The trip to Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) was an interesting one in many perspectives. First of all, during my 4 days stay in the month of May, I somehow took very few pictures, a total of less than 200 before filtering of course. What happened? Nothing to be honest but I would consider myself struggling on a point / issue raised by a friend shortly before my trip. I was asked whether I travel to experience my journeys with my eyes and mind or via the viewfinder of a camera. It did bother me for quite some time and I repeated ask myself that question hoping to find an answer or a justification against that. I take pictures to capture the moment, to construct each of my images within a fixed frame to tell a story, to express a massage via the image. I have to agree that at times I snap more than I should without really thinking what I want to express, that includes pictures of food and general snapshots. I think it is a habit I must grow out of in order to focus on what I really want, to bring some meaning to the pictures I take. It is not so much about the quality of the pictures, I am still an infant in the art and science of photography, but it is the attitude behind the act that matters more.
Showing posts with label Malaysian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Malaysian. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Travel - Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)
The trip to Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) was an interesting one in many perspectives. First of all, during my 4 days stay in the month of May, I somehow took very few pictures, a total of less than 200 before filtering of course. What happened? Nothing to be honest but I would consider myself struggling on a point / issue raised by a friend shortly before my trip. I was asked whether I travel to experience my journeys with my eyes and mind or via the viewfinder of a camera. It did bother me for quite some time and I repeated ask myself that question hoping to find an answer or a justification against that. I take pictures to capture the moment, to construct each of my images within a fixed frame to tell a story, to express a massage via the image. I have to agree that at times I snap more than I should without really thinking what I want to express, that includes pictures of food and general snapshots. I think it is a habit I must grow out of in order to focus on what I really want, to bring some meaning to the pictures I take. It is not so much about the quality of the pictures, I am still an infant in the art and science of photography, but it is the attitude behind the act that matters more.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Hainan ShaoYe 海南少爺
There are quite some buzz on this place recently in various food publications in Hong Kong and I actually went during the first week of their opening a a few weeks ago. I guess it is time to share my experience. First of all, many foodies usually visit a new establishment after at least a couple of weeks or sometimes months of operations to ensure quality consistency. While it is understandable for a new resto to require time to "settle in" in terms of operations, it is not an excuse for inconsistency with food quality and etc. As long as you are open for business, day 1 or day 1000 should not make so much of a difference in my opinion. My experience at Hainan Shaoye fell into the disappointing category.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Nam Ah Restaurant 南亞 1964
Someone told me recently that when one has a craving for certain types of food / cuisine, it means one lacked the certain nutrition that can be found from that particular food or cuisine. Your body somehow stimulated your brain to have certain food craving for your own good. I think it is true to a certain extend. The main concern I have is that I am always craving for various types of food and cuisines, sometimes the range can be quick extreme as in one moment I want Indian curry with Naan and then soon after I would crave for a salad followed by ice cream! Does it mean I am in a really bad shape in terms of a balance diet? In lack of various nutriments? humm ....
After getting my haircut, I wandered around the Causeway Bay area in search for something quick for dinner. When I passed by the the Brunch and Supper Club, I really had the urge to go up for some egg Benedict but after recalling my previous visits here, I decided to continue my search. The mere thought of the egg Benedict reminded me of chicken and suddenly I had a craving for chicken. The first thing that came to my mind at that moment was Nam Ah Restaurant and its Hainan Chicken which they are famous for. It was a good time to give it try. The last time I visited was almost 2 years ago, also after my haircut session. Without spending much time on the menu, I ordered my craving item, chicken, Hainan Chicken Rice. The environment is causal and decor is fairly contemporary in a sense. It was bright and fairly cozy but a bit noisy even when it was only half full.
