The Tranquerah located at Damansara GLO Kuala Lumpur is imbued with an old world atmosphere, which makes for an enchanting and authentic Nyonya Food Melaka dining experience. The focus in The Tranquerah which was awarded by Malaysia Tatler Dining - Best Top 5 Nyonya Restaurant in KL & PJ 2015 and it is renowned as one of the restaurants to go for its Nyonya delicacies.
The Tranquerah Damansara GLO Kuala Lumpur Address
LG09, Lower Ground Floor, GLO Damansara,
No 699, Jalan Damansara
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
There is a huge difference between the different Peranakan Dishes that are available, you can check out the details on Wikipedia but the 2 most popular are the Nyonya Melaka and Nyonya Penang that are often mistaken as the same by many. The Nyonya Penang has a sourish tone like the popular Assam Laksa, while the Nyonya Melaka has a richer flavour like the Buah Keluak dishes and the Ayam Pongteh.
The menu at The Tranquerah is specially curated by the Nyonya celebrity chef, Florence Tan, which serves authentic Malacca Nyonya Cuisine. A few of their signature dishes are Ayam Buah Keluak, Ayam Pongteh, Gerang Asam Fish, Udang Masak Lemak Nenas, Tamarind Prawns, ltik Tim soup and Pai Tee.
One of the most popular delicacies in the Nyonya Melaka dishes is the Buah Keluak. Little is known about this ingredient as one of the delicious ingredients. We were told that this Buah Keluak (Pangium Edule) is poisonous and needed to be treated in the right way to enjoy this delicious offering.
Buah Keluak is a rather mysterious fruit. The whole plant is poisonous, and yet the seeds are painstakingly prepared and eaten as a Nyonya delicacy. The fresh fruit and seeds contain hydrogen cyanide and are deadly poisonous if consumed without prior preparation. The seeds are first boiled and then buried in ash, banana leaves and earth for forty days. The method relies on the fact that the hydrogen cyanide released by the boiling and fermentation is water-soluble and easily washed out. Check this out on Wikipedia.
So naturally our first dish that we reviewed is the Keluak Pasta (soon to be introduced in the standard menu). From the look of it, our first thought was a black pepper pasta, but once it reaches our mouth, you can taste the Buah Keluak which has a slightly bitter nutty taste that’s almost reminiscent of a good single origin dark chocolate with an added spiciness from the use of some black pepper to prep it out a little. A great taste to start our review.
Continuing on our Penang holiday, we took a short drive and soon arrived at the Majestic Macalister Mansion Penang for our second night Penang Holiday to enjoy more Penang Food.
Macalister Mansion Address:
228 Macalister Road,
10400 George Town, Penang
It was like we are in the midst to turning back time with the Victorian style mansion that will be hosting us for our night stay.
A stunner in so many ways, this concept venue with a keen focus on dashing design is set inside a refurbished 1900s colonial-style mansion, with a facade of white Greek revival pillars, intricate trellises and a giant bust of Sir Macalister.
Macalister Mansion – a five-star boutique hotel, with an illustrious fine-dining restaurant, cafe, a cozy wine lounge and cigar den which shout out the best money can buy – is a subtle tribute to Penang’s rich colonial past.
Living Room Macalister Mansion is a perfect place to have Afternoon Tea especially for ladies that likes to take a nice picture as the decor in this All Day Dining Restaurant at Macalister Mansion will transform one to the Victorian style Afternoon tea setting.
Living Room @Macalister Mansion Address
228 Macalister Road,
10400 George Town, Penang
With the nice decor, having the Afternoon Tea at the Living Room will set you in the mood for a nice afternoon setting.
There are wall stencils of cats, clocks and a fireplace, hanging greens and square tile floors, and chairs in every conceivable material (wood, plastic, metal etc.), colour and shape.
Deck with Victorian style tables and finely crafted settee, it makes one wonder of the charms of the colonial era.
