Foong Tak Sing Claypot Bak Kut Teh @ Taman Connaught

A Disney Story Gone Bad

  You're cold, your clothes wet from rain and you forgot your umbrella. The only thing you need and could think of is a nice hot meal, you walk into the shop and you sit down with your friends who awaited your arrival. Recommended by them this place and yet there was that tiny doubtfulness in you, could this fill the void ? Out comes a claypot with steaming hot air arising from it and two separate dishes were served, one 'Yao Zha Guai and the other 'Tauhu Pork'. The broth beige in colour with strips of cabbages swimming in it and pieces of pork ribs surrounding it like buoys.

 

Yes, this is what you need after the time you spent in the train trying to breath any clean air amidst the stench of sweat. This is what you need after the energy you used trying to push through from start to finish. With the ladle you pour the soup onto the rice like it was a baptism, forging a tightly knit bond. Together with a piece of pork rib you welcomed it into the mouth. Nothing. Just emptiness there like the void you were hoping to fill and you see some of your friends enjoying it, could it be that I missed something ? Again you try and still it was lacking something, almost like a valentine's day surprise except without the candlelight dinners, the sweet romantic music and the date. That was what it was pure disappointment.

  Bak kut teh is a broth boiled together with pork ribs, pork intestines, bean curd skin, cabbages and some traditional herbs into a hot, aromatic and mouth-watering dish. What holds all these together is the broth like I said before, the aroma in this bak kut teh is nonexistent and just steaming hot air. The soup is the crucial part of bak kut teh as it is the essential part that brings taste in the ingredients by letting it be absorbed. There was no taste of herbs in it and the warmth that we have come to love is absent in it. If it is weak then its counterparts will be too, the meat made a valiant effort to save the day but it was not enough as it bore no flavour. The rest of the bak kut teh was a big empty claypot with no pork intestines and I can already hear the screams in the people who are reading this now blasphemy they would say. Some people that shan't be named said to me once, 

"Gabe, you know what's the best part of bak kut teh ? 'Yao Zhar kwai'(Fried dough)" he said filled with confidence

"haha yea" I replied reluctantly while my irrational side told me to run away.

Fried dough is a condiment that does not contribute to the taste of bak kut teh but pork intestines however carry the taste in them that when you chew into their chewy texture the juices squirt into thy mouth. The pork intestines are nobles in court while the fried dough the handmaidens are there to just compliment the nobles. 

  The only thing you could take away from that is a full stomach but what point is there to it ? Just like the tauhu pork you are filled with the broth but the broth is bland. The vacant spot you hoped to fill with comfort is gone, your taste buds disgusted by your decision and your day ended with defeat. 

Makan meter: Meh

Foong Tak Sing Claypot Bak Kut Teh

12, Jalan Waras 1,
Taman Connaught,
56000 Kuala Lumpur,
Wilayah Persekutuan, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Aftertaste Cafe @ Jalan Pandan Indah 4/3

The Burdens of a Carry

  A man with his mind as his notebook carried the orders of food using both his hands from the kitchen and to the tables of eager and hungry people. Their eyes sparkled with anticipation each time the sliding door was pushed aside, "shame it isn't us again" one said on the table beside me. It was a game on its own with patience as the first rule and each time you are either gutted (not the brutal way that involves your intestines) or you were saved by the plate. Day was when it was packed with people and night was more of a relaxing atmosphere and all I can say is I am not a smart man for coming here in the day. Nevertheless we ventured on and played their game. One, two, three plates pass up and still no sign of ours. My brother got what he ordered but mine was MIA "sucks to be you, HAH" he said. 

 "Sorry boss" the tauke said in fluent canton to me. 

  An aroma filled my nostrils. It was fragrant and smelled of flowers in spring and it's hard to find the smell of spring considering that you're staying in Malaysia. With chopped raw cabbage garnished atop the fried rice the dish known in this place as Five-Spice Meat Fried Rice was ready to be consumed. As the name says, Five Spice is a principal spice blend in Chinese cooking containing star anise, fennel, cinnamon (cassia), Sichuan pepper, and clove. It has a warm, sweet, and aromatic flavor that could be use as a meat rub in fatty meats like duck and pork. I took a cube of pork and placed it carefully into my mouth. The gates were closed and I dare say the taste of the spices are present as it was sweet and the peppery taste wasn't too overwhelming because the Sichuan peppers doesn't have the same spiciness you would get from white pepper or black pepper. 

