PIGGIN OUT @ AH WANG BAK KUT TEH

Finding a house at Old Klang Road was probably one of the best decisions that I made (thanks to my wife who knocked a lot of sense into my stubborn head then). I am now literally surrounded by good food everywhere I turn – curry mee, pork noodle, beef noodle, cendol, rojak, chicken rice, duck rice etc etc etc… Endless supply of yummylicious food.

This Bak Kut Teh stall is one of our favorites whenever we don’t have the time to travel all the way to Klang. It is located beside Tesco@Old Klang Road by the side of the main road. It’s open only in the evening to wee hours in the morning.

Apart from the reasonably priced food (rightfully so as this stall is right at the side of the main road), this place caters for my wife and my liking. I have recently grown a liking for steam fish and my wife has grown a liking for meaty bak kut teh.

The bak kut teh here serves is 98% meat and 2% vegetable. The soup is light, but still carries a strong herbal smell. The meat is definitely delicious with the 3 layer pork loaded with freshness and a squirt of healthy oil.

The steam fish… I love. I was first introduced to Mun Kee @ Imbi and every couple of months, I would arrange lunch there with my colleagues to fulfill my craving. Sadly though, my wife who loves fish does not like the steam fish head. I on the other hand find it heavenly to chew on huge chunks of fish and to lubricate my mouth with fish blubber. Between Mun Kee and Ah Wang, I still prefer Mun Kee.

This place is so good that at 12am on a Wednesday night, you can still see the place filled with customers and this is the case on most of the nights.

Location:

No. 32, Batu 4 ½,

Jalan Klang Lama,

Kuala Lumpur.

Contact: 013-2282288 / 016-2341319

GPS: N3.093517, E101.674658

STRIPPING DOWN, COOKING UP: CARBONARA SPAGHETTI

Ingredients:

             i.            Cooking cream (1 box)

            ii.            Butter

           iii.            Spaghetti

           iv.            Garlic (1 clove)

            v.            Fresh mushroom

           vi.            Cheese

          vii.            Ham/Bacon

         viii.            Egg (yellow) x 3

           ix.            Corn Flour

Between a Carbonara and a Bolognaise, I personally prefer a Carbonara as the cream texture of it gives a nice warm feeling to my every growing tummy.

Spaghetti Preparation:

First take a bunch of spaghetti and put them into a pot of hot water and bring to boil. Add olive oil and dried basil leave.

Once the spaghetti is not too soft and not too hard (“al dente” so says my wife), drain the water and WALA… you’ve got your plain spaghetti all done and ready to be eaten if so you so wish.

Carbonara Sauce Preparation:

First chop the garlic and mushroom into small cube sizes. Slice the bacon into small (not too small) 0.5cm by 0.5cm sizes.

Heat the pan up and melt the butter in the pan. Stir fry the garlic first, then the bacon and then the mushrooms in the pan. Pour in the cooking cream and add some water. Next, pour in the egg (yellow only) into the pan and bring to boil. Once boiled, add some corn flour (if necessary) to increase the thickness of the sauce.

Combo

Once you’ve done both of the above, combine both the spaghetti and sauce and you have yourself a delicious heart attack meal.

“YOU NEVER SPEND ENOUGH TIME WITH ME”

And all the men are going… “Hmm... that sounds very familiar”

Only this time for me, it got me thinking for the past days about the statement.

REWIND:  A couple of days ago, while we (my wife and me of course) were talking on the bed (nothing else then), my wife told me a joke, and I told her, “Wah… very funny ho you” and she replied “Yea la, if you’ve spend enough time with me you’ll know”...  silence …. *creak* *creak*…

It really got me thinking then and up to today, how much more less time I’ve spend with her.

For the record, my wife tells excellent jokes and she tells it with such flair that I am always amazed and laugh at the end no matter what. This was something I never expected my wife to be able to do. I mean, the ego me is the great debater, the great public speaking king, the awesome choral speaking champ, the great class talker but truth be told, I can never pull of a joke the way she does it. She can seamlessly share a joke (as long as a paragraph) and I would just be captivated the entire time listening intently to what she has to say next and waiting eagerly for the punch line.. Flawless. I totally absolutely love hearing her jokes.

But in the recent months, there has been of course a lot less of those session due to many many reasons/excuses (mostly from my end):

-          Baby

-          Work

-          TV (that also local channels only as we do not subscribe to Astro knowing full well I’ll probably be hooked on the movies/series the whole day.. I am a TV addict)

-          Handphone (HD games, Fruit Ninja, Pool, Poker, Bowling, Drag Racing, etc)

-          House chores (wash bottle, clothes, plates)

But regardless of the reason, I have to admit, I have definitely spend a lot less time than I should have.

GUILTY AS CHARGED.

Coming to this realization really weight me down in thinking how I ended up here and honestly was sadden by this fact (for my lack of effort in succumbing to the distractions around – of course apart from baby). Thinking back about the times when my wife would share jokes with me brought a smile and a longing to bask in those moments again. Of course it would never be the same amount of time, but I can definitely make the effort to spend time together more.

