The Eating Of The Green

Finally managed to get a space at Penang Road Famous Teochew Chendul at Paradigm Mall! Ever since it took over the ill-fated cookie and muffin store, the outlet has been packed. We've walked by at different times of the day, and it's been close to six months, and there is always still a crowd.

There have been times when they've been sold out at 3pm!

Although I wrote about cendol for hungrygowhere http://www.hungrygowhere.my/food-guide/features/cendol-desserts/, I did not get the opportunity to include this place in my article. For one, I don't believe in joining the crowds; for another, can good food really be found in malls?

Having managed to try the offerings here, I have to say that good food might actually be available in malls. This Malaysian success story (kudos to the branding team behind the 'corporate' video), continues to be successful out of its street food norms and locale.

The original Teochew chendol.

We tried the original Teochew chendol (RM4.90) which I found pleasant enough, but nothing to warrant waiting in line for. The helping is generous enough, for the price tag and the venue, and the elements work well together and are strong enough individually, but there was nothing to really rave about, except the fact we actually managed to find seats.

Durian chendol.

The durian chendol was much better, as far as I was concerned. The durian wasn't presented whole, nor did we get bits of durian in the soup. This variant is served with a durian puree which is dolloped on to the shaved ice. I was expecting inferior durian, or even a slightly synthetic tasting topping, but it was actually quite good. It was rich, creamy and fragrant. The durian and coconut milk made a pleasant combination; while the smooth chendol itself lent bite to the combination. A bit pricey for RM7.90, but definitely not  wasted.

Original Penang ice kacang.

I wasn't, however, at all impressed with the ice kacang. Apparently, real Penang ice kacang is characterized by the use of a Sarsi-flavoured syrup alongside the red sugar syrup. Gula melaka is not used in this variant of ice kacang, I was told. Well, despite liking the attap seeds and sago balls, and tolerating the creamed corn and cincau, I could not get round the Sarsi syrup. I really disliked it. It felt out of place - an usurper that kicked out the rich, traditional flavours of gula melaka. Thankfully it was only RM4.90. It's not something I would order again!

Verdict, then? I'd say this place was okay to bring tourist pals, or friends who you're not comfortable sitting at roadside stalls with, but it does not rate exceedingly high on my list of good cendols.I'm just glad I never stood in line for it!

Penang Road Famous Teochew Chendul
LG 08 Paradigm Mall
1 Jalan SS7/26A Kelana Jaya
Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

Let It All Pork Out

What's this about all Chinese NEEDING to eat pork? I remember a friend telling me his grandmother insisted on having one pork dish a day, everyday, because she claimed that 'without pork, my body feels weak.' Well, I'm Chinese and I strength train three times a week, but pork certainly does not figure largely in my diet. In fact, it's one of the meats I eat least. Therefore I've always been a bit puzzled about how bacon can make people go into raptures. Bacon, to me, is like coffee. It smells so great, but its scent profile never lives up to the taste. I'd rather wake up to the smell of coffee and frying bacon, and then tuck into a plate of egg and zucchini scrambles, thanks!

Still, it is undeniable that porky restaurants have sprung up in quite a clutch these recent months. I'm not sure what it is: Malaysian Chinese taking back their food rights, tired with the incessant harping about halal issues and defiantly thumbing the establishment by shirking such food classifications as 'pork-free, serves alcohol', or clever entrepreneurs finding a need and filling it? Because, at the end of the day, the Chinese do make up a large part of the population.

When I saw the signage for Pig Out Cafe, in a new business development in Kelana Jaya, I liked the name and word play, as well as the cute little porker on the logo. He looked a cheery little pig; quite oblivious to the fate of his real-life compatriots who'd be sliced and diced.

It's a small menu, alright.

The cafe has a comprehensive menu, the way smart menus are designed when one does not have much staff (or enough customers, at a start). It's an amateurish set-up, fueled perhaps by one person's belief that the ability to cook more than passingly well, is enough reason to start up a restaurant.

