Cristang Restaurant, 8 Avenue, PJ.

Cristang Restaurant

Anything porky gets me going. There is something special about pork as compared to other meats. I am not dissing chicken or beef. I think they have their own unique flavours too. But pork, it is the cornerstone of all meats, all nice and tasty.(Although Jules Winnfield thought of the pig as a filthy animal) That’s the reason why you need to sanitize your stomach with alcohol. And pork so happen to go well with it too! Anyway, when I was going to meet up with my old friend Nikki for happy hrs she wanted somewhere nearby, so I suggested Cristang. Its been around for awhile now and I heard quite a bit about their famous pork burgers. So without much objection, we went for it.

Ambience

Cristang is a place that serves Malaccan / Portuguese cuisine along with some western cuisine as well. It was pretty quiet the whole night we were there. Either everyone has turned vegetarian or it only gets crowded on weekends. Maybe it would be pack on Wednesdays as all pork burgers are 20% off. Nicely decorated and pretty cozy, the place is quiet and conducive for a catch up with friends.

Food

Apparently their best seller happens to be their pork burgers. Basically their pork burger comes in various combinations:

P1: pork patty (RM 16.80)

P2: P1 + back bacon (RM 19.80)

P3: P2 + minced pork chili con carne (RM 23.80)

P4: P3 + petai stuffed in patty (RM 25.90)

P5: P4 + grilled cajun prawns (RM 28.80)

P6: P5 + grilled fresh cut pineapples (RM 30.80)

P7: P4 + melted cheese (RM 28.80) - The Urban Legend

P8: Tandoori burger served in garlic butter pita bread (RM 28.80)

P9: The Korean Inspired burger (RM 30.80)

The unique ingredient in some of these burgers is the petai (stink bean). Eating petai for some is kind of like an acquired taste. Putting petai into burger is different thing altogether. So I ordered P7, the one they called the Urban Legend and it has got everything in it. The more the merrier I guessed.

P7

This burger was one of the most interesting ones I have ever tasted. Juicy, pungent (from the petai), grainy, mushy, intense are some of the words to describe it. The rich flavour of chili con carne filled with diced petai, melted cheese, great pork patty, onion, tomato slices, gherkins and ultimate bacon all assembled together, presents a really great orchestra of a heavenly burger. This little fella is packed with oomph!

Well, it is little because I find it a wee bit small in size. I like BIG BUNS !

A definite must try! And it comes with perfectly roasted potato wedges sprinkled with dry herbs (rosemary). These wedges made up for the lack in size.

Another must-try is the Devils on Horseback. I have had devils on demons back before (pork sausage wrapped with bacon), but what is this devil doing on a horseback? Kinky little devil, this one! 
 
Devils on Horseback

It is actually their version of asparagus wrapped with grilled back bacon drenched with red wine reduction and sprinkled with fresh herbs (probably chopped parsley and thyme). Great combination as the fresh and almost raw green asparagus helps to break the heavy and fatty texture of the back bacon. The asparagus used were fresh and crunchy and the juicy bacon wrapped around it just makes this a bundle of joy.

St Louis BBQ Ribs was the other main dish we ordered. The pork ribs comes with fresh vegetables on the side (French beans and capsicum of various colours) and topped with chopped parsley.

St Louis BBQ Ribs

Served piping hot (you can see the steam from the pic) ,the ribs has a nice texture to it and the meat falls off nicely without much ‘sawing’ effort. But we didn’t quite like it, maybe because we appreciate the natural flavours of the ribs and the sauce sort of mask it out. Decent but not the best.


That’s as much food as we could manage as we need space for drinks too. Guinness was good and fresh. I stuck to it the whole night. Nikki had Frozen Margarita and Cuban Mojito. In the end, we didn’t get to try some of the recommended dishes. Which means, we have to return to savour the rest. I will do just that.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 





Frozen Margarita

 
 
 
 




















Cuban Mojito

Special Guest
Nikki

Verdict
The pork burger was awesome. Variety of combination to choose from if you are not adventurous enough to brave the petai flavour. Quite some interesting Portuguese / Malaccan dishes to try out and some are really traditional stuff too. The Guinness was good. Can’t say the same for the cocktails. Nikki didn’t like the Frozen Margarita as it was not strong enough for her. In the own words… “I’ve had better !” . She didn’t like the Cuban Mojito too. Not strong enough too, it seems. Well, she is not easily pleased but she knows a great place for steak of which she promised to take me. And the margarita there is the best too!



