price- would rather spend the same amount of money for a big bowl of lala instead. Oh well, there's always a first time anyway.


Sweet and spicy crabs; Claypot butter cream crabs; Fried mantou- RM3/bun

We ordered 2 styles of crabbies- in sweet and spicy gravy and butter cream. Both styles were nice, the gravy excellent with the mantou/ white rice. The crabs though not very excellent were good nonetheless to complete our seafood meal.

In total, we paid about RM50/head for the 6 of us- the bulk of the bill contributed by the very expensive clams from Scotland.


Pantai Seafood
Jalan Cempaka,
Kg Sg Kayu Ara,
47400 PJ.
Tel: 03-7725 5099

[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.]

Damansara Village @ Imbi

I was pre-booked by my sister a week ago on a food review and without knowing heads and tails, I just agreed- afterall, who could ever resist an invitation to pig out? On the way to the venue only did I found out it was an invitation by Patrick Teoh (the one and only- who can possibly not know The Voice over the radio) with a bunch of other invited bloggers (KY, Suanie, Fireangel, Kimberlycun, ShaolinTiger, Bangsar Babe, Cumi&Ciki, A Whiff of Lemongrass & few others that I don't really know...) to Damansara Village @ Imbi. The first outlet is in Kayu Ara, the second outlet just opened at Jalan Imbi, KL about 2 months back.

What is different between the Kayu Ara and Imbi outlet is that the former has only al fresco dining but Imbi offers both al fresco and air-conditioned.


Bamboo Clams; Village 'Cho Kai' Organic Chicken- RM49 for half, RM98 for whole

The chicken was the first dish to arrive. It was done in a very traditional and simple style- steamed. Simplicity they say is always best as you can really savour the freshness and smoothness of the meat. According to Patrick, the chicken and duck are rare from their own poultry farm and therefore quality is guaranteed even before they are cooked! The bamboo clams were a nice appetizer dish while waiting for another meat dish- ze duck!


Village Steamed Duck- RM60/kg; Village Special Steamed Clams- RM20

Steamed duck is hard to come by as they are usually roasted (i.e. Peking duck, roasted duck or braised duck, salted lap ngap). Similar to the chicken, steaming allows us to savour the juices and taste the tenderness of the meat. I think my dad would love this very much. Another shellfish after the bamboo clams is the steamed clams which has a generous taste of shaoxing wine, ginger and wolfberries (kei zhi).


Pig's Trotter with Vinegar; Pig Stomach Pepper Soup

Next came the Pig's Trotter with Vinegar. Normally I am not a big fan of this pig dish but this one really blew me away- the gravy was awesome! Darn I wish we had some white rice to go with it. The soup is one of my favourite as well, I love pig stomach and intestines (don't take liver and pork blood though). The soup is normally peppery based to emit the innards smell. Can I have a 2nd bowl of this please?


Salt Baked Crabs- RM48

The crabs were one of my favourite dish as well for the night. Again, simplicity rules the night- salt baked to retain the freshness and taste of the meat. The crustacean were appropriately sized to make sure you have just enough to remember to order this again in your next visit!


Crabbies for flavouring of the soup; Mysterious 'Sashimi'; Snakehead Fish 'Sang Yu'

The fish was our last dish.... for appetizers. The Snakehead fish (sounds scary and gangsta at the same time) was steamed and drenched with soy sauce (my favourite style of cooking fish). The meat is flaky and sweet, best eaten warm but you know what happens with food when bloggers come together for a meal....... ;-)

The Mysterious 'Sashimi' is given this nickname due to the mysterious taste and texture. Patrick gave us a challenge to guess what it is, after a bite, everyone guessed 'geoduck', 'abalone' and 'clam' but we were all wrong. These are actually tofu slices which taste like abalone! I don't know how it they are made to taste like that but this just gives me an idea for my future wedding dinner ha hahaha!


Essential ingredients for the soup

At Damansara Village, a steamboat set cost RM18.80/pax with additional RM12 if you want to change the clear soup to herbal base. Our soup was a herbal based one with loadsa herbs like dong guai, ginger, wolfberries and black fungus.


