Mikey's New York Pizza.....Delivery

I saw a promotion by Pizza Hut in the papers earlier in the day (I've not eaten Pizza Hut in years) and thought of ordering pizza delivery for dinner later one weekend night.  Luckily, I read a fellow blogger's (RealGunners) blog who tried that promotion already (the Xtreme Pizza featuring the Mighty Chicken, Pepperoni Beast, Seafood Hero & Super Hawaiian) and blogged about how underwhelming it was (actually, I could tell by just looking at the pics on his blog).

Then, I remembered The Yum List's review on Mikey's New York Pizza where I learned that they offer delivery. I've been meaning to check out Mikey's New York Pizza for a while now but just that I've not made it into any of their outlets in Mid Valley, Bangsar or Publika.  But that's not a problem since they now offer delivery services....how wonderful!  As I'm not a fan of cheese, pizzas aren't something I'd eat regularly but, since my family loves it, I do eat them occasionally.

Ordering is easy and fast through Whatsapp...and they reply instantly!  Check their menu online and just send your orders to 017-846 0080 with your address...it's as simple as that!  And your orders will arrive in 45 minutes to an hour.  You get a message when the order is on the way.  It's cash on delivery and a minimum order of RM50 is required.

True enough, within an hour, our orders arrived...and the food was still warm.  The good thing about Mikey's pizzas is that you can order them in slices (if you wish)....and they're big slices (9 inches in diameter)!  Of course, you also have the choice of a whole ginormous 18-inch pizza (with 8 slices) if you want (which can easily feed 4 - 6 persons).

We went for slices because we wanted variety and because of the enormous size of each slice (one slice will probably suffice for smaller eaters, otherwise two will certainly do the job).

Our first slice was The Tony Soprano @ RM15.88 per slice (or RM88.88 for a whole pie) that's filled with meatballs, sliced steak, pepperoni, roasted peppers and garlic and topped with mozzarella cheese.

This, being the most expensive slice on the menu, was generously laden with pepperoni, I must say.  As for the sliced steak, you'd find only one small piece...and, from the pic, you can see for yourself that it was very dry. I found myself liking the bits of juicy meatballs on the pizza.  Overall, the flavours were decent and, if you like pepperoni, this is the pizza for you. 

Next was The Sweet Hawaiian Pizza @ RM13.88 per slice (or RM88.88 for a whole pie) which came with shredded chicken and a pineapple salsa with mozzarella and cheddar cheese, topped with pineapple ring and maraschino cherry and finished with a sweet pineapple cream sauce.  

We've always loved the classic Hawaiian pizza that comes with chicken and pineapple but this one we weren't embracing.  The chicken was shredded so fine you could hardly taste it and it was smothered in a cream sauce that made it a bit cloying like I was eating carbonara pasta.  I'd prefer a version that comes with chunks of chicken and pineapple (not fine shreds please)! >_<

Mama's Wild Mushroom Pizza @ RM12.88 per slice (or RM79.88 for a whole pie) was my choice as I love mushrooms.  This one had a combination of shiitake, oyster and portobello mushrooms sauteed in butter, garlic, olive oil and fresh basil with mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce.

I found this pizza to be the best among all the pizzas we ordered as the flavours were enticing.  Can't go wrong with a combination of mushrooms.

Our final selection was the Pizza Bianco @ RM10.88 per slice (or RM69.88 for a whole pie) which is Mikey's signature 4-cheese white pizza: mozzarella, cheddar, ricotta and goat cheeses with olive oil, garlic and black pepper.

Obviously, this one was not my choice...haha....but since my son likes cheese, we ordered it.  Sadly, he didn't like the slight tang of the ricotta and goat cheese! :'(  I obviously stayed clear of this one.

Overall, the flavours of their home-made tomato sauce and the toppings were certainly decent but the pizza dough didn't impress.  It was thick and chewy...not thin and crisp or somewhere in between.  The edge of the crust was particularly chewy and hard.  From what I know, New York-style pizzas are supposed to be large hand-tossed thin-crust pies with a crust which is crisp along its edges yet soft and pliable enough to be folded in half to eat.

