Colonel Tan’s
229 Chapel Street
Prahran
deep fried chilli squid // pumpkin, prawn, coconut & coriander soup // green curry chicken & salted egg salad // glass noodles w drunken prawns
One of those places a five minute drive away for drinks & thai food. Together. Brighter by day, dark & seemingly dingier by night. The glass noodles with prawns and the unusual inclusion of the sweet pumpkin, were my favourite two.
Chuai Heng
Jalan Bukit Bintang
KL
Steamboat, hot pot call it what you will, Chuai Heng does it better than most. The array of dipping sauces (a necessity in my opinion) is indulgent.
They do good dim sum to start - that roast pork.
The giant clam - taken raw or lightly scalded as you please, was divine.
The food is endless. And the service is impeccable. God forbid you pick up a ladle or attempt to retrieve anything from the boiling pot yourself.
Ratee Thai
Port Phillip Arcade
Melbourne CBD
Tucked away in Port Phillip Arcade, one of my guilty pleasures - simple prawn pad thai. Quick & easy, they do it well. A good amount of bite, fragrant with fish sauce, the prawn, beansprouts & peanuts crunchy.
Fong Lye
Sri Hartamas
KL
5 minutes from us, this is easily one of our most frequented restaurants. Each one of us has a favourite dish there (alright, a few). When we have had a few heavy dinners in succession, and we are craving something light that best resembles home cooked food, a quick call & this is where we end up. My brother loves the mapo tofu, which I daresay is one of the best ones out there.
As we each have our favourites, we end up with the same dishes, more often than not, heavy on the greens. And no one complains. I love the four angled beans, something I grew up eating.
We love the french beans & the bittergourd with sliced pork is a winner all round. The steamed fish, not so much. If we don’t feel like heading out, the seafood hot pot to go is a crowd pleaser.
As the vote counting continues in Malaysia, I shall recount what I had in KL over the Christmas break. The number of strays outside had us nervous about this place our uncle brought us to. But one bite into that crisp chicken skin and all was forgotten. Priorities.
The oyster omelette may not be as neat as Chin Chin’s, but there was no comparison. The amount of pork we had. This one - wobbly & luscious.
Pork lard at its finest. Crisp puffy fragrant. Intended as an accompaniment for the noodles, it easily stole the show. Late night supper, with rojak (fruits with shrimp paste) to finish.
Waxed meats claypot rice - I wish I’d loved you earlier, all those times I shunned this dish. A newfound appreciation, I shall have to make up for all those foregone claypots of chinese sausage & waxed duck.
Christmas eve at our place, more crispy roast pork, and my mummy’s homemade apple & berry tart.
Christmas dinner was truly spectacular. We are talking potatoes in duck fat.
mutton rogan josh // butter chicken // bendi masala // chicken tikka masala
How can I stay away from KL. Even when we seek relief from all the pork, we end up with rich butter chicken & garlic naan (two of my favourite dishes).
Late night supper near our place of beef tendon, beef noodles, and something forbidden during my childhood - beef & rice in soup.
The fish - silky slippery in a light soy with scallion curls. But there was this fish that I had when I was in KL in April, I will post on that soon.
Steamed egg - another childhood memory. Two weeks flew by far too quickly but I’m left with countless memories of large tables filled with family & covered in dishes.
