Mandheling Coffee isn't for Everyone

When it comes to coffee, people often rave about single origin varieties  in the same way with single malt whiskey, the blended ones just won't do but that doesn't mean there isn't a market for it.

So when I chance across a premium Mandheling coffee from Chek Hup, I thought maybe it's time I venture into the coffee wilderness and try a new variety single origin. For me, I am a through and through Colombian fan. I love the deep acidity and rich aromas. Now Chek Hup has been around for half a century, and they are famous for their white instant coffees. So when they got into the premium coffee business, I was wondering how it was going to fare. Malaysia is not famous for coffee. It taps the growers in the nearby regions for much of its beans.

Mandheling coffee hails from Sumatra, and is of the Arabica variety...meaning this is premium stuff when handled well. Now this is the first Mandheling I am tasting so it goes to show that it pretty much sums up what people were expecting from the coffee, low acidity, not very fragrant and has hints of mocha as an aftertaste. It feels like when you have a pet cat walk all over you while you sleep. You notice it is there but it doesn't quite leave an impression strong enough to wake you up.

I could not believe it at first. It's too light for my taste buds so I took out a pod (they come as 6 in a box) emptied it into a French Press and gave it a good 7 minutes of soaking. During this time, I noticed that the beans were course grind, and would require maybe a little more time to soak but it doesn't much make a difference as it tasted the same. The bean is also lightly roasted and I wondered if a darker roast would bring more fragrance to the cup...that unfortunately can only be answered by Roasters at Chek Hup.

I must say that Chek Hup has done a damn good job in packaging. Included in the box are six sugar stirrers, so you don't have to bring your own sugar if you ever took it on trips. The coffee isn't cheap, at about US$3 for a box with 6 coffee pods and sugar stirrers, so this is as premium as it gets. Good as a gift pack or a souvenir but discerning coffee drinkers would be so kind to take note that the lighter taste of this coffee is not an anomaly. It is processed that way. Arabica coffee beans have much lower caffeine than the Robusta or Liberica variety when processed in a similar manner. So you are not going to get a wake up call when you down a cuppa.

If you are looking for a light coffee, this would suit you just fine. It might not have the full body flavor of your typical Starbucks but that doesn't mean it sucks. It's not for everyone at least not for me.

Coffee is my drug of choice for an early wake up call. It has to be full bodied and has solid acidity. Taking a whiff must remind you that you are alive. That said, I am a difficult person to please.

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Kluang Beef Noodle'Claypot Bovine Offal Soup @ Taman Murni

Beef offal and beef noodles were the staple of the mainland Chinese and they brought that culinary delight to Taiwan. Over in Malaysia, beef noodles are not a big thing here as many Chinese are Taoist, who follow Kuan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy. They forbid the eating of beef and thus, beef noodles are particularly difficult to come by, but not impossible.

So here I am, Taman Murni, Kluang where the original Kluang Beef Noodle is now located. The owner use to operate from old Coronation Cinema, where he would have a meat cleaver on hand to dish out bowls upon bowls of beef noodles. I have written about his other outlet in Kluang Mall here, but there are some slight differences on the sort of dishes they offer.

The main thing they have are the big claypot beef offal soup. It's not cheap, at US$10 a pop but well worth the wait.

Is there a difference?

Apparently not but the soup is satisfying. The soup base is the same as the main noodle soup broth and you can't tell the difference but what you get in the claypot is addictive.

Chinese herbs have been used to carefully remove the beefy aftertaste, and in doing so makes the beef offal very enticing.

The chunks of beef is relatively lean, and the the tripe is cooked to perfect. The beef tendons however are a little chewey, it is cooked to the point where it doesn't become glutinous so for those who like the al-dente feel, this would be perfect, me? I prefer it to be more slimey, it's the smooth texture that I miss after having stuffed myself with Beef Offal on the streets of Macau.

Conclusion?

One of a kind, lots to eat, and plenty to share. However if you are a heavy eater, you might have to order two pots instead of one. They have only one size for the claypot, so you can't choose to have more. There isn't much of a variety in the soup. Just tripe, tendons and lean beef cuts.

Beef offal soup has become a sort of comfort food for me, and I am sure if you are not put off by eating offal, you would like it too.