Interiors are simple, basic tables and chairs, with some attempt at 'pork art' on the walls. The service staff are not trained. They seem to be family members helping out, and are definitely new at this, seeing we had one wrong order on one of our visits. It's sweet though, to see family and friends pitch in to help, if this really is the case. Although, truly, a new joint needs ENERGY, and service staff who exude that 'come on in, let me help you!' vibe, as best characterized by the Woon family who run one of the first, most successful porky eateries in PJ - Betty's Midwestern Kitchen. The mum of the family, Betty, has no hospitality training, but by nature she is a gregarious greeter and it really sets the tone for an experience at Betty's. It really DOES feel like a little small-town American diner when no matter how odd aging waitresses in frilled aprons look, it is the vibe they exude that makes people come back. (I'm not going into the part where hospitality-school trained husband and wife, Eve and Kevin's back-of-house and front-of-house skills also play a big role in the success of Betty's, which began as one of the earliest businesses in the then-very new, under developed Aman Suria locale).

So, back to the food. It's simple fare at Pig Out Cafe. No bells and whistles, no embellishment. The portions aren't big, but the prices aren't inappropriate to portioning. Some dishes are decent value, some, especially when you're a cook, you just don't order on basis of food cost versus final product. Sure, RM6 for carrot soup is the norm, but as a cook, I can whip out a bad-ass carrot soup with pork bone stock for four, with RM6. But, fair is fair. The portion at Pig Out is large. Not the usual buffet-line soup bowl. It's a big dish, and the flavour is good, if a little over-peppered.

Blackboard specials.

While I may gripe about soup prices, I make concession for potato salad. For one, peeling potatoes is a bitch. Also, potato salad is so divisive. One person's star version may be another's stinker. For me, the absolute potato salad needs to have these components: perfectly cooked potatoes which don't crunch, and neither disintegrate to mush on the first bite; a bit of skin left on for some tanginess. Not too much, or the mouthfeel turns sappy. Thirdly, just enough mayo to coat ever lump, but not leave a morass of white goop at the bottom of the bowl. Fourth, very thinly sliced, raw red onion for a bit of crunch and added sweetness to cut through the starch of the potatoes and the oil of the mayo (if you're a true master flavourer, the merest hint of crack black pepper to lend a tiny amount of heat is a huge plus point). Lastly, a great potato salad needs to be chilled. Chilled. Not stored in the fridge for two days to the point that everything congeals. And not at room temperature, which makes the egg in the mayo come out in the most putrid, fart-like, gaseous way.

For a warm potato salad, this wasn't half bad.

Pig Out's potato salad passed everything except the last criterion (okay, so the onion was not diced). It was served WARM! While it was nice to know that it was made fresh and from scratch, it was very odd for me. It wasn't bad, just different. All the elements were there, but a cool snap really does make potato salad come alive. I put it down to the whole winter-starvation-discovery-of-life-giving-carbs thing. So technically, it was a good potato salad for RM6.

Tired salad.

 I should have known better to order salad at a place where turnover isn't yet great and the leaves have been lying in limp resignation in the fridge. But, I need my portion of greens, especially with a greasy meat like pork. Thus, my RM12 Caesar salad letdown. Salad so limp that Viagra couldn't help, with some leaves already browning. The croutons were possible home-made, but they seemed stale too. Ugh.

We actually did not order the next dish that was delivered to our table. We considered it, but were told that it would be a 20 minute wait. I was starving and decided not to chance getting into a food huff, but really, the soup, salad and potato salad actually took about 15 minutes to come out! I was ready to climb the walls. Especially since there was only one table of four aside from us, and they were already eating! When the roast was delivered to the table, I knew I was probably very grouchy to the poor hapless server.

