Poppy's Great Escapes

What has my Pretty Poppy been up to lately?  Well, for one, she made a great escape recently (well, not once...but a few times).....and had the adventure of her life for 3 hours! O_o

When was this?  On a Sunday morning when we went to church and returned after breakfast.  I'm not sure if I was the one who didn't latch the lock properly in her cage or she accidentally pawed it open.  That was a scare.....even though she came running back to the house the moment our car arrived (clever girl to be able to recognise the sound of our car engine or the opening of our gate...Cookie was the same!).

It was even scarier when we learned about the appearance of a black snake from our resident chatgroup.  A resident said it may be a cobra and that they enlisted JPAM to catch the snake but it escaped through the sewer.  Even more frightening was when a neighbour shared that there seems to be less stray cats loitering around our neighbourhood! O_o

The picture of my sweet Poppy being swallowed by a snake sounds really frightening (of course, my husband purposely wanted to scare me more by saying that if the snake crawled into the cage and swallowed Poppy, you know the snake would not be able to crawl back out, right?  Omg, the vision of a bloated snake (think Anaconda or like those we see on Animal Planet) is such a graphic vision that it gives me the goosebumps!)...that I've since added a failproof mechanism onto the latch (an S hook) that'll act as a safety latch to ensure it'll not be opened accidentally however hard she pushes or paws at the latch.

Of course, I can also be the cause of it if I forget to put that safety latch back on...but since that's the second lock (and the S hook is very visible if it's left hanging on the side of the cage and not put on), I hope that'll reduce the chances of it not being locked properly (after all, surely I can't be that unfortunate to not lock both latches).

Actually, this was not the first time that she made a great escape.  She has done it before as there was a previous incident when I didn't put the latch properly.  The next I knew (and heard) was the loud fighting sound of two cats at it.  I rushed out to find both cats under a neighbour's car and tried to break up the fight.  Poppy was cowing in fear in a corner (well, so you know who's the loser here).  Once I managed to chase the all-black female cat away (that's how I know female cats fight one another too), she took the opportunity to run around and enjoy her freedom.  It took me (with the help of my neighbour) like 45 mins before I managed to catch her...adoi!

Her other great escape was when she was in the house and somehow I must have not closed the door properly.  It slide open by itself (probably due to the wind) and opened a small gap in which she escaped.  When I saw the door slightly ajar, I called out her name immediately and when she didn't answer, I knew she must have run out again.

I ran out immediately after her and found her trying to get into the house opposite.  No wonder lah, she chased a female cat into the compound of the house (she didn't know how to get in through the gap at the side of the gate).  She was pawing the gate frantically trying to get in (very clear who was the winner this time!) and I managed to grab her instantly coz she was so focussed on trying to get at the cat.  She meowed so loudly (and tried to make a break from my grasp) all the way home.  She was obviously not happy being taken away when she was having the winning hand (or paw, in this case).  Naughty, naughty Poppy.....lol!  

Well.....and that was that to her few little adventures to the outside world (or were they misadventures).....and her brief taste of freedom.  Glad to report that there have been no more such escape incidents since! ;D

Poppy: Hey, by the way, did you notice my new collar.....cantik tak? ;D

It's custom-made you know (from my mommy's sister-in-law).

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Restoran 168 Wantan Mee & Curry Mee @ Pudu

I've eaten at 168 Wantan Mee & Curry Mee @ Pudu a long time ago but didn't blog about it as I didn't think much about the food.  But someone from one of my chatgroups sang praises about the wantan mee recently which got me thinking maybe I was too hasty in jumping to a conclusion + after all these years, I can't really remember what the food tasted like.

So, I thought why not make a return visit to see if the food's any good the second time round.  Plus a little incident (which I thought was rather amusing) made me want to blog about it this time...lol!  If you want to eat here, you'll have to abandon comfort and cleanliness as they're not a proper shop but located on the five-foot walkway (kaki lima) so you could be seated next to the longkang (drain) that comes with all its refreshing smell...lol!

From their signboard, it was rather obvious they specialise in wantan mee and curry mee.  We had the former since the curry mee was not ready yet when we were there in the morning after church.  I had the Dry Wantan Mee (S) with Char Siu while my husband had his Dry Wantan Mee (M) with Siu Yuk.

