Chua Brother Homemade Fish Ball - Jalan Bukit Bintang- Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Chua Brother Homemade Fish Ball

Even though I love handmade fish ball's, this post won't contain anything about them unfortunately. This post is all about the Char Kway Teow!

The Malaysian Char Kuay Teow is a famous Penang hawker/street dish and is made from stir frying flat rice noodles in a mixed soya sauce with cockles, shrimp, lap cheong (Chinese sausages), eggs, bean sprouts and chives. Then the chilli spices can be added if you like it hot in which I requested for extra spicy. 

Within the Lot 10 shopping complex is a food court and this is not just any normal food court.  Hawker / Street style food cooked by Chinese families that have for generations, been trading on the streets of Malaysia and have been specially handpicked to open their stores within Lot 10.

If you want to savour the best of Kuala Lumpur's street/ hawker food, then here is the place to go with over 30 of the country's best eateries are located there. It is fully air-conditioned, modern, clean and indoors, which means you don't  have to melt and sweat under the scorching heat. Plus there is a whole lot to choose from such as popiah, porridge, wonton mee, duck rice, beef noodles and bak kut teh.

Don't expect hawker prices as you’re paying for the added convenience of not having to drive out to the outer suburbs like the Klang Valley,  to try out these famous dishes.

As the name suggests, the ‘Chua Brothers’, are famous for their fish balls but when I walked around the side bend, I saw a little sign beside their counter, that said they also make char kway teow . There were two options available including the ‘Penang Duck Egg Fried Kway Teow (RM 10.50)’ or ‘Penang Famous Fried Kway Teow (RM9.40)’ in which I chose to have latter.

After a few minutes, it was done. 

Big plate, average sized serving and not the most generous of portions but adequate. 

Found nothing special about the dish in that it was decent and had the right flavours, but lacked that wok hei flavour from the breath of the wok.They use the thinner version of white noodles and I found that it was very similar to the Thai Pad Thai. Even though I like beansprouts, there was just way too much of it.

I wouldn't go out of my way to have this, as one can find better elsewhere, but worth a try if your staying in the city center  Then again, I can't complain as they, for generations, have been known for their famous fish ball's and that is what I will have on my next visit to Malaysia.

It does get very busy during lunch and dinner and finding a seat may be frustrating. Also, a lot of the popular dishes do sell out, so get there quick!

Where?
Lot 10 Hutong,
Lower Ground Floor,
Lot  10 Shopping Centre,
50 Jalan Sultan Ismail,
50250 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia

Phone no:
NA

Opening Hours

7 Days a Week
10:00am - 10:00pm

Website
http://www.lot10.com.my

Ah Yip Herbal Soup - Kuala Lumpur - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Ah Yip Herbal Soup

After staying in Europe for over a month, I was lacking the essential vitamins and minerals due to the minimal fruits and vegetables I was eating. I was craving for my mum's Chinese soups that she made at home weekly. I'm a big fan of Chinese soups and just love how tasty and nutritious they are. Chinese soup is known to be part of the Cantonese dining culture in which some families have these soups daily.

Herbal soups are made from a combination of several herbs and boiled with a meat. It is best known for preventing sickness, promoting good health and boost ones general well being.

After touching down in Malaysia, my first lunch was from 'Ah Yip Herbal Soup' located within the Food Republic Food Court in the Pavilion Shopping Centre. They are popular amongst the locals with 11 outlets in Malaysia and 1 in Singapore at present. If you read my previous post on Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, then you may have seen that I had this on my stopover to Europe.

Chinese herbal soups are not only wholesome and hearty but also nutritious, tasty and delicious. Best had in the winter month as it keeps you warm and is the ultimate comfort food. I like to have herbal soups in all seasons, in both hot and cold weather.

My all time favourite soup would have to be lotus root soup. I went with the 'Dried Squid with Lotus Root Soup Set (RM12.80)' which  includes a steaming bowl of home made soup served with steamed rice, vegetables and black fungus chicken. This is eaten with the fresh chili dipping sauce which is a must have accompaniment.

Comfort food at its best.

There are plenty of soups to choose from and the options are a plenty depending on what you like to eat and how adventurous you are.

Where?
Pavilion Shopping Centre
Food Republic Food Court
Lot K1.24.01,
Level 1 Pavilion,
Kuala Lumpur

Phone no: 018 638 2122

Opening Hours
7 Days a Week
10am - 10pm

Website
www.ahyipherbalsoup.com

Ramen Ikkyu - Haymarket - Sydney, Australia.

