Eat Drink KL

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Dai Dai Dong @ Scott Garden

Scott Garden might not seem like a desirable destination for KL's food hunters, but Dai Dai Dong is striving to change that, serving a well-curated selection of East Asian street food - mainly Chinese, Japanese & Taiwanese, from noodles to soups & grilled fare - that raises the bar in admirably ambitious ways.

Start with seafood; Dai Dai Dong's owners have scoured the coast for some of the freshest, most succulent prawns, fetched from the fishing boats of Kuala Selangor at least twice a week. Nine-inch jumbo prawns, packed with ravishingly savoury juices, clock in at RM27 for two pieces. Certain to satisfy crustacean cravings.

Prefer even plumper prawns? 'Monster prawns' that measure 13 inches (RM60 each) are available by pre-order, perfect for gargantuan appetites. Seasoned in sea salt, they're the pinnacle of prawn pleasure.

Tentacle temptation: Grilled octopus (RM15), another creature from Kuala Selangor's deep seas, also awesome.

Hailing from farther north, the Japanese squid (RM27) is also recommended, thanks to its tender bite, nicely complemented by an interesting mix of chopped wasabi & olive oil.

Dai Dai Dong offers a respectable range of kushiyaki skewers; our best bet's the pork-&-mushroom combo (bacon-enoki, RM6).

Other options span quail eggs marinated in yakitori sauce (RM3), crisp chicken skin wrapped over garlic (RM3), black pepper beef tongue (RM6), wasabi oysters (RM9), chicken heart & gizzard (RM3).

Lamb shoulder comes chopped up in convenient bite-sized portions & pan-fried in a hearty portion. RM25.

Dai Dai Dong is also steadily building a reputation for its noodle soups: The Supreme Beef (RM26) is a bountiful bowl brimming with brisket, balls, muscle meat, tripe & tendons, accompanied by a tenderloin skewer on the side.

Bovine brilliance, elevated further by the restaurant's kitchen-made chilli sauce. Two light eaters can share this; Dai Dai Dong opens all day long, from before lunchtime to way past midnight, so this could conveniently be brunch or supper.

Signature Supreme Pork (RM26), a mildly peppery pleasure for pursuers of pork, powered by pig's maw, rib, soft bone, belly, balls, mince & lovable lard. Another princely, protein-heavy portion.

We were too stuffed to savour more, but Dai Dai Dong also boasts seafood noodles that come with scallops, squid, salmon, a jumbo prawn, mussels & clams that customers can slurp up while enjoying Dai Dai Dong's surprisingly light-&-easy soundtrack (think Julie London & Sarah McLachlan).

Coming full circle, back to beginning with Dai Dai Dong's welcome soup, a salted-veggie treat. Many thanks to Dai Dai Dong's show-runners, Lester & Benson, for hosting this meal.

Dai Dai Dong Street Food

1st Floor, Scott Garden, Old Klang Road, Kuala Lumpur

Daily, 1030am-230am. Tel: 03-7980-1232

Check out the latest edition of Eat Drink KL: 100 Favourites, featuring 100 recommended restaurants for July-September 2014, including more than 20 new entries for this quarter.

This eBook is available to read or download at this link: http://eatdrinkkl.publ.com/2014C

Link expires Sept 30, 2014; see blog entries after that date for new link.

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Sausages to sambal. Muffins to marshmallows. Peanut butter to mango chutney. Cornflake ice cream to honey aloe yogurt. Lavender-laced lemonades to lychee-&-guava juices.

Eat Drink KL: Small Businesses, Huge Flavours is the first eBook to help customers navigate the diversity of independent F&B entrepreneurs who bake & boil in their own kitchens, offering some of Malaysia's finest, most fascinating food products.

This resource will be continuously updated with new listings: www.eatdrinkkl.publ.com/businesses

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Monday, July 28, 2014

Coffee Amo @ TTDI & Absolute Coffee Stop @ Subang

Coffee Amo unveiled its second branch this month, spreading its wings from KL's Chinatown to Taman Tun Dr Ismail.