(1) Hainan Chicken
From the slightly chewy texture of the meat, it seemed to me it was of free range chicken but lack the strong chicken flavor I wanted. The same applies to the rice but it was soft and moist which was good. The sauce was a bit of a disappointment because the "ginger onion" lacked a lot of minced ginger!!! I heart this type of sauce and I can literally have a bowl of plain rice to go along with it. However, not the sauce here; not only did it lacked the amount of minced ginger, it had an excessive amount of oil and the green onion was chopped too big in my opinion. I remember cooking my own "ginger onion" sauce to go along with a simple steamed chicken back at university years when I was the so-called "chef" of the house. My housemates finished the whole chicken and all the sauce, I guess that was a sign of it being fairly decent right? or maybe they were just too hungry after waiting the whole evening for me to finish cooking. The soup that accompanied the set was alright, with "dried vegetables" and pig's kidney and live, fairly traditional in terms of ingredients but not of taste because it was rather light in flavor in my opinion. When the set was being served, it reminded me of my childhood days because the whole set was placed on a plastic tray with handles on the two sides like you find in some canteens or school cafeterias.
I wish my Singapore trip can come sooner so I can enjoy some wonderful Hainan Chicken Rice there!!!!
After getting my haircut, I wandered around the Causeway Bay area in search for something quick for dinner. When I passed by the the Brunch and Supper Club, I really had the urge to go up for some egg Benedict but after recalling my previous visits here, I decided to continue my search. The mere thought of the egg Benedict reminded me of chicken and suddenly I had a craving for chicken. The first thing that came to my mind at that moment was Nam Ah Restaurant and its Hainan Chicken which they are famous for. It was a good time to give it try. The last time I visited was almost 2 years ago, also after my haircut session. Without spending much time on the menu, I ordered my craving item, chicken, Hainan Chicken Rice. The environment is causal and decor is fairly contemporary in a sense. It was bright and fairly cozy but a bit noisy even when it was only half full.
(1) Hainan Chicken
From the slightly chewy texture of the meat, it seemed to me it was of free range chicken but lack the strong chicken flavor I wanted. The same applies to the rice but it was soft and moist which was good. The sauce was a bit of a disappointment because the "ginger onion" lacked a lot of minced ginger!!! I heart this type of sauce and I can literally have a bowl of plain rice to go along with it. However, not the sauce here; not only did it lacked the amount of minced ginger, it had an excessive amount of oil and the green onion was chopped too big in my opinion. I remember cooking my own "ginger onion" sauce to go along with a simple steamed chicken back at university years when I was the so-called "chef" of the house. My housemates finished the whole chicken and all the sauce, I guess that was a sign of it being fairly decent right? or maybe they were just too hungry after waiting the whole evening for me to finish cooking. The soup that accompanied the set was alright, with "dried vegetables" and pig's kidney and live, fairly traditional in terms of ingredients but not of taste because it was rather light in flavor in my opinion. When the set was being served, it reminded me of my childhood days because the whole set was placed on a plastic tray with handles on the two sides like you find in some canteens or school cafeterias.
I wish my Singapore trip can come sooner so I can enjoy some wonderful Hainan Chicken Rice there!!!!
Likes:
- Free Range Chicken (I assumed)
- Causal and relax environment for a quick meal
- "Ginger Onion" sauce - not enough minced ginger
- not enough chicken flavor for the chicken
Nam Ah Restaurant
G/F, 17-19 Leighton Road, Causeway Bay
Tel: 2187 3487
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Katong Laksa Prawn Mee 加東叻沙, 蝦麵
I had a sudden craving for Laksa this afternoon and with my friend's recommendation for this outlet in Wan Chai, I decided to give it a try. Since there are a few items I wanted to try in addition to the laksa, I decided to call up my friend (around 5:30pm) who works nearby to join me on this little food venture on a Tuesday evening. With such short notice, my friend actually said yes and together with my friend and her mom, the three of us headed down soon after work.
It was not as crowded as I expected when we arrived around 7pm, so we can actually pick our seats. The restaurant is of a very casual but cozy style with relatively strong air conditioning (which is good!). Before I forgot, I have to give this place two big thumbs up for their impeccable services! Not only was the service very attentive, it was detailed and responsive as well, way beyond my expectation. Read on and you will see what I mean.
