Hot soup to Khun Thai

Joined my parents for lunch as my Dad wanted to introduce me to the cuisine called; hot soup. It’s the literal translation from “Sup pedas” and the place was hidden inside Seri Kembangan.

Restoran Kien Kee Sup Pedas Ayam Kampung

They’re mainly popular for 4 dishes – as I recall; rice wine chicken, drunken prawns using the same rice wine, black sauce chicken and the infamous peppery pig soup with intestines and meat. All 4 of these dishes are served in a claypot so you order for the number of people.

Drunken prawns and black sauce chicken

The pig soup has a real kick because of the amount of pepper they use. Unfortunately, there was none left for a picture to be recorded. 😛

Then, with Hakka blood running through my veins – though I don’t speak a word of it, they use what my Mum calls “yellow rice wine” for the rice wine chicken and drunken prawns. The difference between yellow rice wine and the bottled rice wine in the supermarket is the yellow rice wine tastes sweet. Probably to get you more drunk without knowing it. LOL!

We Malaysians just know how to eat

You’d never believe how much we Malaysians eat until we’ve taken you out for a ‘makan’ session. And that’s just what Ariel’s Japanese language classmates did with their Japanese teacher.

Being a good sport, she obliged to try the food we recommended to her. It’s like we’re now on a quest to make her familiar with as many types of good food found within Klang Valley. LOL!

Khun Thai Village

First stop for dinner was Khun Thai Village hidden inside Petaling Garden. If you’ve not been to the area, it’s not an easy find and lesson learned if you’re eating there after work…leave early! Stupid road to Old Klang Road is so freaking backed up because of the damn roundabout.

The group ordered dishes like kangkung belacan, some steam fish, pandan chicken, tom yam, some lala and squid, fried egg, some tau foo, some prawns and I think there was 1 more dish. But yeah, apparently we walloped all of the dishes within 15 minutes. -_-!

Next stop dessert

Once we were done with dinner, they asked if the teacher wanted dessert. After the green light was given, group of us ventured to KTZ in SS2.

Some of us were filled to the brim, while some others ordered some of the desserts – purpose of letting the teacher have a taste. It was really funny at one point because everything except the peanut soup was touched. The teacher also started feeling full so the group had no choice but to pass the bowl around the table with everyone taking a spoon until it was done. Lol.

Seriously, we Malaysians eat a hell lot! *phew*

Personal journal of Danny Foo, BAM

November 23, 2011… Completed mockup for coal company, but still unsatisfied. Ended up banking in a cheque at Public Bank instead of Maybank because they couldn’t recognize the account. Completed watching episode 4 of Doogie Howser MD. Hence, this entry.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrERtikdPus]

Perak’s unknown hot springs

Well, it was very unknown to me. Never did I think we’d be able to find hot springs in Malaysia. Until I followed Ariel and her Japanese class troop for a short trip to Sungkai, Perak. Apparently, place we were heading to was Sungai Kelah (or Klah).

The drive was approximately 2 hours from Kuala Lumpur. Once we got off the highway, we used the town roads and then a single lane road which took us deeper into plantations. Thankfully, signage wasn’t easily missed.

Once parked, we had to ride a super slow tram which traveled for about 100m where you get off and walk into the park. The group planned to take one of the private jacuzzis – we opted for the exclusive pool which could fit all 11 of us.

Private villas yo!

Now that I think about it. We only got half of the house you see. But once you enter, you’ll be able to see the hot spring jacuzzi.

It was bubbling

The setting of the place was a nice Bali concept getaway. Not too bad for a short trip away from the city.

From the inside looking towards the entrance

The small house on the right was air-conditioned. Lucky for us, it was a good morning with no rain and the sun wasn’t burning. Once settled in, we all dipped into the hot spring jacuzzi – clothes on.

Nice and warm

Unlike Japanese baths or onsen (hot spring) where we hear about no clothes allowed, we are in Malaysia and girls here are all too shy. 😛 But later on, I just had to strip off the t-shirt because it was such a bother. And seriously, if you ever dip into the hot springs here, shirts off would allow you to enjoy it more – better skin contact.

After our 2 hours renting the place for RM120/hour, we washed off and packed up to head out. The dip was well-worth it except I felt probably 2 hours was a little too long.