This is one of TTDI's prettiest cafes; Coffee Amo retains much of the charm of its city outlet here, transplanting nostalgia-tinted artwork & furnishing into a calmer, leafier suburban setting where sunshine streams in from the shop-house's first-floor windows.

Note though that Coffee Amo at Taman Tun is closed this week for the Aidilfitri holidays & will only reopen on August 4.

The full range of coffee is available here; premium specialities include drip or syphon brews for Sumatra Mandheling, Hawaii Kona & Jamaica Blue Mountain beans (mostly between RM18 & RM27 in price), to be partnered with chicken pies & cakes.

For cafe-hoppers who prefer an edgier-looking venue, here's a peek into Subang's new Absolute Coffee Stop, the psychedelic polar opposite of Coffee Amo.

SS15's college student crowd might enjoy the younger-skewing, chilled-out vibe at this two-storey outlet.

Cakes are available; the fruity 'Isabelle' seems to be one of the more popular options.

5 Senses coffee forms the foundation for the beverages here (soy milk is offered as an option), served at the 'standard drinking temperature' of 55-60 degrees Celsius. Rooibos tea 'red espressos' are available too.

The increasingly ubiquitous, eternally desirable Smooshie has also carved a juicy presence at Absolute Coffee Stop.

Coffee Amo

42A, Persiaran Zaaba, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Kuala Lumpur

Soft-launch hours: 9am-6pm, closed Fridays. Will expand hours after Aidilfitri.

Absolute Coffee Stop

A9-G, Jalan SS15/4D, Subang Jaya, Selangor

Daily, 10am-midnight (2am on Friday & Saturday). Tel: 03-5612-2893

Check out the latest edition of Eat Drink KL: 100 Favourites, featuring 100 recommended restaurants for July-September 2014, including more than 20 new entries for this quarter.

This eBook is available to read or download at this link: http://eatdrinkkl.publ.com/2014C

Link expires Sept 30, 2014; see blog entries after that date for new link.

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Sausages to sambal. Muffins to marshmallows. Peanut butter to mango chutney. Cornflake ice cream to honey aloe yogurt. Lavender-laced lemonades to lychee-&-guava juices.

This resource will be continuously updated with new listings: www.eatdrinkkl.publ.com/businesses

Something's Brewing @ Ipoh

With numerous new cafes blossoming in Ipoh every month, businesses must maintain formidable standards to stay competitive. That’s the mission of places like Something's Brewing, which claims to have Ipoh’s speediest wi-fi connection ...

... to complement a menu of relatively cutting-edge concoctions like open sandwiches bountifully topped with spiced prawns, hard-boiled eggs, mayo & dill (RM20.90) ...

... & chicken breast that’s blow-torched to a smoky finish at the customer’s table ...

... & served with celery salt & lovely, garlic-laced mashed potatoes (RM18.90) ...

... plus 'pull-apart bread' (RM11.90 for a half-loaf) with cheesy mozzarella, melted parmesan & basil pesto.

“This is a wonderful time for Ipoh, because we’re really opening up to new possibilities in the food and beverage scene,” says Vincent Ng, one of the founders of Something's Brewing who returned to Malaysia last year after residing in Australia for more than a decade. “If we can sustain this momentum, then Ipoh might someday become a must-visit for travellers searching for a truly fun and diverse gastronomic adventure in Malaysia.”

Something's Brewing is also serious about tea: its loose-leaf selection ranges from caffeine-free blueberry rooibos to coconut oolong to fair-trade-certified 'Ancient Emerald Lily Green Tea.'

The text of this review first appeared in the April issue of Going Places, the in-flight magazine of Malaysia Airlines.