Beef Offal Soup @ Kluang Beef Noodles, Taman Murni, Kluang. Johor. 
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Big Bean Coffee: Dagan Rengit Coffee Cafe

When it come to coffee, the Arabica bean is highly prized in the gourmet world and nothing really comes close...not even Catimor, a bean that has been cross between Robusta and Arabica.

In southeast Asia, the bean of choice is Liberica, and since it grows well in mid to low lands, you get a feeling that it would make it a preferred choice for coffee plantations but in reality, it is very difficult to justify. I remember Todd Carmichael of La Calombe who traversed Sarawak in search of the mystical Liberica bean and wasn't fully convinced he found the legendary bean even after taking it home—not even available for sale on his online site.

So here we have another Liberica bean to test your tastebuds, this time it is the Excelsa type of bean. Now Rengit Coffee in Batu Pahat, Malaysia has been a coffee trader for some time and they import and roast gourmet coffees from all over the world.

Rengit Coffee has spruced up its coffee image by going into the Cafe business. They have several branches in Batu Pahat and one in Kluang located in the shopping arcade of AEON Big supermarket.

Robusta cherry on the right, middle cherry is the Liberica, left is the Arabica

The Dagan brand has an elephant on it, and it would appear that they might be using Elephants to do the processing as Civet Cats can be hard to come by, however if you study their literature, they call their Elephant bean coffee not because it was processed by Elephants but because of its sheer SIZE. The Excelsa bean (known to the French as Chari) is suppose to be big, but if you judge the size of the coffee cherrie, then it is probably bigger than the Arabica variety but it is not in any way larger than the pure Liberica beans drifting around most of the local coffee shops. Robusta is the bane of the coffee world. Low quality, high caffeine and bitter, the Robusta is prized in the medical world for the caffeine it produces which is distilled and added back in to soft drinks and in medicine. 

Taste Test

Excelsa coffee isn't going to be much better than the Libericas found locally but I must say that after having the taste test, it was in fact, a tad better than you realize.

First, the aroma is very similar to what you find with Arabica roast. The first whiff gives the impression that you are drinking premium beans but when the firs sip hits your mouth, you then realize that it is no Arabica. It is not even comparable to a full bodied Arabica and will never be in the gourmet circles.

Don't get me wrong, it has good acidity and there is a very distinct bitterness that s not overpowering nor near the likes of the Robusta variety but you need a creamer to cut down on this bitterness. Besides this, it has a nice fruity note. I detected a hint of Banana as an end note. Which was kinda weird as even Gourmet coffees grown alongside Banana trees don't give off this aroma or taste.

However if you judge the Excelsa bean against the normal Liberica coffee offered locally in Malaysia, you will see how Excelsa shines. Comparatively speaking, the Excelsa beans are better than the usual Liberica coffees found in South East Asia, in particular, in Vietnam and Cambodia.

It has a good body going in and has none of the bitter kick one finds in a Robusta. Since it is priced much lower than Arabica, and higher than the usual Liberica, it is a good bean for use in coffee blends. Blended coffee is a fusion of all three beans and often used in cafe house blends. Blended coffee is found everywhere from Supermarket house blends to coffee shop blends. Single origin coffees are the most prized, which is similar to single malt whiskey if you want to get an idea of the comparison.

A 250 gram bag of roasted Excelsa from Dagan Rengit Cafe sells for about US$3.

footnote: Excelsa Beans have a reputation for having lower caffeine so if you are looking for something that won't keep you up all night, you can try having this type of coffee. 

Kway Tiu Kia @ Stall 57 Meng Fang, Cedar Point Food Court

Kway Chap, a Teochew dish made famous by laborers who piled the trade is found mainly in Singapore and if you happen to jump across the causeway to Johor Bahru, it does not exist.

Instead you have a variant of it known popularly as Kway Tiu Kia, a rice noodle dish that is a little divorced from the Singapore version. As a kid, my Grandmother would take me to a lane in Meldrum walk in the 1970s, where a Teochew family would serve it as a breakfast meal in the morning. Those were the good old days and the fresh pork offal and meat would be sliced thinly into a small plate and accompanied with a bowl of Kway Tiu or Hor Fun as the Cantonese like to refer to it.

What made that dish stand out was the taste. It was well balanced and and I will always remember it. The taste between the meat and the spices used to cook the dish would be perfect. Unfortunately, I have been programmed to accept this type of taste whenever I eat anything remotely Kway Chap or Kway Tiu Kia.

