E San Thai Kitchen, Ara Damansara

Diha who stayed in Ara Damansara spoke of E San many times last year- that the food is good. But I kept delaying my visit as it is halal Thai cuisine- I'll rather have some porky feast :p.

However, I was reminded of E San recently(reading Joe's post) and I finally decided to pop by after all.

It was a raining heavily when we reached, a perfect way to enjoy spicy food :)

I always thought that E San sounded familiar, and finally understood that it meant the same as Isan cuisine, something I've tried in Bangkok before. Basically Isan/ Esan refers to the North Eastern part of Thailand.

E San's menu was rather extensive, but with some recommended dishes from Diha in mind, we soon decided on what to eat..

E San's tom yum (RM35) was the right soup to warm our cold tummies..

The soup was rather clear looking, but dont be deceived. It was spicy, sour and sweet; the flavours awakening our sleepy tastebuds in full force. The ingredients were fresh and generous, we were very pleased with this soup.
The Crispy fried rice(RM12) was next..

We thought it was rather pricey as it was only a plate of rice with 4 prawns. Though lacking in ingredients, the taste was definitely not lacking- the aroma of crisp rice (something like those you get from the base of claypot), fluffy rice and fish sauce was evident and got us lapping it up.

From then on, the dishes kept coming so quickly, I had a hard time taking pictures and trying to keep my friends from eating! hahaha
The Egg Salad/ Kerabu (RM12) looks so plain..

But this dish got all our votes. The best dish of the night! The sides of the eggs were crisp, while the yolks were still runny. Mix it with the fresh greens and tangy sauce, we could not stop eating this. So, so delicious!
The Crispy kangkung(RM12) was something new to me..

Alas, it sounds and looks special, but taste wise, it was average. In fact, I find it rather oily after letting it sit for a while. The tangy chilli sauce was interesting though.

The Green Curry Chicken(RM18)

My first impression was 'a very diluted looking curry'. I was already rather disappointed before even trying it. hehehe. But after drenching my white rice with the curry, I take whatever gripe I had back. It was actually very scrumptious. I'm actually happy for this version of curry, at least it's not thick and rich, yet it retained all the wonderful flavours that a green curry should have.

The one sinful dish of the night was the Otak Otak Coconut(RM25)

Filled with lots of prawns and squids, the otak otak was not the usual steamed, tofuish version but a otak otak sauce version. Too rich for me, I only took one serving. Nice thick sauce, but I'm not a fan.
When they placed the Steamed Siakap with lime (RM48)in front of us, I was rather worried..

It was a large fish, and there were only 6 of us ladies...hmmm, wondered if we can finish this? And as usual, I worried for nothing...the fish was sweet and fresh, the soup was very spicy and sour, which woman wont like this? hehehe...Well, it did have some lingering sweetness in the soup, which I will remind them to tone down on the sugar on my next visit.

We were darn stuffed by the time they serve the Grilled Beef Salad (RM28)

This was the least popular dish, I'm not sure if it's because the ladies were full or the taste were rather..erm..interesting. The beef was sourish (from lime?) and a nutty aftertaste. It gets spicier as I took more of it. I find this dish ok..

Thats when we raised our white flag and finally finished our meal :p

But E San then served us with some complimentary desserts..Hey, we womenfolk always have a separate section in our stomach for desserts, no?

We polished this off in 1 minute :p. Refreshing and a perfect way to end a wonderful meal.

E San Thai Kitchen is located at G-G-3A& 5, Block G, Jalan PJU 1A/3, Taipan 2, Ara Damansara, 47301 Petaling Jaya.

Have you Lou-ed? :)

Am back- well rested and feeling very prosperous indeed (from the non stop eating since pre CNY :p)..
From all the eating and drinking, am sure many of us have eaten multiple lou sangs :p, but if you have not, there's a few I've tried, maybe can help you with some decision making? :D

Extra Super Tanker

With a name like that, one would assume that the portions are gigantic. I guess so since the captain actually prevented us from ordering some dishes as she deemed that what we've order 'were too much and we cant finish it". hmmm.

