Paradiso Café, the gem yet to be discovered

by Stephen Ng | Oct 9, 2017 | Food

Paradiso Café, the gem yet to be discovered

There is an old saying,

“Never judge a book by its cover.”

What’s more when the book comes “alive” with two “power” chefs hard at work in the kitchen of their small café in the middle of nowhere! Sounds like a folk’s tale?

Paradiso Café in Damansara Sutera is where you will find Chef Azizan Shukri, an Italian Master Chef himself and his wife, Chef Che Sue working with great passion to cook their signature dishes for the guests – all at a price that almost every middle income person can afford!

I call this the priceless gem yet to be discovered. You pay for the food instead of a posh ambience which only the rich and famous can afford, but here is some true friendliness that you cannot find with most well-attired, bow-tie and salaried waiters.

“Now, everyone can dine,” Che Sue quips, as she further elaborates on their ‘no frills’ fine dining concept. Che Sue was previously operating the cafe at Sunway Nexis in Kota Damansara, where both parking and the high rental forced them to re-locate to this place.

In fact, according to Che Sue, her latest attraction is Azizan himself. Azizan has recently decided to leave behind his career in five star hotels and restaurant outlets to join his wife.

With Azizan, clients can also enjoy the great Italian master chef’s fine dining quality dishes at the fraction of the prices that they would otherwise pay in the posh restaurants.

Besides one having the opportunity to savour their signature dishes, the two award-winning chefs are also a great delight to meet whenever they decide to emerge from their kitchen to have some fresh air. They are easy to talk to, with no air around them.

Chef Azizan, for example, was the winner of the Malaysia International Gastronomy Festival (MIGF) Special Festival Award for Chef Congeniality in 2016. Ranked among the top 500 chefs in the world, this is an enviable recognition given by his fellow chefs during the event last year.

Save for an orange goatee, the thoroughbred Taiping boy had cooked for the visiting former US President Bill Clinton while working at the Grand Hotel in Dublin, Ireland. Prior to joining Paradiso Café, Azizan was with Restaurant Savini Ristorante Italiano.

He brings with him a great repertoire of Italian culinary creations which one can still enjoy at their own little café.

Chef Che Sue, on the other hand, is an established chef well known for her traditional local cuisines. With the two “power” chefs combined, one can only expect the real experience of dining on Western and Eastern cuisines at the same time.

During the food tasting session, we were delighted as Azizan kept himself busy in the kitchen, one after another of his signature dishes was served. Being a fan of lamb chops myself since my student days more than 30 years ago, I must say there is nothing that can beat his pan-grilled Lamb shanks.

RM25 before it ends two weeks from the day this article appears.

Please show the waitress the article to prove that you have read about the promotion here.
Che Sue says that you will get a special dessert on the house

As a retired former editor Lee Boon Siew said: “It’s just perfect!” Azizan knows how to do it just right. I prefer taking the Lamb shank by itself, but others may prefer it served with Saffron long grain rice.

RM25 during this special promotion.

Between his mushroom soup and pumpkin soup, I prefer the latter. It is meant to be enjoyed hot at every sip than to be consumed in a gulp just before going for the Aglio Olio Beefstripe (RM13.90).

Azizan believes in spending time on the aesthetic presentation of his dishes, so expect the children to go
“Wow! Look at this!”

Born and raised in Terengganu, Che Sue, on the other hand, delighted us with her Terengganu Laksa (RM10.90). Most people would expect laksa to be almost ‘soup-like’, red hot and spicy but Che Sue’s Terengganu Laksa caught us by surprise that it can be just as delicious and simply irresistible without being too spicy!.

Her Beef Rendang set (RM10.90) and Sotong Sumbat (which is also known as ‘Ketupat Sotong’ in Terengganu) are also two signature dishes worth trying apart from the Cucur Bilis.

Cucur Bilis is one local cuisine that unless one is good at preparing, it can be either crispy enough, or slightly too soggy. Compared to the one we had at a stall in the shopping mall, Che Sue’s Cucur Bilis (RM4.90) is a world apart.