For me, the secret to making a great Kway Tiu Kia is the soup base. Here I have seen many failures. The cooked broth is often too strong with spices such as Cinnamon or Star Anise. Sometimes, other herbs are added to virtually kill the taste buds once you taste it, other times it is bearable.

The version found at Johor Bahru's Tasik Utara, though with an attached history of more than 2 decades, is not to my liking for this same reason. Another known locally as "Restoran Hi Wan" also does not do the dish justice as the soup broth is too strong.

The only one that has found favor with me is the one located in Cedar Point, Century Gardens. It opens in the morning right to about 2pm and is closed on Thursdays.

Made by a Cantonese family, they have applied their Cantonese style taste to the cooking and made it their own. They too have been around for the last 2 decades though I did notice that the quality of the broth can sometimes be inconsistent.

The pork broth that is used primarily for this dish comes from cooking the pork offal, such as tongue, skin, intestines, tripe, pork belly, and tofu. The broth is diluted into a soup and served with the Hor Fun or flat rice noodles. This is where the inconsistency lie. Sometimes they add too much boiled water while other times it taste just right.

The use of spices to flavor the offal is crucial. Too much of it and you can't taste the meat. Each part of the offal has its own taste and this is very important to not destroy these flavors. Fortunately, they always get the taste of the meat right while the rice noodle soup is often a hit or miss affair.

A single serving for one person can be as low as US$2, and this goes up depending on variety of pork offal you order. Go a little crazy and you'd be hit with a huge bill of between US$3 to US$5 per person. Now that's a lot of money to pay for pork offal.

Kway Tiu Kia @ Meng Fang

Kapitan Curry Chicken @ MyKuali KSL City

There has been a new trend these days to capitalize on your branding whenever the opportunity arises and MyKuali is one such entity. They came out with a highly successful instant noodle pack called the MyKuali Penang White Curry Noodle which is exported to several countries. The brand also has premade cooking paste for a range of their dishes so when I got the chance to try out their new Kopitiam Style cafes, I was enthusiastic.

This new Kopitiam is located on same level as MBO Cineplexes in KSL City Resort Shopping Complex in Johor Bahru city. The owners have taken a leaf from Ernst Zacharevic's iconic murals found on Penang island and and these can be seen adorned on the walls of this eatery as wallpaper. I am not sure if they are paying Zacharevic for use of the copied murals instead so I won't go into these details.

My choice was for the Chicken, since I am curios about the Kapitan Curry Chicken paste. To begin with, this dish was created by the Baba Nyonya communities in Penang, Melaka and Singapore and a version of it can still be eaten in Melaka where judicious use of Tamarind is used to sour up the concoction. That too is called Kapitan Curry (a homage of sort to Yap Ah Loy, the founding figure of Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia).

To be fair, this version found in MyKuali is not even close to the traditional Melaka variety. It is a version of the Malaysian Sambal Chicken, flavored with Kaffir Lime leaves and Lemon grass. One taste and the first thing that hits you is the sambal flavor as opposed to the curry flavor that is often distinguished by the liberal use of coconut milk. The chicken is prefried and cooked once more in the sauce. It was tasty and I enjoyed it.

I like sambal chicken, and this bodes well for my taste buds but the dish itself as a whole was a let down. On the plate, you are given a fried boiled egg and three slices of cucumber. The rice was in particular not well cooked (I suspect it was overnight rice as the consistency reminded me of why people use kept rice for frying as it was firmer and has less moisture).

For US$3 a pop, this has to be quite expensive. You are given only one piece of chicken doused liberally with the Kapitan Curry sauce. You don't get a side of potatoes with the 'curry' of any other garnishing. In terms of value for money, I don't think I will coming to eat this dish again.

Kapitan Curry Chicken @ KSL City, Johor Bahru, Malaysia.

Curry Fish Head @ Stall 54 Cedar Point Food Court.

When it comes to curry fish head, everyone seems to have their own take on it and I don't blame them. Some like it a tad sour, others like it with more curry taste, etc.

