Queing for Kg Baru, Kuala Lumpur's Bubur Lambuk-Iftar 2/2013

stacking high

Ramadhan brings the best and worst in humanity and also the best, worst and rarest delicacies from around the world and time tested generation to generation recipe. Kg Baru in Kuala Lumpur is famous for its Bubur Lambuk (rice porridge with meat and spices). The Kg Baru mosque will cook up dozen and dozen pots of Bubur Lambuk which were given away after the Asr' prayer at about 5 pm to the congregation and everyone who joins the queue. During this month too, it can be observed that Bubur Lambuk stalls mushrooming every where and one of the more notably famous is Bubur Lambuk Pak Hassan along Jalan Raja Abdullah in front of the DBKL building. Patrons simply queue by the dozen and they buy by a van load, no kidding!

queing for Bubur Lambuk

buy by a van load!

So far, I had queued twice for the deliciously divine Bubur Lambuk and I may go again before the Ramadhan month ends. The Bubur Lambuk were made from rice, of course with generous pieces of meat and other spices and herbs to give it rich divine taste. Of course, it lacks fiber as the Bubuk Lambuk is sans veggies compared to the 'Teregganu's Bubur Lambuk'. A bowl of Pak Hassan's Bubur Lambuk definitely will satiates the appetite during break fasting and can satisfy one hunger pang until after the Terawih's prayer at 10 pm. 

simply divine

only RM2.00

Eating Bubur Lambuk for break fast is actually good for one digestive system as it is easy on the stomach and Pak Hassan's Bubur Lambuk is not spicy at all. It is among the best Bubuk Lambuk I've eaten hence garnering 9 on Acepaizah's scale for taste and value for money. Bon appetit!

congee congee queue
~Acepaizah~

waiting for pick up

with add on

Iftar @ Zest Cafe, The Sphere Bangsar South, Kuala Lumpur- Iftar 1/2013

lemony plain water n dates

With the Grace of Allah, we have another opportunity to welcome the holy and barakah month of Ramadhan.We are now into the second week of fasting from dawn to dusk. Basically by fasting one cleanses oneself and observed the real value of life specially the under privileged.  Anyway, that being said, fasting to me and others is a ritual that we observed meticulously. In the midst of all these I received an invitation to break my fast from my business network circle. Our President suggested a date which incidentally perfectly falls within Dr R and my schedule. So we agreed we break fast together at Zest's cafe at the Sphere, Bangsar South, Kuala Lumpur. Bangsar South supposedly to be the happening place now. Since it was a friday, all road leading every where from the city centre will be jammed and cars will be inching like a snail! I left my office near Ampang Point, Kuala Lumpur at about 6 pm reaching at the Kerinchi exit from the Federal Highway at about 6.25 pm. There after, I practically snail my way to Zest Cafe which is about 1 Km for the next 45 minutes!

some of the dishes

 There is only one long food counter starting with starters, variety of salad and kerabu kambing (lamb mixed salad), clear chicken soup with lots of veggies such as carrot and potatoes followed by variety of fluffy steamed rice and its accompanying dishes and ends with desserts: lai chee kang, cakes and traditional kuihs.

kuihs on tiered plate

I start with the mandatory dates and plain water which had a distinct lemon flavour followed by the tasty clear chicken soup with lots of carrot and potato cubes. After fasting for more than 14 hours, one must be easy on the stomach with light food. 

The dishes were simply delicious and one that was really out of the world is the lemon sauce fish. I think I went for triple helping. There were also my sinful forbidden squids calling after me. I am only human, I fall for them! They were simply juicy, cooked in thick coconut milk and some green veggies and some pumpkin. I practically ate them without the rice though as advised by T, our cake expert, I should probably took some rice with it. I did, indeed. 

forbidden squids rings 

humble starter?

To cap it, we had specially ordered chicken satay, courtesy of our Mr. Electric Man, S, who could not make it to the buka puasa (break fasting) do. Thank you very much, we finished the satay on your behalf S!

special ordered satay

Last but not least, I could not refrain myself from ordering Teh Tarik. And I do not regret it at all. The Teh Tarik was simply awesome freshly brewed tea leaves (I think) simmered to perfection and mixed with fresh milk and shake them well so that a nice frothing form forms atop the glass.