Location

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Address:
B-G-19, 8 Avenue, Jalan Sungei Jernih (8/1),
46050 Petaling Jaya.
Tel: 03-7956 7877
Opening hours: Tues to Sun 11am-3pm, 5.30pm-11pm. Closed on Mondays


GPS: 3.09985, 101.640208


How to get there?
(Opposite PJ Hilton right behind Courts Mammoth, Wisma Thrifty)
Take a right at the traffic light next to KFC, when you reach a T junction, turn right again, pass some shops on the right, take a right turn into the parking zone , you will see Miracles bar & kitchen, pass that and its on the right!

Sid's Pub @ Taman Tun Dr Ismail.

Sid's Pub, TTDI.

Nothing hitz the spot like a perfect pint of Guinness. And there is no better place for Guinness than this English pub called Sid’s. Located in Tmn Tun Dr Ismail, this cozy place is convenient for folks staying around Tmn Tun, Damansara and Bandar Utama. It is practically their neighbourhood pub. No worries about road blocks or crawling home after a couple of drinks. If you are staying around Bangsar or Bkt.Tunku, you can go to the other outlets at Bangsar South and Taman Tunku.

Food

Snake Bite

Guinness is RM17 during happy hours ! One of the dearest around.For those non Guinness drinker, you can simple enjoy a nice cold beer. They have on tap Strongbow, Heneiken,Tiger, Anchor, Guinness etc. Quite some choices. They also serve other beers like Skol, Victoria Bitter, Crown Lager, Tetley’s, Hoegarden, Corona, Stella & Budweiser.For those who fancy something light and sweet and refreshing, try the ladies’ choice.. the house popular snake bite (a mixture of cider and beer and topped with ribena) Some places does it with just beer & cider. As for food, on the menu they have plenty of food from heavy stuff like burgers and pies to light beer food like sausages, chicken wings etc. Do try the cod & chips serves with the traditional tartar sauce and vinegar and green pea mash together with the usual fries. I like the green pea mash and I must say, this for me is the best dish in the house. Lightly battered so you won’t have to bite through layers of flour to reach the core. It has a slight crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. Nice !

Cod & Chips

Next, comes the Lancashire hotpot. Nice touch with the fresh vegetable instead of frozen ones, this dish is filled with lamb cubes and carrots covered with potato slices and baked. I don’t like it too much as the gravy is not thick enough and the lamb cubes has a taste of some dark refrigerator. Probably frozen for a while.

Lancashire Hotpot

Pork Burger

Their burgers are quite ok. You have a choice of chicken, lamb, beef and pork. They are not too big, just nice enough for you to get a grip. The burger buns are slightly pan toasted and with pan fried onions, tomato slice and gerkhins. Not the best but decent.

Their pork ribs was so so. We had it a few times over a couple of visits and we feel that it was inconsistent. Some days are over done and some days are not acceptable. Nevertheless, a good pork rib done on a good day is good with Guinness!

Pork Ribs

Another interesting dish on the menu is the Scotch Eggs. De-shelled hard boiled eggs wrapped in sausage meat mixture, coated in breadcrumbs and deep fried, this dish is served cold. Normally I don’t like cold dishes but this one is quite interesting and it gets better when you have your next piece. It comes with a dip sauce, probably ranch dressing or mustard sauce, I don’t really know. Just try it , interesting flavour.

Scotch Eggs

If you want a simpler dish, then go for the Scrums of Bangers. It is sausages served with baked beans and mashed potatoes. This dish needs no description.

Scrum of Bangers

Ambience

An attractive bar right in the center where all the actions are. TV screens perpetually on sports channel are strategically located to distract you. Tastefully done decors and black board with food & drinks menu on them, makes the place really cozy There are occasional gatherings there for rugby fans and football fans to cheer on their team. So times like these would get quite rowdy.. If you want a less noisy corner, you can sit outside if you can find an empty table. Apparently, this place is dog friendly as well. You can bring your Bruno or your Lucky or your Fifi along and have them socialize with other dogs.

Special Guest

Verdict
I recalled that the food was quite good at the very beginning when they started. The pork ribs was one of the highlights. So was the chicken tikka. However, we noticed that the taste has changed. Upon checking with a waitress, we were then told that the old chef left. Well, they should have kept him because the food is not that good anymore. But if you are not so fussy with taste like us, then you would be able to accept it. To me, it is just a convenient watering hole and a place to hangout with friends. Constant crowd throughout the weekdays and quite pack on weekends, this is one of my favourite joint.

