Food Explorer & Home Chef
EQ welcomes the return of Golden Phoenix pop-up restaurant, the hotel’s heritage Cantonese and Szechuan restaurant, revived each Lunar New Year to honour a legacy spanning more than five decades. Once a celebrated icon of the original Hotel Equatorial in the 1970s, Golden Phoenix was renowned for …
Daesam Sikbang is a welcome contender to the Subang Korean food scene. Translated to mean ‘great pork belly restaurant’, there’s no mistaking what meat is the focus here. It offers a simple bbq menu with three choices – frozen pork belly (naeng dong samgyeopsal), marinated pork …
Not another mala hotpot place, I’m thinking. But Yu Jia Fish hotpot in SS2, PJ, was quite different. Rather than the usual deep sunken soup pot, this comes in an apparatus with charcoal in the centre funnel providing the heat.
Apparently Penang-inspired, the soup base is fish stock and one portion for 2-3 pax (RM73) comes ready with vegetables, fried grouper fish pieces, taro, homemade fishball, tofu, seaweed, celery, coriander. There’s a ready bowl of rice wine to add to the soup, but you can opt to leave this out. Of coz, we put this in!
There’s also an option of adding milk to the soup, making it similar to fish head noodles. We chose without milk, and asked for the taro to be separated for us to cook at leisure. The first time we came, we left it in and the soup became thick and starchy.
Even though there were four of us, there was more than enough food, including a few side orders. You can also choose a prawn stock base. The larger pot suits 4-8 pax for RM93.
You can have this set on its own or add meat slices, seafood, vegetables to soft tofu and more, to it. Besides this, there’s also ready to eat sides like belacan chicken, lobak, fried wantan, Yujia fried meat, etc.
Most China-style mala hotpot places may have more soup base and meats/condiments to choose from, but everything also adds up.
I enjoyed this hotpot more as it’s healthier with better quality ingredients at an affordable price. The housemade soybean with chilli sauce is a must-try!
They don’t take reservations so it’s first come first serve. Even at 9pm people were queueing up, so best to come earlier to get a table.
Sendo Ichi Seafood (M) Sdn Bhd was established to meet the growing demand for premium fresh and frozen seafood in Malaysia’s HoReCa and retail sectors. The company specialises in blue fin tuna, air flown fresh fish from Japan and other high quality frozen seafood including …
Hidden from view from the main road but still very much part of the Mont Kiara thoroughfare, Mustard Fields by Zukkini sits in a cozy, classy bungalow behind a row of shops. Highly rated cafe, the interior is stylish and retro vibes, packaged with a …
A seemingly unlikely spot for dai chow (big fry) dishes, Hugo’s Kitchen is housed in a nice air-cond restaurant in Aman Suria, but know that food is good, though at slightly higher than average prices. One of 3 brothers from the Cheow Sang Bak Kut Teh franchise, chef Hugo has come into his own, with tutelage under the famed chef HK William Kwok (Magic Wok/Regent) and rebranded the place as Hugo’s Kitchen.
We had the signature poached chicken and rice, minced pork patty, bitter gourd with egg and grilled octopus, accompanied by rice.
Steamed pork patty was elevated with the inclusion of black dace fish (note to self: wanna try this at home). So simple but so much more depth to the taste. The poached chicken was tender, moist, amped up by their in-house ginger sauce, paired with the chicken stock-infused rice.
While bitter gourd had a good ratio of egg to gourd, sliced very thinly. Octopus carried a slight smoky aroma – nothing fancy or unusual, but fresh and not too chewy. Personally, I felt this dish was pricey for something so basic. But octopus is generally expensive anyway.
The kitchen also has a number of other special dishes such as braised pork trotters, grouper fish head, prawn roll and deep fried ginger pork belly if you wanna explore further.
There are a few private rooms here too. We paid close to RM250 for our four dishes, rice and chinese tea.
Add: 2A-1, Jalan PJU 1/3a, Sunway Mas Commercial Center, Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Hp: 012-6096636
The roar of Malaysia’s Manchester United fans reached new heights as Tiger Beer Malaysia brought supporters together for the Roar United finale, where 10 finalist pairings went head-to-head in the ultimate Red Devils showdown for the honour of delivering the Roar United Archive to the …
Four Seasons Hotel Kuala Lumpur invites one and all for a magical celebration this festive season. Capturing the spirit of the holidays, the urban retreat unveils a line-up of extraordinary offerings – from sumptuous feasts and signature cakes to sparkling soirees and award-winning cocktails. Festive …
Years ago, I’ve visited Fari & Ali for pastries and coffee, apparently known for their delightful cream puffs. But what I didn’t know was that in the evenings, things take a different turn and Nooshe Jan Persian takes over, with Persian dishes being the focus.
The ambience is quite different at night, warm and welcoming, and the food feels homey, like I’ve been invited to a favourite aunt’s place for dinner. Since there were 4 of us, we were able to try more dishes from the modest menu.
For pish ghaza (starters), we had caramelised onion hummus and roasted eggplant – both were well-executed and had us licking off the plates after we finished the breads. For sides, zeytoon parvarde – olives, walnut, garlic, herbs, pomegranate molasses – was new to me, but I was smitten!
For mains, we had a herbed lamb stew (khoreshte ghorme sabzi), and long grain rice with chicken – honey caramelised barbarries, chicken in rich tomato saffron sauce (zereshk polo ba morgh) – very similar to our nasi beriani gam, but with even more herbs and spices. The stew was thick, super rich with herbs and spices, and packed full on flavour. The lamb was melt-in-your-mouth tender, having been cooked for hours over slow fire. The fluffy rice was so fragrant, and the delicious chicken inside, surprisingly still very moist.
Dessert was rollet (Swiss roll with pistachio cream) and cream puffs, courtesy of Fari & Ali.
A friend who is familiar with Persian food was pleased that this stayed true to the real deal. I was sold as I loved the heady flavours and strong spices. Prices felt a bit on the high side, but probably consistent with most places offering Middle Eastern cuisine.
The best part about dining here was the friendly atmosphere that draws you into being part of the family, if only for those few hours.
Add: 65G, Jalan Medan Setia 1, Bukit Damansara, Kuala Lumpur. hp: 011-2408 9838
Dinner only available from Thurs to Sat, 6.30pm to 10pm
I was hankering for steak for my birthday and discovered one of the most competitive pricing for this at Cleaver Shed in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, KL. Bustling on a weekend, I was lucky to have reserved a table. You can also bring your own …