Yut Kee, Jalan Dang Wangi Kuala Lumpur

Sandra, an old friend of mine has been doing well as an artist, check out her website. Having been in Singapore all these years, she decided to drop by Kuala Lumpur for a visit before starting a new chapter in her life when she relocates to Beijing. We met up in Yut Kee, a fave of Sandra's and reminiscing the days of our adventures in primary school seemed like the perfect thing to do and we did exactly that when we ate here. Yut Kee and the surrounding area brings back lots of memories to me as I use to frequent it with my dear 'ol Dad. As for Sandra, she grew up in this area and this was a place she had to visit. A nostalgic tour of the area...

This is the area where Sandra's grandma's house used to be. It's now a parking lot; the lone tree is the only thing left standing after all these decades.

What was once a quiet suburb is now a fast becoming a commercial area. As you can see, construction is taking place.

But luckily for areas like Jalan Yap Ah Shak, we can still find the old within the new and hope it stays that way.


Maybe that is the case with Yut Kee, the comfort of having something so familiar (it's been around since the 1920s!) despite the "madness" of city life. It makes this place endearing to many folks who patronise it in throng especially during lunchtime - the primary reason as to why the scene above takes place daily while food is secondary.




The antique display cupboard for Yut Kee's Kaya Swiss Roll and Marble Butter Cake. Great stuff.

With that in mind, Sandra and I met up earlier for brunch and decided to talk and eat our way till almost tea time! We started off the meal with a simple Kaya toast bread...

I loved the Kaya spread! The Kaya is made in-house.

which went into lunch time....and we ordered these...

Fried Mee Suah....it was a tad salty for me but am sure you know what I mean when I say that it has that distinctive Hainan taste which I love.


Forget about food presentation , this Mee Hailam came looking pretty "tossed" up and was rather bland.

Then as we headed towards tea time, we decided to go for the Roti Babi (RM7) which we both loved and enjoyed (we even ordered a second one)! Hahaha....Shredded pork and sauteed onions inside a fried bun; something simple but yet emerged as a signature dish of Yut Kee.



Here's a portrait of Jack that I took, taken during brunch before he starts getting really busy.

Despite the fare turning out the way it did, we'll still be heading on back to Yut Kee time and time again just like most people. Yut Kee is a place where memories are projected and good times relived :o)

Yut Kee
35 Jalan Dang Wangi
50100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-2698 8108

Opens 8 a.m - 5 pm, closed on Mondays

Read the review from someone who's 18 and does not have that many memories yet (as compared to me!) to relive.

The review of a young couple - KampungBoyCityGal

The review of someone who visited this institution

They took all the trees
And put them in a tree museum
Then they charged the people
A dollar and a half just to see 'em
Don't it always seem to go,
That you don't know what you’ve got
‘Til it’s gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot

- Joni Mitchell (Big Yellow Taxi)

Tripping Jakarta & Bandung - Part 4 Final

Well, we spent the whole day in Bandung shopping away before we took a 3 hour ride back to Jakarta. Reaching Jakarta with an hour and a half to go before we needed to check into the airport, we were dropped off at ITC Mangga Dua Mall as they thought we would all like to do some last minute shopping. Actually most of us had already outdone ourselves in Bandung and were more exhausted than ever.

When we went into the mall, we felt rather claustrophobic as the place was packed with people. The place was stuffy and the air was stale; the small group of us unanimously felt that we should just find a place away from the crowd and just chill till it was time to board the bus. To our dismay, it started raining heavily and there was no shelter or shade for us to walk under to make our way to the bus when it was time. And ... as if it wasn't enough that we got drenched by the rain, we were caught in heavy traffic. After sitting in the aircon bus for another 1 1/2 hour, our wet clothes were already dried by the time we reached the airport. So, it was no wonder that most of us got sick when we got back to Malaysia; some of us took about a week or two to fully recover. I even had one friend who got hospitalised as she had high fever!

We enjoyed ourselves most in Bandung, especially shopping and taking photographs whereas there wasn't really much to do in Jakarta. For this final part, here are some photos taken in Bandung.

I was drawn to the colours :o)


Precious Pea, this pic is for you - Ice-Cream Durian Stall.


More fried stuff served with chili padi (look at the plate on the right)


A shot taken from the bus - Three Trishaws' A Company


Taking a snooze


Guess, it must be siesta time...another one taking a snooze


And this little stall....


is home to this young man. It's not only a stall that he owns and runs but where he lives too.

Most of us are so fortunate but yet we are unaware of such blessings.
Life is great; live, laugh, love!

Have a Great Sunday and a fantastic week ahead, everyone!


