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Raro East Meets West Cuisine

Food reviews, Sibu, Western 17 Responses »

Feb 052013

soup in bread bowl

Raro serves up a mish mash of cuisine, like the restaurant’s name suggests. However, the “Eastern” dishes consists basically of rice with the steaks and other mainstays of “Western” cuisine. My dad is a regular there with his friends and he says the bread is really good.

raro

I took my dad out to dinner last night and checked out the Chef’s Special Mushroom Soup. That’s the official moniker for it, it’s mushroom soup inside a hollowed out bread bowl. The bread is sourced from a bakery here and it’s pretty good.

soup in bread

This appetizer goes for RM 6.90 and you can opt for it to be separated (like my dad’s order) if you don’t want the bread to go soggy. I like the soup inside the bread though so I went the regular way.

bread in soup bowl

I also had a New Zealand Lamb Chop (RM 20.90). It’s quite cheap for the portion – three thinly sliced lamb chops served in an oblique dish with half a boiled potato and some vegetables. I wasn’t very impressed with the sides but the meat is solid enough.

nz lamb chop

My dad doesn’t eat a lot of meat so he didn’t order a main and just had some off mine. Even with his help, the portion is quite satisfactory. However, one thing I didn’t like is the fact that everything comes in at once – they don’t wait for you to finish the appetizer before serving the mains.

hb dad

I think that’s how it’s done in Sibu but I still don’t like it. The drinks are pretty good though – had a Milo Shake (RM 8.90) and they didn’t skimp and dilute it. Raro East Meets West Cuisine is primarily known for its steaks and soup in a bread bowl but I didn’t find it exceptional.

raro restaurant

Good bonding time with my dad before everyone comes back tomorrow though! :D

Tang Shifu

Chinese, Food reviews 12 Responses »

Aug 132011

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)

Bak kut teh fortified with pig's heart

Cooking 25 Responses »

Jun 192011

Bah Kut Teh Recipe #3: Bak kut teh soup with pig’s heart

pig heart

A proper bak kut teh dish MUST have pork in it. It doesn’t matter what cut of pork (or offal) but the oink must be in the soup at some point.

pigs heart

This is the third and final installment of a three-step cooking process with my bak kut teh recipe. The first one is Chik kut teh with oily chicken rice and the second is the simple Bak kut teh ramen with drumstick and egg.

pig heart blood

Here comes the final dish of the series (sorry for the delay) where the bak kut teh soup has been stewed through all those two recipes, absorbing all the tastes and flavors in the process. The soup is delicious. It’s orgasmic. It just needs:

pig heart vein

A bleeding heart! *cue “We have a bleeder!”

pig heart prep

Well, a pig’s heart anyway. These things are pretty cheap, you can get a whole pig’s heart for about RM 4. I’ve cooked with pig’s heart before and can attest to the taste and texture of this wonderful organ in the portfolio of porcine delights.

pig heart slices

Start by slicing the pig heart into manageable pieces…

bkt pig heart

…before dumping it into the soup. There’s a lot of clotted blood inside the poor pink animal’s heart and you might want to remove that or just cook it as clotted blood. It really doesn’t make much of a difference as long as you wash it first. :)

bak kut teh pig heart

Let the pig’s heart simmer for about 30 minutes and you’ll end your bak kut teh adventures on a high note. The broth is hearty and the pig’s heart is chewy and absorbs all the flavors, producing a delectable slice of <3.

