Dining Table

It has been about nine long months I left my last job. I initially thought I my life will be very boring since there is no need to wake up on time and live the same routine almost everyday. But hell NO!! I feel I'm busy as before, time flies and it is the end of 9th month now!! And it was on a dining table did I realise this ?

It was last Tuesday that I use to back to parent house for usual weekly family dinner. My elder brother was there, he back from china once a few months time. My sister was there too because she knew I will be back. So we started the usual conversation during the meal but it was the after meal chit chatting that sparked the whole evening.

"There was some insects on my patio lately, don't know if it is because of rain." Maxmax5

"Is there any cockroaches?" KM

"No!! Still has no people staying there so no rubbish means no Xiao Qiang." Maxmax5

"Lucky you, otherwise there will be another drama all night long like that night... Lol." KC

We then laughed out loud and talked about the drama happened about 15 years ago when we all still in secondary school. There was a night I felt something crawling across my body and I woke up and light on.... %#$+@& !!! Cockroach !!!!   Screamed and jump of the bed, and rally my siblings for the up coming 'battle'!  (That time we each sleep in our own room). We gathered and bring some tools like floor mops etc hoping to drive that ugly insect away from my room.

We entered my room with caution and we saw the most DANGEROUS situation !! The little bug was on the wall !!   We knew what will be next if we make it panic. But no choice it has to be out of the room so we tried and the worst happened! It flew and we all retreated from the room with much yelling/screaming.  Parent was just down there in the living room listening to all these.

Then forget already which of my sibling so clever and bring out a insect spray and voila... Problem solved...

Above is one of the epic topic when we gather around the dining table and chit chatting. Most of the time Mrs. Lor will just keep quite and site beside us and listen to our hilarious conversations. Dining table after meal chat is one of the activity we do whenever we gather. 

How long have you not been having meal with your family? Spend sometime on the table and you will be surprised :P I hope you do 

Restaurant Reviewed: Ramen King @ A Square, Bangkok

Heard from friend that there is a relatively new eatery in Bangkok named Ramen King. My eye was opened round big when i heard about ramen !! Yes i am ramen-fanatic and thus without second thought and knowing where it is i yelled "行きましょう"a.k.a. ikimashou or simply LET'S GO !!!!

A little bit of research over the business center in the hotel's lobby found out that the location is not accessible by BTS/MRT. The best way to go is to take BTS to Prompong station OR MRT to Queen Sirikit and then take taxi to A Square at Sukhumvit Soi 26. (link of the map to this location is at the bottom of the article)

Right in the entrance of A Square by the road side is Ramen King. 

A Square was open in last quarter of 2013 and it is positioned as a life style mall where center is a big carpark. Ramen King is just at the entrance of the mall, road side so it is very easy to locate when you are around there. 

Upon arrival, instantly it reminded me my time in Kyoto JR Station where there is a ramen ally with total nine ramen outlets representing nine styles of ramen across Japan. Here in Ramen King @ A Square, there are six ramen outlet. we tried 3: MisoBancho's （味噌番長）Special Miso Ramen; Butaou's （豚王）Tonkotsu Sukiyaki King Ramen and Miyamoto's （宮本）Special Tonkotsu Ramen. 

Butaou's best seller. Also my favourite in this outlet

I'd say it is certainly not at par to those in Kyoto Station but this is in Bangkok, so no complaint :P  Im certain it is way above average in Bangkok city.  Of the three ive tried, i like the Butaou's the most!!!  Without green bean sprout's stench, the sukiyaki-ed slices of buta (pork) blended perfectly into the tonkotsu (a kind of soup yielded from pork bone). On top of that, the onsen tamago (soft boiled egg) was really crow jewel, poke it and mix the runny york with the soup. Oh... the silky smooth texture :P   

Miyamoto's best seller: Special Tonkotsu Ramen

If you don't like raw egg york, you can try the Miyamoto's Special Ramen, topped with chopped raw garlic, this is something i never tried before even in Japan. Its creative but maybe they put too many bean sprout, i feel about eww... 