This article probably would sound lame to some, I mean, it’s only telling jokes… go to the www… go to a stand-up…  but let me assure you, you will NEVER EVER get to experience the smile my wife puts on my face during those moments and I can never fully describe the warmth it puts in me because she’s my wife! Over my dead body!

PIGGIN OUT @ REN REN BAK KUT TEH (KLANG)

The Chinese blood flows with pork… and then a heart attack thereafter. But before we get to the heart attack portion, this bak kut teh outlet was introduced to me by my wife’s parents. My father in-law use to work nearby and they would sit at this place, enjoy the great food and drink Chinese tea for the rest of the day (he was doing sales so great flexibility of time).

I personally love having my bak kut teh in Klang because it’s where it originates (so I think) and they serve their bak kut teh with OILED RICE. This shop particularly not only serves a variety of dishes apart from bak kut teh, it is also priced very reasonably.

We ordered the dry bak kut teh, soup bak kut teh and an assam fish.

The dry bak kut teh was filled with dry sotong which gave the pork a really good taste.

The soup bak kut teh on the other hand was thick (the way I like it) and herbed up to the max (also just the way I like it). A healthy serving of pork, strands of vege made it worth every penny I paid for it.

The assam fish was also soaked in a load full of sauce and the fish was fresh.

The other dish that they serve here which is worth calling is their “fried baby shark”. But then it’s up to your conscience whether eating sharks is ethical for you or not.

Even though this place is quite a distance from where we live right now, it’s definitely still the restaurant that we visit whenever we need a good bak kut teh meal in klang.

*For the record, writing this post was really tough with the auto-correct keep correcting my “teh” to “the”and me having to constantly re-correcting it. There’s a total of 12 “teh” used in this post, including the last one.

Location:

Lorong Batai Laut 3,

Taman Bukit Cemerlang,

41300 Klang,

Selangor.

GPS: N3.056589, E101.472472

PIGGIN OUT @ KISSATEN (IOI BOULEVARD, PUCHONG)

This post is definitely a pretty delayed post and I thought I would not have done justice to my wife if I didn’t write about Kissaten as she seems to love the place.

Although I expected to have sushi and maki’s when my wife suggested we have dinner here, I was a little caught off guard when I saw the menu and they were serving pasta’s and burgers… kinda like Pasta Zanmai… Japanese Italian restaurant.

Finding some difficulty in ordering (as I always have with pastas as I wanna be sure what I am about to order is good) I decided to stick to what I know best – PORK and hence I ordered the Pork Belly Spaghetti Set (RM27.80) which came with a mushroom soup and salad. Just couldn’t get my head around drinking mushroom soup at a Japanese restaurant but the food was good. The pasta especially came with a generous load of pork belly and poached egg on the top.

My wife on the other hand ordered the Mushroom Spaghetti Set (RM24.80) which also came with mushroom soup and salad.

The highlight of the dishes was actually their Teriyaki Pork Burger (RM10.90). Oozing with teriyaki sauce with succulent pork patty clamed between an egg, vegetable and sesame seed bun, the burger was seriously good. Considering the price of the burger, the next time I’m here, I’ll just order 2 Teriyaki Pork Burger and that would have definitely made my day.

Location:

D-G-57&58, Block D, IOI Boulevard,

Jalan Kenari 5,

Bandar Puchong,

47170 Puchong,

Selangor.

GPS: N3.046286, E101.621546

SHAHRIZAT… LIWAT… COW-WAT (WHEN MINISTERS BECOME COWS)

A lot have been going on with Sharizat and her family of cows… but what really riled up yesterday was her son having the balls to come out and tell me this:

“The issue of NFC managing its loan monies amounting to RM250 million is the company’s responsibility to administer and utilise... NFC retains the prerogative to invest the funds in the best interests of the company. It is not a grant or free money but a repayable loan. The loan agreement does not stipulate any expressed prohibitions on investments,” Izmir, Son of Sharizat, Genome of Cows

Seriously!! WTH?!?!?! RM250m of the rakyat’s money was given to NFCorp to wank off cows to produce more beef for Malaysia – but now you’re telling me… “hmmmm… let’s forget about wanking off cows for the moment… let’s buy 2 condos in Malaysia, and another 2 condos in Singapore… how that’s going to help up achieve our target I’m not too sure but condos are much cooler”.

That is just how screwed up things can get in Malaysia and what’s even more amazing, the shithole family is still walking around freely with his mother defending her family by not addressing the core of the issue but taking shallow pot shots at Rafizi (the dude who exposed the whole thing). And while Izmir seems to have the balls to come out and “defend” his use of my money and Sharizat seemed to have grown balls, Najib, Muhiyiddin, MACC and the PDRM seems to have lost theirs.

