Lan Je's door closes. Yong Hoe's door opens.

Lan Je (famous for their "One Person One Fish" slogan) serves one of the best steamed fish dishes across KL and PJ. And it's always worth the drive up to Desa Aman Puri, Kepong for a deliciously healthy meal.

But Lan Je was not open for business, on a Tuesday. No clue as to why.

So with that door closed, another door was opened at Yong Hoe – just a few doors down, before Khuntai Authentic Thai Restaurant (Kepong branch).

The one2two crew for the day

We ordered their signature Claypot Steamed Fish in Chinese Rice Wine sauce, which was fantastic.

                             

Then we also wanted to try the recommended Han Siew Tau Foo, which was black in colour, batter-fried, and when cut open – the inside looked a little like a century egg. And the taste was out-of-this-world. It was creamy, and melts in your mouth. And I've been dreaming of this ever since. It's that good, and definitely to die for.

And there are, of course, a long list of Chinese cuisine dishes to choose from, which taste above average, but I'm stopping here for now. These two above-mentioned dishes will keep you going for quite a bit (like it did for me) about this well-hidden restaurant, deep inside Desa Aman Puri – look for Jalan Desa 2/8. Enjoy.

National Pigs In The Blanket Day at TDH!

Front

"BECAUSE PIGS FEEL COLD TOO..." the exclusive Tom, Dick & Harry's National Pigs In The Blanket Day t-shirt reads. And they're wrapping it all up with a one-day-only offer (24 April) of:

2 bottles of Somersby Apple Cider + 6 Pigs In A Blanket + 1 Exclusive T-Shirt (as shown in the pics) = RM58

So if you've yet to find a reason to celebrate today, I believe you now have a really good one. Get your party started at any of the TDH outlets, in TTDI (18, Lorong Rahim Kajai 14) or Scott Garden (Jalan Kelang Lama), right this minute.

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Top of the Table: The Most Popular Burgers (KL/PJ)

The Grind House Burger (Beef)

In just recent months, there has been a series of "gourmet" burger restaurants/bars sprouting across Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya, Malaysia.

As one may not have the opportunity to try everything there is out there, I'm lucky enough to have at least visited The Grind Burger Bar and a few others in the list of current talk-of-town burger places below. Click on links for addresses and additional information, and maybe even catch a deal or two.

Then decide on which burger places you want to hunt down and chomp down their house specialties:

• Burger Bakar Kaw Kaw                         • Burger Junkyard
• Chili's Malaysia                                       • Crayon Burger                                     
• Cristang Restaurant (Pork Burger)          • The Daily Grind Gourmet Burgers      
• Fatboy's The Burger Bar Malaysia         • The Grind Burger Bar                          
• J Tean Kitchen (Bak Kut Teh Burger)   • Jackson Burger
• KL Burger Bakar (Ukay Perdana)         • myBurgerLab                                       
• Otai Burger                                             • Ramly Burger
• Smashies Burger 

Finally, do let me know if I've missed out on any of your favourite burger places across Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya, and I'll add them on to the list above :b...

Soon Lei vs Goon Wah.

How often do you find two restaurants that serve similar dishes just a few doors apart on the same street? Let me tell you that it happens very often in Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya and all across Malaysia.

For this match up, we'll take a closer look at the two restaurants that are 5 doors apart from each other – (Kedai Makanan Dan Minuman) Soon Lei and (Restoran) Goon Wah, which both serve Claypot Fish Head Noodles as their flagship dish, (which honestly, I don't fancy all too much compared to the simply delicious option at Woo Pin, Taman Danau Desa), plus other dishes in the line-up namely Claypot Loh Shi Fun, Woo Tao Kow Yook (Stewed Yam and Pork), Stir Fried Pork Intestines and Guinness Chicken Wings.

After a 3-day Try-out between both restaurants, I would comprehensively conclude that there's no clear winner in taste and overall experience. They both have different styles in cooking the same traditional hakka dishes. And that's a good thing.