Ramen Ikkyu

 

I have finally made it to the second Japanese ramen place that has recently opened. I contemplated on whether to go considering I just had Japanese ramen two days in a row which in my books is a lot. For *cough* research purposes I decided on trying Ramen Ikkyu after hearing positive feedback from those who have already been and some quoting it as being ‘delicious’. I had a very early dinner just after 5pm as class was at 6pm and there was no one in line. Lucky me! I’ve read and seen pictures that the queues can be long  during lunch and dinner peak times. So do get there earlier and beat that rush if you can.

 

I was in the process of taking a picture of the front while the service lady was greeting me as you can see from the photo above. How awkward. She was so friendly though and showed me how to order through their electronic ordering system – The Ipad.  You choose what you want by scrolling through the Ipad and then once you know what you want to order, you press the buttons and follow the prompts. Then you pay the service lady. They also had rice rolls on the counter which contained egg and char sew for one dollar! I was about to buy one but stopped myself considering I was going to have a big bowl of ramen.

 

Menu is limited with only 8 options in three different types of stock including salt, soy or miso with an assorted range of ramen toppings to choose from. They also have daily specials. The ramen is pricey for food court price standards and costs a few more dollars than Ramen Hakata-Maru but this isn’t stopping the flock of people going to try out their ramen.  They also offer FREE Kaedama – Additional order of only noodles! Yes, I said FREE. I guess they could be charging more cause they are offering this.
 

 

A range of condiments. I added dried chill flakes to my ramen.

I had the ‘Tokyo (Shoyu) Ramen ($10.50)’ with additional ‘Sweet Corn Topping ($0.50)’. A soy based soup made from specially blended soy sauce and topped with black fungus, half an egg, beansprouts. shallots, thick slices of pork, lots of bamboo shoots and dried seaweed sheets. Those that have high attention to detail may have noticed that the dried seaweed sheet is missing from mine. I asked for it without as I don’t like dried seaweed and when it sits and soaks in the soup, it releases a seaweed flavour.

 

I found the soup and noodles to be similar to the ramen from Gumshara Ramen but with the stock slightly less thick. It was only filled half-way and I’m the person who really likes their soup so the lack of soup was one of the negatives. The egg was overcooked and was no longer creamy, gooey or runny like how it should be. This may have been because I went during non-peak times so the lack of turnover may have meant that they left their cooked eggs from lunch. However, the pork was thick and slightly fatty and melted in the mouth.

 

I had high expectations prior to coming here but it just wasn’t the perfect bowl of ramen for me. The ramen is really good here and it hit the spot but I much prefer the ramen from Ramen Hakata-Maru in terms of their flavour and cooking technique used.

 

I will be returning to try out their other ramen to see whether it will be any different from my first time there.  

 

Where?

Shop F1A,

401 Sussex Street,

Sydney NSW 2000

Australia

 

Phone no: 02 9281 0998

 

Opening Hours

TBA

 

Website

http://menikkyu.com.au/

 

 

Malaysia Stopover - Kuala Lumpur - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Stopover

Having never travelled solo before to a country by myself is a big learning gap and a challenge in itself given that I have never travelled alone before.

I've been to Malaysia a few times now but it is just not the same without friends as you need to learn and adapt independently which is frightening at first.

This time around I won't be meeting my friend till I get to France so I'll show you what I have eaten  throughout my stopover in Kuala Lumpur in the past two days.

I decided to spoil myself before I resort to dorm style living at the University amid splurged at the Shangri-La and stayed at the Horizon Club which provides the extended check out and buffet breakfast. Expensive but worth the added convenience and flexibility they offer.

The breakfast selection here is just beyond what I have seen at a usual hotel buffet breakfast. You can choose from the selection on offer or selected dishes can be made to order. They have a wide range of beverages ranging from juice, tea to coffee from the Nespresso machine.

Service is impeccable. They attend to you to ask if you need anything else and this is what I expected from a 5 star place.

Now the food. Please note the conversion within this time from 1AUD to MYR is approximately MYR 2.90.

Day one and two breakfast was from the Horizon Club within the Shangri-La. I didn't have much on the first day of arrival as I felt sick from the flight and wasn't in the mood to take pictures.

Day two breakfast consisted of 'Pancake Stack with Compote Berries and Mascarpone Cheese'. I tried to find pure fresh whipped cream but no cream in sight. Guess milk items aren't a popularity here in KL. I then had some  Pancakes were cooked perfectly as they were bit crunchy and fluffy.

I had three dumplings which weren't so good as they were most likely from a package. The bacon was so dry and chewy that it looked like dried beef.

