Friday, January 1, 2016

Ipoh Town Outskirt Perak Part 2 Perak North Road Trip Food Trail By Best Restaurant To Eat

Ipoh Food Trail Malaysian Food Blog

There are many food to eat in Ipoh, Perak. This part 2 is a compilation of the outer Ipoh Perak Food Trail which is the villages, where these places have equally famous food especially to the local folks. Click here to go to our Part 1 Ipoh Road Trip. With that Best Restaurant To Eat continues the Ipoh Perak Road Trip Food Trail by first visiting the Pasir Pinji Village. Over here, you practically goes into the home i.e some are pre war kampung houses.


The first station is in Jalan Pasir Pinji 5; famed for it's Chee Cheong Fun, I was here back about 20 years ago, of course during that time it was even more kampung but now the house has been renovated and one has to take a queue number to enjoy this simple dish. You have to go there around 1pm when they opened.


There are 3 sauce flavours for this Chee Cheong Fun, the first is the soya sauce with shallot oil - simple and taste most natural.


while the second is with the sweet sauce.


and the third one is the mixture of sweet sauce plus chillies sauce (you can order your level of spiciness here. One of the thing about the Chee Cheong Fun here is the texture and quality - the Chee Cheong Fun is embedded by fried dried shrimp which you don't get much these days.


Next, we went to the Pasir Pinji Rojak. There were already a crowd when we reached there; as usual we dutifully taken our number and sit to wait. The wait was more than 45 minutes before we were served.


Here, there is no rush, the owner painstaking do one plate per round, so if one guy comes and order 5 pack, he will do it individually, this is to ensure the consistency and quality which was evident in our plate of these rojak, Unlike the vendors in KL, where they will do up as many as packs as possible in one round.


Taste wise, it was very good, the prawn paste was just the right flavour with a strong tinge of grounded belacan aroma.


After that, we were recommended to try out the Ice Jelly by the main street of Pasir Pinji, This place is just opposite the Pasir Pinji market.


There are actually 2 store here, we realise this after we ordered, nevertheless we tried both shop and the verdict was similar, one had a harder jelly compares with the other but it was a real thirst quencher for us on that hot day. Make sure you see that shop which is selling from the cart.


Next, we proceeded to try out another famed food here which is the Hong Kee Ma Chee and the peanut dessert (Fa Sang Wu). Taste wise the Fa Sang Wu was ok, but for the price of RM3 for a super small bowl, it was really expensive even to KL standard. My favourite Fa Sang Wu in a pasar malam in KL is 3 times more but at just only RM2.20.


But what disappoint me more is the Ma Chee, The serving was about 10 pieces or less and cost RM3.00 with very little peanuts and you can still taste the glutinous rice. Sorry, I did not take any photo of the both the dish as I was really pissed off and surprised by the so little serving.


Pasir Pinji is also famed for its Yong Tau Foo, and with that our next stop was the Big Tree. When we arrived the place was literally pack and people were queuing to scoop up whatever fried stuff that was put on the serving table.


This is another great disappointment as the stuff food was very oily, tasteless and costly. A check later showed that all the customer there are really tourist from out of town, This is another ripped off.


After the 2 last disappointment, we headed to Gunung Rapat for the famed Heong Phean. The first shop that we went; was closed, so we headed to another one which is 2 streets away.


Upon entering the villages house, we could see a man working on the specially design stove, where we witness first hand the making of the Heong Phean. We could see there are a lot of coconut shell in the compound and a check later reveal that it is used to fire up the stove.


Imagine, your biscuit is cooked with these coconut shell. It was rather eye opening and this special coconut infused flavours are ingrained into each and every biscuit. The result; you can really taste the smokey coconut taste with every bite of this biscuit compared to the normal one.


After that, we made our way for dinner at another village which is in Bercham, here we encountered a very rude owner that does not have a courtesy to appreciate his client, he is the type which is money minded i.e serving big table ie. those with a big group first. This is the first time we encountered such arrogant owner, I suppose his business is so good that he can get away with it.


This place called Restoran Rasa Lain, which was recommended by one of our friend to try out is the Tong Fun Crab. This dish is RM100.00


followed by the Cheese Prawns (RM60.00).


and the Steamed Lala (RM25.00)


and the Steamed Fish Ball (RM13,00). We are definitely not going to come here again with this kind of service.

Our conclusion is that Ipoh is surely catching up on prices with the KL counterpart, the difference is getting narrower over the years. Moreover since the influx of tourist from other states, businesses here has grown tremendously and it is evident wherever we go, there are 2 things that is common that we come across which is a traffic jam (never before I have experienced the jam in Ipoh – at some time it was easily worse than KL especially in the town centre) and a queue (almost all the outlet that we went) for food; some cumulating to a wait of more than 45 to 60 minutes for your food to be served. But what is worse is the arrogant level of some of these outlet operators which has pale in comparison with those that I have experienced some years back.