Though if I were to choose one, I'd say the Claypot Fish Head Noodles at Soon Lei is slightly ahead as the soup is thicker and tastier. The other dishes to go for here include the ones shown in the instagram above: Claypot Loh Shi Fun with minced pork and raw egg; Kwong Sai (GuangXi) Stuffed Taufoo Pok (Beancurd Puff) with Chinese Chives with pork and fish; Fried Sang Cheong (Pork Intestines) with fried dried shrimps; Stir Fried Hakka Yam Abacus; Deep Fried Butter Milk Mantis Prawn; Woo Tao Kow Yook (Stewed Yam and Pork); Guinness Chicken Wings; Hakka Yong Tau Foo with pork-loaded fish paste that's authentically Hakka-style; and not forgetting their Fried Rice and Noodles dishes as well.

Soon Lei's address:
G7, Block KP1, Jalan 3/115C, Taman Kuchai Jaya, KL • HP: 016-273 5369 (Ah Soon)

After you've tried out the dishes at Soon Lei, you will want to drop by Goon Wah just to taste the difference for yourself.

As I've said the Claypot Fish Head Noodles are very similar. But the Claypot Loh Shi Fun is definitely tastier with the crispy and crunchy deep fried ha mai (dried shrimps) and chee yau chas (deep fried pork lard bits) as toppings.

Additional dishes to order here are: Guinness Chicken Wings with sesame seeds; Fried Sang Cheong (Pork Intestines) with deep fried dried shrimps (which to me tastes 98% similar with the one at Soon Lei and both fantastic!); and Woo Tao Kow Yook (Stewed Yam and Pork) (which both restaurants are different in taste but equally yuummmz! in their own style).

Goon Wah's address:
G13 & 14, Jalan 3/115C, Block KP 2, Taman Kuchai Jaya, KL • Tel: 03-7982 0048 / 03-7984 0722 (call to make reservations for the air-conditioned VIP room!)

New World Mutton Soup.

I've heard of so many stories about what I will find in Bedok, being one of the oldest Singaporean residential township and all.

And I've been moving around from one bus stop to another via Tampines, looking for the good stuff.

On this particular trip, I've found one of the best herbal mutton soup after alighting bus 69 at the Bedok North Interchange.

This is one of my favourites in Singapore, so far: New World Mutton Soup.

The soup is no doubt potent, but not too strong on herbs. It's just enough to complement the aromatic mutton ribs, tripes, mutton balls and tendons. You will also enjoy the prominent taste of liquorice roots that leaves a tantalising aftertaste.

And you can have this with rice, or as it is.

Right next door to the New World Mutton Soup stall, you'll probably notice a long queue most of the time.

That will be the place where you can get the famous Bedok Chwee Kueh (Water Cake) that melts in your mouth, and in your hands. Malaysians will know this appetising side dish or dessert as Woon Chye Kou (Bowl Cake).

Tao You Bak (Stewed Soy Sauce Pork Belly).

All Chinese families must have a Tao You Bak recipe of their own. It's especially useful when you're in a foreign country and just can't get your hands on the traditional pork belly dish that your mum cooked for you when you were little.

So, let's get started...

Step 1: Marinate (min. 30 mins before cooking begins) 2kg of Pork Belly (uncut slabs) with salt, pepper, oyster sauce (optional), 5 pieces of anistars, 5 cardamoms, a pinch of peppercorns and a stick of cinnamon.

Step 2: Boil 5-6 rice bowls of water in a pot. Add carrot, tomatoes, ginger, and/or vegetables of your choice, which you will remove once the flavour builds in the soup. Add groundnuts too (optional), but only if you fancy them. And/or mushrooms for extra flavour.

Step 3: Remove all the spices used as marinate and place them into the boiling vegetable soup plus 5 tablespoons of premium light soy sauce.

Step 4: Pan sear marinated pork belly slabs till golden brown on the skin. This helps to retain the flavour.

Steps 5: Place pan-seared pork belly into the pot of boiling soup, along with 5 cloves of garlic (whole) and 5 tablespoons of caramalised soy sauce – for 50 mins if you're using a pressure cooker, then leave for another 30 mins. (The sauce should just cover the slabs of pork belly). For claypots, cook on slow fire for an hour and a half or less, depending on how soft you like your Tao You Bak.

Step 6: Remove the slabs of pork belly, and it should look something like this :P

Step 7: Cut to chunks or thin slices; serve with sauce and cut chili padi on the side.

Chinese New Year Stories.