Steamboat's accompaniments; Mussels & Sliced 'Abalone-taste alike' Tofu


Patrick and Tiger Woods Prawns- RM23 for 300g

There's no steamboat without prawns. Fresh and big prawns makes a good steamboat. This is a good steamboat :)

Steam, steam, steam your boat... gently down the stream... merrily, merrily, merrily life is better than a dream!


Mama MINi Cooper

If all the good food is not enough, Mama Min surprised us with her dream car sculptured from a cake for us all to share the same dream teehee! It was just too cute to be cut and eaten.


The blogger babes & Patrick himself

Thanks for hosting the dinner and entertaining stories, Patrick & Mama Min!

Niamah! (ha haha)

Also read (for now):
Eiling

Damansara Village @ Kayu Ara
No. 1067, Jalan Jenjarum,
Kg Sg Kayu Ara,
Off Jalan SS23/10,
47500 PJ.
Tel: 03-7803 1832
Biz hours: 5.30pm-12.00am (daily)

Damansara Village @ Imbi
32 & 34, Jalan Utara,
Off Jalan Imbi,
55100 KL.
Tel: 03-2141 1678
Biz hours: 5.30pm-3.00am (daily)
www.damansaravillage.blogspot.com

Mama Min Cakes
"Happiness is Homemade"
info@mamamin.com
www.mamamin.com

[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.]

Moussandra Mediteranean & Tapas

Moussandra... a quaint little Mediteranean restaurant, a hidden gem

Once in a while we crave for different food- and it was one of those days when tapas came to mind. In the hunt for tapas, we found Moussandra on someone else's blog. Moussandra claims to be the oldest Mediteranean and tapas restaurant in KL and is such a tuckaway gem that I would have never found it on my own. The setting is abit of old and rustic with melted candles, canvas paintings and wooden furnitures adorning the space.

The lights are dimmed and candles lit...


Starters & Tapas
Sopa De Calabaza (Pumpkin Soup- RM15), Salchicas Con Mostaza (Grilled Beef Sausage with Mustard Sauce- RM10), Aceitunas Marinadas (Marinated Mixed Olives- RM8), Mejillones Con Almendra (Baked Mussels with Almond and Parmesan- RM20)

There're an array of tapas to choose from- vegetarian, meat, seafood, and assorted mezze. The selections we had were good nonetheless. I didn't take the olives as I am not really an olive-eater unless it's those preserved ones from China (heehee) but my makan partner claimed they were good. Well none for me, more for him then!


Paella Valenciana- RM38
Saffron flavoured rice with seafood, chicken, chicken sausage and vegetables

When it comes to Spanish dining, Paella would normally make it to our table- having had Paella at La Bodega and El Cerdo previously. For those who have not tried paella, cut the fancy schmanzy things out, it's actually Spanish Fried Rice and it's not your typical 'dai chow' RM5 per serving fried rice. If anyone asks what you had for lunch next time, instead of answering 'chau fan' or fried rice, I suggest you say 'Paella'. Damn, doesn't that give you a bit of confidence??? Hehehe :p


Eat and play
Torta De Chocolate (Freshly baked chocolate cake with homemade vanilla ice cream- RM20), a used bottle of Magnum and classic wood game

For desserts, we opted for chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream. If you think that was a chocolate waffle, you're so getting yourself into abit of trouble finishing that by yourself! That harmless dessert is capable of filling you to the brim.


Candlelight affair

A good place for dining out where food and service is commendable. Also it's suitable if you're looking for somewhere quiet so that you and your dining friends can make all the noise. The only downside perhaps is if you're not very familiar with KL Plaza, then it may be abit difficult to locate the restaurant.


Moussandra Mediteranean & Tapas
Sub Lot B-8, Ground Floor, KL Plaza,
179, Jalan Bukit Bintang,
55100 KL.
Tel: 03-2144 0775
Biz hours: Mondays - Saturdays, 12-3pm and 6-10pm
www.moussandra.com

[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.]