Pastries that are authentically Aussie

Pastries that are authentically Aussie

by | Dec 8, 2017 | Food

For the most part of his early years, Malaysian pastry chef or patissier, Justin Wong developed his love for pastry under the tutelage of mentors who had backgrounds in Michelin-starred restaurants.

Colleagues whom he had worked with were both very passionate and inspiring in patisserie. That formed the bulk of his attitude towards work.

He spent ten good years of his early career working in Melbourne – the first three years with Singaporean-owned Stamford Raffles hotel in Melbourne, followed by another seven years with The Sofitel Melbourne, where he had developed a strong passion for Australian patisserie.

Since setting up Miss Ellie Tea House in Taman Melawati with his mother, Justin has become well-known for his scones. They come in four standard flavours, namely Plain, Raisin, Oat and Chocolate.

“There are also the seasonal variants from time to time, but based on the record of sales, most local patrons prefer our White Chocolate and Cranberry Christmas Scones,” he elaborates.

The 32-year-old graduated from the William Angliss Institute of TAFE in Melbourne, with a Certificate IV in Patisserie. That is, for your information, the highest certification available for tradesmen in Australia, just short of a Diploma in the hierarchy of academic certification.

Although the diversity of cultures and its cuisines in metropolitan Melbourne have mesmerised and moulded this young man’s life, it is the opportunity to learn from great chefs that he treasures for life.

For example, Filip Tibos, a former Belgian chef residing in Melbourne, trained him to be his scone-maker and now Justin’s scones are, in fact, his personal homage to him patissier Filip.

Justin reminiscences: “Scones are one of those really simple things that are widely made in homes in Australia, but it was Filip who taught me the special technique that could elevate a recipe to soaring new heights.”

To make a good scone takes a lot of skills and patience, and this is why Justin is so passionate about his scones.

“I would say our scone is what it is because of a combination of reasons”.

“Firstly, the recipe and ingredients must be excellent. Secondly, the technique applied to its making at every step of the way is stringently repeated every single day.

“This results in the third factor: consistency. Ultimately, it’s all about pleasing the diner.”

Besides the scones, at Miss Ellie Tea House, Justin has also introduced a good variety of other pastries, desserts, breads and other baked goods. This is why besides the lunch hours, people do go there for afternoon tea just to enjoy his patisserie.

As I put together this piece of article for our Waltzing Matilda food trail, I am already drooling over the mention of his Pandan Panna Cotta (RM7.50), Vanilla Creme Brulee (RM9.50), White Coffee and Chocolate Parfait and Strawberry Cheesecake.

Occasionally, he makes one or two special dessert such as his Ginger Creme Brulee. When durians are in season, his most popular special is the Durian Creme Brulee.

Other baked offerings include the Salt Caramel Fudge Cupcakes, Flourless Orange and Poppy Cake, Passionfruit White Chocolate, Australian Carrot Cake, Baked New York Cheesecake (with a milk chocolate version) and Passionfruit Calamansi Tart, to name a few.

A good time to check out Justin’s range of patisserie while enjoying it with a pot of Earl Grey is just after the lunch hours, when there are fewer guests.

 

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

Business hours: 10am-7pm (Tuesday – Thursday) Friday – Saturday (10am – 9.30pm) Closed on: Sundays and Mondays

Tel: 03-41620113

Email: [email protected]

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

The other articles on our Waltzing Matilda food trail series:

Waltzing to J&D Espresso

Bonfire Restaurant

Nostalgia of food from Australian Outback

Good suggestions for kids and places to eat

Good suggestions for kids and places to eat

by | Dec 6, 2017 | Food, travel

With school holidays just starting, parents with young kids have lot to plan for places to visit.

Here are some suggestions for both children and parents. To start with, most urban kids may not have taken the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT).

One mother, Victoria Cheng said it was a great time to bring her two children, 9-year-old Elvie and 6-year-old Emmanuel Lee to visit places like the Central Market.

“We took the MRT from Bandar Utama,” she said. “It was fun. After visiting the Central Market, we walked around Petaling Street. Usually these places are hard to get a good carpark.”

Near to the Central Market, there is a well-known beef noodle stall, Lai Foong, which has been operating there since 1956. It is one of the oldest beef noodles stall in Kuala Lumpur.

Using the MRT, one can also get to the National Museum especially for children who will be introduced to History (Sejarah) as a subject from Primary 4.

