Food | VOIZ asia

MIDO Korean BBQ is authentic Korean

by Stephen Ng | Nov 28, 2017 | Food

The taste buds of the Koreans can tell better than most Malaysians do when it comes to picking which is authentic Korean restaurant and which is not.

I sought the help of a Korean lecturer, Dr Lee Chul Woo to help out with our Authentic Korean food trail.

With the background information that he is providing about the Korean culture, we hope that Malaysians can better enjoy it the way the Koreans enjoy their cuisine a few thousand kilometres away from home.

We kicked off the food trail with MIDO Korean BBQ in SS2 Petaling Jaya. Its managing director, Cho Youn Ho, a young 30 plus year old man, is in fact, an engineering graduate from Taylor’s University who now sees his greater passion in the food and beverage business.

With Malaysia as his second home, Youn Ho decided to return to Petaling Jaya to set up the MIDO Korean BBQ. When we met with Youn Ho, we were already half way through the meal; he had arranged for his staff to serve us with some of his signature dishes.

The evening started off with some cold Shikye, which is a traditional Korean drink. The drink is a great way to chill away especially after a hot day. The drink is simply rejuvenating and refreshing.

A fellow student friend of mine, Chua Eng Keong managed to join us to try out some of the Korean cuisine. Chua is also a foodie fan. He particularly finds the Ginseng chicken soup (RM48) to be one of his favourites.

The chicken leg and pork BBQ (RM28) is served alongside with the lettuce. Without Dr Lee’s guidance, we would have just taken the chicken leg and pork BBQ meat separately only to find out that the meat was to be eaten together and wrapped in the leafy lettuce. What a healthy way to eat!

Between the pork and the chicken BBQ, all three of us prefer the chicken portion of it. The way it was done and the sauce that comes with the BBQ meat gives it just a perfect taste to the taste buds, coupled with the freshness of the lettuce.

Since this is a Korean BBQ restaurant, its signature dishes are mainly BBQ signature dishes. However, what I like is that they also serve vegetable salad in the house and it comes along with any BBQ dishes. I particularly like the Korean sauce that comes with the vegetables. This is all about eating healthy.

Typical of Korean restaurants, the banchan refers to a variety of dishes served in small portions. This is unique in Korean cuisine which helps to whet the appetite.

The banchan and an ice-shaven dessert known as Bing-su are also on the house when you dine at MIDO. Bing-su is the equivalent of our Malaysian ice-kacang but it has a different sort of ingredients and worth trying out.

What I like about MIDO is that it is not only to enjoy the food but children get to expose themselves to the Korean culture. Unfortunately, during the food tasting session, my children were unable to make it.

Before the meal, Eng Keong managed to put on the Korean traditional costume for a photography session. As a special request, he was allowed to pose with the costume enjoying the Korean cuisine.

To make it a more enriching experience for Malaysians, I am suggesting to Youn Ho to get his staff to adorn the Korean costumes themselves and speak a few simple Korean phrases.

MIDO Korean BBQ Restaurant is located at 11 Ground Floor, Jalan SS2/64, Petaling Jaya.

Tel: 03-7865 9779

Business hours: 11:00AM – 11:00PM

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/midokoreanbbq/

Waze location: https://www.waze.com/livemap?zoom=17&lat=3.11922&lon=101.62052

Fancy being served by two medical doctors

by Stephen Ng | Nov 28, 2017 | Food

I was expecting to be introduced to a bearded retiree by the name of Dr. Adnan Abdat, but the bespectacled young gentleman in his apron, looking more like a waiter, was none other than a 30-year-old Dr. Adnan himself.

Despite being fully qualified as a medical doctor himself, my first question to him was:

“Why, are you serious? You are now operating a restaurant instead of attending to your patients.”

But Adnan chooses to be humble about it.

“My focus is on the quality of the food and service that, as a professional, I can provide,” he explains.

After all, he is right. If medical doctors can become politicians, why not Dr. Adnan who chooses to be in the food and beverage business?

He has made up his mind that owning his own restaurant business is more fulfilling in life than being a medical doctor. That has been his first love since he was young.

For that reason, he quitted his medical profession to start Simply Ribs at Taman Tun Dr Ismail (TTDI) about three months ago. Despite a short stint, walk-in customers are increasing by the day as word of mouth gets out.

