Food reviews

Stuart Anderson’s Black Angus Steakhouse

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stuart anderson black angus steak

This is a higher end quick service restaurant that I had dinner at last week in Singapore. Stuart Anderson’s Black Angus Steakhouse has several outlets there – it’s a franchise that started in Seattle.

Black Angus Steakhouse serves All American fare like steaks (obviously), burgers and root beer. The prices are pretty reasonable too, if you don’t convert – the root beer float goes for SGD 7.50.

stuart anderson black angus singapore

It’s primarily known for steak though – the menu describes it lovingly as air flown USDA tender, flavorful Black Angus steak aged to perfection. There are several cuts available in different sizes.

I settled for a center-cut New York Steak – medium rare. It’s SGD 43.90 for 10 oz. I love the sauce options – the waiter recommended Red Wine sauce, which I went with.

black angus steakhouse new york steak

You can also choose the trimmings – I went for the standard side of fresh steamed vegetables and switched my baked potato to garlic mashed potato, which was an excellent choice. My only beef (no pun intended) is that they got my order wrong, it came out medium well instead of medium rare but in a group of about a dozen near closing time, I guess mix-ups are inevitable.

stuart anderson steak soup

You also get to choose an entree from the menu to go with your steak dinner and I went with Stuart’s Steak Soup which was recommended and I wasn’t disappointed – it turned out to be the best dish I had. Heh. The steak soup has generous chunks of beef inside as well as a hodgepodge of beans, veggies and even barley. Nice, thick soup for the soul.

gigantic burger pound black angus

They also have a monster of a burger, with patties made of Black Angus beef weighing a whole pound! That’s like eating 4 quarter pounders and this has strips of bacon on top to boot. Decadent stuff. Just look at the size of it. It’s about SGD 24 or so, and it would certainly take a very hungry man to finish it.

KFC Zinger Double Down Burger

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kfc zinger double down

It’s a burger…with meat patties for buns! In fact, there are no buns in this wonderfully crafted burger. The KFC Zinger Double Down Burger has two pieces of Zinger chicken patties to substitute the bun.

ALL MEAT. ALL MAN. It’s perfection!

eating double down burger

I’ve read about this bun-less burger on a US snack site a while ago and was very intrigued. I wanted to try it. My exact words were:

I AM EAGER TO EAT THIS! 😀

double down

It was unfortunately unavailable in Malaysia…until now!

kfc double down tasting session

I was lucky enough to be one of the first to eat this deliciously crafted “burger” at an exclusive tasting session for KFC Malaysia Facebook fans at KFC in Pavilion, KL on the 22nd of September. I nicked two photos from that page (the ones without the watermark). Heh.

double down malaysia

There was a cordoned off area and I can practically feel the envy of the others as the Double Down burger was served to our tables. We had this a good 4 days ahead of the public release.

double down tasting session

The tasting session started out with some fun and games – I joined the first one, it was a slow number where I had to face-off with another volunteer. I didn’t think I did so well coz the song was very slow but KFC was kind enough to award both of us with prizes.

gangnam style

Throughout the tasting session, there were fun spirited competitions like this – here’s one of Shah doing it Gangnam style. Heh.

balloon competition

Rachel was also called (actually we volunteered her haha) on stage for a balloon blowing competition. She gave me the bright yellow balloon and I passed it to a kid as I was walking back. Made his day, by the look of his face. 🙂

kfc double down burger

Anyway, back to the burger, it’s aptly tag-lined All Meat, All Man. It’s targeted towards the male demographic and I can really see the appeal of the KFC Zinger Double Down Burger. Heck, I’ve been waiting for it to come to our shores after seeing it on the website. This has gotta be the best burger bun substitute I’ve ever come across.

dd burger

Forgive my enthusiasm, I have been following the progress of this since it’s introduction in the US and I have been hoping to taste this beautiful burger. It’s targeted towards men, the amount of calories and huge portion means that the male demographic would be the primary consumer. I’m a guy, I don’t care how much calories it has, I want meat and I want it now! 🙂

double down burger

The KFC Zinger Double Down Burger has two pieces of Zinger fillet (as the “buns”) and sandwiched between it is a crispy chicken strip, sliced cheese, mayo and cheese sauce. It’s packed with chicken meat!

