Wet Market (Chee Cheong Fun) @ Pandan Perdana

Other than the wet market in Pandan Indah, the other market I visit occasionally is the Wet Market in Pandan Perdana.  When I do come to this market, there are 2 stalls I must visit to "tapau" (takeaway) my breakfast.

One of them is the "chee cheong fun" (rice noodle rolls) stall in front of the market (facing TO Coffee Shop).  At 7.30am, you can see his pots are nearly empty already!

This chee cheong fun (CCF) is the type that has dried prawns and chopped spring onions in them.  It is sold with some accompaniments like "fu chuk" (fried bean curd sheets which has been softened in water), "tau fu pok" (stuffed bean curd puffs), fish balls, pork meat balls, etc.

This is our takeaway Chee Cheong Fun @ RM1.70 (a sheet/portion).  Just a sprinkle of shallot oil and toasted sesame seeds is all it needs...and you're good to go.  The CCF is smooth and fragrant (from the bits of dried shrimps, shallot oil and sesame seeds).

These were the accompaniments we chose with our CCF - fu chuk, tau fu pok and pork meat balls @ RM0.90/pc.

They are best eaten with their curry or sweet sauce (which is an in-between of brown and reddish) or a combination of both (which I normally do).  I've eaten a lot of CCF with curry but nothing tastes like this guy's curry...it's the bomb!  Other than the usual stuff that goes into the making of a good curry (chilli paste and coconut milk), I don't know what else is in this fragrant and flavourful curry but I did 'fish' out some dried "ikan bilis" (dried anchovies).

It can't get anymore simpler than this but it's ridiculously good, utterly delicious!

The other stall that I must visit is the stall selling an assortment of local kuih (around the middle of the market and manned by 2 sisters).  The "ma lai koh", which is a traditional Cantonese steamed brown sugar sponge cake, is quite good.

I absolutely love their curry puffs...this is the large curry puff @ RM2 which has chicken, potato and hard-boiled egg inside.  There's a smaller one @ RM1.40 (without egg).  I liked that the potatoes are in small cubes instead of being mashed up.  I find these better tasting than the Homi curry puffs.  They also sell a variety of other kuih.

Another thing that I always buy from here is their "bak chang" or "chung" (glutinous rice dumpling) during the chung festival.  This and the one from the Pandan Indah wet market are the only two dumplings that I think are heads and shoulders above the rest.

This bak chang @ RM7 (wait, don't roll your eyes yet) is because other than the usual ingredients of pork, mushroom and beans, this one contained one whole salted egg yolk (instead of just a chunk or half of it normally).  The usual ones without the whole salted egg yolk cost RM6.  I was surprised when I opened the bak chang to find that the glutinous rice was white (I prefer it this way actually though it's commonly brown) and the salted egg yolk was so creamy (and not hard)...a testimony to its freshness.

Some of the other stalls which I'm inclined to visit (though to a lesser extent) are the following stalls.

The Apom @ RM3 (pre-GST price for 5 pcs) makes for a light breakfast and great with a cup of hot coffee or tea...an 'old school' breakfast that seems to be dying out...can't find many stalls selling these nowadays.

The "Tai Kau Meen" @ RM1.20/pc (from the same stall) goes by a lot of names..."apom balik", "ban chang kuih" or peanut pancake.  You have a choice of just peanuts or peanuts with sweet corn.  These ones are ok, not too sweet.

There's also a stall (operating from a truck) that sells Fried Carrot Cake @ RM4 (for small as they have not raised their prices yet).  It's not among the better ones that I've eaten but still acceptable nonetheless.

I like mine with everything...egg, bean sprouts, "choy poh" (preserved radish) and chilli paste.

The fried "yau char kwai" (Chinese crullers) stall in the middle of the market also serves up some pretty good fried items too @ RM0.80/pc.

My Personal Opinion

This (by far) tops the list of my favourite CCF and, best of all, it's in the vicinity of my neighourhood.  This stall's CCF with curry sauce is truly excellent!

To be able to sample this CCF, you have to really get up early...as the saying goes 'the early bird catches the worm' surely rings true here coz there's a chance you might not see him after 7.30am as it will be all sold out.

Pandan Perdana Wet Market
(in the vicinity of Hong Leong Bank)

Cafe de Paris @ Pavilion

After wrapping up a meeting with someone in Pavilion, on a potential 'side income generating' (or more like pocket change...kekeke ;D) project, I headed to Café de Paris @ Pavilion for dinner.

This French-inspired cafe, patisserie, bar and bistro looked authentic (from afar) and held even more promise as I drew closer.  The façade of the café, with its partial brown structure resembling the foot of the Eiffel Tower, gave it the 'Paris' feel!

The classic yet modern indoor dining area is both comfy and cosy.  The al fresco area exudes a Parisian ambience where you'd feel like sitting for hours, sipping on a cup of coffee and simply watch the world go by.