While doing a search, I found Simply Ribs to be interesting. Dr. Adnan’s invitation to do food review comes across as sincere as he is a person. His smile also appears genuine. For that reason, I decided to check it out – and indeed, I am mesmerised by what they have to offer in terms of quality of service and their signature dishes.

Although as a restaurant owner, he wants me to focus more on the food, I think the fact that the restaurant is run by a medical doctor, is already a big story in itself.

There are restaurants with good food, but either the chefs, owners or waiters are aloof, these places do not attract me but to begin with, Adnan is already a winner.

Occasionally assisted by his wife, Dr Ameerah Abdul Razak, the young couple not only invested money into their new venture, but Simply Ribs has become Adnan’s second home. He is passionate about the quality of food and service.

From my first half-an-hour of observations after the formal introductions, the young couple are down-to-earth people. Owning a restaurant means having to work very hard to serve their customers.

I was mesmerised not only by the food but their great humility and willingness to take on the role as waiter and waitress. Secretly, I recorded both of them in action.

If indeed there is anyone to be awarded waiter or waitress of the year, it’s Adnan and Ameerah. They have indeed raised the status of the service industry. Looking at their enthusiasm, I believe most people would be forgiving even if there are indeed shortcomings in the restaurant or its food.

Simply Ribs is well-known for its halal signature slow-cooked beef ribs. Since this is their signature dish, “Oh Yeah!” Smokey Beef Ribs (RM79) is worth trying for the entire family. Its preparation is indeed very tedious and time consuming; therefore, a little waiting would be necessary during their peak hours.

According to Adnan, the ribs are first marinated and then boiled until the meat is tender, before being grilled to perfection. Somehow, the kitchen staff have been taught exactly how long to grill the beef ribs so that they are not overcooked. “This is what we are specialised in,” he quipped.

As a fan of lamb shanks, I find the way they braised their Australian Lamb Shank (RM45) is just nice to give it a tender and succulent “thrill” to the tastebuds. An entire family of four can share the lamb shank. The dish is served on a bed of mash fottoes with focaccia garlic toast.

In fact, I found a fellow lamb enthusiast in eight-year-old, Ng Jeen How who said that he likes the lamb shank the best from all the dishes she tried.

“Besides lamb shank, I think I also like the pasta, if not for the the Chili padi that they use,” he said.

His six-year-old sister, Jean Huay likes their classic mushroom soup (RM12) which comes with fresh portobello, white button mushrooms with dried Parcini mushrooms in chicken broth, beef broth and cream. “I also like their lasagna,” she added.

Indeed, their rolled beef lasagna (RM28) which is hand rolled De Cecco pasta, filled with minced beef, egg and ricosta cheese, topped with classic marina and above. In a last article I wrote about searching for a good lasagne, and I think I have found it here.

Now, for their appetizers, you should try their Mushroom Bruschetta (RM16) and crispy baked Potato skins (RM14), while for drinks, go for the honey passion fruit (RM9). They also serve Seafood Gratin (RM16) here.

Music background: Songbird by Kenny Rogers (by Colin Ng Soon Beng).
Read comments by 9-year-old boy about Simply Ribs here.

Simply Ribs is located at 36 Lorong Rahim Kajai 14, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, 60000 Kuala Lumpur.
Business hours: 12 noon – 11 pm (Tuesday – Sunday) Closed on Mondays

Tel: 03-77315566 / 017-6688652
Whatsapp: 017-6688652
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://www.simplyribs.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SimplyRibs/
Waze location: https://www.waze.com/livemapzoom=17&lat=3.15571&lon=101.623

Miss Ellie’s legacy goes on…

by Stephen Ng | Nov 22, 2017 | Food

Miss Ellie has left behind a legacy that is hard to be erased from the memories of those who loved her.

The cute little lady-like toy poodle, Ellie was a favourite pet of the Wong family, especially Nancy, who still misses her after several years that she died.

The English tea house in an isolated location somewhere in Taman Melawati is now named after the “late” Miss Ellie.

Thanks to Waze and Google Map, I was able to find it. Even some friends who live in Taman Melawati did not know it existed, as the façade was more like a home than a restaurant. The moment you swing open the door, it is like a totally different world altogether.

