Best Curry Puff from Singapore on Old Klang Road?

Just a quick toe-dip back into the scheme of things:

We were drifting by Bloom Season Bakery at Scott Garden on Old Klang Road after a particularly underwhelming breakfast at Lorong Seratus Tahun when this caught my eye:

Tip Top's claim of offering the best chicken curry puff from Singapore got me all hot and bothered. The average Malaysian would know the feeling - that instant biological reaction to the combination of the words "Best" and "Curry Puff" only savoury curry filling encased in a greasy flaky pocket can mollify. In we went...

The puff came piping hot out from the kitchen (as it was barely 11AM) and certainly very impressive in size. But upon the first bite, the filling punctured my pastry craving, a blow to the gut. Overpowering with curry-powder and not much else. Even the generous quarter of hard-boiled egg failed to lift the package from the league of highway rest stop curry puffs.

Best Curry Puff from Singapore on Old Klang Road? I don't think so!! Keep looking, folks!

Tip Top The Puff Factory

Bloom Season Bakery

Ground Floor (next to Lorong Seratus Tahun)

289 Old Klang Road

58000 Kuala Lumpur

The Wings Beneath My Wind

The latest wind from Japan brought not only dear Ollie to the shores of northern Malaysia, but also some very tasty chicken wings, a.k.a. Tebasaki deep fried chicken wings, specialty of Nagoya.

We're no fans of frozen, pre-cooked food but hang on, no one does frozen food like the Japs.


Our little family reunion, starring Ollie and his happy dance gets a boost from frozen wings that Mag had thoughtfully carted back in her luggage. Off into a boiling vat of oil they go!

The already-seasoned juicy wings get Mama Chow's loving treatment with the soy, sake, sugar and mirin mix that comes in the package.

There is nothing quite like chomping these juicy babies down while playing hide-and-seek with Ollie and wondering if being childless is what life's programme is about.

Pick some up at the frozen food section of your local supermarket the next time you're in Japan!

Steamy Comfort & More from Pho Hoa, Tropicana City Mall

One particular Saturday, I had wanted to push myself a little beyond my usual repertoire of hungover hibernation so I lined up appointments back to back, only to find myself constantly out of breath and running late from one place to another. I arrived late at Pho Hoa, second stop of the evening, for a review, courtesy of invitation from Sidney from Big Boys Oven.

I had actually been to the Pho Hoa outlet at the Curve about a year ago and walked out sorely disappointed by the meal then. Everything I had expected from a Vietnamnese bowl of noodles - the steamy, fragrant broth, interspersed with the delicate assortment of fresh herbs, bestowing the comfort of old, seasoned kitchens - did not materialise. In fact, the meal consisted of two dreary bowls of limp rice noodles swimming in LUKEWARM flavourless broth. Needless to say, when the invitation came to visit its new outlet at Tropicana City Mall, I was curious to see if this was going to be a repeat of that insipid experience.

We were served a selection of their three appetizers (sold separately) consisting of deep fried Vietnamnese spring roll, lemongrass chicken and fish cake. Even though the spring roll appeared the most pedestrian, I found the flavours interesting because it wasn't your standard radish filling. Found out later from the manager Dennis that the filling was a mix of minced chicken, yam and carrots. I tasted anise too, along with a host of other spices.

The standard Vietnamnese rice spring rolls, served with a sauce that was heavy on the fish sauce. This was alright but I've had better.

I requested for the Pho Ga or Chicken noodle soup, since I didn't do beef. With my last Pho Hoa experience clearly in mind, I really appreciated that this time, the rice noodles were cooked just right, still offering plenty of bite and spring. This was served with a hot chilli sauce which I learned was to be dumped into the bowl from the start, together with the raw bean sprouts and basil.

Next came individual bowls of Bun Ga Nuong, grilled chicken served with plenty of fresh vegetables, crushed peanuts and vermicelli, with a light fish sauce-based dipping sauce. I would have liked to enjoy more of this but by this time, had consumed almost three quarters of the full bowl of chicken pho that I had to leave this unfinished.

The beverages:

Vietnamnese Coffee, served in the single-cup filter. Some of the others at the table enjoyed this enough for seconds.