Something's Brewing

9 Jalan Medan Ipoh 1B/1,Medan Ipoh Bistari, Ipoh, Perak

Daily, noon through 11pm. Tel: 05-541-5900

Check out the latest edition of Eat Drink KL: 100 Favourites, featuring 100 recommended restaurants for July-September 2014, including more than 20 new entries for this quarter.

This eBook is available to read or download at this link: http://eatdrinkkl.publ.com/2014C

Link expires Sept 30, 2014; see blog entries after that date for new link.

Subscribe to Eat Drink KL Weekly for free via this following link:

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Sausages to sambal. Muffins to marshmallows. Peanut butter to mango chutney. Cornflake ice cream to honey aloe yogurt. Lavender-laced lemonades to lychee-&-guava juices.

This resource will be continuously updated with new listings: www.eatdrinkkl.publ.com/businesses

Sunday, July 27, 2014

The Bread of My Childhood by Jean Michel Fraisse

The late '70s and early '80s was a sad time for bread in France because of intensive wheat farming. As a result, we didn’t have good quality flour and ditto good bread.

When I was growing up, we had a very good baker in the village in the Southwest of France where I was living. So I knew what good bread is.

During the late 70s, small villages like mine in Sabarat became deserted after the folks left for the cities to look for work. Small artisan craftsmen like bakers and butchers had to close their shops as the business was no longer viable. As a result, we had to rely on bread supplied by bakers in the larger villages and cities, and these breads were produced in a more industrial way.

There was a distinct difference between city bread and country bread. The kind of bread that we find in Malaysia today is like the city bread of my childhood – made with industrial “corrected” flour, which means whiter flour with additives, and quick methods using instant dried yeast that allowed the baker better control over the production, and resulted in a good-looking but tasteless and soulless bread.

There were still a few bakers in the remote countryside who were making the kind of big, rustic loaves that you could keep for up to a month without going mouldy. It was the kind of bread that you could throw at a man and it would knock him off.

When I started to work in the city, we would drive 70 to 80km to buy such bread. This was, and is, how important bread and its taste is for me.

In 2005, I put my heart and soul into bread-making after learning how to make bread from a veteran French boulanger. Even though the results were pretty good, and better than any bread that you can find in KL at the time, it was not the bread of my childhood. I thought it was because of the flour or the equipment that I was using.

In 2007, during the Sirha food expo in Lyon, France, I came across a baker, Antonio Louro, who was making the kind of bread that I was dreaming about. He was demonstrating for a boutique flour mill, Les Moulin d’Antoine in Cantal, the mid region of France. I decided on the spot to import the flour that he was using.

Although the flour was very good and helped me to improve my bread, it was not enough. I was still not making the bread of my childhood. Good flour alone was not enough.

Earlier this year, I invited Antonio to Malaysia and he showed us how to make his bread. Antonio is an honest guy with an open heart and readily shared his knowledge. His method was – surprise, surprise! – among the easiest of artisanal bread making techniques shown to us by the many boulangers whom I had invited to teach at the French Culinary School in Asia.

So now I have been reunited with the bread of my childhood: the pain de campagne (country loaf), the baguette and old slab, made using flour from wheat grown and processed with integrity (read: 100% natural and sans additives and conditioners) and made by a baker who understands the product.

Like the old baker, Antonio’s heart is in making good bread – it’s all about the taste. So his bread is not pretty to look at; his baguettes are not shaped into pretentious pointy tips and do not benefit from being buffed and varnished. They look like rough logs that you whack the dog with.

But break one open, hear the crust crackle, see the creamy and holey ‘meat’, and smell and taste real bread. For me, it’s the taste of love – after all, it’s just a humble loaf of bread.

