food reviews

Sanbanto Premium Pork Cafe, SS2

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sanbanto

I just came back from dinner at Sanbanto in SS2 with Cheryl, Kah Wheng and Lainey. Cheryl is in town for the holidays, the last time we met was earlier this month in Penang at Agua Mediterranean Restaurant.

sanbanto ss2

Well, Cheryl’s been wanting to go to Sanbanto forever. I bought a voucher from MilkADeal specifically for the SS2 branch (which has very limited seating). The original branch at SS2 is the genesis of the Sanbanto story – a cafe and purveyor of fine pork products. They have their own farm and there’s a deli in front that offers everything you’ll want from a pig.

sanbanto deli

The most interesting thing about Sanbanto is that they have a butchery right on the premises. Discard your notions of the dirty ones you’ve seen – the one is Sanbanto is almost like a clean room – it’s highly sanitized and super chilled to keep the pork fresh.

sanbanto cold room

Sanbanto is one of those places that prides itself on high quality pork – they rear their own pigs and the dishes they cook at their restaurants is made with love. In fact, most of the stuff is freshly made – I can see where my pork meatballs came from just a few minutes ago.

sanbanto Pork Belly Salad

Pork Belly Salad (RM 13)
This lettuce, onion and cherry tomato salad is liberally sprinkled with pieces of crispy pork belly. It’s delicious when dipped in the honey mustard sauce.

sanbanto Cheese Baked Pork Meat Balls

Cheese Baked Pork Meat Balls (RM 10)
Divine is perhaps the best adjective to describe this appetizer. The cheese is so thick that it leaves a sticky trail like what you see when you pull a slice of pizza apart.

cheryl wee

The pork meat balls are really delicious too – it’s firm and goes very well with the cheesy sauce. I saw the waitress cum butcher work on a new batch of pork balls when this dish was ordered – you just gotta love freshly prepared meals.

Sanbanto Double Bacon Cheese Burger

Sanbanto Double Bacon & Cheese Burger (RM 32)
The one we got in the voucher has a double patty instead of a single one – the beauty about this gigantic burger is that the patty is home-made. It’s flavored nicely too – I expected to be disappointed with this (it is after all just a burger) but it surprised me by being one of the best dishes that we had. It’s the juicy and well-marinated patties combined with the bacon that elevated this common menu item into something special. I highly recommend this.

sanbanto Pork BBQ Ribs

Pork BBQ Ribs (RM 38)
Heavenly. Yes, I know I’ve used two celestial adjectives in this post but there’s no other way to describe it. It’s high on the fat content (as all good pork ribs should be) – don’t worry about getting a drab piece of lean meat when you order this in Sanbanto. It’s amazingly tender and practically falls right off the bone and the sauce that goes with it?

sanbanto pork

Mouth-watering nirvana!

sanbanto fresh pork

Sanbanto, SS2 also has the benefit of having excellent service in addition to all the porcine delights you would want. The seating is very limited but I think that’s a plus point – it maintains the ambiance of a small cafe with great service and delicious food! Thanks for the dinner Cheryl and Kah Wheng! 🙂

Want more awesome deals?

siam 62
RM 25 instead of RM43 for Authentic Royal Thai Cuisine Buffet for 1 Pax at Siam 62, Palm Spring@Damansara. Pork Free [42% OFF]

This looks really good. I actually get the vouchers that I find interesting so you’ll hear from me soon! You just can’t argue with RM 25 for an all-you-can-eat buffet at Siam 62 – it’s one of the few authentic Thai cuisine places out there!

sanbanto us

…now can someone tell me what the Chinese words for Sanbanto mean? We’ve been wondering but forgot to ask the people there.