ABC soup and the stone soup folk tale

Cooking 26 Responses »

Apr 282011

abc soup recipe

ABC soup is basically a soup where you dunk in everything that’s available to make a clear broth soup. The traditional (if such a word can be used to describe this) method calls for:

abc soup vegetables

An onion (whole)
Carrots
Potatoes
Tomatoes

abc soup ingredients

I used to think that ABC soup is called that because it’s easy as 1-2-3 (or ABC) but I’ve been thinking about this old folk tale about the stone soup story. There are variants of this story but the one I heard is about this traveller who comes into a village hungry with nothing but a pot.

abc soup pot

He asks the villagers for some ingredients to put into the soup but no one wanted to part with anything. He then announces that he’s got a “magical stone” that makes wonderful soup and proceeds to fill the pot with water and puts the stone inside. So, he’s sitting there, stirring what amounts to nothing but water when a curious villager comes over and asks if it’s done.

abc soup cook

The traveller says not yet, but it would help if someone had carrots to put in it. Enhances the flavor, the dude casually mentions. The villager grudgingly says that he might have some carrots at home and adds it to the hot water. This became a cascading effect as the villagers watched the traveller cook his soup – each one started contributing their own stuff – a bit of meat, some onions, tomatoes etc and lo and behold – it was the best soup they’ve ever tasted.

abc soup boil

There’s a moral in there somewhere but that’s not why I’m writing this post. Heh! ABC soup has become something of a staple in our cooking since it’s quite versatile and very easy to cook. You basically need onions (sliced in half), carrots (diced), potatoes (whole if you use the tiny ones) and tomatoes (sliced in half).

abc soup peel

Just use to golden rule:
PEEL the stuff that needs peeling
SLICE the stuff that needs slicing
DICE the stuff that needs dicing

abc soup

You bring a pot of water to boil, add some salt to taste and dunk everything in. Allow this to simmer for 30 minutes or so and it’s ready to eat!

abc soup heat

The best thing about this is that even if you can’t finish it you can still eat (we use more ingredients than soup) it in the middle of the night. There’s this thermos like thing (except it’s much bigger) that we use to keep it warm.

abc soup leftover

I can just scoop some out and eat it at 3 am in the morning if I’m hungry. ABC soup is easy to cook and infinitely customizable – we’ve put leftover minced meat inside too, it goes very well with just about anything. It’s really healthy compared to the other stuff I eat too. :)

The soup place at Jalan 1/77B

Chinese, Food reviews, Stalls 26 Responses »

Mar 082011

soup hairy

There is a decripict looking place behind Berjaya Times Square that is supposed to serve a wide range of Cantonese style double boiled soup. It doesn’t have a name. It seems that people call it “The place beneath the huge tree“. Jeanie told me about it and sold me on the fact that they have some interesting soups with unusual ingredients like anteater (the animal).

soup place

I’m not a soup person but the prospect of eating wild animels is totally down my alley so we drove there to have dinner at around 10 pm. Jeanie was sick that day too and she’s a firm believer in the Chinese concepts of “heaty” and “cold” food so she wanted to have some chicken soup.

soup me coconut soup

I can’t say I share the same beliefs since I take everything that hasn’t been scientifically proven with an armful of salt.

soup crowd

The place seems to be very popular – most of the exotic soups have sold out by the time we got there so I chose a black kampung chicken with ginseng roots while Jeanie had their famous coconut chicken soup.

soups

The soup is kept in a steamer so it’s still nice and hot when they serve it.

soup pork

It should be noted that they also serve other food – the braised pork leg was recommended to us and I took it up, being a huge fan of swine based dishes. It’s cooked with chillis so it’s slightly spicy – this makes it more like the stuff my mom makes. I like the fact that they have a lot of fatty meat instead of the lean meat that most establishment serves.

soup chicken

This is the black kampung chicken with ginseng soup. I was told that the ginseng comes from a special part of the root – it’s the hairy bits from the ginseng root that’s used in this soup.

soup black chicken contents

It tastes pretty good and there’s also other herbs in there to enhance the taste. The chicken becomes tasteless after being made into soup though.

coconut soup

The coconut chicken soup is one of their flagship dishes – it comes served in a whole coconut shell and you can taste hints of the coconut and the ginseng they put in it too.

