Food Explorer & Home Chef
Kompassion describe themselves as ‘progressive Thai cuisine’. If you’ve visited the newly revamped set up, progressive is indeed the best way to describe how far they’ve come. Not a new establishment, the resto has been around for about 9 years. And I confess after one …
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 a small corner selling clay crafts add to the casual homely ambience.
We ordered Scotch egg-style Fried Quail Eggs (RM9) to start which disappeared very fast. The quail eggs, ensconced in minced meat and an assortment of condiments, then covered with breadcrumbs and deep-fried, I dare say, were nicer than some of the ones I had in UK which tend to be too dense … and cold.
Boasting all things porkalicious in the menu, the signature here is the juicy T-bone Pork Chop (RM33) which comes with a big swirl of classic egg carbonara. Littered with bacon bits and Parmesan cheese on top, this signature chop had No. 1 smacking his lips and ooh-ing his approval. He decided to be good and up his fibre intake by adding on the Orange Salad (extra RM5) which was fresh and citrusy with the house dressing.
Another bestseller here is the comforting Braised Pork Belly (RM23) served with steamed rice. The jiggly pieces of pork belly with layers of lubricious fat, braised for hours in soya sauce and spices, was melt-in-the-mouth tender and bursting with flavour. Comes with an egg, bok choy, braised peanuts, and my favourite, a dallop of sambal.
We also tried the Sticky Pork Rib Rice that came with a serving of vegetables. The ribs were tender, coated with finger-licking sweet sauce that was nicely balanced, the kind that slowly teases your palate to give you a satisfying mouthfeel rather than hit you up with a shot of diabetes.
Next time, I’m looking forward to ordering the Chilli pork rice that’s said to be quite spicy.
No. 2 had the Snout Avenue Sandwich (RM18) that had a piece of grilled pork tenderloin topped with caramelized onion and sandwiched in a bun. Looked simple at first glance, but the taste won us over with the still moist and flavourful texture of the pork, tucked in between the fresh veggies.
In comparison to the other outstanding pork dishes, the Salted yolk carbonara (RM23) with salted egg, bacon bits and Parmesan cheese seemed the most ordinary, though it held its own pretty well in terms of flavour and tastiness.
Snout was opened in August 2018 by Doris Ch’ng and Rosalia Chua, and with its good food and decent prices, it’s a winning formula to get one going back for more pig-out sessions.
Add: 22A-1, Jalan PJU 8/5E, Bandar Damansara Perdana, Petaling Jaya. tel: 03 – 7732 8871.
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 …
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 eggplant, tofu and tempeh, and the only thing missing was that piece of chicken or beef. The flavours were on point despite having no meat stock to amp up the flavour. As was the vegan Nyonya Laksa which came with similar ingredients, accompanied with sambal taucu. The crux of a good bowl of laksa is the soup, and this, Chef Dave accomplished quite masterfully, without the use of anchovies or other meat-based stock options. Didn’t think it was possible especially without natural flavouring ingredients such as onions, garlic and spring onion, but he nailed it. The meatless burger with a soy-based patty, had divided reviews. Some of my fellow diners said this was authentic while others said it was nothing like the real deal. The patty was store bought, but chef Dave dressed this up with an interesting Percik sauce that makes the difference. Prices start from RM18.
Kalidevan Murugaya, 29, better known as chef Dave, began by sharing his vegan recipes online and has since garnered quite a following. He went vegan in 2019 and after losing his job as a cruise liner chef, began his new online business which includes an online cooking academy called D’Vegan.
Beng Beng Sourdough
Ranging from a fancy box of sourdough pastries to basic sourdough loaf, this bakery offers the bread lover probably one of the widest selection of sourdough items. There are bagels, croissants, doughnuts, pastries, etc, all baked with love by husband-and-wife team Beng and Jun Qi.
The 2-year-old bakery stemmed from Jun Qi’s pregnancy craving for sourdough in 2018, which has since grown into a full-fledged online business. There was none to be found in Kota Baru, so Beng decided to bake it himself. Using all-natural, halal ingredients, free from preservatives, these carbs are probably the kind you can indulge in guilt-free. Prices range from RM85 for the BengBeng Special gift box (8 types of pastries), RM20 for a loaf of country bread and about RM5 to RM11 per pastry.
The Bold Chef
Chef James comes up with his own Malaysianised version of pasta, making everything from scratch. We tried flavourful renditions such as Clammed up, Scampi Scandal and Rendangnese from this little pasta stop. Our favourite was Scampi Scandal which had strong flavours reminiscent of Prawn Mee and the robust broth enveloping the springy pasta. Prices start from RM20.90, and the Italian noodles come with a slice of house-baked focaccia dressed with garlic confit butter. Other pasta options include equally scintillating names such as Pestolicious, Pepper Affair and Mushroom 3-some.
Wanna Banana
How big are you on banana? It’s an acquired taste … some people love banana in every form, while others only like it as a fruit in its original form, not cooked or baked or tweaked in any manner. Bet you haven’t tried Banana pudding, layered like tiramisu, with a top of custard and cream, and biscoff at the bottom. This wasn’t too sweet, and leaves you taking spoonful after spoonful, as you try to decipher the different flavours and textures in each mouthful.
For a look at the full menu and to order, log on to Cookhouse TTDI directly or look up the individual food merchants on Facebook.
For more on Cookhouse, look up the post before this.
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. …
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 True Aussie beef, sliced into strips
3 cloves garlic, chopped small
1/4 cup preserved sweet radish (choy poh)
1 large chili, 2 to 3 bird’s eye chili (you can add or lessen this ), cut small, with seeds removed as much as possible
1 teaspoon bean paste (taucho)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce (thick)
1.5 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup of roasted peanuts for garnishing
Method
Marinate the beef lightly with a bit of salt and pepper, and set aside for 10 mins. Heat up some oil in a pan, then pan-fry the beef lightly on each side until it is just about cooked, but still ever so slightly red. You don’t want to overcook the beef as it will be tough. Remove from the pan and set this aside while you make the sauce.
To make the sauce, heat up a tablespoon of oil and add in the garlic and the choy poh. Give it a quick stir, then add in the bean paste, fry a few seconds till fragrant. Next, add in the soy sauce, dark soy sauce, stir a little, then add the chili, sugar and half the water. Then slowly add the rest of the water to thin the sauce if it’s too concentrated. You don’t want to pour everything in all at a go and end up with watery gravy.
When it’s simmering, toss the cooked beef back in, give everything a quick stir, and then turn off the fire.
Plate the beef and garnish with some peanuts, but feel free to skip this if you’re allergic or don’t like peanuts. You should get a nice mix of textures – a sweetish salty flavour from the preserved vegetable, a bit of a crunch from the peanuts, a good bite thanks to the beef, sweet and salty notes from the sauces, laced with a bit of spice to wake you up.
Happy cooking!
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 …