When asked for recommendation to quench this out-of-this-world thirst I had acquired from earlier studio session, Pho Hoa's staff pointed to the Salty Plum Soda. It worked!

Some went for Blended Avocado Juice. I can't be sure what the blend was but it sure looked a shade too yellow to be pure avocado.

Apart from the generous portions which were more than enough to keep me going for the next couple of appointments until the wee hours, I was also pleased to find that the earlier experience at the Curve's outlet was not entirely representative of Pho Hoa's potential. Also discovered a couple of other hits on its menu, beyond just noodle soup.

Pho Hoa's outlet at Tropicana City Mall is located on the first floor, on the Borders' end of the mall.

Thank you to Dennis and team for hosting and to Sidney once again for the invite!

Wah Cheong, Section 17

Previous night at the first Twestival KL, while a whole lotta fun, had taken its toll on the morning after. Needed sustenance urgently immediately after rolling out of bed and headed over to Wah Cheong at Section 17. The morning wet market mob was not easy on worn and wearied temperaments but we managed to find a park.

I had zoomed in on the Pan Mee, on account of having read about it at the very fantastic EatingAsia. It did not disappoint. The noodles were of remarkable consistency and texture and made me reconsider my persistent "pinched" noodle preference.

We had also spied the Hakka Mee stall facing the street, and I simply had to have it. The auntie operating alone took some time understandably to keep up with the healthy flow of orders but when it finally got here...

...behold! The delicate flavour of Hakka Mee is difficult to get right but this stall delivered a more than decent version. The main ingredients are lard, vinegar, white pepper and ummm... more lard, I think. The serving was just right too, perfect size for those who are looking to sample more than one type of breakfast noodles.

The infamous Florence's Nyonya goodies stall, which I had recalled from UGWUG's post was briskly selling out so I secured myself a Curry Puff to keep things interesting while waiting for the next order. The pastry was light, fresh and crunchy and the filling offered a hefty curry chicken & potato paste.

On my way back, I managed to chance the back of cool t-shirt potential. Clothes do not make the man, yes, but cool t-shirts certainly make a statement about the wearer and weed out real eye candies!

The final breakfast noodle dish finally arrived, after patiently waiting in line behind the stall's frenetic traffic of orders. And it is this rather spectacular Wantan Mee topped with decorous slices of charsiew.

The allure of this order lied in the lithe and supple egg noodles as well as the smoky perfume from the char siew juices, mixed in with soy & oyster sauces. Scent-sational!

The wantans, served separately, were not the usual drippy bambino variations either - these packed flavour and dumpling pride.

Wah Cheong had a few more tricks up its sleeves that we couldn't possibly stomach in one sitting so a return visit was guaranteed. We wiped our greasy lips, slapped our protruding guts and staggered out to nurse the fresh hangover from noodle comfort and bask in the rest of the Sunday sunshine underneath ruminating clouds.

Spice & Everything Nice, My Spicy Kitchen, Sungei Way

Banana leaf love is hard to beat. After inflicting too much abuse on one's constitution, BLR is usually, undoubtedly the only route to revival.

I've been impressed with how the enterprising siblings currently running My Spicy Kitchen have been engaging spicy food lovers via very current and relevant channels specifically Twitter and Facebook. So when Saturday morning called for BLR therapy, I was keen to give it a whirl, despite having to grapple with maps, directions and whatnots to get to Sungei Way, an area in PJ that was completely foreign to me.

We find the unassuming corner lot in the depth of Sungei Way with little trouble, thanks to the map here.

Here, banana leaf rice serving comes with a tray of the requisites - 3 x vegetables, 1 x dhal, 1 x fish curry and 1 x rassam. Bring on the healthy heap of rice, top up with poppadums and go crazzzeeee!! I appreciate that it's a tidier way of serving the reqs but I still much prefer the ceremonious, haphazard serving right on the banana leaf itself.

The chicken actually offered poultry freshness, not stale, hardened fibrous mass that I've learned to expect from the BLR side dish line-up.

While the BLR did what it was supposed to do, what stole my heart was the Samosa preceeding it. The triangular pastry was beautifully crafted, with the right balance of spice and everything nice. This snapped me right out of Hangoverville!