If you're looking for a presentable plate of food, you're not going to get it here.  As you can see, the meat is chopped unevenly and thrown haphazardly onto the plate...not only that but there's also no standardisation in the use of a bowl or plate.  They just use anything they get their hands on, I guess...my wantan me came in a bowl while my husband's came on a plate.  The wantan mee was fairly decent...and between the two, the char siu was better tasting than the siu yuk for sure.

What I found good and tasty was actually the soup wantans.  You get two wantans and one sui kow (surprise, surprise coz I've not come across one where sui kow was the default, it always have to be ordered as an extra).

Even more surprising was that one of the wantans was filled with a whole prawn (the other was filled with minced meat).  The wantans were worth every cent, plump and generously filled.  I liked the soup too which felt like a homemade one boiled with lots of chicken carcass/bones and white carrot which gave it sweetness (unlike the ones we commonly get from other wantan mee stalls that use stock cubes/powder).  I enjoyed the soup so much that I was contemplating to order wantan mee soup on my next visit but, thankfully, I didn't coz the soup turned out to be very salty.

On our second visit, my husband had his wantan mee with char siu while I was lucky that the curry mee was ready this time.  I asked for chicken with my Curry Mee but the worker said there's no chicken option, so I went with char siu instead but when when it arrived, it was served with siu yuk.  When I enquired why I got siu yuk, the worker said that's the standard and if I want char siu, I've to add it as additional (what the heck, where got such a thing, I think it was just her excuse coz she fouled up my order).

There's a reason why I didn't want the siu yuk (after tasting it in my husband's wantan mee on an earlier visit) as the siu yuk was not tender at all, the fatty parts were very chewy and the taste was just not there (don't be fooled by the slab of hanging siu yuk that looked better than it tasted!).

Well, luckily I won't have to deal with that dilemma again as I doubt I'll be having it again since I found the curry, although quite thick, lacking the savoury flavours I seek.  The curry broth was light (even though I added a good spoonful of sambal) and it tasted like a cross between a Nyonya curry and a vegetable curry here.  There were brinjal, long beans, rehydrated pig skin (that needed to be cooked longer), fresh cockles and a garnishing of mint leaves.

What I don't remember having when I was here the very first time many years ago was the availability of yong tau foo.  They have quite a variety for you to choose from.

On our return (first) visit, I ordered 8 pcs of yong tau foo @ RM2.50 a piece for sharing...we had brinjal, chillies, fried fu chuk, fried sui kow, tau fu pok and fried wantans.  I actually thought the yong tau foo was the better tasting thing here than the noodles.  I enjoyed the fried wantan and fried sui kow particularly including the fish paste stuffed fried brinjal and chillies.

On my second visit, I ordered less...just one piece each of fish cake and fu chuk roll with two pcs of fried wantan.  That's because I wanted to tapau some for my lunch later.  I still asked for a packet of soup (coz the taste was still good) and added water to it when I got home to reduce the saltiness.  Both meals cost around RM35-45 for two (depending how many pieces of yong tau foo you order).

Coming back to the story I mentioned earlier, there was a couple (the lady actually) who couldn't stop taking selfies when eating here.  Let's just say she was overdressed for a roadside meal (clearly she's not from here, not sure if she was a foreign or local tourist).  I'm leaning towards a foreign tourist (she looks like a Chinese though) coz maybe eating by a longkang is rustic and a new experience for her....lol!  She kept taking selfies and even stood near the (messy-looking) stall to take more photos (I was choosing my yong tau foo then before realising she was next to me...hah..hah).

My Personal Opinion

The place offers a fairly decent wantan mee and curry mee with good wantans and dumplings (both fried & soup).  The highlight for me is their homemade yong tau foo. 

If you want to eat along this five-foot way/pedestrian walkway, you have to ditch cleanliness, comfort and (sometimes) you get added aroma from the drains (to add to your dining experience)...hah..hah!

Restaurant 168 Wantan Mee & Curry Mee

2-2 Jalan Brunei Utara

Pudu

55100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 016-256 2212

#ewew cooks Minced Beef Omelette...& a Coney Dog?

