Connie Bao, Sri Petaling

Homemade baos, sold steaming-hot on the porch of a Sri Petaling house: If you love fresh, tender baos, loaded with comfortingly familiar fillings, check in at Connie Bao.

The biggest baos (RM4) are massive, too large to fit into the palm of a hand, packed with pork, hard-boiled egg and mushrooms in soft buns, making for a meal on their own. 

From savoury-sweet char siu bao to lotus paste bao (RM1.90 each), the selection is extensive and inexpensive, a welcome boon for this neighbourhood's residents.

Connie Bao

Jalan 1/149j, Sri Petaling, Kuala Lumpur. Open Monday-Saturday, 7am-8pm.

This post first appeared on eatdrinkkl.com

Cik Sabi: Chicken Biryani & other soulful meals for delivery

Serving everything from Nasi Uduk with Opor Ayam to Mutton Meat Loaf with eight local spices in an all-butter crust, Cik Sabi promises soulful meals by Malaysian theatre veteran Sabera Shaik, who spins skilfully from choreography to cooking with her latest effort.

We recently received a meal box fit for a maharaja, comprising chicken biryani with a bonanza of sumptuous sides. Cik Sabi delivers on Thursdays and Sundays, with the offerings rotating regularly, so this biryani will be back on June 24 and 28 and July 1 and 5.

Plenty of care and effort were lavished on this rice, prepared with Cik Sabi's homemade blend of spices, with the chicken meat marinated overnight and cooked over fire for over an hour on the day of delivery. 

The result: A richly fragrant biryani, princely in portion, concealing chunks of tender chicken buried beneath the rice, juicily complementing the firm basmati and crunchy nuts, rounded out with hard-boiled eggs for a feast that should satisfy the entire family.

While Cik Sabi is a newborn initiative, Sabera isn't a newcomer to the kitchen - she has been baking for decades, whipping up gluten-free bread long before it became commercially available in KL's bakeries. She has also previously offered catering services for special occasions such as weddings and birthdays.

The extent of her experience is evident even in her salads and sauces.

The Tri-Colour Salad is a nod to traditional South Asian vegetable accompaniments, kept simple with thinly sliced carrots, cucumbers and onions, splashed with a citrusy lime and orange dressing to help make the biryani pop, while the Mint Chutney is naturally nuanced in its dark green depth, buoyed by a subtle tang from green apples and mangoes. Those little touches do a lot to elevate the essence of each recipe.

Pan-fried potato cutlets are another convincing complement for the biryani, crisp to the bite and softly sultry to the chew, while Cik Sabi's 'racy raita' brings fun flourishes to the yogurt condiment, courtesy of diced fresh strawberries for a sweet bit of bite, pomegranate seeds for both texture and taste, and garlic for some sharp heat, harmoniously coming together for one fine raita.

The meal is completed with phirni, the equivalent of rice pudding, with a medium-thick consistency, not too sweet, lightly floral with rose water and orange blossom water, speckled with nuts and dried fruits. It takes 90 minutes to lovingly cook this, but we'd eagerly devour it within 90 seconds.

The Chicken Briyani meal box clocks in at RM55 for two persons in the portion pictured here, or RM130 for five persons. Orders must be placed by 2pm a day before delivery.

Many thanks to Cik Sabi for this sampling.

Cik Sabi

instagram.com/ciksabifood
WhatsApp: 011-540-91050

This post first appeared on eatdrinkkl.com

HF Grocer: Selling fresh produce, including from Orang Asli farmers

A family-run farm that helps other families who run farms: HF Grocer has been selling its own produce, spanning papayas to pineapples, cultivated in Bentong for more than five years. 

In September 2020, its founders went online at hfgrocer.com and soon brought neighbouring farms into their platform, including several Orang Asli family-run farms.

When you buy from HF Grocer, the produce comes from a variety of these Bentong community farms.

HF Grocer strives to be a positive force by purchasing the Orang Asli families' harvest in bulk, paying them cash up front. This means the families won't have to spend all day at Bentong's market stalls to slowly sell their vegetables and fruits - a time-consuming task in a town full of people with easy access to tasty fruit. Instead, they can sell most of their produce to HF Grocer and focus on farming.

This agricultural cooperative evolved organically for the family that runs HF Grocer. For years, they've employed Orang Asli workers as part-timers at their farm, many of whom often offered them fruits to sample.