Donald & Lily’s Authentic Nyonya Food, Melaka

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donald lily nyonya food

Donald & Lily’s Authentic Nyonya Food is an unassuming establishment located inside a residential lot. I wanted to try the ayam ponteh (which is apparently quite good) and called the night we drove into Melaka to see if they have it. They did (at that time) but we only went the next day. Donald & Lily’s only cooks ayam ponteh during public holidays and on weekends so be sure to get there at the right time if you want to sample that.

donald lily melaka

The place is decorated pretty much like a living room – you feel like you’re eating at someone’s house…and that’s exactly what Donald & Lily’s offers – home cooked food. They’re famous for their Nyonya style cendol and laksa. They also have a sign that says “Beware of Dog” – it’s not there for show, Fido really does reside here…

donald lily jonker

…he’s in the kitchen, near the washrooms.

nyonya cendol

Nyonya Cendol
Ahh…now this is one of the best cendol I’ve ever had in Melaka. Yup, it’s better than the one in Jonker Street. They literally douse the entire shaved ice concoction with gula Melaka (palm sugar) and it’s extremely sweet and cold – perfect for the oppressive hot weather in Melaka. I had two bowls of this. Bliss!

mee siam

Mee Siam
This is fried rice vermicelli mixed with some sort of sweet sauce. I didn’t like it, and neither did Mel. Go for the laksa instead.

nyonya rojak

Nyonya Rojak
This is recommended by the proprietor, who I assume is Lily of the restaurant’s namesake. It consists mostly of fish slices and tofu with a heavy sprinkling of chili sauce and sesame seeds on top. It’s an interesting dish and quite different from the rojak we usually have.

nyonya laksa

Nyonya Laksa
This is Donald & Lily’s signature dish. The bowl of piping hot laksa is heavy on the palate, but in a good way. The gravy is so thick that you can float a soup spoon full of rice vermicelli on top and it won’t sink. The secret of a good laksa dish is always in the gravy. I’m not a fan of creamy gravies in laksa – I’m more of an asam laksa person. However, I have to say Donald & Lily’s Nyonya Laksa is really delicious!

laksa

Donald & Lily’s serves up a hearty bowl of authentic Nyonya laksa. This old lady came in with her son to order a bowl but she was told they’ve sold out. The disappointment on her face was palpable – she mentioned that she has walked a very long way just to try their acclaimed laksa…and the kitchen relented and cooked up a batch just for her. That’s how good their laksa is. It comes highly recommended from me too. 🙂

boatHouse restaurant, TTDI

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boatHouse

boatHouse in TTDI is one of those places which you assume is the local watering hole but actually serves excellent food! I have heard good things about boatHouse and marvelled at their interesting bar when I walked past.

aquarium bar

They actually have a fully functional aquarium as a bar so you can watch the fishes swim along while you’re in your cups. 🙂

boat

boatHouse also has a lot of ship related décor, which probably explains the name. I bet you can get the “I’m on a boat!” badge on 4sq just from checking into the place. Heh.

Appetizers

oysters with caviar

Oysters with lumpfish caviar
One dozen oysters with lumpfish caviar (both black and red) is presented on a bed of shaved ice. I love oysters and it’s a stroke of good luck that not many of the others are, so I ate more than my fair share. 🙂

oyster lumpfish caviar

I had 6-7 of these lovely things and boatHouse dishes up really good oysters. You’ll think that oysters is fairly easy to do but there are flavor and texture nuances that adds a lot to it – for this, it was the two types of lumpfish caviar and the generous scallion (spring onions) and caper bud toppings. When your slurp the oyster, you’ll bite down into the juicy flesh, with the caviar popping on your palate and the spring onions bringing a nice crunchiness to the table. It’s delicious.

pig skin balls

Pig skin & balls
This decadent appetizer is made of pork wrapped in bacon. It goes very well with the dipping sauce and there’s a side of salad with cherry tomatoes, grapes, and other palate cleansing ingredients that diffuses the strong taste of the pork. I liked it, but it’s a bit too heavy as an appetizer for me. Your mileage may vary though.

caramelized roast pork

Caramelized roast pork
This is basically char siew. Lovely.

Mains

Spaghetti Scallop Olio with Poppy Seeds

Spaghetti Scallop Olio with Poppy Seeds
The presentation of this pasta dish is great – note the edible ornament and the sprinkling of poppy seeds (no, that isn’t pepper) on top of the dish. The olio (olive oil) based sauce is light on the palate and there is a generous portion of scallops lining the bed of the plate. I popped two of the scallops into my mouth and they were fresh and juicy!

