Durian Delights

Durian is the King of fruits as Lion the King of the jungle. Durian derived its named from the word “DURI” which means “thorn”. The fruit is totally covered with spiky thorns. In Malaysia, we have many different varieties of durian. The most sought is the “Musang King” (musang means fox).  Another is the D24 a variety introduced by the Agriculture Department more than a decade ago.

I am not a durian fanatic, though I love to a bite from time to time. Due to convenience and lack of skill (to prick open the hard and thorny shell) I just buy the ready to eat durian in the supermarket chiller instead! However, eating these delicious fruits which is high in carbohydrate and sugar (I think) has its side effect. After half an hour or so, one will sweat it out. During fasting month, one should be mindful of overeating, lest the following day one will experience an extraordinarily thirstiness.

Notwithstanding the above scenario, I bought myself two tray of ready to eat durian. Soon, I happily bite them piece by piece. The texture is smooth and it has a creamy milky taste which teases my senses. The fullness of its yellowish cream flesh and enhanced by its sweetness was simply reaching heaven, and at all time I am aware of its high caloric fiber contents. And just as carbohydrate laden fruit is the banana. This is my number One all time favorite.  I am addicted to banana as am addicted to Teh Tarik and need my daily caffeine fix.  Eating banana and durian is a perfect calorie balancing act which one never tells one’s physician!

I am now experiencing the after effect. I am sweating profusely now and wondering what tomorrow will be like. I will be very thirsty definitely. I think I have to make myself a jug of barley to minimize the heat. Now, the foolishness of me today, on my own scale. I think I give myself a 6 on Acepaizah scale! 

duri duri duri durians 

~Acepaizah~ 

Foodie Kopitiam Outing - Bangi Kopitiam, Tmn Melawati, K.L.

easy egg toast

Kopitiam concept or inspired restaurants are mushrooming in Malaysia, especially in the Kuala Lumpur and Klang Valley. Kopitiam originated from the old fashion coffee shop which serves light meals and beverages, and coffee was top of its list. Kopi is Malay word for coffee and the word tiam is a dialect from the Chinese community meaning shop. Typically, a kopitiam offers variety of coffee and toast bread dishes.Toasted bread served with butter and kaya (a kind of jam made from coconut milk and eggs), half boiled eggs and coffee are mandatory on its menu followed by variants eggs' based dishes.

One of my favourite kopitiam is Bangi Kopitiam, in Taman Melawati, Kuala Lumpur.  I am an Easy Egg Toast addict. Most of the time I will order Easy Egg Toast, simply because the eggs were simply delicious and the well blended butter gives the rich aroma. However, there were on few occasion when the eggs were too juicy, or rather watery and the eggs loses its bouncy texture. Shake some salt and pepper, I dug into the sweet aromatic heaps of goodness and dunk the toasted bread into my Teh Tarik instead!

half boiled omega eggs with toast

My BFF's favourite is half boiled omega eggs with toast. The soft boiled eggs simply enticing. Eating it as whole is a challenge since the yolk might break and split all over the saucer. I always had difficulty in keeping the yolk on the bread. Having these eggs with toast bread in the morning is very refreshing as the yolk reminds me of the beautiful sun shinning upon the universe.

Drink it over with a good cup of Teh Tarik and Milo Tarik! Bangi Kopitiam is one of Malaysian home grown brand with their tag line "Muhibbah Our Life Our Culture - A Malaysian Heritage". The atmosphere at Bangi Kopitiam, Taman Melawati, Kuala Lumpur is very soothing and welcoming. The decors includes vintage items such as old grandfather clock to antique Singer sewing machine. The Easy Eggs Toast earned an 8 on Acepaizah's scale most of the time, and sometimes slipped to a 5 to 6 when it is too juicy or in plain language watery which in turn make the toast soggy. Half boiled omega eggs with toast is a respectable 7 on this visit, but sometimes slipped to 5 or 6 when the yolk breaks even before their arrival to our table. The one thing that remains consistent is their Teh Tarik, it is always near perfect but I am saving my perfect 10 and 9 for some other Teh tarik elsewhere.

round marble top table and
Acepaizah's unfriendly chairs.

eggy eggy eggy yolkies
~Acepaizah~

Pizza San Francisco: Foodie enlightenment

mussels vinaigrette

Its pouring in Kuala Lumpur. The monsoon started early this year and it starts in the west coast of Malaysia peninsular instead of the east coast. I am back to contemporary dining in trendy cafe with casual concept.  And the name of dishes appears sophisticated and hard to pronounce. I ended up in a place called Pizza San Francisco in Wangsa Maju, Kuala Lumpur after much persuasion from my friend HH. HH ordered Mussels Vinaigrette, poached New Zealand mussels served in home made apple cider vinaigrette. According to HH, it tasted great and the presentation was superb too. 

chicken lasagne

HH also ordered chicken lasagne. The layering of pasta pieces with minced meat were very meticulous. I had a bite and the cheese simply melts upon contact. However, the tomato paste over laying the lasagne was a tad too little and was a bit watery. I would love to slurped the tomato gravy if only the serving were more generous.

mushroom chicken

I ordered mushroom chicken. A deep fried chicken baked with cheese, served with fried mushroom and french fries. The fried chicken was over fried and way too crispy. Hence, the chicken was too 'dry' and not moist. The fries were thinly cut and loses its potatoey's ummpph. The fried mushroom with cheese was heavenly delicious. And all good things come in relatively small packages!

On our second visit, I ordered fish and chips, and much to my delight, the accompanying sauce was mushroom sauce, served with perfectly cold mix veggies, and heaps of french fries.The fries were of the large  cut and gave the chewing satisfaction. And I am on a strict diet playing catch up for my year end bragging right! The fish  were tender and fresh. 

We also tried Pizza San Francisco special half pizza and half  calzone with turkey salami with minced chicken, cherry tomato, garlic, chili and mozzarella cheese. It was perfect and there were no cutting corner! Note, the green pieces, those were a very very spicy and hot chili! It is just for decorations!! But on second thought, I may just order the calzone instead on my next visit to Pizza San Francisco.

The restaurant is very spacious and we were seated at a comfortable distant from other patron. The decor which were simple and elegant offers a relaxing atmosphere and the price is reasonable. Over all I give a 8 on Acepaizah scale.

monsoon rain is pouringggg
~Acepaizah~

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