People living in Ipoh can also now come down to Kuala Lumpur for a weekend using the KTM electrified train. Getting around the federal capital is also easy using the monorail, MRT and KTM trains (especially to the suburban areas). To get around using public transport, suggest that you download two useful Applications – MeterOn and My Journey App.

From November 29, another interesting infrastructure is the Rawang bypass which is an elevated four-lane dual carriageway which cuts across Taman Warisan Negeri Selangor touted to be third largest park in Peninsular Malaysia.

Since it is right here in Selangor, what interests me is the fact that one can be

“driving alongside treetops or above them on the elevated stretch!” Read more about it here.

 

If you are making a day’s visit to the National Zoo, make sure that you also drop by one of my favourite tea house for now. Miss Ellie Tea House, which is located at Taman Melawati, is a cosy little place for Western meals, desserts and pastries.
For others who like a relaxing morning going for some fishing, you can visit Kundang Tasik Biru to check out the fish farm there. For lunch, check out the grilled patin at Mamimia Patin Champion in Laman Melati Kuang, which is just a short distance away from Rahman Putra, Sungai Buloh.

Day trippers from the Klang Valley can spend a day’s outing in Seremban. Despite having only a few ostrich compared to the early years when it first started with 70 ostriches back in 1997, Jelita Ostrich Farm in Pantai, Negeri Sembilan is still an attraction to young children. To find the place, use either Google Map or Waze.

The visit is educational as children get to learn about these ostriches which were imported from South Africa. For example, did you know that the ostrich egg can easily take the weight of 200kg?

On the way to Jelita Ostrich farm, there is also a good idea to stop by Ayam Panggang Kenyalang for lunch, then just before returning home, check out either Lucky King Bun Restaurant or if you prefer seafood, try out Seremban Seafood Village.

If you stay overnight in Seremban, on your way back to Kuala Lumpur, you should check out Putrajaya’s latest theme park – the Putrajaya Skyrides Festivals Park, touted to be the country’s first and biggest tethered helium balloon theme park.

Another place worth checking out is the MyFarm Outlet which is located at Jalan P9, Presint 9, 62250 Putrajaya. (Location on Google Map or Waze). This is where you get fresh meat and vegetables.

Another new addition in Cyberjaya is the Dash Box Hotel, which I understand from some parents, is also a great place to visit. It is a fusion of industrial chic and street art.

We have not visited Dash Box Hotel yet, but according to Kung Fu Restaurant manager, Winnie Chan during the school holidays many families who read about their food in Malaysiakini’s Voiz Asia, also come by for either lunch or dinner.

Families who will be having children going for their pre-university programmes should also check the Open Days at both Sunway University to check out their “spacecraft” futuristic style auditorium and Taylor’s fabulous Lakeside Campus.

Business agility helps Yen Shabu Shabu to sustain itself

Business agility helps Yen Shabu Shabu to sustain itself

by | Dec 5, 2017 | Food

When Yen Shabu Shabu restaurant started in Bandar Menjalara in 2010, the owners had intended it to be an authentic Japanese restaurant. However, local taste buds were not ready for it, so Yen Shabu Shabu adapted itself to suit the local tastes.

After nearly eight years, business is still good. On an ordinary weeknight, the restaurant was still packed from as early as 7pm when we were there to check out the place.

Surprisingly, most of the tables were occupied by young people in groups of threes and fours who came for the buffet dinner. By the time we were about to leave, there were already guests waiting to be seated.

Although it can no longer claim to be a Japanese restaurant, its owner, Jack Chan says the restaurant runs on the concept of shabu shabu, which is common to both Japanese and Korean diners.

It is not the usual steamboat, because guests can either pick the set plate for three or four adults, go on buffet or pick their choices from the conveyor belt (similar to some Japanese restaurants).

Their set plate is priced differently for the lunch hour at RM29.50 (Nett RM31) while dinner time its signature set for two pax is priced at RM37.99 (Nett 39.90). Individuals can also ask for their set lunch from RM9.90 or set dinner from RM11.90. Buffet is at RM39.90 nett per pax.

They also have snacks including golden buns (RM1.30), BBQ honey pork or chicken satay (RM1.30), chicken wings (RM5 for two pairs), Penang lobak (RM1.30), which are served on trolleys, reminding me of the dim sum restaurants.

This is what makes Yen Shabu Shabu stands out from the rest of the steamboat restaurants.

They use warm light to create a nice cosy feeling of the restaurant. It is eating in style that I guess is the reason why young people are attracted to it.

Besides that, unlike most local steamboat restaurants, this one is airconditioned which makes its ambience more comfortable to dine in – a real plus point for me especially since I have the tendency to perspire a lot when taking something spicy.