Ever since seeing PH The Meat Lover cook minced beef omelette many times, I've wanted to do the same as I was getting sick of my minced pork omelette already...lol!

But I wasn't able to do that coz I needed jalapenos and, for some reason, there weren't any selling at the Aeon near me...until on a recent visit when I (actually my son) spotted it.

Jalapenos in hand, I was finally ready to make PH The Meat Lover's famous minced beef omelette...I hope I can do her omelette justice...lol!  Well, I started with sauteeing one chopped onion until soft and translucent.

Then I added the minced beef and sliced jalapenos.  Once the minced meat is cooked through, I dished it up and added it to my (two) beaten eggs (or you can just pour the eggs over).

Oil the pan and pour the mixture back into the pan.  At this point, my omelette was looking good...until I flipped it (lol!)...and that's because my non-stick pan is no longer non-stick, so it looks more like scrambled eggs than an omelette! >_<

It may not look pretty...but I can assure you that it tastes better than it looks.  It's for my own consumption, so it's ok but if I want to cook it for guests, it's about time I buy a new pan (don't you think?).

The first time I made this, I underestimated the spiciness of the jalapenos.  My mom has always said that the long, thin (red) chillies are the spicy ones, and that's how I've always chosen chillies.  Jalapenos are fat and short, so I left them unseeded (thinking they won't be spicy) but they turned out to be the complete opposite...and my oh my, some were rather fiery.  I also used too many (four although they were much smaller ones) for my 2-egg omelette (PH The Meat Lover recommends to use two).

So, for my next minced beef omelette, I reduced my chillies and kwai-kwai used two jalapenos only and I made sure I de-seeded them this time.  Ah, that's much better! ;D  Those who can take spiciness can, of course, use more and leave them unseeded.  The inclusion of jalapenos I feel do make a difference in the omelette as they taste a lot better with it.

PH The Meat Lover tells me she uses 3 (sometimes 4) eggs for her minced beef omelette and she eats that in one sitting.  So, based on that, I thought I should be able to handle 2 eggs...but, in the end, I couldn't and I had to save half of it for my next meal.

Well, maybe that's because I ate it with two sides of roasted potatoes and red capsicum (you know me, I need to have carbs and veggies in my meal).  This makes a perfect portion for a not too heavy meal.

On another day, A & W's Coney Dog came to mind (now that I have minced beef)...and Beef Coney has always been my favourite thing to eat and always my no. 1 choice at A & W!

I recently tried out these sausages from my pork butcher shop and they tasted pretty alright (for a commercially prepared/processed sausage), so I thought I used this.  I also like that they come in a packet of two only so as to not over-indulge.  I recently did a criss-cross pattern on my sausage (for a Big Breakfast) and realised you get more crisp edges this way (instead of just slits).

Hot dogs or Coney Dogs aren't that difficult to do, so here's my simple take on my Beef Coney Dog.  Start by sauteeing some chopped onions.  I remember A & W's Coney Dog was topped with chopped onions that were more raw with a crunch.  I actually don't like the taste of harsh, raw onions, so I sauteed them for a little while (and dished some up) so that the onions still retain a bit of crunch.

The rest I cooked a meat sauce with it (like you would would do for spaghetti bolognese but a much simpler version without chopped carrots and celery)...with just minced beef (seasoned with salt and black pepper) and tomato paste.  I actually didn't have any tomato paste on hand, so I used packets of tomato and chilli sauce, hence the not so vibrant colour, but it turned out surprisingly tasty (coz packet sauces tend to have sweetness in them).

Time to assemble my Beef Coney Dog.  I laid my pan-fried sausage on a buttered, toasted hotdog bun (hotdog buns are usually not toasted but it's my home version and I like it toasted) and ladle some of the meat sauce over.

Top with the onions I dished up earlier...and my homemade Beef Coney Dog look-alike is ready.  This one (which I cooked another day) probably reminds you more of a coney dog...lol!

As usual, I like to eat it with my two most favourite sides of roasted potatoes and red capsicum.  I really, really like roasted red capsicum (red only, not yellow or green...hehe).  The red ones have this inherent sweetness in them with mild spiciness, besides being soft and juicy, when roasted...so good! ;)

Well, these are processed sausages, so we should partake in them only occasionally...save them for cheat days or when you want a treat.  This was incredibly filling (and I had to eat up a small, unfinished portion later).