The tea house is cosy and decorated very well with Nancy’s own collectibles accumulated over the years. The place is tastefully decorated with a portrait (that looks almost like 3D) of Miss Ellie.

The ambience and the cuisine that it serves receives my thumbs-up, except that you should try to avoid going there during peak hours. Prices are reasonable.

Hopefully, by the time this article is out, Miss Ellie would get a boost with the help of the local state assemblyman, Saari Sungib over the problem with the business license to expand to another shoplot.

Nancy’s son was working as a pastry chef in Melbourne, Australia for about ten years. For that reason, I will put his pastry on the Waltzing Matilda food trail; therefore, I will not mention about his pastries in this article.

When Justin’s father, Col. Wong Yeng Kee (known to his friends and colleagues as Colonel Wong) passed away, he came back to Malaysia to be with the mother. The mother-and- son gradually came out of their bereavement and decided to start the English tea house in December 2012 with the help of Justin’s wife, Hsin I and a family friend, Auntie Helen Choong. “Yeng Kee used to work with the British,” Nancy reminiscences.

“Having been influenced by the English culture, he started to introduce to the family the finer things in life such as the habit of having afternoon tea. This tea house was, in fact, an idea we had as part of our retirement plan. It was good that Justin decided to stay back to start this tea house together.”

For the food, go for their Spaghetti Pesto Prawns (RM22.50). This is one dish that you cannot leave the place without even if you are just ordering a plate to share out. I went there a second time with my family and my children love Justin’s Spaghetti Pesto Prawns the best.

(See my son’s blog; he even took a selfie with Justin. To encourage him to write more, please post short comments on his blog. Children being children, when he now benchmarks this tea house against his list of favourites, he puts this as his No 1).

I must admit that during the food tasting session with two other guests a couple of days earlier, the Spaghetti Pesto Prawns was also our No 1 dish, but I am sure there are other cuisine that are good but because we could only eat so much, we asked Justin to cap his wide repertoire to just a few.

Former Bernama editor-in-chief, Datuk Yong Soo Heong and his friend, Stephanie Khoo were the special invited food tasters on this round. Yong, who lives in the neighbourhood, returns for more on the Saturday after the food tasting session.

A fan of Shepherd’s pie, I think this is another cuisine of Justine’s known as Tikka Shepherd’s Pie (RM16.50) that I would recommend to all foodies. In Malaysia, this is not very popular but it was one of my favourite when I had to depend on pies served at the university café when I was studying in Australia.

On my second visit, Justin was able to reduce the pepper for me and added a little bit more salt, to give it just the ‘perfect’ taste for my taste buds.

We all liked the Australian Beef Casserole (RM19.50) as it was well-stewed. With my family, I got to taste more cuisine. My children literally grew up on pasta; so, the four of us spent about RM150 to savour the different kinds of pasta and pastries.

Besides the Spaghetti Pesto Prawns, we also tried Mom’s Spaghetti Bolognesse (RM15.50) and Spaghetti METHriciana (RM14.50). You can also try their Tea-Smoked Salmon Salad (RM15.50) and Vanilla Crème Brulee (RM9.50).

It is unfortunate that the tea house is located quite a distance away from home; otherwise, I would make it my second home.

Maybe the next time I visit the place is when Stephanie goes a cappella here and I will try out Justin’s other cuisine for a change.

Miss Ellie Tea House is located at
No. 7 Jalan H3, Taman Melawati, 53100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-41620113

Business hours:
10am – 7pm (Tuesday – Thursday),
10am – 9:30pm (Friday – Saturday)
Closed on Sundays

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/missellieteahouse/

Waze Location: https://www.waze.com/livemap?zoom=17&lat=3.22315&lon=101.72537

Google Map: https://goo.gl/maps/scZj1RARPKn

Restoran HSBC – Hot & Spicy Bangsar Cuisine

by Stephen Ng | Nov 21, 2017 | Food

Restoran HSBC in Lorong Maarof, Bangsar has become a household name for the past 17 years not because it is owned by a bank.

After all I am not a fan of the banking group, but the acronym which stands for “Hot & Spicy Bangsar Cuisine” has its uniqueness that is not often found in other Chinese restaurants. The two entities are a world apart.

