Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Absolut Thai Birthday Treat by Boss

The boss treated me and two other colleagues for my birthday lunch today.  We had Thai food at Absolute Thai in Ikano Power Center. The food was nice albeit a slightly upscale price.
The Spicy Seafood Tom Yum came first.  I ordered the 2pax portion.  It was really spicy.  They added condensed milk to it, which, I think helped tone down the heat a little bit. I quite liked it, though I would prefer the clear broth version.  They also have chicken and beef variation.

What is thai food without the signature green curry chicken.  The taste of this one almost resembled the 'kurma' gravy. The chicken strips could be fresher and juicier; these were a tad dry.  I guess it's all in the way they cut the meat and how long they cook it.

Oh but let me tell you about the Thai style steamed sea bass or siakap. They removed the middle section bone, leaving only the meat, tail and head.  The gravy is loaded with chopped garlic and chili, dressed with coriander leaves and cooked in lime and fish sauce with some sugar to taste. There were four of us but we almost couldn't finish it.  The head was left untouched coz we were too full.

The fire died down just in time without overcooking the fish. That's nice ain't it?

This is the papaya salad.  Very similar to the mango salad in texture and dressing but it lacks the sourness. Some, like me, would prefer mango salad. Oh but the peanuts I always love.

Last came the butter cheese prawn.  We all thought it was an encounter of a different kind.  To me, it taste like one of the kuih raya; biskut nestum karamel.  The accounts exec thought it taste like pop corn, butter-scotchy sweet and salty.  It could use less salt and sugar, a lot less.

My boss went out of his way to get these, Tiramisu and a mini Blueberry Cheese Cake, either one from Dome and Starbucks; I cant remember which box they came out from. The cheese cake was nice, all three layers of it. The Tiramisu was rather dry...

"Happy birthday Agus" he said.

"Thank you" I told the boss. 

We were so full it hurts.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Kung Fu Bakuteh Taman Connaught Cheras

I had a chance to try a new Bakuteh outlet in Taman Connaught for dinner today.  My Bakuteh meetup schedule with a friend who stays in the vicinity brought us to Kungfu Bakuteh, as shown in the map below. You're probably familiar with Kueh Teow Kung Fu; well, this is not cooked in the same style.


View 28-74 Jalan Cerdas in a larger map


The shop has a simple setting of bare concrete and classic style tables and chairs, echoing a typical Klang bakuteh outlet. It sports bright pendant lights with several kung fu themed ornaments and posters.  



Good, clear menu selection.


Conveniently packaged combos for the hungry diners.


Simple clean setting.  It helps keep the customer turnover at a rapid pace.


A meal for two.  Each bowl of meat costs RM11.  Good for one person.  The huge and hungry might beg to differ.  The vege costs RM8, good for up to 4 person.  Or just good for me.  Every table comes with a bowl of bakuteh broth, all fired up!  The broth is really rich in herbs and spices.  You'll appreciate the slight 'bitterness' aroma.  It lacks the emulsified lard which is a good thing. Some Klang bakuteh broths are a concoction of mainly lard emulsions thus giving the thick and starchy texture.  A loaded bowl of dissolved pork fat should be eaten with cardiovascular caution; coz it's delicious and deadly at the same time. Dead'licious!


Re-light my fire.

He's one happy diner.

The remaining broth accompanying our meat shows little oil spots. The oil drips came from the cuts of meat.

The other meat bowl.


This is the accompanying soup bowl.  Notice the small quantity of oil? Oh, and they refill our bowls with bakuteh broth without being told. Probably because there were only three tables of diners at that seventh hour. People started to come in by 8pm. Whatever it was, I liked the service, and the broth as well !


Even our vegetable plate has more oil.


Before I left, I took a picture of the shop facade.  The Halal logo is not part of the signboard.


It's for the Hailam Kopitiam next door.

Monday, April 4, 2011

Laksa & Kolo Mee in Pandan Indah

There's a stall selling Sarawak Laksa and Kolo Mee at Restaurant 2020, Jalan Pandan Indah 4/1, as indicated in the map below. They open daily from morning till late afternoon.  Not sure about night though.

View 3.130403, 101.752925 in a larger map


The kolo mee is very close to authentic.

The Sarawak Laksa doesn't get justified in this picture, but it does taste as good as the ones in Kuching. The serving size could be larger but I guess that's what you'll get for RM4.50 to RM5.00 in KL.

This is the kolo mee with soy sauce.


This picture was taken in June 2010.  Owner's appearance may vary.

There's not much description for this post except for "This place is worth trying" because the best way to find out is to get there and have a serving or two. I always order one small serving of both laksa and kolo mee at once, and between RM4.50 and RM5.00 a bowl, you'd be forgiven to have seconds.