Friday, June 10, 2016

Bak Kut Teh Puchong Food : Tong Shui Hou Restaurant - Claypot Comfort Soup Recipe - Bandar Puteri Puchong


Bak Kut Teh is a meat dish cooked in a broth with herbs and spices and is popularly served in Klang but we were invited to Tong Shui Hou Bak Kut Teh Restaurant which is located at No. 51-G Jalan Puteri 2/3 Bandar Puteri 47100 Puchong Selangor to try out this Hokkien dish.


From the name of the restaurant i.e. Tong Shui Hou; it literally means good soup broth. With that, we start to wonders what is so special about the soup broth that this Bak Kut Teh restaurant has to offers. The setup of this restaurant is very simple and being open for more than 1-year-old, the place is very clean to dine in with a very straight forward menu.


According to the owner/chef, he is a strong believer of using the top ingredients to cook his dishes. Not only that, even the simple condiments like the Soya Sauce are of premium quality and the garlic is manually chopped. That is how important; quality is to this chef as we will find out from our tasting of all the dishes for the night.


Our review started off with the Claypot Bak Kut Teh (RM 14.00); this broth is a special recipe that is being tuned from the Klang version but with a stark resemblance to its Kuala Lumpur counterpart. It is not too strong but retains the flavourful aroma of the herbs. Served in a Claypot, the customer can order their choice of meat that goes into the Claypot.


The next dish is the Dry Bak Kut Teh (RM15.00); frankly speaking, I am not a real fan of the Dry version; as for me, I like the soup based version. But here, when the dish arrives at our table, we could smelt a strong flavour of the dry squid. Usually, this dish is cooked with small pieces of dry squid which make this dish very flavorful. The chef told us that, he would grill the dry squid and then blend it to a fine powder form and a spoonful is added into it when cooking this Dry Bak Kut Teh. The final result, it gives a much stronger flavour and aroma to this Dry Bak Kut Teh. The sauce was good to the last drop.


After that, we had the special Lala Bak Kut Teh (RM 15.00). At most places, we are usually served either the Seong Tong version or the Herbal version, but for a change, we were served with Bak Kut Teh broth which is infused with the Tong Kui. A nice change though as the broth was good with the white rice.


The next dish is named the Halogen Pork (RM 14.00). According to the Chef, this is a very traditional Hakka dish; in which the Pork is braised over a number of hours to get to the fork tender texture. We were surprised when told that these braised pork dishes does not have any condiments like star anise or cinnamon and other spices; which are traditionally used to braised pork. Another one of the dishes that goes superbly with white rice.


Another dish that is perfect with the white rice is the Taro (Yam) With Pork Belly (RM 13.00). The combination of the roasted pork belly which was perfectly done and sandwiched between the 2 piece of the taro was a real treat.


This next dish is the Hakka version Claypot Pig Trotter With Vinegar (RM 15.00). This Hakka version is a sweeter and less sourish type as compared with the version which I like which has a stronger vinaigrette taste which we are more accustomed to.


I personally like the next soup which is the Claypot Pepper Pig Stomach Soup (RM 12.00). To me, a nice pepper soup has to have that distinctive strong pepper taste and aroma. Here, the Chef secret recipe is in the use of top grade Sarawak Pepper (which gives a strong pepper sensation and taste), which he personally grind it to make this soup. For those that loves a stronger version, you can ask for the add-on pepper which is grounded Sarawak Pepper for you to add in to give you the extra strong pepper .


The last dish is the Peanuts Chicken Feet (RM 8.00). The peanuts are of the Braised type and have a soft texture, sweet taste and cooked with the Fried Chicken Feet.


At Tong Sui Hou we like the Shallot Oil Rice as it was very aromatic and was perfectly matched to most of the dishes that was served to us.


One of the real deal here is that the Chef takes great pain to prepare his dishes using the good quality ingredient, an authentic cooking style that takes more preparation time to ensure the wholesome flavours that give you a comfort feel, taste and satisfaction like you used to enjoy during your village days. Tong Shui Hou Bak Kut Teh Restaurant @ Bandar Puteri Puchong is opened daily from 3pm to 11pm. 

Thursday, June 9, 2016

Chez Leoniel French Cooking Class - Le France Festival 2016 at Alliance Francaise De Kuala Lumpur Lorong Gurney



In conjunction with the Le France Festival 2016 held from 12th May to 18th June 2016, Chez Leoniel presented a special French cooking class which was held at the Alliance Francaise De Kuala Lumpur Lorong Gurney, Kuala Lumpur recently.


For this cooking class, Chez Leoniel presented 3 dishes which the first is canapes followed by a Sturgeon soup and finally the highlight which is the Creme Patisserie.


Various canapes were prepared for the guest to enjoy with Cognac pairing by Martell.


One of the canapes served for the night is the Empurau fish canapes, which was pan fried and served with the German bread.



One of the unique features of this Empurau fish is that almost all parts of the fish can be eaten including the fish scales which is deep fried to a crisp.


The main highlight is the Creme Patissiere which Chef Leoniel take us each and every step to create this special pastry. What is important is the use of the right French ingredient from the type of butter

to the flour is critical to the final result. One of the critical steps is to ensure that the flour granules are adequately coated with the butter fat.


This ingredient is then mixed with the right portion of Omega eggs and kneaded in.


When done, the dough has to be kept in the fridge for at least 30 min to be air but for best result, overnight is ideal. This will give the pastry a light and fatty but firm base to support the filling.


Next, prepare and oil the tarts pan and place the dough evenly into the pan.



After the pastry is baked in the oven, line it with a layer of specially crafted cream.


Finally, layered your favourite fruit topping i.e. strawberries, mangoes, raspberries and blueberries and you have your fruits tart ready and to be eaten with your favourite cup of coffee.