If I had to absolutely gripe, my one and only would be the absence of fried bitter gourd. We ordered it, gotten it misinterpreted by the helpful service staff, and learned much later that fried bitter gourd was in fact, not on the menu. BLR without fried bitter gourd is a concept difficult to stomach so here's hoping they'll add it on soon!

Also found out about My Spicy Kitchen's upcoming World Vision initiative, where customers will contribute towards helping the poor help themselves to build sustainable futures for their children, families and communities. Right on!

Fix-Them-All Screwpine Chicken at Seed Cafe

A table at Seed Cafe Mid Valley has just never quite lived up to the promise of a table at say, Delicious or Chillis on the same row. Not even when the mall is packed beyond belief during the sale season.

It's by no means the best place around - far from it, in fact. To begin with, there is no alcohol served. Secondly the dessert selection is poor, and the cakes at the counter always look quite dire. But it has a couple of tricks, which we frankly love.

The Good:

Top of the list - Screwpine Chicken! These are chicken wing halves fried to a golden crisp with strips of fragrant screwpine leaves. I can't think of a much better way to eat chicken wings! They should open franchises just selling this. Or have a Screwpine Chicken kiosk next to all the Seed stores nationwide.

Calamari Fritters - when they get them right, and only when they get them right, in pale golden yellow like in this pic. There have been occasions when they've been served overdone to a burnt brown, tough to eat and not much fun at all. Not very consistent, the folks in the kitchen at Seed.

We also like the Mushroom Soup - huge chunks of mushroom swimming in thick hearty soup. A bowl of this + the screwpine chicken and all of life's problems, which had seemed so immense just a minute before, are forgotten quite magically.

Apparently, the Hainanese Chicken rice (which is a HUGE serving), the Cajun Chicken Chop and the tomyam seafood pasta also get the ticks here.

The Not-so-Good:

Tom yum noodles - they serve these with rice vermicelli (meehoon) but I asked to substitute with lai fun (or laksa noodles). While the soup grudgingly satisfies the instant tomyam craving, it's several notes too heavy on the MSG. While there were plenty of prawns & squid in this, the fish slices had obviously been doing time in the corner of the freezer.

When I dined here once with Mel, she'd ordered this fettucine with what was supposed to be a carbonara-like sauce, with mushrooms. She was sore that the sauce tasted like it had come straight out from a can, prettied up with some cooked mushroom. Fail!

I know what and what not to go back for!

Mr Ho's (Small) Big Breakfast & Mr. Pieman, Hartamas Shopping Centre

How great is this three-day weekend? I actually feel rested for the first time over a weekend in a long while. When will we ever see the four-day working week materialise??

Finally made it to brunch with Dianne after months and months of planning, navigating weekends away, work schedules and whatnot. We agreed on Plaza Damas with Fogal's protein extravagance in mind, but then detour to Mr. Ho's Fine Foods, one of the latest F&B entrant at Hartamas Shopping Centre.

Adena, aged 7, a bundle of precocious energy. I remember her vividly as an infant, then a sassy toddler like it was just yesterday!

All three of us get the Big Breakfast which comes with coffee or tea. Mr. Ho's brews Avanti - this is good, a strong and robust kickstart right before midday.

If you think there's nothing Big about this, you are spot on. Mr. Ho's serves its Big Breakfast in two sizes and in an attempt to exercise some balance on account of having missed my morning swim because of an accidental hangover, I go for the Small size. Two triangles of very thin wholemeal toast, a tablespoon of baked beans, one pork sausage, a SHRED of bacon and one egg, sunny-side up does not make for a very filling breakfast - it's almost like a tasting platter. The other Large size is apparently twice the portion of this, which would be about right. However, at a mere RM9.90 nett for the Small with good coffee, I'll admit that we get what we pay for.

With obviously room for more, I keep my eyes open as we walk around the mall a bit and spy Mr. Pieman, a kiosk in front of Mercato supermarket.

Mr. Pieman has four pie flavours - Rotorua Chicken, Waikato Beef, Tauranga Vegetable and Kaipaki Apple. I find the obvious NZ reference curious and a quick poke around the website reveals that the founder picked up pie-making from the Kiwis. The kiosk also sells a Potato Top version, in beef and chicken.