4 months has passed since the Auditor General reported on NFCorp. 3 months since the exposé by the opposition and up to now, the MACC / PDRM have been dragging their feet to close the case. How hard can it be really? NFC Corp has admitted to the purchase of condos which wasn’t part of the contract… HAUL THEM UP ALREADY AND DUMP THEIR SORRY ASS IN GUANTANAMO!!!

Right deep down inside, I’m just superly pissed at how such blatant misuse of power, funds and cronyism could still linger on without any stern action taken by the authorities. My government should stand for what is right! Do the right thing before we do the right thing and chase your sorry ass out of Putrajaya! Cows…

p/s… and of course kantoi again…

Source: The Malaysian Insider

Parliamentary panel was told NFC cannot use loans for property

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 10 — The Finance Ministry had told a parliamentary committee last November that there was no provision that permits the National Feedlot Corporation (NFCorp) to use its federal loan to purchase property.

A ministry official had disclosed this to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) during a meeting convened to discuss the NFCorp issue and was “very specific” that such loans could not be used for purposes other than what had been specified, Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua revealed today.

Pua , who sits on the PAC, said the senior official had explained during the meeting on November 23, 2011 that the purpose of each drawdown must be clearly stated, and that the ministry had never received an application from NFCorp to purchase property.

“Therefore if the senior MoF official was telling the truth when testifying with the PAC, then Wan Shahinur Izmir (Salleh) must be lying through his teeth to defend the indefensible,” Pua said in a statement.

Read full article here.

PIGGIN OUT: ASAM LAKSA @ AIR HITAM, PENANG

Ok... Penang and Asam Laksa are like your teeth and gums, finger and finger nails, ass and asshole… one will find it very hard to live without the other. Take away the gum and the teeth losses its support. Take away the finger and the nail is left floating mid-air which can be really cool or really scary. Take away the ass and the shit spurts out without direction. Take Asam Laksa away from Penang and Penang becomes a zombie land with nothing attractive.

As far as I know, there are 3 types of asam laksa here in Malaysia – Chinese Ha Ko (prawn paste) asam laksa, Malay asam laksa and Nyonya asam laksa. In Penang, the Chinese and the Malay types are readily available. Although we often gobble down the Chinese one (only because my wife is a big fan of the Chinese asam laksa and asam laksa means more to her than to me), there’s some really awesome, cheap Malay asam laksa sold by the side of the road going to Batu Feringghi where you get to put as much bunga kantan as you like.

The Air Hitam Asam Laksa has for years manage to stay as one of the best available asam laksa available in Penang. For years, the stall by the side of the market at Air Hitam has fended off stiff competition and remained as one of the best asam laksa stall and once of the cheapest one as well at RM3.30 per bowl. Of course there’s also another good asam laksa located at Balik Pulau, but unless you’re ready to drive to this god-forsaken land, get lost a couple of times finding the place, and probably not finding the place still at the end of the day – all the best.

One cannot miss the shop which is located at the intersection of the market in Air Hitam on the way to Kek-Lok-Si Temple. The shop is operated by a family where child labor becomes a very borderline issue.

The size of the pots would tell you the amount of orders they receive in a day. 2 huge pots of boiling soup, 1 extra large pot where they put the noodle and due to lack of space, the vege is placed on the table.

The main ingredient that makes all the difference is of course the soup. The soup here is superb with enough sourness and taste as there are lots of chunky pieces of fish that’s in the soup and enough asam pieces. Although it can be slightly spicier than I like it to be, the asam laksa here is still my favorite. Writing about it now is already causing me to salivate.

Location:

Jalan Pasar,

11500 Air Hitam,

Penang.

GPS: N5.401360, E100.278077

STRIPPING DOWN, COOKING UP: CREAMY MUSSELS

Ingredients:

            - Cooking cream (1 box)

            - Butter

            - Mussels (20 pcs)

            - Garlic (1 clove)

            - Onion (1 biji)

            - Cheese

            - Corn flour

Mussels are generally cooked via 2 methods; Baked or creamed. Having 2 boxes of cooking cream in the fridge, I decided to try out cooking the mussels through cream.

First of course wash the mussels and then steam them. Steaming preserved the sweetness and nutrient of the mussels (this is a wonderful tip from my wife who learned it from steaming our baby’s food). The steaming should be done quickly and should not go beyond 5 minutes.

While waiting, chop the garlic and onions (yellow onions) into small tinnie winnie sizes.

Heat the pan up and place a healthy chunk of butter into the pan as oil. Once the butter has melted and is hot, fry the onions and garlic. Before the garlic and onion turn brown, pour in the cooking cream and add a little water. You can also melt the cheese in the pan now.  

Next, transfer the steamed mussels from the steaming pot to the pan and stir fry for another 5 minutes. If the solution is too watery, mix corn flour and water in a small bowl and pour it very slowly into the pan while stirring it until it’s the sauce is thick enough.

Once that’s done, pour it onto a bowl/plate and bon appétit.