Unlike the steamboat ingredients sold in supermarkets which come from one same supplier, Jack and his food tasters specially selected some of the best ingredients from different suppliers to serve their clients.

For the soup, there are four choices to pick from – imitation abalone, tom yam, Chinese herbal or Dong Yan and Qufeng pepper soup.

Yen Shabu Shabu is located at Unit 1-02.10, Jln Menjalara Idaman 1(1/62A), Bandar Menjalara ,52200 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia .

Tel/ Whatsapp: 011-2685 4790 / 016-338  7237

Business hours:
Sun – Tue (5.30pm – 12.15am)(Lass call 11.15pm)
Wed – Thu (11:30am – 3pm; 5.30pm – 12.15am) (Last call 11.15pm)
Fri (11:30am – 3pm; 5.30pm – 3am)(Lass call 1.45pm)
Sat (5.30pm – 3am)(Last call 1.45pm)

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/YEN-shabu- shabu-334185378425/
Waze location:  https://www.waze.com/livemap?zoom=17&lat=3.1962&lon=101.63021
Google Map: https://goo.gl/maps/5iFXcL5VsBs

Geek Fam Emerges Malaysian Champ in the Asia Pacific Predator League 2018

Geek Fam Emerges Malaysian Champ in the Asia Pacific Predator League 2018

by | Nov 29, 2017 | Branded Content, Gaming

Geek Fam Emerges Malaysian Champ in the Asia Pacific Predator League 2018

Kuala Lumpur, 26 November 2017 – The Malaysian leg of the region’s biggest world-class gaming tournament, Asia Pacific Predator League 2018 by Acer came down to a thrilling final that saw Geek Fam conquering new worlds in a game that lasted 5 hours, and defeating Fire Dragoon. Geek Fam comprises two Filipinos Skemberlu and Playhard, and three Malaysians Chyuan, Oli, and March.

In addition to being the Malaysian champion, Geek Fam also took home the lion’s share (RM25,000) of the prize pool of RM55,000 cash and bragging rights of representing Malaysia in the Asia Pacific Predator League 2018 Grand Final that will be held in January 2018 in Indonesia.

“The game was fun and interesting, and this Malaysia Final was intense. The win was particularly sweet for Geek Fam as we are a new team, formed just six weeks ago. It was a good game and the machines were good; there was no delay or lag, giving us a smooth play,” said Lim Keat Kuang aka ‘Sheep’, Owner of Geek Fam.

Fire Dragoon which comprises BrayaNt, Ah Jit, KanGaroo, yaNG and Alacrity lost in the Best of 5 in the Malaysian Grand Final but was nevertheless still rewarded with RM10,000 cash for their effort.

Acer Sales & Services Sdn Bhd General Manager of Products, Sales and Marketing, Chan Weng Hong said,

“Gaming or eSports has grown tremendously over the past couple of years and its popularity is on an uptrend. Acer is very pleased to provide yet another avenue for gamers and gaming enthusiasts to pit their talents and fly the flag for the country in a regional tournament as well in the process. We are very excited to witness the birth of the inaugural Malaysian Predator League champion!”

“We hope all the teams had a great experience throughout the competition and got their skills sharpened in this exciting tournament. Acer Malaysia is looking forward to nurturing even more vibrancy in the growing eSports scene in Malaysia,” Chan added.

As many as 180 teams participated in the tournament that had two Open Online Qualifying rounds – the first was on 4-5 November 2017, and the second qualifier was on 11-12 November 2017. Only four teams qualified to join four invited teams to battle their way to becoming the very first Malaysian Predator League champion.

The teams in the Malaysian Grand Final were Geek Fam, Fire Dragoon, New Beginning, Objective Gaming, Team Flash, Team Highground, Team Thinker, and Estar.

The machine of choice that helped these teams conquer new worlds are the Predator Helios 300 gaming laptops, which are powered by overclockable NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1060 GPU, 7th Gen Intel Core i7 (7700HQ) desktop processor and 8GB DDR4 at its core.

The Asia Pacific Predator League 2018 Malaysian Grand Final tournament was streamed live at Acer Malaysia’s Facebook account at https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1733358676682950&id=138368236182010 over the three days of the battle where it had a reach of more than 2.2 million. The exhilarating tournament was also streamed on twitch.

The Malaysian Predator League champion will battle country champions from six other nations (Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand India and Hong Kong) for a shot at the USD150,000 total prize pool in the Grand Final that will be hosted by Acer Indonesia.