zinger double down

I loved it! It’s very satisfying to *bite* into a burger made with Zinger fillets – it’s delicious and I pronounce myself SATISFIED. Heh! I was full the entire day! It’ll be perfect for people with big appetites and those who don’t eat carbs. I was surprised at the pricing too – it’s only RM 8.40 a la carte and RM 10.50 if you want a regular drink to go with it. The combo set with wedges or fries and a large drink is just RM 12.50.

kfc double down malaysia

I really liked the idea of the KFC Zinger Double Down Burger. The tender, breaded Zinger fillets are juicy and biting into a pure chicken burger is an awesome experience you just have to try for yourself. It not only has novelty value, it’s sinfully delicious and filling!

kfc double down

The KFC Zinger Double Down Burger is available now! This is a limited time offer and you don’t want to miss this unique and sinfully delicious burger! Check out https://www.facebook.com/KFCMalaysia and www.kfc.com.my for more details. It’s an epic burger worthy of a trip to your nearest KFC.

You know you want to try it! 😀

Jony’s or Jonah’s Fruit Shakes – which is the original?

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jonys shakes boracay

Jony’s Boracay’s Original & Famous Fruit Shakes. Well, that’s what it says on the signboard anyway. Heh. Jonah’s Fruitshakes is the original place to go if you’re craving for a mango fruit shake, spawning a host of imitators, usually with variations on the name like Jony’s, Jody’s etc.

Note the slight difference in spelling?

yellow cab

That’s how it works in Boracay, I saw 3 (!!!) different Yellow Cab Pizza while I was there too. The above is the original. There’s also a hilarious one which dubs itself Tapsi Cab (with similar font and colors) which is basically run out of someone’s house, but it actually served pretty decent burgers at a really cheap price.

…so who cares, as long as it’s good? 😀

point 1

Back to Jony’s Fruit Shakes, it’s part of Jony’s Beach Resort and it’s located at Point 1 at White Beach. It’s actually a pretty nice place to chill and enjoy the sea breeze. They also serve food from different parts of the Philippines as well.

It’s rather overpriced and commercialized (saw a huge group of Chinese tourists come in) but I reckon that’s the price you pay (smirk) in places like Boracay – which was why I avoided the overrated and over-mentioned Ibu Oka franchise in Bali and asked in Denpasar for place where the locals go for babi guling instead.

jonys original fruitshakes

The restaurant attached to Jony’s Fruit Shakes is called Maya’s and I would give it a wide berth if I were you. The food is very mediocre and there are better choices around for the equivalent of RM 25-30 per dish restaurants. Go for the shakes, not the food.

tilapia

Crispy Fried Tilapia
This comes with 3 dipping sauces and is from the Luzon area. It’s pretty good – freshly fried and crispy, bit it’s the dip that makes the dish work…and seafood in Boracay is super fresh!

adobong manok

Adobong Native na Manok
I actually wanted goat kalderatta (a Panay dish of goat stewed in coconut wine) but they ran out of that, so I went for this one instead. It’s supposed to be a festive local dish of chicken simmered in soy sauce, spices and vinegar with organic chicken liver mousse.

I was really hungry then so it tasted good but in hindsight it’s really below average and quite forgettable. Except for the chicken liver mousse. That is superb!

…now for the shakes!

boracay fruit shakes

Just look at the sheer variety they have to offer. You can custom make it yourself too – simply request for the stuff you want and they’ll mix it for you.

jony mango fruit shake

This is a Mango, Pineapple and Banana fruit shake. PHP 100.
It’s really good. The tart and sweet mango is balanced by the smooth banana and pineapple lends a tang to it. The shakes costs about RM 8-10 each, depending on what you want.

banana nutella shake

Bananatella fruit shake. I don’t even know if this can be called a “fruit shake” anymore. Heh. It’s a mixture of bananas and Nutella! Now, isn’t that awesome!

I really loved the fruit shakes at Jony’s but you’ll have to drink it really, really fast. I really don’t know if Jonah’s is better, but Jony’s does an awesome fruit shake! It’s wonderfully thick and difficult to suck up the straw at first but that’s the optimum time to drink it coz the minute ice particles inside will dilute the drink down as time progresses.