But, what I like about the food here is that they do not use artificial food flavouring or MSG.

“We use only natural ingredients such as selected chicken, beef or lamb stock,” she said

Che Sue is also good with her bakery and confectionery. “Everything served here does not use any food preservatives,” she said, admitting that she herself is allergic to all sorts of food preservatives.

Before we left the café, there was also the hot brownie served with ice cream. Anyone likes to give it a try must learn to find their way to Paradiso Cafe and Patisserie is located at Jalan PJU 10/5B Damansara Sutera.

If Chef Che Sue had poured all her hard-earned savings into setting up this café, she and her husband will sure to make this a haven for delicious cuisines.

Business hours: 12noon-11pm Monday till Thursday and Saturday. On Fridays, open from 3pm – 11pm. Closed on Sundays

Tel/ Whatsapp: 012-223 2777

Waze location: https://waze.com/ul/hw284puj4n

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/paradisocafemalaysia/
https://www.facebook.com/azizan.shukri.54
https://m.facebook.com/ChefCheSue/

Website:www.paradiso.com.my

STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in all sorts of gastronomical delights – Western, Middle Eastern and Asian.

Whenever you crave for some grilled patin…

by Stephen Ng | Sep 27, 2017 | Food

Whenever you crave for some grilled patin…

When we were craving for some grilled patin fish, the first thing that came to mind was Mamimia Patin Champion in Laman Melati Kuang.

Again, with Waze and Google Map these days (just key in Mamimia Patin Champion), it only took a 20-minute breezy drive for us to the location from Taman Megah, especially on a weekend in the morning where there is hardly any traffic jam.

After a sumptuous lunch of grilled patin fish in what is a truly kampung setting, the whole family can then take a short drive to Tasik Biru Kundang for some fresh water fishing.

Kids, especially from the city, would love it when they can see monkeys playing up on the trees. It is a real good experience for urban kids.

For those who know Bukit Rahman Putra well, Laman Melati Kuang is just a short drive away although the name `Kuang’ may sound like thousands of kilometres away out of Petaling Jaya.

But like I have always told my friends, it takes just a bit of courage to venture out of their comfort zone and experience the kampung environment, where food is often homecooked, more delicious and prices reasonable.
After having lived in Australia, where getting from one suburb to another can easily take half-an-hour, a 20-minute drive on the Lebuhraya Damansara Puchong (LDP) and Jalan Kuala Selangor is nothing to complain about.

What is important is the trip is worth the effort when the appetite is met and the children have an enjoyable outing.

Mamimia Patin Champion is in fact a small stall operated by Ahmad Mazlan and his wife, Radziah who goes by her nickname, “Dee”. They are not the typical stall operators; both were previously from the banking industry before they retired. Mazlan speaks good English.

Because Mazlan is originally from Bentong and Dee is from Pekan, and since we were already warming up to each other and enjoyed the chat together like family friends, I dropped a punch line: “So, is that the reason why you get the patin fish from Temerloh then?”

Temerloh, located between Pekan and Bentong in Pahang, is famous for its Patin fish. They can be found either in the wild or bred in ponds or rivers but Mazlan says that they only get their supply of patin that is bred in cages on riversides in Temerloh.

Patin is their specialty. They take pride in their dishes which they prepare according to their family recipes which they love to serve to their clients. I learnt from Mazlan that he was in fact using the gerai to teach his family how to conduct a successful business.

“We enjoy good family bonding as a result,” he adds.

Since I am a fan of all sorts of spices, I particularly like Dee’s Patin Percik (RM18) because her homemade sauce gives me the `oooomph’ to compete with my family members for the leftover from the dish. The word ‘percik’ means to sprinkle, so literally it means the grilled Patin fish is ‘sprinkled’ with Dee’s special homemade sauce.

The other signature dish is Sup Tulang Hitam Warisan (RM10). According to Dee, their sup tulang is prepared using the bones of oxen. I strongly recommend clients to try out these two signature dishes of hers, besides her Patin Tempoyak Champion (RM12), which are all simply delicious.