Mikey even have a hashtag #LiftFoldBite on how to eat their pizzas! ;D  As you can see, I lifted...but the folding was easier said than done.  I had to use a bit of force as the dough was pretty thick and wasn't as flexible as I thought! :'(  I've seen these pizzas being difficult to eat flat as the pizza is so thin and, with the weight of the toppings, it'll collapse if not folded.  It wasn't the case here.

We also had a side order of Brooklyn Waffle Fries @ RM12.88 which is their famed "disco fries" (more like criss-cross fries) smothered in cheddar cheese and paired with a beef gravy (I actually dunked the rather hard pizza crust into this gravy to moisten it >.< and finished all the gravy in the process).  Don't expect the fries to be crispy on the outside due to the smothering of cheese and the result of delivery.  I (surprisingly) didn't mind the cheese and it tasted alright dunked in the beef gravy but could do with a better portion size for the price.

Our last order was the Boneless Buffalo Chicken @ RM12.88 which featured 8 pcs of breaded, boneless chicken that have been deep fried and coated with Mikey's signature buffalo sauce and served with their house-made blue cheese dip and some celery and carrot sticks.  Again, I wasn't fond of this dish as I tasted raw, uncooked spices (which I disliked) with a rather acidic taste in the coating sauce (although the chicken meat was tender).  Also, for those who can't take the heat, better to stay clear of this one as it's quite spicy.  I think I'll stick to just pizzas here! :)

My Personal Opinion

There has been a lot of hype and good reviews on this authentic New York style pizza here in KL but my experience wasn't quite what I had hoped it would be.  

Perhaps, my expectation was too high or the delivery compromised the outcome.  Maybe because we ordered by slice, the whole pizza could have been made earlier and the slices reheated (as I've seen pics of whole pizzas sitting on their counters in many blogs).  Perhaps, if we had ordered a whole pizza, that would have been freshly made to order.  Or if I had dined in, my experience could have been different.

With so many ifs and maybes, it's best to not come to a conclusion until such time that I've had a chance to dine in and taste (hopefully) a freshly made one hot from the oven! :D  It's a shame really...coz the pizza toppings were good especially Mama's Wild Mushroom and The Soprano.  Maybe there's a consistency or execution issue with the pizza dough.  Oh well.....you try, you decide! ;)

P/S:  Update (3.06.2016)
I received a lengthy (but informative) email from the head chef of Mikey's a day after my review of their pizza delivery was posted.  He was concerned that my experience was not what I had hoped for.  He went on to explain what Mikey's pizza is all about and I've since learned a couple of new things from his email that I didn't know before.  It tells me that they're passionate about what they do and strive to give all their customers the best experience possible.  And it is for this very reason, I may yet dine-in at Mikey's one day and hopefully get to experience the pinnacle of a true New York pizza.

Mikey's New York Pizza
(with outlets in Mid Valley, Bangsar & Publika)

Cookie has been a naughty boy!

My Cookie can be quite the Cookie Monster (and I don't mean the famous cute blue one)...I mean literally....when he's up to no good!

Don't be fooled by his innocent "I'm so lovable" face....he's been a very naughty boy!

This was what my living room's shelves used to look like (with decor items on both shelves)!
And....no......Cookie is not part of the shelf's decor items >.<

But this is what it usually looked like as I've had to move some of the decor items around each time he gets up there.

And he sits there like the place belongs to him >.<

Cookie:  What's up?  I'm just chillin' and relaxing....and bothering nobody.

Cookie:  Hey, this is my space!


Cookie:  What?  Did I do something wrong?

This is what it looks like...permanently now.....the shelves are bare (forget about putting up any decor stuff)!  Only the remotes storage box and room thermometer are left.

Coz, one fine day, this happened! O_o

Guess who? >:(

And this was the perpetrator...returning to the scene of the crime!

It took me hours to sweep and vacuum all the broken glass just to make sure no remnants of shattered glass were left behind :'(

Here, let me show you another of his "deeds".....

Before.....pretty, isn't it?

After.......T_T

Which prompted me to do this.....anybody?