Hollard Pork Belly Ribs

Holland Slow-baked Pork Belly Ribs
A feast for porcine lovers! I like how the pork belly is not excessively lean, but has a healthy layer of fat on it.

Fettuccine Pesto Beef Rocket Leaves

Fettuccine Pesto Beef with Rocket Leaves
I’m not sure why but every time I hear (or read) the words “rocket leaves” in a dish, it just somehow puts me off. I think it’s coz rocket leaves are the “in” thing right about now, and it seems that everyone is trying to incorporate it into their menu. It has become kinda gimmicky in the F&B industry.

rocket leaves

However, boatHouse surprises again by having a really good reason for putting rocket leaves into their pasta. The choice of fettuccine is perfect, as it absorbs the sauce well and we were told to eat the pasta with the rocket leaves. I did just that, and I was blown away. The contrasting textures plays a delicious medley in your mouth and for once, I have to agree wholeheartedly that the rocket leaves adds a lot to the dish.

preperation

Steak au Poivre a la Gueridon
This is hands down my favorite dish at boatHouse! It doesn’t look like much…yet, but wait!

flaming steak

It’s prime fillet steak flamed with brandy right beside your table. Just look at the pyrotechnics!

charbroiled steak

I rant a lot about how restaurants in Malaysia do not understand what “rare” means in steak parlance. boatHouse is not one of these places. They know what rare means and they do it very well! The steak practically melts in your mouth, even after I asked them to sear it three time so I could get a shot of the flames.

Steak au Poivre a la Gueridon

The charbroiled steak is served with a VSOP (Very Superior Old Pale) cognac gravy which adds a lot to the flavor. It’s not just a visual feast but an epicurean one. I highly recommend this dish!

Desserts

chocolate souffle

Chocolate Souffle
Oh, how do I describe the awesomeness that is boatHouse’s chocolate souffle? It’s hot from the oven and the melted chocolate with hidden cherry treasures inside is simply orgasmic! Add a bite of the lightly grilled banana and you’re in pure heaven. The hyperbole is justified. I haven’t had a souffle this good for a long time. 🙂

flambe

Crepe Suzette
This is an excellent option for those who’re not big fans of chocolate. The orange slices are flambeed right beside you. That’s right, I said orange slices. A lot of Crepe Suzette uses orange juice with liquor but not boatHouse. They use actual orange slices, and a lot of it to boot!

Crepe Suzette

I love the light and fluffy crepes that goes into this dish. There just a hint of bitterness from the orange rinds that tops it, but that is offset by the scoop of vanilla ice cream. It all works together to create a complex flavor profile. It’s magnificent!

milkadeal

I was there for a food review session courtesy of MilkADeal and Nuffnang. This is the first time I’ve met the guys, it was a pleasure. I remember a discussion about the drinks that we had too – I think it’s a grape soda based concoction and it sure brings back childhood memories.

nuffnang

I enjoyed the dinner, particularly the oysters, steak, chocolate souffle and Crepe Suzette. Those were the highlights of the meal. I wish I could have tried the cempedak chicken too, but no worries, there’s always time for another trip there. It’s not too far from my place. Thanks for having us, boatHouse! 🙂

The famous Nadeje Mille Crepe in Melaka

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nadeje

Nadeje Patisserie Cafe in Melaka serves a lot of food you’ll expect to find in a fusion restaurant but the menu has been eclipsed by their fabulous Mille crepes. Nadeje is famous for Mille crepes and a lot of people come in just to have that. Mille crepe is a popular French cake made of many layers of very thin pancakes sandwiching a sweet cream concoction.

nadeje melaka

The name “Mille” implies that there is a thousand such layers, but of course, that would be near impossible to pull off. However, it does have a lot of layers and the beauty of Nadeje’s Mille crepes is that each individual layer is razor thin, with a delightfully thick cream filling.

mille crepes melaka

I was in Melaka a couple of days back and headed Nadeje in Dataran Pahlawan to see what the fuss is all about. There is a wide range of Mille crepes at the counter, with favors ranging from Banana Chocolate to Tiramisu. The Mille crepes goes for RM 9 per slice – it’s very reasonable pricing considering this is likely to be one of the most orgasmic cakes you’ve ever had.