soup coconut soup

Jeanie likes chicken soup. Hell, it has become a bit of an inside joke since she drinks so much chicken soup. I once asked my grandma if she has chicken soup when Jeanie came for dinner. Turns out she did. smirk

soup spread

Anyway, you’re supposed to eat the soup with rice but to be honest, the only way that you can do that is by heavily saturating the chicken with lots of soy sauce and chilli (provided). The chicken loses all flavor when it’s cooked like this – the taste is transferred to the soup itself.

soup%20feline

The place is a little hard to find and your dining companions will likely include the resident canines and felines but they serve pretty good soup and their pork leg is divine! The soups are priced from RM 7 upwards.

soup us

I’m going to go earlier next time to get the more exotic soups.

Guilin Mi Fen with Horse Meat

China, Chinese, Guilin, Stalls 182 Responses »

May 152010

There’s no horsing around in this outlet.

guilin mi fen horse meat

Okay, the first thing on the agenda when I arrived in Guilin is to eat the famous Gui Lin Mee Fen (rice vermicelli) with horse meat. However, that proved harder to find that I initially thought. Rats too for that matter, but that’s another post.

guilin mee fen

Anyway, after walking 1,000 miles and nearly getting run down by several cars and buses (it’s left hand drive here in China) I decided to consult a person from the industry that knows everything about anything obscure or illegal – hard to find cuisine, the oldest profession in the world, substances, basically The Travelers Guide to a New City (TM). Your friendly neighborhood taxi driver.

gui lin mi fen eat

Within minutes (and a RMB 10 fare, which is RM 5, pretty damn cheap cabs over here) I was on my way to the oldest Guilin Mi Fen with Horse Meat establishment in town. It has reputedly been around for about 40 years (as told by two different sources) and caters to the locals instead of tourists (just the way I like it).

gui lin mee fen

Alas! How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! In the past, horses were used for transport, war machines by knights, riot control by mounted police, and prized stallions on the racetrack. It has now been relegated (at least in China) to food. Heh!

gui lin mi fen horse meat

The Gui Lin Mi Fen is not rice vermicelli as we know it, it looks more like rice noodles to me. You are free to add as many condiments, pickles and spices as you want. I highly recommend their chilli flakes – Guilin is known for its spicy food so go wild with this one.

gui lin mi fen

Gui Lin Mi Fen with Horse Meat is a soup dish, which is not what I usually eat, but since it’s the local specialty, I tasted it and pronounce it GOOD. The spring onions adds a lot to the taste of the soup while the peanuts contribute that additional texture to this dish. Best of all, it only costs RMB 6 (RM 3) for a large bowl.

guilin mi fen

I love it, mostly coz of the horse meat. Horse meat can best be described as something of a cross between beef and lamb. It’s sweet and has a nice gamey aftertaste and it’s surprisingly lean.

guilin mee fen good

Mmm…equine meat!

Posted: 7:19 am China Time (Guilin is in the same timezone as Malaysia)

Sup Kaww!

Malay 29 Responses »

Jul 082009

sup kaww

Sup Kaww! (with an exclamation mark to prove the point) is a Malay soup establishment in SS 6 that boasts a menu filled with all things soup. This eatery is one of those hit-and-miss places. They’ll have really great soup one night and really crappy one the next. You never know what you’re going to get over here. It’s puzzling since I would have thought some measure of quality control would go into the process, but apparently not.

sup kaw special

On the good days, Sup Kaww serves a mean bowl of rich broth. It’s so thick (hence the name) that drinking the soup alone would fill most people up. Sup Kaww literally means “hearty soup” but due to the inconsistencies mentioned, it can range from a really sad broth to its namesake – hearty soup.

sup kaww special tongkat ali

I usually order Sup Kaw Special + Tongkat Ali (RM 12) which comes with the meat, bones, stomach, lungs and tail of a cow, infused with our local herbal Viagra substitute.

