December 16th, 2009 §
A short drive from the CIQ, lies this bustling restaurant with a crazy crowd who would brave storms to taste a flavorsome light brown broth. When I was a little girl, I would look forward to Saturdays because pa will bring us to this stuffy yet fulfilling restaurant if we manage to catch the morning church service!
Now that I’m a big girl, Ah Soon Bak Kut Teh is where I’ll head for piping hot herbal pork ribs soup with friends who don’t mind the heat! So last Saturday, I was there with Kelvin, Vic, Mariko and Cablenazi.
Vic looked like he was glaring at Cable Nazi for scooping ladle after ladle of broth from the claypot. Haha. By the way, Kelvin and Cablenazi was so pleased with the fare that they ate 2 bowls of rice which they really shouldn’t had. GUYS DON’T EAT SO MUCH RICE. Must remember to always leave some space for more yummy goodies when you’re in JB.
:S
Basically the most important feature of this dish is the broth: it is a balance between the herbal and peppery version of Bak Kut Teh. Ah Soon’s herbal version is a tad milder than Kedai Bak Kut Teh Hin Hock (another one of my favourite) but it is still delectable. I’m a really big fan of herbs and spices. It should contain star anise, cinnamon, cloves, dang gui, fennel seeds and garlic.
Well we were late, so there wasn’t much ’stuff’ in the Bak Kut Teh lest for pork ribs. Normally in the morning before brunch, we can find additional ingredients such as offal and pieces of dried tofu or fried tofu puffs added into this claypot delight at Ah Soon Bak Kut Teh. If you woke up late, just like us, then just be happy with the pork ribs.
Secret. The Bak Kut Teh tastes so good because uncle Ah Soon insist on using charcoal to prepare his specialty dish.
(:
The Bak Kut Teh came in a big claypot so we gotta scooped the herbie treat into individual bowls. Hm. It’s weird how I dislike to have my Bak Kut Teh served in little porcelain bowls.… If I can, I would just slurp the broth straight from the claypot because I like my Bak Kut Teh extra warm. Haha. Or perhaps it is the claypot illusion that there’s more broth and meat inside.
Oh when you’re here, do try the Yellow Rice Wine Claypot Chicken, Tau Pok/Fried Bean Curd and Salted Vegetables.
Yellow Rice Wine Claypot Chicken was awesome. The meat was so tender, moist and and we can tell from the taste of it that the usually dry and unspectacular chicken meat had successfully retained the sweet taste of rice wine! It must had been simmered really slowly over a small fire the entire morning.
Also, the soft and a little goey Tau Pok went extremely well with the thick soy sauce and cut chillies. Do remember to eat the Tau Pok immediately when it is served because it will not taste as nice after it turned cold. As for the salted Vegetables. In my opinion, Ah Soon’s salted vegetable is one of the best among the Bak Kut Teh restaurants in JB. It’s not too heavily salted yet briny enough to tantalise my taste buds with a slight hint of pickled sourness.
If you noticed, we didn’t have You Tiao/Chinese cruller fried bread stick. Another reason for you to have breakfast here instead of brunch/lunch.
For Bak Kut Teh (4 persons), Claypot Chicken (2 persons), 2 bowls of Salted vegetables and 2 bowls of Tau Pok, we spent roughly RM65 on lunch for 5 hungry adults. Not sure if Vic, Mariko or Kelvin gonna crave for this and be back again but I will definitely say yes if dad wants to date me for breakfast this coming week when I’ll be back in JB for holidays. He’s the best. Cablenazi shall tag along if he has been a good boy this week.
Ah Soon Bak Kut Teh
141, Jalan Keris 1
Taman Sri Tebrau
Johor Bahru
016-7152678
Ah Soon is just 5 minutes walk away from the ‘famous’ Bamboo paper-wrapped herbal chicken which I personally think is over-rated. Would not recommend that Bamboo chicken restaurant because quality of food deteriorated after the renovation.
October 26th, 2009 §
If you love authentic Thai fare, you will love Thai Accent.
This is where Baby and I go when we want to find ourselves a good treat. Most of the time ,we know what we want when we enter this restaurant. However, when in doubt, we’ll look out for signature dishes! The menu is very friendly and the recommendations are good.
The deco is chic and of course Thai-ish. Lightings were warm and we felt quite at home with the setting. l like the bright colored paintings and the comfy rattan-looking chairs.
Finally the star of the night arrived. Tom Yum Goong garnished with coriander leaves! Thai Accent offers 2 version. The thick broth or the clear soup. We got the thick one which is spicier! They are very generous with the use fragrant herbs as we can smell the aromatic lemongrass and lime leaves as soon as the soup is served on the table. Extremely appetizing. Don’t you love restaurants that are generous? *applauds*
The slightly herbaceous flavor of this distinctive sweet and sour soup is heavenly. Ah I adore spicy food. The hotter the better. While some use chocolate as a comfort food, I prefer soups. Especially such spirited soup like the Tom Yum Goong.
