Into the Doorway of Food, where it's all about Eating...



Let's start the journey into my world of food...

Different tastebuds with different tongues; you're the eater and you're the judge...
What I share here is simply the passion towards food and drinks.

Don't hesitate to ctiticize; if you like my articles, encourage me.


Saturday 31 July 2010

Story of River Fish, Part II: Kemunting Lake View Restaurant

In further part from Sg. Kob, the Kemunting Lake View Restaurant is 'floating' on the lake whereby they're specialising in river fish as well. I love the natural scenery that I've while enjoying my farewell meal here but it's a little shaky being floating on the lake...
I prefer Kemunting Lake View Restaurant as they've more choices of dishes here. The most favourite of mine is always the 3-Flavours 'Jin Feng' fish. The thick sauce is not only sweet and sour but with a little spiciness to stimulate my tongue. I'm not yet an expert to guess the ingredients inside the sauce, but the aroma is very nice and it's very appetising.

As usual, our next dish is always the Fried 'Patin' fish in Soy Sauce. The size of the Patin fish is smaller here and thus the meat is not too thick and not so oily. Some people will prefer the more oily Patin fish as that is the specialty of this fish. Patin fish in soy sauce is somehow a quite standard cooking method to hide the natural, strong soil taste of this fish. Here comes our 3rd character, the Steamed 'Pak Sukong' fish. This is plain steaming with garlic and soy sauce. The soil taste is covered by the saltiness of the soy sauce and with the aroma of the garlic.
Here in Kemunting Lake View Restaurant, they do serve some special dishes like frog, deer or ostrich meat as well. We've ordered the Fried Ostrich meat with Ginger and Green Onions. I've to admit that I like the ginger taste but the ostrich meat is a little over-cooked whereby it turns out to be more chewy. However, the meat is somehow more tender and juicy than chicken.

We've too much meaty orders. Followed is our healthy vegetable meals of Fried Potato Leaves, Fried Cabbage and also the Fried Bean Sprouts. I don't think if I should classify the dishes as healthy because there have been too much oil inside the vegetable. It'll definitely be a better choice if the chef can reduce the oil consumption while frying the vegetable.

My personal preference in river fish is at Kemunting Lake View Restaurant as the dishes here are heavier in taste. It's easier for me, a non-river fish lover to accept the flavours here. It's kind of depending of your tongue to choose the suitable river fish for yourself.
Bear in mind, the river fish in Kulim opens only at daytime because the area is not equipped with electricity. There's no light at the night time ;)

Sunday 25 July 2010

Story of River Fish, Part I: Restoran Kolam Ikan

I'm born and fed with the fresh ocean fish and I've to admit that I hate river fish for its soil taste; till someday... I'm introduced to the river fish in Kulim, Kedah.

Restoran Kolam Ikan is specializing in river fish and it's located deep into the forest of Sg. Kob area. I've to admit that it's an adventurous journey to pass by the narrow rocky roads. The river fish is prepared and cooked freshly here whereby the owner has setup their own feeding ponds around the restaurant. It's an amazing scene that we've reached the pond during the lunch time, looking at the pool of fish rob against their food.
It's all about river fish... Our first dish is the Fried Patin fish in Soy Sauce. Patin fish is having a thick layer of meat and skin that is very rich in fish oil. That makes Patin meat is more compact and oily. Followed by is the Sweet and Sour 'Jin Feng金凤' fish that has been fried till golden crispy. I like the appetizing sweet and sour sauce that is full of chopped onions and chili. Our last dish is the Steamed Pak Sukong fish. The fish is garnished with the mashed ginger, to add freshness to every single bite by reducing the soil taste in the meat itself. In my opinion, Pak Sukong's meat is softer and smoother than Patin. Actually, more people prefer Pak Sukong as it's not too oily.


My sensitive tongue is still resisting the soil smell that exists originally in the river fish itself. However, tasting river fish is a different experience that you should explore it.

Saturday 17 July 2010

Chaw Choon Dim Sum; the main spot in the Morning

Restaurant Chaw Choon is a famous Dim Sum place that is well-known in B'worth whereby people will start to gather early in the morning for a Dim Sum feast with family. The main shop is at Kampung Benggali that is nearby the ferry port while I prefer the branch shop at Raja Uda area as it's newer and cleaner.

They serve a large variety of Dim Sum that I don't know which to start with. My first temptation always goes to the Prawn Dumplings. I don't know how to name the prawn dumplings, what I know is that 虾烧卖 is normally stuffed with the mixture of chopped prawn and meat while 虾饺 is rich with the big prawn inside the transparent dumpling skin.

Besides, we've also ordered the Meat Dumpling烧卖, Stuffed Meat Tofu酿豆腐 and Seaweed Meat Roll with Crab Filament蟹柳紫菜卷. I don't really fancy into these meaty dumplings but I do like the soft and smooth Tofu in the thick soy sauce. The sauce is just-to-taste to compliment the tasteless Tofu.
There's too many fried Dim Sum for us to choose from, but we've only tried the Prawn Roll虾卷 and Carrot Cake罗卜糕. Everyone likes the prawn roll for its crispiness but it's somehow very oily and certainly unhealthy for over-eating. I ban the carrot cake here as it's very oily and overly too soft.

