Saturday, March 26, 2016

Klang Food | Fong Keow Bak Kut Teh Restaurant With A History of 30 years - Taman Intan Klang


There are 2 very popular dishes from Klang, the first is Bak Kut Teh and the second is seafood. You normally would not be able to find both these dishes from one restaurant. +BestRestaurant ToEat was invited to taste this at Fong Keow (Pottery) Bak Kut Teh Restaurant which is located at 49, 51, 53, Jalan Batai Laut, Taman Intan, 41300 Klang, Selangor.


Back around 27 years ago, when I was based in Shah Alam, yours truly used to frequent this shop on most Friday as Chinese food especially pork dishes are only served in Klang but after a lapse of that period, it was good to be invited to taste out this restaurant after such a long absence.


Recently, Fong Keow (Pottery) Bak Kut Teh Restaurant has undergone some renovation and has now offered others dishes; in particular seafood and restaurant style dishes as they are able to have a good and reliable seafood supplier and a chef that is able to craft out these special dishes.


Also, on the plan is to make this restaurant a place to taste some special authentic Chinese tea. We had the pleasure to taste the burdock tea instead of the normal Chinese tea offering of Ti Kuan Yin or the Jasmine or the King Tea (Cha Wong) which will be our choice of tea to be paired with the Bak Kut Teh. The taste of the burdock tea has a very mild taste of the ginseng. Normally burdock is used as one of the ingredients for soup; but in this case, we had it as a tea. It takes some getting used to it to appreciate this tea.


The first dish on the table is the none other than their signature Bak Kut Teh in a clay-pot. For true Bak Kut Teh aficionado like me, the best style to eat Bak Kut Teh is in the plain style which is just with the BKT broth with the choice of meat but once it is in a clay pot, it tends to dilute the concentration of the flavourful broth as these ingredients like the beancurd, button mushroom and tau foo pok which has a watery texture will make the broth less flavourful. Our pot of Bak Kut Teh came with a big bone with pig intestine and pig stomach is for 2 pax (RM27.00).


Next is the dry version Bak Kut Teh (RM29.00) with Pork Spare Ribs as the meat of choice. As they are not the pioneers to serves this version; the level of acceptance for this dish is just passable for me, My preference still goes with the brothy version.


The following other dishes are the new items that are served in the revamped restaurant, which the first is the Drunken Clams (RM25.00). We like the taste of the broth which has a strong wine taste coupled with the taste of the ginger and chilli padi. The Clams are from their supplier in Pulau Ketam which is delivered on; whether they are able to net it from the sea on that day. So, do check out when you order this.


The next dish is the Sauteed Oyster Mushroom With Prawn (RM20.00); a very unique but tasty combination coming from the soft texture of the mushroom intertwined with the crunch of the fresh peeled prawns.


Next is the Golden Sand Bean Curd (Kam Sa Tau Foo) (RM12.00) which is heavenly coated with salted eggs and stir fried with fresh chilies leaves that will leave you salivating for more rice to slurp up the enticing sauce.


After which we had the Crispy Chicken With Thai Sauce (RM20.00) - The breaded chicken are fried to a crisp and served with an in-house made Thai Style sauce which has a vinaigrette taste with a mixture of fresh cut onions and mixed with crushed peanuts. We love the taste of the sauce.


For our doses of greens, the restaurant has a special order of the Green Dragon Vegetable aka Royale Chives ( 韭菜 ) (RM13.00) which is from Cameron Highlands; we were told that this is a hybrid version emanating from the chives family that we are familiar with; has a distinct sweet taste once it is cooked. We like the texture and the way it was cooked which is Stir Fried as it retains the nice texture and we can taste the natural sweetness of the vegetables.


The next time, if some members of your families or friends would like to eat restaurant food or seafood; while some of you still yearn for your Bak Kut Teh, then you can head over to the Fong Keow Bak Kut Teh (Pottery) Restaurant to taste both the type of dishes.

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Old Klang Road Food | Le Pont Boulangerie et Cafe - Sweet Sensation - New French Dessert Crafted Just For You.


For those that are a real fans of desserts, you would probably heard about Le Pont Boulangerie et Cafe located at 6, Lorong 1/137c, Batu 5, Old Klang Road 58000 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan. +BestRestaurant ToEat was invited to taste this newly launched dessert series aptly named the Sweet Sensation to mesmerise your taste-buds to this French love affair for pastry, desserts and coffee.


The inspiration behind the name Le Pont (French for ‘The Bridge’) comes from the desire to capture the vision of a unique space where people can come together and forge new friendships and the aspiration to create a food & beverage concept where food and drink connect seamlessly.