Misobancho's Special Ramen... really so so. 

Ramen King serves rice, variety of sushi and sashimi, macha dessert, Japnese beers etc So even if you dont fancy ramen, it is worth to come here and try to dine in a Japanese themed restaurant in Bangkok. I saw Japanese expatriate ate there too.  Was a kind of speciall feeling... 

So hows the rating? (-1 = no good, 0 = neutral, 1 = good)

Overal Atmosphere = 0
Servie = 0
Food Presentation = 0
Taste/ Texture = 0
Pricing = 0 

TOTAL SCORE = 0/5 (Nothing explicitly excited, wont be back again)

THE VERDICT: The wow factor for this eatery is the collection of 6 styles of Japanese ramen. The price are about the same in Japan but the quality are not really there. Maybe its been localised to some point, it annoyed me (the raw bean sprout). It is a pretty decent outlet and if you have time, you can actually go there because there are Japanese Onsen in the same building. 

Useful tips: 

1) It is worth to explore A Square in stead of the usual shopping mall

2) Remember it is not within walking distance from both nearest MRT and BTS station. 

3) It is best to get the front desk to write you a paper about the address (IN THAI ofkos) because the location can be a bit tricky. 

Other Picture:

Signboard of Butaou (King of Pork if translate directly). 

Bill 

Restaurant Reviewed: U Desserts at Butterworth

Talking about dessert, im really afraid of the 'dead sweet' from the artificial sweetener like sugar or syrup. Dessert should make you happy as a snack between or after meals not worry for being fat. This post, im going to introduce a shop that sells both traditional and modern desserts: U Desserts. 

KC, my sister lured to this dessert shop saying the desserts are very good especially the durian series. I have to confess here im not a durian lover but well, for the sake of family time, i agreed to go with Mrs. Lor and her on condition that they sells a lot more other than Durian series. 

Cover page of the menu

Its located about 100 meter from Chung Ling Butterworth, a place local people called 'Cheh Chu' a.k.a. green house, which the official name is actually Kawasan Perindustrian Teras Jaya (click here for map). Just facing the busy road of Jalan Ong Yi How... cant miss.  Upon entering, we were handled a cup of water and menu. I then surprised of such service. 

Decent but comfy environment

Basically they serve 3 main series: Durian; Mango and Traditional Chinese desserts. Decided to order 1 from each series but was told the durian flavoured already finish but can order others and add durian meat (wow..) and so we ordered: 2 from Mango series and 2 from Traditional Chinese series. 

Clockwise from top left: (1) Mango in Black Glutinuos Rice, (2) Red
Bean Pasts with Ginko and additional Durian Meat, (3) Mango in Sago, (4) Pureed Almond and Black Sesame

My Pureed Almond (white) and Black (Black) Sesame was surprisingly good. They give option of hot or cold and i choose cold. The texture was smooth but not to the very fine extend. I tried each on thier own before mixing it together. 3 flavours in 1 bowl :P  i always so greedy when it comes to food >.< :P

Mrs. Lor ordered Red Bean Paste with Ginko with extra durian meat (to compensate no more durian series dessert, she is a durian lover). And KC ordered Mango in Sago. We then ordered a Mango in Black Glutinous Rice to share share.

Whats more precious than a short family chit chatting ?

Portion is big and environment is pretty comfort (we sit in aircon area). We continue to chit chat after and the waitress refilled water for us so im comfortable with this restaurant. Hows the rating? (-1 = no good; 0 = neutral; 1 = good)

Overall Atmosphere = 0

Service = 1

Food Presentation = 0

Taste/Texture = 0

Price = 0

TOTAL SCORE = 1/4, will go there again if happen to be around there. 

THE VERDICT: U Dessers in fact never fall to the trap of general people does, the desserts we are were decent. If only the flavour of each individual ingredients, i.e. mango, glutinous rice, ice cream has bolder characteristic and yet harmoniously balanced, it will be perfect. But im already surprise a chain dessert shop like this one can maintain at such quality. Looking forward for a better round when i next return. 

