Monthly Archives: June 2007

Max! Kitchen & Wines

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The key ingredients were all there: a good restaurant, fun company and excellent food.

We met at Max!, post-Just Heavenly Pleasures’ official launch, to celebrate a quiet evening together. As it turned out, and I should have expected this, we took up most of the place upstairs at Max! and caused the glasses to shatter (figuratively speaking) with our loud chatter and excited conversations with each other.

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There are times when I want to cry from sheer happiness upon tasting good food. Last night was one of those moments. My shiraz braised wagyu beef cheeks with mushroom ragout (RM60/US$18) was velvety smooth and melted in my mouth as I exhaled a sigh of pleasure. Max’s dish will now be the standard against which I compare all wagyu beef preparations.

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I also ate off Bald Eagle’s and Nigel’s plates, so I can vouch for the chargrilled lamb cutlets (RM50/US$15) and the seared tuna loin (RM28/US$8). The lamb cutlets were very tender and went well with the accompanying garlic confit, while the tuna was seared to a perfect crisp on the outside while remaining rare on the inside.

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The above is a selection of starters and mains ordered by the other food bloggers.

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It was a wonder that I could still eat anymore after that orgasmic experience with the wagyu beef, but when the proprietor and chef, Max Chin, suggested a white chocolate tart, there was no hesitation in my reply as I absolutely LOVE white chocolate. The tart was nice, although I found it a little mild, tasting more cream than chocolate, but the crisp chocolate shell and the chocolate ice cream were a good foil for the white chocolate.

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The desserts selection was small, but satisfying. The warm, freshly prepared chocolate souffle which I swiped from Bald Eagle was extremely good.

P1030732 The food bloggers were excellent company. Nigel and Allan – once again, congratulations on your launch. It was indeed a pleasure to be able to celebrate the special day with you. Paprika, looking forward to more eating sessions with you. Love your pretty red earrings, by the way! And Hunky, don’t forget to order wagyu beef cheeks on your next visit. 🙂 Mavis, love your photographs of pets! Soo Yin, small world, huh? 🙂 Who would have thought that you knew Bald Eagle all along?? Jason, WMW, Joe and Nicole, sadly, the long table was too long, but I heard the word nipple mentioned several times! Bald Eagle, thanks for sharing your food, dear. Splashie Boy, you and Paprika were great lightings people!! Boo_licious, thanks for organising this once again. It was definitely worth the wait!

Max! Kitchen & Wines
27, Tengkat Tong Shin
50200 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-2141 8115

Sate Kajang Haji Samuri, Damansara Uptown

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satay

Delicious phallic symbols of glory.

There’s a certain rawness of manner in using one’s teeth to pull out the pieces of skewered meat on a stick. Almost primitive. The warm meat mixed with the crushed peanut sauce is harmonious.

Human beings have short memories. News today, garbage tomorrow. The case against the popular Kajang satay company on the discharge of toxic effluents is long forgotten. What price for delicious satay?

satay and ketupat

Sate Kajang Haji Samuri used to be available only in Kajang, but the success story has been replicated all over the Klang valley and beyond. Closer to home, for me at least, is the restaurant at Damansara Uptown. Same satay in an attractive setting. Wear your heels and your finery if you like, but remember that all decorum fizzles when you use your fingers and teeth to remove the deliciously grilled meat.

The price is reasonable too. 60 sen (less than USD$0.20) per stick of chicken, beef, beef tripe, chicken liver and fish satay, while mutton, rabbit and venison satay ranges between 90 sen (USD$0.25) and RM1.60 (USD$0.50) per stick. Nasi impit (compressed rice), sliced cucumbers and sliced onions are essential side dishes.

The thick and delicious peanut sauce is served separately from the sambal. Add the sambal at your own risk. It is potent, but guaranteed to make you break into a heated sweat.

Also check out:

Sate Kajang Hj Samuri
No. 79, Jalan 21/37,
Damansara Uptown, Petaling Jaya.
Tel: 03-7710 5318

Of very non-halal quiches and an honorary Makan Club member

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bacon and mushroom quiche by fbb

Our Makan Club has thrived on the diversity of tastes of the various members. And sometimes, looks can be quite deceiving. For instance, it would be wrong to assume that the only person with Indian blood in the Makan Club would have a high tolerance for all things spicy. On the contrary, most of the Makan Club members put me to shame when it comes to eating food with chilli.

The members of the Makan Club consist of people who work at my office. Not because we’re snobs. Far from it. It is merely for the convenience of travelling together to a food destination. So when Smokin’ SOB informed me one day that he would be leaving the firm for “greener pastures” (I am unsure if the pastures are indeed greener, for what could be more joyful than working in our beloved firm? —> Boss Man, please take note of apple polishing), I was unsure what our future as the Makan Club would hold. It was certainly an unprecedented move for the Makan Club. As a founding member, I didn’t want to delete Smokin’ SOB’s name from the list. It would feel so final.

Several farewell parties had been thrown in honour of Smokin’ SOB. One such party was held last weekend…a sort of potluck party (where most of the food was purchased rather than cooked at home! Accountants are busy people too)…and to redeem myself for not cooking, I decided to impress the group with only the best dish. Thankfully, Fatboybakes came to mind; he suggested a very non-halal bacon and mushroom quiche and I immediately agreed. After all, it is virtually impossible to get a good, very non-halal quiche here, and I knew my friends loved very non-halal food. The quiche was amazing! Baked with oodles of chopped bacon and mushrooms in a buttery base, its texture was fluffy and smooth at the same time due to the use of cream rather than milk and it made all the difference in the world. Certainly worth every cent of the RM60 that I paid.

Fatboybakes takes orders, so drop him an email if you ever want to impress your friends. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if you passed off his pie or quiche as yours either. Pop it into the oven and let the scent envelope your home. Aaah…better than any room fragrance!

Smokin' SOB

Smokin’ SOB – thank you for being a friend and a confidante. The man at our regular tea stall will miss your taunting. I shall miss my German beer “kaki”, my punching bag, and your car. The office will be quiet without your loud expletives. Okay, that’s a good thing. 🙂 And I shall probably be less drunk without you! Hmmm. Is it me, or does this seem good too? Sigh. There goes the only negative influence in my life.

Call us if you’re ever hungry, dude!