Dong Bei, Imbi, Kuala Lumpur

When you think of famous districts of KL for Chinese food, you usually think of Petaling street and Jalan Alor. Here's another name which should be thrown into the hat - Imbi. Behind Times Square is an area dominated by Chinese establishments, many of which are more authentic and perhaps more delicious than the ones found in the better-known areas. After our first trip today, I intend on exploring this area further.

Today we were on a two person crusade led by my lovely wife (although not in terms of navigating - we'd have ended up in Ipoh...) to find north-eastern Chinese food. Most of the Chinese food found in KL is from the south of China so good northern cuisine can be hard to find. Today, we found some! It's called Dong Bei which actually means 'north east'.

Here's the outside:

You shouldn't judge a book by its cover....

 But let's face it Dong Bei isn't much of a looker. Check out the table cloth!

Joking aside, I thought Dong Bei had an interesting atmosphere, unmistakeably Chinese in the service and patrons but a real air of authenticity, albeit with an English menu - which was a pleasant surprise!

We got straight down to business and ordered the crispy leg of lamb; served with green chillies, red chillies, fresh chillies, onion and a whole lot of fennel seeds RM 35 (approx $11):

Perhaps taking back what I said about judging a book by its cover....this was a beautiful plate of food! The lamb meat had fallen off the bone and had been stir-fried with a mountain of chillies.

I've actually never really eaten anything like this before. The lamb meat was extremely tender save for a very small portion of fatty pieces, which is hard to avoid with lamb. The chillies added a nice kick without blowing your head off (that came later on...), and the fennel taste worked a treat.

Overall - Great dish, and a bit of a new experience for me - 4 / 5

Next up - our crusade to find good dumplings was over. Pork and leek dumplings RM 8 (approx $2.5!!)

These pork and leek dumplings ticked off all the boxes. The thickness of the skin was just right, the pork-to-leek ratio was spot on and everything was nicely seasoned. Dong Bei actually has 12 different types of dumplings, maybe I'll dedicate a post to all of them!

Overall - What we came for - 4 / 5

Along with the lamb and dumplings we ordered a coriander salad, aka tiger salad RM10 (approx $3).

This was coriander, Chinese celery, scallion and green chillies. The mix of flavours here was great, however there was too much salt for our liking.

Now I'm not exactly sure why it's called a tiger salad, however here is a theory... You're eating the nice (but salty), mild greens when suddenly you eat an incredibly spicy chilli. It's akin to wandering the forest and suddenly being attacked by a tiger.

Well the former story (fortunately not the latter!) happened to me today. I was busy stuffing my mouth with these greens when I ate the spiciest chilli I've eaten in years, resulting in 10 minutes of pain and suffering - you've been warned....

Overall - A bit too salty which was unfortunate because it could have been really good 2.5 / 5

We also ordered a bean curd salad, with diced cucumber and spicy szechuan vinaigrette.

Unfortunately I don't like bean curd so didn't eat much of this. Erin told me it was great but she doesn't get to give ratings!


Overall, Dong Bei proved to be an excellent find. We will come back to try some of their other offerings - I've heard the sweet and sour pork is excellent, and there's more dumplings to try. For those of you living in KL, for authentic Chinese food which is a clear step up from the mediocre stuff you get on Jalan Alor, give Dong Bei a try. Just watch out for the tiger salad!

Cantaloupe, The Troika, KLCC, Kuala Lumpur

Every now and then Erin and I have a bit of a splurge on food. We usually pick out a fine-dining restaurant with a good reputation, and then throw caution to the wind. In this case, the meal was paid for by Erin's folks - a Christmas present that we decided it was time to cash in on.

The Troika is an easily noticeable building amongst the KLCC skyline; designed by Norman Foster, it is a luxury condominium with a small cluster of high-end restaurants. Here's what the building looks like:

From klcccondominiums.com

Cantaloupe recently won the award for 'best new restaurant' in TimeOut KL magazine, and the chef used to work in Frangipani in Changkat Bukit Bintang. We went there on a Sunday evening and decided to book a table (although the restaurant wasn't full). We were put outside on the balcony, and there was quite a view:

 Cantaloupe offers the choice of a la carte or tasting menu. The tasting menu was a tad too expensive so we decided to go a la carte. Before our starters arrived we were given some freshly baked bread.