Useful Tips:

(1) They accepts minor customisation 

(2) Aircon or Open Air seating area of choice

(3) Very wide variety of choices

Other Pic:

Contact of all the branches

Cant really finish the Mango in Glutinous Rice, too full from others 

The bill. 

 

Restaurant Review: Izakaya KU DE TA Bangkok

IZAKAYA - Traditional Japanese Robatayaki & Sushi (mid-price), one of the 3 themes in KU DE TA Bangkok, stands side by side with the SIGNATURE (Modern Asian Cuisine, high-price) and the CLUB LOUNGE in 39th and 40th floors in Sathorn Square Building (location here, 2-5 min walk from Chong Nonsi BTS), serves many varieties of traditional Japanese delicacy and their highlights are Robatayaki (Japanese BBQ) and Sushi. 

I actually came across this restaurant from a friend's recommendation. Tried earlier Sirocco @ Labua Bangkok, i have good faith with Bangkok's sky dining. Even Izakaya by KU DE TA Bangkok is located indoor, i still feel good in the general sight available. Lets see a first scent greeted us as soon as we were seated. 

Beautiful isnt it. In the 4 oclock direction of the sun, you
can see the mighty Chao Phraya river.

You just have to go at around 6:30pm and you will see the whole sunset  and i will show you what it looks like at the end of this post :P  OK. Enough about the scenery, lets talk more about this restaurant and the food it offers. 

Walk 3-5 mins from Chong Nonsi BTS towards Sathorn Square Building, tell the lovely ladies in the lobby that you want to go to Izakaya and they will lead you to the lift. When arrive 30th floor, there will be people waiting you to seat you at your choice of any free table. A very comfortable start of the dining experience :)

Clockwise from top left: (1) Avocado Unagi Roll (2) Signboard at
the lobby entrance of the building (3) Butabara (4) Ribu Buta 

We then ordered about 7 items mostly from the BBQ section of the menu plus a roll sushi, ramen and matcha dessert. I have to highlight here the below:

Unagi Avocado Roll: Rolled Sushi at its best and simple combination. Very big pcs of avocado and perfectly grilled unagi (eel), overall texture is soft, smooth and melting!!  The light buttery texture and the fluffy with a little bit crisp skin of the unagi  just gives a very good opening the my taste bud :D

Ribu Buta: Grilled Pork Ribs. Unlike the ordinary grill pork ribs in western cuisine, i believe the ribs were braise for hours before grill. Slight spicy but full of aromatic flavour form the fermented beans, the ribs were just a strong contrast to the roll we 1st ate. 

Matcha: The name is a bit wierd but this dessert served as a perfect ending not only because of the overall taste but also the surprise the tart gave: This is the recommended dessert by our waiter and soon i agree with him, you cut the tart and the matcha cream just spill out. Combined with the chocolate ice cream, I can assure you that it will be finished within 5 minutes :P 

Clockwise from top left: (1) Shoyu Ramen (2) Tori Negi (3) Matcha
(4) Enringe

The rest of the dish were good too like the Butabara - grilled pork belly wrapped in perilla leaf, ramen with flavoured york egg. Well, lets see the scoring below:

(-1 = no good; 0 = neutral; 1 = good)

Food Presentation = 0
Taste/Texture = 1
Service = 1
Price/Value = 1
Overall Atmosphere = 1

TOTAL SCORE = 4/5, will purposely make a trip there !

THE VERDICT: 7 items, 2 half pint draught Asahi, 1 perfect city sunset scene and friendly service at THB 2190. I really appreciate the efforts made by the team. Foods are skilfully prepared, had great dining experience there. what else :P 

Useful Information:

• Accept Reservation
• Smart Casual Attire
• If you want to go to SIGNATURE, please wear long pant 
• www.kudeta.com

Other Pictures:

Cosy setup. Advise to seat near the windows

Sunset view from Izakaya by KU DE TA Bangkok. 