It was set up a family restaurant in 2000 by Jeevan Simon, with the help of his wife, Uma Revathy and brother-in-law, Ravinder Nadarajah. At that juncture, Jeevan had decided to give up his banana leaf rice to concentrate on his passion for Chinese food. But, for an Indian to run a Chinese restaurant?

Why not? Malaysians operate Japanese, Italian and Western, Thai, and even Korean restaurants, so why can’t a Malaysian Indian operate a Chinese restaurant. After all, Jeevan comes across as an Indian who understands what understands what the Chinese tick.

In fact, I was wondering whether Jeevan is a lost descendant of Admiral Cheng Ho or Justice Pao. Both were well-known Chinese heroes but they looked more Indian than the average Chinese.

Hailing from Penang, Jeevan’s success in the food business is largely due to his passion for anything that satisfy his taste buds.

So besides the Chinese dishes, he has also introduced a wide variety of cuisine such as Nasi Ayam Dulang (RM12.50) which he claims to be from Bali. His HSBC Special Tom Yam Soup (RM10 per pax) and HSBC Special Pineapple Fried Rice RM12.50 also received positive feedback from the foodies invited to the food tasting session.

Every year, he travels to other countries where he would try out different kinds of gastronomic.

“When I find something interesting, I would come back to try to reproduce it,” he said. “Sometimes, I have to improvise it to suit the local tastes.”

For those who love crabs, they can also try Jeevan’s curry leaf crabs (RM45 a kilo). He uses the smaller blue crabs which I understand are more acceptable to Muslims.

Because Jeevan wanted enough foodies to help finish up the dishes that he wanted to introduce, it turned up that I received a lot of thumbs-up for his other dishes, too. I particularly like his Special HSBC Kailan (RM20 for a medium serving) and his Kung Po fish fillet (RM15 Small).

Others picked the HSBC Special Chicken ((Medium) RM20) and Cheong Cheng Style Deep Fried Siakap.

In fact, since they do have a wide variety of gastronomical delights, I can understand why some older couples in the neighbourhood prefer to have their dinner there almost every night.

By the time we finished our meals at 6pm, other customers already started streaming in. They included expatriates, Eurasians and even Malay customers.

Restoran HSBC is located at
84, Jalan Maarof, Bangsar, 59000 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-2282 7221

Business hours: 11:45 AM – 2:45PM, 5:45PM – 11:45PM (Sunday – Saturday)

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JeevanUma/

Waze Location: https://www.waze.com/location?h=w283cdhjh

Go Italiano, Signor & Signore!

by Stephen Ng | Nov 17, 2017 | Food

‘Buon Appetito’ is the Italian equivalent of ‘Bon appetit’ in French, or in simple English, “Enjoy your meal.”

When I was studying in Australia, I used to work in a metal stamping shop floor with a Greek supervisor, whom we used to call Georgie Polgie. He was never offended when being teased.

George (his real name) was a simple but very nice personality to work with. Although he was Greek, I had always mistaken him as an Italian.

To me they look alike. It is for the same reason that racist Australians lumped us into one category they used to call boat people (referring to Vietnamese and Cambodian refugees). To them, all Asians are alike. Most of them could not tell between a Malaysian and a Vietnamese.

George liked me a lot, because I would always set higher targets every day and challenged myself to achieve these targets; in short, he liked my self-motivation and productivity. For that reason, every summer, I was called in to work at the same factory with George.

Occasionally, George would teach me some Greek words. But whenever I mixed up Greek with Italian, he would point me to another lady. With her, I hardly have any conversation as she could not speak English much; therefore, much of my early exposure to the Italian came from George.

“You say ‘Boungiorno’ (good morning) to her, that’s Italiano! Okay?” George would point to the Italian lady probably in her fifties who was working in another department. “But me, Graeco (a Greek), you say, ‘Kaliméra’. You understand?”

With a grin on his face, Georgie had taught me a wonderful lesson how to differentiate between a Greek and an Italian, just like we are able to tell between a Thai and a Malaysian.

Some of my university mates were Italians. At one point, I was fascinated with some Italian girls. They have black hair like Asians, but they are usually very pretty too. Unfortunately, I never landed with one as we were culturally apart.

