kl: jalan alor

jalan alor is a tourist hotspot, an entire street lined up with hawker stalls in the heart of kl. though touristy i believe it should be a foodie destination as well. only got to try this after months of being here in kl.

stores open at around 5-6 pm. usually one resto is comprised of several stalls. ordering is centralized but you pay up every time they bring food to your table especially if they come from different "stalls." tried cu cha restaurant which is next to dragon view the corner lot of changkat bukit bintang and jalan alor.

i got my must try food items.




chicken wings - these are famous here in jalan alor. actually wong ah wah which is on the other end of the street is said to be the best place to get your chicken wings. but this one was good as well.




char kway teow (ckt) - my favorite. this is one of my favorite noodle dishes even before coming over here. i learned a couple of things about ckt. first, there's also a wet version. the wet one has a lot of sauce. second, cockles is a must in a ckt. hmmm, dont' think they have that back in manila. anyway, this is the best ckt i've had. but i'm sure the penang version would be better since they say penang food is really good.




oyster omelette - another hawker dish. this is my first time to try it so i have no point of comparison. but i liked this one, the egg is crisp and not oily and the oysters are well done.



ikan pari - grilled stringray topped with sambal sauce. loved this one also. ahh no misses so far.




buttered prawns - yes buttered and not battered. you can find buttered squid, buttered chicken, etc. here in kl. everything has butter/margarine. this dish looks pretty good right...but i think it lacks the buttery flavor. it would have been much better with more planta (butter/margarine).




steamed fish - not a unique hawker fare but this one is good steamed lapu lapu/pearl fish i am not sure which type this one is. the fish was fresh and the light soy just made this dish pleasing to the palate. ok here's the after shot just to show you how much we enjoyed it hehe.




when tofu lovers dine out...there's got to be something tofu.




tofu hotpot - this one has the eggy type tofu which is very silky. mild flavors which provided a contrast with our other food items. all the tofu lovers loved this one.

and for dessert...




super lolo (i think) - shaved ice topped with fruits. fruits were fresh...the syrup has just enough sweetness. a perfect ending.


sorry folks no prices because i think i lost the piece of paper where we wrote everything. but all these items which were ordered in the largest serving while the ckt was around 3 orders plus drinks and rice the damage was around RM18-20 which is roughly PHP260 or less for 8 persons. watcha think? i think it was worth every ringgit spent =).



cu cha restaurant
jalan alor, kuala lumpur

my birthday dinner

this was the first time that i wanted to "celebrate" my birthday, because i usually don't. it's usually just a typical day for me i don't do anything not even a fancy dinner out. the day before, i had a joint bbq-swimming party with another colleague. my birthday fell on monday so i was pretty limited with my options. first, cook dinner and have my friends come over...ahhh too lazy and got tired with the party the day before. how about delish crabs with vermicelli...i need to have noodles for long life...damn too far! hmm the other option was el cerdo but i was not in the mood for pork. so i finally decided to go for steamboat.

we got some freebie appetizers. pinoy style peanuts which we loved. you rarely get to see this here in kl, actually this is the first time we got this here, they usually serve steamed peanuts. the tofu was so so not exactly a fave. and my favorite is the pickled papaya. they were very crunchy and the sweet tangy flavor was perfect to cleanse my palate after a bowl of the spicy soup.




when it comes to steamboat the restos here offers a wide range of broth. xiao fei yang offers the spicy one. they have this yin yang kind of vessel wherein the non-spicy and spicy broth are poured into.



you can see all the herbs and spices...my friend described the broth as pito-pito. ok don't be discouraged it's not as bad as you think it is. the mild one actually tastes like tinola broth and the spicy one is a spicy pito pito kinda broth...not really medicinal herbs but you really get that herbal flavor. i'd have to admit this is not for those with simple palates. but since i have not had anything that has "wowed" my palate for god knows how long...this was a welcomed flavor.

as if the flavorful broth is not enough, they have 3 kinds of condiments. chilli oil, a sesame based type of paste and the sa cha which is the most common one used in manila. i love the condiments, they taste good together.




we got several stuff for the steamboat. my favorites are the lotus root, the pork intestines which were very tender and of course tofu.





it was such a filling meal, i think i only had two small bowls of the broth. i initially thought we could finish up everything since we only had several items. but we weren't able to finish them...and we left out the prawns!!! yup such a waste. but i guess the broth has this filling effect as well...we didn't even have carbs except for the vermicelli noodles which was merely consumed. it was still a fun meal for me. a unique broth and some goodie steamboat items. i am looking forward to an eat all you can steamboat =) and i hope that's soon.



xiao fei yang steamboat
18, lorong thambi dua
pudu, kuala lumpur
tel no: 03-2142-6789

wagyu noodles

what i like about being on evening shift is that i can cook lunch at home and pass up on the usual chicken chop lunches. here's one of my creations. hongkong noodles topped with australian wagyu and spinach.

kl: din tai fung

din tai fung is a taiwanese resto chain famous for its xiao long bao. when i've read one of the malaysian food blogs regarding this chain i suddenly remembered several pinoy blogposts regarding this resto as well. i wanted to find out how din tai fung's xiao long bao fair against dragon-i's.

we got some japanese cucumbers, i dunno how it was prepared somewhat pickled but it's not sour and has a slight hint of sesame, a good way to cleanse the palate.




of course we got the famous xiao long bao (RM8.90) for six pieces. i find dragon-i's xlb much better. the wrapper of din tai fung is thinner but i find it dry even though it's piping hot and has a lot of steam in it. also, the soup and meat filling is not remarkable unlike dragon-i's stuffing which even got better with the addition of the dark vinegar.




i love noodles and so i opted the cha jiang la mien (RM12). it's dry noodles topped with sauteed pork. the noodles are perfect, springy and fresh and the topping has enough sauce to coat the noodles. loved this dish.




for my rice loving friends we got the following viands.


fried pork chop (RM9.80). looks plain and simple but quite tasty. this is actually a best seller.




kung bao chicken (RM15.80) chicken that has a balance of sweet and salty with cashews. good tasting but nothing spectacular.


also got tofu (RM15.80) forgot the exact name. it's a block of tofu topped with nori - fried and then braised with mushrooms and spinach. a bit less salty but still flavorful...and the silky tofu is just a delight.





last but not the least is the crowd favorite, salted egg prawn (RM24.80). fried prawns dipped in salted egg (salted egg here is fresh not the ones we buy that is already cooked). the egg was very airy which gave it a nice light crispy coating. loved it.





din tai fung
lower ground level the gardens,
mid valley city, kuala lumpur