As Suanie Sees It

Last Saturday, KY invited me to tag along to one of his food reviews. Since he can be a blur case sometimes, we ended up at the Canton-i in 1Utama, instead of the new branch at Midvalley Gardens where the review was supposed to take place. So, apologies to the others for making you and your tummies wait, heh.

The others were Sunny and Sid from Big Boys Oven and Kong from PRkraft. Our host was Jackie, special assistant to the CEO who was a most friendly and amiable lady. She got us a thirst-quencher of a dragon-fruit juice each, then proceeded to order a LOT of food for us hungry lot.

She was also a bit worried that we were taking too much time snapping photos of the food, because some of the dishes are best served hot. Heh. Don’t worry, we are used to eating not-so-piping-hot food.

Clockwise: egg tarts, uh I don’t remember what this is, piggy buns with red bean filling, roasted bbq pork pastry

The egg tarts (RM 5) were very delicious! I really loved them, and I got some back for my mom to try. Maybe the reason they are so fantastic is because they contain lard. Hah! As always, the pig makes all the difference. The wheat buns with pomelo seeds (I think) was something I’ve never had before. I’m still unsure about it. Didn’t try the piggy buns with red bean paste (RM 6) that day but I had some when I was at Dragon-i with my family the next day. There’s a photo of that later. Didn’t try the roast BBQ pork pastry (RM 5) either.

Clockwise: deep-fried cuttlefish pancake, prawn wonton noodles, stewed pork rib wonton noodles, carp fish balls and lettuce congee

The deep-fried cuttlefish pancake (RM 13) was fantastic! KY and I couldn’t get enough of it, heh. Their signature prawn wonton noodles (RM 11.80) and Japanese stewed pork rib wonton noodles (RM 12.80) were nice; the noodles were light and springy, and the broth for the former was good. The carp fish balls congee (RM 11.80) is a Canton-i speciality. It’s apparently a very popular dish in Hong Kong, and they import the carp from HKG regularly. It’s definitely something new to me, and I guess it’s an acquired taste thing, as the smell, taste and texture is rather strong.

Clockwise: roast siu yok and char siew, marinated cuttlefish with bean curd, veal ribs in black pepper sauce, roast goose

Sid loved the siu yok and char siew (RM 24.80), being an avid char siew fan. The taste and texture of the char siew was akin to the Seremban char siew in Aman Suria. As for the siu yok, it was all right but I’d prefer the one in Pudu, heh. The roast goose (RM 32 for a regular portion, RM 68 for half and RM 132 for the whole goose) was a hit. What’s the difference between roast goose and roast duck, ar? I don’t like roasted duck but the goose was fine. The steamed American veal ribs with black pepper sauce (RM 13) was tender and tasty. I found the marinated cuttlefish to be a bit tough, but apparently that’s how it’s consumed.

Clockwise: shark fin dumpling in superior soup, deep-fried durian fritters, milk with ginger sauce, chee cheong fun with yao char gwai

The shark’s fin dumpling in superior soup (RM 15) was my 2nd favourite (the first being the egg tarts). I wouldn’t order shark’s fin by myself, but if it’s in front of me I’d eat it. The soup was superior indeed - light, clear, tasty… just how I like it. I didn’t try to durian fritters (RM8) but I saw the cooks peeling off the durian flesh from the seed, so I know that it’s fresh. Sid liked it, I think. The double boiled fresh milk with ginger sauce (RM8) had a tad too much ginger for my taste, so I couldn’t finish my portion. They use buffalo milk; I’m not sure of the significance. The chee cheong fun with yao char gwai (RM 7.80) is not something I’d recommend. Not that it was bad or anything, just that I didn’t find it to be special. There are plenty of other chee cheong fun options for you to choose from anyway.

Egg yolk in custard bun, and me with my favourite - the egg tart!

That’s Sid’s hands covered in bun and melted egg yolk. I am a fan of this type of buns, so I’ll definitely get it when I go to Canton-i next.

There were a couple of other dishes that I didn’t take photos of, nor try. You can imagine how much food we ate! We also had milk tea, made with evaporated milk imported from Holland. Refreshing.

Happy foodies

Canton-i is in 1U and The Gardens in Midvalley. I kind of want to go back again, heh.

