Thursday, April 28, 2011

Chuan Tin Garden Restaurant (泉珍酒楼) at Muar

Muar, a place I called my second house, due to my frequent visits to this food-filled town, which is famous for its street food and other famous gourmet scatter throughout this harbour town. Instead of going to the landmark of Muar, the Glutton Street, let me introduce you one of the famous restaurant in town - Chuan Tin Garden Restaurant.


1). Situated at a corner shop lot at Jalan Khalidi, Chuan Tin occupies a double-storeys building and sit in the heart of the busy Muar town centre.


2). Although it seems like nothing special on the outside, but definitely spectacular on the inside. During wedding or banquet dinner, Chuan Tin is able to hold 50 over tables at the same.


3). One of the most popular Teo Chew dishes is Fried Oyster Omelette (蚝煎). The omelette is best fried until golden crispy colour to enhance its crunchiness and scattered with small-sized oysters, rather than the larger ones. It is best served while still hot and with a dip of own-made chilli sauce!  


4). My mama always says that a good restaurant must have an equally good quality of tofu dishes. Therefore, the second dish to come is the Tofu on Sizzling Plate (铁板豆腐). Various ingredients are cooked together, such as own-made Tofu, sliced pork, salted fish, scallion and lastly a raw chicken egg popped onto the hot sizzling iron plate and served onto the table with fuming hot steam, where the aroma of the dish rush to your nose!


5). As for the veggie dish, a family favourite of Stir-fried Eggplant and String Bean with Strimp Paste (马来煎炒茄子四季豆) is ordered. Belacan-dishes always come with plenty of oil, especially during eat-out at restaurant, this dish has no exception as well. The eggplant is cooked with adequate tenderness where it absorbed the flavour of belacan; however the string beans are slightly over-cooked, too bad!


6). Usually we compliment our meal with bowls of white rice, however today we preferred to take on their Mee Sua with Soup (清汤面线). Mee sua is fairly quick-fix dish where it can be cooked under 2 minutes under boiling water, and the cook gives us a generous amount of ingredients such as prawns, pork, fish paste and chinese cabbage.


7). Time for one of the restaurant's famous dishes, which is their Stir-fried Indian Mee (炒印度面). It seems to be a simple dish with fairly little ingredients, only noodles, prawns and beansprouts. However, the noodles' taste is balanced very well, not too oily yet not too dry. How good was it? The dish is finished as soon as it is served on the table.


8). Chuan Tin is famous for their seafood, especially with crabs. This is we ordered two large Crabs cooked with Black Pepper (黑胡椒螃蟹). We could even smell the black pepper scent long before the dish is served on the table. The crabs are cooked evenly with black pepper and cracked open for easy consuming, where we can taste every bit of meat is filled with the right amount of black pepper, not too hot yet not too bland. This dish easily is our dish of the day!


9). Although there are plenty of Chinese restaurants located in Muar town, Chuan Tin is one of the more popular ones, especially during wedding seasons. As you can see, it is a full house on a weekday's lunch, with many luxurious cars parking at the restaurant's compound say its all.


Chuan Tin Garden Restaurant (泉珍酒楼)
Address : 6, Jalan Khalidi, 84000 Muar, Johor.
Tel. : 06-9522579



View Larger Map

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Din Tai Fung (鼎泰豐) at KL Pavillion

If you are looking for a taste of one of Shanghai's most famous dish, steamed pork dumplings (小籠包), look no further than the multiple award-winning restaurant Din Tai Fung (鼎泰豐). Originated from Taiwan since 1958, Din Tai Fung has become one of the top restaurant around the world, which is famous for their signatured dumplings.
 

1). Standing at the entrance of the Pavillion branch of Din Tai Fung, which is one of three branches around Klang Valley, with the first one at The Gardens and latest one at Empire Subang. Make sure you make your reservation if you required a private room.


2). The restaurant design has a see-through kitchen window at the entrance for customer to view.


3). What to eat here?! Steamed dumplings (小籠包) is a must try!


4). The order is promptly served on the table, with hot steam popping out when it is uncovered. As the menu suggested, the dumplings are really meaty and juicy, it is best served hot and dip with sizzled ginger and vinegar. The more you eat, the more you appreciate the handcraft in making the dumplings.
 