Boil em eggs

On our way out (or your way in), there’s a special spot for boiling eggs which you buy from the nearby stall. And beside this, there was a hot spring where we saw mainly people dipping their feet into the water. It was measured to be 40-50 degrees Celsius. Saw a guy who pulled out his feet from dipping and it looked like he had a pair of pink socks on. Siao!

Well, least I know now there’s an available hot spring within driving distance. And if you really wanted, maybe stop by Bidor for some awesome duck noodles for lunch before returning to the bustling city. 🙂

Damn I miss the Bidor duck noodles.

The Prime food experience

It was Hawk’s birthday and being meat eaters, we wanted to carve our teeth into Le LeMeridien’s Prime. Said to be THE steak restaurant by many, so we decided to celebrate it there. Though we went in with lowered expectations as hearsay was the steaks weren’t as what it used to be. *shrug – first timer here*

Rustic luxurious setting

From a raised platform where you enter, you can overlook the restaurant and within a head’s turn you can see into the kitchen. It felt really posh. 🙂

Grand, no?

Though the seats are really spacious, I’d say they were probably fitted for larger-sized Western bodies. But as Asians, our size definitely gives us the advantage to maneuver better in them. 😛

Onward to the food

For starters, me and Ariel shared had their signature lobster bisque. The external view reminded me of Dome’s pie except this was much much much better. Because the crust was very thin. And as you dig into it, you’ll find the hidden soup. It was truly a great dish though it became a tad salty for me as I finished it.

Signature Wagyu

Hawk treated himself with their Wagyu. It was a truly majestic piece of meat. But to be honest, I found the texture incomparable to my superior Kobe. Muahahahhaha! 😛

Kobe oyster blade steak

Okay. It was my first time having Kobe. But I loved every single piece of milky smooth cut of my steak which slid in my mouth. Mmmmmm…oh, I’m so spoiled now! LOL!

Steak burger

Ariel had their steak burger and it was really a platter for a horse. Besides the burger, you’ve got thick-sized fries with a small serving of salad.

Prime was a great experience. At least we know now what the food tastes, though we may not come here as often due to the price of parking plus food. Also, I’d be lying if we weren’t comparing Prime with our favourite steak hangouts; Las Vacas.

It was a mixed result between friends and it may not stand as a fair comparison since Las Vacas grills their meat with only salt and pepper – no marination. Thus, I’ll leave my final say out until I get a serving of Kobe at Las Vacas.

Who’s with me? 😀

Enormous lamb shank pie

The Foo family one night decided to head on to Ben’s General Food Store in Bangsar Village 1 to give their food a whirl. My Dad’s expectation was to have steaks and the hearsay I heard was they did now have it on the menu – last visit with Hawk didn’t have it.

Once we sat down and reviewed the menu, there was NO STEAK listed on it. Puzzled by this, we decided if we should stay and dine here. My parents were easygoing so just agreed to go with the flow and dine-in.

Round round the salad goes round

Okay, call it bad luck. But I was requested to change my side order of salad, THREE TIMES! And, THEY GOT MY SALAD WRONG! The first time was it ran out – fine. The second and third time also ran out – WTF?! On the final time I went up there, I chose a salad which looked like not many people ordered, thinking I was safe. Until my plated order came and what-do-you-know, the salad was wrong. -_-!!!!!!!

I was already frustrated having to choose 3 times so I didn’t bother telling them to correct it. Sigh. What a stroke of bad luck.

The food massacre begins

Me and Ariel decided to share a pizza, so we tried the fungi pizza. If you see the word fungi, it’s mushroom – in case you space out when you see it. 😛

Fungus on mah pizza!

For my main course, I decided to give their lamb shank pie a go. But I don’t think I’ll have that again unless I can eat like a horse or I want to be Fred Flintstone.

Massive lamb shank in a pie

I believe lamb shank can only be called that if the bone is still there. So what you see protruding from all that mashed potato on the top is my lamb shank. It was massive!

I didn’t know how to eat it, literally. The lamb was buried under the mash and the meat – though tender – couldn’t be easily sliced. So like Fred, I picked out the lamb and start gnawing away. Indeed, it was a little bit messy, but I guess that’s one of the ways to truly enjoy a lamb shank. LOL!

You’ll mostly find pizzas here. Other than that, they’ve got the lamb shank pie and 3-4 other different mains. Steak is not on the menu, but apparently how it works is you order from another place in Bangsar Village and they’ll serve it to you in Ben’s General Food Store.

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