CRIZ BON APPETITE

I had a convention down at MIECC within Mines Wonderland vicinity recently and managed to get the opportunity to visit Restoran Esquire Kitchen. Due to time constraint for the lunch break and overcrowding of the place, I only managed to grab a quick meal. But from the look of the packed restaurant and plates after plates of food filling up to the max on most tables, I guessed this must be a great restaurant.

Until now, I am still wondering how I could have withstood the temptation of all the nice aromatic food passing me all the time. Haha. Anyway, I ordered a bowl of Fried Sauce Noodle which does not look like it has been fried at all and a glass of soy milk drink by paying not more than RM12. The noodles tasted great with lots shredded carrots and cucumber topped with some stir fried fermented beans minced meat. What a healthy meal for once. 😛

Luckily, I managed to borrow the menu from the waitress and took some shots of what are the rest of the yummy food to share with you.

Once you are in the Mines Shopping Fair, you would not miss this place as it is at the ground floor of the complex. They also have around 15 branches all over KL, Bangsar, Subang Jaya, Klang, Petaling Jaya, Cheras and Ipoh.

Name: RESTORAN ESQUIRE KITCHEN
Address:
Ground Floor, The Mines Shopping Fair,
43300 Seri Kembangan, Selangor, Malaysia.
Tel: 603-8944 1377
Opening Hours: 11.00am – 10.00pm
GPS: 3.028305, 101.718550

RATING:
Ambience: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 7/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 7/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 6/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

Popularity: 1% [?]

Low Yat Plaza might be the best place to shop for computers as well as other electronic gadgets but where would you go for food then? I have found a great place hidden down at the basement of Low Yat Plaza. The place is called Hong Kong’s Food Culture. It is normally packed during lunch hours as the crispy roasted duck there tastes real great.

I was there to have lunch with my two friends and we ordered Curry Pork Rice (RM9.80), Fried Beef Nissin Noodles (RM9.80), Nissin Noodles with Egg set lunch (RM7.90), Roasted Duck Leg (RM9.50) and Steam Egg Custard with Honey Syrup @ Yellow Tan Tan (RM4). Overall with 5% Government Tax and 10% Service Charge, it came out to RM47.15 which was reasonable for KL standard.

It might be confusing if you are not familiar with the interior floor map of the plaza. I would recommend that you go out of the building and move around until you see the restaurant name boldly being displayed. You can’t miss it as they do have a small stall outside selling some finger food and beverages.

Name: HONG KONG’S FOOD CULTURE
Address:
LG-18, Lower Ground Floor, Low Yat Plaza,
Off Jalan Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Tel: 603-2141 6998
Opening Hours: 10.00am – 10.00pm
GPS: 3.143976, 101.710353

RATING:
Ambience: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 8/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 8/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 8/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

Popularity: 2% [?]

I have tried so many different versions of Pan Mee from all over Malaysia but this is the first time I had come across this unique version. Normally, Pan Mee will come with minced pork, green sweet leaves, mushroom, black fungus, anchovies, etc but this stall along the rural area of Seri Kembangan served the Pan Mee differently and simple.

Other than the normal kneaded dough for the noodles, it comes with three other options such as spinach, purple sweet potato and pumpkin. Each bowl will come with lots of sweet leaves (Sauropus androgynus, sweet leaf bush, sayur cekur manis, sayur Sabah), deep fried stuffed fu chok (soy bean skin) with fish paste and some garlic oil, accompanied by crunchy anchovies and chili paste. This is one of the best chili pastes I have ever tasted as it was cooked along with blended dried shrimps. Each bowl only cost RM4 which is considered cheap. Here are the three special noodles (we did not order the original version at all). My recommendation – The Spinach Noodle

It might be hard for those people from outstation to find this small coffee shop within the inner part of Seri Kembangan. The stall is situated in a village area and only locals will know how to find this place. Fortunately, I managed to get the address and search for a map that will lead you there. Happy hunting!

Name: PO CHOI PAN MEE @ LIN CHIN COFFEE SHOP
Address: No.6 Jalan SK 5/2, 43300 Seri Kembangan, Selangor, Malaysia.
Contact: 012-233 2498
Opening Hours: 7.00am – 3.00pm
GPS: 3.029634, 101.704302

RATING:
Ambience: 4/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 6/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 8/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 6/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 7/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

Popularity: 2% [?]

Ma Zhi or steamed blended glutinous rice mixed with pounded peanuts, sesame and sugar is one of the tasty desserts available in Malaysia. Hot steaming glutinous rice is cut into small cubes and coated with a mixture of the three pounded ingredients mentioned above. Certain stalls, especially those in Penang will garnish the Ma Zhi with fried onions.