Today, the Italian Australians comprise the fourth largest ethnic group in Australia. Their culture is rich in the arts, architecture, music and food. This explains why they have some of the best fine dining restaurants and orchestra.

Names such as Luciano Pavarotti are synonymous to the world-famous opera; it was Pavarotti who popularised these operas to make them more accessible to the masses.

In the world of fine dining, the Italians have great passion in the way food is prepared. A cuisine is a cuisine for them; they work hard at refining the art of preparing the cuisine.

They would take great pain to prepare it for their guests. Food presentation is a combination of both art and gastronomy. They believe what satisfies the tastebuds should also be pleasing to the eyes.

Coupled with good music, the Italian dining experience is unique. This is why I find young people are particularly attracted to having a meal at the Italian restaurant for a change once a while.

A serving of spaghetti bolognese, which has its Italian origin, may come at three times the price of a plate of Penang char koay teow but young people who know how to enjoy the finer things in life will still pay for it.

This is why Italian restaurants are doing well in major cities around the country. Our local chefs are well-trained to prepare some of the best Italian cuisine. Here are some typical dishes that are Italian.

Bolognese refers to the meat-based sauce that is named after Bologna, Italy. The sauce is poured over the spaghetti to give it the taste.

Carbonara means “in the manner of coal miners,”

and the likely origin of the name is a Roman restaurant named Carbonara. However, it may also have earned its name because the flecks of black pepper appear like coal dust against the creamy eggs, cheese, and pasta.

Then, there is also the spaghetti aglio olio which refers to another traditional Italian pasta dish which originated from Naples. The minced or pressed garlic is lightly sautéed in olive oil and tossed with the spaghetti.

There are different kinds of Italian pasta. The word ‘pasta’ which first appeared in Sicily in 1154 refers to the staple food of the Italian. Its equivalent is probably the word ‘noodles.’ The base material is durum wheat flour that is mixed with water or eggs that is kneaded into an unleavened dough.

All pastas can be either dried (pasta secca) or fresh (pasta fresca). Depending on their shapes, there are also short pasta, long pasta, pastina or minute pasta (which are used for soups), Pasta all’uovo (egg pasta) and Pasta for pasta al forno (baked pasta) dishes. There are many more types of pasta and they are meant for different dishes.

The flat lasagne (plural) comes under the category of pasta al forno. The ‘lasagna’ (singular) is a dish that is prepared using meats and cheese in between layers of lasagne sheets.

Maccheroni. Pennette Rigate, Fusilli, Farfalle (Italian word meaning ‘butterfly’) and Fiocchi Rigate are among the short pasta. ‘Rigate’ simply means striped. Spaghetti is the most common of the long pasta, but there are also others such as Fusilli Napoletani, Fusilli Lunghi Bucati, linguine and Vermicelli among others.

To learn these different types of pasta (like our ability to tell the difference between koay teow, yellow noodle (thick and fine), mee hoon and ‘loh tze fun’) comes with a little effort like checking out the different pasta available on the shelves in supermarkets.

The sauces are easily available for cooking the pasta at home. I like to cook pasta because the children love it and it is easy to cook with both the sauces and pasta easily available. But occasionally, it is to check out what is there in the Italian restaurants.

According to an article in CNN , the Italian food has also evolved based on their geographical locations. Just a simple guide: spaghetti and pizza (central Italy); fish, potatoes, rice, sausages, different kinds of pasta dishes with tomatoes, pork and different types of cheeses (northern Italy); capers, peppers, olives and olive oil, garlic, artichokes, eggplant and ricotta cheese served with tomatoes either fresh or cooked into sauce.

So, now, once you understand more about the Italian cuisines, the people who once controlled the world through the great Roman Empire and now still dominate the world of fashions with homegrown brands such as Armani, Gucci, Benetton, Versace and Prada, it is time to Go Italian this weekend.

Do check out D’italiane, our first stop on Go Italiano food trail.

Lavishing Oneself at D’italiane

by Stephen Ng | Nov 15, 2017 | Food

Life is such that sometimes one has to lavish oneself or loved ones to some really nice cuisine.

Occasionally, a little indulgence in life or just to pamper the family is a good treat to motivate ourselves to work even harder to achieve our next milestone in life.

