Cheow Sang was one of my most frequented restaurants in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, before I moved to Bukit Jalil in Sept 2007. In fact it’s almost a year since I dined there prior to my visit last Saturday (Nov 1).
The restaurant is popular for its Bak Kut Teh, spicy fish head and herbal chicken etc. Bak Kut Teh (literally ‘meat bone tea’ in Chinese-Hokkien) is a popular delicacy in Malaysia and Singapore. It’s primarily a thick herbal soup with pork, innards and ribs.
Cheow Sang’s BKT is just ok to be frank… what I like is their spicy fish head (pic) instead, which is cooked with fermented soy beans and fresh chillies. Not too spicy, but enough to make people sweating on their forehead… and its fish head (which was cut into cubes) is almost always fresh.
The bill was RM65 (~USD18) for three person.
Restaurant address: 24, Jalan SS 2/10, Petaling Jaya (Chow Yang area).
Phone: 03-7875 1998; closed every Thursday.
Quan Com Pho is a Vietnamese restaurant in Hanoi. Found this place via a travel guidebook during my Vietnam visit in July 2008, and the restaurant seemed pretty promising on some online reviews… thus giving it a try.
Their menu was quite different from what I had at other Hanoi restaurants; their food was kinda like a fusion of traditional Vietnamese cuisine with some new cooking ideas.
Sticky rice rolls with roast meat… quite a gem
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Dim Sum breakfast a couple of weeks ago at the Clan Restaurant in Sri Petaling, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The restaurant’s signature dish is a creation of its own… the gai wo bao (鸡窝包 - literally chicken nest bun) which is basically a combo of two popular dim sum dishes i.e. the loh mai gai (糥米鸡 - chicken glutonous rice) and chicken bun.
To be frank, I am not a fan… it’s a clever idea, but the taste just doesn’t click for me. My sister kinda love it though; and judging from their business, lots of the folks seem to like it too.
These days almost all dim sum restaurants in the Sri Petaling area is selling this chicken nest bun, but Clan Restaurant is still the most popular place for the dish… originality still matters obviously.
For KL folks, the address of the restaurant… 140, Jalan Radin Anum, Sri Petaling.
Fast Food Fish Head is the (weird) name of a Chinese restaurant in Seri Petaling, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The restaurant is famous for its steamed fresh-water fish.
Dinner with my family on Sunday (Oct 5)…
Steamed catfish with Chinese fermented black beans
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Hue Food is a restaurant that sells Hue cuisine in Hanoi, Vietnam. The restaurant is located at 6, Ly Thuong Kiet Street; found this via a local newspaper’s food column during my Hanoi visit in July 2008.
Hue is a historic city in central Vietnam and was the imperial capital of Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945). Vietnamese food in general can be divided into three categories… the northern food, southern food and central food (which is often referred as Hue food).
One of the distinctive difference between Hue food and other Vietnamese food is the popularity of roundish vermicelli (bún) instead of the flat rice noodle (phở) in other Vietnamese region. Hue food also tends to be a bit spicier, but still mild in relative to Malaysian or Indian food.
There is a popular Hue dish called the bún bò Huế (Hue beef soup noodle), but I am not quite sure if the noodle soup I had at the restaurant was what I hope it was…
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Lunch at Cay Cau Restaurant at De Syloia Hotel in Hanoi during my July trip. A bit pricey, but great food, lovely place, and I was in good mood for photos…
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Phở (pronounced like ‘fuh?’) is a traditional rice noodle soup and one of the most iconic Vietnamese foods. Pho is normally served as a bowl of flat-rice-noodles in beef broth, with some beef slices or other options like tripe or chicken etc.
There are a few variations of pho depending on the regions in Vietnam. The pho in Hanoi is called phở Hà Nội or phở bắc (northern pho), which is normally served with green onions; whereas the middle and southern regions are using some other herbs with the pho instead.
A new found friend brought me to one of the locals’ favourite to try the pho when I was in Hanoi in July 2008. The place is Pho Thin, located at 13 Lo Duc St.
The restaurant was packed on the Saturday morning. The customers were sitting shoulder to shoulder while some others lining up for their seats. It’s not difficult to understand the crowdiness after tasting the pho, because it was really good.
The rice noodles were smooth and chewy, and the broth was rich in flavour despite looking mild and clear… and their chillies were nice too. Simplicity to its best, worth recommended.
First day in Hanoi… it’s quite ironic that my first ever meal in Vietnam was not Vietnamese food, but western food instead…
It was at a restaurant called Kangaroo Café, which also runs some short tours around Vietnam. I was there to book a trip to Halong Bay initially, but couldn’t find the right schedule. However, after spending two hours walking under the sun, I kinda need a break… and the air-con and cold beer seemed a bit too hard to resist.
Hence, my first meal in Vietnam… a peppered chicken chop, some chips, salad, and a Bia Hanoi (Hanoi beer). Decent food and reasonably priced.