Anyway, this is one of those stuff you can eat to clear your sinus so here’s where you should be heading to if you’re down with flu. lol. Btw guess what, the burning feeling of savoring this fiery dish actually releases endorphins. And endorphins makes people happy! Fyi drugs such as morphine, heroine and cocaine releases endorphins. No wonder there’s an instant feel-good moment each time I slurp down a spoonful of Tom Yum goodness.
Tom Yum Goong goes extremely well with the fragrant white rice. Yes, rice is free flow here!
Service was efficient and every customer is well taken care of although there’s always a crowd during dinner time. Quite a feat to make sure everyone has enough servings of rice and ice water (free too). Lemons were added to the ice water to give it a refreshing tinge to it. TLC.
Oh lets move on. We ordered another dish. We can only order 2 dishes (includes Tom Yum Goong) each time we’re here because we’re gonna waste food if we get anything more. That’s a disadvantage of getting Tom Yum. It goes so well with rice you end up filling your tummy with more rice and usual. Then you have no space for anything else. :/
The last time we came, we ordered the Green Curry Chicken. Zany of us to do that because just like the Tom Yum, we enjoyed having it with rice. So this time, we got smarter and got ourselves the Baked Honey Pork Ribs which was absolutely titillating!
Wonder how they make the meat so tender. Much tender than my favourite Bak Kut Teh. Maybe they uses young ribs because Young ribs are more tender and juicy! Mouth-watering. Must be the delicious honey.
Warning: The Tom Yum Goong can be extremely addictive. You’ll be coming back again and again for more. Just like us. Too bad they only have 1 branch in Singapore. Yeah don’t even have branches in JB. But apparently they have 12 Thai Restaurants in KL. :/
Other goodies you can try: authentic Thai Iced Tea, Pineapple Fried Rice with Prawns, Steam Siakap with Lime & Chilli Sauce and the Mango Sticky Rice dessert! Yup I’ve tried all these and still loving it!
In a nutshell, dinner at Thai Accent is always Aroi Mak Mak (very delicious in Thai)!!!
Thai Accent
VivoCity #02-145/146
Tel: 6376 9282
www.seacuisine.com.my
October 16th, 2009 §
I’m sure you’ve heard of this famous restaurant. It’s the only Chinese restaurant to be listed in Fortune Magazine as one of the Top 15 Restaurants in the World. Well, Wiki said that. Not me.
Yung Kee is conveniently located in the heart of Hong Kong Central District. It’s 4 minutes from the MTR Central Station (Exit D2) on foot. Yung Kee’s gold building was eye-catching and have a very oriental feel. Staff were polite and service was alright.
According to all guide books, roasted Goose at Yung Kee, Wellington Street is a must.
No wonder. Yung Kee did impressed me with this moist, and undeniably delicious roasted goose. But the skin is not as crispy as I thought it would be.
As for the Century Eggs, these ‘hundred-year-old-eggs’ do have an ancient look to them. lol. These are duck eggs, preserved in potash and salt for several weeks to several months. After the fermenting process, the egg white turns dark grey and the yolk blackish.
Century eggs is a Chinese delicacy that I cannot get enough of. I love having these odd looking oval stuff in my porridge! It also tastes odd. But oddly tasty. The yolk is especially flavorsome. Preserved sliced ginger goes really well with the egg because it balances off the egg’s aftertaste.
Ordered another side dish. It’s a clay pot mix of vegetables and goose feet. Neither bad nor spectacular. Kinda plain though. Would not order this again.
I’m not sure if I will come back to Yung Kee the next time I dropped by Hong Kong. It seems to be popular among tourist and I want to try something the locals would. Perhaps I’ll give Yue Kee a try after reading this raving review by My Wok Life. Hm and I agree that Yung Kee did made the wallet lighter.
Yung Kee Restaurant
32-40 Wellington Street
Central, Hong Kong
Tel: (852) 2522 1624
info@yungkee.com.hk
October 15th, 2009 §
Thanks Mun Wai for the recommendation! Mr.Ong and I still drools when we think of this restaurant. Can’t wait to go Hong Kong again.
Not sure if you are a fan of exotic food. Snake is considered as an exotic Chinese food that may revolt many stomachs. Haha. Anyway we dig weird Chinese exotic food and unusual grub.
We had duck liver sausage, Chinese sausage and wax duck for dinner!
The duck liver sausages or Ren Chang is so unlike what we have in Singapore/Malaysia! It’s perfectly moist and we find delicious nuggets of fat in a chubby sausage. The liver-taste was not overwhelming. I actually prefer duck liver sausages than Chinese sausages.