As for the Minced Beef Omelette...thanks to PH The Meat Lover for tempting me to this dish (I lost count how many times I've seen it on her blog already...haha!).  It's a dish I rely upon now regularly to make me a pretty easy, light dinner.  Good as a diet meal too if you omit the potatoes.  Try it sometime! ^_~

Burnin' Pit @ Desa Sri Hartamas

It has been a while since I last met my makan buddies for dinner at Makoto...and we found ourselves in the same area again but at Burnin' Pit @ Desa Sri Hartamas this time.  I've been wanting to visit Burnin' Pit for some time since being attracted by photos of delicious-looking barbecued meats (as well as seeing my blogger friend enjoying meals there).

When I think of Burnin' Pit, for some reason, the Ring of Fire tune gets played in my head...lol! ;D

I fell into a burnin' pit ring of fire

I went down, down, down and the flames went higher

And it burns, burns, burns, the ring of fire, the ring of fire..........

Anyway.....Burnin' Pit is well-known for delivering good ol' Southern American barbecue meats cooked low and slow in a custom-built smoker (like those delicious-looking Texas barbecue we see on TV).

Our meal began with the Birria Tacos @ RM28 which is supposedly a Mexican crispy (red) taco stuffed with cheesy shredded beef.  It was served with a (birria taco) sauce which is a rich, savoury red broth (made with blended tomatoes, onions, garlic, dried Mexican chillies and spices).  Of course I wouldn't know if it was made with Mexican chillies (like ancho and guajillo) but they say it's not birria if you don't use Mexican dried chillies...haha!

Well, Mexican dried chillies or not, the sauce was absolutely delicious eaten with a spoonful or two over the filling of shredded beef.  The tacos were absolutely crispy as well making the experience a double dose of happiness.  I think I've only eaten non-crispy tacos thus far...and a crispy one definitely trumps a soft, pliable corn or flour tortilla! ^_~

I also ordered one other dish for sharing, the Philly Cheese Sandwich @ RM32 (or Philly Cheesesteak as it's commonly known) with pulled Angus beef shreds, sauteed red and green peppers, caramelised onions and cheddar cheese on a ciabatta served with a side of fries.

This was another good dish...and I was even ok with the cheddar cheese (which was white, not yellow). Worthy of mention was the side of skin-on fries which were extremely fluffy and crisp.  If I had known how good the fries were, I would have ordered an extra side of fries.

We could not order too many pre-main dishes as I know our main platter of The Austin @ RM368 would be massive...and I was really taken aback as to how substantial the platter was.  It got oohs and aahs when it was served...and I can certainly understand why...it was a showstopper! :O

It came with Smoked Lamb Ribs (750g), Smoked Angus Beef Brisket (400g), Quarter Smoked Chicken, Chicken Sausages (4 pcs) with sides of Mac & Cheese, Southern Slaw, Homemade Beans and Brioche Buns (I ordered an extra Brioche Bun @ RM3.50 since there were five of us).

Let's start with the good...and the best thing on the platter, the Smoked Angus Beef Brisket as it was so tender that the knife cut through it like butter and the slow-smoked brisket practically disintegrated in my mouth.  Even after each of us had a slice, there were still 2 large pieces left.  Only downside was you have to eat the beef brisket while it's still warm coz once it's cold, I could detect a hint of gaminess in the beef (which others might not experience) and though it was very negligible, it brought down the pleasantness of the brisket (for me).

The Quarter Smoked Chicken (we chose jerk seasoning coz peri-peri sounds so familiar like Nando's...lol) was tender, a little smoky and tasty enough though the meat was a little dry as we were unfortunate enough to get the wing section (and not the drumstick/thigh section) of the quarter.

The Chicken Sausages turned out surprisingly decent as I found myself enjoying them (not sure if they're housemade, most probably not).