What makes our 8 Course Chef Tasting Set Dinner Menu Dining Room @ Macalister Mansion Penang (Malaysia Tatler's Best Restaurant for 2013 and 2014) special is that you do not need to worry what's for dinner, you are game on to experience the multitude of surprised dishes that the Chef has in store for us.
Dining Room @ Macalister Mansion Penang Address
228, Jalan Macalister, George Town,
11400 George Town, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
The decor is pure colonial couture with all-white furniture accented by a giant faux white tree in the centre of the room, exudes a full elegant, classy and romantic ambiance.
The kitchen at the Dining Room is headed by Chef Johnson Wong (who was trained in a Michelin-starred restaurant) and his menu of modern contemporary cuisine that favored local produce (which changes every two months) is just so tasty and his humble, friendly manner makes the meal a relaxed one.
As mention earlier, the only menu available is a 4-course dinner where patrons can choose from. Other than that you don't expect pages of dishes to choose from but for us tonight, we are here to taste out the 8 Course Chef Tasting Menu. The menu according to Chef will only be revealed at the end of the dinner. This concept of Chef Tasting Menu is quite popular in oversea especially so in Japan (Omakase - Chef Choice).
To celebrate the completion of my son 'O' levels exam recently, we plan to take a leisure Penang holiday with the family and decided to check out 2 very popular hotel in Penang island. Our first day of our stay is at the popular Hotel Equatorial Penang.
This hotel is one of the first 5 Star hotel in Penang. Set 77 m above sea level, Hotel Equatorial Penang offers a 360 degrees panoramic and scenic view of Bukit Jambul and is located strategically to the Penang International Airport, the two Penang Bridges, and the bustling hub of Bayan Lepas which is just a short drive away. It is also a 20-minute drive from the UNESCO certified heritage city of George Town.
Hotel Equatorial Penang Lobby
Upon arrival at the Hotel Lobby for our 3 Days 2 Nights Penang holiday, we were greeted with a voluminous, airy and natural lit lobby, where you will be amazed by the architecture design of this 26 years old Hotel that was refurbished recently.
Night View From Hotel Equatorial Penang
The Hotel Equatorial Penang has many facilities for its guest among them is a fully-equipped fitness centre, massage and spa facilities, indoor squash, outdoor tennis among the many facilities that we will be checking out later.
During our stay at the hotel, we decided to check out Kampachi Japanese Restaurant @ Hotel Equatorial Penang which is a very popular Japanese Restaurant in Penang especially for their weekend buffet promotion.
Kampachi Japanese Restaurant @ Hotel Equatorial Penang Address
Lower Ground Floor Hotel Equatorial Penang
1 Jalan Bukit Jambul , Bayan Lepas, 11900 Penang, Malaysia
The Kampachi Weekend Buffet offers a wide variety of Japanese dishes from fresh seafood, Sashimi to the special Teppanyaki and also the other popular Japanese cuisines which are served during the weekend buffet.
As we enter the restaurant it is almost filled to the brim, a testament to the popularity of this restaurant to the Penang folks.
The first not to be missed dish is the Sashimi as there is a wide variety which includes the crowd favourite Salmon and Tuna which is prepared by Chef Cheah.
As it was a Sunday, we decided to check out the Family Sunday Brunch Buffet promotion of nada lama All Day Dining Restaurant at Hotel Equatorial Penang during our stay at the hotel.
nada lama All Day Dining Restaurant at Hotel Equatorial Penang Address
Lower Lobby Hotel Equatorial Penang
Jalan Bukit Jambul, Bukit Jambul,
11900 George Town, Pulau Pinang
There are many choices of food for you to choose from; which includes local favourite starting from the Laksa section which has the Penang Laksa and nada lama speciality; which is the Equatorial Laksa which I like as there is an infusion on Santan.
Seafood On Ice
or if you are seafood fans, you might start off with the Seafood On Ice which offers a variety of poached seafood for you.
