Food Explorer & Home Chef
The Street Food Virtual Festival is back this year, with an epic collision between street food and an integral part of street culture – streetwear. The local streetwear scene has always been a way for people to express themselves and is influenced by the many …
With a name like Snout, there’re no prizes for guessing what’s the mainstay of this resto. The place is brightly lit and spacious with piggy soft toys on stools and pigs painted on walls, reaffirming the restaurant’s theme, while potted plants, stacks of books and …
I don’t often get to attend craft beer-tasting sessions, but when I do, it’s always a joyous occasion. There’s such a spectrum of flavours which we often forget as we are so accustomed to the same few brands. One of my favourites was a good robust wheat beer which I tried in Germany so many moons ago. I look forward to the day when I can have some again.
While chugging down Running With Thieves, Beer Farm and Akasha, we were serenaded by truffle fries, pizza, fried cheese and chicken wings at Mizu Bistro. Truly a winning combination in my books, thanks to Midin Asia.
Canada Bay XPA
Australian Cascade and Galaxy hops animate the waters of Canada Bay with light spirited citrus and stonefruit flavours, restrained malt profile and bitter finish.
ABV: 4.2%, Hop bitterness: 2/5
Flavours: citrus, passionfruit
My take: Fragrant bouquet, goes down easy like a soda drink if not for the bitter finish which hits quite clearly at the second half.
Freshwater Pale Ale
Resplendent with American Cascade hops, this has strong fruity, floral flavours in harmony with a sweetish, malty backbone, resulting in a brilliantly refreshing, thirst-quenching Pale Ale.
ABV: 5%, Hop bitterness: 3/5
Flavours: citrus, biscuity malt
My take: This was brilliant, super smooth and easy, and despite the higher hop bitterness rating, tasted sweeter, probably coz of the malty coating.
Fremantle Pils
Full and juicy flavours, balanced with sharp malt backbone, finishing with a creamy mouthfeel from premium Australian malts. This crisp Mediterranean influenced pilsner pours golden with stunning clarity and refined earthy, woody and grassy flavours supported by restrained juice citrus and spice.
ABV: 5%, Hop bitterness: 28 IBU
Hops: German hops, Hallertau, Saaz, Malts: Carapis, Pilsner
My take: This tasted like flavoured water. The provided description was by far the most vivid and flowery, however, for me, and pretty much most of the other tasters, lacking in depth and character.
West Coast IPA
Dark oceans full of orange and pine resin, a tropical, citrusy West Coast IPA.
ABV: 6.2%, Hop bitterness: 60 IBU
Hops: Pride of Ringwood, Comet, Citra, Chrystal, Malts: Pale Malt, wheat, Vienna
My take: Maybe because this came after the Pils, this seemed full bodied. I tasted tropical pineapple and the whole tropical fruit basket. Loved this.
Mosaic IPA
A shinning melon and stonefruit core of flavour elevates this to the sublime, with a lean malt profile bringing the virtues of the hops to the fore. Ending on a moderately bitter finish, its an India Pale Ale most worthy of tribute
ABV: 6.8%, Hope bitterness: 4/5
Flavours: Citrus, tropical stonefruit
My take: The slightest hints of spicy, while the moderate bitterness gave a good balance to a most pleasant brew.
Hopsmith IPA
The holy trinity of Amarillo, Simcoe and Centennial hops form the heart of this one, a West Coast style India Pale Ale that delivers from boring to party with its citrusy, pine and fruity notes, backed by an earthy, bitter finish.
ABV: 6.8%, Hop bitterness: 4/5
Flavours: citrus, grapefruit, pine
Double IPL
The bolshier take on the original India Pale Ale. With the dial turned right up, this lager sings tangerine, passionfruit and subtle coconut balanced with super clean and crisp body. Rounded off by a gratifying assertive bitterness, it’s bold and not for the faint-hearted.
ABV: 7.8%, Hop bitterness: moderate/high (50 IBU)
My take: The jury was out whether this was better or the former Mosaic as they had very similar qualities. While the flavours didn’t come off as strongly, the Hopsmith seemed to pair better with food.
Hops: Magnum, Mosaic, Saaz, Sabro, Malt: Premium Pilsner, Rye Rolled Rice, Rolled Barley
My take: this is a balsy mug of goodness that goes down oh-so smoothly. Gratifying is the word.