Browsing through the menu, the dishes on offer are distinctively French from boeuf bourguignon to ratatouille to provencale to bouillabaisse.  I settled on a light dish of Fish en Papillote @ RM37 which was an oven baked sea bass with carrots, leeks, celery, asparagus, lemon, thyme and dill.  Fish en Papillote is just a fancy name for fish wrapped and cooked in parchment paper.

The sea bass was cooked just right, succulent and flaky, and extremely light on the palate for a simple and healthy dish...I loved it!  Cooking the fish this way seals in all the juices and kept the fish moist.  When the fish first arrived at the table, it looked like it was encased in filo pastry but it wasn't...so, no, you can't eat it!  I could definitely smell the citrusy lemon and thyme fragrance in the fish.  The leeks and celery (but there were no carrots or asparagus) at the bottom of the fish were soft but a bit stringy.

This main meal was served with a choice of toasted French bread (but not sourdough) or herbed flavoured rice (and you'd need these carbs coz the fish portion was rather small).  On hindsight, I should have chosen the herbed rice as there was very little juice at the bottom of the fish (actually none by the time I finished eating the fish) to soak up with the bread.  The bread would have been a better choice if I had ordered the boeuf bourguignon (beef stew) or bouillabaisse (seafood stew).

Realising that, I requested for some butter for my untouched bread.  And the server came back with this creamy Lescure French butter, of course, mmm....not one, not two, but three, at no extra charge (although I needed and consumed only one)....that's service for you! :-)

The other main we chose was the Pasta Au Saumon @ RM33 which was penne pasta tossed in a rich cream based sauce with salmon, capers and dill.

There's nothing to complaint about when a simple, well cooked creamy pasta dish lands in front of you.

For desserts, they have quite a selection of tarts and cakes at the counter for you to choose from (chocolate palet, raspberry souffle, caramel hazelnut and amandine red fruit tarts, white chocolate and cherry brownie and berry chocolate pare).

I chose the Amandine Red Fruit Tart @ RM11 (from the cake counter) or maybe I should call it a "tartellette" since it's just a mini tart (and rather expensive at that).  It's a tart with strawberries and one blueberry in the middle (and probably some crushed almonds underneath).  I did like the slightly sweet, slightly tart, glossy berries topping but the tart shell...not so much.  The tart shell was a bit hard and looked like it had seen better days (probably would have tasted better earlier in the day).  Let's just say it didn't taste as good as it looked!

Our drinks for the evening were:

My order of Cold Almond Latte @ RM13, which was espresso, milk and ice whipped up with almond essence.  Unfortunately, it wasn't quite to my liking.  Should have stuck with the more familiar tastes of vanilla or hazelnut.

I later saw Getafix on the receipt (meaning get-a-fix, I suppose) and was wondering what it was and then realised that it was just the Fresh Watermelon Juice @ RM15 that we ordered.

#Fun Fact:
The iconic Eiffel Tower in Paris just turned 125 years old last week (it took 2 years, 2 months and 5 days to construct and was officially completed on 31 March 1889).  It hasn't always been brown...it was once painted yellow and brownish-red.

My Personal Opinion

If you're looking for some authentic classic French dishes like beef bourguignon or bouillabaisse to steak-frites, tartines and French pastries, you can find it here.

Personally, I've not eaten much French food and (so) is no authority on what's good and what's not but the Fish en Papillote that I had was delicate and beautiful....c'est manifique!  Bon Appetit!

Café de Paris
Lot C3.06.02 Level 3
Pavilion Kuala Lumpur
168 Jalan Bukit Bintang
55100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2144 4822

Dondang Sayang (Easter High Tea) @ Corus Hotel

Buffets used to be one of my favourite things to eat but (as I grew older) it's not something I like to partake in now as I can't consume that much food in one sitting...plus I prefer quality over quantity these days.

However, if you happen to be in a big party (like 10 - 20 people) for some kind of a celebration or reunion, buffet is an obvious choice purely because it provides a comfy place, where you can sit for hours and hours on end, catching up with one another, with no-one giving you the 'look' or waiting anxiously for your table....in other words, where chit-chat is the priority and not the food.

Therefore, in that same context, I found myself (among a party of 18) at Dondang Sayang @ Corus Hotel for their high tea buffet last Sunday as it was Easter Sunday and also to celebrate my mother-in-law's birthday in advance.

Warning!!!  Pictures overload :D  Feast your eyes on plenty of photos of the food with little or no comments coz I see no point in that due to the wide array of food which will definitely yield some hits and some misses...plus the menus are usually rotated on a regular basis, so some items that may be good may also not be on the buffet line the next time you're there.  [#Note: I think I captured less than 50% of the food available here coz, after the initial pics, I realised that some of the cloches do not open up all the way and so you can't really get a good shot.]

assorted salad

fried fish cutlet

sweet and sour fish slices

yong tau foo

fried popiah

condiments for the porridge

fried rice

satay station with chicken & beef satay and condiments of ketupat & cucumbers

some kind of a lamb stew

seafood pasta

chicken cannelloni

dessert section of assorted cakes

and more cakes...and if you're wondering what those egg-shaped things are...they're agar-agar (jelly-like things) in white (lychee), orange (mango) and green (don't know what flavour)

assorted local kuih

cream puffs

There were also a noodle station, a tempura counter, a couple of vegetable dishes, ice kacang, ice cream, tau fu fah, assorted local cut fruits and many others I can't remember!