Location

Address: 

Sid’s Pub, TTDI
34 Lorong Rahim Kajai 14
Taman Tun Dr Ismail
Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-7727 7437
GPS: 3.155621, 101.622934

Sid’s Pub BUKIT TUNKU

H2 Taman Tunku,

Off Langkat Tunku, Bukit Tunku,

Kuala Lumpur 50480

Tel: +603-6205 2588

Sid’s Pub BANGSAR SOUTH

M-5A The Village, Bangsar South,

2 Jalan 1/112H, Off Jalan Kerinchi, Kuala Lumpur 59200.

Tel: +603- 2287 7437

For more info, check them out at http://www.sidspubs.com

Hailam Kopitiam, Petaling Jaya

Hailam Kopitiam , PJ State

For the past few years, kopitiam or traditional coffee shops have been sprouting up in almost every corners of Malaysia. A typical kopitiam of the yester-years would normally serve the very basic roasted coffee, tea, the very popular Milo (malted chocolate drink), toast with butter or margarine and kaya and of course the lovely soft-boiled eggs which my friend Sanggat, for some reason only known to him, finds it disgusting! Some would serve a bit more extensive menu of toasted buns and chicken chops and kaya rolls. Nowadays, the new age kopitiam not only have very extensive menu ranging from toast to nasi lemak to fried noodles and chicken curry but they also provide free wi-fi for your web surfing pleasure while you sip your coffee and tuck away some comfort food.

So during one of the afternoon after some church function, my friends and I decided to hit some kopitiam just to have a simple no frills lunch. My friend Molly suggested this Kopitiam called Hailam Kopitiam. It was a place I never heard of . As far as my knowledge of kopitiam is concerned, it has always been the popular Oldtown Kopitiam and Pappa Rich. Since it is something new to me, we decided to give it a shot.

The Food

The menu is filled with the local favourites. To me, you can’t really go wrong with the so called ‘comfort food’ as any decent restaurant chef would be able to get it right. So we ordered :

Chicken Curry Mee

Hailam Chicken Chop Rice

Hailam Fried Mee

Hailam Traditional Chicken Rice

Nasi Lemak Special with Chicken

Sambal Sandwich Special

Vegetarian Rolls

For our drinks, we had :

Hailam Hazelnut White Coffee and Milk Tea

Fresh Dragon Fruit juice

Ice Blended Mango

The Verdict

We sort of shared the food and everyone had the opportunity to try everything. In general, the nasi lemak was nothing to shout about, chicken curry was nice over the chicken rice, the hailam fried mee was quite interesting and the chicken chop was ok. Err.. I have limited vocabulary to describe the actual taste of all these food but across the board, it was an acceptable standard for kopitiam. Nothing really hitz the spot except for maybe the ice blended mango juice on a hot day and the interesting fresh dragon fruit juice. What we didn’t like was the sambal sandwich and the vegetarian rolls. It was just plain boring or not tasty at all. Overall portions were decent and the prices too. I don’t usually hang out at kopitiams to make a comparison but I guest now I have to try out other kopitiam to come to a conclusion. Well, as far as i can remember, i have had Oldtown kopitiam before and I find this a wee bit better.

Ambience

The kopitiam these days usually try to create an atmosphere of nostalgia and make you reminisce about the good old days (if you are that old lah!) with their settings and décor.

The tables are nicely spaced out and not too cramped. Nice cooling environment away from the heat. There are 2 sections; outdoor and indoor (airconditioned). The front counter is filled with pictures of the crowd’s favourites.

Special Guest

A group of church friends who loved to eat and chat : Alex, Rachael, Godma, Margie, Molly, and Kuchingites…Vivien & Stephen !

Location

No.30, Jalan Yong Shook Lin

46200 Petaling Jaya.

(basically, it is at PJ State opp. PJ Civic Center)

You can also find them on some other locations at their website :

http://www.hailam-kopitiam.com/

Crab Seafood Restaurant, Dataran Sunway Kota Damansara

Crab Seafood Restaurant, Dataran Sunway

It was a warm (really warm), cozy moonlit night. I was wondering around Dataran Sunway hunting for a decent place to have my dinner. I was not really that hungry after a late and lousy lunch at Winter Warmers, where i figured that the only thing the chef there knows about food seasoning is black pepper and black pepper. Nothing was great and that left a bad taste in my mouth. It didnt help that it was after watching the 'Shrek Forever After' movie where Ogres were binging on chocolate coated bugs and slimy insects ..their version of good gourmet s**t. Mind you, the movie was fantastic and hilarious especially with the antics of Donkey and Puss in Boots. Puss was classic at best with all the charisma of a fat adorable self indulgent pussy cat.

Determined to wash away my memory of the forgettable lunch, i drove around the square covering almost every single block looking out for a restaurant that would catch my attention. For a moment i felt like a police car on patrol looking out for food criminal who waste food and doesn’t finish their beers. I came across Pakka restaurant and it looked interesting but i was hoping for another option. Suddenly, i drove pass an aptly named restaurant called Crab, which is a few blocks away from the packed DU Hokkien Mee restaurant which i would check out soon.