If my memory serves me correctly, the larger bread was sour dough, the greenish one was coriander and the last one was curry leaf-flavoured. The bread came with a fancy little plate of butter, balsamic jelly and cinnamon salt.

All three of these went nicely with the breads, however we didn't like the curry leaf bread as it had that distinctive fishy taste that is sometimes found in Malaysian cooking, which neither of us enjoy. The sour dough and coriander breads were very good though.

Next up was an amuse-bouche, a kind of mini-starter you will get in any serious fine-dining restaurant. This one was a soft shell crab, sauteed aubergine with capsicum reduction, some kind of dried noodles and foam! (there was to be a lot of foam during this meal....)

The crab was delicious, as was the aubergine and the sauce on the plate was a fitting compliment. Amuse-bouches are designed to whet your appetite - this one worked.

One thing I liked about Cantaloupe was the way the menu had been written, with each dish having a personal explanation from the chef. I ordered the scallops RM80 (approx $25) - have a look at the description above for more detail.
 

As you can see from the pic above, the foam takes over the plate somewhat. Here is a closer look at the scallops:

First of all, the scallops were high quality and well cooked. I also really liked the chorizo flavour, and the jerusalem artichoke / potato puree was great. It wasn't a big plate of food, but the mixture of textures and different flavours worked very well.

Overall - A lovely starter but maybe a touch on the small side - 4 / 5

Erin went for the Jerusalem artichoke soup RM50 (approx $17).

Although bigger than it looks on the picture, this was also a fairly small but satisfying starter. The soup was lovely and creamy while the sliced scallops were an interesting and worthwhile addition.

Overall - Another interesting and effective starter - 3.5. / 5

For my main course I went for the duck confit RM90 (approx $30).

I'm generally a big fan of duck confit. It can be a touch heavy, but if done well it's one of my favourite main courses.

At this stage it was quite dark outside so the photos haven't come out so well.

The duck leg was a good size and the potato chip acting as a well for the creamy mash was a nice touch. Behind the duck leg on the picture is the rillettes, which was the duck breast shredded into a kind of pate and covered in breadcrumbs.

The duck meat fell off the bone without much effort on my part. The meat itself was nicely salty, and when combined with the mash and mustard it was simply delicious.

Overall - One of the best examples of duck confit I've had - 4 / 5

Erin went for the wagyu beef RM 165 (approx $55).

What was clear when this plate of food arrived was that this is an excellent cut of beef; look at the marbling on the picture above. It tasted as you'd expect a top piece of steak to taste; tender, and full of flavour with the fat melting in your mouth. The torched minced fat on top was a really creative and effective addition and the accompaniments all worked very well indeed.

Ovreall - A really good steak - 4 / 5

For dessert I ordered the black forest bombe and Erin went for the marinated strawberries, both RM45 (approx $14). 

We'll start with the bombe:

The waiter kicked things off by blow-torching a container of cognac.

This was then poured onto the chocolate dome which slowly melted. This is what it looked like inside:

The mixture of congnac, dark chocolate, cherries, crunchy chocolate cake and chantilly is certainly not for anyone who is worried about their waistline. It was however a really nice mix, especially with the sourness of the cherries and the sweetness of everything else. We both started off loving this dish but it did become a bit too heavy after a while.

Overall - Definitely best shared but a good bit of culinary theatre - 3.5 / 5

These raspberry-marinated strawberries might just have been the best dish of the night. The eucalyptus caramel gel and fizzy lime sugar combined with the fruit resulted in a bright, refreshing and extremely delicious plate of food. It was the perfect partner for the chocolate bombe on the other side of the table.

Overall - Really imaginative and a great result - 4.5 / 5

So how good is Cantaloupe?

First of all it's an amazing place; the view, the interior and the sense of occasion it brings makes it all worth the visit alone. The food is also very very good but if I was to compare, it does fall slightly short of some outstanding fine-dining establishments we've been to in other countries.

I would however, wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone living in KL for a special occasion and a bit of a splurge. It is undoubtedly expensive but you're paying for the food and the views after all.