banana cafe latte

Banana Cafe Latte
This is a rather intriguing coffee drink that I ordered to go with the Mille crepes. It is basically a latte with banana pulp at the bottom, which acts as a natural sweetener. I wouldn’t have thought of it but banana goes very well with coffee.

roman holiday

Roman Holiday
Mel had this cocktail. Nadeje also serves a wide variety of fancy non-alcohol cocktails and this three layered soda-based drink is one of the famous ones. It comes complete with a heart shaped stirrer.

nadeje mille crepe

Original Mille Crepe
This is arguably the best – the original is Nadeje’s signature Mille crepe sans fancy toppings. It is still regarded by many as the definitive Nadeje Mille Crepe – if you haven’t had this in Melaka, you totally missed out.

original mille crepe

It’s incredibly light and fluffy due to the multitude of layers and the creamy aftertaste is simply divine. I could eat this all day long and not get tired of it. It’s rich and creamy without being cloyingly sweet.

nadeje melaka mille crepe

Mille Crepe Melacca
I had a slice of this coz I figured it would be apt. We were in Melaka for a road trip after all and I thought it would be interesting to try this East meets West fusion. It’s Mille crepe topped with Gula Melaka (palm sugar) and whipped cream.

melacca mille crepe

I like how the gula melaka works with the Mille crepe – it adds an extra boost of sugar to the confection and you get the unique signature aftertaste of palm sugar. Delicious!

mille crepes

The Mille Crepe in Nadeje was one of the things that we planned to eat in Melaka and it did not disappoint. I would even go so far to say that it’s worth driving down just to savor this fluffy delight. 🙂

However, if you don’t feel like hitting the road, there’s a rainbow buttercream cupcake promotion on MilkADeal that looks very promising.

rainbow buttercream cupcake
RM15 instead of RM27 for 6 Rainbow Buttercream Cupcakes OR 6 Glorious Chocolatey Muffins from Craves4Cakes, Subang Jaya [44% OFF]

If you have a sweet tooth, you can now get a variety of cupcakes, chocolate muffins and even an interesting swirly tricolor marble cake to satisfy your craving. The deal expires in a couple of days so grab it quick! They even do free delivery to some areas. 🙂

McQuek’s Satay Steamboat Melaka

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McQueks satay celup

You can probably guess from the boiling pot of satay celup sauce above that I’m in Melaka…and you’ll be right! I’m writing this from Dream Hotel (where all guests drift off happily into the warm embraces of sleep) – it’s a road trip planned earlier with Mel to go stuff ourselves silly in Melaka.

McQueks satay celup melaka

McQuek’s Sate Celup is not actually our first choice. We wanted to go to Capitol Satay Celup but for reasons unbeknownst to me, it’s closed. There’s a piece of paper on the metal shutters which presumably states the reason for that but not being able to read Chinese, I can’t tell you why it’s not open for business. 😡

McQueks satay celup fridge

Thus, we checked the GPS and found a McQuek Satay Steamboat Recipe on it. It has parentheses that states it’s an outlet so we drove to the main McQuek Sate Celup. It’s quite a large establishment but also quite empty. I’m not sure if that’s coz today’s a weekday but it didn’t look very promising.

McQueks tvbs

They apparently have an appearance on TVBS but that doesn’t mean much – almost anyone and their grandma can be featured on TV or the papers these days, hell I’ve made my appearance more than once and I’m definitely not an authoritative voice on anything.

