Restoran Bah Kut Teh Shun Heng - KL

Our last night in Kuala Lumpur

 Bak Kut Teh

Literally "Meat Bone Tea" is made with ribs, offal, mushroom, tofu and tofu puffs all brewed together with a whole bunch of herbs and spices. The flavour is super complex and really tastes like a gigantic herbal spice mix was thrown in with tea. It has a strong herbal smell to it too. 

Dry Bak Kut Teh

Just when I thought the Bak Kut Teh was strong, this dry version was even stronger with dark soy sauce, chilis (to make it spicy) and a super strong herbal and spice aroma. It was pretty spicy, I'm not sure I would have survived my first bite of it without the small teacup of tea.

Apparently this is a good remedy for hangovers...no kidding - that stuff is strong enough to wake anyone up.

 

Enoki mushrooms and tofu puffs in broth

They used the same broth base for the bak kut teh to soak the enoki mushrooms and tofu puffs in. 

 

Creamed Beancurd with Onion Oil and Oyster Sauce

Wow - silken tofu. Someone needs to learn the secret of tofu making in Malaysia and bring it back, because this stuff is amazing!

Fried Lady Fingers in Assam sauce

The lady fingers were good, but the Assam sauce was SO SPICY!

Overall: Interesting experience...at least I can say I tried the signature Bak Kut Teh. 

Jasons Food Hall - KL

Jasons Food Hall is a high-end grocery store in Kuala Lumpur's Bangsar Shopping Center.

 

We came for the cakes!

Double Chocolate Cake and Peach Cake

Mmm Chocolaty goodness...with dark chocolate on top and chocolate cake inside. 

The peach cake was nice - light, fluffy and peachy. 

Raspberry cake

All pretty and pink

 

Secret Surprise Chocolate Muffin

It was a chocolate muffin with oozy dark chocolate in the center (like a molten lava cake). Best served after microwaving it for a bit to melt the chocolate inside. 

Banoffee Pie

Caramelized bananas with a dusting of powdered sugar on top of a cream pie. Nice!

Strawberry Cheesecake

A super adorable cheesecake with strawberries and pistachios (!!!) on top. It had that New York Style cheesecake flavour that I love. Pretty yummy. 

Overall: Great place for classic and traditional desserts in Kuala Lumpur. 

Website: www.jasonsfoodhall.com.my

WIP - KL

Located in a corner of the Bangsar Shopping Centre is the lounge-restaurant WIP:

The service was really slow at lunch. It took a while before the waitresses realized that we didn't have menus and couldn't order. 

Fish & Chips 

Deep fried battered fish fillet with waffle fries, coleslaw and tartar sauce

The fish was okay, but the batter wasn't as crispy as I would have liked. The weirdest part was that the tartar sauce was sweet. 

Chicken Tikka

The spiced chicken breast was rather dried out from being baked in the oven and while the dryness could have been covered with the mint sauce, I found that the mint sauce was a little to spicy for me to enjoy. 

Garlic Naan with Spinach Dip

I really enjoy naan and I thought it would be nice to try the garlic naan. While it was really good, the accompanying spinach dip was really awful - it was just pureed spinach with spicy stuff. We overpaid 2 ringgits for the stuff (we could have just got normal naan). 

Chicken Makanwala 

 Boneless chicken breast cooked in butter gravy accompanied with chana masala, aloo methi, salad, papadum and naan. 

The butter chicken was really delicious! The sauce was rich, creamy and so amazing with naan. Yum!

The chana masala (chickpeas) was spicy, but the aloo methi (potatoes with Fenugreek leaves) was nice and the papadum was softer and not as crispy. 

Overall: The ambiance was nice, but the service left a lot to be desired in the dining room. The food was okay for the most part. 

Website: http://www.soulsociety.com.my/wip/

Snacks in Kuala Lumpur

Wild Monkey near the Batu Caves

This Chicken Rice was actually the first thing I ate after I arrived in Malaysia. I considered it a snack before going out to eat a late lunch after we arrived in Kuala Lumpur.
OMG It was SO GOOD! The steamed rice was nice and fluffy, the cucumber was crisp and the chicken was meaty, tender and just heavenly...I still drool thinking about this chicken rice.

We went to the market somewhere in Kuala Lumpur and picked up some interesting stuff:

First Laid Chicken Eggs
A chicken's first laid egg is considered a delicacy in Asian countries. It's considered to be full of nutrients and  tastier. The size is generally smaller, but it doesn't have the "egg-y" taste or smell and the yolk is darker.

Rambutans and Jackfruit
Rambutans look like red and hairy lychees on the outside and have the same white flesh around the seed inside, but the taste is totally different. Rambutans are mildy sweet and sour.
Jackfruits usually come in pre-packaged containters since the fruit is actually quite big (see video for how to butcher a jackfruit). The actual flesh is soft and a little fibrous. It tastes like a combination of pineapple and mango and it's very sweet. It does have a pretty long lasting smell although it's not as bad as durian's pungent aroma.
Durian...that's another experience I had. The fruit has a very distinctive odor (you can smell it a mile away) and it's so stinky and awful. If you can get past the smell, the flesh is buttery smooth and really quite tasty. However, the main hurdle to eating it is definitely the smell.

