December 18th, 2009 View Comments
After lunch at Ah Soon Bak Kut Teh, I brought JB pig-outers here for mid-afternoon dessert/yumcha. We need a place to chill and rest our tummies. I like the dim and warm lightings that offer the vibe of a great chill out place for urbanites looking for a place to enjoy cold dessert with friends! Not to mention, there’s plenty of parking lots for everyone!
I guess Mar was feeling pretty happy after a good lunch. It totally showed on her smiley face. Speaking about parking lots. We came to a conclusion that Malaysian loves to park head-in while Singaporeans ace in parking butt-in. What you think? True?
Anyway I love this place because I love mango and I love sago. Well I’ll only have green bean soup if there’s sago inside and do you know that sago tastes exceptionally good in bubur cha cha and dessert pastries. But the ultimate sago partner is the slushy-cushy MANGO LOO! That’s how we call this mango dessert in JB which may originate from Hong Kong. Oh I still dream of the heavenly mango dessert I had at Xu Liu Shan, Hong Kong! *drools* Anyway, finally, a decent dessert place in JB where I can head for when the occasional mango sago cravings hits me.
Theses are the mango delights JB pig-outers had that afternoon. Mar and I decided to share a dessert to save space for whatever food that’s coming next.
Out of 4 orders, 3 were mango mango mango! Kelvin was the odd one out with watermelon ice. He wanted something more refreshing. So watermelon works better for him.
Can you see the sago sticking on the ice? Hard to tell eh? Can’t remember how much we spent here but it shouldn’t be more than RM30. The price of the desserts ranges between RM5-8.
Overall, La Gourmet is not bad but it can never beat the mango goodies at Xu Liu Shan. I so wanna go Hong Kong again!! Cablenazi, heard that?
La Gourmet
No 11, Jalan Kuning Dua,
Taman Pelangi. 80400, Johor Bahru
10am – 3pm
07-3313782
December 12th, 2009 View Comments
What’s a trip to Beijing without getting a piece of the Peking Roast Duck?
That night, we were all duck hunters.
Clues led us to the original outlet of Quan Ju De, an establishment known for serving Peking Roast Duck since 1864. Quan Ju De illustrious history begun during the Qing Dynasty under Emperor Tongzhi’s rule. Quan Ju De became the first restaurant in the world to serve the delectable roasted duck that was once strictly reserved to imperial families to commoners.
As with most classic Chinese restaurants, the decor is typically oriental. Lavish gold trimmings and vibrant red feature walls gave the restaurant an imperial feel. Not a bad dining experience. Although we did ordered other dish like beef, vegetables and other very tasty dishes but this post will focus solely on the duck experience considering it is an extremely famous duck restaurant in Beijing.
Aside from badgering the chef who was tasked to carve the magic duck for us to take pictures while he was working, we had fun watching him shaves the crackling skin of this magic duck that was originally served to the emperor several hundred years ago and is considered by some to be the national food of China.
Served in well-cut slices with house-made pancakes, fine-cut green scallions, fresh cucumbers and a dish of paste-like soy of fermented wheat flour. The duck was tender and just right. Very moist and tender and not the least bit fatty. I also love the skin which was light and crispy! Oh I’m a sucker for skins that crackle in the mouth. Plus, some of the skin has a thin line of fat underneath!
I think this crepe-like Chinese popiah was so delicious because the gamy duck meat went perfectly well with the refreshing scallions, cucumbers. Not to mention the spicy glutinous glop we smeared all over the steamed crepes which tasted like thick sweet soy sauce with a slight hint of garlic, pepper. the result is an amazing combination of spicy, sweet and a very fresh tasting.
No wonder we were told that the magic duck is irresistible.
Quan Ju De
No. 14, Qianmen West Street
Beijing