Amazing Thailand - Food Trip

I have been going to Bangkok almost every year since i think 5 years back. One of the most important reasons is FOOD. Authentic Thai food uses a lot of greens like fruits/herbs/leafs, which i think is very down to earth. Simple but hearty. But of cause, because the open minded of the people on the land of smile, there are too array of foods from other cultures being brought in which will also be highlighted in this post. 

First of, Thai's street foods. They are simply in EVERY CORNER of the streets. Below are few worthy to be highlighted here: 

Moo Ping, i once thought it is chicken because of the tenderness of
the cut :p

Moo Ping | หมูปิ้ง | Grilled Pork on Skewer 

The pork was so tender and grilled to perfection. I believe the main marinate is sweet soy sauce and when it caramelised under the grill, it just adds a distinctive flavour to the juicy pork. Definitely my #1 snack under street food category. I had mine in front of 7-11 right next to BTS Chong Nonsi. 3 sticks for THB 20. I didn't order the sticky rice because of the carb... :( but i think it will be a perfect companion with the pork. 

This is Bihun Tom Yum. You can request for "half spicy". My top in the list. 

Kuay Teow Tom Yum | ก๋วยเตี๋ยวต้มยำ | Sweet, Sour and Spicy Noodle

If you ask me to choose 1 food that can represent the Thai's street food. This is the definite answer! This delicacy first caught my eye because the flavour/colour of the soup is mixed separately upon order. That means, if you like to have "half spicy" - what local can understand, or more sour, you can go for it and they hawker can customise it for you before he add the broth. Also you can choose between flat rice noodle (Kuay Teow), vermicelli, glass noodle (Tang Hun)...etc.   As for the toppings, there are fish cake, minced pork, pork lean meat, fish ball and KangKong (veg). Upon serving, you can further add seasoning like dried chili, fish sauce, sugar and crushed nuts.  Im actually slobbering now !!!  :( 

THB 35 for half mango and 70 for full. Who cares !! I want double
of this !! :P

Khao Neow Ma Muang | ข้าวเหนียวมะม่วง } | Mango Sticky Rice 

It is hard to choose between this one and the Tub Tim Grob | ทับทิมกรอบ | Rubies in Coconut Milk but finally i opt for the mango sticky rice combo. Im a bit reluctant when it comes to dessert because of high sugar high carb containt but if i need to all out for one, i need to make sure it is to the max! The chewy stick rice topped with slightly salted coconut milk and the refreshing, aromatic mango are born to be together !!!  Sweet and satl, chewy and fluffy.... OMG !!  :) 

One of my MUST BUY item in 7-11 Thailand.  THB 32.

My either supper or breakfast :P  Fat die me ... sob sob... lol 

Next is convenient shop. It makes travel so much easier because like Taipei, there are every where and i patron 7-11 everyday during my five nights stay there to buy 3 main things that i cant get it here in Penang: Meiji Milk, Pork Bowl Rice (frozen) and Lays chips (Hot Chili Squid flavour). Tried different flavours of the frozen rice and chips too but the mentioned are the best for me. But its worth to mention here the Minced Pork and Basil Rice (another famous street food) is actually good even after being frozen and heated. Can try if you prefer spicy and aromatic flavour. 

One of the top Irish Pub in town, famous with their "from the tap" beers !!

Another preferred activity during travel is to explore to beers and I prefer drink beer in Bangkok instead of Penang because in general they serve fresh draught. Also the drinking culture there is more towards drinking. Of all the places i've tried, i love the draught Chang from Molly Malone (click here for location). This irish pub is just 2 minute walk from Sala Daeng BTS (Bangkok's sky train). At THB 100-130 per pint (depending on which day you go), it is so much cheaper. Other draughts like Heineken and Guinness are equally outstanding here. I think this is something to do with they strategy, promo 1 type of draught per day, this will reduce the storage/idle time hence minimise the beers from stale.   