We had half portion yee sang (RM33)

This was the smallest, most miserable portion of yee sang I've ever seen. Size aside, the taste was ok- very old school taste other than the fact that they used olive oil for a healthier alternative.

Funny that they say about being healthier eating coz the dishes they recommended were rather sinful..

We had the roasted duck served with their steamed bread (RM78, full portion)..

The roased duck was delicious; it was very juicy, the meat was nicely marinated with some herbs flavour while the skin was crisp. The carved duck meat was stuffed into the homemade buns, with some deep fried yam, fried dried shrimps and sweet bean paste. I find it too oily- having the plain old roasted duck was better.

Other dishes we tried was the Thousand Layer Tofu and some chicken with fish paste and cheese (not in menu, it was recommended by the restaurant)

The thousand layer tofu was nice to go with rice as the sauce was rather salty. The tofu was quite fragrant, the layered mince pork goes well with the salty sauce and sauted shalots.

The deep fried fish paste, chicken, cheese dish was too rich for me. The cheese was oozing, the deep fried skin retained a lot of oil and even the century egg slices did not tone down the richness. The honey mustard dip was nice though.

The final part of the dinner ended with the Lap Mei Farn ( Waxed sausages rice, RM60)

Freaking huge pot, the waxed sausages was served in a separate plate. A quick mix and we get a yummy bowl of fluffy waxed sausage rice. Very nice though we suspected that the sausages were steamed separately and the oil was poured over the rice before serving (rather that steaming together with the rice pot).

Jaya Palace

It was a busy night when we went for dinner at Jaya Palace. There was a wedding reception, a company dinner and us, walk-ins...Not sure if the quality was compormised since it was a very busy and messy night.

Many of our initial orders were "not available" or "sold out". :(

So we settled for the Yee Sang..

Nice version and some sliced pears were used- gave a refreshing, sweet crunch to the yee sang. The sauce was not too sour nor sweet, which was good.

Other dishes we order were 2 portions of the roasted pork, Wayne's favourite. This was not the melt in mouth types, but solid meat, crunchy skin types. Goes well with the mustard but am still a loyal fan of melt in mouth roasted pork. The salt and pepper pork ribs was average. Meat was dry and marination was weird (to me). The beancurd was silky and light, which I liked while the braised white cabbage with dried scallop was delicious with white rice and comfort food for the hungry belly.

Everyone agrees that the smoked duck was excellent though...

The duck meat had absorbed a lovely, lingering smoky aroma. Still tender, the sauce went very well with the duck. Absolutely scrumptious.

Mei San Szechuan Restaurant

We wanted some halal lou sang and Mei Shan was very near our office..

The yee sang was the worst I've tried so far..

Why? Coz it was not fresh. Some ingredients were soggy. :(

Started off with plans for dishes, but ended with their buffet dimsum. The choices were aplenty and they serve very promptly too, but only a few dimsums were nice. Others were just average and no worries, none were bad. Think the steamed dimsums fared better, the siew mai, steamed otak, some steamed turnip and chicken in foil were all delicious. The longan pak hup dessert was very satisfying too.

Extra Super Tanker Restaurant is located at 48, SS20/10, Damansara Kim, 47400 Petaling Jaya. Tel: 03-77267768 / 03-77267769.

Jaya Palace Restaurant is located at Menara LYL, 12 Jalan 51A/223, 46100 Petaling Jaya .Tel: 03-79682000.

Mei San Szechuan Restaurant is located at Quality Hotel City Centre Kuala Lumpur, Jalan Raja Laut, Kuala Lumpur

Happy Chinese New Year 2010!! :)

Will be off to my hometown to celebrate a peaceful and restful CNY, but before that I would like to wish all of you...

XOXO,

SC

Ka Soh Seafood Restaurant, KL

The initial plan was to have dinner at an interesting place- most unfortunately it was close (for renovation or for good? beats me). So we checked with the birthday boys and they suggested Ka Soh since we were already nearby.