(well maybe on one topic, my pride will allow me that much, but it’s definitely not food ;))

satay celup selection

This is my selection from the fridge where the skewers of food is kept. The premise of satay celup is simple – you take what you want and when it’s time to pay the bill, the waiter comes over and counts the number of sticks you have on your table. I have to say though, I was not impressed by the meager selections they have – it’s less than half of what you’ll find at Ban Lee Siang.

satay celup ingredients

I also noticed the lack of perhaps the most important item – siham (clams). However, to be fair you can order it separately.

satay celup pricing

Behold my indulgence! It’s a full sized squid that has 11 (eleven – count ’em) skewers in it, making it RM 6.60 for that alone. It is pretty good though. I also had my staples – quail century eggs, cuttlefish, mussels, Taiwanese sausage, quail eggs, and brinjal (eggplant) – a nod to my daily food pyramid adherence. *cough* 😉

satay celup peanuts

I like the fact that McQuek Satay Celup has excellent service – they promptly refill your communal pot of satay celup sauce – complete with a healthy sprinkling of ground peanuts. The people there are friendly too, asked where we were from and whether we enjoyed the food etc etc.

satay celup squid

However, the lack of selection coupled with the non-compliant price of RM 0.60 per stick makes me wonder if there’s a reason why this place is so devoid of customers.

McQueks squid eat

The problem with this is that the portions are small too – one (1) century quail egg with a miniscule bit of carrot on top is one satay. The “good” establishments like Ban Lee Siang and probably Capitol Satay Celup price theirs at RM 0.50. It’s the golden standard.

free cucumbers

Oh well, at least they have free cucumbers.

McQueks us

I can’t say that it’s the best satay celup I’ve ever had, it was very average, but no worries, tomorrow is another day and we plan to eat a lot of meals in Melaka. I can foresee at least 3-4 meals before we head back, there’s a reason we stayed at a crappy hotel – so we can eat more. 😉

Ghee Hiang Tau Sar Pneah

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ghee hiang tau sar pneah

Picture this. We just arrived in Penang and naturally, one of the things you get in Penang is Tau Sar Pneah (red bean baked pastries). I have no idea why it’s spelled pneah, I would have gone with the shorter phonetic pia. Anyway, that is not the point of this.

We followed the GPS to Ghee Hiang but when it cheerfully announced that we have arrived at our destination, all we saw was a brick building – with no entrance that the naked eye can see.

There were a couple of tour buses there though, so I thought we were in the right place. After parking, we realized that we have arrived at the factory itself. We walked in through the back of Ghee Hiang and thus caught a glimpse of how they make tau sar pneah:

tau sar pneah 1

tau sar pneah 2

tau sar pneah 3

tau sar pneah 4

ghee hiang

tau sar pneah 5

Ghee Hiang Tau Sar Pneah has only one small facade for doing commerce – the majority of the floor space is dedicated to actually making the pastries. I thought it was funny though, us waltzing in through the back door for employees and plodding the entire length of the considerable factory to the front to buy the acclaimed Penang delights. 🙂

Tang Shifu

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tang shifu

Tang Shifu literally translates to “soup master”. I was surprised that there is a place which has soup as the predominant feature of it’s menu. There is just a token nod to other dishes (probably half a dozen or so) but their menu is filled with pages and pages of soup! 🙂

tang shifu cheesie

I went there with Cheesie last week for lunch. I didn’t feel like eating a huge meal and a place that serves up soup (no, it’s not a soup kitchen) sounds pretty appealing to me so we headed over to Tang Shifu. It is actually a franchise with most of it’s branches in Johor but there’s two outlets in the Klang Valley.

tang shifu soup

American Ginseng Bei Qi Sharks Bone Chicken Soup (RM 19.90)
This is supposed to be a souped up version of chicken soup. It claims to replenish blood cells, calms the mind and nourishes the lungs. Ringo had this for lunch.

american ginseng sharks bone chicken soup

I like how they serve it – it comes in one of those containers you use for Cantonese style double boiling soup.

dried scallops petite abalone mixed rice

Dried Scallops & Petite Abalone Mixed Rice (RM 15.90)
To be honest, I ordered this one coz it looks good in the menu. Heh. It’s supposed to nourish and strengthen your physique and I like how they mix the steamed rice into the soup.

petite abalone

I’ve never seen abalone like these either. The petite abalone is *tiny* – it’s the size of a piece of contact lens…that’s how small it is. It tasted pretty healthy (which means it’s blander than the stuff I normally eat) and you have to consume it quite rapidly before the rice starts soaking up the broth but it’s good soup. 🙂

snow jelly with gingko

Snow Jelly with Gingko (RM 8.90)
This is Ringo’s dessert – it’s a classic one, and the menu says it revitalizes and moisturizes your skin, calms your mind and regulates breathing.