5). As for the appetizer, the Cow-Fu (烤麩) is recommended by the staff, in which it is a beancurd-like appetizer and absorbed the soup essence. However, it does not softened and yet still remained chewy as you take a bite from it.


6). As one of the famous dish from Taiwan, Noodles mixed in broad-bean sa (酢醬麵) is also worth a try! Hand-made egg noodles is mixed with special sauce made from various beancurds, minced meat and tomatoes. Looks ordinary but tastes extraordinary!



7). Being one of their signatured dishes, Braised beef noodle soup (紅燒牛肉麵) is not to be missed! The soup is made out of ox bones and tomatoes, which give it the rich colours and served with  the hand-made egg noodles. Not forgetting the top class beef that has been braised with herbs and spices but retained its tenderness and juiciness. A match made in heaven!


8). Every meal must end with a dessert, as a traditional dessert, Red Bean Soup (红豆沙) first comes to my mind. The red bean soup is cooked with peel-dried tangerine until thick and viscous and comes with two glutinous rice balls. The soup is so rich in flavours and the rice balls are perfect companion to take together.


Din Tai Fung (鼎泰豐)
Address : Lot 6.01.05, Level 6, Pavillion
                168 Jalan Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur.
Business hours : 10am - 10pm
Tel. : 03-2148 8292


View Larger Map

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Sun Seng Fatt Curry Noodles (怡保新成发咖哩粉)

Ipoh is truly a heaven for local gourmet, besides its world-renown Beansprout Chicken and Oldtown White Coffee, there is another hidden gem waiting to be discovered - curry noodles! 


1). Situated at Market Street in the Oldtown of Ipoh, where Mr Yeap See Hoon (current owner)'s parents has been operating for more than 30 years, before moving to this new outlet a few years back. His parents, both in their 60's, are still actively involved in the operation of the coffee shop.


2). Better get your place early in the morning or late afternoon, especially if you are starving, otherwise get yourself some antacids while waiting for hours just for a bowl of noodles.


3). A wide varieties of food and drinks are available for selection, namely curry noodle, dry curry noodle (which is my favourite), lam noodle, prawn noodle, etc. To be honest, the price of the food has gone up quite a bit, unlike the older days when I start eating here for more than a decade ago.


4). As listed on the menu, there are plenty of fruit juices available to be ordered, however I still prefer to stick to my usual Ipoh famous Oldtown White Coffee (Rm1.30), where the quality of the coffee has been improved drastically as compared to the older days, where watery tasteless coffee are served, yicks!


5). As an alternative, I have also tried out their Iced White Coffee (RM1.50) and their signatured Red Bean Juice (RM1.70), which I realized what a quenching drink it is.


6). Being one of Ipoh's famous own-grown Beansprout (RM3.00 for small), its crunchiness and juiciness is second to none. The restaurant also serves Ipoh's famous Beansprout Chicken, but it's a shame to say that I have never tried it here before in my life.


7). Another one of the companion best suited while taking their noodles is the Dumpling (RM1.00 each). It looks like any ordinary traditional dumpling, but the portion is huge and filled with prawn and pork, yummy!


8). Here comes the most anticipated Dry Curry Noodles (RM4.00)! You can choose the combination of noodles and fillings of your choice, such as mee, kuey tiaw, rice noodle; sliced chicken meat, barbequed pork or prawn. You can even customize the degree of spiciness, by adjusting the amount of their special made lime chilli sauce to the level of hotness you desired.


9). Their curry gravy is so viscous, fragrant and rich in flavours. They even have their own factory to manufacture their own curry paste, prawn paste and soup stock, further more they are distributing to other parts of the country, as well as overseas such as Brunei. 


10). Their own-made curry noodles has make them fame and fortune, which is also popular among tourists including VIPs all over Eastern Asian countries such as Singapore, Hong Kong and even Japan! As a supporter of this delicious curry noodle coffee shop, I truly hoped that our future generations still to be able to savour this wonderful gourmet for many generations to come!


Sun Seng Fatt Restaurant (怡保新成发) 
Address : 32, Jalan Market, 30000 Ipoh, Perak.
Business hours : 8am -3pm, closed on Fridays.
Tel. : 012-5073536 (Mr Yeap See Hoon 叶世鸿)
GPS Coordinates : 4°35'44"N 101°4'39"E.