Started with Ka Soh's fish head noodles (RM29)- the last I had was years ago

I feel the standard has dropped; the soup was not as tasty and aromatic. The fish slices, which were a mix of fresh and deep fried, were rather bland.

CC insisted to have the steamed frogs with ginger (RM31)

I've tried the stir fried marmite frogs with ginger, which was yummy, but this version was really just average. The ginger sauce was way too thick, I could not taste the sweetness of the frogs as it was smothered with the ginger's strong flavour.

The braised beancurd with seng kua (RM19.50)

This was comfort food for me. The sauce was light but belly warming, the tofu was smooth and petola had absorbed the flavours of the sauce. Nice.

The fried intestines (RM19)came as a pleasant surprise

It was crunchy, the texture and taste felt like suckling pig. Yums..

It was porky all the way- we also had the pork knuckle (RM43)..

The skin was crackling, the fats were melting and the meat was tender. No complains here.

More pork in the form of deep fried ribs in fermented beancurd (RM24) was a rather waste of stomach space..

Something was missing here...have they forgotten sugar in their marination? Just tasted... lacking. The ribs were over fried and a tad dry.

Ahh, and the stir fried baby kailan(RM23) provided a much needed fibre boost..

Quite nice, the veg was fresh and not oily at all.

Dessert came in the form of chinese pan cake (lotus paste and red bean), peanut paste and water chestnut soup. I only liked the peanut paste- velvety, the slightly saltiness made the paste a nice closing for my meal. The rest were too oily and too sweet..

Overall, I felt that Ka Soh's dishes have deteriorated- maybe after so many years of not eating from here, I was just expecting too much?

Ka Soh is located at 18 Jalan Delima, Off Jalan Imbi, KL.

Heavenly Haerbin, China

When I saw Alfred's pictures of Haerbin last year, I was mesmerised. The snow and ice sculptures were breathtaking, and it certainly looks fun. I asked him loads of questions, as his trip pique my interest on Haerbin :)

And a year later, I managed to make a trip to Haerbin- which was a truly unforgettable experience.

My main visit was obviously for Haerbin's famed annual Ice and Snow Festival and we went early this year. The first question when I returned from this trip was the same.. Was it really as cold as it looks?

Yes, it was- but it's still bearable if you walk really, really fast :p

First day in Haerbin was a whirlwind- we flew in from Shanghai- met our local driver and rushed off for some shopping (to buy snow boots), checking in into our hotel, dinner and then to the Ice Festival.

It was a long queue driving into the Ice Festival as everyone was there in the evening to enjoy the scenery at night..

Entrance fee was RM100, and the moment I entered, I was amazed at the sheer size of the Ice World..

I simply cannot imagine the number of months the local master carvers took to construct the Ice World...

Their skills were incredible.

The theme was famous monuments/ landmarks around the world, all lighted bright with neon lights within the ice cubes. We only lasted about 2 hours in there, the cold was unbearable as the temperature dips further later at night.

We went for the Snow World the next day, just before sunset. Entrance fee was RM75.

Complex snow carvings were featured here, we were impressed with their immaculate, detailed carvings- obviously plenty of care and attention was placed into each piece.

When night falls, the carvings were illuminated with coloured lights, giving each artwork a different look compared to day time..

The coverage area was even larger than the Ice World, I dont think I manage to see all of the carvings :(. It was just freezing cold by night. I was ready to surrender when we reached the largest of the display..So grand, but my camera decided to give up on me when we reached. This was the only shot I got before my camera kaputed..

Haerbin town exuded a totally different atmosphere compared to other China towns..

Their architecture skewed towards European, especially Russia. In winter, the age old buildings looks very elegant, walking around town was a pleasure.

A Russian Church now converted into a museum

Haerbin Railway Station

We had quite a lot of coffee stops in town- a place to seek warmth before we continued strolling to our next destination..

One famous extreme activity for the locals (and the daring tourists) during winter was to swim in the Songhua river..What gave them the guts to do that beats me (it was -28 degrees and snowing when I was taking this shot), but I sure salute them! Brrrrr!

We took an overnight trip to Snow Village, a 5 hours drive from Haerbin to experience a short stay up in the snow mountains..