I went for it with a bit of a hesitation, hoping that it would still be called Crab after i am done with my visit and not Crap !!! I was greeted by the staff there who gave me a brief overview of the packages that is available and also the various types of crab they serve. Sounded quite interesting, so i switched on my 'food critic' mode and ordered away !

The Food

We ordered two types of crabs, their house specialty Chilli Crab and the other Egg Yolk Baked Crabs. We also ordered the Steamed Siakap with Nyonya Sauce, Seafood Winter Melon Soup, Kampung Otak Otak Tofu (Beancurd), Baby French Bean with Garlic and dried chilli and of course beers to wash everything down this thirsty throat.

The Crabs

The crab was nicely done and not overcooked. The meat was fresh and moist. Normally we would order some buns to soak up the sauce from the plate but in this case, we didnt like the sauce. Well, sauce to many people is quite a subjective thing. You might like it but i didnt. We were given special 'tools' to crack open those giant claws and scavenge every single bits of crab meat. So it was quite a breeze tackling those claws.

However, if you are a serious crab lover, then i suggest you get hold of an additional tool (below) to make your crab eating experience complete. This would substitute the 'not so suitable' fork to scrape crab meat from the nook and corners of the claws. Very useful tool indeed !

Next, we had the crab cooked with salted duck eggs. This dish has got a deep flavour and too over powering for the natural essence of the crab. It was a bit dry compared to the chilli crab and we felt that the salted egg coating was a wee bit too 'grainy' for our liking. You could try their crab cooked in other styles like the 'kam heong' (dry shrimps and dry chilli paste) and just simply steam crab. To me the steam crab would be the best option if you want to savour the real natural flavour of the crab meat. Usually, the crab is steamed with an egg base and ginger with a dash of chinese cooking wine.

The crab comes in portions for 2 at about RM38. However, we realized that they topped up our portion with an additional claw for both the crab dishes. That's nice for having a crab with 3 claws !

Steam Siakap with Nyonya Sauce

By the time we had the fish in nyonya sauce, we were getting really thirsty. Well, i guess i made a mistake by ordering too many strong flavoured dishes. We didnt order steam rice to go with the dishes. It would have been better so that you can 'spread out' the saltiness and the spiceness of these dishes with the rice. The fish was steamed to perfection and the nyonya sauce with ladies finger would go well with steam rice instead of having it 'as is'. The fish comes in standard size capped at RM38.
For the so called side dishes, we have this lovely seafood soup with winter melon and served in the winter melon shell itself. A wee bit salty because of the different flavours infused by the dried seafood like sea cucumber, mushroom, fish maw, mini abalone, bundled vermicelli, dried wolfberries (kei chi) and pieces of winter melon.

Refreshing at the beginning but as we dugged deeper into our meals, we started to experience the 'law of diminishing returns'. Obviously, we over ordered a liitle and the overwhelming flavours sort of over powered our taste buds and i must say , we could have given more credit to the dishes had we not over ate and ended up feeling like a stuffed duck.
The baby french beans with garlic and dried chilli is a no brainer...nice and crunchy with a right balance of salt and oil and garlic.

The otak otak tofu is quite unique in its taste and it would come good as a starter dish that you could wash down with beers while you wait for your other dishes to arrive. Subtle taste of the otak otak or fish paste flavoured tofu is deep fried to give it that crispy coating with soft texture on the inside. Nice.

Ambience

They have an indoor section and a spacious outdoor. It is nice to get a sit outdoor which is actually a side lane separating the blocks.

Special Guest

For this review, my special guest happens to be a victim of my indulgence. I think if they could talk, they will probably say “ I am best served in simple steam style cooking if you really want to taste a fresh crab like me and retain the natural flavour. Please don’t drench me in heavy and pungent sauce unless I am not all that fresh and you need to disguise my body odour ! “

Verdict

Overall, it was a pleasant experience in terms of the out door atmosphere on a warm night. The flavours of the dishes are quite decent and with the dishes we ordered, it would helped if we had at least one more companion to 'spread the load' so i dont have to end up feeling like Puss in Boots ...all fat and lazy and couldnt even manouvre to scratch and lick myself.

Apart from whispering "momento, momento... let me gather myself first " to my dinner companion when she asked me to have some more crabs, it was quite an ok experience. However, having tried the crabs there, i would consider returning only if i have a sudden craving for crabs and don't want to travel more than 3 km from home. It didnt quite hit the spot for me. You should give it a try and let me know what you think. 

Location

Address:

No.23-1 & 23-3, Jalan PJU 5/9,
Dataran Sunway
Kota Damansara,
47810 Petaling Jaya
Selangor.

Tel: 03-61482232

Business Hrs:


11:30am - 3:00pm
6:00pm - 12:00midnight