  Taste of five spices in meat ? Checked. Now as a whole it tasted nice but mediocre at most even though the meat had the qualities of a star. However the addition of cili padi or bird's eye chilli pepper elevates the dish to a new level like motivation to an athlete. The hot burning taste caused your nose to fool you into thinking you had flu as I quote my brother "HAH" but even that couldn't hinder the love we have as Malaysians for 'Lat'. Spicy, slightly salty and sweet. The Thais that preach taste and are the Godfathers whenever it comes to incorporating all the different taste our mouth could feel in one dish would be content with this. That is why the cabbage is added to calm down the heat present when you add chilies. The texture ? Chewy and tender pork meat and crunchy chopped cabbage were the notable parties in the texture department. For a price of RM7 it is a great dish but it falls short in some section. Here's a tip, add the cili padi whenever you have it. 

  One thing was peculiar though and that is the shrimps. They were vegan and I don't mean their diet was vegan, these were made for vegetarians. Their texture dissolves instantly once in contact with your tongue and their taste was non existent. Merely there for presentation at most. In the end the meat was the quintessential of five spice meat and the aroma tried to pull it to victory but it was never enough. It is not how much a star can do to carry a team to victory but how long can a star carry its team time to time if all the other ingredients could only be average. 

Makan meter: 6/10 and 7/10 with cili padi.

Aftertaste Cafe
Jalan Pandan Indah 4/3

Kuala Lumpur, Selangor

Aftertaste Cafe @ Jalan Pandan Indah 4/3

Rhythm and Temperature is important

  Neon signs illuminated the narrow road which were shadowed by the old and worn down shop lots. Our car slowly and carefully navigating through it as we look by the sides of our windows for the prized parking spot. "There !" I shouted, the volume of the radio couldn't hide our anticipation, our excitement and as the car came ever so close to it we both shouted in unison "Fuck, it's a Kancil.". With our squinted eyes we eyed that Kancil as we move on hoping that it'll receive punishment for what it had done. Few more meters up ahead we found a place to rest our carriage to only see the spot we wanted left empty by the Kancil before "Curse you Kancil, curse you" I whispered under my nose.

  We ventured by the cafes, the Bak kut Teh stalls and the steamboat to find this peculiar restaurant. The Tauke I assume saw us approaching and proceeded to show us the way in. He opened the sliding door and gave us the menus that had quite some interesting choices but we were skeptical because the place was almost empty with only 4 to 3 tables including us that were filled. We asked for a recommendation and he gave us a few but what pique our interest was the Hokkien Mee because it was a bold statement to recommend something so difficult to master and cook as a hold. So to test that statement we ordered two plates of it and off he went to the kitchen.

  A clank sound was made whenever the wok met the ladle, using her hands like a grappling hook she grabbed a handful of thick yellow noodles and threw it into the fiery pits of the wok. The noodles are then braised in thick dark soy sauce with pork, squid, fish cake and cabbage as the main ingredients and cubes of pork fat fried until crispy. She increased the temperature of the flames and stir fried the contents without fear, almost like a knight with a sword on one hand and a shield on the other she battled the burning inferno in the hopes that she won't burn her party/ingredients. All of a sudden the sound of metal hitting each other stopped and she grabbed a spoon to taste her fine sauce. A nod. It satisfied her but could it satisfy us ?

  I mixed the mee and my glasses were soon fogged, I took a bite and puff and puff the hot air from my mouth but my efforts were futile at most. Hokkien Mee 1 : Me 0. For the 2nd bite, I could finally taste and I could see why the tauke was bold enough to bring the hokkien mee to the fore. The noodles had been braised by the thick dark soy sauce for a quite awhile that it had absorbed the sauce and made the dish thick. The noodles had a bit of a creamy like texture from being cooked long in the rich sauce and a little tinge of sweetness was felt at every spoonful. The chicken was tender and not tough from being undercook, the pork lard gave a nice crisp and smokey taste while the veggies were just a garnish at most as it didn't bring much to the table.