The Patin Tempoyak Champion uses her homemade fermented durian condiment and a little of chilli, otherwise known as the tempoyak.

The dishes can be eaten with rice. This is truly a family business where the entire family are helping out with the business. “You cannot taste the Patin Percik in any other restaurants anywhere in the world but here,” Mazlan laughs.

Gerai Patin Mamimia is located at 3017, Laman Melati Kuang, Lorong Melati, Pinggiran Rahman Putra, 47000 Sungai Buloh, Selangor, Malaysia

Tel / Whatsapp:
+60 12-233 7529 and 017-947 8797
Business hours:
11am – 4pm (open six days a week for lunch. Closed for dinner every day and on Thursdays).

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mamimiapatinchampion/
Waze location: https://waze.com/ul/hw284qu820

STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in all sorts of gastronomical delights – Western, Middle Eastern and Asian.

Seremban Seafood Village Still Popular After 30 years

by Stephen Ng | Sep 26, 2017 | Food

Seremban Seafood Village Still Popular After 30 years

Despite more seafood restaurants being set up, Seremban Seafood Village at Jalan Tuanku Munawir is still packed with guests who love to savour its famous crabs here.

There are some that claim to be branches of Seremban Seafood Restaurant, but according to the restaurant owners, they have only one outlet in the whole country.

It is run by three brothers – Kong Min, Kung Choy and Kong Yoke Keong. The eldest sibling, Kong Min had worked as a chef for more than 40 years, and Kung Choy, 53, and his younger brother, Kong Yoke Keong, 50, have some 30 years of experience as chefs each. So, in total, they have about a century of cooking experience.

Judging from the response from their clients through the years, their signature dish is the BBQ Crab dish, which uses the Ketam Batu imported from Indonesia. It is best eaten on its own for the gravy taste although some may prefer it with the Kong brothers’ special chilli sauce prepared using fresh milk.

Despite more seafood restaurants being set up, Seremban Seafood Village at Jalan Tuanku Munawir is still packed with guests who love to savour its famous crabs here.

There are some that claim to be branches of Seremban Seafood Restaurant, but according to the restaurant owners, they have only one outlet in the whole country.

“Over the years, we have developed over 30 different ways to cook the crabs,” he added

“It depends on our customers, whether they like it hot and spicy, or steamed, or cooked with salted eggs, black pepper, herbal, or fried with Tom Yam.”

The “Kam Heong” crab dish is prepared using belacan and curry is also a favourite among the patrons. “Because our crabs are fresh, they are tastier,” added Kung Choy.

To enjoy the crabs, you have to forget your table manners and just use your fingers, instead of forks and spoons. And if you think it is prepared in the same way beef or lamb chops are barbecued, you might as well forget about eating crabs.

With thick shells, Kung Choy said there is another way the crabs are barbecued. “We use the Chinese wok instead of the barbeque grill set,” he said.

The bigger crabs can weigh anything between 700 and 800 grams, whereas the smaller ones are around 400 to 500 grams. It may be costly depending on the season, but it is worth trying the bigger crabs especially for those who want their crabs to be meaty.

Another of their signature dish, the Marmite Crabs which uses Marmite as the condiment. In the review written by a guest on TripAdvisor it is true that one would hardly think of using Marmite as a condiment but it gives a great taste when used to cook crabs and even the chicken.

“If you are looking to have a crabby evening, you definitely have to be here! I’ve never tasted such a good Marmite Crabs!” he wrote.

Besides the famous BBQ Crabs, they also serve the deep-fried prawns marinated with soya sauce. It is slightly salty and most importantly it tastes fresh.

“Like our crabs, we also have many different ways to cook the prawns,” said Kung Choy.

“We have deep-fried prawns, sweet and sour prawns, and prawns marinated with salted eggs. In all, you can choose from a long list of 30 different tastes from our prawns menu.”

Another dish worth trying out is the squids (or even prawns), which are deep-fried with salted duck eggs and batter. It tastes crispy, moderately salty and most suitable for young children.