He is the happiest, be he king or peasant, who finds peace in his home.
~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Kedai Kopi Tian Hong, Salak South

(NON-HALAL)

Recalling an old post of mine on Kum Kee Chicken Rice (but it's the roast pork that's great!), this is kinda like Part 2 of that post as PL finally made good on her promise and took us again to Tian Hong in Salak South (it was closed earlier) for her favourite Char Siew (BBQ Pork). We turned up at Tian Hong just about noon and managed to get one of the last two tables; sitting along the corridor.

Kedai Kopi Tian Hong is one of those old coffeeshops that's situated below some walk up flats; reminding me of something similar to those around Jalan Alor.

Despite all that activity, things still look quite orderly (pic taken after lunch)

We ordered two versions of Char Siew....

THE LEAN

I tried a bit of the lean char siew and though it tasted good; on the sticky sweet side (well caramelized), the meat was too lean for me as I found it a tad hard.

and my order....THE NOT SO LEAN :p

I definitely prefer this version as it was better in texture and easier to chew on. It's got a different bite to it. How do I put it? If char siew cuts were given a gender, Tian Hong's char siew would be a MALE. It's a "rugged" char siew! Hahaha....This ranks third on my list of fave char siew.

1st place is a tie between Famous Seremban Favourites (Left) and Spring Golden (Right); different in their own way and the best on my list.

We also ordered a small portion of Roast Pork to try. It was nice; tender and moist. However, Tian Hong's char siew is the better choice.

And a rare sight...the father whom apparently has relinquished his duties and resigned himself to doing "background work", leaving the orders and front counter to his wife and sons. I am amused that the father is so colour co-ordinated, wearing matching blue gloves with his blue polo T-shirt. Even one of his sons was telling me, "Quick, go take a pic of him!". Maybe it's 'cos he is seldom seen out at the front of the shop or he was amused too to see his dad that colour co-ordinated! ;o)

Read Epicurious Girl's review HERE

Click HERE for The Star article (with GPS coordinates)



Kedai Kopi Tian Hong
A82, Jalan Tuanku 2
Taman Salak Selatan
Kuala Lumpur
Tel : 03-7983 0557

Heart attacks... God's revenge for eating his little animal friends.
~ Author Unknown

Tripping Jakarta & Bandung - Part 3

Our next location was to visit Tangkuban Perahu which is an active volcano and carries a local legend. Click HERE to read more.

Amidst the scenery, we came across quite a few food vendors in the vicinity. Most of the stalls are tiny with a simple setup as you can see from the photos, carried around on the vendor's shoulders as they move from area to area.

There was this one vendor who was deep frying away. As much as I was curious to try out the snack, the colour of the oil made me think twice!

When one is done with the view, there are stalls and stalls of vendors selling all sorts of souvenirs that one can patronise.

Before we left the place, we passed an area with lots of pineapple vendors selling what Indonesia is quite famous for; Honey Pineapples. We picked a few and the vendor skillfully cut the pineapple there and then so that we can eat it right away. The Honey Pineapple is really sweet and juicy; we could smell the sweetness and see the pineapple juice dripping away as the vendor was cutting it - sweet delight at Rupiah5,000 each (about RM1.80 for a whole Honey Pineapple).

We got back onto the bus and it was at this point that I decided to take a pic of our local tour guide who has a cute name, Cucu. You see, he bears a resemblance to someone famous who has ties with Indonesia. We were even thinking that our tour guide might even be relative of his. What do you think? Does our tour guide look like him?

Well, Cucu did say that if he wins, he'll fly us all to USA for free to celebrate with him! Hahaha...hence I'm waiting for that invitation ;P

But truly, I'm happy that Obama is now the President of USA!
Change We Can All Believe In, Change We Need!

To Be Continued....

Nagomi @ Hartamas Shopping Centre

The good old gang gathered recently for a birthday celebration at Nagomi in Hartamas Shopping Centre. Both SL and I arrived early and the restaurant was pretty quiet and this gave me some time to take photos (using JC's camera which I borrowed - had forgot to bring my camera!) of the place.

Outside looking into the private room where we sat

Inside looking out into the outer part of Nagomi

Nagomi specializes in Shabu-shabu and also has sashimi/sushi on its menu. The group of us all went for the Shabu-shabu sets, choosing the Nagomi signature broth (which I opted for) and the Chicken broth which is boiled with chicken bones for 4 hours! It comes with each shabu-shabu set order but if one chose to order an additional pot it's RM8/USD2.25 for it (there's spicy broth too).

The menu also tells us how to "Shabu-Shabu" in 5 steps -

1) First cooked the vegetables to bring more flavour to the broth and for tastier meat cooked in it later.