  The greatest ingredient that my father told me in a hokkien mee is the temperature and the handiwork of the wok and ladle, the temperature sets the tone for the dish and it decides whether it'd be watery or thick like melted cheese. That's why the best Hokkien mee incorporates temperature as an ingredient. The handiwork however is like salsa dance and in salsa the arms are used by the "lead" dancer to communicate or signal the "follower," just like a chef and his/her wok. The music is the fire and the chef has to lead his/her partner elegantly for a misstep could be catastrophic to the rhythm and the dish itself. Succeed and it will become beautiful and delicious. This chef wasn't the greatest at it in both departments but above average at most.

Makan meter: 6/10

Aftertaste Cafe

Jalan Pandan Indah 4/3
Kuala Lumpur, Selangor

Killer Gourmet Burger(KGB) @ Any Joint

The Raging Bull

  Picture yourself driving back from work after doing overtime, your body is aching from the countless hours you spent sitting in an uncomfortable chair doing nothing but typing virtual letters and numbers at your computer. Your stomach growls back at you whenever you try to sing one of the lyrics of a song and you're craving for something satisfying yet packed with flavour to be thrown at the beast hidden in the abyss of your body. You see a burger joint and it frightens you but thankfully the KGB doesn't take in plebs like you and me. You walk into this place and you see the macho burly middle eastern man at the counter taking orders, you scout the menu at the top of the counter and see something interesting, "a tornado burger ?" you said in an uncertain tone.

  The burger is then given to you in a pocket wrapping together with a wooden basket, the burger peeks out of the pocket like a pearl in a clam except that pearl is obese and delicious. You look at yourself and look at the burly man, he nods at you like a soldier patting the back of his comrade before they enter the battlefield. You can hear a faint whisper in your ear "Good luck my friend" in a thick polish accent, you tighten your clamp onto the burger and jump into its world.

The All Star Team

Your eyes widen at the first bite, the next bite you close your eyes tightly and smile feeling like you're being hug behind, you look at the burger and you can see the yolk of the sunny side egg slowly oozing out and the medium done beef patty. The combination of the tornado if it was a spell would be one of the easiest spell a wizard could learn, so simple yet so powerful, Grilled grass-fed beef, onion rings, sunny side egg and buffalo wing aioli are its components. The buns were put on the stove to give the edges a crunchy crust while the beef patty thick and unlike the ones you would have at fast food restaurants and the addition of some onion rings can easily change the game because of its texture. The salty taste of the buffalo wing aioli sauce coupled with the seasoned juicy yet a bit chewy beef and the yolk provided a show for the mouth, the crispy onion rings were added to not bore the diner with the same soft chewy texture and all kept together by the buns.


The price for a burger can be expensive to some but I can say it is worth the money as it delivers in every single department, taste and texture. For RM16.90 the tornado is the burger you need when you're feeling tired or fatigue from work, it energizes the eater and definitely tamed the beast in the pit. If I were to describe in the whole package as in the burger, it would be the same as the Chicago bulls success in 1990-91. The beef carrying the name of Michael Jordan, the egg Bill Cartwright, the onion rings Horace Grant and the buns Scottie Pippin making one legendary team that destroyed the court and whoever that faced them with their exquisite teamwork and graceful skill plays yet able to defend their side valiantly and with fervour. This is the tornado.


Makan Meter: Jesus Christ, this is worth your bucks and time


Venue: Any Killer Gourmet Burger(KGB) joint

One Sentral Restoran @ Jalan Pandan Indah 4/2

One Plate and They Lose Their Minds

  The black void of space was the only thing we could see from the sky, the moon was absent and the stars never to be seen. The distance to home was getting shorter and shorter but the dangers that await were accumulating. I tighten my grip on my sling bag and on the other a tight fist. "Goddamn Trees" I said softly. The fruit bats were feasting on the fruit trees that litter the street I have to pass through and were giving me the "You came to the wrong neighbourhood son" or "Hello there young boy" with their illuminated eyes. I channeled my inner Usain Bolt and ran while swearing in my head. One of them took flight at me but it was too slow, "So long you bastards HA HA" I shouted towards them and the neighbour chimed in "Sot geh lei (you're crazy)".