A number of day trippers from Kuala Lumpur would end up having their sumptuous meal here before returning home. After all, the drive is just one hour away on either the PLUS or the LEKAS highway.

It is hard to imagine that the crab business can be so good that after 30 years, people still eat the crabs here. When the restaurant first started in 1983, the Kong brothers were the only ones selling crabs in Seremban.

People were teasing them saying that the business would not take off. Back then, it was known only as Restoran Makan Seremban, but it has evolved into its new name and concept as the Seremban Seafood Village. When the business picked up subsequently, other restaurants also started jumping into the bandwagon, but they are not doing as well as the Kong brothers.

At a time when there was hardly any social media, when I first met Kung Choy some ten years ago, he told me: “Our reputation was built on word-of-mouth.

Seremban Seafood Village restorant is located at N45 (or No 190) Jalan Tuanku Munawir, Seremban. Tel: +60 6-764 1260. Turn towards the backlane and there are ample parking there.

Business hours: 12 noon – 1 am seven days a week.
Waze: https://waze.com/ul/hw22rx9d2s

STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in all sorts of gastronomical delights – Western, Middle Eastern and Asian.

Ni Ichi Sushi still maintains its tastes, and prices despite the inflation

by Stephen Ng | Sep 19, 2017 | Food

Ni Ichi Sushi still maintains its tastes, and prices despite the inflation

By Stephen Ng

Since relocating to the newer area of Bandar Menjalara, which is closer to Tesco, Ni Ichi Sushi Japanese Restaurant has rebranded itself, but prices and quality of food have remained unchanged.

“For this reason, many of my customers are regular and they have been with us since young,” said restaurant owner, Dennis Chin. “Some of them were children, but now they are adults with their own kids.”

His prices since 2008 have only gone up by 15% at the moment. According to a Japanese friend of mine who went through the restaurant menu, the prices here are very reasonable.

Being a chef himself is an advantage in that Chin is also involved in the purchasing of the ingredients to make sure that he gets them at reasonable prices. “My suppliers know that they are in it with me for the long term business,” he added.

When I first met Chin some nine years ago to do a feature on his food for The Sunday Star, he has been operating the other restaurant, Niji Teppan Suchi in Medan Putra since February 8, 2002.

After he set up Ni Ichi Sushi Restaurant, the old place in Medan Putra is used as a Chinese restaurant, which I will probably be visiting soon.

I especially love the way he takes the trouble to garnish his food. Pictures often turn out fresh, with the food looking more appetising. It is not a gimmick for the photographer but according to Chin, the garnishing is a very important art in the food business.

“It shows the amount of passion that one has towards the food served on the table,” he said. “When you put your heart to the food that you serve, it always turn out better for the taste buds. This is something that in the age of robots, the human chefs cannot be replaced.”

From my observations, it does take some creativity for Chin to come up with the food that his kitchen hands serve. “Ni Ichi in Japanese simply means two-in-one, because we are a nice blend of two concepts – creative food and traditional Japanese food – in one restaurant,” he explains.

Chin himself has spent over six years working in a number of Japanese restaurants in Taiwan between 1996 and 2001. “This is where I learnt how to prepare the traditional Japanese cuisines,” he said. “However, the market has shifted and to cater to the younger generation of Malaysians, we need to be creative.”

This is very true in the case of my children. Even the garlic salad, which is usually shun by the kids, becomes somewhat of an attractive, and guests can ask for slightly more sauce on the salad if they want the taste to be slightly stronger.

This is also the reason why young children who are naturally curious prefer to try out the creative sushi of the day (see pic) and start liking it, but the idea is not to let them have it later so that there is something that they would be looking forward to.

Personally, being my favourite, I enjoy the Ebi tempura here because the prawns are fresh and the batter coating around has a nice light golden texture that makes the tempura more appetising. Not many people know that the tempura is in fact a classical Portuguese dish, but largely popularized by the Japan chefs. Kids love the tempura set too.

The other dish which we all enjoy as a family was the Beef Shogayaki, but for the Hindus, you should try their Salmon salsa steak or their Buta no nitzuke, and their latest creation – the Yaki Udon. They also serve vegetarian sushis.