Big Hazy Double IPA
Brewed with the finest ingredients from Yakima Chief Hops and Cryer Malt, this packs a punch. Generously hopped throughout fermentation with a healthy whirlpool addition, the Cryo Pop blend gives us juicy mango, bright passionfruit, sweet pineapple and papaya flavours with a hint of coconut. Using the house hazy yeast strain and a whack of Canadian Malted Oats, this beer has a silky smooth body with a malt backbone.
ABV: 7.7%, Hop bitterness: moderate (40 IBU)
Hops: Cryo Pop Original Blend, Citra, Idaho 7
My take: Sweetish, this probably had the top votes among us. Nice, rounded-body, great fruity character yet on point with the malty notes, I liked this best.
Stout
Packed with dark rich velvet chocolate with roasted coffee notes.
ABV: 6.3%, Hop bitterness: 38 IBU
Hops: Magnum, Malts: Pale Malt, Vienna, Chrystals, Chocolate, Oats.
My take: Certainly more oomph and character compared to more common stout brands, the coffee notes stood out more for me, though others tasted more chocolate.
Ginger Beer
A little sweetness balances the sharp bite of ginger to create a crisp, refreshing drink, be it straight or with a bit of rum.
ABV: 4%
My take: Some really liked this, maintaining that it’s one of the more likable ginger beers around. It reminds me of home-brewed ginger beer, and while it’s pleasant enough, the sweetness was a little too much for me.
There’s Japanese food, and then, there’s Japanese cuisine that’s so good, it’ll knock your socks off. Buri by Two Chefs in Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur, seems like any other ordinary Japanese restaurant, but food is well-above expectations, short of an omakase experience. Helmed by chefs …
Pt 2: Here’s a look at another few vendors selling at Cookhouse TTDI. Chef Dave PB Kitchen Took a while to register that this version of Nasi Kerabu which we were having was vegan. The blue rice came with assorted ulam, kerisik (grated coconut), grilled …
You’ve heard of saving your data on the cloud … now there are cloud kitchens which are community-based co-sharing cooking spaces, specially designed to boost small-home food businesses which want to go bigger but don’t have the capital to have their own place just yet. Four locations offer this ingenious concept – Cookhouses @ Glo Damansara TTDI, Seventeen PJ, GMBB Bukit Bintang and Growers Market on Jalan Ipoh.
According to Cookhouse founder Heun Su San, the idea behind these cloud kitchens is to lift the investment burden of brick and mortar imposed on F&B operators, while offering larger spaces and dining capacity with the addition of studios and event spaces for a fraction of the cost. These hybrid kitchens give entrepreneurs a feasible platform to run their online food businesses, receiving and delivering orders as well as run dine-in options with just a small outfit preparing and serving customers.
All the Cookhouses have more than adequate facilities for a wide range of F&B businesses such as baking, cooking utilities for Asian and Western cuisine, and even space for artisan workshops. Cookhouse also takes care of the all-in-one web app for deliveries which takes the load off the busy cooks.
I had a chance to experience the food @Cookhouse TTDI which features halal food merchants.
Warung Wok
Features an assortment of rice dishes – this was one of my top two favourites among the list of many entrepreneurs here, though all of them were very good. The Nasi Kerabu, coloured blue by butterfly pea flower, came decked with ingredients with as curry/rempah/fried chicken, fried fish/gulai and salted egg, starts from an unbelievably low price tag of RM7.50! Tastewise, this was da bomb as the curries were aromatic, laden with various spices and multi-facet on the flavour spectrum. You can choose from a variety of Nasi Kak Wok which comes with deep fried chicken; Nasi Berlauk which comes with Gulai Ikan or coated Ikan Tongkol; Nasi Kerabu with either chicken or fish, cooked in different styles; and Nasi Kukus wih fish or chicken.
Lobster Mobster
This is not something to be had every day as lobster doesn’t come cheap. Oh, but the heavenly combination of lobster on freshly made brioche … totally to die for! The brioche was soft and cottony on the inside with a light crisp outer crust, the perfect foil to fresh lobster. We tried the Classic which has lobster lightly tossed with homemade mayo and celery/scallion on a hot toasted brioche bun, The Original – lobster meat in drawn butter with toasted brioche bun and Sambal – lobster meat lightly tossed with ML sighnature sambal sauce on brioche. This was the show-stealer, with scintillating piquant spice, salty with a touch of sweet, melding into the soft bread. Prices start from RM91. I also thoroughly enjoyed the ML Bisque (RM25) which definitely trumps some of the ones I’ve tried at five-star establishments. If you have money to splash, I highly recommend Mobster Lobster. There’s also a stupendous Truffle Lobster roll if you’re feeling generous.