dried pear with chuan bei

Dried Pear with Chuan Bei (RM 6.90)
I also went with this coz it looks appealing in the menu. It’s supposed to help with coughs and clear phlegm in addition to relieving heat. I don’t know about that but it tastes pretty good. 😉 It’s the presentation more than anything – the slice of dried pear with the assortment of other things you’ll usually find in a Chinese herbal shop in a bowl, chilled.

tang shifu us

Tang Shifu has stuff like Buddha Jumps Over The Wall (RM 69.90) too. However, it doesn’t seem to be very popular – the lunch time crowd was decidedly absent, we had the place to ourselves except for two other tables and Tang Shifu is a huge restaurant…that specializes in soup. (of all things)

Mek T – Terengganu’s best delicacies

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cindy

Mek T is a restaurant specializing in Terengganu cuisine opened by Cindy‘s parents. She was kind enough to invite me over for some food so I went with Lainey and Fresh. The place is located in Puchong and you can’t miss the signage.

mekt

I like how the colors in Mek T are bright and colorful. Did you know that Cindy came out with most of the copy for the menu descriptions on the walls too? 😉

mek t interior

Mek T is based on a quick service restaurant concept – you order reasonably priced a la carte or set dishes at the counter and you wait for the food to come.

mek t

This is Cindy’s mom, who kindly prepared the dishes for us that night. She’s from Terengganu so you can bet that all the dishes are authentic. 😀

blue rice
Nasi Ulam Mek
This is an explosion of colors and flavors. It’s my favorite dish at Mek T, which is surprising when you find out what’s inside it. It’s a traditional rice dish that’s blue – the coloring comes from a flower called bunga telang. There’s a bunch of raw vegetables and a tiny mountain of brown shredded coconut that you’re supposed to mix into the rice.

nasi ulam

The explosive texture from the raw vegetables, followed by the spiciness of the sambal, with the coconut tickling your palate…it’s a veritable gastronomic orchestra! I like the fried chicken drumstick that goes with it too – gotta have some meat with such a vegetable heavy dish. I’m not a huge fan of veggies so this dish really surprised me – it was so good I finished it all! There’s a lot of raw bird eye chilli inside too. I love it!

keropok lekor
Keropok Lekor
Naturally, keropok lekor has to be in the menu for a proper Terengganu restaurant. In fact, keropok lekor is in most of the dishes – people in Terengganu eat it with everything, or so it seems. 😉 It’s best described as soft fish sausages made from grounded fish paste and sago. I love Mek T’s version, it’s very fresh.

kar pek hu sah
Kar Pek Hu Sah
Now this is something you don’t see very often outside of Terengganu. Kar Pek Hu Sah is the cousin of keropok lekor. It’s made with 90% fresh fish! Amazing. I’ve never seen the likes of it before going to Mek T. They use the freshest cuts of ikan tengirri and parang and mold it into steamed fish sausages. It’s divine when eaten with the spicy chilli padi dip. It’s like eating steamed fish. 🙂

nasi dagang
Nasi Dagang Mek
This is described as the most popular meal in Terengganu. The rice is a mix of long grain and glutenous rice cooked in santan (coconut milk) and it’s served with gulai ikan aiya (curry tuna) and pickled vegetables (acar). It’s a simple but delicious meal.

sedap sokmo
Nasi Sedappp Sokmo
This is Mek T’s signature dish. It’s made with basmati rice and served with gulai ayam and an egg. I love the sweet notes in the gulai ayam, I ended up eating most of the drumstick and some of the gravy-infused egg too. There’s also a side of pineapple that goes very well with the basmati rice. It’s traditionally served during special occasions. Great stuff!

laksa
Laksa
Mek T also does a mean version of laksa too – it tastes really good, with thick noodles. What makes this laksa special is the ulam (raw vegetables) they put into it. It’s a healthy twist and the laksa tastes different from other variants of laksa too.