sup kaww special

Sup Kaww is not stingy with their ingredients…on any day (good and bad) you’ll find large chunks of meat inside your bowl. It goes really well with steamed rice. I went again with a couple of coworkers just now and although they’re having a Bad Soup Day (TM) it’s still a good place to sit down to a hot, steaming bowl of potage for two reasons:

sup kaww movie

The establishment is fond of showing DVDs of dubious copyright. You can catch the latest Hollywood flicks while having your dinner.

sup kaww carwash

There’s a car wash service right on the doorstep. Give your car a proper cleaning (interior and exterior) for just RM 10!

sup kaww me

I also like their RM 5 large fruit juices. Washing down a hot bowl of soup with an icy cold drink is heavenly!

I’m SUPer! Thanks for asking! ;)

Wei Seng Chicken Rice and double boiled Cantonese soup

Local food 6 Responses »

Mar 302006

wei seng chicken rice

Wei Seng Chicken Rice is a chicken rice shop
located at Tabuan Jaya at the food court beside Choice Daily. It also
boasts a repertoire of double boiled Cantonese soups in a heating
element beside it which the proprietors actively promote.

wei seng soups

The double boiled Cantonese soups (broth) is held in traditional
deep ceramic bowls and kept warm in a similar contraption to the double
boiling method used to boil the soups. I was told that the soups have
been prepared for as long as 24 hours for an authentic slow-boiling
Cantonese soup. They have a lot of different soups on offer, ranging
from Bitter Gourd soup to Ginseng Chicken soup.

wei seng chicken

I had their chicken rice (shared) with 3 other people and their
chicken rice is alright, though not as good as other places like Suan.
The rice portion is small, but cheap (a plate of chicken rice costs
just RM 0.60, an unheard of price nowadays). The chicken rice itself is
good, it’s seasoned well with chicken essence, but the chicken is
nothing to write home about.

wei seng ginseng soup

Their double boiled Ginseng Chicken soup (RM 3)
tasted good though. It has visible strands of ginseng floating inside
and the broth is fairly clear (as all good broth should be). There are
several chicken pieces inside and this place seems to subscribe to the
less-is-more school of thought as the soup only contains ginseng and
chicken.

wei seng ginseng

The Ginseng Chicken soup is a nice complement to the chicken rice -
I ended up having two plates of rice. The ingredients in the soup are
tender, with an almost melt-in-your-mouth texture to the ginseng. I
would recommend this place for their RM 3 double boiled soups as it is
hard to come by outside restaurants here. It’s best to go early as the
soup seems to sell out really fast.

Happy Valley Home BBQ

Food reviews 70 Responses »

May 282005

happy valley home bbq

Happy Valley Home BBQ is an eating establishment located just behind
the Happy Valley pub…and just like the name suggests – it’s a
residential house (!).

happy valley home bbq gate

There’s small gate and bridge that leads into Happy Valley Home BBQ.
There’s a sign on the gate that goes “No Outsiders Allowed!”. I’m just
kidding with ya – the sign goes “No outside food allowed”. ;)

happy valley home bbq home

The interesting thing about Happy Valley Home BBQ is just
that…it’s a home that’s been converted into an eatery, with all the
coziness that the ambience allows for.

happy valley home bbq special

I started with Happy Valley Special – a drink that comes with all
sorts of Oriental Healthy Stuff (TM) that I can’t identify. It was very
“cooling” though. Jesus, what conformist words I’m using…seriously
though, it’s good. The interesting mix of ingredients makes the drink
sweet and piques the palate’s interest at the same time.

happy valley home bbq curry

This is their Curry Fried Rice, which one of my friends ordered. It
came with savory rice and crackers, in addition to a bowl of curry
chicken with prime cuts inside. It’s good!

happy valley home bbq chicken

Here’s Happy Valley’s implementation of Chicken Chop. I forgot what this one tastes like, my bad.

happy valley home bbq spagetti

I ordered some Spaghetti Bolognese…

happy valley home bbq chef

…and the Chef’s Recommendation of the Day – some mixed grill that
tasted sweet (probably coz of the glazed honey and sesame seed sauce).
It’s good.

happy valley home oxtail

There’s also a complimentary Soup of the Day (Oxtail Soup). Happy Valley BBQ makes a good bowl of Oxtail soup…hearty.