By Jean Michel Fraisse

Director

The French Culinary School in Asia, HTC in Asia, La Vie En Rose Restaurant, Urban Picnic Café, Gourmandines Fine Foods
Photos courtesy of Kamal Zainul (of Breadties cafe-bakery) & Jean Michel Fraisse
To read more stories of Malaysian-based chefs, including Isadora Chai of Bistro a Table, Philip Leong of Nobu, Riccardo Ferrarotti of Mediteca, Christopher Yee of Topshelf, Nikom Uatthong of Kompassion, Lee Wee Hong of Tai Thong & Jason How of Ante Kitchen, see here: http://www.eatdrink.my/kl/2014/07/16/ask-chefs-satisfying-dish-youve-tasted-year/

Check out the latest edition of Eat Drink KL: 100 Favourites, featuring 100 recommended restaurants for July-September 2014, including more than 20 new entries for this quarter.

This eBook is available to read or download at this link: http://eatdrinkkl.publ.com/2014C

Link expires Sept 30, 2014; see blog entries after that date for new link.

Subscribe to Eat Drink KL Weekly for free via this following link:

https://confirmsubscription.com/h/d/5106C196432BB23D

Note to subscribers on Gmail: The newsletter will be in the Promotions folder of your inbox.

Sausages to sambal. Muffins to marshmallows. Peanut butter to mango chutney. Cornflake ice cream to honey aloe yogurt. Lavender-laced lemonades to lychee-&-guava juices.

This resource will be continuously updated with new listings: www.eatdrinkkl.publ.com/businesses

Saturday, July 26, 2014

Bricks & Barrels @ Sri Hartamas

Barrelling through a sweeping selection of grub & booze at one of this year's popular new watering holes at Desa Sri Hartamas.

Pork's the primary pursuit at Bricks & Barrels, a beer garden that first emerged in Ipoh before expanding to KL; first-timers will likely enjoy the roast pork, available in both an English-inspired version of slow-cooked pork belly with sage & garlic (RM38) ...

... & a German-influenced preparation, also tender & meaty, with crunchy crackling & plenty of mashed potatoes & mustard.

The repertoire, more ambitious than many might expect, spans East & West; this reinterpretation of Hainanese pork chop (RM36 nett) comes pan-fried with peas & potatoes in a light tomato gravy, to be soaked up with herb-tinged basmati rice.

Egg can be ordered frittata-style, mixed with luncheon meat & topped with cream cheese (RM16 nett) ...

... or fried with oysters, capelin roe & cucumbers (RM20 nett) in an interesting rendition of Chinese 'oh chien' omelettes.

Ultimately, Bricks & Barrels is all about guilty pleasures; scarcely three or four salads feature on the menu, heavily outweighed by two dozen pastas & pizzas. We like the 'French Pizza,' a crispy-crust, garlicky-cheesy one with snails galore. RM42 nett.

The cocktail list is extensive too; it's easy to see green with the eye-catching Mojitos (RM28 nett; variations of ginger, cinnamon, lychee or passion fruit are offered) ...

... to Martinis that come in head-turning variations (from black forest to banana, chocolate to apple pie to espresso).

Our memory of what specifically we had is foggy now, the consequence of guzzling down too many sips of these.

Bricks & Barrels has a vibe that'll fit customers who want a hangout that's breezy, casual & easy-going. We hope it stays good.

Bricks & Barrels

76, Jalan 27/70A, Desa Sri Hartamas, Kuala Lumpur. Open in the evening, through late.

Check out the latest edition of Eat Drink KL: 100 Favourites, featuring 100 recommended restaurants for July-September 2014, including more than 20 new entries for this quarter.

This eBook is available to read or download at this link: http://eatdrinkkl.publ.com/2014C

Link expires Sept 30, 2014; see blog entries after that date for new link.

Subscribe to Eat Drink KL Weekly for free via this following link:

https://confirmsubscription.com/h/d/5106C196432BB23D

Note to subscribers on Gmail: The newsletter will be in the Promotions folder of your inbox.

Sausages to sambal. Muffins to marshmallows. Peanut butter to mango chutney. Cornflake ice cream to honey aloe yogurt. Lavender-laced lemonades to lychee-&-guava juices.

This resource will be continuously updated with new listings: www.eatdrinkkl.publ.com/businesses