I hate frogs. I think frogs are disgusting. I know that I do and eat a lot of things deemed disgusting by other people. But I stop myself at frogs. I can’t stand frogs — whether they are alive and croaking in front of me, or stone-cold dead and served with ginger.

As a kid, I spent a lot of time in Sri Gading with my grandparents. By 9 p.m. or so, the kitchen lights would be switched off, everyone huddled in the living room to watch the 9 p.m. Chinese drama on Channel 8 (when it was still SBC). One night I had to dash off to the kitchen real quick. Then I stepped on something round, cold and slimy. Then I ran all the way back to the living room. To clearly remember these details and feelings of the heart-stopping moment when I stepped on the damn frog shows you just how bloody traumatised I was from the whole affair.

A few years later, I was at a restaurant with my family. My mom had ordered “tian ji”, literal translation is ‘field chicken’. I refused to eat it because it was unfamiliar food to me. My mom then cajoled me into eating one, telling me that it tastes just like chicken. Five minutes into eating one, I overheard someone saying that it was frogs’ legs. I felt sick to my stomach and refused to eat another bite.

About four years ago at the SS2 night market, I passed by a stall with a metal cage filled with live frogs. The lady stall owner took one out and proceeded to skin the frog alive. It was one of the most horrific things I’ve ever seen and I only saw about 10 seconds of it.

Last night, Reuben asked me what was bird’s nest. So I gave him the Wikipedia link. Then I remembered something that my mom used to prepare for us when we were kids. She called it ‘xue ge’; in Cantonese it’s known as ’shuet kap’. She’d spend hours picking at the fluffy, jelly-ish substance (to clean it), then double boil it as a dessert (tong sui) for me. I didn’t know what it was but I hated it because I thought the texture was disgusting. I remember asking her what was it, and she offhandedly told me that it was ’something from the sea’. At first it was ’something from the sea that’s like seaweed or something’, then as I grew older, it became ’something from the sea that’s like animal or something’.

Well, 10 days before my 27th birthday, I finally discovered the truth.

Do you want me to spell it out for you?

I think you can read these links instead: Link One and Link Two.

I doubt anyone has any illusions about the current economic situation. It still hits you hard though, and leaves you gasping for breath wondering what the fuck happened to the cost of things. Last week I had to go to my mechanic in Bangsar, and decided to have lunch at a coffee shop. A small bowl of fish paste noodles (with 4 pieces of fish paste, three deep-fried tofu skin, two or three strands of lettuce, some dried seaweed) cost me RM 4.80. A standard glass serving of Nescafe ais cost RM 2. I ate very slowly as to savour every single cent.

Earlier at lunch, I had a peek at the new price list for the Chinese coffee shop operating near where my office is. A small bowl of wantan mee now costs RM 4. I know we should stop thinking about the ‘good ol’ days’, but you can’t help reminiscing a little, especially when the good ol’ days charged you RM 1.20 for a serving of wantan noodles. Thankfully the cheapest (albeit most unhealthy) food, the roti kosong is still priced at 80 sen per piece. I wonder for how long, though.

Have you taken a look at this year’s Ramadan buka puasa buffet offerings in town? Just for fucks, my boss checked out the one at Eastin Hotel. RM 105.80 nett per adult my friends, for a 4-star hotel. What do they cook their rendang with, kobe beef?! How is it possible for one to eat RM 105.80 worth of dinner? If it’s lobsters and oysters and gigantic prawns and truffles all the way, I can understand lah. Somehow I don’t think it’s going to be any of those babies.

Speaking of differences in food, said boss and I were in his car the other day. We passed by this Chinese restaurant and they had this huge banner advertising poon choi. I remarked to him that a dish like that could come up to about RM 500 (less for less stuff and at cheaper digs, more for more stuff) and he was understandably stunned.

We got to talking about Chinese food, Malay food, Western food and Indian food. The Chinese prize things like sharks’ fin, abalone, sea cucumber etc, which essentially have no taste nor flavour of its own unless you braise, boil or double boil them in assorted broth to second death. Bird’s nest? I don’t mind buying it as a present for someone whom I know would consume it, but I’d rather swallow Michael Jackson’s spit (and I don’t want to, really) than eat bird’s nest.

I guess I slightly digress. In my memory, Malay cuisine has always been a simple affair. I don’t recall this or that Sultan having a big feast with hundreds of dishes. The food is delicious with a lot of herbs and spices, but the ingredients are mostly simple and easily accessible. One of Lebai Malang’s two options was gulai daging kerbau. Was it pucuk paku that Raja Bersiong was eating before he turned vampire-ish?

