Asakaze Japanese, Macquarie Centre - Sydney

Asakaze is a familiar sight in Sydney CBD and the shopping centres in its suburbs, offering quick meals at reasonable prices with its popular bento choices.  I recently tried their unagi (eel) with rice combination for a snack before driving the road back home. Simply presented but tasty, this was at Macquarie Centre to the north-west of the Harbour Bridge.  The name "asakaze" conjures visions of the wind from the sea after sunrise.

This apparently Korean-owned chain in Australia concentrates on well and tried Japanese menu favourites like chicken katsu, teriyaki, all types of "dons" and sushi hand rolls.  My marinated and grilled eel was above average.  Working staff at Asakaze joints tend to be young, perhaps students.  The atmosphere is casual and often there are neighbouring retailers offering comparable East Asian food. The chain seems to be popular with couples, teenage groups and families - the menu can be somehow limited but good enough.

Fong Lye Taiwanese at Gardens Mall - Kuala Lumpur

Come meal time, people congregate at Fong Lye, on the third floor of the Gardens Mall in Kuala Lumpur.  What makes the restaurant tick, and what makes people, old and young, patiently queue outside its entrance for lunch, dinner and between? The Taiwanese concept of a set meal on a tray, borrowed from the Japanese bento concept, offers a main dish, usually steamed, grilled, braised, stewed or deep fried concoctions, accompanied by a small bowl of soup, pickled and stir-fried fresh vegetables and a bowl of steamed rice.  Popular mains include fish fillets, deep fried chicken and stewed pork.

The variety of side dishes, though small morsels and portions they may be, are worth checking out.

Try their wu kok (Cantonese), or battered yam with savoury pork inside as fillings.

Apart from traditional smoked teas, there are those milk-laden teas with tapioca flour made bubble balls and accompanied with your choice of fruity falvours. This cuisine model has been a hallmark of Fong Lye, although they do offer other dishes like coconut milk toast; barbeque chicken drumsticks;  meat balls (rou yuan in Mandarin); fried squid and pepper; and fresh tomato garnished fried egg with fish.

I loved my smoked tea duck slices (photograph above) - they were juicy moist, full of flavour and yet with a subtleness from fine cuisine, with the skin not overly fatty and still crispy. This mains of mine was complemented by a clear soup with bites of colourful and crunchy vegetables inside.

The setting at Gardens is spacious with striking ceiling lights, although tables can be arranged to the max. (image above). 

The smoked duck came with mung bean glass noodles and bean sprouts in a tasty stock soup (picture above).  I enjoyed the Fong Lye version of the ice kacang (image below), with a generous dollop of ice cream, red beans, corn, jelly beans and more all clinging on to rather fine shaven ice. It has a different twist from the Malaysian or Indonesian versions.  I have been recommended to try the "peanut snow mountain" should I return to Fong Lye.

There are related outlets at Sunway Pyramid; 94 Jalan Imbi; and at Plaza Prisma Ville, Desa Sri Hartamas in KL. My impressions of Fong Lye at the Gardens Mall are:

Atmosphere:  A sense of good table turnover.

Location:  City side, shopping mall.

Service: Quick. The staff even asked if dessert is to be served after the mains, or what would be preferred?

People Engagement: Satisfactory.

Fav Dish Experienced: Tea smoked duck.

Best Time to Visit:  Try to beat the anticipated - and real - crowds.

Would I Return?: A definite yes!

 

My Brother's Garden - Penang

“Train up a fig-tree in the way it should go, and when you are old sit under the shade of it.”

Charles Dickens

"The ordinary acts we practice every day at home are of more importance to the soul than their simplicity might suggest."

(Thomas Moore)

"I hope that while so many people are out smelling the flowers, someone is taking the time to plant some."

(Herbert Rappaport)

"With coarse rice to eat, with water to drink, and my bended arm for a pillow - I have still joy in the midst of these things. Riches and honors acquired by unrighteousness are to me as a floating cloud."

(Kung Fu-Tze)

“True friends are like diamonds, precious and rare. False friends are like leaves, found everywhere.”

“Don't expect mangoes when you plant papayas.”

The Han Room, Gardens Mall - Kuala Lumpur

Kit from Singapore, but whose home town is Kuala Lumpur, has always sung the praises of the Han Room, an outlet of the Oriental Group. Ipoh-born Chef Justin Hor Chee Keong presides over the several restaurants in this group. I was more than curious when I found myself in the Gardens Mall, where the Han Room is located on the ground floor, when niece Su Hui and friends were coming to catch up with me. Cantonese in foundation, the cuisine offered has a twist, in presentation, taste and texture. The four of us had to wait on the sofa at the entrance as we did not book for lunch on a weekday. 