It’s subject to entropy as all things are. 😉

fruitshakes boracay

Drink up as soon as you’re served! It’s loaded with calories and sinfully delicious, but it’s also sensational – a sublime beach drink. 😀

Imbi Meat Ball Noodles at Kota Kemuning

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meatball noodles

This place was highly recommended by Fiona so before we went to Fraser’s Hill, we made a pit stop here for lunch. It’s not exactly on the way but it’s near her house and we had to search a bit to actually find the place coz she hasn’t been here for a while.

imbi road meat ball noodles

Imbi Road Meatball Noodles Restaurant seems to originate from said name, or I would be puzzled as to why it’s on the signboard. A bit ironic we went all the way to Kota Kemuning to eat it. Heh.

meat ball noodle crowd

However, business was very brisk and it’s a full house when we went there. You can have the pork noodles dry or as a soup dish, with any type of noodles you want – from yellow noodles (which I opted for) to loh shi fan (which was Fiona’s choice).

imbi noodles restaurant

I would recommend the latter since it seems to absorb the flavors better. I didn’t really like my bowl of noodles…until I reached the bottom. It seems that I have not mixed the minced pork properly, which made most of it settle down at the bottom.

meat ball noodles mix

That’s the stuff that imparts flavor to the entire dish.

loh shi fan

…and I think it’s pork, we both discussed it and came to the consensus that it was. Heh. I’m kidding, it’s pork, the soup even has BBQ pork liver sausage in addition to the pork balls.

meatballs

I liked it towards the end, and the homemade pork meat balls are pretty good. It’s nicely uneven in size, the non-uniformity a selling point as it practically shouts HOMEMADE instead of industrial mass produced ones.

homemade pork balls

It’s pretty good noodles but not the best I’ve had…

fiona feeding me

…and you certainly can’t complain about the service. 😉

The famous Rojak SS15 in Subang Jaya

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rojak mamak ss15

I don’t usually like rojak, or pasembur as it’s referred to in the North. I don’t actively go seeking it but I’ll eat it if it’s good. This one is. It’s located at SS15 in Subang Jaya and it’s pretty well known. Heck, I’ve probably eaten it and forgotten. Heh.

ss15 rojak

Anyway, the queue for Rojak SS15 Subang Jaya is quite long. I was there in the afternoon and there were people queuing under the hot sun for a taste of this – it’s a perpetual line that never seems to end!

rojak ss15 subang jaya

It’s actually a roadside stall and you only have four (4) options according to the menu:

  • Kosong (Plain) – RM 3
  • Telur (with egg) – RM 4
  • Sotong (with squid) – RM 4
  • Sotong & Telur (with squid and egg) – RM 4.50

pasembur ss15

I went for the one with all the bells and whistles (or with all the trimmings in food parley) – I like egg and squid and I don’t relish the thought of eating it plain. Rojak can best be described as a type of salad, with a peanut based sauce for the “dressing”.

rojak ss15

This place is actually Fiona’s old stomping grounds – she was craving for the rojak and we headed there to eat this. She had the plain one and it actually tastes pretty good by itself.

hb fiona rojak

However, I preferred mine with the additional squid and egg – well worth the RM 1 extra if you consider you get an entire egg and generous amounts of squid. I can’t vouch for the freshness of the squid but it’s the entire package that makes it good.

ss15 rojak egg sotong

Rojak SS15 Subang Jaya has really good rojak sauce – it’s sweet and nutty. It’s also warm which adds to the overall appeal of this rojak. I liked it but I doubt I’ll be returning specifically to eat this. I’ll have it if I’m in the area though, it’s really good rojak and it’s served warm!

rojak ss15 queue

You can even eat it right beside the stall under the shade of the trees…and watch the never-ending queue in relative comfort. 😉

Two unique burgers from the Philippines

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1. Hash Brown Burger

hash brown burger

This is a breakfast menu item from the fast food franchise giant Jollibee. Jollibee is all around the Philippines, you can literally see one at every street corner in Manila. I had this at the airport just before flying Cebu Pacific Air to Boracay.

jollibee hash brown burger

The Hash Brown Burger is made with a 100% pure beef patty and a slice of cheese sandwiched between two golden hash browns.