A bite of this made it all better. This is possibly one of the best roast pork offerings in a non-Chinese barbecue restaurant setting. It had all the right elements. The skin was scoured and salted, so it puffed and crisped exceptionally; the layers of meat and fat were well defined, and each was moist and well cooked. It was definitely a prime old porker who died for this RM18 portion! I also liked their version of apple sauce. Instead of a pureed baby food mess, it was a tart helping of chopped Granny Smith apples seasoned with cinnamon. It made a great contrast to the crisp skin and melting fat. My only grouse was that there wasn't enough of it, although the young lady who came to talk to us after the meal said that they'd be pleased to give more upon request, as many still did not get this particular accompaniment. Despite being able to count the number of carrots and potatoes that came with the pork, I have to say that the basting with pork fat made them rather yummy and possibly more would have been a bit much.

No-frills, but excellently done roast pork.

At a different time we also tried the chop and cottage pie. Both were home-style and very real presentations. The chops, RM16, were tender, served with a piquant garlic sauce which was homemade and tasted that way. The cottage pie, RM7, came in a little ramekin dish and was blasted by my dad as being 'tiny' but seriously, size of helping should never be the only thing a dish is judged on. This pie, specifically, was full of good quality pork mince, and a very nice, country-style blend of potatoes and carrots. It was chunky and creamy in all the right proportions, and truly, would be enough to satisfy a person not so twisted by our Malaysian mentality of big is better.

The carbonara is another strong contender. For RM16, I say that Pig Out's carbonara trumps in traditional preparation and style 95 percent of any hotel carbonara. Of course it helps that bacon (and just so you know, bacon is pork and pork is bacon and there is no such thing abomination as turkey bacon or beef bacon!) is used, and its salt content complements and sets off the cream. I even dare say they may use the real formula of egg yolk in their carbonara - so thick and rich was the sauce that a table of four could not finish the helping.

Burger good, fries, stroke-inducing.

The burger was pretty good too. Pork is a lovely, moist meat, and Pig Out's handmade patties are grilled well enough to release the rich oils from the pork, which renders their burgers. For RM16, it may be a bit over-priced, but it certainly fills and satisfies. However, the fries which accompanied the burger were a massive slap in the face. They were so overly salted, it was a miracle that the fries were not standing to attention! Completely inedible, and that is saying something for two DBKL-eaters!!

I was really looking forward to dessert since Pig Out's food gimmick was dessert made with bacon. As all gimmicks, this fell flat for us. There are two desserts offered: apple pie and bacon brownie. As I would say in my review on hungrygowhere: the softly baked apples lent sweet tartness to the bacon inside the pie mix, and the crust of the pie was buttery, with enough salt to help the bacon transition into sweetness. However, at the end of the day, this was apple pie with bacon in it. No biggie. I would have been more daring and would have caramelized and crisped bacon in the oven, then crumbled it and added it to the topping of apple crumble. Or, if I had any desire to add bacon to my dessert (and I don't!), I'd make a two-level pie and line it with slices of streaky bacon.

Apple pie and bacon. Okay for a one-off experience.

I found the bacon brownie not as chocolatey as I would have liked. A deeper, bigger, richer, milkier chocolate base would have been able to hit home the bacon better, and so would have the addition of some nuts in the brownie mix. Whatever it is, it was interesting to try, and at RM5 each for dessert (RM1 extra for ice cream, and it's worth it, because the ice cream is good), it's not too pricey an experience. 

Bacon brownie needs more chocolate.

 Having sampled nearly the whole menu, I'd say Pig Out is a good-enough eatery. Their prices are generally fair, and their concept is simple and straightforward. If homestyle Western pork dishes are what you crave, this will satisfy. 

Pig Out Cafe
21 Jalan SS7/26
47301 Kelana Jaya, Petaling Jaya
Selangor 

Angel Of The Mrs

I met a cool mix-mistress lately at a food review. I was assigned a piece on Hit & Mrs, the restaurant, but also left with good vibes about the gal who is Bar Manager at Hit & Mrs. In the absence of the restaurant manager who stepped out for operational stuff, and two shy, reticent chefs who busied themselves in the kitchen, it was a slightly frazzled Angel Ng who took it upon herself to play hostess.