Le Pont Boulangerie et Cafe has a modern yet comfortable cafe cuisine setup; serving traditionally artisanal yet innovative breads and pastries for all to enjoyed with the custom-roasted house blend coffee and specially-crafted drinks.


Le Pont Boulangerie et Cafe during the month of March and April 2016 is having this special Sweet Sensation dessert series; which marries the exquisite taste of its specialty crafted Coffee and desserts.The Sweet Sensation features world famous coffee presented in a unique serving style together with six signature desserts that will leaves your sweet tooth cravings.


Central to the entire menu is the Coffee Origin Platter (RM18.90) which is a captivating three-in-one serving style of the Himalaya Supersonic blend. As Head of Coffee David Leong quips; to enjoy this coffee platter we start off with the filtered brew which exudes out only the pure and natural taste of this highly sought after bean from El Salvador; Next we tasted a coffee mocktail which was sweeten by the blue berry syrup with a tinge of lemon. Finally; is to taste the aromatic espresso brewed with textured milk which enhances the full aroma of the special blend.


To paired with this special coffee brew, Pastry Chef Padzli has specially created a delectable short crust pastry baked with coffee mix from the Himalaya SuperSonic beans. We were very impressed by the after taste of the soft chilled brulee like texture of the filling. The distinctive aroma of the coffee taste lingers in our mouth long after we have eaten the pastry. Diners can savour as a single slice of this Coffee Tart at RM12.90 or the whole tarts at RM43.90.


Next on the table was the Le Pomme (Warm Apple Tart with Vanilla Ice Cream) RM15.90. We love the flaky, fluffy texture and the buttery taste of the tart which has a nice crisp when bitten into it; while the thinly sliced apples which was cooked; has a nice texture coupled with the soft vanilla ice cream was a real treat to tantalized our sweet tooth.


This is then followed by the Le Noisette (Crunchy Hazelnut and Chocolate Bar with Mascaporne Cream) RM 17.90. The slight crunch when you cut out the pastry which has a rich hazelnut taste was nicely paired with the Mascaporne Cream and served with strawberries at the sides to give you a blend of a slight sourish sweet taste.


Next is the Peach Melba (RM16.90). This dessert is more like a parfait in which you can taste the different texture as you dig into this special serving glass. The middle section which has soft sorbet like texture has a tinge of tangy taste from the peach while after a few scoop, you will discover the taste of the light crunch of the Almond crumble.


The second last dessert on the table is the Apple Crumble Tart (RM10.90). As with the earlier Apple Tart, it is the same cut apples which is served on a bed of frangipane and topped with Almond Crumble.  There is a hint of light cinnamon taste in the filling.


The last dessert under the Sweet Sensation series is the Caramel & Mixed Nuts Tarts (RM 10.90). This is a baked short crust pastry filled with mixed nuts and soft caramel that is topped with chocolate mousse; which has a velvety texture and a generous spread of mixed nut at the bottom of the chocolate mousse making is an enticing taste to nuts lovers with a sweet taste.


Overall, Le Pont Boulangerie et Cafe do offers great coffee with a fine Sweet Sensation dessert for the month of March and April for you to savour and indulge in this delicious dessert offering with your families and friends.

Friday, March 18, 2016

Subang Jaya Cafe Hopping: Ketchup's Blogger Speed Run - A Social Fun Day at 6 Cafe in Subang Jaya /USJ Selangor


Gen Y these days really enjoy the theme, feel and ambiance of the cafes that they like to frequent to. With that, the Ketchup's Blogger Speed Run which is a social phenom will discover cafe in key cafe township of TTDI, Kota Damansara, Subang Jaya, Damansara Utama, Bandar Sunway and Bangsar. One of the key objectives of this project is to bring a special experience and bonding between the cafes and its customers.

+BestRestaurant ToEat is taking part in this First Blogger Speed Run in the the neighborhood of Subang Jaya/USJ; where there are reportedly more than 129 cafes in this locality. During this run, we get to understand the underlying reason and the aspiration of the cafe owners in setting up their restaurant in these area and also on the their cafe themes and food specialties of each of these cafes.


Our First Pit-stop Run started with the first Cafe which is Ahoy Cafe located at 74, Jalan SS15/4, 47500 Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia; The definition of ahoy is a nautical or pirate lingo and is a term that is used to attract attention or say hello when boarding or on board a boat/ship. When you are going to board a ship and want to say hello to someone on the ship; you can use this traditional nautical lingo.