Custard Apple (or Sugar Apple)

The flesh is gummy and soft with a sweet taste like banana and pineapple. Quite yummy and it wasn't hard to get to the fruit inside since the shell was pretty soft (huge contrast compared to the thorny durian or huge jackfruit).

Another popular snack item:

Curry Puffs!

These curry puffs pack a ton of flavour with curried chopped vegetables and potato chunks in a deep fried pastry shell. The non-vegetarian one had a boiled egg inside - Yummy! The egg also absorbed the curry flavour. Delicious! Once you start, it's hard to stop eating them cause they were so good!

In Kuala Lumpur's Chinatown, we saw a stall selling 砂糖夾餅

It's a Chinese snack that originated in Hong Kong made with a waffle base that's folded over to sandwich a combination of sugar, peanuts, sesame and shredded coconut inside. Meanwhile, the outside is like a crispy biscuit. We were surprised to find it in Malaysia, since it's very almost impossible to find it in Hong Kong now. Not a lot of people are continuing the old tradition of making and selling them. (It's also pretty difficult to find eggette or egg waffles in Hong Kong - another dying art).
Website on 砂糖夾餅: http://www.baike.com/wiki/砂糖夹饼

Rotiboy @ 1 Utama

 

The signature Roti Bun was this delectable bun on the right.
It was made fresh from the oven and was warm, fluffy and had a melty light butter inside. The best part was the contrast with the crispy exterior and coffee topping. So delicious!
Website: http://www.rotiboy.com

OldTown White Coffee @ 1 Utama

OldTown White Coffee
The white coffee is a popular drink that originated in the city of Ipoh, Malaysia. According to Wikipedia, the coffee beans are roasted using palm-oil margarine and it's served with condensed milk. Either way, it's delicious! It's not as bitter as North American coffee and it has a great rich taste.


Kaya Toast
I like that they cut off the bread crusts on my toast and they spread a lot of kaya in between. Kaya is a sweet tasty spread made with eggs, sugar, coconut milk and flavoured with pandan leaf.
Website: http://www.oldtown.com.my

Restoran Devi's Corner - KL

August 16, 2013

At night, a hamburger stall sets up for business right next to Devi's Corner.

Aloha Burger

Grilled Chicken breast with cheese, lettuce, tomato, ham, grilled pineapple and bacon
Mmm grilled pineapple...
It was okay, I've probably had better burgers in Toronto - but it was a nice change from all the Chinese food I've been eating lately.

August 9, 2013

Roti Canai with dal and fish curry sauce
Thin roti with a crispy outside and doughy inside.
 The dal with millet beans and fish curry sauce were rather watery but they were nice.

Roti bomb with dal and fish curry sauce
The roti bomb had lots of butter and sugar melted inside the roti which made it sweet and rather filling. I thought it added a nice richness to the roti.


Iced Milo Drink
Super popular chocolate powdered drink in Malaysia...I wasn't really a fan though.

Teh tarik: We ordered a teh tarik at Devi's Corner and it was so delicious! It was so creamy, sweet and smooth tasting.

Overall: Great fast, cheap and filling breakfast! Devi's Corner had the best teh tarik I've tried so far in Malaysia. (I wish I took a picture)

Restoran Wan Shoon - KL

Another hawker stall (actually a kopitiam since it's mostly Malaysian Chinese food) by day and restaurant by night place:

Except this time, I came for lunch 

Chinese tea and Chicken Soup...with chicken feet.

The broth was good even if the chicken foot was really eerie. 

Roast pork and Soy Sauce Chicken 

OMG the Chicken here is AMAZING - so delicious. If I could import the chicken in Malaysia to Canada, I totally would. What a difference free-range chicken makes in a dish! 

I've had better tasting soy sauce chicken in Toronto, but it's like the basic ingredients are just so much fresher and better that it makes a huge difference in the quality of the dish. 

Banmian

A specialty of Malaysia, banmian is found in a lot of hawker stall areas because it's so simple to make. 

Every stall has their own soup base, but the egg noodles are a staple in all banmian. There were a few places were we saw them making fresh noodles with a pasta maker. 

The soup base was slightly salty from the anchovies and there was tofu, fish and fish balls, green onions and crispy anchovies on top. 

Diced meat and mushroom kway teow 

The broth didn't have the same heavy and salty anchovy taste as the banmian soup (although there were fried anchovies on top). It had a clear broth and most of the flavour came from the toppings rather than the base soup like the banmian. 

Overall: Hawker stalls are awesome! They're cheap, fast and there's so much variety. Where else could you get good chicken rice and banmian cheap and fast?