Lil ol' me under a tree must have brought out the Angel in Ng.

Ng made it clear from the get-go that she ran the bar upstairs ("I'm not completely sure about what was planned for you, because the bar was not involved, but I will do what I can.") I liked her frank, open manner, as well as her body art. It was clear she felt it was her duty to help. I liked how she stepped up to the plate, knowing she was the most senior person there. She didn't put on a show about knowing what was what, but she took the initiative to go behind the counter to the chefs and talk to them to sync their food delivery process with her chat about the concept and food. (I will leave that for another time).

While food was being prepared, I delighted in excavating details out of Ng. She's got a tough-girl persona, but underneath, like most people, she enjoys sharing stuff with people who are really interested. In fact, barring the tattoos, she is most like Resorts World Genting F&B Executive, Irene Nurfairene - one of the people I rate most highly in the food PR business.

Angel at work.

Ng is Malaysian, but she lived in Singapore since she was a few months old. She began bar tending during her university days, although that talent was not utilized during her subsequent six years in sales and marketing. This is her first foray back to her motherland, after attaining Head Bartender standing, and training with some big names on the mixology circuit in Singapore including World Champion Mixologist, Josh Ivanovic. Ng is also one of only three female Diageo World Class Bartenders!

She admits to being a bit too sloshed to remember who Benjamin Yong (founder of the Big Group, and her ultimate boss at Hit & Mrs) was when she was first introduced to him, but she must have impressed him enough in order to be offered the Bar Manager job. Her first move upon taking the helm at the bar at Hit & Mrs was to change the drinks concept. Hitherto her coming,  it was bottled beer, wine and traditional cocktails. Now Ng is urging people to try Asian-inspired cocktails which she designs with aromatics such as ginger and lemongrass. When I visited, she was also drying mandarin orange peels to infuse.

She insisted on my trying her cocktails, and like all really good bartenders, she follows a client's request to, 'Surprise me!', with questions designed to tell her something about her new client's taste profile questions: do you like ice in your drinks? Do you like sweet flavours?

She hit me up with a Whiskey Ginger Smash, made up of malt whiskey, ginger, unmuddled mint leaves and honey syrup. Just the long drink to usher in the sunset!

The big chill: Whiskey Ginger Smash.

Her next mix was not named yet, but she coded it Mrs Flirty for Valentine's Day. This was a bourbon, Campari, orange bitters, double creme de cassis drink which was her version of an Asian Negroni. It was lethal! The sweet blackcurrant liqueur masked the alcoholic wallop of this cocktail. Drink it too fast and rue it!

It has to be said that Ng knows her stuff. It also bears saying that she's a cool bartender to hang out with. She's very keen to encourage people to try new things, but she is equally responsible about watching alcohol limits. She walks a line between tough-chick-who-can-hold-down-a-bar-solo, and educated mixologist who can talk shop with the best of her kind. She's something I'd go back for, because I like what she stands for. 

Simple is deceiving: Ng's version of a Negroni.

 

Hit & MrsBar

15A Lorong Kurau

Taman Weng Lock, Bangsar

59000 Kuala Lumpur.

Tired And Curry-ed

I just wrapped up an assignment from hungrygowhere. The task: to find out if the equivalent or better, of MyKuali Penang white curry noodles was available from hawkers in the PJ area. After 8 bowls of curry mee consecutively, I don't think I want to eat curry mee for a very, very long time.

The last bowl of curry mee is featured here because I did not include it in my hungrygowhere review. It may have suffered unkindly from being the very last, and as such, judged on a fatigued palate, but that's life! I'm under no illusion that this review will dampen sales one bit!

Right off, you can see how red the soup is! Beware, faint-throated ones!