It was such an awesome break fast affair with good food, good ambience and good company and it is nearly sinful to give a point on Acepaizah’s scale. Nevertheless, with much pain I must. Well, in the spirit of Ramadhan, I will give the Teh Tarik drink a respectable 7 on Acepaizah's scale, the lemon sauce fish garnered a neat 9 and the forbidden rings of squids a sinful 8! Over all it was a memorable break fast do. And finally I simply love the cafe setting; with its crispy white table cloth, stainless steel culinary and tableware and for that, I am honouring Zest Cafe with a 10 on Acepaizah's scale.

zesty squids' leveraging time
~Acepaizah~

foamy Teh Tarik

full to the brim

Foodie Adventure in Bangkok, Thailand -2

Bangkok Birthday 'bash' 

My Bangkok escape was only two days. Two wonderful days, compared to the last time I came, which is exactly 26 hours! Of course, that was work related. The next morning we had our breakfast at an Indian Muslim restaurant next to the First Hotel, compliments of the Hotel. And I let the photos tell the story as the saying, pictures tell a thousand word.

res ipsa loquitor (the thing speaks for itself)

some of the breakfast spread

my breakfast (round 1)

dinner spread
crunchy kailan n sweet n sour 'wheres the (tiny)shrimps'?

choice of rice

chicken keema n veggies soup

well carved fruits

spiral tomatoes!

King of fruits

scenic river cruise

fatty, hungry n lazy patin fish

It was a great escape not withstanding the fact I missed (by choice) to drop by THE JIM THOMPSON place. Another time another visit, perhaps... 

Jimmy dreamy time

~Acepaizah~

Foodie Adventure in Bangkok, Thailand-1

Bangkok here I come
with Chao Phraya river snaking the city

Marking the half year milestone of 2013, six of my close buddies went to Bangkok for "makan-makan" (eating galore) before observing the holy month of Ramadhan. But some of us went on a shopping spree instead since stuffs were relatively cheap in Bangkok and one can find nearly everything at Chatuchak which boast to be the biggest week end market covering an area of 7 foot ball field! We arrived in the morning and had our pre ordered nasi lemak's breakfast in our flight. 

Air Asia'a Nasi Lemak with my caffeine dose

Upon arrival at the First Hotel, I was already starving. We walked about a Kilometer in between crowded shops where the vendors display their wares even along the corridors and stairways! At last we reached a small Middle Eastern Restaurant named "Madena" which ironically served Thai's dishes like Tom Yam. The Tom Yam is mild in spices and creamy. However, the sweet n sour fish was too sweet and the fish was over fried! 

see the creamy-creamy Tom Yam

sweet n sour fish

the ulam-ulam- thats pickled baby cucumber

Finding Halal food in Bangkok is not difficult, but of course all the Halal food outlets are in restaurants or proper food court. Hawkers selling fast food were aplenty along the busy streets of Bangkok. From chicken wings to assortment of "satay like" marinated meat were sold by hawkers and streets peddler's walking the busy streets. We stopped by Starbuck cafe at one of the largest shopping centre, the MBK for a tea, of course we ordered coffee latte instead.

latte n cinnamon bun

We had our dinner at the International Food Hall, The Fifth Food Avenue @ MBK itself. Ironically we were looking for Hana Restaurant but could not find it. After ordering our food, we noticed that Hana Restaurant is exactly in front of the International Food Hall! I ordered plain rice with shrimps in cashew nuts and salad on the side. It was delicious or because I was hungry with all the walking. 

plain rice wt shrimps n cashew nuts

Great first day with a very weary body specially my feet. Time to give them some tender care and off to the massage place we went and paid 200 Bhatt (<>RM20.00) for a good one hour massage. What a steal! I give an 8 on Acepaizah's scale!