Fish head today isn't cheap anymore. Back in the old days, fish heads were often discarded by restauranteurs and for some, they decided to take those pieces of unwanted fish to make a meal out of it. It is widely believed that the origin of Fish Head curry came from the Indians who emigrated to Singapore and Malaysia from Kerala, where they have a bad habit of adding thick coconut milk to whatever they cooked. So Fish Head curry without coconut milk isn't really curry fish head.

Fast forward to the present time, the Indians no longer dominate the Fish Head curry business as the Chinese have decided to tap this viable delicacy.

Cable TV food host, Anthony Bourdain has been known to come round these parts just for the fish head curry. But I am never sure of which variety he likes. I know it has to be spicy and this is probably one thing that owners of Stall 54 won't be on his list.

First, it is a descriptive stall, which reads in Chinese and Malay to mean Fish Head Curry and Yong Tau Fu. The part of the Yong Tau Fu or stuffed bean curd and vegetables is a bit of a error as they don't do the last one. Instead, they focus on the Fish Head curry which happens to be their signature dish.

The spicy ingredient that is to be the hot Chili peppers is probably far too mild to burn your lips with. It is actually very tourist friendly as the sting is almost non existent. What makes it a real hit is the thick gravy that comes with it, and this is what makes it mouthwatering.

Copious amounts of coconut milk is added to blunt any chili stings and the rich gravy is almost broth like as the taste of the fish can be savored with every spoonful.

But a word of warning. Those unaccustomed to taking coconut milk will have trouble later. It varies from person to person so this is aptly a killer dish, which can send you to the toilet within hours if the ingredient doesn't agree with you. For others like me, it is a real treat.

Eaten with rice, it is such an easy fish to fall in love with. The tofu puffs, eggplant and okra gives the dish more texture, and I have never seen a morsel left untouched once the dish is done. Price wise, this isn't cheap though and if you are eating as a family, be prepared to pay up to US$3 per person for this one pot meal but you have a choice of adding both fish fillets or fish head to the pot before it is cooked. The stall is open for lunch and up to dinner throughout the week.

Curry Fish Head @ Stall 54 Cedar Point, Johor Bahru.

One Dollar Meal @ Uncle Jacks Fried Chicken

When you are hungry, you need a quick cheap meal and where do you go? This is probably one of the toughest questions as there is very little on offer in terms of a cheap meal in Malaysia these days. The average price for a meal is between US1.50 to US$2.00 in a town like Johor Bahru and we are not talking about cafe or diner fare. A McDonald's meal will cost you up to US$3 but there are promotional items for about US$1.50, which hardly counts as a meal.

So when I stumbled upon Uncle Jack's Fried Chicken, my first reaction is that....WTF? How the hell do they make money?

This outlet was located in the Giant Supermarket in Kluang, Johor. Away from the town center, it was hardly any walk in traffic but you find plenty of kids eating there during lunch. And why is this so? Allow me to elaborate.

If you are a 10 year old, you won't have much lunch money and when you stay back for ECA, lunch is on your own. This means parents will have to budget a lunch fare.

Fast food is as good as junk food. That said you can't have too many choices. But with Uncle Jack's, you can have a meal for about US$1.00.

The meal is made up of a small cup of chicken soup, a side of Hainan style chicken rice, a piece of fried chicken (which is of average size) and a soft drink of your choice (like Cola). All this cost RM3.50 in local currency, which is just a tad more than US$1.00. If you are a school kid, a free cone of ice cream is thrown in for good measure. Wow.

Now the soup isn't great. Made from chicken stock, it is tasty and comforting. I won't go into detail about MSG poisoning but this gets pretty close if you drunk a gallon of this stuff. The rice was above average, no doubt cooked with the chicken soup. The quality of the rice was poor, it was Malaysian rice and is considerably soft. Good for kids and old folks I suppose. The chicken piece lacked flavoring, as the flavor is on the coating and the chicken itself taste flat.

I would have been very critical for the taste if not for the price of the whole meal. You can't fault the meal as it does what it does best, to fill your belly. What more do you want?

Fried Chicken with Rice @ Uncle Jacks Fried Chicken

Dry Bakuteh @ Kim Hock Food Court

It looks disgusting, dark, and almost burnt in respect but Kim Hock Food Court has been selling these for years. For the life of me, I have no idea that such a dish existed nor did I even care to find out about its existence but when it comes to something this strange, someone has to write about it.