We all have our family traditions designed especially for the Chinese New Year. From the wearing of new clothes to usher in a prosperous new year, to the serving of tea to our parents (or you won't get your Ang Pow - red packet with money that signifies good fortune luck and promotes the sharing of wealth among family and friends), to the preparation of the reunion dinner by the eldest member of the family who volunteered to cook!

Every year, we'd look forward to the same few favourites, like the Puck Cheet Kai (Poached Chicken), and many other dishes, with recipes passed down by our mother, our mother's mother, and so on.

Another must-have as we celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year is the appetiser dish Yee Sang (Raw Fish Salad). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yusheng

Some also call it Lo Hei (loosely translated as Prosperity Toss). And it is normally served on the 7th (of 15) day(s) of the Chinese New Year - that's the day known to us as Yan Yat (People's/Everybody's Birthday). But it is now commercially consumed almost one month before the festive season starts.

And it gets even more colourful - The Emperor's dish, or what the Chinese call it, Choy Kiok.

There's a story that comes with this one. Back in the olden China days, a Emperor returns victorious from one of his many battles, and demands for a feast. The Royal Chef was surprised by the sudden decision that he was caught without fresh supply of meat and vegetable in the palace kitchen.

So he had to think on his feet. His solution: Get Gai Choy (Mustard Greens), a vegetable that's difficult to stir fry and tasteless to eat on its own, throw it into the pot along with the leftovers from the night before – the roasted duck, the roasted pork leg, the mushrooms etc, then add in the tamarind peels (flavour enhancing) and dried chillies (appetising appeal).

The Emperor tasted it and, to the Royal Chef's relief, gave a standing ovation for the ingenuous dish. And that's how it came to be.

More New Year favourites? There's Tong Yuen. This is the same dessert we have during the Winter Solstice. It is glutinous rice balls with sesame or red bean paste fillings, served in sweet, ginger soup. The egg-like roundness of the glutinous rice balls signifies 'birth'.

In my mother's words: "We grow a year older with every bowl of Tong Yuen."

Last but not least, the batter-fried Nian Gao (Sticky New Year's Cake) – a 'bribe' that ensures the Kitchen God returns to heaven with a favourable annual report.

Or so the story goes.

The Grandmother Stock.

If there's one thing you need to have in your fridge at any one time, it's this tub of magic.

This is especially useful for you who live on your own – without your mum to cook that special dish for you.

The 'Grandmother Stock', or 'Stock Base', is the original sauce for your meats, the leftover stock from your stew, which you keep frozen.

To re-use for your next pot of stew, all you have to do is taw it, add on to spices and meat of your choice, each time. Then, collect it again by filling it onto the tub.

This not only saves you the trouble of cumbersome preparations, but it also maintains a consistent taste and flavour that just gets better with time.

Lorong Selamat.

Competition is stiff between the two Chow Koay Teow stalls at Lorong Selamat, Penang. In one corner is the lady with the strange cap, in the other is the man with the outrageous goggles. They both take over an hour to serve you your equally scrumptious charcoal-fired wok-fried noodles with giant fresh prawns, Lap Cheong (Chinese sausage), Kerang (Cockles) and Kow Choy (Slender Garlic Chives).

While you patiently wait for your famous plate of Chow Koay Teow to arrive, you'll be glad to know that you're encouraged to order and try out other available Penang delights along Lorong Selamat, like Asam Laksa (Fish-based Spicy & Sour Soup Noodles), Lobak (Malaysian Tapas) & Prawn Fritters, Oh Chien (Mini Oysters Omelet), Popiah (Spring Roll), White Curry Noodles and more.

And to keep your mind off the wait further, while your Chow Koay Teow is being painstakingly fried, one plate at a time due to quality control by either master chefs, guys can try your luck at spotting some lovely ladies who'll dress up for a hearty meal here. For ladies, bring along your PSP or spend quality time with your iPhone – because good looking male Penangites are as rare as Filipino pearls.

Two more tips while you're at Lorong Selamat, one, you may want to bring along a deck or two of playing cards. And two, don't forget to leave some stomach space for the infamous dessert of shaved-ice with rose syrup, palm sugar, evaporated milk, assortment of beans, corn, jelly bits and roasted groundnuts – Ice Kacang, with ice-cream topping.