Chinese sausages or Lap Chong is pretty common among Southeast Asians as compared to Ren Chang. It is sweeter, harder and drier than Ren Chang. Singapore actually has Chinese sausages with low fat, low sodium content and even a high fibre version. Not sure how it taste though.
As for the wax duck, it’s actually a delicacy enjoyed by many Malaysian Chinese during the Lunar New Year. Wow. They have this all year round in Hong Kong. No it doesn’t taste like wax candles. Haha. It’s actually salt preserved meat that has an oily waxed texture. Unlike the ones I’ve tasted before, Snake King’s wax duck is much more tender!
Their signature dish is of course the “snake soup” !!!
It is thick like a stew and has shredded snake, chicken, pork and mushroom! Extremely tasty and it kept us feeling warm in the cold weather here!
Definately a MUST TRY in Hong Kong! Service is good and you’re eating in a typical Hong Kong style cha chan teng just like a local. In fact, most of the customers are locals!
Bought a doggie suit from a cart just outside the restaurant. So cuteeeeee! Took home a hogwarts-like uniform for skii-boy, my aunt’s schnauzer!
Snake King Two
No. 24 Percival Street
Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
Tel1: +852 2831 0163
Tel2: +852 2832 2977
October 5th, 2009 §
We came here for bro’s birthday! OK I’m going to insert 2 exterior shots of the restaurant from limsimi. I forgot to take pics of the restaurant because I was too excited about the food. oops. lol.
Well, it’s pretty easy to locate the restaurant. It’s very close to the Tebrau Market and Crystal Crown Hotel.
Here’s how Tebrau Market looks like.
Now, the foooood!
Ok Since it’s a birthday celebration, the Longevity Noodles (long life noodles, or ???, “Chang Shou Mian”) is a must! It’s part of the Chinese culture. Chinese being Chinese, food in particular is super rich in symbolism. Well these long noodles represent a long unbroken life. We are not supposed to cut it (unless we bite it in our mouth?) because this will incur bad luck/shortening our life. That’s what they (ancient/modern conservative Chinese) say la. We know it’s not true!! LOL. The dish is just meant for celebrating life.
Beautiful isn’t’ it? That’s quite a huge serving but it’s just right for 10 pax. The noodles are really thin and long. There’s lotsa bean sprouts, Chinese mushrooms, lean pork, veg and fried boiled quail eggs! Mm the bean sprouts were really crunchy.
Sweet & Sour Steamed Fish/Thai Steamed Fish
The fish was very delicate, very fleshy and the sauce was ok. It could be spicier by my standard (I loveee spicey food).
Well fish is an essential dish at the dinner table during celebrations because in Chinese culture, fish is a sign of prosperity. Also, the chinese word for fish,? ‘yu’ sounds similar to the Chinese words for abundance. Thus, eating fish will help fulfill our/my bro’s wishes in the year.
Stir-fry Five-flower Pork (Wu Hua Rou, ???)
Five-flower pork = belly pork with a beautiful cut, four or five layers of alternating lean and fat meat. MMMmm The Five-flower pork was chopped into bite size and it tasted absolutely heavenly when stir-fried with dried chillies and freshly chopped onions. I loveeee the wobbly skin layer.
You know, the thick flavorsome gravy goes really well with fragrant white rice. Since this pork dish was cooked using a claypot, it is highly aromatic and pleasing. The claypot cooking method helps to retain the juices and flavor because the goody juices released by the food as it cooks cannot escape from the pot!! Trapped!
Cuttlefish with stir fry lean pork, celery and lotus
My sis favorite dish. She is very passionate when it comes to eating cuttlefish. Lol. It’s a very complementary combination of mid-size cuttlefish flakes, lotus, celery and lean pork. The strong fishy taste was cleverly offset by the fresh, tarty flavour of the lotus and celery.
Roasted Chicken
Though I’m not a big fan of chicken, I took a few more pieces than my usual helpings because the meat was strangely moist/mildly briny and not as dry/tasteless as chicken normally is. Not bad.
Do take note: you need to pre-order the roasted chicken a day before!
OK The bill was around RM200++ for 10 pax and my fav for this dinner would be the Five Flower Pork!
Ah besides the dishes above, you can try the cod-fish, prawns etc. In fact, just order whatever you feel like eating la. Everything they served here is definitely pleasing to your taste buds and value-for-money. Honestly, the quality of its food had been consistently good for a restaurant that has been around more than 20 years.
You can call them a day in advance if you wish to book a private room! A private room is suitable for mini gatherings/birthday dinners etc. There’s no booking charges/extra charges for reserving a private room but you need to accept the 2 bowls of peanuts which cost RM6 each. Well I would suggest getting a private dining room if you have about 10 people dining (including you).
Food pictures were taken with dad’s Nokia E66.
New Lucky Seafood Restaurant
1-5 Jalan Keris
Taman Sri Tebrau
80050 Johor Bahru Johor
Tel: 07-3337519/332530