Ok, just kidding...how can I....there's a reason why they're "made to be" so adorable...to tug at our heartstrings! ;)

I guess I have to suck it up.....and do this!! :D

#ewew cooks Singapore-Style Bak Kut Teh

For those who have been following my blog for a while now, you'd know that soups are one of my favourite things to eat (or, in this case, drink).  That's why I've shared recipes of a lot of simple soups on my blog as I make them all the time.

So, when I read about a Singapore-Style Bak Kut Teh recipe from a blog I follow.....goodyfoodies...I immediately set out to make that for my own consumption.

I didn't know that a Singapore-Style Bak Kut Teh is something like the pig stomach soup (which I love incidentally).  I also read from another blog that this version of bak kut teh is actually a Teochew version.

Anyway, it's so simple to make and you basically need just 3 ingredients...pork ribs, peppercorns and garlic.  I added a twist to mine with a 4th ingredient....enoki mushrooms! ;)

Ingredients:

12 pcs (2 1/2-inch) pork ribs (about 500g)
1 1/2 bulbs garlic
1 (Chinese) tbsp white peppercorns (about 20g)
Enoki mushrooms (about 100g)
1L water
3/4 tsp salt or to taste

Preparation:

Steep the pork ribs in hot water for a couple of minutes to get rid of impurities.  Wash and drain.

Separate the garlic cloves but leave the skin intact.  Rinse them.

Crush half the peppercorns lightly (I used a pestle to crack them up as I find that to be the easiest to do).  I used only about 20g (or 1 Chinese tbsp) of white peppercorns (for 1L of water) since I crushed half of the peppercorns which will make the soup more peppery (hopefully).

Method:

Place the blanched pork ribs, peppercorns, garlic cloves and water into a 1.5L slow cooker and let it simmer away for 3 hours....and that's it...so simple, right?

Season with salt to taste and add the enoki mushrooms in the last 15 minutes or so.  Typically, Singapore bak kut teh probably doesn't come with mushrooms but I like mushrooms in mine.  So, the only one I could think of were enoki mushrooms as they won't change the taste profile of the soup that much (unlike Chinese dried mushrooms).

And here's my version of Singapore-Style Bak Kut Teh :)

Simply great with a bowl of rice, some simple stir-fry vegetables and a dip of bird's eye chilli, minced fresh garlic and soy.

I like mine with lots of Chinese parsley! ;)

I found the soup to have the right balance of peppery zing to it...just enough without being overly spiced with pepper.  If it was pig stomach soup, I'd probably dial it up a notch.  

So, if you like it to be more peppery, you can certainly add more peppercorns...but a word of caution....if you let the soup steep and heat it up again (for a later meal), the pepper flavour does get stronger.

When I had some for lunch, the soup was a bit clearer (as can be seen in the pic on the left) but, when I had the leftover for dinner, the soup became more intense in flavour and that's because the garlic cloves continue to soften and the peppercorns continue to steep for a longer period of time.

The pork ribs were fall-off-the-bone tender....and eating it with the garlic-chilli-soy dip was even better.

Actually, this soup is a whole lot easier to make compared to the herbal-style bak kut teh (unless, of course, you just use those prepacked bak kut teh herbs).  Go on, give it a try.....if you like peppery soup, you'll like this Singapore-Style Bak Kut Teh.

Nothing like a bowl of steaming hot (and peppery) soup to warm the soul.....especially welcoming on a cold rainy day! ;)

Serves 4 - 5 (soup-sized bowls)

Revisit: Yuzu Japanese Restaurant @ Suria KLCC

We were here because I wanted to get two specific books from my favourite bookstore (Kinokuniya) only to find out that they were not in stock and that I had to pre-order them.  So, I did....and I have to wait for it to arrive in about 3 weeks (bummer!). 

Since we were here, we chose to eat at our favourite Japanese restaurant in KLCC which is Yuzu Japanese Restaurant @ Suria KLCC......where else! ;)

We've had the opportunity to try both their a la carte dishes and set meals...and both turned out terrific....but the set meals give you a bit more value, of course.  So, we started with the Yuzu Gozen @ RM59 that comes with grilled Wagyu beef, assorted sashimi, sushi and tempura served with appetiser, chawanmushi, pickles, salad, fruits and teapot soup.

We asked for the Wagyu beef to be cooked medium rare as it was executed as such...phew (see side story below)!  It may look a bit on the rare side but fret not as it comes with a mini stove underneath, so you can still leave it to cook a little longer if you like.