Rotorua Chicken (Small). I love that the pastry isn't puff and offers a lot more substance (and less mess!) when you bite into it. Also, the filling is generous - plenty of chicken in a peppery white sauce. While it tastes fine on its own, I do find that a little bit of Heinz ketchup went a long way with this. RM2 per piece or get 5+1 for RM10.

Potato Top - the potato crust is baked to a crumbly texture and melded well with the filling. I'd expected the filling to be different from the pie's, on account of its name but as both were very small servings, I don't find it too much and they filled me up very nicely.

The verdict? Mr. Pieman is certainly an interesting addition to Hartamas Shopping Centre and the general deficiency of good pies in KL; I would definitely venture back to try its other flavours.

The Young and the Rested, Frames, TTDI Plaza

We were celebrating youth, or the process of departure from youth anyway. Young Jonathan was turning a year older, and Frames in TTDI Plaza was where we would solemnly observe this occasion.

The interior was standard cafe - clean, sleek, fuss-free, with an inordinate number of Ikea photo frames, either blank or filled with random pictures of anything at all. I think they could do a lot more thought with the stuff that goes into the frames. Rather than pretty stock pictures that don't actually mean anything at all, they could choose to make a statement about picture frames and what compels one to frame a memory, a visual.

Janice's Mushroom Mascarpone, one of the novel pasta dishes on the menu. She found the inclusion of whole walnuts a tad askew. I had a taste, and I'd be keen to try it again, with a different kind of pasta (the staff informed me that they also do penne or ribbons).

A few ordered the recommended Pasta Diablo, a spicy seafood & olive oil sort of mash up. Probably a safe choice, because really, how hard would it be to get this right?

My Mushroom soup came was just the right balance of stodge, the amount of cream comfortably scraping my ceiling tolerance of dairy. The three slices of paper thin garlic bread that were served with it made sure my resistance of carbs stayed on the right side of half-hearted.

I also had the Balsamic Chicken salad another of Frames' recommended highlights. It was robust although I did find the balsamic somewhat overpowering towards the end, and could have definitely done with more leaves.

The eyecatching Mushroom Parmigiana, not quite your ordinary sandwich. The hefty amount of cheese heaped on top of the grilled mushrooms sealed the deal, and the bulk of the concoction requires critical decision-making on how to attack and savour it in its entirety.

AUMMMM....!!!!

Meal-owner whined a little about the bottom part of the sandwich not being toasted on both sides, rendering it soggy from the weight of the filling. But other than that, it appeared to have fulfilled his masculine meal quota!

Sick member of the party settled for Oxtail Soup. Have no idea how it tasted, I didn't ask because he was quite huffy about this whole photo-taking of food business.

Jon knew the owner, and by association, we got free lekor on the house! Fresh from my neighbourhood lekor sojoun, I dug in, and wasn't disappointed by the crunchy thin version served here.

The ever-youthful birthday boy shared a tender, inspiring personal nugget on young love. I can't speak for the rest but I can only dream of being as patient and as unadulterated when it comes the mighty affairs of the heart. The boy may be young but has a soul that's curiously cultivated.

Hope it was a grand one, Jon!

Lekor lovin' in Taman Desa

It's the weekend once again, and guess what?! It's time to take a break from trying and failing miserably to be good and abstain from the evils of grease! That can only mean one thing for tea... keropok lekor!

The weather has not been too kind to the makeshift food stalls that sprout up around the Taman Desa neighbourhood at all hours. The colourful brolly under which they efficiently operate can only endure so much of the erratic rainy season.

Thankfully, the industrious adik-adiks who run the lekor stall by the Shell station persevere, waiting for the glimmer of a break to continue diligently whipping up freshly fried goodies. The stall is situated on one side of the Shell station, across the road from Danau Business Centre, which houses the very serviceable Sri Kota supermarket, the lovely Paradiso and my favourite 100 Yen outlet.

For perspective...

RM2 gets you approximately 10 pieces in a brown paper bag - a mix of the crispy thin and chewy fat ones.

Hello, Momma!

Extra of the watery sweetish chilli sauce is a non-negotiable!

Weekends aside, I am letting myself go waayyyy too often. Must. Get. Back. To. Healthy. Such a long way back, pffffbttt!