First, Bakuteh, or Meat Boat Tea as it is known in Chinese circles is a dish cooked for laborers who worked on the docks and construction sites in Singapore and Malaysia. This highly potent soup and meat mix was what fueled the laborers to soldier on and to be fair, it does not taste like what you normally find today. Both the Malaysian and Singaporean version differ in their use of White Peppers. Singapore loves the use of heavy white peppers to flavor the soup while the Malaysian version does with a lot less.

When it comes to fragrance, Chinese herbs and spices dominates this dish. The meat is infused with these flavors when boiled in the soup and you'd eat it with rice. That said, it's not very palatable for Westerners.

There are two different preparations for this soup. One has a darker soup base and then there is the lighter one, which is supposedly from Teochew chefs. The Hokkien version of course is much darker. The Cantonese on the other hand has reinterpreted the recipe to make it more soupy, fragrant and true to taste and the version sold here at Kim Hock Food Court is just that, a lighter soupier Bakuteh.  Everything is balanced, making it an invigorating liquid when you are on the look out for a pick me up.

The dry version? Well I have no idea who came up with the idea but it taste very different. Gone are the subtle herby taste of the broth and instead, you have dried Cephalopods as the dominant and detectable ingredient. I suppose the goal here is to preserve the color of the dish rather than taste.

Now I would like to point out that Kim Hock Food Court is not really a food court. It serves up a variety of dishes which are mainly pork based. The pork trotters in vinegar (too little vinegar), Bakuteh and the dry bakuteh are all made in small portions but don't get me wrong. Their portions are big even when classified small and with a few dishes  ordered, there were so many chunks of meat that even Lions would eat there if they could. To feed four, we only spent US$20, and this included the Yam rice and pot of tea.

For value for money, there is no denying this place shines. Unfortunately I didn't take to the dry Bakuteh like duck to water and preferred the soupy version. Maybe I am a traditionalist? I'll let you be a judge of that.

Dry Bakuteh @ Kim Hock Food Court

Fried Pork Loin @ Kah Kah Loke Restaurant

Bitter, which sounds like please in German but let me tell you that bitter in Chinese and Indian cuisine is good for you.

This is probably the strongest contrast between western and eastern cooking and how I feel that Asian cuisine will always be more exotic than the vanilla styled, diary and herb style ingredients found in continental and American cooking. 

How else can you explain the fascination with Asian flavors. Fortunately, there are cuisines that are still palatable to Westerners who might cringe at the thought of eating bitter gourd. 

At Restaurant Kah Kah Loke, you can heartily dig into a bowl of bitter gourd soup, infused with porky flavors and less than bitter gourd slices. The Chinese believe that eating bitter gourd is a good way to cool the body and for the Indians, it is a cure for diabetes. You can even get the Kavela pills that are made with bitter gourd to treat diabetes so what's not to like about bitter gourd?

The bitter gourd soup at Kah Kah Loke is the most fascinating piece of bitter cuisine, and you get to choose your ingredients. The waiter at hand will ask you if you'd like to have pig offal, such as liver and bits of intestines or just plain pork. Or for that matter everything of the above. The best part of this experience is the bitter gourd soup is actually palatable to Westerners. The bitter gourd itself has been prepared in such a way that the bitterness has been eliminated. The soup self is plesantly porky, and if you like the taste of pork, this is one soup you will be coming back for more. 

The soup dish is eaten with rice of course, and you can call the highly recommended mabo tofu, which is soft bean curd with mince pork or a side of pig offal stir fried with ginger and soy sauce. I have no idea why Westerners seem to dislike offal. Anthony Bourdain regularly woofs it down an calls it soul food.

Even in the past, none of a slaughtered animal was wasted and people too poor to afford the best cuts of meats from the butcher had to settle for offal. Apparently the sophisticated palate is just not in the West. In Asia, the well heeled young will refuse to indulge in anything except prime cuts. Hopefully these highly tasty discarded meat will end up with pets as it would be a complete waste to throw them away.

As much as I like the soup and sides, the killer dish has to be the fried pork loin. Each tasty morsel is coated and deep fried giving it a crisp outside while being moist and soft on the inside. The pork loin is flavored just right, and should it be fed to westerners, they won't be able to stop eating it. I say enough about this dish except to rate it for what it is worth. You can't go wrong with this dish. 