The specialty food at Ahoy Cafe is from clockwise - the Smoked Duck Salad (RM12.00) deck with leafy greens with Honey marinated smoked duck; followed by the Western Eastern fusion of the Chicken Kimchi Spaghetti (RM15.00), next is our dessert of Molten Chocolate (Valrhona) Lava Cake With Ice Cream (RM14.90) and the Mushroom Soup (RM9.00) served with toasted bread.


The second cafe is the Hype Cafe which is located at 9, Jalan SS 15/4D, 47500 Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia. The Hype Concept Cafe offers an affordable tea drinking appreciation together with nice pastry and for those health enthusiast, there is also an offering of fresh press juices. The decor of the cafe is filled with special tea pots sets for those that can appreciate the tea while also feasting your eyes on the beautiful ceramic pots and tea cup. While drinking the tea, you can also visit the boutique upstairs to try out some outfit.


At Hype Cafe; we tasted from clockwise the Green Tea Red Bean cake (RM14.00) - which is theme from the popular Matcha Azurri bean combination;  followed by the Chicken Sausage With Leek Quiche (RM12.00); while our drink was the special Iced Cube Chai (RM12.00) which comes with a bottle of warm milk and the finally the rich Brown Belgium Chocolate Cake (RM14.00).


Followed by the third pit-stop which is to Aboong Cafe located at 49 (G), Jalan SS15/8A, 47500 Subang Jaya, Selangor; which serves softserve yogurt ice cream filled in a prosperity fish shaped waffle cone. The waffle is crispy on the outside, soft & chewy on the inside and stuffed with various options of fillings into the fish belly. For those that have visited Korea; Aboong is a popular brand from there.

The Aboong is paired with a mixed fruit skewer chocolate fondue and drizzled with chocolate sauce. This is like eating a yogurt ice cream but in a bungeoppang (Korean name of a pastry similar to the Japanese fish-shaped pastry taiyaki) which is interesting and tasty!


You can choose your waffle filling like the red beans fillings, custard or Nutella. The price for a regular fish waffle is RM10.00 while the large fish waffle is RM12.00 


The fourth cafe of the day is Big Mike Cafe located at Jalan SS 15/8, SS 15 A01-01, (Ground Floor) Menara Rajawali,, 47500 Subang Jaya, Selangor; which revolves around a sailing journey of Big Mike where he fought with Kraken in the Atlantic to get the finest calamari, solves riddles with the Great King Crab in Alaska to recruit the best platters. And along the way bump into some prawns from Red Sea and finally when he anchored here; was to share his encounter of his adventures in the Big Mike Cafe.


The sailing journey food are clockwise Cookakukoo (RM9.90) an open sandwich with fried chicken meat followed by Choc Oreo Shake (RM18.90), next is the Mary Had A Little Lamb (RM25.90), our dessert of Mini Ice Cream Burger and lastly the Buffalo wings (RM9.90)


Our fifth pit-stop brings us to Meteora Cafe located at 54, Jalan USJ 9/5p, Subang Business Centre, 47620 Subang Jaya, Selangor. The cafe prides itself in serving customers like their own friends and let them feel at ease like their own home. Here you get board games like Harry Potter Destination and Monopoly, where you can play with your friends while chilling at the cafe or you can read out the latest magazines or just enjoy the relaxing ambiance.


The cafe specialty food that are served at Meteora Cafe are clockwise Aglio Olio With Beef Bacon (RM19.40), Mimi Had A Little Lamb (RM27.90), Churros (7 sticks) (RM9.90) and lastly the Baconator (RM24.90); a burger with loads of bacon and served with a platter of french fries.


Our sixth and final pit-stop is at the Flingstones Cafe located at No.24, Jalan SS15/8, 47500 Subang Jaya, Selangor; The cafe is all about love, and helping you find that perfect match. Whether it's the mesmerising marriage of exquisite espresso and marvellous milk, the sizzling, sensous affair that ensues when charismatic coffee and charming chocolate collide, or the raucous rock-and-roll romance that resonates from the pairing of fervour, froth and foam, this is where beautiful relationships begin.


At Flingstone Cafe playing with the food to create the unlikeliest of bedfellows and pairings is a norm. Here we get to try out these specially crafted dishes which include the Chu Yao Char with Angel Hair Pasta (RM18.00); the Porky Fat Rice (RM20.00) their version of Nasi Lemak and Oink Oink Ribs (RM33.00).

So, that is all in a one day Run to complete 6 cafe hops. Although tiring at the end of the day; it was definitely a nice social fun event to meet these cafe owners.