View Larger Map

Friday, April 22, 2011

Pikom PC Fair (I) 2011 at KLCC

It is the time of the year, where technology gadgets cravers would gather once again at KLCC for the one of the events of the year, PIKOM PC Fair (I) 2011. I, being one of the participants, would like to share a few snapshots I took during the PC Fair and some new gadgets that I have bought for myself. Voila!


1). Beautiful night view of Petronas Twin Towers.


2). Sweet and lovely models from Kaspersky, no wonder their sales are good..


3). Some Money Online promoters..


4). Some more MOL girls.. erm...


5). Promoters from CSL booth.


6). Asus's sexy babes.. erm not so hot after all..


7). Of course the star of the show would be... Agnes Lim!!


8). Representing Sensonic, wonderful smile, and sexy outfit too..


Due to the time constraint, that's all the babes I managed to capture, folks. 
Time to showcase some of my new gadgets..

9). Finally got my hands on the Mophie Juice Pack Air for iPhone 3G/3Gs. It is a ultra-thin light weight  rechargeable battery case with a capacity of 1200mAh, a full-charge should give you a full 100% for the juice-sucking vampire phone. It is also officially certified by Apple as a "Made for iPhone 3G(s)" product!


10). It can easily fit into the iPhone without any problem, furthermore it has a cap to cover the top part of the phone, unlike the Powerpack case from Energizer.  For more information, please visit http://www.mophie.com/product-p/1059_jpa-ip3g-blk.htm. The retailed price at Apple shops is RM318, guess how much I got it for?!


11). Logitech, being my trusted brand while purchasing a mouse, has finally persuaded me to get one of their wireless mice. The model is M310 (RM68), a laser mouse with a nano-receiver (unlike their latest Unifying-Receiver which comes at a price) and a 12-month warranty on the battery life.


12). Cooler Master, as the name suggested it is meant to be a cooler. Being my trusted brand, I have bought this Notepal U2 Notebook Cooler (RM75) for my 14" workhorse laptop. It consists 2 removable fans enable you to adjust and focus dissipation on the hottest spot on the lappy. I have tested the fan speed, really powerful and able to reduce 10-15°C off your laptop. For more information, please visit http://www.coolermaster.com/product.php?product_id=6612


13). I have been using Sanyo Eneloop rechargeable batteries for quite some time now and trying to make full use of its potential with the capacity of 2000mAh per battery, can be recharged for 1500 times and able to retain at least 75% of is power in 3 years! Therefore, I am getting a Mobile Booster KBC-E1S (RM110) as a portable battery charger. Yes, for my iPhone again, and as well as to recharge it for my camera external flash use. It's like killing two birds in one stone, I liked it! For more information, please visit http://www.eneloop.info/products/mobile-booster.html


14). Well, another similar product as the above, this is Mobile Booster KBC-L2B (RM166), which consists of 2 powerful Lithium-Ion battery with the capacity of whooping 5000mAh. This baby is for the ultimate juice-sucker such as iPhone (again), iPad, etc.. which can simultaneously supply power to 2 devices by using USB cables. Looks like my phone will never be running out of juice again! For comparison of the 2 products above, please visit http://www.eneloop.info/products/mobile-boosters/the-three-versions.html


15). The last product on my shopping list is the D-Link DSL-2640B Wireless G ADSL Modem Router. This is the main reason for my visit to PC Fair and selling for only RM99! Another one of my trusted brand for modem router, after it has been loyal to me for the last 6 years. Initially wanted to purchase the 2740B, which is a Wireless N ADSL Modem Router, but kind of pointless considering not a single one of my electronic devices has a Wireless N compatibility. So, where is my MacBook / iMac?! For more information, please visit http://www.dlink.com.my/products/?idproduct=414


PC Fair at KLCC
Address : Ground Level & Level 3, Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, 
                Kuala Lumpur City Centre, 50088 Kuala Lumpur.
Opening hours : 11.00am - 10.00pm
Date : 15 - 17 April 2011



View Larger Map

 

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Flying Chillies at The Gardens

If you are seeking for food while shopping in Mid Valley or The Gardens, there are plenty of gourmet to choose from. Too much, in fact, especially when you have to make a choose out of dozens of choices available. However, there is one particular restaurant that makes my saliva dripping, which is none other than Flying Chillies, a Thai restaurant found across Malaysia and Singapore, under the management of Sea Cuisine Sdn Bhd.


