brewsterlane kitchen

brewsterlane kitchen

brewsterlane kitchen is opened by an avid antique collector/repairer/seller, mr lee and his son. how did we come about this place? i mean of all places to eat in ipoh which have been tried and tested for good food, why come to a place relatively unheard of and parking is ... well, just horrendous as the shop is situated at the traffic lights junction. the answer is simple: mr lee repairs our antique furnitures and my mom thought it'd be nice to pay a visit to his new eatery-antique gallery when we were back ipoh last week.

how is japanese cuisines and chinese antique furnitures related is beyond me. but anyway who cares if the food is good, right?

well, to start off... the menu is just disappointing. no pictures, no descriptions and confusing. nevermind, i suppose flaws are inevitable being a new entrant in the f&b industry. maybe the food taste good with/without a nice tempting menu like sushi/pasta zanmai.

every set comes with a bowl of coleslaw, a chawanmushi, a plate of cauliflower, carrot, mushroom sidedish (??), a bowl of soup of the day (its not miso soup wtf), a bowl of rice, fruits, a refillable cup of green tea and the chosen main dish.

slice beef in sukiyaki sauce- rm24.90

boneless chicken in shoyu butter sauce- rm13.90

mackeral fish fillet grilled with salt- rm18.90

pork belly with sizzling tofu- rm14.90

pork belly (japanese curry)- rm11.90

mixed pork deep fried with bread crumbs- rm12.90

fish and chips- rm7.90

(from 2.30-6.30pm free 1 coke)

while i thought my slice beef in sukiyaki sauce tasted rather ok... most of them complained about their dishes being salty and un-japaneselike. either salt is cheap or the chef was feeling rather salty that day. heehee. my mom and uncle had fun oooh-ing and aaah-ing over the antiques though.

i think mr lee and son should just stick to the antique business rather than f&b. or turn the place into an antique gallery + olden style kopitiam. just my 2 cents worth though.

brewsterlane kitchen
140-142, jalan sultan idris shah,
30000 ipoh.
tel: 05-2541889

[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.]

shine wan tan noodles

recommended by jason (aka ah xian) from 'taste with jason'- astro channel AEC is this wantan mee stall in bercham. it claims to have the thinnest wantan skin and the skin are all handmade. so when we were back in ipoh, we decided to hunt this stall down!

normal paper-thin wan tan

the fames paper-thin sui gao

it was really nothing to shout about although it does taste good. as for the paper-thin factor, well... it's smoother but again, nothing fancy about that. i'm not a big fan of wantan mee anyway.

shine wan tan noodles
@ restoran t&v, bercham ipoh
(sorry can't find the exact address)


[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.]

pork noodles @ greentown ipoh

twas a good balik kampung trip as my craving #1 has been satisfied :)

kahyee, i don't know what time you went on sunday cos i also went on sunday morning and the pork noodle stall was open.

anyway, i blogged about this place before... last CNY, i went and the pork noodle shop wasn't open and all we had was some below par overpriced dim sum.

as usual, my sis and i MUST HAVES here... the gingko barley which was teh awesome!

chee cheong fun in mushroom sauce-rm2

while we were anxiously waiting for our bowl of pork goodies to arrive, my sis ordered the chee cheong fun in mushroom sauce to fill the emptiness of our stomachs. i'm not a really big fan of chee chong fun (except the HK style/dimsum CCF-yumm!) but when it arrived on our table we just sapu'ed everything clean, not a single thing left. and we can't understand how kl people like their CCF slathered with curry (!!!!) or those sweet sauce and cold 'char lius' (fried stuff which have left cold). omg.

the pork noodles can be quite a wait as it is cooked bowl by bowl, instead of the usual 2/3/4 bowls cooked together and then divided. to know how long you have to wait, just look at the bowls being stacked up at the stall :)

pork noodles- rm4.50

and then the moment we've been waiting for... a spoon of the soup sent us straight to heaven. it felt like yesterday once more, when we would patiently wait for this bowl of goodilicous yummy godsent heavenly [insert more awesome adjectives] pork noodles sometimes for more than an hour and still feel the wait was worthwhile. it still feels the same, it was WORTHWHILE.

the bowl of noodles was laden with intestines, 'juk sang' (spongy thingy), pork livers, minced pork patties, pork slices and the soup was just so flavorful. the minced pork patties is very flavorful as well, i wonder how they marinated it.

and thus, i returned to kl as a VERY happy and satisfied person...



pusat makanan sun hor lok
persiaran greenhill,
30450 ipoh.
(opposite gold vision cake house)

[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.]

balik kampung

THINGS TO DO IN IPOH

(priority is of cos the annual graveyard to visit my gonggong first but this comes second, third, fourth... the only item in our agenda)

that bowl of scrumptious pork noodles i've been craving for...