Restaurant Kah Kah Loke has five outlets, two of which are in Johor. The bitter gourd soup unfortunately is not very consistent from branch to branch. The outlet at Taman Sutera, serves up better bitter gourd soup than the original Johor Jaya branch. 

However, the fried pork loin taste superb at both these places so for that alone, I highly recommend it. 

Hakka Fried Pork Loin @ Kah Kah Loke Restaurant, Taman Sutera

Chicken Cutlet with Pasta

Linguine pasta is one of my favorites. It's flat, and has enough bite to satisfy every bite but it comes at a price. For one it isn't cheap as it has to be imported. Second, it has to be prepared well.

The Loading Bay Cafe is a fusion style bistro that serves up Italian and Western cuisine with a fusion touch. Located in the center of Kluang town in Johor, one could cosy up to the place during a hot afternoon.

They recently started to offer a lunch set menu that comes with their signature chicken cutlet. You have a choice of having it with either rice or pasta. The dish comes with a drink of either tea, coffee or ice tea and is priced at US$3.00. This is not a bad price for a start but for sheer value of money, you have to examine the food.

Much Ado about Al-Dente

Having cut my teeth in preparing pasta, I am very critical of how Chinese chefs and cooks prepare pasta. Often, they prepare it too soft, almost noodle like.

This dish in particular fails because of this. The pasta taste like it was prepared in advance and left to warm up later when an order needed to be fulfilled. Then there is a distinct lack of olive oil. Chili is used to spice it up a notch but to no avail. The pasta falls flat. The garlic that flavors it just doesn't have enough olive oil to coat and all you can taste is the chili.

The chicken cutlet on the other hand was well prepared, flavorful and well breaded. But it doesn't stand out as a signature dish. The lack of attention paid to the pasta made the dish imbalanced.

The pasta didn't have a bite to it. It fell apart in your mouth once you started to chew on it. Olive oil, which is a chief ingredient to making it palatable was missing, due to cost probably as any drizzle would have eaten into its profits. Such penny wise pound foolish approach to cost controls is what kills a great restaurant.

This is a poor effort on the part of the chef and for this he will be penalized.  I might add that 3 bucks isn't much, but for that alone in a small town is far above what people are expected to pay for mediocre food.

Chicken Cutlet Pasta @ Loading Bay Cafe

Lamb Chops @ Season Cafe

Every now and then, unsuspecting, I try something new and depending on my taste, I will be critical. So when it comes to commercial grade restaurant food, the first thing that comes to mind is how good is the taste, and the value behind it.

Commercial food is not quality food but then it can be so when Season Cafe offered its US$5.00 lunches, well, you have to admit that it sounded spectacular. Season's Cafe operates more like an American Diner than a cafe so one should be careful about the distinction. In Malaysia and Singapore, the Cafe culture is more savvy so this  term is used more often.

First, I hate to point out to them that they are guilty of false advertising. Lamb shoulders should not be passed off as Lamb Chops even though they appear to be meaty. Lamb chops happen to be prime cuts of meat while Lamb shoulders is not.

My next beef is with the short order cook. I know that these people often do not take their jobs seriously because they are not chefs, but a short order cook should know when meat is cook without having to dry them out.

So here is my story of the Lamb Chops, or shoulders to be exact. Cooked, it is tough and rubbery, when done medium rare, it should have some juicy bits left and is a lot more tender. Then you have the problem of having it pan fried as opposed to grilled. Lamb Chops are traditionally grilled to order in a short order kitchen.

My order of 'Lamb Chops' come out as overdone. Tough as goat hide, and cooked too long on a pan, it wasn't juicy or for that matter had the distinction that it was prepared with any dignity. An animal had died for this and its remains were prepared in a undignified way to resemble food. I had great pity for the poor animal at this point.

To be fair, I did like the plating, wedge cut fries, carrots and a side of vegetables, it looked neat. The Black Pepper sauce was pleasant, and was given generously for you to pour over your lamb. Now for me, this would have desecrated the taste of the meat. You only add copious amounts of sauce only when the meat taste like a long dead carcass. In this case, the 'contraband chops' was pretty close to this hence the sauce I suppose.

So what went wrong with the dish?

