vkeong loves good food, travel and photography!
Archive for September, 2008
7 Wonders Kitchen Restaurant @ Kajang
Sep 8th
I have been hanging out in Kajang a lot lately and found a restaurant with a 8TV [tag]HoChak[/tag] sign on the door. The best thing about this restaurant is its location – it is no where near the traffic jam area of Kajang town. [tag]Kajang[/tag] may be a small town but the traffic jam can get really crazy especially in the evenings: it’d take half an hour to “crawl” over a distance of a few hundered metres by car, no kidding.
Anyway, the restaurant is called 7 Wonders Kitchen and is reportedly being famous for its [tag]Zha Jiang Mian[/tag] and [tag]fried rice[/tag].
One of the top selling dishes as listed by 7 Wonders Kitchen is this Grandmother Fried Rice @ RM4.50. Funny name eh? Well, there’s another fried rice called Mother Fried Rice, lol. At first glance it didn’t look very special and kinda empty, only a sunny side egg on top. Ingredients wise there were prawns, green pepper and chicken.
After watching the HoChak episode online only I knew some kind of spicy and sour sauce is used to fry the rice, and the green peppers were to provide additional kick. Not really recommended for those who don’t like green peppers, as the flavor was pretty strong.
Best Chinese Nasi Lemak @ Bukit Mertajam
Sep 4th
I am going to introduce to you in my opinion is inarguably the best Chinese nasi lemak in Bukit Mertajam. I call it “Chinese nasi lemak” because the seller is indeed a Chinese aunty, and also to stress that it’s non-halal, that’s all. Anyway I am lucky enough to stay just 5 minutes away from the stall which operates next to AIA company, opposite Courts Mammoth along Jalan Sungai Rambai.
I have been patronizing this [tag]nasi lemak[/tag] stall since Form 1, that’s like more than 12 years already! Since I am a long customer of hers, we do chat a bit. According to her, she has been selling even before I was borned, lol.
Another thing, the rice is only normal white rice, not any coconut milk rice lol. Sorry about that, I just have no idea what name to give to the rice she sells. Shown here is a my most favorite combination for a wonderful breakfast – curry chicken, curry prawns, baby squids in dark soy sauce, loh bak (meat rolls) and lots of curry gravy!
Trust me on the combination, as I have tested many variations. This is the tastiest, lol. It usually cost me RM3.50 to RM4.00 for a packet.
When I was still working in Penang, I used to take away the nasi lemak here to the office. On the journey there, the rice would get soaked nicely in the curry chicken and prawn’s gravy. Everytime I open my packet, the aroma would never fail to draw my colleagues over to my cubicle lol. Although smaller in size, baby squid’s flesh is less chewy and more tender than a full grown squid. You really gotta try it.
The array of dishes she prepares daily (in addition the ones I mentioned just now) always consists of curry stingray with okra, cockles, fried anchovies and long beans. Sometimes when I am not in the mood for rice, I’d order fried mee hoon with only curry prawns instead. It tastes just as nice!
She starts selling from 7.30am onwards daily except on Sundays. And since her business is very good she usually finish selling by 9am most of the time. So, you gotta be early or you’d miss out all the nice dishes. This is one of the foods I never fail to have whenever I take a trip back to BM – partly because it has played quite a big part in my life. If this interests you, find the map here.
GPS Coordinates: N5 21.855 E100 27.181
Nagomi Shabu Shabu @ Menara Hap Seng, KL
Sep 3rd
During the National Day last Sunday, I had a [tag]shabu shabu[/tag] dinner at Nagomi Shabu Shabu in Menara Hap Seng, KL. Ms Tam Poh Poh, the acting COO of Nagomi Shabu-Shabu was our host that night. My first impression on the restaurant was bright, classy and the huge entrance gives people a welcome feeling.
Shabu shabu means swish swish, referring to the swishing action when cooking thinly sliced meat in the broth. This method of eating was actually introduced by Genghis Khan in the 13th century, who intended to feed his army more efficiently by gathering them around the food cooked in a huge pot of broth. It was then introduced in Japan in 1948 and subsequently to the whole world.
We chose a window side seat, so we could enjoy [tag]Kuala Lumpur[/tag]‘s night view while enjoying our [tag]Japanese food[/tag]. Shown here is the single pot each customer will be using for shabu shabu. Purpose is to promote a better hygienic dining experience. According to Tam, shabu shabu restaurants in Japan are small and they use only one pot for cooking.
Because of that, customers have to huddle around the pot and it could be pretty uncomfortable. Which is why Nagomi Shabu-Shabu chose the Japanese word ‘Nagomi’ as the restaurant’s name, it carries the meaning of peace and harmony.
Maguro Pirikaara Age, Fried Tuna @ RM18 is an appetizer consisting of white and red tuna. Behind the tuna are Japanese cucumber and fresh mango juice. The juices in [tag]Nagomi[/tag] are prepared by blending freshly cut fruits with crushed ice and no sugar is added (honey is added into the cucumber drink) The fruit juice’s creamy and thick texture is nice but I would probably like it even more if it was sweeter lol.
If you look carefully you’d make out the white and red tuna in the dish. Red tuna would have a darker color and has a stronger taste compared to white tuna. Maguro Pirikaara Age is light and fresh in taste, a palate opener and an excellent way to start the meal.
Besides shabu shabu, Nagomi also serves good sashimi and [tag]sushi[/tag]. There are over 30 items to be ordered from the sushi and sashmi menu alone. One of them being the Soft Shell Crab or Spider Maki @ Rm18. It is a delicious hand roll sushi made using generous amount of deep fried soft shell crabs.
Although the price is quite expensive, it is value for money because of the huge pieces – look at the big chunk of soft shell crab meat in the sushi, you can really feel its crunchiness in your mouth, damn nice. And the satisfaction of enjoying it in a mouthful was just indescribable, haha!
A set of shabu shabu in Nagomi, be it Sake Nabe, Ribeye Nabe or Chicken Nabe is always complemented with vegetables as side dish. There are three types of broth available in Nagomi – Nagomi’s signature broth, spicy or chicken broth. All the broth as well as the dipping sauces in Nagomi are specially handcrafted by their Master Chef Ikuo Tanabe-san. Tanabe is one of the most experienced Japanese chef and was also the head chef of Daikoku, now known as Kampachi in Equatorial Hotel.
The vegetables used for shabu shabu in Nagomi are all soaked in icy salt water for 20 minutes, twice. This process is done to remove all unwanted pesticides, bacteria and insects from the vegetables. I really felt the difference, the vegetables are fresh and have a sweeter taste.
Shabu shabu is best enjoyed none other than getting to dip and swish Kobe Beef in the soup, then savoring it. Since young, I have read a lot of comics and watched some dramas from Japan. So, I know a little about [tag]Kobe Beef[/tag], it is a top-grade beef from the breed of Wagyu cattle which is so expensive it can be considered a luxury.
How luxurious? At Nagomi, it is priced at RM125 for 120g. That’s more than RM1000 for a kilo for a kg of the meat! From what I read, Kobe Beef is so soft and tender it could melt in your mouth.. that’s how special the meat is.
Yam Rice @ Taman Sentosa, Bukit Mertajam
Sep 1st
One of the must try food in my hometown – Bukit Mertajam is Yam Rice. There are a few good ones around and one of them is located in Taman Sentosa. If you are coming from BM town, Taman Sentosa is a small residential area which lies along Jalan Kulim on the way to Cherok Tok Kon and Kulim. This area also houses many good food and seafood restaurants.