In its defense, it never called itself Penang curry mee. For those wondering why the Penang in the title would make a difference, it is this: Penang curry noodles are styled on white curry. A white curry begins as a stock of coconut milk (santan) and seafood or chicken/pork bones. It has some spices added in, and aromatics why may include ginger, fresh chili and lemongrass, BUT it will not contain chili paste or chili boh. The chili which turns the white stock beige or orange comes from sambal which is served on the side and not mixed into the stock. This way, patrons can decide the level of spiciness they prefer their curry gravy to be. Usual curry mee has the chili paste already incorporated in the gravy (it actually takes a lot of skill to gauge this, in order to appeal to the most common denominator of spice vs heat). KL curry mee also may use evaporated milk or powdered creamer instead of santan. Or they may mix the two, both for cost and flavour reasons.

I will link my Penang Curry Noodle 101 when it comes out on hungrygowhere.

Meanwhile, back to my final bowl of noodles. This was had at  O&S in PJ. The bowl contained tau pok (deep fried bean curd skin), cockles and steamed chicken pieces. The sambal came on the side, with a half of lime with it. Even without the sambal mixed in I found the heat from the chili in the gravy too overbearing. The gravy was too overly spiced. It hit my curry-ravaged throat like a sirocco - mauling and howling. Too much pepper, too much curry leaf, too much chili paste. It squirted out of the tau pok like an evil jack-in-the-box, delivering a sucker punch to my tortured mouth. I couldn't taste any more after that first spoonful. Despite the fact that my reviewing partner and I always found that curry noodles which contained cockles seemed to have a superior stock, possibly from the sweet brackishness of raw/semi blanched cockles; I was unable to detect any saving sweetness. It made eating the steamed chicken pieces difficult too, because the big curry taste swamped everything. A pity, because the chicken was separately steamed, and tender, though it was fiddly to eat as the bones has been left in. That was my RM6 closing act. Not a high note to end on, but I do wonder if anyone could do better after so many bowls of curry noodles in so few days!

Kedai Makanan O&S
Jalan SS20/14
Taman Paramount
Petaling Jaya

Old Is Gold

Thank you for the Facebook messages about my article on Old Siam in The Star on Sunday, 23 February 2014! For those of you who wonder just how my submitted or blogged posts differ from my print ones, here is the original text I turned in to the Senior Editor who commissioned my piece. As an editor myself, I know there are two schools of editing thought: style vs technicalities. I tend to favour the latter, but understand that the former is needed. However, I do think that if a person is by-lined, an editor needs to be wary of interjecting too much of what they know into the piece, because it will be perceived as a comment or impression of the writer, at the end of the day. 

Anyhow! The food at Old Siam is so good that it deserves another plug! 

A lovely person, with a master's touch at Thai! Old Siam owner Sita Jayadeva.

Old Siam Kopitiam founder Sita Jayadeva’s ethnicity is a truly Asian mix of Indian, Thai and Burmese. Her cuisine sense however, is true blue, dyed-in-the-silk Thai. Walking past Old Siam in 1 Utama, one would be forgiven for thinking this would be just another of those Thai-in-name-only places where a pathetic excuse for pad Thai is wolfed down unthinkingly by diners needing to fuel up in order to get through the rest of a work day. 

It's simple and fuss-free, but the food speaks better and louder than any interior designer. 

Old Siam is not posh, but the food is really something to go back for. For so unassuming an eating place - and in a mall’s busy food section, no less – the quality and authenticity of the food offering far surpasses taste and value-for-money for the category it competes in. Old Siam is able to deliver authentic flavours because of Jayadeva’s long association with Thai food. Her Thai mother owned and operated Café d’Chiang Mai, the first Thai restaurant in Penang, and Jayadeva was brought up in its kitchen, observing and then learning to cook there. The otak otak served at Old Siam is from the same recipe as the ones served at Café d’Chiang Mai. 