  Then came dinner, the father decided we should have noodles and off we went to makan. We pulled the chairs apart and not wanting to face the wrath of god itself in the form of my father, I ordered. "Hokkien Mee dua"

  Food was served and the price for a person portion is RM6.50 which is decent. Using the chopsticks I picked a piece of pork lard, it was covered in the sauce of the Hokkien Mee and placed it carefully in my mouth. Crunch and wow, the fat just melt and crumble when bitten. The strong aroma of the stir fried noodles could be felt within the nostrils and made me squirm a bit but there was something different about this Hokkien Mee. The way it was cooked, it wasn't fried in the usual amounts of dark soya sauce and was a bit more watery but the taste however wasn't bland. The sauce was just perfect enough to give out a salty but not overwhelming taste and the veggies are there to help you out by biting into them you clean the sauce from your tongue. The presence of the taste of the wok can be felt, the way the chef moves his hand at the wok amplifies the taste as he tries to keep his mee from burning in the high temperature work, the beating sounds of the wok can be heard throughout the store. I ate some more of the noodles and it tasted delicious, at some places the taste of the hokkien mee can get very bland with every taste and soon after you get bored of it but this, this defies that and I was excited to taste more.

It's appearance a golden brown like look while adorn with colour of greens from the vegetables beckons you to feast on it .The foundation for its texture is the noodles and one of the important ingredients in hokkien mee, it has to be thick enough to give the diner some munch. Then to give the noodles some help the tender chicken meat and crunchy cabbage and pork lard is added. All these different ingredients with their different talents all come together in harmony and peace like the knights at the round table and their King Arthur the chef to find the holy grail which is in the form of you, to find and please your taste buds.

Makan Meter: 7/10

One Sentral Restoran

27, Jalan Pandan Indah 4/2,
Pandan Indah, 55100
Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Restoran Madam Chiam Curry Noodle House @ Taman Connaught

The Triumvirate of Connaught

  Climbing those short marble steps and hearing the chit chat of people sitting on the plastic stools talking about their lives, people's lives and cars, yes cars, getting louder and louder as I approach closer to the shop. The hot humid afternoon air wasn't helping at all as sweat dripped down from my forehead. The plastic tables all full except for one, I pulled aside a chair and started the process of ordering. The usual was what I was going to have, a nice warm bowl of spicy flat noodles or Lat Jiu Pan Mee as us Malaysians or Singaporean would call. 

  Madam Chiam Curry Noodles House is a landmark in Connaught. A noodle house home to one of the best if not the greatest Lat Jiu Pan Mee in Connaught. The shop gives a very miniature look from the outside but when you step inside its open doors, you'll see a vast amount of space. The illusion of space created by its white walls. The kind of white that's as crisp and fresh as a snowflake. When you take a seat there, you feel a calming and relaxing feel radiating from the walls inside. The worries of work, responsibility and life cannot touch you. It's just You and your bowl of Pan Mee.

  Just right when I took swipe on the forehead with my napkin, it came. There it is in its full glory. Like a mother who had just seen her new born child, I wanted to just hug it close to me and bask in its glory. Apologies for being so disgusting, hunger got a hold of me and my thought process. Anyways, the thing that is very important to Lat Jiu Pan Mee is how much Lat you want in it. Lat is what us Malaysians and Singaporeans love, it is the spiciness, the kick that we all worship so dearly. I ordered extra chillies because clearly one wasn't enough.

It's just You and your bowl of Pan Mee.