We used to enjoy the tranquillity of Ipoh, in that it used to be a nice place; to have some really nice food and leisure time to enjoy the scenery of this tin mining town, but reality kick in and we spent almost the entire time waiting for our food to be served instead; so there were literally no leisure time at all for our planned sightseeing.

Read about our Ipoh Town Part 1 Road Trip Food Trail

Explore Best Restaurant Other Food Trail

Saturday, December 26, 2015

Naughty Nuri’s @ Desa Sri Hartamas Kuala Lumpur – Signature Bali Pork Ribs Review


Naughty Nuri’s has its origin root from Bali, Indonesia. For most tourists including yours truly, which had eaten this famous BBQ ribs in Bali; can attest to the taste of this perfectly done BBQ ribs with the delightful marinade and sauce that comes with the ribs.

 

+BestRestaurant ToEat was invited to taste out this claimed Best BBQ Ribs in KL and some of the specialty fares at the first outlet in Malaysia located at No.2, Ground Floor, 20/70A, Jalan Sri Hartamas 22, Desa Sri Hartamas, 50480 Kuala Lumpur.

 

Malaysia is the first country outside Bali, Indonesia; that serves this closely guarded secret recipe of this signature dish.

 

We started the review with the Naughty Nuri 1995 Signature BBQ Spare Ribs (RM39.90 per slab). The slabs of spare rib which are specially marinated with Balinese spice and char grilled with a special sauce to fully enhance the overall flavour and aroma of the charred ribs.

 

The soft texture of the spare ribs meat which went thru a cooking process to ensure all the spices are deeply penetrated to the meat to ensures that the taste stay in.

 

Next, we had the special Naughty Nuri BBQ Satay (RM25.00). This Satay Lilit is very much like the Malaysian Satay but, it wrapped in the lemon grass stick which gives the meat an extra flavouring of lemon grass. The minced pork is marinated with the Balinese spices.

 

After that, we had the Indonesian Style Mee Goreng (RM18.00). The chef uses the instant noodles type and stirred fried with a combination of mix vegetables, onion, chillies and sliced pork with black sauce. The taste is quite similar to our maggi goreng but it does not use the flavouring pack unlike the mamak shop which uses this flavouring.

 

And the last dish is the Indonesian Style Nasi Goreng (RM18.00). For this nasi goreng, it uses the same condiments; the only difference is the use of rice instead of noodles. As in Indonesian style, it comes with the fish crackers and a sunny side up eggs.

 

For those that like to taste out these special fares especially the Signature BBQ Spare Ribs can drop by at Naughty Nuri’s Desa Sri Hartamas. Let us know your comment after you have tried it out.

You can check out the KL Best BBQ Selfie Contest Here

Thursday, December 24, 2015

Naughty Nuri’s @ Desa Hartamas Kuala Lumpur – Best BBQ In KL Selfie Contest


Naughty Nuri’s @ Desa Sri Hartamas has been operating for the past 1 year and has served more than 100,000 customers during this period. Naughty Nuri's is well known for its signature BBQ Spare Ribs and over a short span of time have served more than 100,000 customers.

 

To commemorate this special occasion Naughty Nuri’s @ Desa Hartamas ran a selfie contest with the hash tag #bestbbqribskl. +BestRestaurant ToEat  was there to witness the prize giving ceremony for this contest.

 

The third prize winner – RM2,000 Cash

 

The second prize winner – RM3,000 Cash

 

The first prize winners – RM5,000 Cash

 

Congratulations to all the happy winners of the Naughty Nuri’s selfies contest.

Check out Naughty Nuri's Signature BBQ Pork Ribs here.

Monday, December 21, 2015

Ozeki Tokyo Cuisine Japanese Restaurant @ Menara TA Kuala Lumpur - A Hidden Gems Of Contemporary Japanese Cuisine


There are many Japanese Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur, mostly serving authentic Japanese dishes. +BestRestaurant ToEat was invited to taste a Japanese Fusion for a change at Ozeki Tokyo Cuisine located 22, Ground Floor Menara TA, Jalan P.Ramlee Kuala Lumpur just adjacent to the iconic KLCC.


I was taken a back when I found out that the restaurant was opened for the past 15 years. Frankly speaking, I have not heard about this restaurant probably due to its low profile and minimal advertising. The restaurant is very nicely decorated with a Japanese theme and is adorned with Sake bottles around the entire dining area. 


The minute you enter this restaurant; fresh seafood are laid out for patrons to choose from. There is also live oysters that are in the aquarium. One of the main mission of the restaurant is to serve their dishes as fresh as possible. The fish are imported from the fame Tsukiji market which is fame for the freshness of the fish.


Executive Chef, Hitoshi Kimijiwa combine his vast experience in Japanese, French, Italian and German culinary style to create a brand new contemporary Japanese dishes to satisfy your craving for his delicious dishes.