(1) Laksa Supreme
(with Prawns, cockles Fish Cakes, Egg, Shredded Chicken, and dried bean curd) According to my friend who introduced this place to me, one of the rare items in the laksa is the cockles (鮮蚶 ) which is not a common ingredient you find in Hong Kong while it is standard in laksa served in Singapore or Malaysia. I liked it. Anyhow, back to the rest of the laksa! Based on my humble knowledge, a so called traditional laksa should consist of a mixture of clear and "oil" noodles but what was served consisted of only clear noodles. Almost all laska I tried in Hong Kong use only one type of noodles. Nonetheless, the clear noodles served was slightly chewy and together with the moderately spicy soup, it was delicious! I only wish the soup was a little bit more thicker, richer and with more coconut sauce / paste. Alright, at this point I need to talk about its great service! While I was serving the laksa to my friend and her mom, I was being very careful because of the possible splashes of the soup when serving the noodles. The staff came over and asked me if I need a big napkins to protect my pretty white shirt from the possible splashes. Wow, I did not expect such detailed observation and responsiveness from the staff, I was, and I am still, surprised and greatful to get such services.
(2) Hainanese Chicken
It looked tasty but it was actually relatively light in flavors and was a bit dry. However, if you eat with the skin, then you can get more flavors out of it (together with the various standard sauces)
(3) Beansprouts and "Tung Choy"
A simple and delightful dish of vegetables without much oil. Simplicity is the secret formula sometimes.
(4) Pork Ribs Soup with Herbs 肉骨茶 (Bak Kut Teh)
At this point, our plates and bowls had been replaced by cleaner sets because our plates were full of chicken bones and the next serving was the Bak Kut Teh. Again, unexpected service level. The soup was hot and the taste was strong but lacked a bit of the Chinese herb flavors I heart for. Sabah's Bak Kut Teh has a very strong Chinese herb flavors in my opinion.
(5) Singapore Satay
Not sure why they called it Singapore Satay, maybe of some secret ingredients from Singapore in the sauce? Anyhow, we ordered 3 skewers of chicken and 3 of beef. It was hot off the grill because I almost brunt my tongue eating the chicken skewers. I prefer the chicken over the beef because it was more tender and the seasoning / spices used complimented the chicken better than the beef when eating without the sauce which was a bit weak in flavors by the way.
It was not as crowded as I expected when we arrived around 7pm, so we can actually pick our seats. The restaurant is of a very casual but cozy style with relatively strong air conditioning (which is good!). Before I forgot, I have to give this place two big thumbs up for their impeccable services! Not only was the service very attentive, it was detailed and responsive as well, way beyond my expectation. Read on and you will see what I mean.
(1) Laksa Supreme
(with Prawns, cockles Fish Cakes, Egg, Shredded Chicken, and dried bean curd) According to my friend who introduced this place to me, one of the rare items in the laksa is the cockles (鮮蚶 ) which is not a common ingredient you find in Hong Kong while it is standard in laksa served in Singapore or Malaysia. I liked it. Anyhow, back to the rest of the laksa! Based on my humble knowledge, a so called traditional laksa should consist of a mixture of clear and "oil" noodles but what was served consisted of only clear noodles. Almost all laska I tried in Hong Kong use only one type of noodles. Nonetheless, the clear noodles served was slightly chewy and together with the moderately spicy soup, it was delicious! I only wish the soup was a little bit more thicker, richer and with more coconut sauce / paste. Alright, at this point I need to talk about its great service! While I was serving the laksa to my friend and her mom, I was being very careful because of the possible splashes of the soup when serving the noodles. The staff came over and asked me if I need a big napkins to protect my pretty white shirt from the possible splashes. Wow, I did not expect such detailed observation and responsiveness from the staff, I was, and I am still, surprised and greatful to get such services.
(2) Hainanese Chicken
It looked tasty but it was actually relatively light in flavors and was a bit dry. However, if you eat with the skin, then you can get more flavors out of it (together with the various standard sauces)
(3) Beansprouts and "Tung Choy"
A simple and delightful dish of vegetables without much oil. Simplicity is the secret formula sometimes.
(4) Pork Ribs Soup with Herbs 肉骨茶 (Bak Kut Teh)
At this point, our plates and bowls had been replaced by cleaner sets because our plates were full of chicken bones and the next serving was the Bak Kut Teh. Again, unexpected service level. The soup was hot and the taste was strong but lacked a bit of the Chinese herb flavors I heart for. Sabah's Bak Kut Teh has a very strong Chinese herb flavors in my opinion.