If you're specifically seeking Orang Asli produce, check out the petai,  lengkuas and coconuts. 

The Orang Asli farmers offer papayas, pineapples, bananas and guavas too - these fruits are also sourced from HF Grocer's own farm as well as other partner farms.

Check out hfgrocer.com to explore plenty of irresistible local crops, from pisang embun to organic roselle calyces, soursop to sweetsop.

HF Grocer
instagram.com/hf.grocer

This post first appeared on eatdrinkkl.com

Aloft Kuala Lumpur Sentral: Feast on the Daddy's Platter this Father’s Day

Aloft Kuala Lumpur Sentral is dedicating more than a fortnight to all dads out there with its fantastic Father's Day platters, available for takeaway or delivery 14-30 June.

Let Dad sit back, relax and put his feet up as Aloft's culinary crew does all the work, letting your family enjoy a feast in the comfort of your own home!

The Daddy's Platter is filled with five delicious dishes that pack a flavourful punch: Crispy Nachos with tangy Jalapeno Tomato Salsa, creamy Mushroom Pie, a cheesy Chicken or Beef Foldover, Spicy Garlic Parmesan Fries with Sriracha Aioli, and a taste of the States with Aloft's Lil’s Smokies mini hotdogs with mustard and relish.

The Daddy’s Platter retails at RM68 nett. Each set comes with a beverage and is suitable for one person.

For takeaway or delivery, contact Aloft KLS at +603-2723-1154 or email kulal.b&f@marriott.com to place an order or find out more. Orders must be placed 24 hours in advance.

Guests opting for takeaway can pick-up the Father’s Day Platter directly at the lobby of Aloft Kuala Lumpur Sentral from 7am to 7pm.

This post first appeared on eatdrinkkl.com

ELLO Pita KL

Have a pita party: Say hi to ELLO, delivering puffy, fluffy pocketfuls of sunshine, transforming salads, sandwiches and even burgers into wholesome pita pockets, plump and perfect.

Malaysia might feel like a million miles from Marrakesh now, but The Moroccan brings a bit of the Red City to KL, loaded with juicy, mellowly spiced lamb meatballs, their unmistakable gaminess buoyed by mint raita, onions, diced cucumber and chopped parsley, for a satisfyingly omnivorous meal (RM18).

ELLO is barely a week old, but its offerings are confidently executed, precisely proportioned with quality ingredients - no skimping on proteins or vegetables. The Avocado Chick is as filling as any hearty salad bowl, packed with tender chicken breast, hard-boiled eggs, avocado and tangy chimichurri in fresh-baked flatbread (RM16).

For a nutritionally balanced alternative to fast-food beef burgers, bow to the Beef Burta, layered with a thick beef patty, telur goreng, cheese, tomato and leaves (RM18). Make no mistake - this isn't inferior to a burger in taste and texture; it's as punchy and kick-butt as any out there, all killer, no filler.

Swapping in for fish sandwiches, The Fish Pocket features deep-fried, crunchy-moist fish fillets with tartar sauce, wasabi aioli, gherkins and a lemon wedge (RM14); have it with fries for a pita take on fish 'n' chips.

Everyone will have their ELLO favourite - ours is the Salsa Fest, living up to its promise of a fiesta on your taste buds, with avocado, eggs and salad leaves, mingling with mouthfuls of zingy, zesty salsa and roasted pepper sauce, a meat-free marvel that's perilously moreish (RM14).

ELLO Pita KL

instagram.com/ello.kl

This post first appeared on eatdrinkkl.com

Googoo Gaagaa, Pandan Indah

Soule, her husband Rick and their pal Danny weren't planning to name their first cafe Googoo Gaagaa. But a twist of circumstance resulted in this memorable Queen-inspired moniker for a friendly new space with fun touches of art, including fluorescent paintings to be illuminated by black lights.

Take out shrimp rolls and fried chicken sandwiches with hash browns for a fuss-free, filling lunch from the pre-launch menu, coupled with coffee satisfyingly brewed with Googoo Gaagaa's own house blend, featuring Sumatran and Salvadoran beans medium-roasted in Semenyih by KYN Coffee Craft.

Googoo Gaagaa

88G, Jalan Pandan Indah 4/6b, Pandan Indah, 55100 Kuala Lumpur. Tel: 011-1612-0728

This post first appeared on eatdrinkkl.com