Zipangu, Shangri-la Hotel, Kuala Lumpur

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1.

Chinese Eagle

080808.

Beijing 2008.

We both decided to wear Chinese inspired outfits to the office.

Sadly, not everyone saw things the way we did. People wished us Gong Xi Fa Cai.  Sigh.  Everyone wants to be a comedian.

2.

Zipangu

Our workload that day had dampened our spirits.  Practically everyone we knew had rushed off early to catch the opening ceremony of the Olympics, and soon, we found that we were alone and miserable in our respective offices.

“Can you tar pau some dinner back?” I called and asked him.  I wasn’t in the mood to cook that night.  I was tired and I was depressed knowing that I was going to miss him when he flew off to Manila the next day for a short trip.  He was suddenly interrupted by a phonecall and had to hang up.  I felt lonelier than ever in the quiet office, the sound of creaking furniture keeping me company as I worked furiously to complete the task at hand.  A few minutes later, my phone rang, and despite its melodious ringtone, the sound was jarring in the quiet of the night.  “Let’s go to Zipangu,” he said.

I could have kissed him then.  But of course, making kissing sounds into the phone was something we did in our courting days 15 years ago.  It can be quite unnerving for an innocent bystander to see a 30-something year old woman kissing her mobilephone (unless it’s an iPhone).

Zipangu used to be our restaurant of choice when we wanted to grab a nice meal.   He used to prod me and say “Let’s go to Zipangu” when I least expected it.  Memories are created from little moments, instances, snippets of conversation, thoughtful gestures, exchanged glances that only two people share even when surrounded by nameless faces, faceless names.  Not flowers, chocolates or expensive gifts.

3. 

kaki furai
Kaki furai(RM40)

“Honey, I’m home…” 

Deep fried oysters bursting with flavour in a thin coat of crumbs.  An apt beginning in regaining our happiness.  I lost count – there were probably 6 to 8 pieces, all large enough for two bites per piece.

teriyaki chicken in butter sauce
Teriyaki chicken in butter sauce (RM35)

Tender pieces of chicken (thigh, not breast) in a mild sauce that hinted of butter but didn’t overpower the flavour of the teriyaki chicken.  A lovely combination of flavours that extended to the vegetables, all lightly grilled and enveloped in the sweet buttery aroma.

foie gras maki
Foie gras maki (RM40)

The foie gras maki didn’t please as much, despite having such a pleasurable ingredient.  It reminded me of a fat man with a tiny peni….uhm…male reproductive organ.  I could barely taste any of the creamy fattiness of the foie gras.

sashimi
Sashimi (RM90)

The sashimi was good. Thick slices and very fresh.

Going to Zipangu is like going home.

Total bill with 2 bowls of delicious garlic fried rice came up to RM233 (before tax), but with our Prestige Platinum card, we paid only RM134 (with tax).  And unlike other high-end establishments, green tea here is complimentary.

Zipangu
Shangri-la Hotel Kuala Lumpur
11, Jalan Sultan Ismail
50250 Kuala Lumpur

Restaurant reservations: 1800 88 7881

Subang Teow Chew Claypot Bak Kut Teh

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chinese tea cups

They serve chinese tea just like in the bak kut teh (BKT) shops in Klang. An assortment of tea sachets is presented, badly colour coded with writings in a language I can barely read let alone understand.  Pick a card, any card.  Thankfully, there are some familiar romanised words and I reach for my usual favourite.  There are kettles of boiling water on the side, placed on gas stoves for us to fill and refill our teapots.  The location of a longkang beside the tables is ideal as one can pour any used water directly into the drain.   It is a thoroughly efficient and practical system.  Drinking chinese tea is, of course, important when consuming BKT as the chinese believe that it can help wash away the oil and ease digestion.

But we’re not here to talk about tea.  Neither are we here to talk about the dusty road (before the straight and glossy Guthrie Corridor Expressway came about) which heavy vehicles ply on their daily trade.  This is the story of one bak kut teh place, just 3 minutes away from Bukit Jelutong, a little obscure and quite easily overlooked if one caught some dust in the eye from a passing lorry (in an attempt to save fuel by turning off the airconditioning).  Finding it is easy if one looked for the right signs.  No, not the well camouflaged signboards along the way.  If you’re ‘lucky’ enough to see them, you would be led straight to the new highway and in a blink of an eye, you would find yourself in Rawang where you’d be wondering why you didn’t wind down those damned windows to save fuel.  Take the old road instead and after passing a couple of traffic lights, you will see an Esso petrol station on the left.  You will find Subang Teow chew Claypot Bak Kut Teh directly opposite the petrol station.  As I said, 3 minutes from Bukit Jelutong.