But if you require a little more flavours from your seafood, you might want to try out the ala minute BBQ Seafood which offers many types of fishes like the Cencaru, Sting Ray, Squid and Prawns too.
Recently we were invited to taste out some of the signature dishes at Pancake House Malaysia @ Quill City Mall Kuala Lumpur.
Pancake House Malaysia @ Quill City Mall Kuala Lumpur Address
G-05 & Al-Fresco 3A, Ground Floor
Quill City Mall Kuala Lumpur
Pancake House Malaysia offers a welcoming and relaxing environment showcasing a cosy interior layout consisting of invitingly snug sofas and comfortable seats where customers will feel right at home. Other items on the menu are appetising pasta, sandwiches and burgers, refreshing milkshakes and desserts as well as other popular Western dishes.
Pancake House Malaysia also offers the Best Taco in Town, using the freshest vegetables and served on the side is the tasty minced chicken in a crispy taco shell, which is the dish to start off our review today.
Followed by the Fiesta Taco Salad (RM17.70); Fresh garden greens, kidney beans, tomatoes are tossed and mix with a salad dressing topped with Tacos and sprinkles of grated Cheddar Cheese. Fans of Tacos will love this add on to the salad.
Celebrate Christmas 2016 with the Christmas Buffet spread from the Gobo Chit Chat Traders Hotel Kuala Lumpur culinary team of Chef which have dish out Traditional Christmas and Asian cuisine.
Gobo Chit Chat @Traders Hotel Kuala Lumpur Address
Level 5, Traders Hotel Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur City Centre
Gobo Chit Chat is Hotel Traders all day dining restaurant which offers a wide selection of contemporary Western and Asian cuisines with a sushi bar to satisfy your craving for Japanese food.
Among some of the speciality food for this year are the Roast item like the must have Roast Turkey with stuffing.
Three Brothers Restaurant @ Seksyen U5 Bandar Pinggiran Subang is a hidden gem for Chinese Cuisine that has been around for more than 8 years serving Chinese and speciality dishes. Recently it underwent a minor refurbishment of the restaurant to offer an improved dining experience for its diners.
Three Brothers Restaurant @ Seksyen U5 Address
23-G, Jalan Bulan, C A U5/CA
Bandar Pinggiran Subang, Seksyen U5
40150 Shah Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan.
One of the key things about dining in this restaurant is in the friendly service offered by the owner as whenever there are top quality ingredient either Fresh Ocean trout, Giant Garoupa, Fresh Oyster from Australia, it will inform its customers accordingly. These top picks are usually taken up immediately by its loyal customers.
We had the opportunity to taste out some of its new menu offering which are top sellers among some of its loyal customers, the first of which is the Double Boiled Chicken With Geoduck Soup (RM88.00). The list of ingredient going into this soup is the Kampung Chicken, Geoduck, Brazil Mushroom, Dry Scallop and numerous Chinese soup herbs. The soup which was double boiled for hours extracted out the full flavours of all the ingredients and condiments.
As a food blogger, we are very keen to know the happening and events related to the food industry. We decided to pay a visit to the MAHA2016 happening at MAEPS to explore what's in store for this biennial events. Here are our 9 Top Reason to To Visit MAHA2016.
Venue Layout
Widen your knowledge on the agricultural business.
Networking opportunities to learn how to start an agro-based business.
Explore the new product.
See new agriculture technology.
Shop for your agro products.
Let the children enjoy themselves with fun activities.
Get the best offers.
Traditional cuisines and cooking demonstrations.
Food. Food and more food.
We started early in the morning and have reached the venue at 8.00am in the morning. Our first pit-stop is the NAFAS CUBE. It is a newly setup Container Hotel in the MAEPS ground.
After a brief breakfast at the NAFAS Cafe, we were shown the 3 different type of accommodation that are available here.
The Cube which is the Container type has the full facilities including a toilet and a small living area.
The Tube, which is just a Concrete Drain that has been refurbished and house either a queen bed or a twin size bed.
and lastly the Camp, which is laid out next to the lake.