I kicked off with the oxtail soup (the other choice was pumpkin soup)

And here was my stash of food, starting with....

Plate 1 - some tempura vegetables, fried popiah, fried fish cutlet, sweet & sour fish and some roasted potatoes

Plate 2 - some salad, tuna/cucumber/tomato (without the bread), seafood pasta and chicken cannelloni

Plate 3 - one stick each of chicken & beef satay

Plate 4 - white rice with a Thai-style chicken curry

And a plate of rojak that didn't belong to me...kekeke!

Finally, plate 5 - my dessert plate

And also my drinks of teh tarik, juice and coffee for the beginning, middle and end of the meal ;)

And what is Easter without chocolate bunnies and eggs + Easter and bunny-shaped cookies....

.....and colourful Easter eggs, of course

.....and then a not-so-fluffy but rather scrawny-looking Easter Bunny made an appearance! LOL!

There was also a separate kids food corner where their favourites (like sausages, nuggets, potatoes and what not) are available.

My Personal Opinion

My favourites were the oxtail soup (tender chunks of oxtail, robust soup with the right hint of spice), sweet and sour fish, vegetable tempura (light and crispy batter) and the Thai-style chicken curry (with a nice and tangy flavour).  I'd be happy with just the oxtail soup and vegetable tempura...ok lah, maybe if they add some tempura prawns, I'd he happier! ;D

Corus Hotel probably offers one of the most value-for-money high teas at just under RM50 per person.  Anyway, I'm of the opinion that most of the hotel buffets are of an acceptable standard (I've had quite a few in the past) and the quality of the buffet line really depends on the price you pay for the buffet! ;D  So, if you're looking for a budget high tea gathering for a lot of people, you know where to go! ;)

For me, buffets at hotels are solely meant for large group celebrations only...kekeke..till the next 'big' get-together then!! :-)

Corus Hotel Kuala Lumpur
Dondang Sayang Coffee House
Jalan Ampang
50450 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2161 8888

#ewew cooks Mackerel Bento with Sugar Snap Peas & Fried Egg

Whenever I'm grocery shopping at Aeon supemarket, I (sometimes) buy these value-for-money, light and healthy, packed bento boxes that I can reheat for lunch or dinner later.

 

Like this Grilled Saba Bento @ RM6.80 (pre-GST) or Grilled Saba Don @ RM7.90 (post-GST).
 

Or this Chicken Burger Bento @ RM5.80 (pre-GST) or Chicken Burger Don @ RM6.90 (post-GST).

 

Or even this Chicken Burger Bento (L) @ RM6.80 (pre-GST) with a chicken burger, a fried egg, 2 fish balls, 1 mini sausage, 1 mini omelette and some vegetables.  Not sure how this one looks post-GST though.

 

So, when I saw this frozen mackerel fillet on phonghongbakes, I immediately thought...why not get some and replicate the first bento above.  These frozen (Norwegian) mackerel fillets are convenient and easy to work with.  It retails for RM12.90 a packet (I bought them before GST kicked in) and each packet usually has 3 fillets (or 2 larger fillets).

I cut each fillet into two and steamed them for a couple of mins (I guess you can also grill them in the oven, it's up to you).

I then made a sauce with equal parts Japanese soy and water plus a bit of sugar.  Add in some pre-fried garlic (if you have).  Reduce the sauce or cook until it has thickened slightly.

Place the mackerel fillets on top of a bowl of Japanese rice and pour the sauce over the fish.  Garnish with some seaweed.....oops, I cut it too thick, didn't I? :p  Hmmm....not quite the finesse like Japanese restaurants...kekeke :D....but it will do!  [#Tip: Anyway, there's no way you can cut them into fine strips (by hand), those you see served at restaurants are bought pre-cut (by machines)!]

And there you have it.....a very simple rice dish that's both healthy and light to eat, just not very pretty-looking ;p

But, if I have more time to spare, I would normally whip up a fried egg and some vegetables to go with it.  And one of the easiest veges to whip up is the sugar snap peas as it takes mere seconds to cook....just fry it with some garlic and a pinch of salt.

So, this is my Aeon-inspired Mackerel Bento with (Crunchy) Sugar Snap Peas and a Fried Egg....now who wouldn't want to eat that! ;)  It may be frozen and not as good as fresh ones but, hey, it's good enough for me without the extra work of having to fillet the fish...not that I know anyway! ;D

For the pre-GST price of RM12.90 a packet (not sure how much it costs now), each packet of frozen mackerel fillet is good enough for 3 portions (with 2 pcs from 1 mackerel fillet each).  Sure beats the RM7.90 ready-bought one (with only half a pc of mackerel)! :(