BKT

The claypot BKT here is uncomplicated.  There are two types of items in it – pork meat (and the requisite amount of fats) and foo chuk (bean curd sheets).  Garnishings don’t count, of course.  The meat is tender and flaky, indicating a long period of preparation, and the soup is light and slightly peppery and a little salty in flavour, unlike the hokkien version which has a stronger herbal taste.  It all boils down to personal preference.  Me?  It depends whether it’s Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday.  After all, why should one be so rigid?

foo chuk

In his blog, KY highly recommended the foo chuk.  He was right.  The foo chuk still retained its crunch and was not soggy despite the soaking in the herbal BKT broth.

The bill for 2 came up to RM29 (together with tea).  Not bad for a weekend breakfast, a reminder of my days in Klang and the numerous weekend breakfasts with my parents and my brothers and our regular guests – uncles and aunties who knew how to start the weekend with a delicious traditional breakfast.

Other writeups can be found here: Masak-masak, Julie the Biscuit and Small Kuching.

Subang Teow Chew Claypot Bak Ku Teh
Lot 653 & 655, Jalan Subang, Cherakah Subang
40150 Shah Alam.

Tel: 019-261 5303, 012-335 9219

Open Tuesdays to Sundays, breakfast and lunch only.

How To Make Your Man Happy For Under RM30

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Duck and mango salad
Roast duck and mango salad (with char siu surprise)

With the way things have been in the political scene, it’s hard to think of only food all the time.  But if one had to just talk about food, how about that Samantha sushi scene in Sex and the City, eh?  I cackled till I cried.  And talking about Sex and the City, I was reading Kevin Cowherd’s article in The Star the other day where he said that men should refrain from watching this movie…let your wife watch it with her girlfriends, bla bla bla….well, I have only one thing to say.  Bald Eagle is a real man, baybeh, coz he surprised me with tickets and laughed throughout the movie.  But then again, how many straight men can confidently tell you that Blahnik isn’t the name of the latest space shuttle to take off from Russia?  And talking about men, I’ve been faithfully listening to Flyfm for the longest time, for 40 minutes in the morning from Mondays to Fridays which adds up to a gazillion jillion hours, but I’m finally going to change loyalties.  Why?  Have you heard their latest lame car-giveaway-to-Mazlan-almost-a-scam thingy?  Whoever came up with the idea ought to be sacked.  Anyway.  I’m in a dilemma right now.  I don’t know what to listen to in the mornings.  I’m stationless.  Decisions decisions.  And talking about decisions, if you’re like me, a devoted wife who wants to provide only the best to her husband every night (and I’m still talking about food here), I am sure you would be occasionally faced with mental block.  It is even more of a challenge for me ever since we resolved, 6 months ago, to eat salads for dinner at least 3 times a week.  I mean, how many different ways can one present a bunch of leaves?  But I suppose when you’re fast approaching the unmentionable years (grey hair, sagging breasts, et al.), it is wise to eat less and eat healthy.  Or at least, I try.  20% of the time.  Anyway.  Bald Eagle was one very happy man this week thanks to me.  (We’re still talking about food here.)  I fed him this very easy to prepare roast duck and mango salad (with char siu surprise).  The base consisted of a bunch of rocket and coriander leaves, a fistful of sweet and crunchy taugeh (bean sprouts), julienned red capsicum for colour and chopped ripe mangoes for sweetness.  Because it was beginning to feel thai, I added a packet of glass noodles (pre-soaked to soften), and then tossed all the items in a sauce made with olive oil, ground palm sugar, a dash of sesame oil, peanuts, minced dried shrimps (fried) and the sauce that came with the roast duck which I had purchased from a chicken rice stall in Lucky Garden at 9.00pm after a hard day’s work.  Well, we all need cheat tactics.  The sauce had a garlicky sweet flavour, so I didn’t bother adding more garlic.  While waiting for the roast duck to be chopped by the kindly old man at the Lucky Garden stall, I saw a tiny piece of glistening fatty char siu.  If there’s one thing I cannot resist, it’s char siu.  Especially if it’s fatty.  A little bit unpremeditated (and unhealthy!), but like my philosophy in life and everything else, cooking should be an adventure.  So in went the roast duck and the char siu.  I squeezed the be-juice-s out of 5 calamansi limes onto the pasta to lift the flavour, and I can tell you this – Bald Eagle was one very happy man that night. (Are we still talking about food?)