Anyway, by the time you eat some of the other items and get back to your beef, it'd be slightly more cooked if you prefer it that way.  The beef was super tender and great dipped in the sauce that was cooked with some onions.

We've always loved good tempura....and this was no different.  There was a piece each of tempura prawn, eggplant, okra and sweet potato.

This was the assorted sushi....with one noticeable difference from the pic in the menu.  Our final piece of sushi was tobiko (flying fish roe) instead of ikura (salmon roe) sushi :P

Assorted sashimi (tuna, salmon & butterfish)

Side dishes of chawanmushi, salad, pickles (+ tempura & soy dips) & fruits

Finally, there was the teapot soup...otherwise known as "dobin mushi" (I've always wondered what teapot soup was).  So, "dobin" (teapot) "mushi" (steamed) is a soup steamed in a small teapot.  This pot of soup was made predominantly with very fine strands of enoki mushrooms and finely sliced green onions (I can't remember but I think there were some chicken pieces and gingko nut).

The teacup, masking as the cover of the teapot, acts as your drinking vessel.  If you find that the ingredients don't come out through the spout easily, just use your chopsticks to take them out (unless, of course, you only want the soup).  I liked this clear soup a lot (much more than miso soup)...and even more so drinking from the dainty little cup! ;D

Since I've always adored Japanese beef, I went with Wagyu Saikoro Don @ RM52 which is rice topped with dice cut Japanese beef.  There's also a Garlic Rice & Saikoro Steak Set @ RM52 with all the requisite sides if you want a better value meal.

But I decided on the Wagyu Saikoro Don in the hope that I'll get more beef compared to the set...and I probably did.  Just look at all that glorious beef cubes filling up the entire bowl...it was a bowl of love!  The beef was perfectly cooked to medium rare and was really, really tender and delicious.

Served with complimentary miso soup and pickles.

We also ordered the Unagi Kabayaki @ RM52 and a bowl of rice @ RM3.50 even though there was Unadon on the menu at RM48.  Again, it was because we were greedy hoped for more unagi! ;)

The unagi was more than decent in taste and quality (the sauce may be slightly on the sweet side for my palate but probably perfect for others).  It was still gorgeous and I'm happy, in fact, I'm delirious! :D  

One of the servers brought me a bottle of this after my unagi was served.  I didn't know what it was at that time (as I had never been given this when I had unagi in the past).  I sprinkled some on my unagi and found that it had a lemony tang to it.  On googling, I found out that it's sansho, a kind of Japanese pepper (or spice) with citrus flavours and traditionally used in Japanese cuisine as a condiment for unagi (well, now I know).  I liked it with the unagi probably because it managed to cut through some of the sweetness of the unagi sauce.

Our drinks:

Lemon Green Tea with Honey @ RM11

Genmai Cha (Cold) @ RM5

#Side Story

I asked the server (who was attending to us) if Iced Green Tea was available if I wanted it (it was clearly stated in the menu as Hot Green Tea).  She replied, "No".  Luckily, a more senior server's keen eye noticed me asking her and came and asked if she could help.  I told her that I'd like to have Iced Green Tea if possible (which I thought why wouldn't it be possible as it's just hot green tea with ice...lol) and she said, "Of course, ma'am".  

It was then that I noticed that the server had a 'Trainee' name tag on.  I think the senior server was a little 'dissatisfied' too that the trainee wasn't aware of this simple thing.  Losing her trust, she asked the trainee to repeat the orders to her and that's when I heard two words that are taboo to me (when it comes to beef)..."medium well"!  I quickly repeated to the senior server that I wanted my beef done "medium rare". And that's precisely the reason why some restaurants task the order taking in the capable hands of the more senior staff (to minimise errors such as these).

My Personal Opinion

What can I say.....yet another very satisfying meal!  Do give the Japanese beef and unagi a try when you're here and, hopefully, you'll be pleased with the flavours as much as I did.

So coming back again!  Woohoo!! ;D

Yuzu Japanese Restaurant

Lot 412 Level 4 Ramlee Mall

Suria KLCC

50088 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-2161 4176