bz crowded noisy time

~Acepaizah~

DM's fried rice wt generous shrimps

Foodie Adventure @ The Majestic Hotel Kuala Lumpur

hah! my caffein fix - Nescafe

The Majestic Hotel with its original wing Hotel Majestic which is the national heritage site is a colonial building built in the 1930s, an icon of Kuala Lumpur heritage. Located opposite the Moorish railway station building and in the 'tourist' enclave of Kuala Lumpur. In the early late 70s and early 80s, I ply the road in front of the Majestic Hotel everyday going to my non existence school (where now the Pavilion stood proudly). So, when a friend suggested we 'do' our (theirs) belated birthday celebration, here, we agreed unanimously. Upon approaching to the Contago contemporary restaurant, we were being ushered in by Ms Apple (really) who was very friendly and warm and walked us through all the food counters explaining in detail nearly every dishes!

and petai on the side!

However, they do not serve Nescafe but many other gourmet grinded coffee beans which simply not me. I told Ms Apple that I needed my caffein fix from the ordinary Nescafe. To me surprise, she later brought me a pot of well scented Nescafe much to my delight! There were so much to eat. Again, to my delight, there were freshly peeled, perfectly toned and shaped petai. (stink bean or parka speciosa) my kind of King of Ulam (traditional/local salad). And without any hesitation I scooped a handful into my plate and savour them with some rice and other accompanying dishes.

cocktail of forbidden seafood

Since, I am on a not so strict 'no seafood diet', I give these little devil a pass and gave full attention to the western counter. All of the buffet counters were sparkling and gleaming with copper and metal gourmet cookwares. I sliced some cheese of various varieties and shower them almonds, pecans and walnuts. Then I forced my companions to have a bite much to their dismay. But then, cheese to me is like chocolates and cakes to others. Enjoyed every piece of them and went for second helping and dipping.

sinful delight

It was a great makan-makan (eating spree) outing. Great and nice ambiance, mouth watering, enthralling exotic food intimacy, value for money, friendly and warm people. A full 10 on Acepaizah's scale!

savoir-faire-cheesy creamy smiles
Acepaizah

glistening food counter

Pre 2nd July Dinner @ Restoran Pegaga, Ukay Boulevard Ampang

stuffed bean curd

Pre 2nd July dinner was at Pegaga Restaurant, Ukay Boulevard along the Middle Ring Road near the National Zoo. We reached about 9.10 pm and the place was not even half full. We made our orders and wait and wait and wait. My BFF, HS ordered basil syrup and as usual I ordered Teh Tarik. Though the drinks were ready, it was on the counter top for a good 5 minutes before they were brought to us. I start to time their every move! We ordered stuffed bean curd as an appetizer which was tasty though a bit salty. The stuffed bean curd was beautifully garnish with slices of carrot and salad romaine lettuce topped with thick soy sauce and grounded peanuts.

singapore fried meehoon

I was inclined to taste their recommended fried rice but chose Singapore fried noodle instead sans chili. The noodle were moist not too dry not too oily, just nice but a tad too salty. It was loaded with seafood such as pieces of sliced prawns and squid and also rounded prawns and large pieces of fresh squids with few pieces of diced chicken. Of course with slices of carrot and crunchy bean sprout to balance the dish. Definitely an 8 on Acepaizah's scale. HS, ordered Mee Bandung Udang. (Yellow noodles in thick gravy with prawns.) The lone giant prawn is really reast to my eyes! The Mee Bandung is again loaded with 3 large prawns and the mandatory egg atop the dish with neatly sliced fried bean curd adorned on one corner of the large serving bowl in thick self claimed authentic Malay cuisine! Deeply hidden under the seafood were two stalks of crunchy pak choy and bean sprouts.

mee bandung udang

The ambiance was great, cooling and tastefully decorated but the service is another story. Though the restaurant manager seems to go up and down 'serving' the patrons, the waiter and waitress seems oblivious to us, choosing to avoid eye contact and on few occasions I personally have to knocked on the manager through the glass wall for attention! But then, it was my pre 2nd of July dinner do, so I tried not to whine too much. Over all, I give a whopping 8 for their delicious salivating dishes, 7 for ambiance and value for money. For service, well, I really have to reserve my Acepaizah pointer here!

the giant prawn on my dining plate!

salty salty nite

Acepaizah