laksam
Laksam
However, my palate votes for the laksam. I’ve craved for laksam for a long time and I just can’t seem to find this elusive dish anywhere. The laksam in Mek T is handmade – rolls of tender wheat and rice flour cut into bite sized pieces and topped with a rich gravy of pureed fish meat. I wouldn’t call it gravy actually, it’s more like fish pieces on top of the laksam. Perfect.

lompat tikam
Lompat Tikam
This is a traditional Terengganu kueh served with pure gula melaka syrup. The kueh itself is not sweetened – you get to adjust the level of sugar you want by pouring in the gula melaka. I like mine practically swimming it it. Heh. Cindy also gave us some of these to bring back and I wolfed it down right after that heavy dinner – it was that good.

binka ubi
Binka Ubi
This kueh is made of grated tapioca cooked in gula melaka and topped with coconut cream. You have to eat them together. The tapioca with palm sugar is saccharine sweet, with the coconut cream to balance the flavors. I also finished the ones I brought back home – it’s just so soft and easy to eat!

fried pau
Mek Pau Goreng
This is one of the undiscovered culinary delights in Mek T. The premise sounds simple – it’s just a fried pau, but the execution is done so well that it has reportedly left people in tears. I wouldn’t be surprised, it’s crispy on the outside and warm and fluffy on the inside – a hot bun that comes in coconut or red bean filling. I personally prefer the red bean but either way, you’ve got to try this when you’re in Mek T. It’s amazing how such a simple dish can taste so good. Think of the best fried bread you’ve ever had…except better!

foursquare

Mek T also has WiFi and you can checkin to their official Foursquare entry to get specials!

us

Surf over to Mek T’s website for the address, GPS coordinates and Google Maps directions. Thanks for all the food Cindy! We spent several hours there just eating and talking until the place was about to close. Good food, great company. 🙂

Kepala Ikan Asam Pedas Botak

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botak asam fish head

Botak assam fish head is one of the more popular fish head places in JB. It’s different from the famous Kam Leong fish head at Jalan Wong Ah Fook – Botak asam fish head is spicy and sour, while Kam Leong’s is cooked in a more traditional Chinese style curry.

Botak asam fish head is their signature dish, but a lot of people order the deep fried fish head too.

botak johor

The proper name for the place is actually Kedai Makanan Jadi Baru (Botak). I heard that the name originates from the proprietor’s hairstyle – he’s bald. Thus, people started calling the place Botak (bald) asam fish head. It occupies two shop lots side by side and prior to their expansion, the queue for it is legendary too. In fact, it’s still very full when we went – almost all the tables are occupied!

botak restaurant

Behold! This is the huge claypot of asam fish head that we had for lunch. This portion is for five (5) people and it has okra, tofu and other miscellaneous vegetables. We opted for the fish slices instead of the fish head – I reckon the fish head will taste even better.

botak lunch

I noticed that they make a pretty good omelet too and one of the things that you must not miss is their otak-otak.

botak otak otak

The otak-otak from Botak (rhymes, doesn’t it) is simply delicious! It comes wrapped in banana leaves and when you open it up, a waft of steam rises, accompanied by the aroma of fresh fish and spices. This chunk of otak-otak is STUFFED with fresh fish flakes. It’s one of the most amazing otak-otak I’ve ever had – it’s spiced just right and 80% of the jellied contents is made of fish! Delectable.

botak asam fish

I wouldn’t compare Botak asam fish head and Kam Leong fish head side by side – it’s two different dishes. I like the spiciness of the asam fish in Botak – it leaves a nice sour aftertaste, and you can practically see the chili flakes on the fish. It’s amazing. I love asam and I can see why the perfect combination of spiciness and sour notes has people flocking in droves to Botak asam fish head.