  The Lat Jiu Pan Mee served here is of the thin noodles and not of the thick flat noodles. The noodles are topped with fried anchovies(ikan bilis),minced meat, fried onions and a poached egg is placed beside it. Lime is also added to give the customer the choice for a more zesty taste in their noodles, A small bowl of chili is placed on the noodles as the picture shows, this is also optional for the customer as some do not like or want the burning sensation in their mouth and stomach. The crucial part like I said before is the chilies and now I must also add in the poached egg. I add two bowls of dry chili then mix the yolk of the poached egg together with the noodles, the creamy goodness of the yolk will then coat the dry chilli flakes and the noodles together like force marriage but in a good way. Ikan bilis and fried onions are there to give the crispy texture, the 'Crunch' as we all like when eating. Smooth and chewy one moment, crunchy crisp the other. Another bite and the Lat starts its work, its covering my red velvet tongue and turning it into a barbecue pit. The heat starts to creep up on me, the sting on my tongue like those of an ant bite except it isn't just one ant bite but multiples of it.

  I had to move my face away from it and wipe the snot that appears when we eat spicy food, the sides of my head sweating their balls off but I wanted more. The Lat is what I need, the stimulating taste it gives and dances on your taste buds. The noodles which were white and innocent before were now covered in dark red and coated by the rich yolk. Each bite an explosion piquant taste of the holy trinity(Lat, Noodle and Egg), the saltiness that came from ikan bilis and a bit of bitterness from the fried onions. The triumvirate kept order in place and they were united for a single front, to please your appetite and your taste buds while the others served loyally to the triumvirate. I took a spoonful from the soup and it pushed the hot burning sensation back but the potato leaves however did the opposite and multiplied the Lat ten times. 

  Madam Chiam Curry Noodle House gives the eater a chance to experience the fiery flames of the Lat Jiu and also the chance to taste the holy trinity at work, Lat, egg, and noodles. It is the epitome of Lat Jiu Pan mee in connaught, the seat of the throne untested but it comes with a great price to kiss the throne. If you want to add extra chillies then you have to pay an extra 50 cents while most other places don't. RM6.00 for a bowl of noodles that will certainly not disappoint you but maybe in the night your stomach will because reasons. I must warn you, don't have it before a big event, you might regret your decision for the rest of your life like I have. 

Makan Meter: 9/10

Tue–Sun
7:00 AM–5:00 PM
Reservations: Yes
Restoran Madam Chiam Curry Noodle House
22, Jalan Cerdik, Taman Connaught,
56000 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Restoran Al'-Ali @ Jalan Bee Eng 1

Your Friendly Neighborhood Mamak

  Valentines Day. For couples a day where they are obliged to do romantic activities almost fairy tale like. For lonely singles it is a time to do whatever they want without having to worry about pleasing your significant other. One thing always plagues the mind of both sides, where do you bring yourself or your significant other to eat ? If you're the kind of couple that would be willing to save a bit of money or the kind of person that just wants to check lunch of their checklist then say no more.

  Mamak Je ! This particular mamak that I am about to pitch to you locates in a quiet part of Tayton View. Restoran Al'-Ali is a place for the young and old of different races or couples too to converge and eat under the same banner. College students can enjoy a good meal with it's low prices. I pulled my chair and sat with my fellow lads who are itching to have a good plate of Maggi Goreng/ Fried Instant Noodle. Good old Macha came straight away and started the ordering process. He looked us straight in the eyes while both hands at his waist and said in a very clear tone "Minum ?". As each of us feed him the info he combed his Wolverine like hair and proceeded to the next question the makan.

"Maggi Goreng, pedas, single, sayur dan telur mata."
*Macha nods his head*

  

  Foreigners can be baffled sometimes at the Macha because they don't use a pen and paper, they memorize everything. Each and every single different order he repeats to himself constantly as he starts his journey to report to the chef. Yes there are some who use a pen and paper but those in my opinion are the trainees who have yet to reach the skill ceiling of the Macha and Abang. A macha's nod is as reassuring as a doctor reassuring his patient. 

Maggi Goreng best lah !

 The plate arrived and we dug in. The melting thick yolk came running down on my maggi like a maple syrup on pancakes. The taste of spicy sambal fills my mouth with every slurp of noodle I took. The zestness from the lime gives a bit of competition to the sambal and evolves it into a sting like taste. The lime is like the cucumber and raw cabbage, they enforce the spicy taste from crossing over and dominating the whole plate. Each chew, something crispy pops out. The white onion has that tinge of sweetness and crunchy texture. The mustard leaves (sawi) are added together with cabbages to give you a reassurances that you're eating healthy. Tofu is also added to give a cold texture for the hot nature of taste the noodles already have.

