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.

Back

Chicken Pongteh at Mama Fat's.

B-G-09, Glomac Galeria, Jalan 26/70A, Desa Sri Hartamas, KL

Ivan, a friend, said it'd be a surprise. That I should just jump into his car without asking him where we'd be going for lunch. Maybe he'd knew that I might express my views strongly against eating in a fusion Portuguese Nonya restaurant and persuade him in return to just not go there.

But I did jump into his car and didn't press for an answer. Simply because I'm a sucker for something new and different, an adventure, whenever possible.

Starter: Pie Ti

So here goes... seated in a Portuguese Nonya restaurant. What do you order? Definitely something that's called "Pongteh," and "Pie Ti," (RM12.50) I said. Ivan ordered those two dishes and included an extensive list of "Mama's Kacang Botol" (RM10.90) with home-blended chili sauce, Fish Head Curry (RM19.90) and Assam Prawns (RM19.90), for the three of us.

When the Chicken Pongteh Kampung Belimbing (RM15.90) finally arrived, it looked like a regular Nonya chicken and potato stew. And knowing what a "Pongteh" dish is, you'd know the ingredients included fermented soy bean sauce and Gula Melaka (palm sugar) blended in with onions and garlic. 

The overall taste and flavour was homestyle with no Ajinomoto (MSG) included. But I couldn't fathom why it tasted a little 'fishy' with some funky sourish twist. 

This is just not right. I kept tasting it in small spoonfuls. It was definitely an acquired taste.

"That's how my mother makes it," said the owner of the restaurant. "And she's from Kampung Belimbing." 

"So there must be a lot of versions of 'Pongteh' then," I added. The owner agreed, and said that a "Pongteh" dish is most popular with pork. But this was a halal restaurant, so there won't be any pork served here, no siree.

Chicken Pongteh Kampung Belimbing

Well, don't you just hate it when you've spent a small fortune on your meal, and it ties you up in knots and keeps you hanging. And unfortunately, that's how I felt about the meal here. 

The taste and flavours were rich, no doubt, but it lacked... something. It could be the lack of 'heart', or 'passion', I just couldn't put my finger to it. Could it be a missing ingredient? Or could it just be lacking in 'soul'?

Assam Prawns

As a saving grace, we had the Sago Gula Melaka for dessert. The palm sugar was fragrantly coconut-ish and the santan (coconut milk) was deliciously creamy, as santan should be. The sago, however, was jelly-ish, but it was richly satisfying.

So would I return for more? The answer my friend, is a straight "No."

Good old under-the-big-tree Segambut Fried Chicken Rice.

When it comes to the Segambut Fried Chicken Rice, there's not much of a choice. They only serve one style of light batter-fried chicken, drumsticks only, that comes with a plate of scrumptiously flavourful rice that tastes of garlic, ginger and chicken essence.

Somehow every bite of this unique chicken rice dish is crafted perfectly for a wholesome experience – from the crispy, crunchy and super tasty skin that delivers hints of tumeric and "erm heong fun" (five-spice powder), which is the highlight of the meal; to the light soy sauce that complements it; to the soul enriching taste of each individual grain of rice; to the mind-blowing home-blended chili sauce that's simply out of this world.

So where on Google Map is this place? If it's any help, this place is in Segambut (yeah baby!) off Jalan Ipoh. Near the Yu Ai seafood noodles place (on your left), turn right after the junction. You will then see a shop/house that sells coffee powder, and across the road from it, under a huge-ass tree, is the Segambut Fried Chicken Rice restaurant. For the satellite-shot map <– click on this.

Last but not least, this place doesn't open for business every day of the week. But don't sweat it, if you find this place closed for the day, you can always choose to one2two at the Yu Ai seafood noodles place, or the ever-reliable Ipoh Road Hakka Yong Tow Foo that's a stone's throw away. Or, drive a little further to that Chin Heng pork chop rice place where HSBC is. Or further down Jalan Ipoh - the Sentul Curry House... rest assured, you'll be alright when in, and around, Segambut :b...

Gelatissimo at 30% price off.

3-Scoop Cup.

You've heard about Gelatissimo – Australia's most popular Italian gelato. Some of you might even have tried Gelatissimo, and loved it. Now you'll just have to know that these delicious artisan gelatos, made fresh in store, are going at 30% price off all flavours, for every scoop, all throughout April 2013 at LG-K08, Lower Ground Floor, The Gardens, Mid Valley City, KL.

This goes without saying – there's no better time than now to roll on over to Gelatissimo and sink your teeth into as many flavours as possible.

Junior Sith Lord's deadly cravings.

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...

Glacéau Vitamin Water.

Lately, I don't see Vitamin Water anywhere around Kuala Lumpur, or Petaling Jaya. But I believe it's all good because I doubt they're all that healthy despite its name. After all, Glaceau Vitamin Water is a privately owned subsidiary of Coca Cola Company, yes?

Anyways, here are 3 snapshots of Vitamin Water's bottle labels with interesting copywriting. So you can read them even if you're not drinking them.


Multi-V™ Lemonade – for the Multitask-ers and the More-than-one-jobbers.


Ignite™ Tropical Citrus – for up-and-about on-the-go Social Media junkie.


XXX™ Acai-Blueberry-Promegranate – for hardcore, non-porno reading health enthusiasts?

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!)