Grilling is the preferred way to cook lamb and if need be, fashion a sauce that goes well with it instead of leaving it on the side. I must say that I am not a fan of black pepper sauces but if you must, then find a way to lace it over the meat without over cooking it.

If the short order cook is any good, he will be told how to prepare the lamb. Cooked, medium rare, rare...that will sort things out. Don't assume for one moment that people are paranoid about rare meat. There are plenty of carnivorous people out there who like it juicy.

I cannot fault the condiments. It was done well and yes, I think it looks pretty on a place but to pay US$5 for a dish that is at best, tasteless, no amount of sauce in the world is going to save that dish.

Lamb Chops @ Season Cafe

Teriyaki Chicken Set @ Sakae Sushi Malaysia

Forgive me, but I have never been very impressed by these so called fusion sushi joints like Sushi King or Sakae Sushi. These are not Japanese Izakayas but rather commercial restaurants started by restauranteurs to make money.

Commercial value is what dictates its success and I must say that they are borderline with Sushi King in Malaysia in terms of quality. The outlet in question is located in City Square Johor Bahru, the Sakae Sushi chain was a huge hit in Singapore and started expanding to Malaysia.

The lunch set on offer is something else. It seems like good value for money. The set which came with soup is priced at about US$4.00 and looked very good on paper, until it was served then you started to wonder if there was any false advertising involved. Platted on the advertising billboard, it seems quite generous in size and portion.

Then when the lunch set did come, your expectation is punched like a floating ballon. The portion seemed smaller as it was arranged on a narrow plate and for some reason, the salad and side of corn was there as a side show rather than in a eatable portion.

The taste was less than satisfying. The Chicken was deep fried before being drenched in Teriyaki sauce. It wasn't even grilled! This means any short order cook would be able to whip this up in minutes. It was tasty, I won't argue with that but it wasn't authentic.

Then came the soup. Which is Miso soup without the dashi. This is an expensive ingredient in Japanese cooking, dashi is made with seeweed and bonito flakes. I suppose you could try to buy the cheapest Miso paste on the market and make this with minimum fuss but it does not taste the same as the authentic Miso soup.

The rice, which is the short grain version or arborio rice wasn't cook to perfection. Somehow, I felt that they may have mixed the rice or bought a lesser quality rice to serve as a meal.

Fortunately, there were other items on offer that I had access to, the Fruitti Sushi was pleasant but I felt that the flavors were mixed up. Having salmon and fruit pieces with your sushi roll just doesn't cut it for me. The tiny slices of straberry was at best, sour, while the Avacado slices was hardly noticeable.


I am disappointed. I may not have expected much in the first place but then Sakae Sushi has built quite a reputation for itself in Singapore. It was probably my mistake for expecting it to be authentic. The food is edible. I won't fault it there but the quality is pedestrian. That said, if you are looking for a true Japanese experience, I won't be using this as a benchmark.

Terayaki Chicken Set @ Sakae Sushi Malaysia

Vietnamese Temale @ Saigon Cafe

I am not a big fan of sticky rice. It is starchy and heavy for a meal on its own and I must admit that I don't mind having Chinese Temale when the season comes. The Vietnamese Temale is very similar. Stuffed with lightly fried glutinous rice with a sprinkling of vegetables and meat wrapped in banana leaf and cooked till soft.

Ten years ago, Vietnamese cuisine was a rarity in Malaysia but today, thanks to the more liberal visa system, Malaysia is home to many Vietnamese who come to work and play here. That said, I have fond memories of Vietnam during my time as a journalist in Hanoi. Saigon is more exciting as a food center but that's not to say that North Vietnamese cuisine is of a lesser quality.

I came by to Saigon Cafe to remember the forgotten taste of Vietnam and was mildly surprised by the cuisine on offer. They have made it more palatable by incorporating Malaysian Kopi Tiam cuisine into their menu but there are some originals.

The Vietnamese Temale is one of them. It cost a shade more than US$1.30 and is a tasty snack for any time of day. The flavor is pleasing without being overpowering. There is a hint of meat and dried prawns and is very soft, probably due to it being steamed when ordered. What I like about it is that it is very different from the ways that is prepared in Malaysia and Thailand. In Thailand, we often eat sticky rice as a dessert, which is similar to Nyonya cuisine. Malays use this as both a main meal in the form of Lemang, and in desserts. The Vietnamese Temale is much lighter than the Chinese Temale and comes as a rolled rice stick. It is not stuffed full of goodies but therein lies the difference.