  The thing about maggi goreng is it's so simple but so hard to perfect, it is like painting and in painting a great artist can bring meaning and life into their paintings just like how a great chef brings meaning and the taste of life to this plate. One bite and instantly I was reminiscing my secondary school days. The days where you come over after school and chill until late afternoon with nothing but nonsensical conversations.

  Restoran Al'-Ali has this laid back atmosphere that you can just sit there with your friends and family with a drink in hand and just talk and talk about anything. It lives up to the mamak identity which is to relax, eat and have fun. It's open surroundings offers vapers and smokers alike to exercise their right to vape and smoke. Sitting there just releases a bit of stress, the ceiling fans fanning as hard as they can, the TV showcasing the sport channel and the constant gibberish you can hear from your buddies just makes you grateful to have them as company.  Portion size is small due to the state of our country's economy and the price for one plate/ single is RM3.50. The adding of an egg/telur mata makes it RM4.00.

Makan Meter: 8/10
Restoran Al'-Ali
Jalan Bee Eng 1,
Cheras, Wilayah Persekutuan

Red Garden Cafe @ Lebuh Leith

The Weight of a Star

  The day was darkening rapidly as we look for a place to settle our bikes. Each time we pedal, the neon lit street slowly came to live. Man and woman pushing their stalls to their stations. It was beginning, the night market was like how Frankenstein flowed electric pulses into his creation. Each stall that got to its station, the more alive it was becoming. One must know that if he/she is captured by the pasar malam, one will be surrounded there by the vast quantity of people and of course the loud shouting of the siren.

"Sepuluh ringgit untuk tiga" 

Oh no, not the sale. 

"Carrot Cake ! Mari ! Mari !"

Keep it together men, don't fall for it.

  We barely got out of there with our wallets and stomach. A loud clear yes was said and the next thing we were throwing one hand up and chanting tribal words in unison to our discovery. The famed blue mansion was there. It's dark blue walls and white pure doors were music to our ears, it was the landmark we needed to find the fabled Red Garden. We chained our bicycles to the fence outside. Red Garden is a massive tavern with a stage in the middle for all ages to sing their hearts out and dance their legs away. Usually it'll be a middle aged person but I'll let you people to speculate about it. We pulled the chairs from the table and sat. Bets were made and I lost so I had to order food for the whole table. Instantly I saw the dishes that had to be ordered, that had to be consumed and brought to Valhalla. 

'Oh my god Jian'

  The first came, Oyster Omelette/"Oh Jian". I placed it carefully in my mouth and my brain was alarmed by the taste. What is this taste ? What texture ? My brain was in full alert. The sauce that was drizzled onto the omelette brought a piquant taste that gave it that kick that Malaysians love. The addition of chopped parsley leaves onto the dish gave it a fresh minty taste and then came the saltiness from the fried omelette. The oysters itself had a sugary taste. It had a balanced taste that could compete with the Thais in terms of the number of taste included in a dish

  The texture was a mixture of charred side of the eggs, soft juicy oysters and the melted feel of the eggs. The batter of the eggs prepared by the chef was fluffy and light that it pushed the oysters to be the star and it the supporting star. Every movie has to have a good supporting cast and director, and In this movie, the chef was the director and he directed it magnificently. With the help of the supporting cast, the egg, the oyster was able to show why it deserves to be the star.

  

Makan Meter: 9/10

Red Garden Cafe

20, Lebuh Leith,

George Town,

10000 George Town,

Pulau Pinang, Malaysia

Restoran Nasi Dalcha Kassim Mustafa @ Lebuh Chulia

Drowning in Mee Goreng

  Whenever a Malaysian or Singaporean go overseas, the first thing we crave for is mamak. No bar, no cafes and no restaurant can be the same as the Mamak. The food you have won't have the skills that the Abang and macha provide. The service they provide won't be like how the Macha attends to your needs. Every hand you put up, the macha comes running to you like a fireman to a fire. No menu can be as versatile as the mamak's one, they are the creators and you provide them the stepping stone, the idea for their creation. 