jollibee

It cost 88 pesos (RM 6.50) at the airport, I’m sure it costs less outside but it’s well worth it.

manila jollibee

I love how the crispy hash browns substitute the traditional burger – it’s crunchy on the outside and moist and tender on the inside, which makes the hash browns a much better bun!

burger bun substitute

It’s delicious stuff! I wish they had it here but I reckon you can make your own using hash browns and removing the patty from a regular burger. 🙂

2. Chinese pao burger with pork sausage

chowking

This comes from Chowking, a large fast food franchise specializing in Chinese food in the Philippines. The interesting bit is that they use a Chinese style pao instead of the usual burger buns.

unique burger pao

It’s even stamped with a “Ck” for Chowking on top. It looks like a typical burger bun but it’s actually a Chinese pau – the taste and chewy texture is spot on! 🙂

chowking pao burger

I find that it absorbs the sauces of the ingredients well, but doesn’t over-saturate it – it’s a perfect burger bun substitute!

burger lap cheong

I had the one with the Chinese pork sausage (lap cheong) inside for 39 pesos (RM 3) inclusive of chicharap (prawn crackers) and a drink right outside Intramuros.

chow pao

It’s ironically called Chowking’s Chow Pao – which means something totally different if you pronounce it the wrong way. Heh.

Eating balut in the Philippines

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balut egg

Balut is perhaps the Philippines most notorious street food. It’s an duck egg that’s intentionally unpasteurized to create a fertilized embryo inside it. You can get a near fully formed chick if you’re lucky – complete with beak, feathers and other features you’ll normally associate with a duck.

Well, a duck to be anyway, since it’s been boiled, it’s never going to hatch. 😉

balut duck egg embryo

Balut is also known for it’s eww factor with an almost ridiculous aversion bordering on stereotypical squeamishness.

I think there was a Fear Factor episode where the final contestants backed out from eating it. I honestly don’t get what all the fuss is all about – it’s just an egg…with a duck as a bonus. Heh.

cooking balut

I managed to get one that has a relatively intact and grown chick inside, complete with a beak and feathers. I reckon that’s the best kind – crunchy and well, feathery. smirk

balut duck embryo

The balut is kept in local cardboard insulated wood buckets and wrapped in layers of cloth to keep them warm – it’s quite nasty if you eat it cold coz part of the goodness of balut is the broth that comes out of the egg.

balut salt

The street venders sell it with a twist of salt in a conical newspaper wrapping – I got 2 balut eggs for 50 pesos (about RM 4). You’re supposed to eat it by cracking open the top of the balut egg, adding salt and slurping out the delicious juices before eating it.

I ate the first one without salt to get a more unadulterated experience and the second one with salt on the advice of the vendor. I preferred eating it without salt, the soup tastes almost exactly like chicken broth, and the half formed duck added a bit of texture and crunchiness to it.

balut

You can see the juices from the balut dripping down my hand in this photo. I’ve eaten balut before, it should have no offensive odors despite a lot of reports claiming otherwise – this is confirmed by a Pinoy friend of mine, who first introduced me to it by bringing it all the way from Manila to Sibu, causing a three day delay before I ate it. Heh.

Here’s a video of me eating it in a hurry (it was a high traffic area) and the associated local bystanders watching with interest and asking if I liked it.

There are a lot of myths associated with balut with claims such as improving male vitality and potency. That will put Pfizer and GSK out of business if it were true. 😉 Similar claims have been made on dog meat, snake blood and bull’s penis. I am inclined to disregard all those and just eat it for the experience and taste.

eating balut

How does balut taste like? Well it just tastes like a regular boiled egg, except balut has a rich duck broth and a crunchy texture where the half formed chick resides. Xinxian agreed and added that it felt like she was eating egg shells.

I highly recommend that you try balut if you’re ever in the Philippines – it’s delicious in its own way and it’s one of those things that you have to try when you’re there. 🙂

The famous Red Prawn (Ang Heh) durian at Balik Pulau, Penang

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red prawn durian

This should be called The Hunt for Red October Prawn. Red Prawn or Udang Merah is known locally in Hokkien as “Ang Heh” – it’s a breed of durian only available in Penang – there’s too much local demand (and exports to countries like Singapore I imagine) for it to come down to Klang Valley.