I don’t know, maybe you have a better idea about whatever I am on about. Share, please?

Last one on munchies: look at what Kim and her boo got me from UK

Happiness is Walkers crisps

Thanks babe!

You know, I have this insane craving for grilled eggplants in spicy tomato sauce with lots of garlic and olive oil. Moussandra and La Cocina are a-calling…

Early last month, we received an invitation from Andrea to dine at Coca. Truth to be told, I’d never heard of it before but almost everyone around me has. Goes to show how much or how little I know, but please do not let that minor hiccup stop you from inviting me to anywhere. I am a fast learner

I reckon that most of you Muslims who read my blog should be grown-up enough to NOT complain about my blog posts on food. Okay lah you can marah-marah a bit heh, but that’s not really going to stop me Well, look on the bright side — you get another buka puasa dining option! I am so kind and generous, I overwhelm myself sometimes

Coca Restaurant @ Subang Parade

One fine evening, KY, FA, Ringo, Tim and I went to Subang Parade for said dinner. KY told me that Coca is well-known for their steamboat. So that was what I’d expected to have. There we met with Andrea, who is the Marketing Manager for Coca; a most pleasant and friendly lady. She told us that she would not be feeding us steamboat, but an array of dishes with rice to showcase Coca’s new extensive menu. O okay, I’ll go have their steamboat another time on my own then.

Drinks and juices for everyone!

I had the Thai longan drink, it was nice. KY ordered the roselle drink and he said that it was super nice, especially with the inclusion of a very crunchy roselle bulb.

First off, appetisers. We had the pandan chicken, stuffed prawns and deep-fried calamari.

Appetisers - pandan chicken, stuffed prawns, deep-fried calamari

The pandan chicken was very delicious, definitely one of the better ones I’ve had. You should try it when you pay Coca a visit. The stuffed prawn wasn’t really to my taste, but it’s not bad. I think they had fish paste, prawns and mushroom bits. Tim really loved the deep-fried calamari — that was also when we discovered that Tim’s allergic to shellfish. Hah! There were lots of what looked like crunchy deep-fried flour that came with the calamari. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be garlic! Very nice!

Seafood tom yam, steamed fish with Thai sauce, green chicken curry

The seafood tom yam was somewhat spicy, with very generous portions of seafood. I forgot what type of fish we had, but it was very fresh and rather nice. The green chicken curry was not bad, though it could be improved because I’ve had better somewhere else.

Kailan, prawns, tofu with scallops

The stir-fried kailan was yummy. FA thought it was a tad sweet; later Andrea suggested that maybe the chef had included some fish sauce in the dish. The fresh prawns were deep-fried with oats; sweet and satisfyingly crunchy. While we were trying to cram in as much food into our stomachs as humanly possible, Andrea came around and asked if we would like to try some tofu because she didn’t want Tim to go hungry (him being allergic to prawns and crabs) and he said yes. So a claypot brimming with tofu, mushrooms, mixed vegetables and fresh scallops appeared on our table a little while later. I think Tim whacked most of it, as I was not the bottomless pit as I thought I was.

The big ticket item - chilli crab with crispy man tou

We also had chilli crab, accompanied by deep-fried buns for you to soak up all the sauce that is served with the crab dish. I had most of it because I love crabs. Even then there were lots leftover We did think of you, Kim. According to Andrea, this is a very popular dish at Coca. The sauce is strong, slightly spicy (for me) and when you take a crispy bun to it, it was awesome.

Sago in coconut milk, mango with glutinous rice, red ruby

Then came desserts. My favourite has to be the sago in coconut milk. Well I liked the others — fresh mango with sticky rice and red ruby — as well, but the sago did it for me. For some reason, Ringo cannot take coconut milk, and so she had…

Ringo with her ais kacang

Well, we were thoroughly stuffed at the end of dinner. I still cannot believe that we had so much to eat! I asked Andrea for a quick round-up bill of what we had. She said it would come up to about RM 500. Well, I’m glad that Coca belanja-ed us makan

I was told that there are currently two Coca restaurants in operation — one in Subang Parade where we had dinner, and the other at 1Utama. They are looking to opening another outlet, but have yet to make a decision on the location. You can check out their website for full addresses, contact info and opening hours.