After all, as we have always been told, when we die, we cannot bring along with us even a single dime. There is time to stinge; there is also time to satisfy the craving of these taste buds before they start shutting down.

And, if the craving is for some great Italian cuisine, D’italiane is the right place. We have been here several times before and the ambience is just right for casual dining.

The restaurant first started in 2003 with the name, ‘The Little Italian Kitchen’ at Section 9 in Shah Alam. Four years later, it relocated to Jaya 33 and another two outlets were added, one at Sunway Giza and the latest addition is located at Ground Floor of Paradigm Mall.

It was here at D’italiane @Paradigm that an old friend of mine, Janet Ooi was invited along with her son, Colin Ng Soon Beng for a food tasting together. It was in appreciation of their efforts, especially our wonder-boy-turned-young-man, who has provided the music background to all my video clips.

Colin is a wonder boy whose musical talent has yet to be discovered. At the age of 3, his mother discovered that he was able to produce music using the magical calculator.

Despite being born blind and with multiple disabilities, he managed obtain his Bachelor of Music. A young man of his talent should be performing in major concerts nationwide, and perhaps beyond. For this Go Italian food trail, he has played for us Santa Lucia (Italian: ˈsanta luˈtʃiːa) to enjoy.

And at D’italiane on November 1, Colin entertained guests with his wide repertoire of music. He can listen to any song and play it back to you. The music and the wide range of modern Italian gastronomia at D’italiane blended well.

From starters, soup and salad to risotto, pizza, pasta and main courses, it attracts both old and young alike. It also serves sandwiches and mouth-watering desserts, for which this month, they have the Choc Banana Mille-Feuille which is served with Madagascar vanilla gelato. The mille-feuille, a French word meaning “thousand-leaf” is basically a French pastry with layers of crunchy puff pastry and rich custard.

It is sometimes known as the Napoleon pastry dessert. It may not necessarily be linked to the French military leader-turned- emperor but the dessert became popular in Paris during the reign of Napoleon Bonaparte.

The Grilled Cod Fish with lemon cream reduction is what I would recommend to guests who wish to impress their corporate clients with this cuisine.

The succulent fillet is grilled to perfection and creamy lemon dill sauce poured over it, giving this signature dish just the right taste.

Their Stromboli priced at RM32 is good for a hearty meal, perhaps, for two persons if they happen to be small eaters. Because I told them that I was looking for a place where they serve nice turkey for Christmas, they gave us their glazed honey turkey Stromboli, but you can also choose roasted lamb, roasted beef, chicken drips or mixed seafood instead. For an additional RM8, you can add opt for their smoked duck or chicken.

Cream of Fresh Mushroom soup is rich in mushroom, and of course, with the price that one is paying, this is to be expected. It’s value for the money as mushrooms are not cheap these days, too.

D’italiane’s off-menu cuisine is the Chicken Chorizo with sundried tomato spaghetti. Give it a try but if you are the type that loves the Italian spaghetti.

If ambience and food quality is top on your priority, this place should be your next Italian food adventure
stop. The portions that you see in these photographs are for food tasting purpose purposes.

A good thing is that you can decide on what to order in advance by checking out their menu online.

Currently, D’italiane has three outlets at Jaya 33 Mall, Sunway Giza Mall and Paradigm Mall.

D’Italiane @ Jaya33
Address: PG-01B, Ground Floor, Jaya33, No 3 (Lot33) Jalan Semangat, Seksyen 13, 46100 Petaling Jaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan. Malaysia
Tel: 03-7956-3684
Business hours: 11 am – 11 pm (7 days/week)

D’Italiane @ Sunway Giza Shopping Mall
Address: Block D, F 10, First Floor, No.2, Jalan PJU 5/14, PJU 5, 47810 Petaling Jaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan. Malaysia
Tel: 03-6148-1828
Business hours: 10 am – 11 pm (7 days/week)

D’Italiane @ Paradigm Mall
Address: GB 03A &05, Level G, No 1, Jalan SS7/26A, Kelana Jaya, 47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan. Malaysia
Tel: 03-7802-8968
Business hours: 10 am – 11 pm (7 days/week)

Website: http://ditaliane.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DitalianeOfficial/

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