I can't say much about the coffee. It is a Vietnamese blend, Robusta beans friend with Soya beans and Sweet Corn. The coffee is thick, but there is less beans in a spoonful. It came in a traditional Vietnamese coffee press, which is similar to the French Press except that it uses a drip down method. I wasn't won over by the taste which had more of a sweet corn after taste. There was very little acidity so when paired with condensed milk, it felt smooth on the palate.

What I like is that it is Kopi Tiam fare, meaning a meal should not cost you too much. Yes, I would go back to try the other items on the menu and for that I think that makes it my seal of approval.

Vietnamese Temale @ Saigon Cafe

Value for Money Mee Siam at Kluang Rail Cafe

 

Mee Siam, its origins are vague even though the Thais have not credited themselves with the invention as they have a similar dish named Mee Kati. So let's not go into any nationalistic belief to claim this dish in the way that some others have done in the past. 

This is essentially a rice vermicelli noodle dish. but to be fair, I think the rice noodle thickness is closer to angel hair pasta than vermicelli. Eaten as a snack or a breakfast meal, it is the perfect accompaniment to a cup of milk tea or coffee. 

Found throughout Malaysia and Singapore, the one featured here is of course more Malaysian in design. In Singapore, Mee Siam comes with a soupy base whereas its Malaysian counterpart is dry fried.

Since its inception in 1938, Kluang's very own Railway Coffee Station has made quite a name for itself. It serves up very simple fair and it wasn't until they started to branch out as a full fledge cafe and hotel that its dishes started to make its mark. They have franchised their outlets all over Malaysia and can even be found in Johor Bahru.

Mee Siam at the Railway Coffee Cafe is priced at US$1. Comes with a serving of cucumbers, half a boiled egg and a splash of "sambal" made with chilli and prawn paste. An optional wedge of lime is thrown in for good measure for those who prefer a hint of sourness with their noodle.

The complicated part of this dish is the rice noodles. it has be done just right before frying. Done wrongly, it breaks up into a mess. The frying sauce coats the rice noodles infusing the flavors into them.

This particular dish at Kluang Rail Coffee Cafe is one that is well done and should not be missed. I must stress on the value for money part as everything seems to have increased in price lately and getting a dish for a buck is indeed a rarity.

Mee Siam @ Kluang Rail Coffee Cafe

Beef Noodles in Kluang

For most of us, the idea of having beef noodles is pretty remote unless you live in a place like Taiwan. The popularity of this dish is legendary on the island and it's pretty much a national obsession.

The Chinese believe that beef causes heatiness, a term used to associate its TCM values and how it affects one's health. So if you happen to eat a lot of it, chances are you'd break out in spots or have skin rashes.

Regardless, beef noodles among the Chinese community in south east asia are hard to come by because traditionally speaking, it is very expensive to serve this kind of meat.
Pork and Chicken is much cheaper and as such, beef noodles are a rarity.

Historically the Best

Unlike the other famed beef noodle shop, Tangkak Beef Noodles, the Kluang version comes in two guises, soup based or dry. For me at least, there is an old town favorite which I must have even if it kills me and this is the Kluang version of the famous dry beef noodles. I like it dry and this is where it rocks. Trusted that the soup isn't all that bad but I prefer it sans soup for simple reasons. It is the flavors that blend well.

First, is the beef and bits of offal is flavored in Chinese herbs and spices. The sauce that is used to make the dry noodles just taste right. Not too spicy with the white peppers, with a hint of preserved vegetables and a sprinkling of roasted peanuts. You don't have to go far to appreciate this simple dish.

As much as I love the soup, I still prefer it on the side. The flavors are in harmony with one another and having the soup on the side is an added pleasure. In the past, I have avoided mentioning the stall as there was a period of decline. The food didn't taste as good and it was not until the recipe was restored recently, the folks started to patronize it again.

There are now two outlets, the original store was located behind the old Coronation Cinema and moved to Niyor over a decade ago. The new outlet is located in Kluang Mall's Street Food Court. The price isn't cheap, at US$2.50 for a bowl, you'd think twice before ordering it but it is well worth it.

Kluang Beef Noodle @ Kluang Mall