Our review started with a special appetizers (RM80.00) which has 10 different delicacies in it. Depending on the number of person, customers have the option to specify the number of the appetizers that they would like to eat. 


Our order of the appetizer are as follows:

1. Pan Fried Burdock Root
2. Blue Fin Tuna Simmered in Soya Sauce
3. Deep Fried Small Shrimp
4. Flower Mushroom Seasoned in Mustard Sauce
5. Japanese Style Mashed Potato & Cucumber Slice
6. Edamame
7. Simmered Spicy Japanese Yam Pudding
8. Charcoal Grilled Eggplant With Bonito Flakes
9. Pan Fried Baby Octopus with Garlic Onion Soya Sauce
10. Deep Fried Spicy Chicken Soft Bone.


Next is the Salad dishes which we had; the first is the Kaki Shungiku Salad (RM35.00) - served with seasoned vegetables from Japan, chrysanthemum leaves, sliced white turnip, cut persimmon and sliced smoked duck with a Yuzu Japanese Citron and Coriander paste dressing.


The second salad is the Ankimo Tai Roll Mizuna Salad (seasonal price) - which is thinly slice Red Snapper sashimi wrapped with Monkfish liver with Kyoto's Mizuna Salad Leaf and dressed in Yuzu (Japanese Citron) dressing.


Followed by the mains; which is the first is the Smoke Oysters (RM48.00) - Fresh Raw Oyster with a special sauce; served on a bed of ice are smoked in this special apparatus from Spain for about 2 minutes to allow the smoky taste to penetrate into the raw oyster giving it that special aroma.


The next dish on the table is the Sashimi Moriawase (RM220.00 for a 3 pax set). This is a set which allows the chef to serve you with his personal best selection of the catch of the day.


Next on is the Mini Tomatoes Garlic Miso Sauteed (RM18.00). The Cherry tomatoes are stirred fried with the special miso sauce that takes a very patient chef more than 1.5 hours to prepare. We like the taste of this sauce which blended well with the cherry tomatoes. A simple dish which is very aromatic and flavourful.


The next dish is an exemplary of the skills of the Chef which marries a French dish fusion with Japanese ingredients. This dish is the Escargot Garlic Butter Yaki (RM28.00). The oven baked French Escargot are intertwined with the special garlic and seaweed flakes. Eaten with the fresh baguette, it was wonderfully done and tasted very delicious.


Followed by the Foie Gras Teriyaki (RM48.00). Another masterpiece of fusion dish, which the Foie Gras are first pan fried with a special Ozeki Teriyaki Beef sauce. According to the chef, it took him many trials and years to perfect the sauce to this level of taste.


After that, we tasted the Lobster Gratin (RM150.00). The Lobster was oven baked with the special in house made creamy sauce gratin. We loved the fresh texture and juiciness of the lobster meat which combines well with the right portion of creamy sauce. Unlike other gratin sauce, no cheese is used to cook this dish. 


We then moved on to taste a meat dish; which is the Wagyu Saikoro Steak (RM58.00) - The diced cut Wagyu (Japanese Beef) are fried with the vegetables and onions using the Chef's special steak sauce and served on a sizzling plate with aluminium foils to retains the juice and flavours.


After that, we tried another fusion dish; this time it is a Korean infused dish which is the Kimuchi Chige Nabe (RM120.00). This is a seafood with chicken meat cooked with Korean Spicy Bean Paste and served on a Hot Pot. 


Followed by a another special dish which is the Buri Kama Ikura Meshi (RM80.00) - This is a special steamed rice dish with the Yellow Tail Soft Bone Fish Head cooked in a Hot Pot. You can literally eat all the bones from this fish head. According to the chef, this Yellow Tail fish head has gone thru a de-soften process in Japan which takes around 3 to 4 hours of low heat steaming and vacuum packed to seal the natural taste of this fish head.


The next dish is the Spicy Premium Roll (RM36.00). Sliced salmon are wrap in sushi rice together with Kimushi, chilli padi and mayonnaise sauce. It is then topped with an aburi (flambe) Japanese Fresh Scallop.


Next on is the Volcano Roll (RM42.00). According to the Chef, Ozeki is the first to served this dish in Malaysia dating back to the days when this restaurant was opened. The oven baked California Roll is topped with the Creamy Seafood sauce gratin.


Which brings us to the second last dish which is the Hotate Steak (seasonal prices). This hotate is pan fried and served with Shimeji mushroom with a wakame sauce. 


The last dish is the Salmon Shikama Yaki (seasonal price). The salmon fillet is first wrapped in lotus leaf and covered with a layer of salt and wrapped in a pastry like dough and sent to be oven baked. The flavour of the salt will penetrate slowly into the fish and the effect is the fish has a natural salty taste. This way, the fish will retains its' juiciness and nice flaky texture.


There were so many special dishes in the new menu, we did not even have the pleasure to try out the dessert offering. Probably on our next visit or review session. Let us have your feedback after trying some of these dishes, we loved to hear from you.