OK will be back after the weekend with more IPOH-foodventures!

happy end of march, folks!
:-)

coconut flower seafood restaurant @ teluk gong

coconut flower seafood restaurant

herro! it seems like a veeeeery longggggg time since i last do a food review. so when i was 'invited' to a seafood dinner with a bunch of crazy friends, i jumped at the opportunity of course! i can't even remember when was the last time i went out with sucha BIG group of people for dinner... (been anti-social cos of assignments!)

kenneth suggested teluk gong and so teluk gong it was! and where else but the famous papaya garden (hehe, inside joke!) coconut flower restaurant. i've been there once but it was in the first/two years i shifted to shah alam (it's my 7th year now, how time flies!).

so there were all 15 of us... (because people always complain i dont have human pics in my blog, here they are!)

the banana garden
ashvin, param, joshen, jimmy, alex, qfung, ivan, samuel, rong jiang, kenneth, kit ming, chu xuan

the papaya garden
jen, jia hui, me

marketing gang- jen, kenneth, qfung, kit ming

come coconut garden of cos must have coconut! cholestrol? what cholestrol????

thai coconut- rm3.80

jimmy, kenneth and rong jiang did the food ordering (haha how times have changed! the guys are ordering and the girls are waiting to eat). as there were 15 of us, we splitted into two tables but with doubles of everything.

lala bihun- rm15

kangkung belacan- rm10

signature beancurd- rm12

prawns (sorry dunno what style)- rm49

oh jien- rm9

steamed pak sou gong- rm34

kam heong crabs- rm28

sweet & sour crabs- rm28

fried mantou buns- rm3

we had everything from the seafood family:

prawns? check!
crabs? check!
lala? check!
fish? check!
oyster? check!

in my humble opinion, the food are nothing fantastic to shout about, some are worth the miss as well. for instance, the lala bihun, the lalas are soooooo small that after you finish the whole plate of noodles you'll ask, "so where's the lala??" but for so much food and drinks and the priceless company, it is worth every single penny.

eat like there's no tomorrow

in total we had 1 toddy (500ml- rm2 wtf so cheap!) to share, 11 cokes (1.80 per can), 1 sprite (rm1.80), 3 100plus (rm1.80 each), 2 chinese tea (rm1.20 each), 1 orange juice (rm2.80), 2 watermelon juices (rm2.80 each), 7 coconuts (rm3.80 each), 15 white rice (80cents each), 5 plates of peanuts (rm1.70 each) and the total bill summed up to RM493.30 (inclusive of rm23.50 of gov tax) which averaged to about rm33 per pax.

cheers to great friendships!!

rm33 for all the seafood protein, great company and endless laughters. i say we should do this more often! now who's with me?

p/s: it is times like this when you're nearing the end of your college life do you learn to treasure all the great times with friends... not to say i've not cherished any great times but i know i am going to miss it alot... so don't forget to ajak me when you all go out next time k!!! ;-)

coconut flower seafood restaurant
702, jalan udang galah,
kampung teluk gong,
42000 port klang, selangor.
tel: 03-31341218/31342886
email: ctnyu@hotmail.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.]

monday blues

this morning i went to kl with another friend to get our medical checkup done and receive our employment offer letter. while i agree that working in kl may be an interesting thing but journeys there are putting me off- jam, jam, jam, packed like sardines in LRT (repeat cycle).

anyway, security is pretty tight in the menara public bank itself. polices are the receptionist and there are polices everywhere! upon reaching the 11th floor (HR), we met the receptionist (real one, not police) and was handed a sealed letter each which directed us to menara ambank to do our medical checkup. while we were walking, i realized maybe working in kl is not that bad after all... at least i'll get to learn the whats and wheres in the city (for e.g. australian high commission is just behind public bank- not that it was anything big but i'll soon find my way to skybar, lunabar, heritage row etc soon!).

for my essence of pee

reached the clinic which was packed with people of sorts. i managed to peek the file drawers and saw that the clinic is the panel clinic for public bank, ambank, australian high commission, citibank etc. the docs must be earning super big $$$. it was a very long wait eventhough procedures takes about just 5 mins each (x-ray, urine test, eye test, breast test!!, the normal checks etc). and the x-ray doc was really fierce! u know those eye test, where you have to close an eye and read the letters? and you know how our eyes need some time to adjust before vision becomes clear? well i closed my eye and needed some time to adjust to the lightings but before i was able to say what letter it was, she already pointed to another letter! i was like wtf im gonna get zero for the test!!!

but i passed anyway, cos i wear glasses one mah.

finally got our medical reports and walked back to public bank.

proceeded back to 11th floor and met up with the HR exec that interviewed and corresponded with me. she led me to a meeting room, offered me my offer letter and explained the details in it. to summarize things up, i commence on the 28th April 2008 as a Graduate Trainee attached to Group, Financial & Treasury Accounting of Finance Division with a very exciting entry salary and employee benefits.

I will be at the 26th floor and I found out that the Chairman, CEO, GM and the bigshots are at 33rd floor. Hmmm... must now think of some excuses to go to the 33rd floor...

#

tag'ed by Khian.

Random fact #1: I am zoophobic too.

Random fact #2: I am a terrible friend at keeping in touch! Really... I usually do the silent KITs (like checking out where each and everyone is through friendster when they are just online/phone call/sms away... sorry) but there are times when I do try my best to KIT only to have the opposite reaction hitting back at me, so I give up loh.