ML by Madchef Fhaizal who is also the head chef at The Red Beanbag, started in 2020 at the height of the pandemic.
Bap’s The Name
Korean is all-the-rage, especially if you’ve been binge-watching K-dramas! At first glance, the Bulgogi Beef Bowl (RM24) looked pretty ordinary, but I must say it passed the taste test with top marks. The secret to a good bulgogi bowl lies in the bibim sauce and Bap’s has nailed it. The kimchi pancake (RM10) and Soy Garlic chicken (RM16) were commendable too. For home-cooked Korean flavours at prices that don’t burn a hole in your pocket, Bap’s is a good bet.
To order, look for the Cookhouse’s website and under TTDI location, for the full menu. Stay tuned for the next instalment on the next 3 vendors at Cookhouse TTDI.
It was tough to get a fresh Guinness Draught as the outlets were closed for months. Now that patrons are finally allowed to dine-in, Guinness lovers can enjoy their glass of Guinness on tap once again. To take things up a notch, Guinness is bringing …
True Aussie beef and lamb can be enjoyed in different meat cuts and in a variety of cooking styles. Here’s my take on the home-style sweet and salty dishnusually made with long beans and preserved radish, taken up a notch with Aussie beef. Ingredients 200g …
One of the things I really missed during the recent MCO (Movement Control Order)/Lockdown was a good Korean barbeque. If you’re a fan, then you would know that it’s not just about grilling the meat, but the fun in socialising in typical Korean communal dining fashion, and enjoying the many types of banchan (side dishes) and of course, a swig of soju while you’re at it.
How timely treat it was to be invited to try the Korean barbeque at Seoulnami in The Gardens Mall. Note that this outlet is halal so our Muslim friends can also enjoy this Korean meal that specialises in serving prime cut meats. But yeah, it means no soju swig!
There’s a choice of chicken, beef and lamb to choose from. The Famous Chunchoen Chicken comes in 4 flavours: Spicy Hot Pepper, Savoury Ganjang, Salty Saled and Sweet Honey Butter Chicken (RM59/each flavour). My personal favourite was the Spicy Hot Pepper Chicken while the Sweet Honey Butter was a close second. The other flavours were not so prominent.
Normally, when the uncooked meat arrives, it’s red and raw, swimming in marinate, and you have to toss it on the grill before it looks more palatable. I must say though, here at Seoulnami, the raw Beef Platter Board (RM119) consisting of the trio of Bugolgi, Beef Rib Fingers and Beef Belly was the prettiest raw selection I’ve seen. The red colour really pops and the meat looks so fresh and inviting that you’d imagine it can almost be eaten as it is (of course not, lah … but it really looks so beautiful!). The Bone-in Short Rib (RM139) and Yang Galbi (RM59) were also beautiful cuts of meat. If you’re feeling generous, there’s also Wagyu Beef available.
So, let’s get down to the grilling and eating. The trick to the perfect texture is not to overdo it but just to lightly grill each side of the meat for a quick 2 minutes or so. We had kimchi, pickled radish, steamed egg and grilled octopus to nibble on while waiting for the meat to cook. You can request for help from the servers with the grilling if you’re not good at this. The rest of the meal is about wrapping your lettuce around your choice of meat, enjoying the natural flavours, and if you can, stuffing the lot in one mouthful at one go!
Some diners cannot do without their carbo boost. Here, you can have the Fist Rice (RM29) which comes with the classic Korean rice mix with seaweed and minced chicken. Like a Korean fried rice of sorts, you can either mix all the ingredients together in the pan and eat it like that, or put on the gloves and mould the rice into small balls. Easier said than done, as there is a bit of skill involved in getting the rice balls nice and round, without falling apart. My fellow diner, Fay, did a fantastic job of fist-balling the rice for all of us! There’s also a Spicy Fist Rice, a Malaysianised version which comes with chilli oil and chilli padi! I liked this more as I found it so flavourful, but not everyone is onboard with chili like me, I know.
The beauty of having a meal like this, is if you have the luxury of time to enjoy the conversation and take time to wrap the morsels of meat.
Seoulnami has been around for close to 3 years now and is open during mall hours.
Add: Level 1, F-215, The Gardens Mall, Kuala Lumpur. Tel: 603-2202 3336
In Malaysia, halal meat is easily found and a very important aspect in the market. Surprisingly,Australia is an impeccable source of halal meat and meat products as well, being a long trustedsupplier of halal beef and lamb to over 100 countries, including the Middle East, …