Agua restaurant – a Mediterranean journey

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agua restaurant straits quay

Agua restaurant is located at the new Straits Quay in Penang. It specializes in Mediterranean cuisine and the name doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue that well since it sounds like something else in Hokkien. Heh.

aqua restaurant straits quay

I remember the first authentic Mediterranean restaurant I’ve been to – Dion in Melbourne, a Greek establishment where we went to celebrate an ex-classmate’s birthday way back in early 2003. That’s some classic food review action going on there. 😉

agua hb cheryl

I was in Penang over the weekend and made plans to meet up with Cheryl. Straits Quay is a relatively upmarket place by the marina housing designer labels like Versace, but according to Cheryl most people go there for the food. We perused the F&B restaurants listed in the directory and decided to check out Agua.

agua interior

The interior of Agua is decked out really nicely – there are vintage looking paintings on the wall and a long bar to one side. You would expect prices to be exorbitant in a place like this but it’s really quite reasonable – they have express lunch sets starting from RM 22++ and more lavish three course meals for RM 45++.

Starters

pumpkin orange soup
Pumpkin and Orange Soup (RM 14.90)
This is an interesting interplay of flavors – you can literally taste both the sweet pumpkin and the tart citrus in the soup. I love the croutons as well – it’s crunchy and goes very well with the soup.

tomato soup
Spicy Sweet Pepper and Tomato (RM 14.90)
Cheryl opted for this soup so we can share the dishes we have. It’s very spicy and perfect as an appetizer!

hummus
Hummus (RM 14.90)
How can you go to a Mediterranean restaurant and not order hummus? Lainey had this one – it’s off the a la carte menu and the bread tastes very fresh. I like the hummus too – you can just see a sheen of olive oil on it but it’s really healthy stuff.

Mains

fish st tropez
Fish St. Tropez
I reckon this would go perfectly with the red wine I ordered. It’s poached fish in a white wine, cream and mushroom sauce. The fish is soft and a squeeze of lemon does wonders to the taste. I liked the sauce and the sprinkling of herbs on top of the fillets.

mediterranean pasta
Mediterranean pasta
Lainey opted for this one. I didn’t quite like the taste but I’ve never liked tomato based sauces anyway, I’m more of an alfredo kinda guy. It tastes pretty authentic though with just a pure and clean-on-the-palate mixture of tomatoes, onions and peppers.

mustard marinated beef
Mustard marinated roast beef
It is listed as marinated beef roasted and sliced thinly with salad and rosemary potatoes. Cheryl had this for her main dish and I was surprised when I tried it coz I didn’t expect much from the description. The thin slices of beef is very flavorful and slightly juicy. It’s served cold and I think I ended up eating a lot of Cheryl’s marinated roast beef. Tasty!

Dessert

agua desserts
Single scoop ice cream
The girls had a scoop of chocolate and strawberry ice cream. The serving sundae cups are frozen before the ice cream is put in – you don’t put hot food on a cold plate and you don’t put cold desserts in a room temperature cup. Agua understands that and it’s this attention to detail that I like.

figs brandy sauce
Figs in Brandy Syrup (RM 16.90)
I thought they served me the wrong dessert at first – I expected dry figs instead but this concoction topped with vanilla ice cream just hits the spot. The brandy syrup goes very well with the figs.

agua us

The bill came up to RM 156.50 for three and that’s pretty reasonable considering I had wine with my lunch. Agua gets a thumbs up from me – the service is impeccable and attentive and we were there for quite a while, just catching up, and you never feel like you’re obliged to leave. It was great meeting up with you again Cheryl! 🙂

Agua also has Iberico ham on the menu and their signature dish is the Valencia paella with seafood, chicken and pork. It takes too long to prepare though and we had to drive down to KL after, so we reluctantly opted out of that. However, Cheryl is coming down to KL soon and she was talking about eating at Sanbanto coz she’s heard so much about it.

sanbanto
RM23 instead of RM38.50 for a Double Decker Bacon Cheese Burger + Ice Lemon Tea at Sanbanto Cafe, Redeemable at 3 Locations. Limited Vouchers Available! NON HALAL [40% OFF]

Sanbanto has achieved almost a cult status among porcine lovers in KL. They have their own butchery and their menu is filled with pork delights. I was surfing MilkADeal and I came across this promotion for a Double Decker Bacon Cheese Burger. Sanbanto makes their own patties and it’s a coincidence that the redemption period for this is when Cheryl is coming down so I got one of the vouchers.

Let’s go and try all the legendary pork dishes in Sanbanto Cheryl! 😀

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