My Boyboy's all-time-favourite is always the Char Siew Pau叉烧包. The meat ingredient is fried with the dark soy sauce and it's moist enough but the flour dough is too sticky.
I'll not grade Chaw Choon Dim Sum as delicious, but I do agree that they've a wide selection of choices that is just perfect for a morning gathering with family or friends.

Monday 12 July 2010

Dim Sum at Night, just perfect when I'm not an early bird

'The early birds will always get the worms'; but it's just a nightmare for me to have Dim Sum in the morning when I feel more eager for my bed and blanket. I like the idea of Dim Sum at night when I find one in Bukit Mertajam.

Restaurant Mei Wei Hin is specialising in Dim Sum whereby they open twice a day; if not mistaken, in the morning at about 7am and from about 7pm in the late evening. I personally like the Dim Sum here as they're using prawn as the main ingredient, it's just perfect for me as a seafood lover instead of a meaty girl.

Let's start with the main characters of Dim Sum; the Meat Dumpling烧卖 and Prawn Dumpling虾饺. To a non-meat lover, the meat dumpling appears to be tender and just nice only for me as my favourite is still the prawn dumpling whereby every single prawns are so tender and juicy that they're so fully stuffed inside the dumpling skin.
Another favourite of mine that I've ever tasted in any Dim Sum restaurant before is the Turnips Dumpling菜糕. It's more alike mixed ingredients of corn, red bean, peanut, turnips and some chopped prawns. Every single bite is rich of different flavours and the ingredients are very fresh that in fact, they're crunchy. This unknown dumpling is added with coriander leaves to enhance the aroma and adding in another freshness, flavour to the prawn itself.

The Crystal Dumpling水晶饺 is named upon it's crystal clear dumpling skin whereby this type of flour will appear to be transparent after steaming and it tends to be a little more sticky. No others, prawn is still the main character for the stuffed ingredient but the chef has added in some tiny, chopped big red chilli and green onion to create a little spiciness.

I think the chef is very innovative that he has magnified the prawns into a large variety of choices and flavours. Some other choices of the steamed Dim Sum are the Green Spinach Dumpling, Pumpkin Dumpling and Green Peas Dumpling. With the names, green spinach and pumpkin come from the dumpling skin that has been blended with the vegetable to create a natural and organic color. While for the green peas, they're mixed with the prawn as the ingredients inside the dumpling skin.
My friends personally love the White Carrot Cake罗卜糕 here. From outside, you must be wondering what this 'black stuff' is... Actually, the carrot cake is fried till very crunchy yet it's still very soft and tender from inside. Every bite is the natural taste of the white carrot.

Overall, Restaurant Mei Wei Hin doesn't provide a very wide selection of Dim Sum but I'll say that every dish is fairly delicious and I do like the idea of using prawn as the main ingredient. The most convenient point to me is... I don't need to wake up early in the morning to enjoy Dim Sum. Besides Dim Sum, they do serve fried noodles, udon or Hor Fun as well.

Sunday 11 July 2010

Bravo Italiana, my personal time to indulge in Italian's taste

Wondering where to go for my lunch while waiting for the government's break time to end...
Bravo Italiana is located at the i-avenue and they serve Italian's pizza, pasta, desserts etc; it's about the gateway to Italian's food. The ambient inside the restaurant is slightly dark with the dim lights only during the daytime and the space inside the restaurant is limited, feeling a little packed for movement. However, everything is arranged properly and systematically whereby you can have a clear overview with the counter located exactly at the center of the restaurant.

I always love for a coffee during the noon time that I've ordered a hot latte. I'm not a coffee expert, but the coffee is just nice without additional sweetening for myself. What I like the most is the triangle glass that looks modern and nice to handle. As a starter, every customers will be served with the crispy garlic bread that is delicious with the strong garlic and butter taste.

For the main course, I've chosen a GOP spaghetti or it's also called Aglio Olio spaghetti that is fried mainly with olive oil and garlic. The chef has put in some chopped tomato cubes and cherry tomatoes for a more refreshing taste, also with the Parmesan cheese to add on a little saltiness. The spaghetti is delicious except that I prefer more garlic to enhance the aroma.

How can you end the meal without a mouth-watering dessert... Over their large variety of heavenly desserts, I've made up my mind for the Tiramisu. The Tiramisu is not too sweet that it comes with a little sourness that I believe from the cheese itself. But, it'll be more perfect if the taste of the rum is more evenly spread over the cake and I'll prefer a little stronger coffee taste in the Tiramisu. Overall, it's a no regret to have such a wonderful dessert.
Source from Wikipedia: Tiramisu (Italian: Tiramisù; Venetian: Tiramesù " [tirameˈsu]) is one of the most popular Italian cakes. It is made of savoiardi (otherwise known as lady finger biscuits) dipped in espresso or strong coffee or rum, layered with a whipped mixture of egg yolks, mascarpone cheese and sugar, and topped with cocoa.

Bravo Italiana is somewhere that you can step in for a large variety of Italian food and they do serve set meals that come in reasonable price.