Clockwise from top left: (1) Traditional Royal Thai Cuisine in Ruen Mallika
(2) Mince Pork Ball  Porridge in Siam Paragon Food Court  (3) Grill
Chicken Ramen (4) Fried Oyster Terminal 21's Pier 21 

If you love street foods but worry about the hygiene issues, you can actually go to the food court in shopping malls like Siam Paragon or Central World. There sells street foods too !! And to my surprise, some of the price are actually SAME with those you can find on the street, i.e. THB 45 for a bowl of noodle with soup. Your choice actually ... :P 

Lastly, because of vast number of Japanese working in the city, you can expect a lot 日本料理 (Japanese Cuisine) available across the concrete jungle. Of them all, i pick two mid range restaurants: Ramen King @ A Square (relatively new lifestyle 'mall' that you can eat play relax in Shukumvit area) and Izakaya @ Kudeta Bangkok (lovely restaurant located in 39th floor - dining and overseeing Bangkok's skyline at once). There are other chain outlet like Fuji, Chabuton, MOS but again i think these 2 are more special and worth to try if you are there. 

Bangkok, apart from being a food heaven for me, is actually a great way to escape. Strong in culture but gentle towards tourist, i find myself very relax walking along the street. Worry free that kind of feeling. People are smiling always and i particully like the way the female way of greeting "Sawadee Kaaaaaaaa ~~~~" So soft and gentle, just like the smiling face... just melt and take my heart visit after visit !! Till then, i look forward for my next BKK trip :P 

Other Pictures:

Clockwise from Top Left: (1) variety of frozen rice from 7-11 (2) My fav
Pork Bowl Rice (3) Pork in Garlic Sauce Rice (4) Fried Pork and Basil Rice

Clockwise from Top Left: (1) Hawker Stall just in front of restaurant
(2) Fried squid with salted egg york (3) local Cu Char restaurant
 (4) Instant Tom Yum noodle mixed with assorted vegs and minced
pork in JJ Market. 

Creativity of Thai is limitless !!!!   Thats why i LUV BKK :P 

Maxmax5's Homemade Mushroom Soup

These days people are 'calculative' towards the food especially on calories. No doubt many hi cal foods are delicious, i.e. fat, starch, but that does not mean without hi-cal food/ingredient, we cant cook a good one. In this post, im going to show you how to cook Mushroom Soup without using cream (hi fat content). 

Ingredient for 6 pax:

• Button Mushroom ............................................ 600g
• Sweet Onion .................................................... 3
• Garlic ................................................................ 5 cloves
• Fresh Thymes & Rosemary ............................. 2 - 4 spring each
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper  ............. seasoning
• rice .................................................................. a handful
• Sunflower Seed Oil  ........................................ 3 tbsp
• flour ................................................................ 2 tbsp
• Chicken Stock / Water .................................... 2 litre

Methods:

1. Preheat oven at 200 degree C / 392 degree F 
2. Wash and halve the white button mushroom
3. Lightly season the mushroom with salt and pepper and some thymes leave (no stem)
4. Into the oven for 25-30 min. (Reduce moisture means intensify the mushroom flavour)
5. Meanwhile, on med-high heat, add oil and sweet onion, brown the onion, 10 - 15 min. Beware do not burn them. 
6. Add in garlic and sautee for another 3 min then add flour and continue sautee. Flour will thicken the soup later but need to sautee it until the colour change from white to lightly brown. 
7. Once everything is brown, add in the mushroom together with the mushroom water in the tray from oven (if any). then add in rice and stock/water.  (rice will give more texture to the soup after blended)
8. Lastly the Bouquet Garni (herbs tighten on butcher twine). For this recipe, i use Rosemary and Thymes. Immerse it into the soup. 
9. Boil for 30 min with lid semi open and then remove the Bouquet Garni before using an immersive blender to puree the soup.
10. Done.  The texture should be thick and full of blended solids like mushroom and rice. 