While in Penang, you may also travel to isolated spots for various popular local dishes if you have the time. If not, you can find most of everything you've read up on Penang hawker cuisine, right here at Lorong Selamat.

Chiang Rai Style.

It's not everyday that you'll get to walk into a Thai restaurant without feeling you're gonna get a whooping bill with a hefty sum written at the bottom of it.

And more importantly, the dishes are authentically homestyle Thai, and not some commercially-driven 'fusion' of sorts.

Boy, I'm so missing this place right now.

Woolley Boolley.

Every corner you turn in good old Ipoh will bring you some kind of good food. And when you don't feel like driving around for different dishes, you'll be happy to just swing by Woolley's in Ipoh Garden and get started on a mini buffet with the many stalls and the near countless varieties.

Chee Cheong Fun (flat sheet rice noodles) with prawn paste, chili sauce & pickled chilies on the side, Yau Yee Oong Choy (sliced preserved squid & water spinach in sweet & spicy peanut sauce) and Penang Banana Leaf Fried Koay Tiao (flat rice noodles) are but some of my personal favourites.

Jeff Lee Kitchen.

This is one of those times when you'll be more than glad you had a GPS that works. Looking for this restaurant in Sungai Buloh can be like driving around in a maze. Well it was like that because of the numerous small in-roads that appear every few meters and identical looking shops that house mainly restaurants and auto mechanics.

I was telling Adrian, who was sitting alongside me in the car, jokingly that if we don't find Jeff Lee Kitchen soon we'd stop at any of the restaurants here and chances are we'll be in for a tantalising one2two. He replied matter-of-factly that I'd probably be right.

When we did find the place, the first car-load of one2two crew for the day had already devoured 90% of the Fah Lum Poh (Claypot Sliced Pork Belly) and about 20% of the minced ginger steamed fish on the table.

I tried a mouthful of the Chinese-style bacon, pan-seared in a claypot till crispy yet tender with every bite, and was asked by Candice from the other car if we would like to order another dish, I said let's get one more of this. Adrian, once again, agreed without hesitation.

So, what's the best way to reach Lot 4133, Jalan Perkhidmatan, Kampung Baru Sungai Buloh, Selangor? You turn left from the highway that takes you to the deep end of Sungai Buloh into the Shah Alam exit, keep right immediately, turn right at the traffic lights, drive straight in and turn left just before a blue-roofed wet market, and Jeff Lee Kitchen will be along the shoplot on the left.

Or, get a GPS that works.

PJ Old Town Food Court.

There are but only a handful of food courts across KL and PJ that can truly match up to the variety of top-class local delicacies at the Taman Selera food court, located at the junction of Jalan Othman and Jalan Selangor, of PJ Old Town.

Here you'll be thrilled to discover the most incredible Kie Kee Braised Chicken, served with optional Char Siew (Caramalised BBQ Pork), Siew Yook (Crispy Roasted Pork) and rice. When you bite into the meat and skin, you'll taste an explosion of flavour that comes from the blend of mixed spices and soy sauce.

Other goodies to try are the Wild Boar Curry from the same stall; Seong Kee Vinegar Pork Leg that gets your taste buds to lace-up the best pair of dancing shoes and continuously boogie hours after your meal is done; and Weng Kee Ais Kacang or Air Batu Campur (ABC) that combines shaved ice with Gula Melaka (palm sugar), evaporated milk and an assortment of condiments namely red beans, herbal jelly bits, sweetcorn, roasted groundnuts and more.

And the one more dish that we would've loved to order, but didn't, because it would've been too much to finish, is the Chinese-style Claypot Fish Head Curry, cooked with deliciously rich coconut milk, aromatic mixed spices, vegetables and beancurd puffs.

Last but not least, did I also mentioned there's a stall at the opposite end from these stalls - they serve some absolutely yummy Indian curries. My favourite – the Bone Marrow Mutton Curry.

It's madness, I tell you.

The Rice Dumpling and the Dragon Boat.

If you're Chinese, you'd be on your way home early for dinner this very evening. And the dish you're gonna be gobbling down will most probably be rice dumplings, or some call it the Bachang (in Hokkien dialect, which literally means Meat Dumpling).