The trip up the mountains for the sunset took my breath away..

The pristine, soft snow that stretched for miles, the sunset's colours on the landscape and the calmness I felt was unforgettable.

Worth freezing my @$$ up there :p

The Snow Village town was very charming..

Lively during the day and tranquil at night. But the food was less comforting (especially for Alfred :p), that will be in another post altogether..

Although I've heard so much about the low hygiene level and rudeness of the locals, I actually didnt find it that bad and had a fantatstic time in Haerbin and Snow Village. It was good fun, with great company and amazing landscape for all of us to keep in our memories for a long, long time.

Battle of XLB, Shanghai

Before my trip to Shanghai, I googled on the best places to have Xiao Long Bao, a notable Shanghainese delicacy which we can also enjoy in Msia too. But since XLB originates from Shanghai, I should look for the best to try, no?

Googling gave me 3 most arguable results- their fans claimed it to be the best.. so I gave it a go when I was in Shanghai..

Pitstop 1: Nanxiang Mantou Dian, Chen Huang Miao

XLB was said to be originated from Nanxiang, a suburb of Shanghai. And Nanxiang Mantou Dian is one of the restaurant that said to serve authentic Nanxiang XLB. You wont miss it when you are at Chen Huang Miao- the queue for the XLB was really long. Luckily, it was fairly quick wait..

Was the wait worth it? No. The skin was very thick and coarsely made, the filling was with some soup and very porky, though not fragrant. Heard that if we went higher floors of this restaurant, the XLB quality gets better, but we have to pay a premium. We were rushing off to other places, so we skipped after trying ground floor XLB.

Pitstop 2: Crystal Jade, Xintiandi

It was rather ironic that a Singaporean chain purportedly serves the best XLB in Shanghai. But we gave it a go nonetheless. 4 huge XLB in the steamer- translucent skin, so clear that I could see the soup swishing inside. A tiny bite allows me to slowly savour the sweet, aromatic broth. The amount of soup they managed to wrapped in the XLB was amazing- and after enjoying the silky soup, dip the pork filling with vinegar and ginger..bliss...

We had other dishes there too since it was brunch time..

The fried turnip was nice and puffy

The flaky crust matched wonderfully with the slightly wet turnip filling. A sweet snack though.

Stir fried rice cake..

A typical local dish, Crystal Jade's version was satisfying as the rice cake's texture was springy and not sticking to the teeth. Simple stir fry with pork and vegetables makes this an enjoyable meal.

The vegetarian goose mushroom was ordered from miscommunication..

It was an ok dish, no complains here. It's like a vegetarian goose flatten springroll with loads of mushrooms for filling..

What I wanted was actually deep fried soft bones fish..

To be eaten piping hot, this was really scrumptious. The meat was ultra fatty- felt like I was eating fish fat- and the bones- it melts with the fish meat. So so good. A dish to be shared though, else you may find it too rich by end of the meal..

Pitstop 3: Din Tai Fung, Xintiandi

Although Din Tai Fung has a number of branches in Shanghai, we were back to Xintiandi area for shopping and decided to try it..

Din Tai Fung's XLB was smaller in size..The skin was quite nice, rather thin too. The soup however, had a strong soy sauce base (and colour), making it slightly salty. The pork filling was ok, rather juicy, but not as satisfying as Crystal Jade's..

Some steamed vegetables dumplings..Rather dry filling and very normal.

The fried rice with shrimps and pork slices was quite good..

Had the required wok hei but a tad oily..

The Verdict?

My fave was definitely Crystal Jade- won hands down. The XLB was so good- even better tasting than the one I tried in Spore and Msia. And the extensive menu got them extra points too :)

Nanxiang Mantou Dian is located at 85 Yu Yuan Road, Old Town God's Temple, Shanghai, China.

Crystal Jade is located at 1F, House 6-7, Lane 123, Xingye Lu, Xintiandi Plaza, Shanghai, 200020, China.

Din Tai Fung is located at Shop 11A, Building 6, Xintiandi South Block, Shanghai, China.