1). Located on the 3rd floor of The Gardens Shopping Centre, where plentiful of restaurant are found at the same floor.


2). If you planning to come as a group, better get your place reserved, as the restaurant are always a full house during lunch and dinner hours, even for a working day to my surprise! A group of office ladies and gentlemen can even dine-in for few hundred ringgits just for a lunch! Wow, I was amazed and stunned by their classiness..


3). Here's a tip for you while waiting for your table - read the big menu first in front of the restaurant and ordered right away to save your food waiting time! However, I can assured you that the thailicious food are worth the hourly wait!


4). Finally got our table for lunch after waiting for nearly half an hour, and we are warmly receipted and greeted "Sawadee-Ka" by the welcoming restaurant Thai waiters. A very comfortable setting with cozy couches and pillows, no wonder people can spend hours of meal in this lovely restaurant.


5). Time for a tropical drink, while waiting patiently to fill our growling stomachs. FC Punch (RM12.00), acronym for Flying Chillies Fruit Punch, where several varieties of tropical Thai fruit are blended together, namely Mango, Pineapple, Papaya and most important is the flesh of Soursop (红毛榴莲). It is so refreshing and a good remedy for spicy food!


6). There are plenty of starter to choose from, namely Spring Rolls, Money Bags, Fried Squid, etc. But we decided to take on their signatured Thai Fish Cake, which comes in 5 pieces for RM9.50. The fish cake is molded from fish meat (of course!) with herbs and spices, deep-fried into golden-brown shape and tasted best with the special chillies and garlic sauce. 


7). A must-ordered dish whenever dinning Thai cuisine, Spicy Tomyam! The soup comes with the choices of mixed seafood or prawn alone; single bowl (RM12.50) or a fire pot for two (RM25.50). Variety of seafood are contained in the seafood bowl, such as prawns, squids and fish meat. As the name suggested, it is really SPICY! Both of us couldn't finish the bowl as our tongues are numbed by the power of authentic Tomyam!


8). This is the dish we have been longing for - Green Curry! The green curry comes with the choice of chicken (RM15) or beef (RM18). The curry is cooked with long beans, red chillies, eggplant and of course chicken chunk! The green curry is so rich in flavours but not too spicy and it is the best dish for complementing the Thai fragrant steamed rice (RM2.50) per serving. 


9). No meal is complete without its dessert, not even Thai cuisine where its mouth-washer is simply Thailicious. We ordered the Coconut Cream with Sago & Honeydew (RM7.00). The coconut cream is served in cold, with plenty of sago, honeydew slices and most important mango slices. The dessert is a compliment for a spicy meal, where its sweetness alleviate the numbness and spiciness in our mouths.


10). As we are happily enjoying our lovely lunch, suddenly all the restaurant staffs disappeared and popped out of nowhere lights off with a surprise birthday cake for the lucky birthday girl sitting at the table in front of us. They sang a birthday song and wished the birthday girl, what a lovely surprise! Now I understood why their motto is "Hospitality with A Heart".


11). Another tip would be a discount benefit for presenting any of the cards shown above. Of course the best deal are for CIMB or Direct Access cardholders, where a 15% discount is awarded upon paying with your credit card. Further more, you can get further discount if you willing to claim your Bonus Points within your credit card, where 200BP are claimed for every RM1.00 discount and I ended up getting a free meal. Who says there isn't a free lunch in this world?! Well, this is the restaurant that I will come over and over again, whenever I visit The Gardens. As their slogan suggested, it is "Simply Thailicious"!


Flying Chillies 
Address : Lot T219 3rd Floor, The Gardens, Mid Valley City,
                Lingkaran Syed Putra, 59200, Kuala Lumpur.
Business hours : 12pm - 10pm
Tel. : 03-22877708 ; Fax : 03-22877710
GPS Coordinates : N3 07.145 E101 40.538


View Larger Map