Random fact #3: My phone habits- I don't like to talk on the phone for long. I feel awkward during those 3 secs long pause. I like to receive sms but I don't usually like replying them (sorry!). I am annoyed at voicemails, hate to be talking to myself. I usually off my phone early and keep it far away from where I sleep and I am annoyed at people who keep their phones on when they sleep (*coughmysisterscough*) grrrr.

Random fact #4: When I have nothing to do, I check my email. AGAIN. and AGAIN. and AGAIN.

Random fact #5: My head feels itchy especially when I'm stressed. Going to lose hair with finals coming soon...

Random fact #6: I like to spend my day away watching YouTube.

Random fact #7: When I am not doing anything besides checking my email, I am checking out people's nicknames, PMs and display pics on MSN.

Random fact #8: I like 'chap fan' stalls. Feels like an all-you-can-eat buffet. Heehee.

Random fact #9: Excessive narcissistic people drives me crazy~~!!!! Not the joking type, the REAL narcissists. I wish I can ask them to STFU.

#

i was playing with my phone yesterday and realized i wasnt doing any justification for owning such a canggih phone yet the only functions i ever use are calling/sms/camera. so i randomly tried to check out the connections and all... and found myself accessing YouTube and Hotmail on my phone!!!!!1111 then checked out the GPS navigation thingy (still dunno how to operate though) and bloody checkingouts costed me more than rm5 of my credit! @#$%*&!!! vowed not to simply checkout stuff again.

dunno why, suddenly i feel so cheapskate.

#

been sick. 'nuff said.

pasta zanmai @ 1 utama

pasta zanmai

yes, you read it right. pasta zanmai, sister/brother outlet of sushi zanmai (from the rakuzen group of restaurants). as the name already suggests, it serves pasta... with a fusion of japanese toppings.

when i saw the ad on starmetro saying "GRAND OPENING SPECIALS enjoy 50% off our best sellers..." i knew i have to go!!!!!!1111

so i shamelessly ajak my sister for lunch (hoping she will pay HAHA, which she did thankyouvelimuch). the 50% off was only one dish on one day and i was eyeing on the soft shell crab no gomadare shitate (np: rm22, 18 march 50% off only rm11!!!!) i wantttttttt!!!!!1111111

so hehe, my sister agreed and off we went!! the entrance is so wtf small that you'll miss it if you dont pay attention! well, thats because the 1/2 of the shop is occupied by the shojikiya everything japanese foodstuff store. pasta zanmai is the innerpart of the shop. the deco and ambiance is pretty cozy and just like sushi zanmai, it has an open kitchen concept where you can see the chef in action! and big colorful menus, we like!!

hot green tea- rm3/pot

we had the hot green tea at rm3 per pot and its refillable. although it's quite cheap but i think the 'pot' is a gimmick to charge a higher price cos in sushi zanmai, it's rm1 per cup and its refillable as well. so whats the difference?? (the pot is quite cute though hehe)

asari miso soup- rm6
(short-neck clam miso soup)

we decided to do away with the normal miso soup and opted the seafood one instead. it has about 4-5 clams but the soup was flavorful and comes in a rather deep bowl, so its advisable to share!

soft shell crab no gomadare shitate- rm22
(soft shell crab pasta, topped with sesame sauce)

i had the dish on offer which is the soft shell crab pasta. my fav soft shell crab!!! the pasta is served with a creamy sauce but not as creamy as alfredo or carbonara. the sauce has a mixture saltiness and sweetness, very different from western style of pasta (maybe cos of the sesame sauce?). and the best part? hee! the soft shell crab (2 pieces) and the roe tasted gooood.

gyu shabu no gomadare shitate- rm25
(blanched beef pasta, topped with sesame sauce)

i read that the beef pasta is good so i recommended it to my sister... and indeed it was good. the beef slices were like shabu-shabu'ed, hence the reddish color how beef slices should be. the pairing with the sesame sauce was good too. although both pasta seem to have similar sauces, it definitely doesnt taste the same. i would say the soft shell crab pasta was creamier.

also, the pasta portions are rather large, so small eaters are advised to share!

sesame grinder

they also offer this d-i-y sesame grinder where you grind your own black sesame. very fun thing to play with while waiting for your pasta though. the wait isnt that long, but i am not too sure the same on packed days, but i supposed pastas are generally easy food to prepare?

but end of the meal, we were both simply too full and decided to give desserts a miss although the pictures in the menu were really tempting!!

the total bill was rm51.75 for the both of us inclusive of 10% + 5% taxes. not too cheap as remember one of the item is 50% off? but its worth a try! who knows italian pasta and japanese cuisine can go so well together. next, i'm planning to open a restaurant that sells pasta with siew yok, char siew, roast duck...

p/s: the 50% off promo is until 28th march!! fast, go find your copy of the starmetro ad pg27 friday 14 march 2008!!!!
pp/s: read my sister's review here!

pasta zanmai
g210b, ground floor promenade
1 utama (walkway along burger king, genki sushi & carls jr)
tel: 03-77281210

[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.]