Day one lunch was from Ah Yip's Soup from Food Republic within the Pavilion Mall. I had the 'Squid Lotus Root Soup Set (MYR12.80)' which was refreshing and soothing after a very bumpy flight which made me feel sick. It consisted of a bowl of rice, bowl of soup and vegetables and braised chicken. This dipped in the chilli sauce was delicious.

Day one drink was from the Chatime. They pretty much have the same items as what we've got at home but cheaper! Way cheaper!!! I had the 'Grapefruit Green Tea (MYR5.90). Looked and tasted exactly the same.

Day one snack was from Nyonya Colors within the Pavilion Mall. I had the 'Talam (MYR1.10)', 'Pandan Ky (MYR0.90)' and the 'Lapis Pandan (MYR1.10)'. As you probably noticed, they all have a hint of green containing my favourite ingredient, PANDAN! Cheap and not too sweet. Just how I like it.

Day one dinner was from Chicken Rice within the Suria KLCC Shopping Centre. I had the 'Drumstick Chicken Rice (MYR9.50)' with a 'Cola Soft Drink (MYR2.30). Rice was flavoured with chicken stock and chicken was tender and juicy.It was drizzled with a special soya sauce and went well with the chilli dipping sauce.

Day two lunch was from Pin Qian Klang Bak Kut Teh within Lot 10 Hutong. Apparently they originate from the Klang Valley and the bak kut teh is their speciality but you would have to travel quite a distance to get there. I had 'Bak Kut Teh Set C1 Lion Ribs (MYR17.40)' which aren't bones from a lion! It's basically pork ribs with fat. They said this is the most popular? The set came with a bowl of garlic rice, bowl of soup and a hot cup of tea. The rice wasn't oily as I've read from some other reviews but was fluffy and evenly flavoured. Bak kut teh was hmm...not bad. It not the best and it not the worst. There wasn't enough soup and I felt that the huge bone took up the whole of the bowl space. Prefer the peppery or very herbal bak kut teh's. Very expensive meal in a food court but this may be because it is within the city centre.

Day two snack was from John King within the Pavilion Mall. I had the 'Original Egg Tart (MYR2.20)' which came out straight from the oven. It was hot and cruncy. Not the best I've tasted but pastry was cooked well in that it was crispy but the custard was plain.

Day two dinner was from Chicken Rice again. This is because I will most likely be away from 'real' Asian food for a month unless I make it myself which I highly doubt my cooking abilities. I had the 'BBQ Pork and Chicken Rice (MYR9.00)' with a 'Chrysanthum Tea(MYR2.30)' plus a 'Cup of Ice (MYR0.70)'. Luckily, the lady gave me the thigh part of the chicken. Nom nom. The BBQ pork was a bit sweet for me. Think the chicken is best. Skin was slightly crispy.

Whilst I'm typing this I'm sipping a 'Fredo-Fredo Cappuccino (MYR10.90 plus TAX0.65)' from Cafe Barbera. Fancy name for an iced coffee thats very expensive.

That ends my stopover trip to Malaysia and I am now on my way to Reims in France.

Where?
Shangri-La Kuala Lumpur
Horizon Club
11 Jalan Sultan Ismail Bukit Bintang
Kuala Lumpur 20250
Malaysia

Phone no: 60 3 2074 3901

Ah Yip's Soup
Pavilion Mall Kuala Lumpur
168 Jalan Bukit Bintang
Kuala Lumpur 55100
Malaysia

Phone no: 60 3 2118 8833

Chatime Galleria
Bintang Terrace
Lot 10 Shopping Centre
50 Jalan Sultan Ismail
Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia

Nyonya Colors
Suria KLCC Sdn Bhd
K21, Level 2, 
Kuala Lumpur City Centre
Kuala Lumpur 50088
Malaysia

Chicken Rice
Suria KLCC Sdn Bhd
Level 2,
Kuala Lumpur City Centre
Kuala Lumpur 50088
Malaysia
Pin Qian Klang Bak Kut Teh
Lot 10 Hutong, LG Floor,Lot 10 Shopping Centre,50 Jalan Sultan Ismail,Kuala Lumpur 50250
Malaysia

John King
Pavilion Mall Kuala Lumpur
168 Jalan Bukit Bintang
Kuala Lumpur 55100
Malaysia

Phone no: 60 3 2118 8833

Fancy Barbera
F&B 06, Lot 13E, Main Terminal Building,
Kuala Lumpur International Airport
Malaysia

Phone no: 60 3 87766625