My nine-year-old son, who is a great fan of Japanese udon, told us that he wanted to reserve his stomach for the udon which he give the thumbs-up. If you are here to taste the food, you should ask for the udon to be served as the last dish.

In fact, there are a wide variety of other sushi to order which we did not have the capacity to fill anymore (see pictures).

For first time customers at Ni Ichi Sushi, please tell the waiters that you have read the Voiz Asia article in Malaysiakini. Chin will have something on the house for you to try out.

Ni Ichi Sushi Restaurant is located 53, Jalan 9/62a, Bandar Menjalara, 52200 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Tel: 03-6261 3493

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STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in all sorts of gastronomical delights – Western, Middle Eastern and Asian.

Sengoti means simply delicious!

by Stephen Ng | Sep 19, 2017 | Food

Sengoti means simply delicious!

Just a simple by the roadside stall, but Nasi Kukus here is famous with the locals

By Stephen Ng

Malaysians are known for going to any place where the food is delicious, and as Pok Nik from Kelantan puts it in his local Kelantanese dialect, it is “sengoti!” (which means, simply delicious).

The beautiful part is that you do not need to go to Kelantan to enjoy Pok Nik’s delicious food, anything from his Nasi Kukus Ayam Kampung which you can have for only RM6.50 with a piece of deep fried ayam kampung to the Kueh Akok (@50 sen a piece), Kueh Cek Mek – ubi (@40 sen a piece), Nasi Kerabu, Nasi Dagang and Nasi Lemak Pandan,

Nik Samsul Bahrin, 44, who goes by his nickname, Pok Nik and his wife Noorhayati Hussein has been operating this stall in Taman Bukit Permai, Cheras (in front of Masjid Nurussaadah in Jalan Bukit Permai) Permai) since 2006. The stall is known as Pok Nik Nasi Kukus Ayam Kampung.

Because the food is good, the stall is frequented by locals of various ethnicity. In fact, it was a Chinese gentleman who recommended me to check out the food at the stall when I happened to be in Cheras and looking for a place I could highlight on.

Ten years after he started the stall, an ambitious Pok Nik said that he has already started two food trucks on the tenth anniversary since they started operating from the stall.

“We now have a food truck at Taman Maluri (in front of the Public Bank) and Pandan Mewah (near to Hospital Ampang),” he said. “Next in the pipeline which will be launched soon is the food truck near the PGRM building in Pudu Ulu.”

On his business plan:

“By December, I hope we will be able to operate from a central kitchen in either Taman Kokas or somewhere in Pandan. Cooking will be done centrally. This makes it a lot easier to maintain the quality and tastes of the food.”

What makes the food taste good? Pok Nik replied:

“You must try our curry and sambal here. It is ‘sedap sengoti’ (simply delicious in the Kelantanese Senghoti). We buy our spices and a number of other ingredients from Kelantan. They are quite different in terms of the tastes.”

Besides his Kelantanese style of cooking, one should try the famous “Teh Beng” (which sounds exactly the same as the Chinese dialect Hokkien version of ice tea) here. “It is the Kelantan version, with three different types of tea leaves blended in,” explained Pok Nik. “I do not know how the name came about, but it certainly sounds like the Hokkien word.”

Pok Nik Nasi Kukus Ayam Kampung is located in front of Masjid Nurussaadah in Jalan Bukit Permai, Taman Bukit Permai. It is open seven days a week (6.30am – 4.30pm). Breakfast (Nasi Goreng, Koey Teow, Mee Gorong and Mee Hoon Kampung-style) is available six days a week except Sundays, where Nasi Kukus starts from 8am onwards. On other days, Nasi Kukus and nasi campur are available only during lunch hours.

Before you go, you can whatsapp Pok Nik:
012-2598140. Except for Friday prayers, there is always plenty of carparks here including near the mosque. There is free delivery for those who are living around Ampang.

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STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in all sorts of gastronomical delights – Western, Middle Eastern and Asian.

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