Useful Tips:

• If you have no oven, remove step#4 and sautee the seasoned mushroom after the onion is brown. During the process, the mushroom will give up its water and you will need to sautee until the water dry out, usually 10-15min.
• Serve with dash of truffle/olive oil, topped with sautee mushroom and garlic bread. 
• Add cream for a lighter flavour but not advisable if you are concerning the cal :P 

Light season with Thymes, salt and pepper before baking

Shrooms are baking

Browning caramelised sugar in the food to yield more flavours

A "handful" of rice. Add solids and improve texture. No one like watery soup

Bouquet Garni into the boiling soup. 30 min. 

Blend with Immersive Blender and serve. 

Penang De Tai Tong Cafe (大东酒楼) Review

Rarely nowadays in Penang you will find DimSum restaurant still serving the traditional delicacies on carts and this old name, in many heart of Penangites,  still does. Rarely too nowadays you will see a restaurant that is 100% operated by local people but this one still persists. 

The Tai Tong Cafe's facade. 5min walk from Chulia Street or KOMTAR. 

Its has been long long ago since i first ate in Tai Tong. Located in Lebuh Cinta (click here for map), this restaurant has been running for the past 60 years. My first impression to it was that it is selling DimSum with very friendly aunty who will introduce to you what is special today and what is good. there are 3 of them, each handle cart for Pao (all kinds), Steamed Dimsum and Fried Dimsum. 

This is the Pao's cart. You can find almost all kind of Pao here

It was until last few years when i visited them again i realised that they are actually selling more than Dimsum! They do server CuChar (煮炒) which is what draws me in for a dinner fist whenever i feel like starving. Why? Because  i can have have both Dimsum and Fried Rice together under 1 roof (which not every Dimsum restaurant in Penang does). 

My fav SiewMai and the 2 new DimSum (dont know the name) 

Being still serving Dimsum with carts and operated with 100% local, i feel the persistence from the management. There are people claimed the quality (taste) dropped over years, but i feel otherwise. The Siew Mai is still loaded with prawn and pork without ugly stuffing like pork's fat and yambean (Mengkuang). My favourite still. Although in general, the taste is not outstanding but at least for me, it taste like what it should be. 

Also i kept seeing new things from them in my every visit. From new dimsum to the latest i saw yesterday: Salted Fish Pao, 咸鱼包. A fictional pao appeared in latest Hong Kong TVB's drama Glided Chopsticks, 食为奴.  

Salted Fish Pao/咸鱼包. RM 2.50 per pcs. To be honest, i dont really like
it because it does not taste like salted fish. No fragrant. However, the bun
has a crunchy top (fried before) and i think it is intended to have a thin side rather than 1 thin 1 thick. So so ...

Developing new ideas on the foundation of strong tradition. I guess this is the essence why Tai Tung is still packed every hour after so many years in business. 

So what is the rating ? (-1 = no good; 0 = neutral; 1 = good)

Food Presentation = 0

Taste/Texture = 0

Service = 1

Price/Value = 1

Overal Atmosphere = 0

TOTAL SCORE = 2, WILL GO IF HAPPEN TO BE AROUND

THE VERDICT: When every one whining of pricing increase and looking ways to cut cost by employing foreign workers (norm in FnB business nowaday), Tai Tong doesn't, not even the waiters. I like the aunties running the front line of the restaurant. They know what they are doing and they are happy to intro if you needed help. I feel the originality of DimSum culture here and that is the bottom line for me. 

Useful info:

1) 6am - 12noon: Dimsum, 12noon-3pm: CuChar, 6:30pm-12midnight: DimSum + CuChar

2) no aircon, no designated carpark. Come before 6:30pm for dinner before everyone else does

3) order ice cube if tea is too hot for you. 

Other Pictures:

The aunties army :P

Fried Rice

Salted Fish Pao On the Selve

Special Recommendation from Chef for the CuChar if you want
something more filling.