Also comes with the set (additional order of vegetables comes at RM29/USD8!). Lovely fresh vegetables, according to Nagomi, it's soaked in icy salt water for 20 minutes to rid it of pesticide. I must say I never enjoy eating vegetables as much as I did at Nagomi.

2) Then swish the meat back and forth in the boiling soup

But before we do that, the staff were at hand to coat the slices of chicken (RM28/USD7..80 for 150gm) and duck (RM31/USD8.70 for 150gm) with egg and making meatballs after mixing some egg with the minced meat.

Here's the duck slices and meatballs....lovely and yummy. As thin as it should be though, that also meant that the cooked slices were rather tiny (as compared to the ribeye slices) and disappeared too fast after I placed them in my mouth! Hahaha....


The Australian ribeye slices (RM39/USD11 for 150gm) were nice too but the duck was the most flavourful of the three meats (chicken, duck and ribeye).

3) Dipped the cooked meat into Nagomi's home made sauces (from left to right)
- Goma, made from ground sesame, sake, soy sauce, kelp stock, sugar and other sauces
- Chilli, a good concoction, made available because we are Malaysians! :o)
- Ponzu, made from soy sauce and juice from bitter orange, sweet sake, kelp and other sauces

4) Continue cooking - alternating vegetables and meats (At this point, I stopped taking photos and kept myself busy with eating!).

5) Pour in some steamed rice into the pot of the now really flavourful broth and let it cooked for awhile to absorb the broth. Tuck in for a wonderful end to a wonderful meal with great friends!

The End

Nagomi
Hartamas Shopping Centre
Lot G11A&B, Ground Floor
Jalan Sri Hartamas
50480 Kuala Lumpur

Tel : 603- 6201 7130

http://www.nagomishabushabu.com/

“A round egg can be made square according to how you cut it;
words would be harsh according to how you speak them”
- Japanese Proverb

Tripping Jakarta & Bandung - Part 2

In this Part 2 of my post, I'm posting some of the more interesting food that I had in Jakarta/Bandung during day 1 and 2 of my trip.

This dish was really tasty, from a Chinese meal we had for dinner at a place called Raja Kuring. It came with flames (you can still see some of the flames in the pic) and with the aluminium foil sitting on a bed of salt. It's Salted Chicken but unlike the ones which is baked back home here, the chicken was fried. Not very meaty but very flavourful!


Next, on the way to Bandung the next day - we made a stop at a rest area and I came across a snack stall. This Risol Rogut is somewhat like a deep fried breaded snack with some meat and vegetables inside. Pretty normal right? But what made me try this snack was because ...


they served it with chili padi, uncut! The chili was really really spicy hot and kicked it up a notch (or two or three) for this otherwise normal snack.


During a Sundanese meal, we were served a wrapped Banana Leaf item - we thought it was some kind of Otak-Otak at first.


Turns out it was some sort of Tofu - a mix of tofu and coconut milk and it was on the salty side. More interesting than tasty for me though :o)


The Sundanese Meal was rather interesting as compared to the Nasi Padang meals we had...


'cos there were just so many varieties to choose from!

But believe it or not, the best dish I had was during my breakfast in Hyatt Jakarta and what was it???


When I ordered waffles, the hotel staff meticulously made them and decorated it with a strawberry, topped it off with powdered sugar (with maple syrup on the side) and hand delivered them to me! So pretty looking, nice and warm! The rest of my friends on seeing this put in an order too but they were disappointed as they were just handed a plate of two pieces of waffle with maple syrup only! Hahaha...

To Be Continued....

Tripping Jakarta & Bandung - Part 1

I went off for a short holiday in Jakarta & Bandung last 2 weeks and came back with a fever. I was recovering from cough before I left but came back with other viruses ;o). Thank goodness I'm much better now (though not fully well) and almost back to normal "programming"! A short 1st part from me...

Prior to me going onto this trip, the lot of us were forewarned to abstain from consuming too much of the chili paste that's usually served with the regular meals of Nasi Padang (the local version of rice with dishes - usually eaten with lots of curry gravy, for me that is). For one who loves spicy food, it was a bummer that I had to cut down on that. Plus no food adventure on the side for me! The first group that went suffered diarrhoea and now it's up to us whether we want to live life dangerously or "healthily"! Hahaha....

It was a shame really that I played it safe but I definitely didn't want to ruin my vacation by throwing caution to the wind.

After a quick lunch which was Nasi Padang (one of many Nasi Padang meals I had there), we dashed over to a nearby departmental store as there were some of us who were already itching to spend some shopping money.

Can someone please let me know exactly what is "String Women"???

There were lovely batik prints/textiles for sale alongside with handicraft souvenirs and bags.

Of course, I went around capturing scenes with my camera - definitely preferring street scenes over departmental stores ;o)

To be continued ...