Nutmeg, Bangsar Village, Kuala Lumpur

Nutmeg is a recent addition to the Bangsar brunch scene, and there's no shortage of competition. It's located in Bangsar Village, and when we arrived on a Sunday afternoon it was almost full. Being in a shopping mall, the look of Nutmeg isn't going to win many plaudits, but it is pleasantly decorated with some cool wildlife pictures on the back wall.

I ordered a smoked salmon and scrambed-egg 'croissantwich' RM26 (approx $8).

The scrambled eggs were very creamy, and were a tad too mushy for my liking; they tasted good but I wasn't a massive fan of the texture (I'm being a bit picky here...). The salmon underneath however was a really nice cut. The best thing about this dish for me was the use of the croissant; it was firm enough to hold the salmon and egg and the flaky texture made it more interesting than it would have been with bread. The salad on the side was also nice and had an interesting jam-based dressing.

Overall - An interesting idea and a satisfying plate of food - 3 / 5

Erin ordered the open-faced salt beef sandwich on toasted sourdough, which came with hashed potatoes and a salad RM23 (approx $7).

  Not the best pick, and the only one I took - schoolboy error....

We were quite confident about this dish because it clearly stated that the mustard would be put on the side. I'm not a fan of restaurants that simply smear condiments over their sandwiches.

Anyways, the salt beef itself was quite lean; it only contained a layer of fat along the edge, which isn't always the case with salt/corned beef. The potatoes were good and the salad was the same as with the previous dish.

Overall - Another decent offering - good bread and a nice cut of salt beef - 3 / 5

All in all it was a satisfying brunch at Nutmeg; neither of us had any complaints about the food, the service or the prices. I'd say it's a good option if you are in the Bangsar Village area, but with the amount of competition nearby, it would be hard to envisage Nutmeg becoming the place to go to for brunch.

Open kitchen

Sri Nirwana Maju, Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur

Sri Nirwana Maju is a bit of a Bangsar institution. It's always packed, at all times of day with customers piling onto plastic tables, and sprawling onto the pavement outside. This photo was taken at almost 11pm on a Wednesday night; there was barely a seat available.

Why is it so popular?

SNM serves banana leaf curries that are delicious and cheap - it's the ultimate Malaysian mamak experience.

We found ourselves a small space amid the din and ordered one banana leaf rice.

This is what you get with your banana leaf rice: A massive helping of rice, some cucumber, curried long beans and deep fried bitter gourd. The Indian long beans and bitter gourd are seriously tasty, and the multiple members of staff wandering about are usually happy to give you a top up. They also come around with sauces for the rice:

I believe the choices available are chicken, mutton and dal. We went for chicken, making things look like this:

First of all, the deep fried bitter gourd is just a bundle of fried, crispy, greasy goodness. It's also got a lovely red colour which, in contrast with the green leaf underneath, looks very appealing. The curried long beans are not quite as greasy but equally as tasty. The cucumber is a healthier option, but if that's what you're after then you are probably in the wrong restaurant!

Included with the banana leaf rice is also a side of tasty popadums:

All this goodness serves as a compliment for the curries and extras you want to order. We went for the chicken Masala RM5 (approx $2).

I am undoubtedly the king of overstatements in our marriage, but it was Erin who described this as 'possibly the nicest curry dish she's ever eaten'. This was actually the third time we've ordered the dish so it clearly stands up to repeat visits. 

It is a fantastically spiced chicken curry with succulent chicken pieces that are just bursting with flavour.

The only complaint is that the chicken comes on-the-bone, which although is the traditional method, it can be a bit fiddly to eat.

Overall - Erin said if it was off-the-bone it should get a 5. Unfortunately it wasn't so it gets 4.5 / 5

Along with the curry, we ordered a roti canai. 

For those of you who haven't been to Malaysia, roti canai is an Indian flatbread made from dough containing copious amounts of ghee (clarified butter), flour and water, and they come with a range of dipping sauces. When I first visited Malaysia in 2005 my friend and I left the place raving about them having eaten one almost every day.

Overall - This was a pretty standard roti - nice and flaky with that satisfying dough taste 3.5 / 5

Those who know me in Malaysia will testify that I have a weakness for what we ordered next...

Murtabaks have become my go-to end of the night food choice, replacing my old favourite - the kebab. You don't need to be drunk to order a murtabak in SNM though, the mutton ones weren't available so we went for a chicken one.

This is a murtabak:

They are rotis stuffed with fried onion, egg and in this case - chicken.