Our final dish was the Sturgeon Soup which was pressure boiled for a couple of hours. The collagen enriched soup was great when eaten piping hot as when the soup cools down; the fishy taste is quite strong and can be a turnoff for some.


We really had a great experience to have the opportunity to learn the intricate preparation and the right techniques for baking French pastry and an evening of tips sharing which we truly enjoyed with the Chef Leoniel. We look forward to next year festival to enjoy some French cultural and dishes.

Bon Apetit

Wednesday, June 8, 2016

2016 Ramadan Buffet Shah Alam: View Cafe Best Western i-City Hotel Shah Alam Klang - Traditional IFTAR


This year; The View Cafe located on Level 5 Best Western i-City Shah Alam A-GF-01 No.6 Persiaran Shah Alam City Park i-City 40000 Shah Alam Selangor welcomes Ramadhan 2016 with an array of traditional Iftar offerings during the holy month.



Nestled in between Subang Jaya and Klang, this place is ideal to get together for folks that are staying around the Klang or Shah Alam vicinity.


Apart from the mains, you can start the Buka Puasa with the ulam-ulam kampung, varieties of kerabu, rojak buah, and tauhu sumbat followed by the array of main tasty dishes.


Among some of the main dishes that are served for the Ramadhan Buka Puasa Buffet is the Ayam Goreng Berempah


or my personal favourite; which is Fish Curry. Compared to the conventional; the fish which is Ikan Tenggiri are pre-fried before being cooked in the curry. This gives the fish a tastier option as compared with a more conventional cooking method which leaves the taste of the fish rather bland in the meat texture.


or you can try out the soft texture Daging Masak Merah that goes well with the Nasi Tomato or Nasi Puteh.


I somehow like this simple Egg Foo Yong dish. Served with a multiple layers of fried eggs which I really like. Can't help going for a second helping.


This dish which is Baby Kailan Oyster Sauce was the first to finish and I did not really get a chance to taste it. Either it is that good or people nowadays are keener in taking more vegetables.


Another not to be missed dish which seems to be a standard fare in most Ramadhan buffet is the Whole Roast Lamb which is served with Mint sauce or the Black Pepper sauce.

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Others dishes that you can try out is the Wok Fried Squid With Dry Chilli.

 

or for those that fancy snack food can try out the Gado-Gado.


and not forgetting some classic Malay dish which includes the Lemang, Ketupat & Serunding


For Desserts, you can taste out some of the pudding



or the Assortment of Malay Kuih


For reservations and more information, call 03 - 5521 9000 or email at enquiry@bestwestern-icity.my 


+BestRestaurantToEat wishes all our Muslim Friends and Fans "Selamat Berbuka Puasa"

For Best Restaurant To Eat of Top 10 Ramadan Buffet 2016. Please Click Here

Sunday, June 5, 2016

Durian - King Of Fruit Season Is Here in Malaysia - Musang King and Black Thorn Durian Feast at Durian King TTDI Bukit Bintang


Durian - The King Of Fruit Season has finally arrived. For fans and diehard of Durian, you can start to indulge in Durians for the next 2 -3 months.


At Durian King Bukit Bintang and Durian King TTDI, the season starts off with the arrival of 2 of the most sought after Durian species which is the Musang King (from Raub) and also the Black Thorn (from Penang).



We had the first-hand opportunity to taste these 2 species of Durian; For the Black Thorn, this is the first time that I have tasted it. For fans of Musang King, the Black Thorn is one level up in terms of taste and texture; it has that is creamier texture and taste compares with Musang King.

Photo Courtesy of Durian King Facebook page
One of the distinctive difference is the colour of the Durian flesh, while the Musang King is bright yellow as the earlier photo; the top quality flesh of a Black Thorn is orange in colour. We were told that for Black Thorn; it will taste even better when it is kept one day after picking up the fruit which has just drop from the Durian fruit tree. By doing so; it will turn the Durian flesh to have that bright glowing orange colour as depicted by the above photo.


At Durian King; all the durian are transported fresh from the contracted farm in Penang and Raub on a daily basis. We were told that in Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya, you will not be able to get any Black Thorn Durian from any Durian store as they have contracted all of the farms that supply this Black Thorn.


To spot the difference between Black Thorn and other species is quite easy. You just look at the bottom of the Durian and in the middle, you will see a thorn jutting out and it will turn black when it is ripe; but it does fall off;



the other distinct feature is the shape of the Durian which resembles a Star Fruit like shape as shown in the photo.


For the Musang King, to identify; there is 2 distinct character; the first is the marking around the durian at the stem as shown above.


and at the bottom, there is a star like brown marking there.



Durian Musang King


At Durian King, they are also the first in Malaysia to serve Chill Durian at the shop; We quip; why sell chill Durians; the owner says that in the past he noticed that there are a number of customers that like to bring home the Durian to be consumed after chilling it; so he decided to invest in the chiller and put up the Durian in the chiller for customer to enjoy chilled Durian. You can still opt for the Non-chill version too.


Lastly; one of the most talked about dessert in town now is the Durian Cendol. At Durian King Bukit Bintang and Durian king TTDI, they are also jumping on this bandwagon to serve Durian Cendol too; but in this case, we had the Black Thorn Durian Cendol instead.


We were also given a short lesson on how to choose a nice Durian by the Durian King himself Mr Erik Ong; just for your info 

First test: You pick up a Durian; put it near your nose; take a deep sniff (breath) from the nose to smell it; if you can smell the durian aroma you pass the first test.

Second Test: Give it a shake; if you can feel that there is knocking; that means the Durian is good.


There you have it; So for Durian fans; get ready your stomach to feast on the King of Fruits - The Durian season is here.