For more information, please visit Acer Malaysia Facebook account at

https://www.facebook.com/AcerMalaysia/

 

Honey Chicken popular since 1974

Honey Chicken popular since 1974

by | Nov 28, 2017 | Food

With the number of food reviews that I have done, sometimes, it is a real tough decision just thinking what to eat for a simple dinner.

Malaysians are truly blessed with a wide variety of choices. Being the melting pot between East and West, for the foodie fan have some of the widest variety of food choices to satisfy the taste buds.

Craving for a good plate of Nasi Briyani, I noticed one particular Indian Muslim (Mamak) restaurant which was listed on top ten Nasi Briyani by TripAdvisors.

Honestly, I have always seen lots of people there, but never attempted to try out the food until I started reading the reviews by others.

Lesson learnt from here: Never underestimate what appears to be just an ordinary cornershop Mamak restaurant like Restoran Mahbub is capable of producing.

Here, although I can find better nasi briyani elsewhere, it is their signature dish, the honey chicken (ayam madu) which gets my thumbs-up all the way. A plate of nasi briyani and honey chicken is RM15.

Although being health conscious, I try to cut down on sugar, here they use honey and perhaps a little bit of chilli to prepare the chicken drumstick.

The moment I took the first bite, my eyes brightened up and a smile spread across. It was indeed delightful and so “refreshing” to have a delicious piece of chicken after a stressful day.

This is one which I think has a lot of potential to satisfy many taste buds. Let’s put it this way – when you walk into Restoran Mahbub, you have not really enjoyed the food here until you try their honey chicken.

According to 32-year-old owner, Omar Farook Ali the Nasi Briyani Ayam Madu (Honey Chicken Briyani) has become the best signature dish since 1974, the year when his grandfather, Mohammed Yusuff first set up the restaurant in Bangsar.

It was known back then as Restaurant Sharifa, but it became officially known as Restoran Mahbub in 1995.
No wonder the Honey Chicken was so good as Omar explains further:

“The restaurant has gained popularity as having the best Nasi Briyani Ayam Madu in town since 1974. This is my grandfather’s secret recipe.”

It was followed up by their Nasi Briyani Ayam Bukhara (RM15.50), which made its first debut in 2000, something that we will try later. By the time were there, they had run out of the Nasi Briyani Ayam Buhara.

However, my 9-year-old boy whom I encourage to develop his own opinion, likes his nasi briyani differently. He prefers it with his favourite fried chicken (RM15 a plate of nasi briyani and fried chicken). See his blog.

For those who cannot travel that far to try their nasi briyani, it is possible to buy their Briyani Box, which can be ordered and delivered to the home.

Or, those living in and around Damansara Damai will find Restoran Mahbub’s second outlet within their reach, and better still, it is open 24 hours seven days a week. Using waze, this is accessible for outstation guests who are using the New Klang Valley Expressway (exit at Sungai Buloh). Even this restaurant has been operating since 2004 after Omar’s father Datuk Seeni Abdul Kadhar and his sibling Mohamed Sidek further developed the family business.

With Omar as the third generation helming Restoran Mahbub, there are currently attempts to modernise it.

“We received the SME Entrepreneurs 2017 award recently,” he said. “Another feather added was the SME MIMCOIN (Successful Family Business) 2017 award.”

 

Apart from their nasi briyani, I would also recommend their Roti Canai Special. Although I would usually take thosai, their Roti Canai Special (RM4) is great way to give the roti canai an innovative touch but what is important is that the taste, too, was good.

Damansara Damai

The Damansara outlet is located at L-013A, Jalan PJU 10/2A, Vista Shop Damansara Damai, Sungai Buloh.
Tel: 03-6157 2587 (For Delivery, Take Away & Reservation)
Business hours: 24 hours / 7 days a week (Damansara Damai)

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Restoran-Mahbub/181242008554282

Waze: https://www.waze.com/livemap?zoom=17&lat=3.19787&lon=101.59413

Bangsar

Bangsar outlet is located at No. 15-17, Lorong Ara Kiri Satu, Lucky Garden, Bangsar.
Tel: 012-6231 786 (For Catering Service).
Tel: 03-2095 5382 (For Delivery, Take Away & Reservation)
Business hours: 7am – 1am / 7 days a week (Bangsar)

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Restoran-Mahbub/181242008554282

Waze: https://www.waze.com/livemap?zoom=17&lat=3.19787&lon=101.59413https://www.waze.com/livemap?zoom=17&lat=3.12872&lon=101.66986