Exploring the gritty, dusty streets of Kuala Lumpur around Pudu Raya, I frequently stumbled upon stacks of attractive golden honey glazed biscuits like these outside eateries and sundry shops. The shopkeepers told me that they are "jalebi", a sweet snack from India. Jalebi is ubiquitous in KL now but I remember seeing it only a couple of times in Singapore's Little India at Serangoon Road.
It happens... you know, after trying a few stalls we found nothing very inspiring while stomach space hit ¾ full. We needed something to save the day. While nursing his kopi O siew tai pok, Seetoh suggested swinging over to Ubi Road 1, to Kay Lee Roast Meat's former roast chef's kopitiam stall. (Kay Lee Roast Meat was the legendary roasts shop sold to Aztech Group for S$4 million in 2014 - every Singapore foodie knows this story.)
We were in Singapore's Chinatown for a preview of Chinatown Crossings, a memorable promenade theatre performance which I will write about soon 😄 Before the 2.5 hour show which involves walking the streets of Chinatown, eat first lah.... 😄 We popped into Old Chengdu Sichuan Cuisine Restaurant 老成都川菜馆 at Pagoda Street. Having tried it in China, I have always been curious about Sichuan food in Singapore, so this was an opportune time to try it.
Just like unfancied Iceland is rocking the world of soccer now, unheralded Johor Bahru food is finally recognised on the culinary world stage.
Johor Bahru is ranked 4th in the world (congratulations to Ipoh, Kaohsiung, and Nagoya in the top 3) as the best place in the world to visit for local food, according to Booking.com survey of over 56,000 global travelers (probably the largest such study ever done). The Booking.com results are based on global traveler surveys so they differ from lists published by media, which are chosen by reporters or editors.
I have been hesitating about whether to write this post. Nam Heong Chicken Rice founded in 1938 is to KL what the original Swee Kee is to Singapore chicken rice. By most accounts, today's Nam Heong Chicken Rice is but a pale shadow of its heydays but I have to have a record of my own impressions of such an iconic and historically important part of Malaysian food history.
Fu Shun Shao La 福顺(锦记)烧腊面家 is a popular Hong Kong roasts stall in Maxwell Food Centre, Singapore.
When I exited the North South Expressway at Ipoh, the first thing I did was to pull over at the first row of shophouses to ask for good food tips. Local folks were helpful and friendly as always. I asked for their favourite kai si hor fun (chicken noodles was my first target) and the gentleman punched in "Moon De Moon" in my Waze App.
Waze took me to Moon De Moon, but my heart sank when I saw the coffee shop closed, as it was their off day 😞
These must be the most famous fried banana fritters (pisang goreng) in the world. How many fried banana stalls can count Prime Ministers, Presidents and Royalty from several countries as their fervent fans? I only know of the legendary Lim Kee (Orchard) 林记油炸芎蕉.
When I first read about the robots at Nam Heong Ipoh coffee shop in KL and Ipoh, I wasn't excited at all. I assumed that it's just an unimaginative, overused gimmick. Replacing humans with robots would just mean less human touch and therefore poorer service, right?
Well, that was exactly what I thought, until I met Andy Goh owner of Nam Heong Ipoh and understood from him the ground breaking concepts behind the robots. So, never judge a restaurant by its robots 😂
Disclaimer: This is just my own interpretation of my casual chit chat and jovial banter with Andy.
Last night, we had dinner at the newly opened KS Treasures restaurant 美乐轩 in Taman Sentosa in JB. We enjoyed their well executed, modern take on traditional Chinese cuisine at the new restaurant.
I drove by Restoran KaPoh in Johor Jaya, Jalan Dedap 7, dozens of times but never knew that it is a nice little Ipoh eatery until JB foodie veterans Derrick and Kim pointed it out to us. That's the thing - many times in life, good things are right there in front of us but we just couldn't see it until someone enlightened us. Thanks Derrick and Kim.
Coming to Ipoh where the majority of the Chinese community here are Cantonese, tasting Ipoh's Cantonese roasts is a Must. When we asked Ipoh locals for Cantonese roasts recommendations, most folks pointed us to Chee Kong at First Kwong Chow in Taman Pertama.
For the drive down south from Kuala Lumpur to Johor Bahru, my preferred stop for food and caffeine is Seremban as it is about 50-60km away (less than an hour's drive). It lets me get clear of KL traffic before enjoying my driving break. One of my favourite stops is at Restoran Asia for their famous curry laksa - but do note that the laksa stall is closed on Weds and Thurs.
I was exploring the area around Kuala Lumpur's Chinatown when I stumbled upon this quiet looking shop front - this is something unusual in this part of KL where everywhere and every corner is overcrowded with people and vehicles. A man peeked curiously inside, pushed open the glass door and disappeared into the darkness behind it.
The curious cat in me stepped forward and pushed open that glass door.
For beef noodles, I like mine with chunky meaty cuts of beef - it's like eating a mini steak with noodles and beef stock 😄 In Kuala Lumpur, one good place to get this type of beefy noodles is Lai Foong Restaurant.