Murtabaks are one of those guilty pleasures that you know are bad but yet are so good, especially these ones at SNM. The chicken is nicely spiced and shredded, and is much more plentiful than the egg and onion (it is often the other way round...). The whole thing wasn't heavily spiced, so despite being greasy, it wasn't too heavy for us.

Overall - This is the best murtabak I've had. By far.... - 4 / 5

The menu

We are big fans of SNM; it's one of those places that makes you love being in Malaysia. It brings out all three ethnic groups in numbers, and has a bustling, lively atmosphere that is more endearing than annoying. It's also actually quite fun watching Indians, Chinese and Malays all tucking into their food with their right hands (although we used the cutlery....). 

What's important though is that it delivers where it matters; the food is great and seriously good value - our total was RM32 (approx $10) for all our food and two freshly squeezed orange juices. I'm a curry lover from a nation of curry lovers, and you simply can't get anything like this for a 1 quid-a-dish back home. 

Sri Nirwana Maju, we salute you!

A happy leaf

Ippudo, Pavillion, Kuala Lumpur

An old favourite of ours from Tokyo is Ippudo, a Japanese ramen restaurant.

Ippudo is still fairly new in KL but can be found in various Asian countries and even has a store in New York. The direct translation of the word 'Ippudo' is 'one wind hall' but this restaurant is not a windy hall, which is unfortunate because it would break the heat of KL nicely.... It is simply a chain restaurant selling Japanese noodles.

Apparently 'one wind hall' was chosen as a name because when the first Ippudo opened in Fukuoka in 1985, there were 'dark clouds' over the ramen industry in Kyushu, and Ippudo was designed to blow wind and revolutionise the area. It's amazing the crap you can find on Wikipedia; if I find out anything else about these 'dark clouds' over the ramen industry, I'll be sure to let you know...

I've been to branches of Ippudo in KL, Tokyo, Seoul, New York (we tried anyway - the queue was huge) and one thing they all have in common in is funky black, red and white decor.

They also have another thing in common - the food on offer is almost identical wherever you happen to eat it.

We started by ordering some gyoza RM 12 (approx $4), which in case you didn't know are Japanese dumplings.

Although not as tasty as their Chinese equivalents, Japanese pan-fried gyoza stuffed with pork and herbs are almost always quite a satisfying snack, whether you eat them in a restaurant or in an Izakaya, washing them down with sake.

Overall - Nothing too sophisticated but tasty nonetheless - 3 / 5

Erin ordered bakuretsu tofu RM18 (approx $6) , which is spicy tofu and minced pork with crispy noodles in a hot stone pot.

The fact that Erin went for this dish is somewhat unfortunate for me as I have an unwavering dislike for all things tofu, and stubbornly refuse to eat it. I've tried my best (kind of...) to like the stuff and just can't get past the texture, but to be fair it doesn't taste of much. 

I did however, try a bit of the spicy soup and minced pork, and these were good. Erin liked the tofu too.

Overall - On the basis of my wife's (excellent) judgement - 3.5 / 5

I ordered the Akamaru Shinaji ramen RM30 (approx $10) which is the signature Tonkotsu broth, created using pork bones which have been simmering for over 12 hours. 

This specific take on the broth comes enhanced with miso paste and garlic oil topped with kikurage (Japanese black mushrooms), spring onion and slices of chashu (marinated pork belly).

Above is a picture of what everything looked like before I gave it a good stir. The home made noodles underneath looked like this:

The pork belly was deliciously tender and fell apart when I picked it up on the spoon. I tried to get a closer picture of it but it kept breaking up and falling back into the soup. The broth was salty with a heavy garlic and pepper taste. For me, this is a winning combination and the noodles soaked up the flavours really nicely. 

I will add that I went to this outlet of Ippudo a few months ago and back then the pork itself was not very good. Today was a different story, maybe they were still having teething problems at that time..

Overall - On the basis that it is still my favourite example of Tonkotsu ramen - 4 / 5

Ippudo is perhaps not the best place if you're looking for something healthy or if you are looking for a quiet dinner; the chefs are constantly yelling greetings/orders/goodbyes in Japanese. It does however, remain a very reliable chain for good quality ramen, and is an easy introduction to anyone curious to try some Japanese comfort food.