The Smoked Lamb Ribs, which also happens to be the biggest portion on the platter, was the biggest disappointment.  Perhaps "disappointment" is too mild a word...it was a total disaster!  It looked way better than it tasted.  The lamb was so gamey (and there were also lots of fatty parts), it was inedible (I could smell the gaminess even before eating...and when I tried a small piece, no bigger than an inch, I wanted to spit it out).  The gamey taste and smell lingered in my mouth...it was really off-putting! >_<  Even the espresso rub we went with could not mask the gaminess of the lamb!  Even my friends who enjoy lamb found it gamey (and they couldn't stomach more than one bite), so it was practically left untouched...and uneaten.

As for the sides, I didn't care for their Homemade Beans and thought the Southern Slaw was a bit too limp (missing that fresh, crunchy factor) and wished it was served cold to give a bit more freshness that was so needed when you're eating a meat-heavy platter.  Luckily, there were some vinegared jalapenos to offer some respite.  I didn't have any Mac & Cheese as it's too heavy a side dish when you already have lots of meat.  I think they need to rethink their sides (of beans and mac & cheese) as I'd prefer to see something lighter and fresher to cut through the heaviness of the meats.

I ordered extra sides of Grilled Corn on the Cob with Coconut Milk @ RM9 (two portions) and they were well grilled and and tasty enough though I can't say I tasted much of the creamy coconut milk.

The other extra side was the Grilled Vegetables @ RM9 with grilled carrots, green & yellow zucchinis and red bell peppers.  These were smokey and good.

As we knew we would be adjourning for drinks later, we asked for water to be served...only to find out that it's chargeable! :O  Oh well, the 3 bottles of Spritzer distilled water cost RM9 (RM3 a bottle).  There were two bottles of BBQ sauce available on the table for those who need extra sauce.

We ended up at Cellar Eighteen again...and had the same bottle of red wine that we enjoyed so much the previous time.  It was a wonderful end to our otherwise heavy makan session.

Before I end, I feel I need to make a comment about the service.  The service was actually alright right up to near closing time (and that's 10 pm on weekends and 12 am on weekdays)...rather weird, if you ask me, to stay open longer on weekdays than weekends!!  Anyway, I was surprised when I was presented with the bill (coz I didn't ask for it) when I came back from the washroom (this was around 9.30 pm).  I guess they were getting ready to close...but still it wasn't the right thing to do (in my opinion) coz it came out like we were gestured to leave.  We ended up staying another 20 mins or so past 10 pm coz one of my friends was having an "episode" in the washroom (there was one other table still occupied then).  Lo and behold, past 10 pm, they started stacking chairs on the vacated tables and mopping the floor! O_o  I felt very uncomfortable (it was like they were "chasing" us away) that we decided to wait outside for our friend.  Although I'm aware that it's also not right to stay past their closing time, sometimes when you're having a good time, you can lose track of time but (in this case) we were waiting on our friend.  This reminded me (for comparison) of my wonderful experience at Meat Feds when we stayed beyond their closing hours but was greeted with "no problem, it's fine" when I apologised for overstaying...this is what excellent service is all about! ;)

My Personal Opinion

So, does Burnin' Pit warrant a return visit?  Maybe...though it's a YES to their Birria Tacos (especially), Philly cheese sandwich, fries and maybe the beef brisket.

It's a definite NO...to The Austin platter (or The Kansas which also includes the lamb ribs) as the gamey lamb, unfortunately, was not a hunk, a hunk of burning love (like Elvis Presley was in his older days...lol).  In fact, it was so gamey (that you can smell it a mile away) and inedible (that even lamb lovers couldn't stomach)...and the platter comes with a whopping 750g of it! >_<

In the end, even without partaking in the lamb, we were too stuffed, so clearly the platter was too much for our party-of-five to handle (Did I order too much?  Not, right?).  I thought if phonghongbakes's party-of-three (who incidentally also had a much more positive experience than us) can devour the platter, it shouldn't be a problem for the five of us.  But I guess I was wrong (now I'm really in awe at how much food they can handle especially when one of them is an 80+ year old lady).  For us, there were leftovers of everything (all the lamb ribs, of course + beef brisket and even smoked chicken), corn, grilled vegetables, mac & cheese, slaw and beans)...but no regrets ordering the first two dishes for sharing though since they turned out to be the better things we ate that night. ^_~

Burnin' Pit

No 24 Jalan 24/70A

Desa Sri Hartamas

50480 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 013-399 3920