Kepuasan tahap maksima

Well it was a most satisfying meal. I had a lot of trouble walking afterward. Thanks for having us

- Full Flickr set here, including a couple of extra photos and larger sizes. You get the idea.

1) All photos taken using my super duper sibeh canggih Nokia N82.
2) You can click on the photos to view a larger version. It’s okay, we are all a bit blind sometimes.

When we touched down at the airport, the first thing that came to my mind was… KRISPY KREME! Well, what to do… we don’t have it here in Malaysia (yet) and all you people kept going on about how marvelous it is and how delicious and how everything, that I felt I ought to give it a try. Not VERY affordable, okay… half a dozen for HK$110 for freakin’ doughnuts!

The Krispy Kreme outlet at the Hong Kong international airport

Erna and I bought half a dozen to be shared. And this is my Krispy Kreme New York cheesecake doughnut that I could not finish consuming, because my family has a history of diabetes and I didn’t want to take my chances.

Got my saliva somewhere

My colleague tumpang a dozen from me. When he received and tasted it, he remarked that the Hong Kong version was too sweet — apparently he got some in Jakarta and the sugar level was very much acceptable. But not the Hong Kong one. I am sticking to Big Apple for my doughnut fix

We stayed at the BP International for our first night in Hong Kong. Package included breakfast, so…

Breakfast of champions!

Erna was very amused by my sandwich. It tasted awesome! The bacon was crispy and crunchy, the omelette had cheese and mushroom and ham and capsicum, the thousand island sauce because I am Malaysian. As I bit into my very delicious sandwich, I could feel my arteries clogging up. But it was worth it. I suppose in 20 years’ time I’d look back and slap myself for wittingly screwing up my internal organs but that’s 20 years away!

Second evening in Tsim Tsa Tsui, we decided to eat cheap(er). Wandered into a random restaurant but the only available table was next to the toilet. So we decided to tar pau balik to our hotel room instead.

Beef ball noodles with oyster sauce

You know, when it was written ‘beef ball noodles with oyster sauce’, I didn’t expect beef ball noodles WITH oyster sauce… I thought they’d at least mix the sauce like how we get our wantan mee here. I suppose I should not take such things for granted. It doesn’t look very appetising, right? Well, it wasn’t.

One evening in Central district, we walked back to Lan Kwai Fong for beer, and decided to have our dinner at a German pub called Schnurrbart. Mostly because it was cosy, we were tired and lazy to go elsewhere, beer is always fantastic, and the bartender was very helpful with giving us directions to Stanley etc.

Typical German pub food - PORK sausages, fried potatoes and sauerkraut, yum!

We also ate at McDonalds once, at Burger King once and a quick sandwich at Pret a Manger. And a English breakfast set on the morning before we left for home. Familiar stuff can be comforting, heh.

Another noodly meal at one of the roadside restaurants:

Bread, egg, and noodles with pork chop

We had our last evening meal in Hong Kong at a restaurant located a short distance from our hotel. Looked promising because there were a lot of people eating there. Heh, that’s almost always my gauge for edible (hopefully food) food. A typical conversation would go something like this:

“Let’s check out this restaurant/ food place!”
“Oh? What do they sell?”
“No idea. But there are lots of people in there! Shouldn’t be too bad.”

We got an order of deep-fried chicken wings because we saw it being delivered to one of the customers. Apparently the restaurant was well-known for it. Not bad.

Deep-fried chicken wings with spice

And more noodles! Thankfully this one was a bit different, with the soup being of the hot and sour kind. Plus you could add whatever ingredients you wanted — assorted parts of the pig, sotong balls, etc.

A big bowl of noodles in hot and sour soup

I bought back some ‘lou poh bing‘ because Pinky insisted that I get some to try. Hmmm… tasted like any Chinese pastries that I can get here in Malaysia I shared it with some noobs and they seemed to like it

Noobs eating wife’s cake

For the record, Kim had only one. I took two photos of her eating that single one, that’s all

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All blog posts on this trip:

- hk june 08 - the obligatory ‘i waz there’ photos
- hk june 08 - food food food
- hk june 08 - things you can buy with money
- hk june 08 - what little alcohol tales
- hk june 08 - when relieving yourself is not a relief

- Flickr set for Hong Kong 2008 trip