Kit had sent me the UOB Chef Menu, thoughtfully and delightfully contrived and chosen.  I got diverted, when I saw offerings like charcoal grilled Spanish pork roll;  crispy cod fish roll with pork floss; tea smoked farm chicken; and the braised Shatin chicken stuffed with liver suasage.  In the end, we settled for subtle tasting spare pork ribs grilled with pepper, accompanied by a selection of entrees.  They also had petite yum cha items like the steamed thousand layered cake; durian pudding; steamed cheong fun with unagi (eel); and the classic siew mai, but this time with pickled ginger and century old egg.  Above picture depicts a delicately balanced chicken perched on a dragon fruit slice base.  Critics observe the small portions of the dishes.

I reckon the Han Room offers Cantonese fare with a surprise, some fusion and innovation.

They offered foie gras with a delight, harmonising the goose aroma with sweet fruity sensations.

Traditional roast pork and red lined char siew were done well. We did not get dessert as we wanted to try a Taiwan outlet at the top floor of the nearby Mid Valley complex,  which had a sensational amber jelly concoction (we were not disappointed there as well).

The Han Room has been opeenedd since January 2011.  My impressions from my visit in June 2012 are:

Atmosphere:  Upmarket buzz.

Location:  Shopping centre.

Taste:  Good.

Service:  We had a dedicated staff look after our table

People Engagement: Attentive and interested.

Fav Dish Experienced:  Grilled spare pork ribs.

Best Time to Visit:  After a confirmed booking.

Would I Return?:  Yes.

St Ives, Sydney - Lunch Time

The apple crumble, pictured above, provided a fitting finale to a well made home meal hosted by Jennifer, cooked with the heart, infused with experienced care and devotion and utilising so many ingredients.  Crumbles have been a British and Irish institution, especially since the end of Wolrd War 2 and can be made with other fruits like plum, kiwi fruits, coconut, rhubarb, blackberries and peaches.  An even more interesting choice is for the toppings, whether they are broken biscuits, almonds, rolled oats or breakfast cereals.  Brown sugar is usually utilised to caramelise the toppings.

I was more than happy to have the crumble without any ice cream or cream.

Prawn slices pork rib cuts, vermicelli noodles and deep fried shallots are served in a stock soup above, in the classic Fujian dish, har mee.  The amount of prawn shells that goes into making an outstanding soup must be seen to be believed. The shells are pounded, stir cooked on the wok and then refined to be infused into the main stock.  The five of us at St Ives that arvo had an engaging time participating in conversation - Cheryl was visiting from Penang, An Qi came up from her Sydney University campus and both Janie and Jennifer has returned from a few weeks in south-western Europe.

The kueh seri muka has a layer of sumptious coconut milky topping over a pandanus flavoured glutinious rice base. (as photographed above)  Jennifer's version is yummy gulping, with gentle textures that are not overbearing on your palate. Vanilla bean paste can also be utilised instead of pandanus flavours. 

I reproduce the recipe from My Kitchen.blogspot.com website (all copyrights acknowledged):

Ingredients (8" x 8" tin):

Bottom Layer
250g Glutinous Rice, soaked for 4 hours and drained
170ml Thin Coconut Milk
¼ tsp Salt
Top Layer
2  Eggs
150g Castor Sugar
120ml Pandan Water (Blend about 10 pandan leaves with 120ml water)
400ml Coconut Milk
120g All-purpose Flour
3 tbsp Tapioca Flour
¼ tsp salt

Methods:

1. Bottom Layer: Steam glutinous rice with coconut milk and salt for 30 minutes. Rest for about 10 minutes, then transfer and press steamed rice onto a bottom of a 8" square pan.
2. Top Layer: Beat eggs with sugar until sugar is dissolved. Add in pandan water, coconut milk, salt and green colouring. Mix well.
3. Sift in flours and whisk till well combined. Strain the mixture and rest for 10 minutes.
4. Pour the mixture in the pan with pressed glutinous rice (1) and steam over medium heat for 30 minutes.
5. Cool completely before serving.

Vietnamese-styled drip coffee is served in a contraption unique in shape, inspired by the French and made practical by Indo-Chinese ingenuity.  Janie arranged the delightful process as seen in the photo above, and the taste was a strong combination of a dark brew served with stirred condensed milk. In this instance, I did not have the iced version (cafe da), which is popular in the several ASEAN nations, as the climate is equatorial.  In  St Ives that Saturday, we were well in the throes of an Australian east coast winter.  I was told that the French introduced coffeee to Vietnam and that now many of their youngsters are drinking Starbucks but still have a penchant for their local flavours.   Yes, the metal drip filter (that reminds me of a miniature hat) you see above can be small in size,  but does the trick.