Thus, after 4 meals before 12 pm we finally drove to Balik Pulau (it’s where the orchards for Ang Heh are) where I ran down to stall after stall only to be told the same thing:

There are no Red Prawn durians. The season just ended.

One stall sold his *very last* Red Prawn durian to a customer just before we came.

balik pulau durian stall

I had almost given up at this point when the next stall claimed to have Red Prawn. In fact, there were 4 of these luscious durians.

red prawn penang

Red Prawn is characterized by it’s red colored flesh and small seeds. It’s not bright red like the Sarawakian local ones, although some can have an orange hue, with just a tinge of red, or striped. I paid RM 45 for one durian – it’s RM 25/kg after a bit of bargaining.

ang heh durian

The durian only had 5 seeds!!!

red prawn

That works out to about RM 10 per seed. It was delicious though, definitely worth it for durian lovers. 🙂

Suanie got another one to take away, this has more seeds and it’s heavier, cost RM 50. There’s also various other Penang-only durians on offer – you can listen to the proprietor talking about it.

Koh Tsu Koon durian

Koh Tsu Koon is also another famous durian strain but I couldn’t afford to part with another RM 50 for a tiny durian, despite it being famed for having miniscule or no seeds at all, which is a running joke about the ex-Penang CM.

udang merah

All in all, it was a good durian hunt – I got to eat Red Prawn and even though it wasn’t as red as what I tasted on a previous excursion, it’s good. It tastes like Red Prawn.

durian udang merah

Sarawak also has a bright red colored durian (as does Penang, which has several). Red Prawn is pretty good, and at that price point, a bargain compared to overrated durian strains like Musang King.

eating red prawn durian

We sapu-ed two out of the four Red Prawn durians left – it was the end of season for that strain, D15 is still going strong though. 🙂

Donald’s Durian SS2

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durians

Durian runtuh!

durians water

It’s durian season again. 🙂

donalds durian ss2

I went to Donald’s Durian which is just beside SS2 durian over the weekend to binge on the King of Fruits. The price has gone up since I last went – it’s now RM 10 for the durian buffet…but there’s heaps of people even at midnight!

ss2 durians

You don’t get the good durians like Musang King/Raja Kunyit/D197 at that price though – it’s sold separately, was quoted RM 22/kg here which is quite cheap. Musang King apparently means Elvis Presley, an interesting name to call a strain.

eating durians

The RM 10 durian buffet is everywhere in SS2 now and you can eat to your hearts content on various lower grade durians. It’s a very good deal, and you get tissues and water to go with it. 😉

selecting durian

There’s a lot of the common but relatively premium D24, D101 and Holo/Labu/D163 durians for sale too. Funny thing was, we almost forgot to pay, we were leaving and then I suddenly remembered that we haven’t paid and went back to do so. No one stopped us, probably coz of the crowd. Heh.

eating durian

I’m looking for Durian Botak (D172) and the Sarawakian durian called Kepala Babi (D170) – anyone seen them around? 🙂

Currywurst in Berlin

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currywurst germany

You’ve gotta try this when you’re in Berlin! The word “curry” in currywurst might make it sound like it’s not an authentic German dish but it’s 100% from Berlin. It was invented in 1949 according to Wikipedia by a lady called Herta Heuwer.

The Volkwagen Autostadt in Wolfsburg produces it’s own currywurst but but we unfortunately did not manage to try it coz it was raining heavily and we had a train to catch.

organic currywurst

Thus, we had the one in Berlin – it’s a takeaway food and currywurst is made of pork sausages drowned in ketchup and a healthy sprinkling of curry powder before being cut into slices. The proprietor told me that the steamed currywurst originates from the former East Berlin while the currywurst that’s steamed, dipped in batter and fried are from the former West Berlin.

currywurst

I tried both and I preferred the ones without the skin. It’s delicious, I was really full from lunch but ate both types anyway and despite being a tad salty (which is really something coming from me), it was absolutely fabulous!

currywurst berlin

It’s one of those local snacks that you just have to try. It’s sweet, tangy and salty – the Germans make good sausages. The currywurst stand in Berlin that we went to serves organic pork sausages for 3.30 Euros. 🙂

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