  Enough talk about our fellow boss, abang and macha. Less talk more food. It was a dark and chilly night where our hotel was. I took it upon myself to explore what lies in the mamak of the streets of Penang, something to suffice my palates. As I walk through the valleys of darkness with only a few streetlights to guide my path and the bright neon green light at the end of the tunnels which wrote Restoran Nasi Dalcha Kassim Mustafa.

  I chose my seat and right away the abang asks "minum ?".

  "Teh O ice"

  "makan ?"

  "Mee Goreng"

  Off he went to tell his boss of my order. I waited in silence but deep down I was hoping not to be disappointed. Afterall, no one wants to leave a mamak with a let down stomach. Plates of the mee goreng was passing me one by one but they weren't mine, I took a sip from my sweet cold Teh O ice and suddenly he passes me a plate. Thank you Macha, finally.

"Finally lah Macha"

  At the top of the mee goreng was some fried onions used as garnish, giving it a crunchy texture to the soft noodles. Fresh cabbages were added to provide some colour to the dish and texture. With each bite I took I had a spectacle of texture and taste. Spiciness from the green chillies, crunchy cabbage and fried onions and the soft noodles to provide the stage for this performance. One thing which took me by surprise is the cabbage because it acts as the enforcer stopping the spiciness from covering the potential of other ingredients. The chef knew his dish had to be balanced, he knew the chilies could overpower the taste buds and he brought the cabbages in the same like how some places give you slices of cucumber for your mee goreng. This mee goreng embodies all ingredients like an act, no ingredients gets to be THE single star but the dish as a whole becomes a star. The mamak is Broadway and the mee goreng is its performers.

Makan Meter:8/10

Restoran Nasi Dalcha Kassim Mustafa

Lebuh Chulia, 

10200 George Town,

Pulau Pinang, Malaysia

Penang Road Famous Teochew Chendul @ Lebuh Keng Kwee

The Overshadowed Ais Kacang

  Now remember the cendol on the second makan-ing and how we ordered the ais kacang too but didn't feature it ? Well this is for the Ais Kacang. As we were sitting on our bikes devouring the marvelous blue small bowl of sweet cold cendol, the second art piece for out Galleries/stomach was the Ais Kacang. Given unto us was a bowl filled with fairy tales and dreams. It was bowl with the colours you'd get in that expensive colour pencil set you really wanted as a child but was given instead the old unsharpened colour pencils of your siblings. Fairy tales could have been written from its looks and poems could have been written from it.

Red beans are red,
Agar jelly is green,
Will you be my bowl of sweetness ?

The Luigi of the shaven ice dessert.

  Let's put looks aside now and focus on the inside, the taste of it. The bowl of Ais Kacang was made with shaven ice topped with red beans, agar jelly, grass jelly, nata de coco and sweet corn. The finishing blow was coconut milk and red syrup was drizzled on it like honey on pancakes. The bowl as you can see is filled to the rim. The texture a mixture of softness from the condiments coupled together with the crunchy ice forming a unity of texture. It had a rather pleasant smell like flowers blooming in spring. What I had gotten was a sugary taste that melts in my mouth but at most it didn't excite me to want more. It was good the first few bites but it felt heavy with every bite. It was like a date with a girl/guy that was fairy tale almost at first but failed to deliver in the end.

  Ais Kacang and cendol are brothers to each other but like all families siblings can overshadow each other out of competitiveness. This Ais Kacang happens to be the one being overshadowed. It is the Luigi of the Mario bros. Its taste cannot outshine its brother and it cannot leave a strong mark on its victim. Its presentation however still remain unchallenged by the cendol. There were some positives in it, its presentation and its sweetness if you have a sweet tooth and its portion for it only cost an extra 50 sens more than the cendol.

Makan meter: 5

Penang Road Famous Teochew Chendul

4, Lebuh Keng Kwee

George Town

10100 George Town

Pulau Pinang, Malaysia

Opens from 11am - 6pm