Although she is no food snob, Jayadeva is particular about the origins of her ingredients. Just as knowledge of ‘terroir’ in wine-making defines the style of wine, Jayadeva knows the difference Thailand-sourced ingredients make to the purity of the food she serves. As such, many of her ingredients are imported from Thailand, including the shrimp paste (belacan), chilies and sauces. Another thing that sets Old Siam apart from its contemporaries is that everything is made fresh at the restaurant. Nothing comes prepackaged or out of a box. Surprisingly also, for a mall-based restaurant, Old Siam offers non-halal food at the request of the 1 Utama management. 

As Jayadeva tells it, “Old Siam started business in April 2013. We wanted it to offer more street food as opposed to traditional Thai food, since we had all the traditional recipes from my mother. Our concept was to have reasonably priced, one-dish items for quick serving and eating, catering to the office crowds. We wanted to offer halal food, but the mall management requested us to go non-halal and even guided us on the price structure for the dishes.”

 

This was not styled for a photo shoot. Food is actually served the way this laksa is!

If the crowds are anything to go by, Old Siam has certainly filled a niche with the work crowd as well as mall-goers. While there is some level of Malaysianization of the cuisine, the food is more quintessentially Thai than many others of its ilk. “In Thailand the laksa (khanom jeen nam ya pla) is served at room temperature. We tried to serve it like that, but diners kept sending the food back complaining it was cold, so we now serve it piping hot. Also, in Thailand, this laksa is not served with so much liquid. It is a gravy, as opposed to a soup, but our patrons always asked for more gravy, so now we serve it with more, to cater to local dining preferences,” shares Jayadeva, who is also a partner in Surisit, another Thai eatery in Taman Tun Doctor Ismail. 

 

Ohhh, what delicious otak-otak!

Serving temperature and gravy preferences aside, Old Siam’s food keeps to all that makes Thai street food so mouthwatering. The hormok (fish otak otak, RM8.90 for two parcels) is served with bread, and is pure fish and coconut milk. No flour is used, and the tenggiri fish chunks are both visible and succulent. 

Parcels of delight - tauhu yat sai.

The tauhu yat sai, RM8.90, is bean curd stuffed with pork and fried, served with a tangy dipping sauce. Light, fluffy and crisp, it is surprisingly non-greasy, with the tofu being crunchy and the pork remaining moist.

Food presentation is another surprising thing about Old Siam. All the items are plated with care, and the laksa, RM12.90, comes out in individual noodle nests, surrounded by the accompanying diced long beans, bean sprouts, basil leaves and cucumber, all tidily arranged. The dish also comes with half a soft-centred hard boiled duck egg, the yolk brilliantly orange against the white.

 

Eating more raw food is a pleasure with the nasi ulam.

If you like sweet dishes, this one's for you! The tamarind pork goes so well with the shrimp paste rice.

 Even the simple nasi ulam and khao kruk kapi (belacan rice with sweet tamarind pork) are pretty to look at, surprising with the depth of flavour and the near perfect taste and texture of all the ingredients. Admittedly some may find some of the sweet elements in the food a little much, but this is really the way the Thais eat it, balancing sweet with the heat of chilies or strong herbs and fresh vegetables. 

Like all natural cooks, Jayadeva and her brother Glen, the quiet force in the kitchen, used to rely on instinct to prepare food, but since going commercial, she has set stringent measures for the weighing and measuring of ingredients to ensure that taste is consistent. She also drops in for spot checks to ensure that the high standards are kept up. 

 

Thai mango and glutinous rice. Love the fried mung bean on top!

Old Siam also offers a small selection of desserts, with the two most usual items, thab thim krob (water chestnut and jackfruit in coconut milk, RM7.90) and khao niau ma mueng (Thai mango with glutinous rice, RM10.90). Another more rare dessert, kluay buad chee (steamed banana in coconut milk, RM6.90) is only available when the right kind of plantain bananas is available. 

Old Siam Kopitiam

Lot LG 325 Lower Ground Floor

1 Utama Shopping Centre

Lebuh Bandar Utama

Bandar Utama

47800 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.