(5) Singapore Satay
Not sure why they called it Singapore Satay, maybe of some secret ingredients from Singapore in the sauce? Anyhow, we ordered 3 skewers of chicken and 3 of beef. It was hot off the grill because I almost brunt my tongue eating the chicken skewers. I prefer the chicken over the beef because it was more tender and the seasoning / spices used complimented the chicken better than the beef when eating without the sauce which was a bit weak in flavors by the way.
Likes:
- Service, Service and Great Service
- Laksa - not bad, would be better if the soup was thicker and with more coconut sauce.
- Singapore Satay - especially the seasoned chicken skewer
- Not enough Chinese Herb flavors in the 肉骨茶 (Bak Kut Teh)
- Hainanese Chicken - relatively weak in flavors (unless you eat with the skins)
Katong Laksa Prawn Mee
Shop D1, G/F,
155 Jaffe Road, Wan Chai
Tel: 3168 2478
Friday, July 17, 2009
Sabah Malaysian Cuisine
It took my friend and I a long while to find this location because we were not very familiar with this area. We did not book a table and as a result we had to wait for about 15 minutes. It was around 8pm and the place was full house. The best thing to do at this moment was to look around to see what other people ordered. One thing I was very pleased was that even there was a long line up and the seating area was relatively small, they would give us 2 two-seater tables for just the two of us. Why? It is because they know that there was no way the single table can fit more than 3 dishes, the extra table space is really needed.
(1) Pork Ribs Soup with Herbs 肉骨茶 (Bak Kut Teh)
I have been trying this soup all over Hong Kong, but the results were not that pleasant with most of them being overly weak / light in taste. In my opinion, one of the key elements for a good Bak Kut Teh is the herb flavor. The one being served here was certainly one of the better ones I have tried in a long time with very strong herb flavor which I loved. In addition to the flavor, the ingredients were plenty and the pork ribs were very tender as well. Thumbs up from me!!
(2) Ipoh Beansprouts Chicken 怡保銀芽雞
When I ordered this dish, I wondered how exactly the beansprouts play in the cooking or preparation process; whether they were cooked along with the chicken or etc. It turned the dish should be called Hainan style chicken on top of beansprouts! Those beansprouts were place beneath the de-boned chicken. I wasn't sure what Ipoh really means, likely a name of a place but it tasted very much like Hainan chicken to me. It was good very good though with tender and juicy meat all around, including the breasts. Although the chicken skins were a bit thick, meaning fat, I could not help myself but to eat them together with the meat as well because it would be such a waste!
(3) Beef Rendang 馬來巴東牛肉
Not too spicy at all and I liked it. The sauce was thick and for some odd reasons, it tasted sweeter and I think better after leaving it at room temperature for a while. It was a perfect dish to go with some Roti. The one thing I did not like about this dish was the beef, it was very hard and difficult to chew. Maybe it was the way it should be, just not of my personal liking.
(4) Roti 油酥餅
It was a must to order either Naan or Roti to go with the Rendang, otherwise it would be a waste of the delicious sauce. The Roti was alright and it can be enjoyed by itself as well. I usually order Naan bread but I think I would order Roti more often from now on because it seemed less "floury" (less carbon hydrate) than Naan, meaning I can have more!
(5) Stir Fried Malaysia Noble Green 貴妃苗
I liked it. Very crunchy and fresh. With a little dry garlic on top, it added an extra texture to the whole experience. However, while it was fresh, for some reasons, it lacked any vegetable flavor. It seemed like I was just chewing some fiber!
(1) Pork Ribs Soup with Herbs 肉骨茶 (Bak Kut Teh)
(2) Ipoh Beansprouts Chicken 怡保銀芽雞
(3) Beef Rendang 馬來巴東牛肉
(4) Roti 油酥餅
(5) Stir Fried Malaysia Noble Green 貴妃苗
Likes:
- 肉骨茶 (bak kut teh) - very strong herb flavor
- Beef Rendang 馬來巴東牛肉 - love the sauce
- Even if an extra table, remain rather uncomfortable in terms of seating arrangement.
- Very noisy environment
- Stir Fried Malaysia Noble Green 貴妃苗 - very fresh but lacked the vegi taste / flavor
Sabah Malaysian Cuisine 莎巴馬來西亞餐廳
G/F., Shop 4-5.,
98-102 Jaffe Road, Wan Chai
Tel: 2143-6626
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