Having a meal at Happy Valley Home BBQ feels like eating at
home…with all the messiness and ambience of home cooking. The bill
came up for RM 60+ for three people, which isn’t too bad, considering
the fare.

Italiano's Pizza and Pasta review

Food reviews 93 Responses »

Jan 282005

italianos kuching

Italiano’s Pizza and Pasta is an authentic Italian eating
establishment located at Abell Road in Kuching. The place is owned by
an Italian and it’s been in operation for quite a while, and with a
reputation for authentic Italian food to boot (no pun intended).

italianos interior

The interior of the place is nicely done, there is a lot of wood
based furniture and a large replica of the outline of Italy strung
together with cloth with the colors of the Italian flag on the ceiling.

italianos napkin

Italiano’s has a set lunch promotion going on for RM 9.90, with a
choice of four different main dishes. I went there for lunch just now
with my co-workers Penny and Mancy. We each ordered a different main so
we could try the different variations.

italianos waitress

The person in charge of our table was friendly and attentive – the
service at Italiano’s Pizza and Pasta is great, and the waitress was
kind enough to accommodate unusual requests like customers asking to
take photos of her. ;)

italianos soup

The meal started with the soup of the day – it’s a tomato based
creamy soup, with mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower,
carrots and various other ingredients. It’s a hearty soup, nice and
filling.

italianos pizza

This is one of the mains that we ordered. Pizza Margherita
is described as “pizza bread baked with tomato sauce and cheese”. It
has a thin base and is unlike the topping piled American style pizzas.
This is a more authentic Italian pizza with just tomato sauce, cheese
and herbs. It’s great – I give this two thumbs up!

italianos risotto

The second main dish that we shared is Risotto Francheska
which the menu bills as “Italiano’s style tomato rice cooked with
tomato sauce and vegetables”. I liked this dish as well; the risotto is
rich and creamy, with a lingering aftertaste.

italianos pene

The last main that we ordered is Pene Arabiata,
which is “short tube pasta cooked with tomato, dry chilly, olives, and
garlic in tomato sauce”. This is a spicy dish, and that always scores
points with me. It tastes good and it’s always fun to stab penne rigate
with a fork. ;)

italianos mirela

I wanted to order tiramisu, unfortunately Italiano’s were out, so
Mirela recommended another dessert. At least, that’s how I remember the
spelling as she enunciated it out for me. She’s not from Italy, as I
assumed, but is of Bosnian origin. She’s really friendly, and has this
fragile beauty about her…but I digress, we should be talking about
food.

italianos pudding

This is the pudding type dessert that Mirela (pronounced MIER-la)
recommended. I don’t know what it’s made of, but it’s very creamy, with
a melt-in-your-mouth texture and a sweet aftertaste. It’s has cherry
sauce and chocolate drizzled over it, but it’s not cloyingly sweet, it
manages to allow the creamy taste to dominate the pudding. It’s
wonderful.

Italiano’s Pizza and Pasta comes highly recommended from me. The
food is good, the ambience is warm, and the service is great. You can’t
go wrong with Italiano’s if you’re looking for authentic Italian food
in Kuching.

Older Entries

Raro East Meets West Cuisine

Tang Shifu

Bak kut teh fortified with pig's heart

ABC soup and the stone soup folk tale

The soup place at Jalan 1/77B

Guilin Mi Fen with Horse Meat

Sup Kaww!

Wei Seng Chicken Rice and double boiled Cantonese soup

Happy Valley Home BBQ

Italiano's Pizza and Pasta review

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