I have came across a stall down in Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown (Petaling Street) selling a different version. Madam Tang has been selling these yummy desserts for years there. The Ma Zhi comes in different colors and flavors. You can have it original (RM3.50/box) or you can have the mix flavors (RM5/box). The flavors available are apple, banana, grape, kiwi, lemon, lychee, mango, orange, pineapple, ribena, strawberry, black glutinous rice, or pandan. With so many flavors available, it is up to your luck to taste what are the mixed flavors.

If you are in for a new experience, this is a must try if you are around that area. As for my personal preference, I somehow missed the Penang’s original version with fried onions as it is softer and warmer than the one in Chinatown.

Finding the stall would not be hard. Walk into Petaling Street, Chinatown’s main entrance from Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock (opposite Kota Raya) and you will reach a crossed junction. Hong Leong Bank is at the corner on your left. Turn left into the road (Jalan Hang Lekir) and you will see Madam Tang selling this delicacy on the left.

Name: PETALING STREET (CHINATOWN) MA ZHI
Address: Jalan Hang Lekir, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Opening Hours: 11.00am – 8.00pm
GPS: 3.144533, 101.697972

RATING:
Ambience: 4/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 5/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 5/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 6/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 7/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

Popularity: 1% [?]

Nowadays, most of the family members are working personnel. If you ask them to go into the hassle of spending hours just to cook a meal, they would rather spend their time eating out. Why not try this Stir Fried Chinese Chives Flower with Roasted Pork. You would have it served on the dining table within minutes. Here are the ingredients and method to cook the dish.

Ingredients:

1 bundle Chinese Chives Flower (Koochai Hua) – wash and cut into 1.5 inch length
500gms roasted pork
1 big onion – cut into 10 pieces
2 pips garlic – chopped
1 tspn fine sugar
1 tspn sesame oil
1 Tspn soy sauce
2 Tspn oil
1/3 cup of water
2 Tspn corn starch (dissolve in some water)
Pinch of salt
Some pepper

Method of cooking:

1. Put some oil into a heated wok. Add in the chopped garlic and sauté until golden brown.
2. Put in the roasted pork. Add in the soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar and some pepper. Stir fried until fragrance. Add in the water and simmer it with low fire for 5 minutes.
3. Add in the dissolved corn starch some at a time until the gravy becomes thick. Taste if the gravy is salty enough for your taste bud. If not, pinch in some more salt.
4. If the combination is just right for you, put in the big onions and Chinese chives flowers and stir fry until the vegetables are cooked.
5. Dish out immediately and serve with hot steaming rice.

(Serves: 3-4)

YOU CAN CHECK HERE FOR MORE RECIPES.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Sometimes during weekends, I would create some special food to share with my family. This is something that you cannot get from any food stall out there. I tried something different which tasted real nice and not as oily as our famous Penang Char Koay Teow. Since my family has a few children in it, I opted out the chili paste. I called it “Fried Hor Fun With Glass Noodles”.

Ingredients:

1 kg hor fun (open up and cut into 1” strips)
300 gms tang hoon (glass noodles) (soak for 30 min and drain)
3 pulps garlic (chopped)
1.5” thumb size young ginger (grate and juice)
300 gms medium prawns (peel and marinate with some pepper, soy sauce & sugar)
1 chicken breast meat (slice and marinate with pepper, soy sauce, sesame oil & some ginger juice)
300 gms bean sprout (taugeh)
4 eggs (beaten with some soy sauce, pepper and sesame oil)
Some oil
Dark Soy Sauce (optional)
Salt and sugar to taste
1 stalk of spring onion and chillies (for garnishing)
Sambal Belacan (shrimp paste chili mix with lime)

Method of cooking:

1. Saute some chopped garlic with some oil until golden in a wok.
2. Put in the hor fun. Add in some pepper and soy sauce (optional: drop some dark soy sauce for darker coloring) and stir fry on high fire. Scoop up and put aside.
3. Stir fry the prawns and chicken meat individually and put aside.
4. Heat up some oil. Put in the eggs and scramble until cooked.
5. Lower the fire. Stir in the glass noodles and sprinkle some salt.
6. Put in the cooked hor fun and stir evenly.
7. Put in the cooked prawns and chicken meat. Stir evenly.
8. Put in the bean spout and stir until the bean sprout becomes almost transparent.
9. Dish out onto a plate and garnish with sliced chillies and spring onions.
10. Best served with Sambal Belacan.

(Serves: 4-6)

YOU CAN CHECK HERE FOR MORE RECIPES.

Popularity: 1% [?]