Food Explorer & Home Chef
A slow ascent to the 43rd floor, and you’ll find CHARR Dining, a cozy wood-fire BBQ restaurant that delivers a culinary experience where fire, flavour and artistry converge. Rooted in the age-old tradition of charring, CHARR masterfully blends the boldness of primitive wood-fire cooking with …
Dubu dubu means tofu in Korean so naturally that’s the main focus this restaurant named as such. It’s in every dish in the menu and while it was a lot of tofu to eat in one seating, it was all good and nourishing. Owned by …
Finally visited San Lou Pasta Bar one weekend and happy to report that it was a most enjoyable meal. Translated, it means 3rd floor, located in a residential condo in Kelana Jaya, PJ. The tiny but cozy resto has all of 7 tables and probably seats at most 20 pax at one time if it’s a full house.
Owner and Chef Stephen who has worked in Basilico and Manhattan Bar in Singapore for the past 10 years, decided to return to his home base to try his hand at business here in 2023. Essentially pasta that’s been given a Chinese flair and Stephen has made the dishes all come together surprisingly well.
We started off with eggplant parmigiana which was a lot like arancini, except this was eggplant, no rice. Who’d knew Chinese-style Lamb stew, given a few tweaks, would go so well with rigatoni? Arrived brimming hot in a small claypot, decent portions of soft, tender lamb in flavourful chunks interspersed with rigatoni made this quite a delish affair.
His version of chili crab was nothing like the Singaporean crustacean dish as it had more of sambal overtones. Entirely his own concoction, the gravy/sauce was more like a rich mildly spicy sambal with strong shrimp (belacan?) coating each strand of fresh tagliatelle which he makes himself. The crispy soft shell crab added texture to the al dente pasta. It’s so rare to get pasta in Malaysia with the right doneness so this was sheer joy.
My fav had to be the Tuscan pork jowl, a lovely mess that oozed layers of flavour, and meat so dreamily soft and tender. The tomato-based gravy on Bucatini tossed with pulled pork jowl and grated 24-month Grana Padana was good every single mouthful.
Dessert was tiramisu that came with a shot of vodka that you can opt to remove or top up, and there’s a small selection of craft beers and wines.
Prices average around RM30 give or take, and reservations are recommended as it’s a small place and easily full. Only open for dinner for now. Sauces are all made from scratch and some of the pastas too. I believe my Italian friends would approve of Stephen’s take on their beloved pasta!
Add: No. 3-3, Menara Infiniti, Jalan SS 6/3a, Petaling Jaya. hp: 011-1092 0938
A food bazaar like no other, Four Seasons KL invites you to a culinary celebration at Curate. This year’s theme is Glamour Kampung, and you can expect one of the most extensive buffet spreads in the city, offering a wide range of traditional fare alongside …
During CNY, the trick is not to eat Chinese food. The wait and serving time begs patience and food quality is often not as good. We opted for Vietnamese at Song Ngu resto in New Ocean World Fine Food City, PJ. The large resto was …
After feasting non-stop on Chinese dishes for CNY, we always hunt for food from other cultures after a few days. In Malaysia, we are blessed to have so many choices. CNY 3rd day this year, we ended up at Indonesian resto Wartek in Ara Damansara for lunch (they have another branch in Subang SS15).
We ordered an assortment of dishes: Nasi Uduk Bebek Goreng (RM16.90) with deep fried duck and 2 different types of sambal. Duck had crispy skin and tasty meat, though some parts were a bit dry. Satay was well marinated and flavourful with lontong doused in peanut sauce. The flavours were more Malay style than Indonesian though still very yummy. There’s a choice of either chicken or beef, we had chicken.
We also had Nasi Padang dishes such as Terong Balado (brinjal) , Sambal Udang which had shrimp, petai and quail eggs, and Sayur Paku Pakis (ferns cooked in gravy) to go with Nasi Uduk (basic rice set without any dishes). Cooked slightly different compared to Malay style, but still very similar. The fried chicken coated with green sambal looked fiery but was not at all. In fact, all the dishes were only mildly spicy, so even No. 2 was OK with them. The Soto Betawi set came with pickles that packed a punch, but otherwise the main dish had mild gravy with tempeh and potato.
Cendol was surprisingly good as the ice was very fine. Prices are very reasonable (RM20 or less per pax) and food really good, especially if you are a chilli fiend, and love strong flavours and spices. Think of this as dining in a warung – Indonesian style coffeeshop – but in a nicer, clean, air-conditioned environment and a proper menu board instead of just choosing the dishes chap fan (Chinese mixed rice) fashion at the counter.
Add: Ara Permata, 3, Jalan PJU 1A/42A, Pusat Dagangan NZX, Petaling Jaya. hp: 017-993 3123