For those that would like to experience this close to nature experience, can check- in to any one of this accommodation.
Next on, we went to the Fisheries Department. The most interesting attractions from here is a briefing of the aquascaping which is a craft of arranging aquatic plants along with rocks, stones, driftwood in an aesthetical aquarium.
Aquascaping allows you to create mountains, deserts, jungles and more.
Another interesting attraction from here is the Upside down fishing village house, you can enjoy this upside down phenomena here.
Lastly, if you are a fan of fishing, you can try your luck at the specially made pools.
After that, we went over to the Laman Padi which is the area where you can learn more about the development of the Padi.
We got a first-hand look at the DIY Padi Processor - a machine that can feed raw Padi from one end; and the resulting side is 3 product, which is the rice, the shredded chaff which can be used as a chicken feed and the broken rice for making other Rice-based products.
Next, we were brief on the latest development from this division; which is the Purple Rice. Here you can see, that there are now being cultivated in the vicinity.
Our next station brings us to the Laman Nanas - Pineapples. There is a new grade of pineapple which was developed in Malaysia i.e MD2.
The Pineapple have a deep golden yellow fruit and has a strong sweetness level, which makes it a delight to be eaten as a freshly cut fruit.
Due to the texture of the fruit and the sweetness, these pineapples are used to make other product like cakes, jam and juices. You can try them out at some of their outlet that is exhibiting in the Laman Nanas.
Next, comes the Machinery Section (Laman Jentera). Here there are showcases of machinery that are used in the agriculture industry.
Among the one that caught my eye is the Durian Opening Machine. Having a machine like that takes off the arduous task of opening the king of fruit. One, just places the Durian at the right spot and pull down the lever.
Another interesting technology is the development of the 461 Chilly breed. This chilly is a fast growing species and offer a big size of chilly. If you are keen to plant this chilly, you can talk to them for assistance to make chilly growing your next business venture.
A short walk from the Laman Jentera brings us to meet face to face with a Belgian Hybrid Sado Cattle. These cattle offer a better quality meat with reduced fat content.
We also chanced upon; to visit the Shamee Goat pen; these goats are raised for the milk and kids will love them as they are able to feed them.
Next, as we were walking in the Laman Sayur (Vegetable), we saw some little white boxes along our pathway.
A closer inspection, lead us to the discovery of the nest of the stingless bees. Unlike the other bees, the way they build the nest structure is totally different.
We had the opportunity to sip the honey directly from the nest; an experience that is very rare and unique. The taste of this honey have a tinge of sourish taste
For this MAHA 2016, we had a lot of opportunities to learn new agricultural technology and on that, we come across this Special Melon Manis from Terengganu.
This special breed of Melon Manis is only grown in Terengganu and has a crunchy texture and a sweetness level that out do the other melon.
For children that will be visiting, MAHA 2016, it also offers them the Upin & Ipin which is to impart the habit and knowledge of agricultural practice to the young.
Among some of the following Upin & Ipin activities designed to coincides MAHA 2016 are the 3D art for you and your kids to take pictures
and lastly, a live performance for your kids to enjoy and the opportunity to meet Upin and Ipin in person.
To end our visit, it was time to fill our stomach when we head to Food Empire with more than 168 food outlet. You will be spoilt for choices
Here we tried out the Mee Kolok
followed by the Daging Pangang
Cempedak Goreng
Ayam Garam
Sup Gear Box
and Mee Bandung Special that we had the opportunity to taste out. So much food so little stomach
With so much activity, fun learning and food that can please your stomach, you literally have to spend more time at the MAHA 2016
"See you at MAHA 2016". Watch our video tour on YouTube
MAHA 2016 Location Map
#MAHA2016 #OurFoodOurFuture #BlogRetis
Latest Update: A great success after 11 days MAHA2016 which was held is MAEPS Serdang have managed to hit a record of more than 3.7 million visitors.