But if you're just curious, you'd wanna know what's the story behind The Rice Dumpling Festival, or more commonly known as the Dragon Boat Festival. Here's a summarised version of the legend:

Way back when, in Chu Kingdom of ancient China, there was an important minister named Qu Yuan (pronounced simply as Chue Yuan) who was a loyal servant of the emperor.

The emperor however, is one who does not listen well to advice provided by Qu Yuan. This proved to be fatal for the emperor who got himself captured and killed in enemy territories.

Poor Qu Yuan, who was sad and angry with the corrupted kingdom, tied himself to a big rock and threw himself into the River of Puo Luo.

What happened next was the people made rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves and fed them to the river. It was believed that this would stop the fish from eating Qu Yuan's body who was regarded as sacred. Then, some of the kingdom folks would row downstream on a boat, beating drums, screaming and shouting, to frighten off the fishes.

And so this was how the festival of glutinous rice dumplings with meat and scrumptious fillings, and the dragon boat, came to be.

It's strange, but true.

Anchor Smoothness on tap.

April Fool jokes were flying around the entire day and nobody could really separate the truth from a prank.

I thought Anchor Smooth on tap was ballsy in carrying out a soft launch at a few selected draught serving pubs within the Klang Valley and across Malaysia on a day like April 1st.

I saw a lot of surprised faces as I sat away from the bar at Cheers Pub, off Jalan Batai, Damansara Heights, KL.

And you know what's more ballsy? Anchor Smooth draught beer is priced the same as Tiger Draught.

But the brightly lit Anchor Smooth font was flowing steadily the entire evening. That is certainly an encouraging sight, even if it's just the first night.

And I can definitely understand why. Anchor Smooth on tap is surprisingly pleasant, refreshingly fizzy and light. And no bitter aftertaste, so it goes down perfectly, mug after mug, with any dishes served.

The taste kinda reminded me a little of the delightful Asahi Dry beer and some of Budweiser.

Anchor Smooth on tap is definitely a good choice if you're up for a long night of boozing, or when you're chomping down a piping hot meal at a pub like Cheers.

Herbal Chicken at Lorong Bandar 4.

It's amazing how people in KL can find good food in strange places. Especially when it's hidden in a small 'lorong' with barely room for 2 people to walk through after the tables are placed along the walls.

But I'm glad to have found the place that serves this fantastic herbal chicken dish that goes really well with rice.

And for a centre pool dish, we also ordered a bowl of Bak Kut Teh, the herbal soup mix pork dish that also goes really well with rice, along with a plate of vegetables.

Here's another angle of Lorong Bandar 4, to see just how the stall is strategically placed to achieve optimum use of space.

This road sign is not gonna be easy to spot, but from the main road, you might notice the signage that says Chiap Tong – Lorong Bandar 4 is right there. For parking, don't bother trying anywhere else but Menara Olympia, where you can be sure of not getting slapped with a police summon for illegal parking.

And if you eat quickly enough, you'll have some spare time to actually walk over to Petaling Street...

And look for this shop that sells some really ol'skool candies and dried fruits, and card games like 'Donkey' and 'Happy Family'. This is the life.

Crispy Fried Chicken Wednesday in Segambut.

How far would you travel for a plate of special crispy fried chicken that's served with scrumptious chicken essence and garlic/ginger steamed rice? Segambut, a humble but bustling residential garden that's separated by a 'roundabout' and across the highway from Jalan Duta, is really nearer than it sounds, considering if you're traveling from Damansara Heights.

And it's not every day that you'll get this crispy fried chicken. They sell it on Wednesdays and Saturdays only. Not sure what they serve on other days of the week, but I heard it's Economy Rice with a wide variety of dishes, ranging from fish to pork to vegetables.

So, is it worth the trip? The crew for the day - Grace, Shear Ling and Meng Yam (and Aaron who is not in this picture) will tell you that the crispy fried chicken drumsticks, (they don't serve any other parts of the chicken, except for the innards, a rather rare commodity that runs out pretty quickly), are well worth the time and effort.

How to get there? GPS your way to Segambut somehow, turn right at the first junction after Yu Ai Seafood Noodles and follow your nose to a shop that packs and sells strong local coffee powder, and across the road you'll see a makeshift aluminium hut that sits under a humongous tree - that will be it.